Greta's Craftiness

Wedding Bells!

2010-01-05T22:08:00.002-05:00

I am going to be a May bride! And, to dispel any rumors, I am not making my wedding dress, and I am not making 200 little favors the day before the wedding. I am making the guest book, and family is doing the flowers. But I decided still loving my fiance and marriage are more important then a handmade wedding. Also, my mother is doing more of the planning then I am. For which I am supremely grateful. I get to find pictures of things I like, brainstorm on how it would work, then let her take over until the final say. I am probably not even addressing an invitation myself. That's what honor attendants and families are for. I still have a semester or two of college to finish. (And no, I've not turned into a bride-zilla)

Food and Coraline

2009-08-15T22:44:00.003-05:00

I watched Coraline after making a really good Greek pizza and fruit salad. The star of the fruit salad was the dressing: I added thyme to the standard honey and citrus juice dressing. It was really good! Usually I stick with dessert spices to pair with fruit, but its fun to branch out and try different approaches, too.

The Greek pizza was a bit rich: I could definately cut back on all the toppings, especially the feta cheese. After making the crust, I topped it with a standard white sauce with feta cheese melted in, more feta crumbled ontop, sliced olives, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts, and pan-seared flank steak. Instead of merely cooking it in (olive) oil, I added red wine vinegar and lime juice. Katherine had a hard time putting it on the pizza and not eating it all herself.

Coraline was a fun movie. Creepy without being super scary. I loved the artistry of it: especially the interesting angles and the garden the "other father" made for her. Oh! and the last bit when she's winning the game (the broken snow globe). I can't say more for those who've seen the movie already...

100th post!

2009-07-23T21:21:00.001-05:00

The beauty of the female is the root of joy to the female as well as to the male, and it is no accident that the goddess of love is older and stronger then the god. To desire the desiring of her own beauty is the vanity of Lilith, but to desire the enjoying of her beauty is the obedience of Eve, and to both it is in the lover that the beloved tastes her own delightfulness. ~ C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength

In foundry next semester (in a few weeks!) I am going to be doing a piece based on that. Of course, I can't say much about it, or show it off when I am done, because it will be a wedding present to my future husband :D

I am already thinking about what my concept in regards to that piece, and I am excited!

Clothing Reconstruction

2009-06-10T10:13:00.003-05:00

Two skirts that will get redone. The first is a thrifted linen skirt that will turn into an apron

The gray skirt was made from thrifted fabric, but its boring, and not fun to wear. So, I plan to add some embelishments.

Baby Gift

2009-06-10T09:59:00.003-05:00

I am making a baby gift for a welcome baby due in December. But not knowing yet if the baby will be a boy or a girl, I decided to knit the blanket in green. But knitting blankets are boring

so I am knitting something else. With multiple parts, it would seem this project is more difficult: but it keeps my attention longer, and seems to finish faster.

My New Aprons

2009-06-06T19:57:00.002-05:00

Life Happened

2009-05-25T19:38:00.002-05:00

So I was going to post pictures of my two new aprons, but the spagetti sauce burned and my internet failed as the pictures were uploading.

Spring Ceramics Project

2009-05-10T10:41:00.000-05:00

Etsy

2009-04-04T20:42:00.003-05:00

And the shop is up! I only have two things in it, but more will be added as I find things I am willing to part with. Check it out at Artsybunny.etsy.com

More Pictures of Daniel and I

2009-02-04T18:30:00.002-05:00

A photography friend took these. He captures us so perfectly! Look at the joy on Daniel's face!

Taken from www.josephbarbier.com/blog

check out www.josephbarbier.com for his protfolio, or to hire him (you really should!)

Printmaking Idea

2009-01-26T22:33:00.001-05:00

The Queen is IN!

2009-01-06T11:31:00.001-05:00

E-Patterns!

2008-11-05T22:56:00.003-05:00

Sense and Sensibility patterns are now offering e-patterns!
http://www.sensibility.com/pattern/main/?page_id=50

They have a lot of pretty historical dresses, and I always want one of each. Put now it is so much easier and cheaper to get the perfect pattern! I have made two dresses from the Regency dress pattern: very easy!

Room Decorating

2008-11-03T15:00:00.002-05:00

This weekend I celebrated Halloween by helping Katherine (Daniel's sister) repaint her room. After we got it all painted, I helped her decide how to reposition the furniture. I drew a bunch of floor plans while eyeballing the size of the various furniture.

We ended up putting the bed diagonally in the corner across from the windows, with her big comfy chair right by the window. The chair's color no longer fit with the new decor, so we casually draped a new fuzzy blanket across it with a big fluffy pillow enthroned. I didn't want to leave.

Grosgrain: Marie-Thérèse Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-10-28T11:14:00.000-05:00

This woman is incredibly talented! The contest is over, so I have no hope of winning, but I wanted to link anyway so we could all drool. I want a dress like that for myself! And the photos? Why can't there be an incredible house like that near me?

Grosgrain: Marie-Thérèse Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!

Odd Project

2008-10-26T20:52:00.002-05:00

A customer came into work the other day, asking if we carried glass mugs that could be frosted. After some dialogue, I got a job of etching the initials of five groomsmen and the date of the wedding onto glass mugs. I probably wouldn't have taken the job except that I have a savings goal that I am trying to reach; and I took this customer's offer as soem help from God.

It was a very enjoyable, though time-consuming project. I cut each stencil out by hand.

Miss Greta Paints

2008-10-22T23:06:00.002-05:00

I was commissioned to paint flowers on a cute little table for a darling birthday girl I know.

No Way!

2008-10-14T15:29:00.002-05:00

I just painted a milk pitcher I found in the trash in a very similar pattern! This is a Polish gentleman's mug painted in a traditional pattern.

Research

2008-10-14T15:09:00.006-05:00

While looking for Swedish folk painting ideas for my ceramic pieces, I found this unusual piece of jewelry:

It is a Norwegian wedding brooch. Isn't it pretty?

Enjoy some of the fruits of my labor!

