boxes and assemblages and keys and keys and hardware and toile and collage and flowers and pink and then just a little bit more

this is a box and tray set for the pirate ball, y'all .... if you have no notion of what i'm talking about, then you are a post behind ..... this is a paper mache box and a wooden tray ...a set for auction .... i'm on my way to rallying the troops to get 100 boxes for the auction ..... last year we did 100 birdhouses .... hopefully treasure chests /boxes will be just as popular ....

groovy blue and black box, huh? i love that rusty handle ..... i actually had it set aside to go under this house once it is attached to a canvas ... but who knows when that will be ....so i went ahead and used it.....surely i can find a groovy handle before i need another one ..... anyone got any rusty, old hardware for me? this box is also going to be in the auction .....

...and when the mommy spends the morning making boxes, so do the kids ... this is the box that drew made today ...... i think it turned out pretty cool ..... my pal melinda L gave us some keyboards and keyboard letters that we are now putting to good use .... it is nice when your friends know what kind of junk to deliver to the basement art studio ....

..... and here we have some flowers .... pink dictionary flowers in a go vase .... not to be confused with the sturdier bingo vase .... this one looks tippy for sure .... if it were in my house, no doubt a child would spill it .... oh fine, i'd probably spill it myself! ..... anyway ...this is the background i've been documenting as it has progressed .... it started out as a poster of herbs from my brother in england ..... cool, huh?

...and last but not least today ...... i had a sudden notion of something fun and easy ..... and got it started here ... on a ten by thirty canvas ..... i'm working towards an art fair on the last weekend of october ...... but before that, lola's, the gallery showing my work, is going to folk fest ......have i said this already? ..... anyway ....i'm trying to build up my stock, my portfolio, my available art..... for a number of events ......before it feels like a mad scramble and i, heaven forbid, feel pressure to create....can't have that! ...... i'm all for the peaceful easy sort of art .... not the OH MY GOSH GOT TO HAVE IT DONE art ...... anyway ....this one should be finished this week .... or i hope it will be anywhooooooo .......
so, i had an extraordinarily artsy day .... did you?
oh! i forgot one more thing ....we took a field trip to my favorite place.... my favorite place is a store called my favorite place ....get it? it is a junk store...a flea market ....a treasure trove of oddities .... i was looking to score some cheap boxes to fancy up .... but no such luck ......oh well ....there's always next time .....

ps.... do you know that i am in the midst of the most joyful days of summer? and that twice a day blogging and art all day with children is not going to last forever? sigh ..... sophie woke up this morning and said...can i put on my paint clothes! ...yes ....YIPPPPEEEEEEE .......
tomorrow we are planning to grocery shop and buy school shoes ..... that i just not nearly as groovy as the half finished collages that are downstairs calling my name......

key box for the pirate's ball, y'all

key box for the pirate's ball, y'all
Originally uploaded by eeeee.

dear dana,
i'm so glad that you volunteered to be the chair of this year's celebration at church..hooray for you! .....and i think the idea of a pirate's ball, y'all is super, fabulous, fun and groovy-rific......i was so happy to volunteer to collect treasure chests for the auction ...here's the first one...i didn't collect it...i made it myself out of a nifty vintage box i bought at my favorite place.......if you go to my flickr site you can see another view and the inside .......the inside is especially cool and groovy in its original state.......
aarrrggh, matey......
ninety nine boxes to go......
no mutiny here.....
sincerely, shipmate eeeee

some people like to have an after dinner mint...not me...i prefer an after dinner art hurrah.....

two herbed yellow backgrounds ....
Originally uploaded by eeeee.

i had some stolen minutes after dinner tonight to work on some artsiness...... i added some letter stencils to my herb backgrounds.....i think they are coming along nicely now..... though i still don't know what the foreground will be....don't hold your breath though...some of my backgrounds sit in my studio for months or years waiting to become what they are meant to be..... only time will tell......

but...this is not all i was working on today ....i also was working on a house, some keys, and another kind of keys.....

tra la la.....nice busy way to start an artsy week......

groovy, happy, lovely, sunny, artsy monday

i'm certain that someone, somewhere, is wondering what groovy girl e is doing today ..... and ... so ya know ..... i am working on backgrounds ... this is an 18 inch square canvas ..... i posted about the poster i'm using for textural interest in yesterday's blog .... happy monday ...... don't just sit there at your computer, go do something artsy .......

fish wish ....or one fish, two fish, here's a big fish......

yippeeee .... i've finished this fish collage / assmeblage finally! ... well... it isn't even actually done....i need to black the edges, write on the back, sign it, hardware it for hanging .... but, you know what i mean .... i finished the hard part!!! i've had that big fish finished for ages, so i'm used to him ... but just figured out the wee fish yesterday and finished them this morning .... i'm quite happy ....... the fresca fish are particularly groovy to me ...... all that said, i have some close ups and detail shots on my flickr site ...... here, here, and this one too.......

