Summer of Color 2013 Purple Lime

I'm just squeaking in with an entry into Kristin's wonderful Summer of Color challenge for week 3:  Lime and Purple!

I think it's very easy to get discouraged with all of the poverty and cruelty we see in the world.  After all, that's all we read about or see in the news.  But when I was in Guatemala with From Houses to Homes, I was struck by how many people are there to help.  There are so many opportunities to do service in the world - and so many people participating in those opportunities.  Seeing all that around me made me feel blessed to be a human being - to have free will - and to be able to choose to give back and help out.

We truly have magic inside of us, if we choose to tap into it.  Magic to transform ourselves and the world around us.  That is the subject of the quote this month at Color This Quote at Artists in Blogland:

Happy July!  Are you flying a flag of independence and freedom this week?  If so, what does it look like?  I decided to fly a flag of equality, and created this piece, which you can read about here.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Flying the Equality Flag

Happy Independence Day to all my USA friends.   There was a great program on National Public Radio recently about the different ways people celebrate July 4th.  For some, it memorializes independence from Britain, for others it is independence from slavery, or obtaining citizenship, or being granted asylum.

I decided to memorialize this July 4th with a flag celebrating the recent US Supreme Court decision striking down key provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA.  This flag was inspired by the amazing Sue Pelletier.

I made the flag using prints made with my Gelli Plate.  I collaged them in blue, off white and red on a 9 x 12 canvas board.  I dragged molding paste through my Starry Night stencil from Stencil Girl in the blue box.  I embellished the red and off-white stripes with corrugated cardboard, and the dots and dashes stencil.  I wrote the words using my super skinny brush and black fluid acrylic paints.  Gelli Arts is having a giveaway of their 12 x 14 gelli plate on their Facebook page. All you have to do is post your artwork with stars and stripes by July 4th!   And of course, this flag is going to make an appearance at Simon Says Stamp and Show "Stripes"challenge, and  Carolyn Dube's Colorful Gelli Party!

While making this flag, I got kind of "Red White and Blue" happy, and also made this design for the City Crafter Cottage Quilt Challenge.  I painted the elements using watercolors and gouache, and repeated and assembled them digitally.

and another design for the Simon Says Stamp and Show "Stripes" challenge!  With this piece, I painted the dog and cat, hill, house, trees and background, separately, and then collaged them in photoshop, where I also manipulated the images digitally.

Whatever freedom and independence you are embracing, have a wonderful July 4th!  Linking also to Inspire Me Monday, Make It Monday, Be Inspired and Be an Inspiration, Glue It On Tuesday, and Creative Every Day.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Grounding Down to Extend Up

Remember the bits and pieces that I made using the Dots and Dashes stencil and my Gelli Plate in this post?







I used the leaves, flowers and circles in my art journal, to embellish a tree stamped on tissue paper using a Donna Downey stamp; you can watch the process in this video.

This page came about when I found the word "grow" as I was cleaning up my studio today.  I had written, but not used, the word for a prior project.  (Sometimes it IS good to clean!)

In yoga, we always say that step one is to get grounded.  Spread your roots, whether they be your feet in a standing pose, your hands and feet in downward dog, or your hands in handstand!

You can't extend up and grow if you're not connected to the earth beneath you.  Think about the most majestic, stately tree.  If its roots aren't firmly in the earth below, it will topple.

I know my yoga practice is so important to keeping me grounded.  As is our service work in Guatemala.

What keeps you grounded?

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here.   I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

And the winner of the giveaway from the Jump for Joy Stencil test drive is

texasbarb who wrote:  Love the projects!! Thank you so much for making the videos!! I'm a visual learner and it really helps me to see how a project comes together. LOVE the jump for joy stencils...such happy, happy girlies...I need that in my life!!  Congratulations and I hope you enjoy the stencil!

Linking to Paint Party Friday, a Colorful Gelli Print Party (coming July 1) and Art Journal Everyday!

Last Notes from Guatemala

The first two times we visited Guatemala, we built houses for two families with From Houses to Homes.  Each time we come, we visit them, and it is always a joyous reunion.

Our family in San Antonio des Aguas Calientes has 7 children.  The oldest daughter, Blanca, "finally" got married and had a baby at the "ripe old age" of 20.  The baby, Cristian, is the delight of all of his aunts, one of whom is only 2 years older than he is.  We are lucky to get to share in their daily lives, doing things like watching them cook, and helping to shuck corn to be sold at the market.

Our family in Santa Maria de Jesus also has a new baby, Fernando, who delighted in the pleasure crawling around, chasing after a ball we brought him.  Samy and the older children were able to play despite not sharing a language.  And... the "cup song" made it to the highlands!

Flor, the mom, wove beautiful tapestries for us to take home.  These take many weeks to complete, so we are most grateful. 

When we arrive in these villages, it is cause for a lot of staring... People, particularly children, come out of their dwelling areas to gawk at the "gringos!"

Saying goodbye is never easy.  So we say, hasta la próxima vez, which in our case means in February.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can. 

For my most recent art posts, click here!

The corn was really as high as an elephant's eye!

Home Sweet hOMe

I interrupt my Guatemala posting because today, I am thrilled to be a guest designer on Ronda Palazzari's blog today.

Ronda designs gorgeous stencils for The Crafters Workshop, yet she graciously invited me to use stencils I design for Stencil Girl Products in my post.