To My Contest Winners

2008-10-02T13:09:00.002-05:00

No, dear friends, I have not forgotten about you. I have decided, however, to award you with a very unusual gift. It is currently sitting on a shelf in the KSU art building, awaiting a final step that the professor has promised will happen on Monday. Thank you for reading my blog!

Outfits I Wore to School

2008-09-26T21:42:00.002-05:00

My favorite vintage dress (and with my hair long)

wearing a bridal pedicoat under my skirt (hair cut!)

Skirt that used to be my sister's, and a beige lace top from the thrift store

Things I've made

2008-09-18T19:24:00.002-05:00

end of contest

2008-09-02T11:05:00.001-05:00

So, I am two days late in posting a winner... but since I only got three comments overall (the other two were on facebook), everyone gets to be a winner! Now I just have to go create some art...

Therefore, the winners are: Christine, Gary, and Russ.

1300 Page Visits, My 20th Birthday, and a Contest!

2008-08-26T13:06:00.007-05:00

In the words of a friend, I am almost old. Tomorrow I will be old. In honor of that anniversary, post a comment telling me where you are from, and what your favorite craft/art medium, and subject matter. In turn, I will send an original art piece to a person I randomly choose from the comments.

In the past year and a half, I have had 1300 page visits. They have come from all over the world: Sweden, Japan, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Belgium, Philippines, South Africa, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Germany, all over the US, and my favorite: The Royal Leaming Spa in the UK.

I will close the contest at midnight (EST) on saturday Aug. 30, and post the winner Sunday afternoon.

Date in a Box

2008-08-23T12:04:00.003-05:00

My sister and her husband both have birthdays right near each other, so we celebrate them together. They live in a small apartment, so they didn't want any more "stuff". I made a date-in-a-box for them (which saved me money, too!). I wanted Heather to have a new outfit for the date, so I made earrings from peacock feathers and beads I had on hand. Then a found a couple shirts that I guessed would fit her at the thrift store. But in the box, I put a paper cutout of a shirt and wrote, "redeem for a shirt". I put a couple dollars for flowers in an envelope and glued a flower die cut to the front. I didn't get a chance to got to Publix to get a gift card, so I put some more money in another envelope along with a Publix reciept and a note on the back to enjoy shopping for the picnic food together. I also included a list of good picnic places.

And my favorite (and most creative part!), I included a little book entitled 50 Cheap Dates. It is carried at the bookstore that I work at, and I managed to not spend an money on it! Some men, when they are redeeming a gift card and it still has a dollar or two left on it, just tell us, "I don't want the balance, just keep it." When I am recycling the gift cards, I come across them and save them. My collection of those gift cards paid for the little book!

What I am doing right now

2008-08-21T20:09:00.004-05:00

1) Wishing it could be Wensday. Now. And stay that way. (Most favorite classes, and listen to Daniel play jazz while eating DELISH food. [at Cafe Lily in Decatur. You should come.])

2) Watching my little nephew destroy a newspaper. And make hilarious faces. And clap. And be the cutest baby I've ever seen.

3) Wondering which embellishment to put on a boring grey skirt:

A couple of these adorable Fleur Debris flowers from the fabulously talented Heather Bailey at www.heatherbailey.typepad.com/heather_bailey

bright felt flowers with button centers inspired by a skirt I saw years ago in a Boden catalogue. www.boden.co.uk

New Skirt with pockets!

2008-08-14T21:25:00.004-05:00

I bought the fabric off the clearance table at Handcock. I love the fabric, and the new pattern. The pockets are prefect for carrying arround a book, ribbon for a gift at work, or my cell phone when I am hoping for a call.

I want

2008-08-07T21:19:00.004-05:00

I want to post pictures of so many different things, but the digital camera is in Indiana with its owner. And as soon as the camera arrives back home, then I will open my Etsy shop

I also want so many illustrations from Belle and Boo http://belleandboo.blogspot.com/ .
I loooove the bunny! Reminds me of my many stuffed bunnys. And of Peter Rabbit who I collected as a child.

On a totally random note...I turn 20 in 20 days. I've noticed that a lot of artsy people do give-aways. So check back in 20 days to learn about the give-away :)

Paper Ephemera

2008-08-02T10:59:00.003-05:00

What do you do with paper?
I want to do something that one wouldn't expect paper to be used for. ie, no cards, no collage, backgrounds for journaling or scrapbooking. I'm intersted in making earrings, hair doodles, transfering to fabric...
What do you do with paper?

Silk Dress

2008-08-01T12:11:00.003-05:00

I had started this dress several months ago, but kept putting off finishing it. Except for straps and a hem, I finished it last night in time for a swing dance tonight. But I always have trouble with straps on dresses: I make them either to short or too long. So, using the cream cording I bought for straps, I sewed small loops to the bodice under the ribbon. It will be easy to adjust the length now! I feel like a debutante wearing this dress!

Red Speckles

2008-08-01T11:26:00.005-05:00

(The back story can be found here: http://gretascraftiness.blogspot.com/2008/06/oh-no.html )

A couple of my clothes got red speckles after a dye project gone seriously wrong. One was a vintage-y dress that I love to wear swing dancing, and the other was a skirt that I had dyed my favorite blue. The skirt is muslin, so I knew I could easily redye it. But the dress was Cotton/Lycra, and you aren't supposed to use the dye remover on synthetics. They sat on my closet floor, making me wince every time I saw them. Finally, I e-mailed Erin from Dress A Day

(http://www.dressaday.com/dressaday.html) and asked her what the best thing to would be. She recommended that I try the dye remover on the dress since I am unable to wear it anyway.

The dress after the dye remover. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before picture. However, the sash never got dye speckles, so I didn't put in the brew. As you can see, only the red dye came out!

The skirt with the speckles

After the dye was removed. The skirt is in the dye bath right now.

Could This be a Sign?

2008-07-31T01:06:00.003-05:00

This is Boz, the Big Green Bear. He likes to sing, "God loves you, and so do I!"