.... and here is a preview of something else i've been working on.... i didn't think to take a pic of it til i had already ripped it apart....... a herb poster ... and a poultry poster... don't you have those just sitting around in your art room ....... i am turning them into backgrounds... so far i've just stared on the herbs.......

the groovy thing about these posters is that they are from my brother in england..... apparently their newspaper, the guardian, puts posters in the papers...i think just when the kids are out of school...not every single day........with some fairly out there subjects...these are sort of usual ones.....but all the muscles of the legs and feet.......or......waterfowl of england...... anywhoooooo, whilst in england, r asked meeeee if i'd like some.....apparently he has the strong need to keep them and collect them...but you only need so many posters of heirloom tomatos....... and beef cattle....... i think my nephew has a dinosaur one up in his room....... anyway...he offered them to me.....and i ...shhhhhhh.....did not tell my luggage toting husband that i took a big ole stack of them and stashed them away at the bottom of a suitcase!!! .... but, happily...i have them .... and now am using them......hurrah....... stay tuned

so....i still haven't finished a piece to show you...so instead i'll just show you a bit more of my process...that ok?

....so....i spent quite a bit of time in my studio today.....but have no finished piece to show for it...even though i have quite a few on the verge of being done, somehow, nothing was destined for completion today....... the problem is that i'm kind of flitty...scattered....my brain shoots off haphazard fireworks instead of normal sparks of intellect and effort...so i start something....like painting some paper blue to make little fishies....and then i do the wrong blue...but i like the blue i did but it needs a bit more...so i start off on this whole gorgeous blue paper painting thing on dictionary pages that i will use in some piece in my far distant future...so then i go back to these fish...and decide that i need more than just paper fish...oh....bottle caps...bottle cap fish...so i pull out five kabillion bottle caps and start sorting through them.....speak to me bottle caps....do i want all one sort..... do i want a huge variety... do i want a particular color pallette of bottle caps... do i want only caffeinated soda bottle caps.... oh... the questions that zip through the brain....... and then i remember i'm supposed to be painting paper.... and get more dictionary pages, but no, let's do something different..... novel..... um.... let's see, here's some robert ludlum, that'll work..... action thriller spy guy fish.. that'll work..... and i paint them....and then i think about the next layer...ah...lumieres, my love paints.......should i go with the blue...the green...or my good and faithful friend, pearl white? .....oh....let's try them all......the joy of experimentation......

and then i have a table full of papers drying and i decide to be strong and brave and true and glue my big fish down ...... and i did ... right when simultaneously our best pals invited us over to dinner and my whole family, a foursome, came home sweaty from golfing.......so.... everyone shower.... i'll just.... dither in my art room... and then we'll go to the impromptu italian feast .....and andy stays in the studio with me watching what i'm doing...questioning my e6000 technique.. will that glue really hold that ... what is that..... a fish...no, what's it made of...pottery.....you're doing pottery still? ...no, not for the summer.....i had this saved up...... what are those eyes? styrofoam? ... no, pottery.... really........are you sure that thing isnt' just gonna fall right off when you hang it up... are you sure?... yes..... really?.... really......i'm a professional artist, ya know.......i know my glue....so i did a bunch of stuff...worked on some yellow canvases...some big canvases....some small.......tried to get this whole fish thing done......but....no such luck......finsihed nothing....is that ok? i'm thinking i have some art time in my sunday afternoon plans.......so, tomorrows blog should be art rich.....we'll see......

and one more bit of happiness.......three sweetie pies visited me......they left this morning after a whirlwind trip....as they were preparing to go, sophie asked if she could take some pictures.. yes...... and ... with my camera, she took about 80 photos.......i think she's going to need some training if she wants to go into photography... about four of the 80 were ok....... this one, in particular, cracked me up.....sophie took this picture of my dog, dixie, studying a painting in my kitchen.... isn't that odd......i guess it is odd that i have a painting low enough to be at eye level to a five pound dog...... but i do...... this one is optimistic pigs can fly....maybe dixie is wishing for wings.......
tra la la...hope you are having an art filled weekend......or at least a happy one.......

ps....i went with turquoised ludlum papers with a coat of lumiere pearl on top.....and i chose bottle caps in the green blue purple family......no coke, no pepsi, no jolt, no tab, no orange fanta....but still dozens and dozens of caps to choose from.....

so if you don't do any, any, any, any, any art in a day...but you have a grand day of ...um....bowling....and swimming and eating pizza ....

we have fab. family visiting and i never went in my studio today....oops.......but....a glorious day even artless...... a very happy day ......even though i bowled an 87....i tied with grace ...she's 8 ....and i beat sophie by four pins....she's just six years old......and carolyn, 11, beat me by ...oh, 50 pins or something........and despite that bowling pummeling...and no art....i had a glorious day.......
stay tuned for tomorrow...i promise i'll have some art to post for you.......
happy weekend......

