Art Journal Page 2

The Language Of Disease Is Pain

I found this phrase in an ad from the 1870's. I can totally relate to this and I know many of you can as well, so it inspired me to create another journal page.

Made of old cardboard, antique papers, tissue paper, paint, ink, stamp, modpodge, vintage torn lace, magazine scraps and scrap book paper.

I don't follow any sort of rules or learned techniques while creating these pages and I use whatever I have on hand in my studio which is a hodge podge of junk that I've accumulated over the years.

These pages are a meditative type of thing where I just get lost in what I'm doing.

It's more feeling than thinking which is what I need. I have a tendency to over think everything and this is a way of letting that go.

A temporary distraction.

Hope your day is painless!

Karen

Queen Of Broken Bling

Queen of Broken Bling or maybe the Crusty Queen.

Love her face! It's clay and I purchased it years ago from a shop on Etsy, but it's been so long ago that I don't remember the shop or the artist. I had deleted the account that I was using, so I have no way of looking it up. So sorry…..I'd like to give credit to the artist.

Her body is a rusty old funnel covered in bits of news paper from the 1920's and modpodge.

She's adorned with tattered old lace, broken bits of costume jewelry and vintage buttons.

You can see that a lot of the rhinestones are missing thus the name "Broken Bling".

Oh, almost forgot…

Her crown is an old glass drawer pull.

Even broken can be beautiful.

Have a beautiful day!

Karen

Mixed Media Hearts

Tin hearts, paper, modpodge, glue, bits of vintage hats, ink, vintage jewelry parts, ribbon, twine, lace,stamps, words, charms, cheese cloth, tea bags.

Tin hearts.
Have a lovely day!
Karen

Journal Page 1

I have absolutely no idea what I am doing here.

This is the beginning of what I'm calling…Journal Page 1.

I think it needs more layers.

 And some ink washed over the lighter parts.

 
I'll post photos again when I feel like it's finished.

Good wishes to you!

Karen

Textile Coins

I've had a love of textiles for as long as I can remember.  I started hand stitching when I was 6 years old, making primitive clothes for my dolls with left over scraps from my mother's sewing projects and before that playing with baskets full of rag balls that my grandmother used to weave her rugs. By the age of 12, I was making my own clothes, and still do from time to time. Currently my interest in textiles is for vintage and antique cloth. Old clothing that I dismantle for the fabric, vintage household linens and antique flour and grain sacks. Giving them a new purpose makes me happy.

Textile Coin Necklace

To make this necklace I traced a thread spool onto an antique grain sack and cut out circles.

I stitched the circles into lots of little yo-yos.

Each coin was made by placing two yo-yos together with the stitched sides facing, using a blanket stitch to assemble them.

The coins were then strung together onto some heavy cotton thread with a knot between each one.

Not very sparkly, but it's my kinda bling.

Karen

Hanging On By A Thread

Six years ago I went through some major health issues and spent the better part of a year traveling back and forth to Cleveland Clinic. I had a tumor and a section of my left lung removed. While all this was going on, I was also diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto's Thyroid Disease. They did a biopsy of my thyroid and was told that there was no cancer, so I didn't think much about it as the lung issue was priority at that time. Other than taking a pill each day to replace the hormones that my thyroid wasn't producing any more, it didn't seem like a big deal. Boy was I wrong! As time went on I developed more and more symptoms related to the Hashi's. Most days I can barely get out of bed. I live with constant pain and exhaustion, brain fog and head aches,weight gain and skin that looks like I'm 90 years old. I feel as though I am "hanging on by a thread".

Since I don't go out much these days and I have no energy, I spend a lot of time scrolling through Pinterest. I search for inspiration and hope each day that I have enough energy to be creative in some small way. The following are some photos of my latest attempt at creativity.

Hanging On By A Thread

Necklace made of gray linen thread crocheted over a string of colorful wool beads.

The thread (Wolverine 20/2) is from Belgium.

The beads I hand felted a few years ago during a visit by my friend Odile Gova or  Woolly Fabulous, as she goes by in the art world.

I'm very pleased with the end result and so excited that my spark for creating is returning little by little.

I hope to share more of my creative journey with you as I adapt to living with Hashi's.

Thanks for listening and best wishes as you battle your own struggles in life.

Keep hanging on!

Love

Karen

Roses and a Rooster

Purchased a sweet little piece of art today.
Done by "Craig Peterson", of Indiana, PA.

You can find him HERE.
He uses coffee, paint and ink to create his "Coffee Art".

Treated myself to a sprig of tiny roses in the colors of the season as well.

Took time out for some delicious salted carmel coffee with a friend.
She brought me this amazing clay pumpkin yesterday.
Just love it!

It was a lovely day and a great way to end the week.

Hope you all had a great day too.

Karen

Simple Jute Cone

I had a request for one of my cones.

Karen

Stinging Nettle Fiber

Who knew that this amazing organic fiber could be made from the Stinging Nettle plant.

 It's a bit difficult to crochet with as it's not as smooth as most other fibers and has no stretch to it, but it has a great rustic look and becomes softer the more it is handled. I am pairing it up with these lovely chunks of quartz to make a wearable earthy art piece.

 On my work table.

It's my current work in progress.

karen

It Is What It Is

I've decided that I'm not really interested in the acceptable standards of spinning and other fiber arts.

I love what I'm doing and how it makes me feel, so I don't really care if it's right or wrong.

It just is and I love it.

 When I first started spinning I fought the spinning wheel in an effort to make "perfect yarn".

The more I spin, the less I fight it, and now have developed a flow that keeps me in a state of ZEN.

 This little basket or "hat for Jack", is a combo of spun wool and textile strips.

I managed to get a balanced twist, but the overall look is a bit uneven.

Jack hates the camera, so his photo is blurred since he was on his way out of the room as I took it.

 A quick peek at my finished scarf that I was knitting.

It's actually prettier in person.

The color combination and texture of the fiber is quite lovely.

I'm off to card some wool.

Have a great day!

karen

Textile Bracelet Tutorial

Just a quick how to:

You will need some...

memory wire

wire cutters

round nose pliers

scissors

fabric strips or ribbon (1/2 to 3/4 in. wide and 1 yd. long)

glue

embellishments

 Cut a piece of memory wire 2 inches more than the circumference of your wrist.

Using the round nose pliers, curl a loop onto each end of the wire.

 Place a dab of glue next to one of the loops and anchor the end of your ribbon.

Wrap wire tightly, overlapping as you go.

When you reach the other loop add another dab of glue and anchor your ribbon at this end too.

Wrap again in the opposite direction.

 When you reach the end or beginning, depending how you look at it...anchor with one final dab of glue. Trim off any excess ribbon. They should look like this.

You can either leave them like this

or add whatever  you like. I embellished mine with beads and wire.

 I apply a jump ring to each of the end loops to keep the charms and beads from sliding off.

Here are some made with torn strips of cotton textiles.

You can see I over wrapped some with flax, hemp, ribbon and wire.

Here you can see the jump rings and some beaded wire wrapping.

Another set with just bright copper wire wrapping and some simple silver beads.

If anyone decides to make some of these I would love to see them.

I think the possibilities are endless.

karen