Shabby Chic Room

2008-07-23T10:41:00.004-05:00

Another room I completed, because I had nothing else to do in class. I like it, but I think I'd get tired of the pinkness if I actually had to live in it...

Final Version

2008-07-22T20:32:00.005-05:00

The final version of my throne room for class. The post I am refering to can be found here: http://gretascraftiness.blogspot.com/2008/07/makeover.html

Memory

2008-07-22T20:22:00.005-05:00

One night around Christmas, Daniel showed up at my house while on his break with a rose and some music. We danced in the living room by the light of the tree. (He was wearing a suit..I don't remember if it was the tux, though; I used some creative licence there)

It really isn't the best "portrait" of him....

Trash

2008-07-22T16:17:00.004-05:00

(My mother won't believe this) I've decided to try to truly keep a clean room now. But instead of a whirlwind clean-up that stay clean a couple days, or a couple weeks at most, I've decided to slowly clean and try to figure out why I tend to accumulate things in certain places. I've read that it only takes 21 days to change one's habits, so since I started a week ago, I should reasonably expect my room to stay clean sometime in August. Part of cleaning my room was putting stuff in the attic. And while I was up there, I discoverd that there were old paintings I don't need to hang onto any longer.

Makeover

2008-07-21T20:27:00.005-05:00

I had to take this ugly room, and transform it. Required: drastically change the windows, paint the walls, change the flooring, wallpaper at least one wall, hang paintings, and include at least 3 pieces of furniture.

.
I think I did that...though I'm going to be changing the wall around the throne. Its not regal enough.

Photoshop Self-Portrait

2008-07-21T20:06:00.005-05:00

Little Birdie

2008-07-15T21:13:00.001-05:00

This little guy decided to stop by tonight, giving me a good break from summer class stress.

Beauty and The Beast

2008-07-15T06:55:00.003-05:00

This was an Illustrator project I did for Computer Apps. Illustrator makes use of layers, like photoshop does, which allows a person to put things on top of other things without messing up the previous work. For this project, I had 106 layers. Way more then the rest of my classmates.

Spoonflower

2008-07-09T06:57:00.002-05:00

Spoonflower is a beta custom fabric printing site, that one has to be invited to join. I got my invitation last night! The prices are a lot higher then I expected, so I won't be able to do it often. But I love the idea.

Islamic Prayer Room Decorations

2008-07-02T19:58:00.003-05:00

In Computer Apps, we are creating wall decorations for an Islamic prayer room on campus available for the Muslim students during Rammadan. The corner decorations are peacocks created from the Arabic text for Allah

Etsy

2008-06-25T19:59:00.000-05:00

I have a shop at Etsy! Nothing in it yet, I'm working on that!

Cupcakes

2008-06-25T13:54:00.001-05:00

I have fallen in love with cupcakes recently. Cupcakes and owls. But how do I incorperate them into my art? Any ideas would be appreciated. And stay tuned to see the results!

Summer Soup Recipies to Try

2008-06-11T11:44:00.003-05:00

Chilled Apple Soup

2 c apple juice

1/2 c sugar

1 T lemon juice

4 sticks of cinnamon

6 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and cut into wedges

1 c whipping cream

3 T white wine (optional: can add more apple juice instead)

Combine all the ingredients except the cream and wine in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Puree. Stri in the cream and wine and cill before serving.

Two Melon Spoup

3 c cubed cantalope

1/4 c powdered sugar

2 T lime juice

3 c cubed honeydew

Combine one type of melon and half of the other ingredients in a blender. Puree. Chill. Repeat with the other melon. When ready to serve, ladle each flavor into one bowl; keep them seperate as possible. (you should have a bowl with green on one side and orange on the other.)

editors note: I tried the apple soup reciepe, and it turned out more like apple sauce. Since I am not wild about apple sauce, I added whipped cream and carmel sauce. That made it yummy!

Oh No!

2008-06-09T11:07:00.003-05:00

I had some fun dyeing clothes this weekend. Except, the brown dye (Rit granular dye...never buy that stuff!) would not stay brown. It would turn to a nasty mauve brown. In desperation, I put some cloths down and ironed it. It worked! the heat set the dye! But...some of the red from the dye bled through the cloths, adn onto the ironing board. Today, I pulled wet laundry out of the washing machine, and set them on the ironing board while I figured out where to drip dry them. They got red speckles. SOOOO frustrated! It came easly out of some of the clothes, and not so easily out of the others. Right now, some of the garments are soaking.

Thrifted Treasures

2008-06-05T13:02:00.002-05:00

My Dress Take 2

2008-06-05T12:54:00.002-05:00

My Dress Take 1

2008-06-04T23:22:00.003-05:00

I painted the fabric; designed the dress with a wee bit of help from several patterns, but it is my own design; and sewed it together. I wore it to work today. But it is not finished. Turns out food coloring is not as permanent of a media as I had hoped, so all that color is coming out. Happily, I do have some dye, and happily, I think I could do a better job next time. As of right now (after the picture), there is a machine embroidered curly vine crawling across the bodice. My first time creating a machine embroidery. It was fun!

I really like the muted watercolor effect on the skirt...thats what I was trying for. At least now I know how to do it! Look for take two soon.

Long Awaited Post Part 2

2008-06-03T11:41:00.004-05:00

The Masquerade Ball

The Knight

Mother Earth

Miss Peacock

The Vampire
(never got a picture of his mask...sadness. It was really cool!)

I made the cape that day :)

The Fairy

Borg

Senator McNinja (aka Gregory/Borg)

The Long Awaited Post Part 1

2008-06-03T11:35:00.002-05:00

The Iron Pour

Bird Paintings

2008-06-03T11:27:00.002-05:00

Watercolor paintings I created for Mrs. Street. She doesn't know about them yet!

projects

2008-05-26T22:29:00.002-05:00

I'm having a masqued party tomorrow; really looking forward to that! Christine and I spent all day yesterday after church, and all day today, making masks. And, I figured out how to make easy fairy wings with wire hangers and knee highs!

