January Girls

Here are the girls that I have created in January 2015.

Top row:  Miss Amethyst, Miss Beryl, Miss Charlotte.
Bottom row:  Miss Diamond, Miss Emerald, Miss Frida.

The faces and hair are created on watercolour paper in a variety of mediums such as watercolour crayons/pencils/oil pastels, charcoal and gesso, and acrylic paint too.

The clothes are made from gelli prints.

The backgrounds are mixed media paper except for Miss Diamond where I used black textured paper.  And I have printed directly onto the paper or I have glued gelli prints onto it with gel medium.

The frames/borders are my home made washi tape!

Meet Miss Frida

Miss Frida is my mixed media girly version of Frida Kahlo and my favourite girl so far - but don't tell the others.

Miss Frida

Mixed Media on Mixed Media Paper

42cm x 30cm = 16 1/2" x 12"

Miss Frida was created with watercolour pastels and pencils, acrylic paints on watercolour paper with gelli print clothes and flower/band.  The background was created using scrunched up paper and acrylic paint onto the mixed media paper.

Miss Frida is available to purchase through my Etsy store.

Have you met my other girls  - Miss Amethyst, Miss Beryl, Miss Charlotte, Miss Diamond and Miss Emerald???

Meet Miss Emerald

Miss Emerald's favourite colour is green and her favourite gemstones are emeralds and her family come from Ireland.

Miss Emerald

Mixed Media on Mixed Media Paper

42cm x 30cm = 16 1/2" x 12"

Miss Em's face was created with Portfolio watersoluble oil pastels - something different for me. I blended them with white acrylic paint. I also used acrylic paints for her hair and gelli printed her background and used gelli prints for the clothes and hat.

Have you met my other girls  - Miss Amethyst, Miss Beryl, Miss Charlotte and Miss Diamond???  Check back on Friday and you'll meet Miss Frida - my favourite one so far!

Meet Miss Charlotte

Miss Charlotte is a brave, caring honest girl.

Miss Charlotte

Mixed Media on Mixed Media Paper

42cm x 30cm = 16 1/2" x 12"

 She was named after Charlotte Dawson the New Zealand/Australia media personality who committed suicide in Feb 2014 after social media cyberbulling.  Miss Charlotte's face is based on my own as I have been cyberbullied.  Miss Charlotte is a brave, caring honest girl because the words the CB used to describe me were cowardly narcississtic liar and I try to be the opposite - brave, caring/empathetic and honest.  Charlotte Dawson was attacked by anonymous people on Twitter and I was bullied by a 'friend'.

Have you been cyberbullied?  It happens to kids, to teens and to middle aged women too. The CB can be an anonymous person or someone you know...someone you've met. It can happen on FaceBook, on Twitter or on a forum, in private messages or in an email that leaves you feeling like a zombie, like you have been punched in the stomach or slapped in the face, like a victm of domestic abuse but hey this is the internet, there must be a name for it - oh no.... cyberbullying...... 

What should you do about it?  Do some research first, each situation will be different, I did the wrong thing and I don't want you to do the wrong thing but I can't tell you what the right thing is for you.

If you have been cyberbullied or know someone who has and need to talk to someone then you can talk to me.

" If we're going to find our way back to each other, we have to understand and know empathy, because empathy's the antidote to shame. If you put shame in a Petri dish, it needs three things to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence and judgment. If you put the same amount of shame in a Petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can't survive. The two most powerful words when we're in struggle: me too." - Brene Brown, Shame TED talk.

This is the hardest blogpost I've ever written due to the shame and the silence surrounding the cyberbullying.  I've only spoken to one person in real life about it and to a couple of online/real friends.  I didn't write it for sympathy but to let those who have been cyberbullied - me too. You are not alone.  Unfortunately.

Many thanks to Ms X who reached out and said yes you are being bullied.  I thought I was 'imagining' it, being a drama queen. And to those who did nothing, I totally understand that too as I couldn't do what needed to be done either. 

For the background I wrote a letter in the style of the Brave Girls Club to Dear Hurting Girl - a letter from me to me and from me to you...  Then I covered it over in gesso - for a couple of reasons - I didn't want it to be the main focus of the artwork, I want to put this situation behind me, in the past and the scripture 'love covers a multitude of sins' comes to mind - this is agape love or principled love.... Then I grabbed the gelli plate and covered the white with colour.

This is what I wrote (sorry if it makes little sense it was just the thoughts that came to mind when I was writing):

Dear Hurting Girl,

Come here sister and let me give you a hug.  I want you to know:  me too.  You are a brave, caring, honest girl who has many friends and is much loved.  This is not your fault!! I know you feel it is but you are not able to control what other people write on the internet, you can only control what you do.

