Tag: Artist

A Love of Bookmaking

I started creating accordion books, gift bag books, cards and lots of other fun creations in the last couple of years. All of which got me hooked on book making. There is just something so satisfying about it!

Gift bag card/books for my friends

Then came the idea to make an
accordion book for each of my grandchildren after watching YouTube tutorials from Treasure Books with Natasha! She is amazing by the way! You can find her here…https://youtube.com/@TreasureBooks

I already had become hooked on all the gorgeous scrapbook papers available so I had a plan…This one was for one of my grandsons.

Then came the idea to make a magical
accordion book for each of these three lovely granddaughters with an image to go along with it for their wall using some fabulous scrapbook papers.

And then for my youngest little sweetheart of a granddaughter

Yep, this was the beginning of my love of bookmaking.

Check out my next post to see where this has lead me…

See you next time!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

ART35N Summer Exhibit at Coconino Community College

I am participating in the Exhibit at CCC. Feels good to get back out there again!

Art35N is happy to have been asked to exhibit in the CCC Lobby this summer! Stop by between the hours of 9-5 to view the exhibit.

July First Friday Artwalk!

Come visit some of our artists at the July 1st Friday Artwork in Flagstaff, AZ on July 1st, at the Phoenix Avenue Gallery located at 2 S. Beaver Street Suite 125 (Entrance on Phoenix Avenue).

WIP…Oil & Cold Wax

8”x 8”Oil & Cold Wax on wood.

I love the serenity of this color palette…

I do so love working in this medium. It has the ability to transport me from the sharp planes of reality into an ethereal dream world full of peace and tranquility.

Take care, Kathy Ann

Love Oil & Cold Wax! 10×10’s process for CCA’s 10×10 Exhibit

I like to play with the acrylic layer under my oil & cold wax paintings…I know they’re going to disappear under the many layers to come, but its a good way to try out ideas for future paintings and they provide great color to scrape back to!

I just love the intuitive process in this medium. One of the things I love the most is also the thing that can frustrate me the most!

I love adding paint, moving it around never really knowing exactly how it’s all going to come together….just working, watching and seeing what arrives. The frustration can arrive when I arrive at something wonderful that doesn’t quite work with the rest of the painting….I try to make it work, but very often I lose the lovely, arrive to not at all lovely🥴, and BAM! Cover it up and start again!

The many personalities of ‘SOAR’

10×10 Oil & Cold Wax on Cradled Wood

The good news is it almost always turns out even better. I have learned to embrace the process and go with the flow. The creative process flows wild & free in this wonderful medium!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

It Takes a Whole Lot of Organizing to be a Creative These Days!

It Takes a Whole Lot of Organizing to be a Creative These Days!

I’ve had my Silhouette since April. Completed a good number of projects for family. But I’ve only just today labeled the storage cabinet drawers I bought months ago to help keep myself organized.

So up until now, every time I started a project, there I was rummaging through drawers looking for scraps. I had purchased hanging folder type thingies for my Vinyl and HTV, but odds & ends were stuffed quickly and haphazardly into drawers.

Heavens Above! WHY does it take me so long to get organized? Life is better organized. I get more done organized. I can find what I need 1,2,3 when I am organized!

But as a mixed media artist there is SO MUCH to organize! Acrylic paint, oil paint, cold wax, matte medium, glossy medium, alcohol inks, solvents, pencils, graphite, charcoal, stubbies, brushes, markers, watercolors, pastels, oil pastels, papers, collage papers, paper cutter, napkins, canvas, cradled wood, wood slabs, tiles, fixatives, do-dads, embellishments, old jewelry pieces, ribbons, silk flowers, dried flowers, glues, glue guns, adhesives, mats, frames, a little of this, a little of that, Silhouette Cameo cutting machine, vinyl, HTV, cutting boards, rulers, scissors, fabric, sewing machines, thread, art journals, spiritual journals, handmade journals, HOLY MOLY! It’s a veritable treasure cache of creative material…oozing and overflowing every inch of my space. Not to mention easels, drawing tables, work tables, display panels, hardware, computer desk, super duper bright lights and overhead lighting. Along with all the magical machines, cameras, laptops and ipads…

Then there is the whole world of the internet to organize as well. WordPress, FaceBook, Instagram, Webpage, Design, Marketing, Selling, Bookkeeping, Classes, Tutorials, Professional Groups, Art Groups…Whew!

Yes indeed! It takes a whole lot of organizing to be a creative these days!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Evening Drive in the Woods

Creative spirits have discovered the wonderful gift of time to create.

Evening Drive in the Woods
Watercolor in my art Journal
approximately 5″ x 7 “

Coronavirus…Interesting times for us. Lots of uncertainty, fear of the unknown, fear of the known.
One thing I think many of us have discovered is the gift of time. Time to dream. Time to pray. Time to sit quietly. Time to reflect. Time to value and give thanks for all the good things in our lives; our family, our friends, our health, our homes, our freedom.

Creative spirits are loving the wonderful gift of time to create. To explore our creative potential. To play. Maybe to start an art journal or learn a new medium. Perhaps to practice. To perfect a technique. To bask in the glory of creation. To acknowledge that we have been blessed with the gift of being able to create with the greatest Creator of All!

It’s has also apparently opened the door to dreaming about an evening drive in the woods!

Take care of yourselves!
Kathy Ann

Rise Up!

Rise Up!
An Intuitive piece
Oil and Cold Wax on Cradled Wood Panel 10″ x 10″

Oil and Cold Wax. There is just something about it. It draws me in. It constantly surprises me. I’m never quite sure where it will end up, and I love that! 