Saturday night, I went to an iron pour at school. After a lot of waiting around, they finally poured the molten metal into a mold. Definately worth the wait!

I will fill in the details later...I am still re-couperating from my May term class :) 3 credits in two weeks(4 1/2 hours each day)! WHOO HOO! And probably last semester. Daniel says I stopped giggling in the middle of the semester. I hadn't noticed, but I definately believe him. That semester was brutal.

Theatre Project

2008-05-06T08:32:00.003-05:00

I designed all the costumes for our theatre project: a 5-minute play taken from an Angolian story entitled, How the Frog Went to Heaven. A man falls in love with the Sky Maiden (played by myself) and askes the frog to take a letter to her. The frog tricks the Sky Chief and Moon Goddess (the girls parents) into sending the girl down to earth to marry the man. But when she discovers that it was the frog that did everything, she decides to marry him, instead. We had to have a moment of transformation, so we were very original, and made the frog turn into a man when I kissed him.

The Moon Goddess

The Frog
The water-bearers who unknowingly brought the frog to heaven
I am being told about the letter
going down to earth
the frog's transformationCurtain call

Welding!

2008-05-05T21:34:00.001-05:00

2 o'clock in the morning, and I'm exhausted and covered in soot

This is What Happens When I Weld

2008-05-01T22:55:00.004-05:00

I burn myself: its worse then it looks in the picture

(its a good 30 in. burn)

I got in the way of the grinder...

and someone else burns my favorite bandana.

Just for Fun

2008-04-11T11:34:00.004-05:00

Daniel's first picture with my camera

The love birds

A college friend

my scarf blowing in the wind

Self Portrait

2008-04-11T11:24:00.004-05:00

Who other people see me as

Who I see myself as

Who I fantasize about being

(Glamorous-Suposed to be like an old movie)

Ephemeral

2008-04-11T11:12:00.003-05:00

Create an Ephemeral (def: transient, not lasting) art piece, and then document it. I chose to create a performance art

Transformation

2008-04-11T11:08:00.002-05:00

Transforming an ugly object

New Photo Project: Jesus and Cupid

2008-04-03T19:50:00.003-05:00

I am blogging right now in the sculpture studio while Daniel picks up a book from the library. I had been planning to work on my project, but no one else is here, and welding protocal states that a another classmate, at least, must be here. Ahhh...the advances of technology! :)

My goal this week: to take digital pictures of the other photo projects and post them.

My newest project is to portray love and/or future. Love is easy-it's been done so many times, and imediately images pop into people's minds. Brides, couples kissing, dancing, romance...

I would have lots of fun takng those pictures, but I want to do something else. I considered a future love: either taking pictures of older married couples who's marriages have lasted, or doing a love story set in the "retro future" like the 50's space films. I also considered taking it a competely different dirrection and focusing on a mother's love. Or Christ's love for the church; especially since all love here on earth is a pointer back to Him.

So I started thinking about love stories. One of my favorites is Psyche and Cupid. I was still enamoured with the idea of doing Christ and the Church, but I personally do not like portraying Christ Himself. I don't mind using another person as a Christ-like figure, as in they point to Him, and then I realised that the story of Psyche and Cupid is the story of Christ disguised. Tolkien and Lewis recognized that there were Biblical elements in every myth, and I just found one!

Cupid, the god of love, falls in love with a mortal girl. He marries her, but only comes to her in the dark, so she cannot see him. During the day, her needs are provided for by invisible hands. This shows the faith we need to accept Christ, and His provision for us. One night, however, Psyche cannot stand not seeing her husband, so she takes a lamp and knife (should he be a monster) and looks for him. A drop of burning oil falls on Cupid, awaking him. This could be loosely translated as Christ's Passion. Cupid flies off to find healing from his wound, which could be the three days in the tomb before the Resurrection. From there, though, the story is very skewed. Psyche goes on a hunt to find Cupid, a mission which sends her down to the underworld. Cupid finds her, and saves her from a deathly sleep; and then they fly off to Mount Olympus to nevermore be seperated.

Perhaps I won't be able to use that specific story, but I like the idea of using a pagan myth to illustrate Christian truths through photography.

Ideas

2008-03-19T21:59:00.002-05:00

Mrs. Burlas gave me a great idea tonight: just like I have the swing dance couple teapot, I should do a couples teapot series. Every teapot would be a different couple!

I Want.

2008-03-18T16:06:00.001-05:00

Do you think I could make it?

Clothing Refashion

2008-03-14T09:07:00.004-05:00

Christine and I decided to refashion some old tired clothing one day. I had two shirts that I was thrilled with, one was a blouse that was too plain, and one was a t-shirt in a color I didn't like. The other shirt was once a pretty pink, but it had faded too much.

So we traipsed over to Joann, and bought some lace trim, iron on applications, and dye. I removed the color from the two t-shirts, and redyed them. The pale pink one turned white, which I redyed to a pretty pink. Christine watched, fascinated. Suddenly, she ran upstairs and brought down her white shirt that she had been wearing, and dumped it into the pot with the pink dye.

The dark pink shirt, when I removed the color, turned orange, then yellow, then green! it was a rather hideous green, so I tried to dye it a spring green. It didn't appear to be working, so as to not waste the dye, Christine ran back upstairs and brought down a white cami to dye green, too.

Daniel's Birthday

2008-02-08T23:09:00.002-05:00

The cake I made him

I made him go on a treasure hunt to find his present, so we had a pirate theme
First clue!

Second clue!

Third Clue...with my conspiritor: Miss Mary

Pictures

2008-01-18T14:27:00.001-05:00

The basket I made for my mother

Photograms made in class, by placing objects on photo paper, then exposing it to light.

pictures coming

2008-01-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

As soon as I can find the camera cord, I will upload pictures of the ceramic basket/bowl I made my mother for Christmas. (How I miss ceramics!!!!). I would also upload pictures of the heart box I made for a dear friend, but I seem to have lost that picture. And if I remember, I'll also post about the photograms I made in Photography today. I had to leave them behind for the weekend, so that they could continue drying.