We are all only human.  We do good and now and again we fail and do bad. Sometimes when we try to do good it turns out bad.  We can just look at a person 'wrongly' or not the way they us to look at them.  Looks and situations can be misinterpreted and misconstrued just as words on the internet can be. I want you to read this blogpost from Melody Ross at the Brave Girls Club titled "I used to think that everyone was good....a story about the Grace Card and forgiveness."

I want you to do some research on cyberbullying, (check out my Pinterest board) as each situation is different.  If you are unable to resolve the issue then you might need the help of a forum moderator or admin.  This can be hard to do of the CB is a popular member or if they have been banned before and your red flagging them could cause them to be blocked forever.

Let's talk about the shame and the silence.  You may feel shame as the CB was your friend and has hurt you before and you have forgiven them and let them back into your life and they have hurt you again.  You may have hurt them - intentionally or unintentionally and this can bring out some negative feelings that you do not want to feel such as anger - hurt, fear, frustration and shame and guilt.  And then there's the grief and the sadness as this friend is now your enemy and you miss the good times in that friendship. I want you to listen to the TED talk by Brene Brown about Shame and how we should reach out and tell our story.

Then there's the silence - you may have been called a liar and so the CB is not going to believe you when you try to fix things so you say nothing - the inability to stand up for your self or say anything because of who the CB is .  Who would believe you anyhow you ask yourself. You would be surprised.  You may not be the first and only person the CB has hurt.  You may not want to get involved....

Sometimes the best thing we can do is NO CONTACT. Leave the forum or the site where the bullying is occurring  and block that person out of your life. You may feel this is unfair to leave all your friends but are they coming to your defence and standing up for you or are they afraid of the CB too, maybe they don't see it as their battle and since it's not happening to them they do nothing to support you.  

You need to let it go....let them go...let it go.  Don't ask the CB to let it go or let you go as they can be like a dog with a bone and if they feel hurt then they feel justified in their actions. You need to let it go for your own sake, so you can move on in your life, you need to let go of all the hurt, the anger and the sadness....

Conflicts are unresolved misunderstandings.  Sometimes they will never be resolved. Let it go...

With much love,

Shells

Have you met my other gelli print girls?  Miss Amethyst? Miss Beryl?  Next time you'll meet Miss Diamond.

Meet Miss Beryl

Miss Beryl is a 1920's Miss whose favourite colour is green and she loves her cloche hat with flower. Her favourite gemstone is beryl which has a hexagonal crystal system and comes in many colours including light green, yellow and red.

Miss Beryl

Mixed Media on Mixed Media Paper

42cm x 30cm = 16 1/2" x 12"

She was created on watercolour paper with charcoal, gesso, acrylic paints, gelli plate print clothes, hat, flower and necklace.  The background was created on mixed media paper with gelli plate print hexagonals and yes, that is home-made washi tape around the edges.

Miss Beryl is available for sale in my Etsy store.

Have you met Miss Amethyst?

Next week you will get to meet Miss Charlotte who is very close to my heart and has a special story to tell.

Meet Miss Amethyst

Meet Miss Amethyst - she is a mature woman with good taste who enjoys a Singapore Sling when she she goes out and her favourite gems are amethysts - of course.

 Miss Amethyst

Mixed Media on Mixed Media Paper

40cm x 30cm = 16" x 12"

Her face was created with watercolour pencils and crayons, her clothes, hat, feathers choker and the background are gelli prints. Here are some progress photos:

Miss Amethyst is available to purchase in my Etsy store.

Learn to Fly Again

"Take these broken wings and learn to fly again..." by Mr. Mister.

Evolution pics:

I'm leaving it for now but feel the negative spaces need something in them but don't know what....

3 in 1 Journal with Denim cover

I've made a 3 in 1 journal for next year - planner/diary/journal/art. It has weekly pages for using as a planner and writing in appointments.  It has some blank pages for writing down my thoughts or arting on and it has some gelli printed pages to use as starter backgrounds for arting on - painting, drawing, doodling, mixed media art journaling on.

If you would like to make one of your own here are some tips on how I made mine - when I made mine I never intended to create a tutorial for it so I do not have the best, detailed photos and there are many helpful videos out there so there was no point making a video either:

Watch these videos:

There was a very simple book stitching video but I can't find it now. Similiar to Rhomany's stitching in the video below but it involves 3 holes not 2....

Rhomany - Filofax Friday - DIY Filofax Inserts & Midori Refill Booklets Pt2

Make an easy art journal.

You will need 54 weeks on 27 pages (top left) - I had some days of the week stamps so I made a template and then photocopied it - leave enough room on the edge for trimming and washi taping. Pages in between - one side was gelli printed but blank on the other side (top right):

Each signature was made up of 15 pages (7 pages of weeks with alternate pages of gelli prints) and a cover made from a manilla folder - cut lengthwise and fold. My book is approximately 5 1/2 inches wide by 8 inches - paper sizes are different in Australia and the USA - so fold regular letter paper/A4 paper in half and go from there.