I was initially stuck choosing what to make.  To get out of my head, I got out my gelli plate and some stencils and just started making prints.   There's a good correlation between "just doing" and "stop thinking!"

One of the prints spoke to me; I had the idea to fold it into the shape of a house...

I've posted before about Codie - the young man who came to live with us in 2009 after his mom died of complications from breast cancer.  During the past 3 1/2 years, Codie enrolled in college, fell in love, got married, and had a baby.

He recently found an apartment nearby and the family moved into it a few weeks ago.  This card, embellished with images from my Doors & Windows stencil from Stencil Girl, has words for all of the things I hope their new home will hold for them.

Here's a video of me making it...

I hope you'll visit Ronda's blog for specific step by step instructions and lots more photos! In the video on Ronda's blog, I also use a gorgeous stencil made by Terri Stegmiller called Broken Circles.  I just love it!

Remember that Color This Quote is still open for a few more days at Artists in Blogland!  The quote is "May there be peace and prosperity within these walls." Psalms 122.7.  The topic at Art Journal Journeys this month is Home!  So maybe you will be inspired to create a house card, and enter it into these challenges before the end of the month!

Linking to Anything But a Card (getting messy),  Mandarin Orange Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Make It Monday, Be Inspired and Be an Inspiration, Art Journal Journeys (Home) and Creative Every Day.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

More Notes from Guatemala

We had a wonderful visit to Escuela Kimna'oj, the school that From Houses to Homes built with donations and love.   Here's what it looked like in February when it was still under construction:

Now it is filled with children learning, playing, and having two hot meals each day:

Samy helping with "concentration."

Samy was excited to see the children in her "sister school" class:

And was particularly happy to see her "sister," Ingrid.

The children love playing in their interior recess courtyard with its beautiful mural donated and painted by a Guatemalan artist.  It celebrates the traditional life lived in this Mayan community.

From the roof, there is a panoramic view of the village...

And a glimpse into other people's lives...

Which is a poignant reminder to be grateful for our many faucets and the water that comes out of them so readily -- and hot to boot! 

I hope you enjoy this glimpse into our trip to Guatemala.  (To read my prior post about this trip, please click here.  To read all my posts about our work in Guatemala, click here.)  Tomorrow we visit our three families, and I hope to have more to share.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Notes from Guatemala

On our first day here, it was wonderful to reunite with some of our friends at From Houses to Homes.   This wonderful organization is currently building it's 658th home, replacing shacks (made out of cornstalk and lined with plastic garbage bags) with sturdy cinderblock homes. 

On Wednesday, we walked around Antigua, soaking in the sights and sounds of this lovely city, full of color and texture.

It's a little like the wild west here, with children riding around on motor bikes and scooters without helmets -- sometimes 3 at a time...

Even the corrrugated tin used to board up damaged buildings is beautiful!

In the Parque Central, there are lots of opportunities for people watching and picture taking.  (Even the youngest child will ask you for $1 to take a photo, as the women and children who spend their days vending in the park are very poor.)

Children walk around unsupervised in a way completely unknown to us in the United States.  Like this group we met up with.  Both the older boy and older girl had babies on their backs, and were seemingly on their own.

Yesterday we spent the morning at Cambiando Vidas, a school that From Houses to Homes helped build.  It was so wonderful to see children, who would not have had the opportunity to attend school, so excited about learning.  They use the Montessori method, and are in need of Montessori type supplies.  So if you have a connection, please contact them!

I'll be back tomorrow with some videos and photos from today's trip to Escuela Kima'oj!

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

Jump for Joy Stencil Test Drive

Hola from Guatemala, where I am here doing a week of service in a community I love dearly!

It's time for another Stencil Test Drive, this time featuring the Jump for Joy Stencil from Stencil Girl, and the creativity of: 

Carolyn Dube

Maria McGuire

and Michelle LaPoint Rydell

I have 3 projects, two videos and a giveaway to share with you!

This stencil was inspired by my daughter Samy -- a joyous exuberant being.  

I have been playing a lot with this versatile stencil.  I love the images of the girls, as well as the exclamation points (which make a great border), and the words.  I used all of the elements of the stencil to make this page for Samy, to commemorate the end of 6th Grade:

The images on this stencil are so girl-positive.  I made two canvases, using two of the three figures:

 and:

I covered both canvases with vintage sheet music and old encyclopedia pages.   I used a gelli plate tape transfer technique to make this girl:

I heat embossed two hearts to use as embellishments.  Remember them from this post? 

You might also recognize the Dots and Dashes stencil, and one of the windows from the Windows & Doors stencil,

and even some leaves from my Cascading Leaves stencil!  Stencils are definitely my go-to supply for creating texture and interest.

Remember that your stencils can be used in their entirety, or you can use elements of them.  You are the boss of your stencils!

Here's a short video of me working on "Shine Your Light."   

and a short video of me working on "Rejoice."

I can't wait to see what Carolyn Dube, Maria McGuire, and Michelle LaPoint Rydell did!

GIVEAWAY!  Comment by Sunday night and be eligible to win the Jump for Joy stencil!  Just leave your email address in your comment so I know you're interested, and how to get in touch with you.  (If you follow my blog, let me know for an extra chance to win!)

Linking to Paint Party Friday, where there are always so many wonderful artists gathered. 

PS - look for me on June 24 on Ronda Palazzari's blog, where I'll be guest posting!  I have a cool and easy project to show you -- I can't wait!