One Love Photo

illuminated

some define photography as "to paint with light". we love that definition. understanding the magic, the wonder and power of light is what keeps us so intrigued in this medium. we are often surprised and delighted by how our cameras translate light. both photos below have a very special feel, the light is so lovely that it actually becomes one of our subjects.

 
 

12x16 beeswax collage panel
paper, paint, vintage lace, gold leaf and lots of little jewels.

14x14 beeswax collage panel
paper flowers, natural wood background, textured wax and jewels.

am always looking for a spark when starting a new mixed media piece. couldn't resist these two dream like images. the first one is from petra and evan's stunning ocras island wedding. one can never have too many glowing paper lanterns in their wedding tent. and the next from the enchanted forest wedding of elly and stephan at a washington state park. to see more on my mixed media pieces please visit my website or these posts on the blog.

Belleza

inspired by our upcoming trip to mexico i was cutting and gluing late last night. rusting and melting probably when i really should be packing. now i am posting when i definitely should be packing! here is my most recent collage of a very special girl named zoe. the wax is still settling but i am quite pleased.

20x24 beeswax collage panel
paper, paint, lace, dollhouse pieces and lots of little milagros that i collected on my last trip to mexico. am excited to find new treasures and inspiration this week. to see more photos from my session with zoe go here. and i love this square of the two of us. to see more on my collages please visit my website.

last night i read a few paragraphs that really resonated with me and i thought i would share. i was enjoying my new book titled " a certain alchemy" photographs by keith Carter. his wife patricia wrote the afterword and since i always look at art books backwards this is where i began.

"i don't know what constitutes a creative life for other people. one night in mexico we were at dinner with a diverse group of friends-there was a chef, a writer, a musician, a scientist and a couple photographers. the talk, fueled by good food and ample wine, was about the creative process-how to catch that spark that ignites the imagination. each person had a different take, but the musician capped the conversation when she said "i think you just get run over by a sugar truck".

"earlier i had had a conversation with our scientist friend, who spends his days doing research which has the potential to benefit us all. he is married to a photographer, and was talking about the difference between his work and hers. he said his own work would get done, with or without him.. "what I am looking for is there to be discovered, and if i don't find it, one of my colleagues will." "but an artist," he said, "if an artist doesn't do their work, then that work never gets done."

-patricia carter

i  must have read that five times last night before turning the bedside table light off with my waxy fingertips. feeling content knowing i had done my work. so the rest of you, please go make your art because no one can do it for you. we are off tomorrow with lots of work to do in mexico.

adios!

Avi's Collage

 
6x6 mixed media beeswax collage.

The Seattle Wedding Show

i traded in my flip flops for fuzzy slippers, my sun dress for a messy apron. my sun kissed face for sticky fingers. i went from staring out at a turquoise sea to staring at piles of pretty patterned paper. the funny thing is.... i am not sure which is better. as much as i love vacation, i really love working in my crazy art room. working is the wrong word because making art can never be work to me. pulling weeds is work. washing dishes is work. color correcting hundreds of photos of yarn and candles, work. teaching 33 students a lesson on depth of field, work! but picking a favorite photo and turning in it into something new by adding paper, flowers, paint, beeswax and jewels. this is so far from work.

 

this weekend was the seattle wedding show and i was fortunate enough to be asked to display my mixed media work as we patiently wait on the 7 year waiting list for photographers. am not going to lie, i was so nervous to display this work. i just wasn't sure how people would respond. these are still new to me and i am slowly building confidence with a medium outside of photography. luckily this weekend was really wonderful! everyone who stopped by the booth was so kind, so excited and so extremely encouraging. all my fears and insecurities quickly released their hold on me.

i must  thank my husband jon for all of his help. he gives me pep talks when i need them most. he is always there to help me. he loads the car and is a speed demon during the booth set-up. he tears it all down and unloads it all when we get home. he always gives me an honest straight forward opinion on colors, photos, paper, and jewels. must give credit where credit is due. the beautiful mannequin collage on display is all jon. i gave my input on a few things but he ran with it the minute i asked for help. a man who can collage like that has my heart forever.

to learn more on our mixed media work go here!

They Love Sloths

just completed this new piece. above collage is on a 20x20 wood panel sealed with beeswax. bits and pieces include, fabric, sewing patterns, napkins, wallpaper, origami paper, antique chandelier crystals, and a sloth from a vintage children's book.

had to find a sloth to add to this collage for these two cuties! since they love them so! love that nanci drew a heart with two sloths for their wedding invitation. the adorable illustration became the theme of the wedding and appeared on the little treats for guests and place cards for tables.

 above is nanci's wedding illustration, "sloth love".... isn't it cute?

 

Something New

a little paint, layers of paper and ephemera, a lot of beeswax and a perfectly imperfect photograph that inspired it all.

above image shot with another homemade lens created by that clever jon. i named this one dirty harry.

Sweet and Pink

took a much needed computer break and enjoyed sticky fingers for a bit. finally finished this little collage i started months ago. just in time to display at the wedding show this weekend. i love taking special photos to a different place with my collage work. the images become dreamy as i add layers of texture and color. am looking forward to dark winter days, passing the slow time in my art room. sipping tea and making a fabulous mess. nothing like the smell of warm beeswax to warm a winter day.

above panel is 6"x6" and 1.5" deep. materials: photograph, textured paper, paint, vintage lace, a tiny button, plaster birds, jewels, resin and beeswax. all from my collection of favorite little things. to see a few more read this and that. oh, and this is my very favorite one!

Sweet Sarah Collage

It's been a busy week, running around getting ready to do wedding shows the next couple weekends. This has helped motivate me to finish several mixed media pieces to display. It's been fun making a mess in my art room...beeswax is everywhere! I stayed up much to early (4am) last night working on the large green collage below. It is now hanging in the center of my booth as the star of the show. I also finished a sweet pink collage of my client Sarah smiling away on her wedding day. I featured this photo in an earlier post. Her smile is so warm and genuine! I didn't even have to crack corny jokes to get her to smile (such as..."say fuzzy pickles"). I am not kidding, a photographer in Iowa at my Grandpa's Birthday party kept telling us to yell "Fuzzy Pickles" while she took our group photos (it was very weird). The point being Sarah didn't need any tricks to look amazing. She was smiling so BIG all day, happy as can be! This photo really captures her sweet spirit, and I really wanted to take it a step further by creating a collage with it. The only gift I wanted for the Christmas was some time to myself to cut, glue and paint a little. So as Christmas came to an end, I sneaked away to my art room and started this piece of Sarah....


wood panel canvas, printed paper, fabric, jewels, photograph and beeswax.

Collaging like crazy

Tonight Jon and I stayed home and I sweet talked him into helping me with my giant collage for the wedding show. After 6 months of the old painting leaning against my wall,today it became something new! I am pretty excited about how all the pieces are coming together. I am also super grateful for Jon's encouragement and help with this project. For some reason the word collaging is looking weird to me. I had to look it up to make sure it was a word. Webster says it is, spell check wants to change it.

col·lage (k-läzh, k-)

a. An artistic composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface, often with unifying lines and color.

b. A work, such as a literary piece, composed of both borrowed and original material.

2. The art of creating such compositions.

3. An assemblage of diverse elements: a collage of conflicting memories.

v.  col·laged, col·lag·ing, col·lages

v.tr.

To paste (diverse materials) over a surface, thereby creating an artistic product.

v.intr.

To create such an artistic product.