New Semester

2008-01-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

My new classes: Sculpture 1 and Photography 1. Check back for class projects, as well as projects I've completed on my own.

Teddy Bear

2007-12-30T22:42:00.001-05:00

I made the pattern for the teddy bear myself, but it didn't work very well (the pattern got thrown away). It may not look bad...but I tried to hide the flaws in the pictures. Given to my beau, he now holds CD's on display to show what is currently playing!

Teapot

2007-12-10T15:01:00.000-05:00

Art Nouveau Sculpture

2007-12-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

Caligraphy

2007-12-09T19:18:00.000-05:00

I love writing fancy! Especialy doing illuminated letters. This is a special gift for my beau. More pictures coming later!

Cinderella Story, Part 2: Dressed for the Ball

2007-12-09T19:05:00.000-05:00

Cinderella Story, Part 1: Sitting in Ashes

2007-12-09T11:44:00.000-05:00

My room is a mess. Combination of finals week and being sick and starting a bunch of projects does not bode well for absence of clutter. Also, it is the nineth day of advent, and my room is still stuck in spring. Sheer pink curtains, rose dusted quilt, and Lilies-of-the-valley blooming on my teacups. Time for a wave of the magic wand from the fairy god-mother!

Such a daunting task! Or is it?

Special Details

2007-12-09T11:40:00.001-05:00

Finals

2007-12-06T11:29:00.000-05:00

Art finals are fun!

My assignment was to create a self-portrait using another painting by a master. Though School is done, and I already turned this in, it isn't finished. At least, not to the point that I am happy with it. Though it is supposed to be me, there is not to much resemblence. I think I will keep it that way. What I plan to do is make the background lighter, and spend some more time on her hair. and her shoulder. And her arm. And her shawl. Now I just have to come up with a name and a history for her!

Pictures for the Previous Post

2007-11-18T20:54:00.001-05:00

Ceramics

2007-11-04T21:23:00.000-05:00

It is very sad that I have not posted in so long, and it is even sadder that a ceramics piece that cracks is what goads me into writing.

One of my projects is a female statuette about 18 inches high made in the Art Nueveau style. I labored over the hair, getting the curling tendrils just right. However, the the weight of that mass proved to much for the delicate drappery at the base to uphold. First, the whole back cracked off, then the front developed a web of cracks. Happily, my professor has assured me that once I get the broken pieces mended, it can be fired, and later, glazed. The whole piece is rather awe-inspiring.

Christmas Gifts

2007-09-04T22:22:00.001-05:00

This year, I have decided to have a totally handmade Christmas. We'll see how well that works, the male species is notoriously hard without adding any qualifiers! Perhaps they won't get what they were always dreaming of, but it will save me money, and it will be fun! So I've already gotten started. Being an art major makes this undertaking so much easier, since I have access to so many tools and supplies, and own most everything already, anyway! I'd post pictures and my list, but I don't want leakage. I love suprises too much!

Scottish Country Dancing: A Short Story

2007-07-15T18:50:00.000-05:00

Aria tiptoed into the gym. She was late, and she hated the attention she got whenever she walked into a room after something had started. The whirling music hid the noise of her footsteps, and everyone was so busy marking time, they did not notice her. She removed her shoes; the wood floor was cold beneath her feet. The rhythm got into her blood, making her almost start dancing herself. This reaction startled her, so she resigned herself to tapping her foot alone. With a flourish and spin, the dance and music ended. Breathless, sweaty people surrounded her, grinning and chatting about the dance.
“The set and links are my favorite part of the-”
“-Triangular rights and left are confusing.”
“John was your first corner, and Adair was your second corner.”

Aria shrunk back from the confusion and stumbled against a chair sitting against the wall, collapsing rather ungracefully into a puffy pile of jackets, bruising her shin. Two brothers talking near her stopped at the noise and hurried over to help her up.
“Are you okay?” asked one, as the other gave her his hand to pull her up.
Aria laughed, “Yes, thanks. I hope I have more co-ordination when I dance.”
The brothers smiled, and introduced themselves as Aaron and Jonathan. Jonathan offered his hand to Aria as the teacher announced that the next dance would be Nottingham Lace. Aria grinned, what a poetic name! However, the dance did not seem to live up to its name. Rights and lefts, left hands around, and right hands back made no sense to Aria, and she seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It did not help that the teacher would yell “Set! Set!” at her. All these words were so foreign and she so desperately wanted to redeem herself after her embarrassing fall. Besides, it was not every day that a handsome man asked her to dance, and she wanted to make a good impression. On the verge of tears, Aria was about to suggest that she sit this dance out, when Jonathan caught her eye. He smiled and winked at her. “Don’t worry. You are doing very well for this being your first time. I will remind you of what to do. Don’t listen to Jim.” Aria nodded, and smiled back. Once she did not have to worry about what she was doing, she was able to enjoy the dance.

At home that night, Aria googled Scottish Country Dancing, and taught herself how to set, which involved hopping on alternate feet to the beat of the music. She also learned that left hands around meant that four people circle, all holding each other’s left hands. She even practiced a couple of the dances using chairs as the rest of the dancers.

At various times throughout the next week, the first song she had heard the group dancing to, “Clumsy Lover”, would pop into her mind. Its rhythm permeated her days; the shower droplets splashing on her skin became background noise to the song in her head, she twirled through her housework to the melody; caught herself dancing in her chair at work; and chopped broccoli for dinner to its beat.

The next Thursday, everyone was very impressed by Aria’s fast learning. She smiled to herself, unwilling to share her secret: she had practiced all the dances she could remember and the various steps almost every night during commercial breaks of her favorite TV programs. She flew through the dances she knew flawlessly, always in the right place at the right time, and never late for a reel. The teacher was so impressed, that he offered to dance with her himself. Aria accepted, since there was nothing else she could do; but she secretly wished she could turn him down. He thought he was a good dancer, yet he could not even keep beat, and would always fall behind in the dance.

