I’ve been remodeling my house

I’ve been remodeling my house! I started in June and it’s really created havoc in my life. I think I’ll move before I take on a project like this again. But the kitchen has been completed! I tell you, home cooked meals have never tasted so good. Going out to eat for three meals a day with kids is just not fun, and I don’t even want to step on a scale and see the damage. That said, it turned out beautiful, with lots more storage and convents. It’s time for the fun part, the final touches. I’ve usually made my art for other people, whether for a gift, to sell, or as an assignment, now I’ve decided to make some items just for me.


My first project is pewter covered light switches and plugs. We went for the full granite back splash and my ugly old plastic covers just didn’t look right. So, I took a class from Lynda Abare. She is a wonderful teacher and can truly work magic with metals. I always admire when a teacher has worked with a medium for a long time and is willing to pass on all the little tricks they have learned. I’ve played with pewter before, but after Lynda’s great instruction, I’m much happier with the results.


When I got home and looked at how ugly the yellowed, plastic plug covers looked, I decided to make pewter covers for all of them – all 10 of them. A short cut was going to be needed so I used my wizard to do the first embossing, and then used the tools to refine all the details. By the way I used a silver Krylon leafing pen to color the rest of the plastic to match.

Welcome!

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog. This is so exciting -- to have a place to share all my artistic finds and experiments.

Why do I make all this crazy art? For me, the need to create stuff is a compulsion that started when I was a little girl. As a child I would take discarded things and make something new out of them. At that time I didn’t know that it was called altered arts. I took up painting in high school and college but after the birth of my first child, I did not have the time to dedicate to large paintings. But the compulsion to create was still nagging me until I discovered scrapbooking and stamping which eventually led me to my current love, altered books. This opened up all kinds of new art mediums to me, and a feeling that everything and anything would make a great canvas for my artwork. I enjoy working with paints, inks, words, trash (recycled treasures), stamps, photos, clay, fiber – ok, I guess I’ve never met an artistic medium I didn’t like.

My artwork is about texture and color; I produce work to draw the viewer into the piece, calling out to be touched and encouraging the viewer to interact with it in some way. That is why I love altered books; the only way to fully appreciate an altered book is by holding it and looking through it.

My days are spent with my three kids. We love to play, bike, swim, hike, boat, games, travel, and learn new things. “My time” is in the mornings as I am an early riser, from 4:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. is my art time.

I was just thrilled to find a magazine dedicated to my art form. I pour over each page absorbing ideas and inspirations. When I discovered Altered Arts Magazine was looking for designers I knew I had to apply. That was two years ago and it has been a wonderful experience opening many doors for me. I love the challenge of producing artwork for the magazine and feel that working for Altered Arts Magazine has really helped me grow as an artist. I am very proud to be one of the senior designers this year. I’m very excited to be part of this cutting-edge publication and look forward to seeing what the design team comes up with this year.