Finnabair Ambassador ...........Choose A Word

CONNECTION If you have ever gathered with a large group of people, even strangers, to seek out moments of collective joy eg.........ninety five thousand Australian fans of the Liverpool Football Club gathered at the MCG singing You'll Never Walk Alone,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iLL57puZPM  or,  show up for experiences of collective pain, eg. a funeral, or a memorial, you can not deny our human connection, even with people we may disagree with. "These examples of collective joy and pain are sacred experiences. They are so deeply human that they cut through our differences and tap into our hard wired nature. These experiences tell us what is possible about the human spirit."   Brene Brown I have chosen the word "connection" because I feel I've lost it. We live such busy lives and the world has become so complicated. We connect, on line, but not so much in person any more. In fact all we want is to be left alone, peace and quiet. Personal, sincere and meaningful connection with friends, communities and strangers is neglected. Shared joy and pain can bring people together and over ride differences. It can manifest instead in acceptance, tolerance and respect.

Wishing you all peace and love.

Finnabair Ambassador, Journal Pages and A Collage For Sale.

My time as a Finnabair Creative Team Member is up. But what an honour to be  asked to stay on as a Finnabair Ambassador. So happy. So grateful. The Ambassadors group is made up of some pretty amazing artists. You can check out the group HERE. As a group we were asked to show "Our Art In 5 Objects". I've chosen 5 things that are a part of every day I spend in the studio. These 5 things, in very different ways, motivate, relax, inspire, excite and sooth me. INCENSE

I always have incense burning or an essential oil diffuser going. My favourites are Sandalwood and Patchouli. Maybe this is a left over thing from my hippie days, but these fragrances always seem to be able to stimulate and calm at the same time.

MUSIC

I will pretty much always have music playing. There is the odd occasion where my head will crave silence, but most of the time there will be an eclectic mix of music coming from my studio. PATTERN

Pattern. I love it. I can't seem to help it; it must be included in some way in everything I make. Often the quickest and easiest way is to apply it with stamps and stencils, but it can come from collaged paper, fabric, hand drawn and printed in many different ways.

SOFT MATTE GEL

Collage and image transfer are my 2 favourite techniques, and art basics Soft Matte Gel is perfect for both. It lives on my desk and I use it every day. Also art alchemy Sparks Acrylic Paint has become a new favourite medium that now seems to find a place in just about everything I make. I love it's thick consistency and richness of shine. ( Oops, I think I just included a sixth object )

JOURNALS

Journals. What can I say? I love them. Each page is a new opportunity for expression, for exploration, for telling a story, for making a point, for visualising a dream, for recording a memory or  just for some arty, playful fun. Big, small, bought, recycled or hand made, for me they are the perfect place in which to create. A journal is a record of your life. To look back through an old journal is a visual record of your thoughts, ideas, events and emotions. If you would like to see what is at the heart of the other Finnabair Ambassadors, you can check it out HERE. Speaking of journals, here's a little peek at 2 that I've been working in lately. One is hand made from a single piece of water colour paper, folded and cut in a certain way that it folds up into a small book. There are heaps of YouTube videos on how to fold and make these concertina style journals. Three pages done so far.

The other journal I have been having a lot of fun working in is the Dina Wakley Media Journal, with its various pages of cotton rag water colour paper, canvas, burlap and craft paper.

Lastly, I would like to mention this print below of  one of my original pieces of work that is for sale. It is a fine art print, reproduced professionally and printed on the highest quality archival paper. I have donated it as part of an online charity auction.  The link for all the details is HERE.

 

This has been a very long post. If you're still here reading, then thank you. Even tho I have my 5, special, material objects that are at the heart of what I create, I can't help but feel a deeper gratitude.  I am very fortunate and grateful for the opportunity, the freedom  and the means by which to be creative, and to immerse myself in an activity that brings me so much pleasure, satisfaction and joy.