Five minutes before their two hours of dancing were over, the group gathered into a large circle to hear the announcements. Aria’s mind usually wandered during this time, she did not know any of the people or events they talked about. But tonight was different. The teacher started off by announcing that the Loch Lomond Highland Games would be held the next weekend. Aria’s imagination was captured: a whole weekend of bag piping, dancing, and Scottish food.
The morning was clear and crisp, the kind of morning that makes your nose run and your eyes water. Aria pulled on her thickest wool coat, a nubby scarf, and her buttery smooth leather gloves. Even inside the car, she could hear the pipers warming up, the assortment of tunes played at different speeds with varying levels of ability jarring in their discordance. She opened the door, and the smells of Highland Games were born to her on the wind: funnel cakes, malt vinegar, and manure. She had forgotten about the sheep herding demonstrations, and the highland “coos” (cows).

Aria walked through the highland games: past the parade field, among the vendors, and through the clan tents. Most people had not arrived yet; not many are crazy enough to get up at seven on a cold Saturday. Most vendors had already set out their wares, and Aria eyed them as she wound her way toward the dancing platform. The cheesy t-shirts with ridiculous sayings she was able to resist, as also the thistle embroidered sweatshirts. She lingered longer over the fiery rubies blinking in their Celtic-knot settings, but knowing she did not have enough money for the jewelry, she moved on. The Scottie dogs wearing tartan tams tugged at her heart strings, tempting her to open her purse and home to at least one, so she filed that memory in the back of her head and kept looking. The bakery also tempted her, offering free samples of their famous shortbread. Her tongue was coated in the smooth butter taste as the sandy shortbread crumbled in her mouth. But, she had some place to be.

The platform was already crowded, filled with all her friends from the Wednesday night lessons. They welcomed her warmly, many surprising her by their remembrance of her. They found an extra chair for her, passed around the hot chocolate, and cracked jokes as they waited for their audience to arrive.

At eight, dancing began. Aria delighted in dancing the well-known figures in her full skirt, which swished delightfully during turns. During the audience participation dances, she eagerly welcomed the little children whose parents had sent them up so that they could videotape them. The dances were easy, and the sets messy, but she hoped that some of the kids would appreciate dancing someday because of it.

It was an hour before closing ceremonies, and the audience was thinning. The little children were in bed taking naps, and everyone else was too shy to dance. One set needed two more couples, so Aria and Sara asked two friends to dance with them. One accepted, teased into it by his girlfriend, but the other affected shyness. Aria defiantly set her hand on her hip, and with a coquettish expression, held out her other hand. Afraid she had carried the joke too far, she was about to walk away when he accepted. Aria triumphantly led her partner to the bottom of the set, when she realized she would have to be looking at her partner for the duration of the dance. That made her wish she had not tried so hard.

Minutes before the vendor closed, Aria found the black Scottie dog that she had been thinking of all day long. With it clasped in her arms that night, she dreamt of the next years games and, unbeknownst to her, practiced some of the steps in her sleep.

Invitation to Dance

2007-05-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

Using caligraphy and illuminated lettering, I created an invitation to dance. Perhaps I will add it to an altered book

His Royal Majesty
King Jesus
requests the honor of
Greta Ruhama's*
hand in eternity's dance
The price has been paid, and the gown
bought, just come as you are.

*Heb. She who has been shown mercy

Wardrobe Refashion

2007-05-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Wardrobe Refashion

I have joined Wardrobe refashion. I actually did it a couple weeks ago, but I couldn't figure out how to post this. Now I have, So I have until December.

40's hat

2007-05-10T12:20:00.000-05:00

I made a pillbox hat for a 40's themed swing dance. I bought some interesting brown fabric-not sure what it is, but it has a similar texture to fleece and felt, but it is 100% cotton. I bought half a yard, and then cut a strip of fabric that same width (1/2 a yard) by about 4 inches. Then I folded the fabric into quaters, sewed up the long seam, and turned it right side out. I sewed the two short ends together to creat a circle, then put it on my head to get the right shape. Holding it carefully in place, I layed it on the fabric and traced around it. I added some ease for the seam allowance, and whip-stiched it in to create the flat crown of the hat. I added a veil made of netting that I hand gathered, and topped it with a large blue flower slightly off center in the front. I didn't sew the veil in perfectly centered, so I wear the hat cocked to the side to hide that.

dancing in the sunlight

2007-05-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

working on a new poem, though it is coming slower then usual. I'm too stuck on conventional wording. I need a poem that will give me rythymn.

Dancing in the sunlight
Spinning free
Cloudless sky so bright
Above her carefree curls

Arms flung wide
Embracing the world
As it dips and sways
Joining the riotous dance

Skipping through rosy lips
Laughter gurgles

Poet Bank:

gurgle
laughter bubbles
arms embracing the world
rivaling the song of the birds
eyes closed
eyes wide shut
world dips and sways/joining the riotous dance
curtsey and bow

Found Materials Dress

2007-04-27T10:45:00.000-05:00

For my final project in 3-D, I created a "runway fashion" dress from recycled paking materials from work. The bodice is ruched plastic bags, the underskirt is pleated brown paper, and the train is packing pillows filled with air. I even made shoes to go with the outfit. I tore some thrifted heels down to the soles and added my own straps fashioned from the blue plastic. Then I created the foot bed from corrugated cardboard.

During my break, I wore the dress down to the student center, dragging my classmates along. I got plenty of attention!

New Pages

2007-01-07T17:57:00.000-05:00

A Parisian Fairy for Christine's Altered book. She and I are participating in an altered book round robin, where several people work in a person's book following a theme.
Japanese Fairy for Christine. I forgot the wings, but drew them in after the picture.
A picture from my self portrait book. The title says WACKY! The picture is Mum and I goofing off, and the hand drawn note is from Christine. It is a picture of me, and it says, "Your badness level is unusually high for someone of your size."

One of a series from my self portrait book, the I am... series. This one is I am an artist. That hand is a photocopy of my real hand after a day of playing with chalk pastels. My high school teacher, Mr. Buxton, would be proud.