This was an amazing piece to create. First I added gesso to the wood surface, then added a layer of blue and teal acrylic so that when I scraped it back, it wouldn’t be just to a white surface. When working in this medium I work 100% intuitively. I just immerse myself in the glory of the color palette and play with the all that scrumptious, creamy paint. What a wondrous texture! The thing I love about the process of painting with oil and cold wax is the fact that I could never ever create the same piece twice!

 

 

 

 

My First Gallery Show & Tour…Learning the process of an installation.

ART35N’s A New Latitude Exhibition & Tour…My first ever installation! A wonderful learning experience…

The finished installation – Beautiful!

Ahhhh, Summer…How I’ve Missed You!

Ahhhh…Summer! How I’ve missed you!

So good to have warmer weather and flowers blooming!

Back on my porch swing, listening to bluegrass music, the honeysuckle is coming back, the birds have returned to their houses & nests…..life is good!

Went into Flag for the new Urban Flea & Artisan Market this morning. Talked with some lovely, friendly vendors…weather was impeccable…Love this town!

The roses are going bonkers !   Love it!🌺💗🌺

Spent these last weekdays weeding, planting and tending to the front flower garden…ah yes, this makes me happy…The front is basically a shade garden… which is such a beautiful wonder when you step under the canopy of  aspen leaves…damp, wet, smelling of fertile soil…it’s like a different world from the hot, dry weather of June! It’s heaven!

Here is my latest( and current favorite) inspired by the springtime winds…acrylic, watercolor and Stabilo.

I joined a relatively new local art cooperative a while back…Art35N…as a supporting member, hopefully one day to become an exhibiting member…and also started volunteering with the Flagstaff Arts Council.

These two entities converged this past Thursday at Coconono Center for the Arts for the first ever Art35N Gallery opening titled The New Latitude(referencing  Flagstaff’s location on the map).

I found myself manning (or as someone pointed out to me…”womaning” the bar with another volunteer. Great fun!

It seemed to me the event was a great success and enjoyable for all who attended. We have some phenomenol artists in the group and I am honored to be a part of it.


So, here I am enjoying the promise of summer…sitting on my swing, burgers on the grill, and these two…

…playing in the sunshine by the vegetable garden.

Life really  is a Wonderous Adventure❤️

Take care, 

Kathy

Oh My Gosh…

“…the curious jumping around of a creative mind”

Oh my gosh…Once again I have been neglecting my little blog. No excuses, other than the fact that apparently I am consistently inconsistent. Not a quality that I am particularly proud of, but I am hoping goes along with the curious jumping around of a creative mind! That and a supreme lack of creative discipline!

I tend to follow my crazy thoughts and ideas here there and everywhere…picking up something new, following that around, while forgetting (not really forgetting…more like ignoring) those other things that caught my fancy.

And then there’s real life in there too…family & friends, busy days, lazy days & days in between, days spent traveling, days spent celebrating family milestones…

Oh my gosh…days spent Living!

There’s ups & downs…insecurities, doubt and wondering why I am writing a blog at all…Is it my own personal online journal? Well that’s pretty self-involved isn’t it?!

Okaaaaaayyyyyy…Well here’s what I know.

I am not writing to pour my heart out or make a big, beautiful statement about life.

I am not writing to impress anyone.

I am not writing to purge my soul.

I am certainly not looking for fame or fortune (I am sure there are better ways to go about that!).

I am writing just because I want to.

I like to.

I enjoy sharing my little piece of the world, as sporadic as it may be.

It is not my main objective.

It is not my job. It is not my end all, be all.

I do not need it to feel complete.

I just like doing it…

That’s  it… pure & simple.

Take care,

Kathy Ann

Can you believe this sunset?!

If I had painted it, no one would believe that straight line between dark & light really existed. Makes you wonder…perhaps that line in real life is more obvious than some in this world would have us believe…
Beautiful, at any rate.

She wore ‘Flowers in her Hair’

There have been many, many discussions in the workshop I am currently taking, about copyrights as they apply to collage artists, and I must admit, it made me so very nervous about using collage as a background. Legal stuff…

My latest on a collage has gone through many revisions. Not my flower girl herself, but the collage background.

There have been many, many discussions in the workshop I am currently taking, about copyrights as they apply to collage artists, and I must admit, it made me so very nervous about using collage as a background. Legal stuff…

So, although I absolutely loved my original…I was not comfortable about some of the collage elements and the whole copyright thing…there was even mention of not being able to use scrap booking papers, ephemera, stamps, etc. if you are planning to sell your work…aargh!

I was really bummed, cause I really thought collage might be my “niche”…ah well…Apparently it’s ok to use items like ephemera, letters, music, etc., from before 1922. Will have to research further…

At any rate…here she is for now!

Take care,

Kathy Ann

 

A little bit about me…

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I am a crafter, wanna-artist, and amateur photographer that started a “Just for Fun” facebook page this year with portraits and landscapes – which helped me to actually feel like a “real” photographer! I also like to journal, draw, paint, do various crafts & projects and love all things creative. I work as an administrative assistant – which is not so very creative, so I love the time I get to devote to creative endeavours!

My husband is a retired postal worker and a creative woodworker. I started an Etsy shop for his beautiful hand-turned on a lathe candle holders and my various & sundry creations. But mostly we sell at local craft fairs.

I am not young, but I do not yet consider myself old…I have been and continue to be many things in my life:
I have been a bank teller, a postal worker, a stay at home mom (only for about 4 yrs), a drugstore cashier/ad room associate, a department store photographer, an instructional assistant in Kindergarten(that one was for 10 yrs) a floral designer, owned my own dried-floral design business, a manufacturing associate, a receptionist and now an administrative assistant working in recruiting. Whew!

I  have four fabulous children and four incredible grandchildren…

Lovin Life, as Always!

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