Here's the inside pages...I created holes in the signatures with a nail and a hammer two inches from the top and bottom leaving 4inches in between. I used embroidery thread to sew the signatures together as I had embroidery thread.

I trimmed my edges using a craft paper trimmer - a great tool I use all the time - keep the pages from moving with a clip.

 I made some home-made washi tape and sticked it to the sides of the pages because I love the colourful edge look (my tutorial coming up next week on the Cre8ive Klatch blog).

After I had made 6 signatures I used the tails of the embroidery thread to tie each signature to the next one.

Making the cover:

I used a denim skirt and cut it down to size and sewed the edges.

I gelli printed the cover just with normal acrylic paint - be generous with the paint as the material soaks it up.

I used a meat tenderiser/hammer and nail to make holes in the fabric - place it on a chopping board. I made 9 holes to stitch 3 signatures in not all 6 as it was going to be too hard.

I used embroidery thread to stitch the first, third and last signature to the material.  I started threading on the inside of the signature in the middle hole. You can start on the outside of the cover and some people add beads to the ends of their tails - I have heard that this makes writing in the journal difficult as the beads get in the way so I have left the spine nice and clean looking - see middle photo.

I found some wooden buttons in my old button box and sewed those on to tie the leather strap around to keep the journal together.

I made 3 journals and have sent two to my Besties. They are too much work to sell profitably but they are great fun to make for oneself or as a gift.

I love my new journal, made of items I already had (except the leather strap) and look forward to 2015 to start using it!

If you have questions then leave them in the comments and I will happily answer them.

Have fun!

PS I sell gelli print packages in my Etsy store if you need any and can make up a special batch just for you if you don't see what you like.  :D

New Painting

Here's my latest painting - I'm not sure if it's finished yet - deciding whether I should outline the stencilled area with black. What do you think?  I'm lacking a lot of confidence lately when it comes to my paintings...Are they good enough to exhibit?

Here's the painting with my stencil on it:

Here's the different layers - as you can see it started out as a landscape painting....

If you're like me and trying to get your mojo back then try these:

1.  Flora Bowley's Boot Camp - it's free and it's aimed at reinvigorating your creativity - and there's a giveaway to her e-course!

2.  Tracy Verdugo is giving away some places on her e-course too!

3. Into drawing faces/portraits - the 29 Faces Sept 2014 starts on Sept 1st.

Have fun!!

Jacobean Florals

Weeks ago I started working on this old canvas that already had many paintings on it. I gessoed and painted over it and then got out the stencils and had some fun with them and finally painted on the Jacobean Florals. Today I finished all the gold outlining...

Today is Day 5 of One Story Down photo a day challenge: 30 days of gratitude edition November 2013 I am grateful to have finished this piece of creativity.

Here are the evolution pics:

I feel that the background is too busy for the flowers....Here are some of my other paintings with stencil backgrounds and blocking out...

I may do some more stencil backgrounds and Jacobean Florals - like this last one but with a stencil background...

Shells' Sunday Snippets

Sunday Snippets (started by {tinniegirl}) - My week in photos... A collection of photos from your week. No need for words. Let the pictures tell your story.

http://www.shellsinthebush.blogspot.com.au/p/blog-page.html

Wednesday Workshop and Sunday Snippets

Next Tuesday I am flying out to New York City and then to New Hampshire to go to Squam Fall 2012 - an art workshop on Squam Lake.

Today was my last Wednesday Workshop with Neil Elliott, a local mixed media artist for 6 weeks so I thought I'd catch you up on what's been happening at the workshop.  Neil is a great teacher, very informative, always encouraging us to have fun and take risks and gives out lots of praise.

Here are all four StreetScapes that I did this year - using sewing patterns, acrylic paint and masking tape. Interesting to see how I changed as I played around with this style and technique...

Which is your favourite scene???  I like number three - Outback House - the best....

Outback House evolution pics...

Neil's House evolution pics....

Cardboard art I've been working on - background and finished painting:

Little Brown House:

Dragon's Head background - I can see a dragon's head in the background of this painting so that's it's title for now...

Here's Neil Elliott's Batboy!!!

Today Neil showed us his bitumen technique - more work still to be done on this test piece - shame I won't be here to see the transformation...

Here's a group piece we are all working on as a donation to a local school to be auctioned....paint needs to dry then more layers will be added next week...some bitumen too no doubt...a very stinky process...

I created one more Flower painting over the past couple of weeks...

My order of new postcards and business cards finally arrived from Moo - 2 weeks after their ETA...

Lemon Meringue Pie I made for a family dinner last weekend...

Here's what the dinner table looked like - as fancy as it comes in our house...

This is Who I Am pic - me with my new prescription sunglasses on....

So I think we are all caught up with what's been happening....now I can start packing my bags for my Big American Adventure - scared and excited all rolled into one.....any tips or advice is appreciated....