Craft-Along

2007-01-04T16:48:00.000-05:00

I have joined crafster.org, and joined a craft-along at the same time. In a craft-along, several people create their version of a project, and post pictures when they are done. I joined an altered book one, predictably. Each month, I have to complete at least one page from the list for that month. the list is

January's pages:Dreams/goals
Stars
Memories
Time
Life

February:
Love
Chocolate
Mardi Gras
Breakfast
Your Chinese year

March:
The Elements
A Celtic page
Women
Spring
Rebirth

April:
Rain
Jokes
Regrets
Cherry blossoms
Earth

May:
Spices
Flowers
Heritage
Natural disasters
Moms

June:
Shakespeare/Poetry
Summer
Roses
Happiness
Flags

July:
Bikes
Fireworks
Icecream
food
Family

August:
Movies
Pets
heat
Playgrounds
Book

September:
Grandparents
Fall
Music
Plaid
Education

October:
Costumes
Candy
Smoking/Drugs
kissing
Babies

November:
Robots
Thankfullness
Dance
Faces
Politics

December:
Winter
Celebrations
Peace
Socks
the cover

that pushes my buttons

2006-12-29T16:27:00.000-05:00

I created a spread in my self portrait book that I am quite proud of. I got the inspiration from Visual Chronicles, one of their journaling jumpstarts: That Pushes My Buttons.

I painted the paper a smokey blue, the color I feel when I get annoyed, and sprinkled real, live buttons over it (Note to PETB [People for Ethical Treatment of Buttons]: no buttons were harmed in creating this spread. They wanted to be glued down. Really.), and wrote what annoyed me on brown tags glued into the spine. Pictures later...I have an engagement to fufil right now, I'm just waiting for them to come. Blog while I wait, what a modern concept!

Help!!

2006-12-28T18:31:00.000-05:00

I am trying to organize all my crafting supplies, and put them in an accessible sensible place, but right now, it just seems to involve a lot of moving piles from one place to the other. How do I do this?

books

2006-12-28T17:35:00.000-05:00

Books I have that are very inspiring:

More to come later.

ballerinas

2006-12-28T15:46:00.000-05:00

College Art

2006-12-27T23:19:00.000-05:00

graphite still life
Charcoal Still Life
reverse static compositions
reverse active compositions

95 Ideas

2006-12-26T18:14:00.000-05:00

From the Wish Jar blog: kerismith.com/blog

1. Go for a walk. Draw or list things you find on the the sidewalk. 2. Write a letter to yourself in the future. 3. Buy something inexpensive as a symbol for your need to create, (new pen, a tea cup, journal). Use it everyday. 4. Draw your dinner. 5. Find a piece of poetry you respond to. Rewrite it and glue it into your journal. 6. Glue an envelope into your journal. For one week collect items you find on the street. 7. Expose yourself to a new artist, (go to a gallery, or in a book.) Write about what moves you about it. 8. Find a photo of a person you do not know. Write a brief bio about them. 9. Spend a day drawing only red things. 10. Draw your bike. 11. Make a list of everything you buy in the next week. 12. Make a map of everywhere you went in one day. 13. Draw a map of the creases on your hand, (knuckles, palm) 14. Trace your footsteps with chalk. 15. Record an overheard conversation. 16. Trace the path of the moon in relation to where you live. 17. Go to a paint store. Collect 'chips' of all your favorite colors. 18. Draw your favorite tree. 19. Take 15 minutes to eat an orange. 20. Write a haiku. 21. Hang upside down for five minutes. 22. Hang found objects from tree branches. 23. Make a puppet. 24. Create an outdoor room from things you find in nature. 25. Read a book in one day. 26. Illustrate your grocery list. 27. Read a story out loud to a friend. 28. Write a letter to someone you admire. 29. Study the face of someone you do not like. 30. Make a meal based on a color theme. (i.e. all white). 31. Creat a museum of very small things. 32. List the smells in your neighborhood. 33. List 100 uses for a tin can. 34. Fill an entire page in your jounral with small circles. Color them in. 35. Give away something you love. 36. Choose an object, draw the side you can't see. 37. List all of the places you've ever lived. 38. Describe your favourite room in detail. 39. Write about your relationship with your washing machine. 40. Draw all of the things in your purse/bag. 41. Make a mini book based on the theme, "my grocery list". 42. Create a character based on someone you know. Write a list of personality traits. 43. Recall your favorite childhood game. 44. Put postcards of art pieces/painting on the inside of your kitchen cupboard doors, so you can see them everyday (but not become deaf to them.) 45. Draw the same object every day for a week. 46. Write in your journal using a different medium (brush & ink, charcoal, old typewriter, crayons, fat markers. 47. Draw the individual items of your favorite outfit. 48. Make a useful item using only paper & tape. 49. Research a celebration or ritual from another culture. 50. Do a temporary art installation using a pad of post it notes & a pen. 51. Draw a map of your favorite sitting spots in your town/city. (photocopy it and give it to someone you like.) 52. Record all of the sounds you hear in the course of one hours. 53. Using a grid, collect various textures from magazine and play them off of each other. 54. Cut out all media for one day. Write about the effects. 55. Make pencil rubbings of six different surfaces. 56. Draw your garbage. 57. Do a morning collage. 58. List your ten most important things, (not including animals or people.) 59. List ten things you would like to do every day. 60. Glue a photo of yourself as a child into your journal. 61. Trasform some garbage. 62. Write an entry in your journal in really LARGE letters. 63. Collect some 'flat' things in nature (leaves, flowers). Glue or tape them into your journal. 64. Physically alter a page. (i.e. cut a hole, pour tea on it, burn it, fold it, etc.) 65. Find several color combinations you respond to in public. Document them using swatches, write where you found them. 66. Write a journal entry describing something "secret". Cut it up into several pieces and glue them back in scrambled. 67. Record descriptions or definitions of subjects or words you are interested in, found in encyclopedias or dictionaries. 68. Draw the outline of an object without looking at the page. (contour drawing). 69. What were you thinking just now? write it down. 70. Do nothing. 71. Write a list of ten things you could to do. Do the last thing on the list. 72. Create an image using dots. 73. Do 3 drawings at different speeds. 74. Put a small object in your left pocket (or in a bag), Put your left hand in the pocket. Draw it by feel. 75. Create a graph documenting or measuring something in your life. 76. Draw the sun. 77. Create instructions for a simple everyday task. 78. Make prints using food. (fruit and vegetables cut in half, fish, etc.) 79. Find a photo. Alter it by drawing over it. 80. Write a letter using an unconventional medium. 81. Draw one object for twenty minutes. 82. Combine two activities that have not been combined before. 83. Write about your day in an encyclopedic fashion. (i.e. organize by subject.) 84. Write a list of all the things you do to escape. 85. Cut a random shape out of several layers of a magazine. Make a collage out of the results. 86. Write an entry in code. 87. Make a painting using tools from the bathroom. 88. Work with a medium that is subtractive. 89. Write about or draw some of the doors in your life. 90. Make a postcard that has some kind of activity on it. 91. Divise a journal entry using "layers". 92. Divise an entry using "layers". 93. Write your own definition of one of the following concepts, sitting, waiting, sleeping (without using the actual word.) 94. List 10 of your habits. 95. Illustrate the concept of "simplicity".

