Divine Miss Marsha

I got one of those emails in which you are Shocked and Awed. Marsha Jorgensen, generous friend and Artist Of The Highest Caliber (sounds like one of The Knights Of The Round Table doesn't it, teehee) has honored me by FairyFying Moi. Marsha and I have connected on many levels. It has been a rewarding personal journey filled with The Good The Bad And The Ugly. teehee. Always real, always heartfelt, always kind. Rebirth is a subject we are both striving to claim in our lives, whether it be from our past experiences, our own misguided thoughts, or outside forces we can't control. On this path, we have laughed our butts off and learned from each other. It's tough being a woman, but it is also Joyous. Marsha's art portrays the Joy and Magic we need to seek more often in our lives.

copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 7/31/09. All rights reserved. You may NOT copy, download, or use this image in any way without my permission.

If you haven't visited Marsha's blog, TumbleFishStudio or her etsy site, please do. And just maybe, if you are very, very lucky you will be able to bring into your home and heart, A Fairy Full Of Magic. Thank you, Marsha. You are Divine. xoSusan

Look What I Bought

I did it. I bought one of the pieces in my sidebar of "Original Art I Would Heart To Own". The Artist is Kelcey Loomer and the Art is titled "Still Moving Through My Heart". I have been coveting this canvas ever since I discovered Kelcey's blog, Sweet Mess and her etsy site.

Kelcey has been a joy to work with. Her art arrived quickly and carefully packaged. The canvas is a stunner, brilliantly executed. The thin layers of color, the papers chosen, her skillfully rendered subjects are a joy to behold. I came home exhausted from work yesterday to be greeted by my highly anticipated package. I sat on the couch and just drank it in. Thank you, Kelcey. "Still Moving Through My Heart" is even better in person. uh oh, now I'm seriously coveting Wind Direction......xoSusan

P.S.

"Are we human, or are we dancer" was taken from a journalist Hunter S. Thompson before he committed suicide, Flowers said this is where he got that line, and the deeper meaning behind that line is this:

In this song, dancer is used as a metaphor for an orchestrated, rehearsed act. Something without individuality. Without emotion i guess, like a hollow act. A dancer has no room for individuality when in groups(like a person in society) they have to follow an exact pattern that everyone else does. If you've ever seen a dancer screw up, it's very noticeable. so when he says are we human or we dancer, he is comparing someone who is human(not as a species, but as a quality, human means emotional and individual; able to think for oneself). Then the word dancer in this song is also used as a quality, not as a noun. Which is why there is no 's' at the end, because he wants to stress that he doesn't mean a bunch of dancers, but rather that he's asking if the world is full of the dancer quality. It's the same reason there is no 's' at the end of human, because he could've said "Are we humans, or are we dancers" but that doesn't bring about his deeper meaning, which is why he is using 'dancer' and 'human' as qualities, or adjectives.

This the explanation of The Killer's song "Human". I LOVE IT. I got this explanation from Yahoo answers from an anonymous poster.
Kudo's anonymous. xoSusan

Lithium, Killers and Enchantment

Three new ATC's for your perusal. The first one is from Nirvana's "Lithium" song.


Bleached Stamped background. Rubber stamp on white cardstock. Dymo words. Hand Rubber stamps. I've pulled out the rubber stamps, cuz I can't do TRANSFERS right now. See previous posts for bitching and complaining about Apollo discontinuing the best transparencies ever the 7031S. They waited until I mastered the technique to give me the big F U. oh well, I digress.

Next one is my attempt at a Zetti. Teesha Moore is Zetti Queen. Background is my handmade paper and altered Mary Engelbreits stickers, believe it or not, from my old scrapbooking days. Skirt is more of my handmade paper.

The words are from The Killers song "Human". I'm on my knees looking for the answer too.

And the last one is on a scrapbook and torn napkin substrate. Vintage photo, Artchix transparency, gold leafing. Quote is taken from a novel, but I can't remember where I got it!!!

