A Different Kind of Art

I got my fourth tattoo after Christmas. It seems I get one about every five years and I've been wanting a flaming heart for quite awhile (it was on my Vision Board for 2012, so I knew I needed to get crackin'). I chose an antique silver Italian sacred heart milagros as the inspiration for the design and my two daughters agreed to go with me to hold my hands during the process. They distracted me by making me laugh, by reminding me to breathe, oh, and they mocked me just a bit. I had an awesome tattoo artist, Isreal Caine, who works out of Spider Monkey Tattoos in Olympia, Washington. I've edited the photos, and believe me, you'll be glad I did as some of the photos showed some pretty bizarre facial expressions!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

End of an Era

Alley Art Studio is relocating and I've begun the arduous task of dismantling a one-bedroom house devoted entirely to studio space (and the display and storage of a crazy amount of bits and pieces). I'm moving the studio home, a new home to us, a 1926 beauty in central Salem. I rarely have made enough on a month-to-month basis to pay rent on my studio space, but that's been one of the perks of sleeping with the landlord. It's a bittersweet time. I've loved my studio, also affectionately known as my playhouse, but I'm looking forward to being able to work whenever I want, and in my jammies if creative inspiration strikes late at night. On Christmas night, my sweet husband gave up on a Christmas movie to help me pack up a portion of the studio (portion being the operative word). And so it begins . . . a transition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, thee will be a grand garage sale in the spring.

Look Behind You

While in NYC for a week, I worked in my ever-present travel journal. I used a journal made by Pamela Huntington  that I had purchased a couple of years ago at Artfest. It was small, so I was able to fill the pages easily and quickly. I knew that with my busy schedule upon returning from New York, I wouldn't get a chance to work on it again, so I worked madcap in the morning before we left for the day and in the evening before turning into bed. On our nine-hour flight home on Sunday, I added some final text and smudging.

Here is what the dining table at the apartment looked like upon arrival:

 

And then during the week we transformed it to look like this:

 

 

 

 

A few pages from my completed journal:

 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend Vicki created her journal using pieces of cardboard from cereal boxes, making a sturdy and loose substrate. Here is her lovely journal at the time we left on Sunday afternoon:

 

 

Thrifting and Junking in NYC: Retail Activist

 Toward the end of our week, I was able to get my thrifting and junking fix through second hand stores, thrift shops, and on Saturday, two wonderful flea markets in Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen. Words aren't too necessary, so here's the opportunities in photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drum roll for all my assemblage and Curious Elements supplies.