And then there were six...

2006-12-26T13:25:00.000-05:00

I was going through my altered book supplies, and came across a couple of altered books I had started, then forgot about. So now my count is at six altered books, and none of them finished. And I am planning to start another one soon. As always, I will post pictures when I get them. The ones I have are:

The Story So Far~my journal of college life

Once Upon a Time~my three favorite fairy tales, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty

Madonnas~rather self-explanatory. All I have in it, though, are the prophesies and the Christmas story. This was my first altered book

Quote Book~ Also self-explanatory

Mrs. Horelick's Book~this is going to be a collaboration between us. She really likes where I've gone with it already.

All About Me~a self portrait book, things that make me, me. This is my newest book, started last night after reading Visual Chronicles

2006-12-22T15:43:00.000-05:00

( I am so happy and bouncy!)
First part of my "love quilt" I took the Galations text about Love is...
second spread of the love quilt

Where I Am From

2006-12-21T12:14:00.000-05:00

I am from a fluffy pink bunny that cuddled in my arms,
From blanket houses that hid me from the storm,
I am from bed-time hymns and Crazzy Otter stories,
From graham crakers and milk and "Eat your vegtables".

I am from hard questions over Sunday dinner,
To wishing I could die while lonely in France,
I am from laughter and tears shared with my parents,
From never fighting with my best friend of four years.

I am from Aristotle to Jane Austen,
With Christ Jesus unifying them all.

I am Greta Christina

Altered Book Pages

2006-12-21T12:07:00.000-05:00

I am working on three altered books at the moment. One is a journal, and the other two are for playing in. I have some overlap of ideas because I will do a spread I like, then I will change it w bit and try again. I have noticed I have a hard time creating collages, because I don't like covering up pretty pictures. Actually, one is a quote book. The third is truly a play book. When I found the book, I just started tearing the pages with out any planning as to what was going on the pages. It has been a challenge to work around that.Two spreads that I used the same basic idea, just changed it each time. The one above is pieced paper over a map of the United Kingdom, and the one below is chalk pastel on vellum. The text in both says, "He says, 'May I request the honor of the next two dances?' (I don't stand a chance, she is so sophisticated and stunning. Will she find me to boorish and tatty?)" "She says, 'I would be pleased to accept.' (He is so handsome and dashing. Will he think I am flighty?)

A butterfly over ressurection texts, because a butterfly is a symbol of the ressurection.

Greta the Devil Woman with the courus from the song She's a Devil Woman: "She's just a devil woman/ With evil on her mind/Beware the devil woman/She's gonna get you/She's just a devil woman/With evil on her mind/Beware the devil woman/She's gonna get you from behind!"
I learned the dangers of using glitter on this spread. I had torn the page into a heart shape, and I decopaged a rose napkin on it. It needed something more, so I sprinkled glitter over glue. It made such a big mess! I will stick with glitter glue next time.

Under Red Aries

2006-12-21T02:26:00.000-05:00

A poem I wrote in English this semester: We took a couple lines from an already existing poem (Under Red Aries) and wrote our own poem within that framework. It had to be a romantic poem, too.

I am impossible, I know it.
My mood flips in the blink of an eye:
Snorting with laughter, then
My face crumples, my heart breaking.
I am a bundle of contradictions:
Tomboy and Daddy's little girl.
Ruffles, lace, scraped knees
Wild and free and elegant.

You are impossible, you know it.
I want you to chase me, to woo me.
At times I think you are, yet
The very next day lethargy returns

We are impossible, everyone says it.
Bohemian and elegant, how do they mix?
Sometimes you are the devil and I the angel,
Sometimes the roles are flipped.

We are cut from the same cloth I say,
And what material is that?
Fragile spider webs
Glinting moonbeams
Rolling sea foam
Cupid's hair

I still try to change you though,
As you have changed me.
You are more pliable, you say,
And that is correct.

I love you from my bones out,
We are partially meshed in each other
And partially turned free.
My life is yours.

Fairy Tale for an Altered Book

2006-12-21T02:05:00.000-05:00

I am trying to write a fairy tale for an altered book. All I know is that it will be about a girl, and will have a happy ending, and it starts with "Once upon a time". Ooo! and her name will be India Rose, because that has been my favorite girl's name for a while (interestingly enough, both names came from stories I read). Besides, it fits my happy fairy tale character. There must be dancing, and a prince, whom she marries. But she WILL not meet the prince at the ball, nor will she have any mean siblings. Hmm...just writing this has gotten my creative juices flowing.

Okay, so she will live on a farm, and for some reason a prince will come. He will come several times, THEN invite her to the ball. Hahaha! This gives me reason to go read all the sweet romantic books and watch all those movies to give myself ideas. Not that I needed a reason....