So there you have it. xoSusan

New Flickr Group

Come join Marsha Jorgensen's brand spanking new Flickr group, Stop Art Piracy Campaign. The subject affects All Artists.

Here is my Artful offering on the subject, Lawless ShellSeeker:
Vintage Cabinet Card image, vintage words, scrapbook paper over baseball card, Purell and 7031s transfer. xoSusan

ATC Salvage

Home today from work with pounding head and wonky stomach. Worked a little on 3 of those so-so results from the Purell and 7039 transfers. sigh. First subtrate is my painted watercolor paper, transfer, vintage words and rub-ons, Heavenly Fragrance:

Second one is more of that same paper, transfer, vintage words and butterfly from wrapping paper, Sudden Wings:
Last and my fav is scrapbook paper over baseball card, transfer, copper sheet I embossed and wiped black paint over, wax stamped with my initial, printed words, Knows More About Less:
This is a self portrait of my mind set. teehee. xoSusan

The Horror

I love doing transfers in my artwork. I have taken to Purell Transfers like I took to boys when I was 14. Fast and Furious. To put it Mildly. teehee. Well, my beloved Apollo Transparencies 7031s for HP inkjet printers are NO MORE. I had a panic attack when I tried to reorder them last week. They are discontinued. I can't believe it. My entire style revolves around these transfers. My PhrenMen, my ShellSeekers, BoneHeads and ScareyClowns. WTF???? I put on my big girl panties and ordered the Apollo 7039. They'll work, right? WRONG. I spent 40 bucks and I am Bereft. The new packaging says for Canon, Epson, Lexmark. No mention of my humble HP. The purell lifted a very small amount of ink. The transfer is very light, almost all of the ink remained on the trans. I tried different amounts of Purell. Over and Over and Over. I swore, I made bargains with The Universe, all to NO AVAIL. I then tried Goldens Soft Gel Medium. I don't like transfers using this because, well , they are Glossy. They lay on top of the paper. With my old technique the paper sucked in the ink and BECAME ONE with the substrate. The image didn't lay on top like a foreign body. Ok, I'm getting dramatic now. teehee. Here are the BAD transfers, make sure the children are OUT of the room first:


Look at the time and materials I wasted. But I could not make myself give up. I even sanded some of the paper first, because some of it was scrapbook paper and may have some kind of evil plasticy coating on it. Here are the so-so transfers:
The transferred image ends up with brushstrokes from applying the gel with well, a brush. Sponge and fingers still left streaks. And gloss. Ok, I know I can spray a matte sealer on top and that should eliminate the gloss. But, well, WHY??? The 7031s's were PERFECT. Anyone else having this issue or know of a source for the 7031s's??? I am going to consult with my inkjet transfer Yahoo group and see if anyone has The Answer. xoSusan

New ATC's

This one is dedicated to my bloggin friend Kathy. She is in the process of setting up her blog. She has a boat load of scanning and designing to do. She is blessed with an in house computer nerd, also known as her husband! I am so looking forward to viewing more of her work. I'll keep you posted. This next one is inspired by the band, Cake. If you haven't checked them out please do. I think I have some of thier songs on my playlist. I just love the singers ironic, talk sing style. The song is called I Want To Love You Madly. The link is to You Tube and there are two songs on it. If you are pressed for time scroll to 2:34 minutes in and I Want To Love You Madly starts. I am not a horns fan, I am a real guitar girl, but the horns really rock in almost every song. Live there are less horns. Just sayin.
Little did I know that this would be my last Purell transfer with my beloved Apollo Transparencies 7031S. It has been tough to find images that work with my bleach stamped ATC backgrounds. I think the pairing of just black and the music lyrics work. She said, with a question in her voice. teehee. xoSusan

White Bird

This is almost finished. Went to town using paint in spray bottles, glimmer mist, crackle paint, my hand made papers, masks,india ink, a medical book image of a heart. This kept me up till 2AM last night. I just have to add a little more paint glazing here and there and then spray a UV varnish on it. I know I should be finishing that Aubergine thingy but this one wanted to get born. I was completely dilated and had to give birth. teehee.