Journal Cover

I have a few art journals. This one is relatively new, I've only completed a few pages. As I finished a page, I added a little of what was done on that page, onto the front cover. The journal of course is not complete, but now,  the cover is. I just couldn't stop..........once I got into collaging and moving paint around and adding my drawings  onto the cover, the process took over and, like any thing that's fun, I kept going until the cover was complete.

Finnabair Soft Matte Gel and 3D Matte Gel are the adhesive used for all my collages. It works on the lightest of tissue paper, to heavy card, to metal.

Don't Forget To Fly........And Goodbye

Have faith, let go and fly off into the deep blue yonder. Take a risk, apply for that design team......... Even when you think you don't have a chance in hell. My last post as a Creative Team Member for Finnabair.  What a ride. What an honour. What fun. This experience has been the most positive thing, creatively, that could have ever happened to me.  Thank you Anna.

Full details and a step by step of how this was made is HERE on the Finnabair blog.

Feel Connected

Starting and ending and in between is the best part........... the process. Random bits of pretty paper glued onto a heavy sheet of mixed media paper. Where's this going?

Draw a face.......because I like them Highlight bits you like Block out bits you don't

Draw and paint in some extra detail Add some colour and some stamps

Add some texture and pattern Sometimes it's just the little details that I get lost in.

A more detailed step by step is up on the Finnabair blog HERE with a list of materials used.

Faces Pattern Collage

I love to explore the possibilities of all mixed media. There is still so much to learn. I understand the workings and characteristics of a few, but I am a master of none. This constant search for new, untried mediums and then, once found, the excited and sometimes frustrating play that comes next, is, for me, what art is all about. This constant practice, exploration and learning is pretty much at the heart of why I try to make art. I have always had a deep love for detailed pattern....Moroccan tiles, Indian paisley etc. and this month I've been inspired by the beautiful work of artists Anne Bagby and Lynne Perrella who use faces, pattern and collage in the most exquisite ways. As a Creative Team member for Finnabair, I have explored my love of faces, pattern and collage, using pretty much only her fabulous products for this double page journal spread.

You can find a detailed step by step of my process HERE on the Finnabair blog.

Texture.....Paper and The Real Thing

I set myself a fun challenge........to recreate a piece of texture "look" paper. Using Finnabair texture mediums like White Crackle Texture Paste, Art Stones and Rust and Patina Pastes, I created a textured background on a wooden block.  I used the paper on the sides of the block and hoped it would blend in with the front.

More details of all products used and a step by step is up on the Finnabair blog HERE.

Art Journal........ Colour

Playing with Dina Wakley colour. #showusyourMEdia challenge on the Dina Wakley blog. HERE

Fear is a great discourager..........

But, perfection is boring.

That's why I create. It's a challenge. To try to be a master of my medium.

It will never happen......because nothing is ever "perfect" and there in lies the beauty.

In your journal, nothing has to be perfect. Anything and everything is allowed.

Scribble Sticks, stamps and paint.

Coloured pencils and Gold Texture paste.

Check out the Dina Wakley blog and play along with her #showusyourMEdia challenge.

Art Journal

Paper, collage, a little bit of paint, stencil,  stamps, ink and washi tape. Keeping it simple

Because there is still so much sweetness in this world.

Chakra Tags

Oh my goodness. A whole month has gone by and I have not posted anything !! Can I use the (very poor ) excuse that we have renovated, sold, packed up and moved out of our house (after 25 years ) and moved into and set up temporary accommodation in a teeny, tiny, fairy house, well that's what it feels like to me, and I have absolutely NO idea where anything is, and am feeling a little disoriented? Amongst the chaos, in a small bedroom, which is now my studio, I have managed to complete the last  2 of eight chipboard tags representing the Seven Chakras. See previous posts HERE and HEAR

These tags have been made using predominantly beautiful Finnabair products. Detailed step by step tutorials can be found on the Finnabair blog HERE, HERE and HERE showing how each tag was made. It was a beautiful indulgence making this complete set and looking more deeply into the ideas behind Hindu Chakras, Yoga, Mindfulness and Spirituality.

Thanks for visiting. Namaste.