...and another post ..because i just spent about an hour (or more?) in my studio with roberta..we mostly chatted but i did a bit of art

so.....my roberta is here......with her two girls.....and the kids are having a blast.....and we've just chit chatted the night away......

in my studio, i showed roberta this and that...stuff i'm working on......different weird things......and then i doodled an envelope to make a little mail art....who will the lucky recipient be? you'll just have to stay tuned for that...the envelope is groovy..the insides? groovy too!

while i was with roberta, i was kind of apologizing for the state of chaos that my studio is in.......sorry it's such a mess....and she said...NO, it's beautiful.....so she has a discerning eye and an appreciation for artistic messes.....

my house is very happy right now...how 'bout yours?

a b c d e ....e, that's it....1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000...that's it...e6000, the stinky glue

on my last post, i mentioned e6000 ...the strongest, most fabulous, perfect artists' glue......and in the comments, heidi, artsy girl and writer of one of my favorite blogs, everyday cookies , asked about the e6000 stinky factor.......

so, this is my open letter to heidi......heidi, dear, roberta just told me on the phone that YOU said:
a: you think i'm cool
b: you think e6000 is too stinky
c: you wonder if my art is e6000 stinky.......
d: all of the above.....

so.....i smelled my art ....really, walked right up to
trout parrot and gave it a whif.......and it does not smell like e6000 ......and i have no explanation why on earth yours would stay stinky and mine does not......perhaps you are not closing your eyes, imagining flower scents, and chanting the proper incantation while waving your fairy wand......but i dunno.....maybe you are and it is still stinky...can't help you......

and just so you know....right after you got off the phone with roberta, we discussed in great detail:
a: how groovy YOU are
b: that "glue with letters and numbers"
c: stinky art
d: how lucky i am that she is visiting me
e: all of the above

tra la la.....i've done no art today...but plan to squeeze some in before my sister in law and two neices arrive for a surprise spur of the moment trip........

i can at least use the stinky glue!!

oh....every time i do a smidge of art i feel like rushing to my blog and letting you all know just exactly what i got done.....is that ok....

so, apparently, i'm loving this bloggy land so much, that i'm now posting more than once a day......my last post, just below this, i said, oh, i'm gonna go sneak in some studio time...after dinner...before the bed time book reading extravaganza .....and i did.....and i dug out this oh-so-very-old background...that started with a definitive notion...and then i lost the notion.....did i do it a year ago? maybe? anyway, saw it while i was digging around and BING had a light bulb moment ....and a new notion...... so i did a bit of work on the background.....and separately was working on the foreground.....



and here is a sneak peek .... of what might be.....it isn't glued down (oooh, that's a hint) and i'm not certain about the coloring...or what the extra doodads could be....or if i even need them for that matter...but i usually am all for doodads.......

anyhoo....nice to get some art in at the end of a busy day......and nice to be able to have one last little bit of blog before bedtime.....feels a bit like, dear diary, i just painted the most fabulous ______ fill in the blank......

so ..... any guesses what i've got going on here? on this background that was intended for big ole white flowers.....eek, that so didn't happen......

tra la la....happy artsiness to you......

life is a balancing act......i wish i were the pig.....

i don't care who you are, man, woman, boy, girl, worker, student, artist, mom, dad, retiree......it's all about balance......and i started out my week SO balanced and then somehow, i've dropped that elephant/camel barbell......but......i must be somewhat balanced cause this is my third finished piece of art this week...not bad.......

today, drew had basketball camp, julia had a golf tournament, sophie had a tennis lesson, i played caddie, i got my hair cut......and andy is working late so i took the kids out to dinner instead of cooking.....at least i fed them, right?

can i brag....if not, stop here......

julia has just taken up golf....she entered a tournament .......the golf pro had asked andy if she'd be interested.....she's never played golf without drew and andy so she said no thanks, too scary.....i said, anything worth doing starts out a little scary......and she said OK......she is brave.....and she is also the leader in her division, 9-10 girls, going into day 2 ....how groovy is that...my own little tiger..... i had planned on an art day til all this popped up! oh well......i'm off to the basement studion now for a little evening paint slinging.......tra la la......

ps... click here to see this collage on my flickr site.....if you roll your mouse over the picture, there are some cutie pie little note boxes to read too.......

my artistic irony isn't exactly subtle......SLOW DOWN

jolt cola mona went to the doctor.....he was worried for her health and told her less caffeine.....stop, smell the roses....slow down....appreciate the beauty around you.....quit rushing....... so mona bought a pet....a pet turtle.... it is absolutely impossible to rush when you are taking your turtle for a walk......

in fact...i have a little dog......with a long leash....and sometimes i take her out for a stand...we walk first...and then i just stand there....as she sniffs each and every leaf and blade of grass....i sometimes think she's testing...how patient can e be (does she call me mommy or e?) ...how patient will she be, standing out here at nearly midnight? ruff...i'm going to try to sniiff 287 blades of grass tonight......breaking yesterdays record of 286 ....ruff ruff.....

slow down......

and stay tuned.....as soon as i post this i am going downstairs to finish another turtle collage......rah.......