I think I'm going to use a real light hand and add a litter shimmery limish color on top that greyish blue crackle paint in the corner. From left to right, it looks like it goes from sad to happy, right?? That's what I'd like for my life too. . xoSusan

Aubergine

I always peruse the Call to Artists on that magical page in Somerset Studio magazine. I get so excited, there is always the chance that I will already have a finished piece of art that matches perfectly with the subject they are looking to feature in a future issue. Has it happened yet, in oh, over 5 years of purchasing this fantastic tome??? um, NO. So I decided to make a piece that fits the subject. I have never been published anywhere, submitted once to SSMag and was told a polite Thanks but No Thanks. The subject is "Aubergine". I went on flickr and checked out the offerings there to See this color that I am completely unfamiliar with. I am not schooled in mixing colors, etc.....I just buy hundreds of colors already mixed. Aubergine sounds like a type of dog to me, not a color. As in "I have a long haired Aubergine named StevieRay". Anyhoo, the variety of colors named Aubergine is an extremely VARIED range of colors. What's a girl to do. Whatever the hell I want and call it Aubergine, she decided. Here is what I have so far:

This is 8 x 10 canvas board. I have had this BAD gel transfer laying around forever. I was enamoured of this advertising photo for a long time. Ironically the piece SSMag Rejected had her as the subject also. I hope it's not a trend. teehee. After seeing all the colors called Aubergine, I remembered this BAD transfer. Her hair has all kinds of purple reddish colors, so I used this as a starting point. The papers surrounding her are all hand made by me at one time or another. I tried to use purplish red the most. I then mixed gold and purple embossing powders for that faux mosaic grout thing. This pic is blurrier than I'd like but the flash bleached the whole damn thing out. I used watercolor markers to enhance the painted transfer. Good thing I prefer IMPERFECTION in My Art. teehee. I'm in the process of building up the edge with Goldens Light Molding Paste. Its almost there. The top layer of paste I will stamp into or stencil onto, haven't decided yet. Then of course, I will paint it AUBERGINE. Twinkling H2o's or one of my cherished Stewart Gill Paints. I have their Amethyst Alchemy paint and it is so Beautiful that I want to MAKE SWEET LOVE to it!!!! teehee. What to hear something hilarious??? I can't Freakin find the issue of SSMag that has the Aubergine call to Artists. So I have no idea when the art is due. It could be over by now. Duh. If you saw my Studio you would understand why I can't find ANYTHING, EVER. xoSusan

The Giver

I have a new favorite possession. I stalk Marsha Jorgensen's blog TumbleFishStudio almost daily. She is a prolific producer of magical, happy and celebratory art. She has been published in Somerset Studio numerous times. If we lived on the same coast I'm afraid that she would have to put out a restraining order on me. teehee. Seriously, I adore, aspire and am inspired to make art that may evolve someday to her level of skill, use of color and imagination. Like I said, Stalker Alert!!! Here is Marsha's The Giver, and its mine all mine, hahahohoheehee. Ok, I'm back.
Marsha is traveling right now, so her etsy shop is not up and running. Visit her blog and bask in the wonder. She'll be back soon. You can shop then. Here are 3 postcards she graciously included in my order, but only because I'm her #1 Fan. teehee:

Sorry for the crooked scanning. Something is up with my scanner. And my dishwasher, and my washing machine and my garbage disposal. But that's a story for another day. Marsha's art sells like hotcakes, so if you see a piece you must have, don't hesitate, or you will be lost. I know. I speak from heartbreaking experience. Damn that buyer to HELL. Oh, did I type that out loud? teehee. Thank you Marsha. That's it. Thank you. xoSusan

ATC Trade With Marianne

Hey, if you see an ATC an artist has created and that you covet, sometimes it's as easy as asking for it. While on an oft perusal of Marianne's blog to see her new creations I saw this ATC:

Love the sentiment on the fortune, the soft colors and the hands. So we traded! Marianne got my Bling Mermaid. She enclosed the ATC in her handmade card:

Love it! Looking forward to trading again, MK!!! xoSusan