...he said into the silence.

What a wonderful weekend! As always, at least a day too short. I vote for a three day weekend. We need one day to finish all the chores we can't get to over the week, one day to relax from it all and then one day to just have fun. I really shouldn't complain... I did it all in two days - worked around the house, played with my paints and had fun with the family. And I did say 'thank you' several times into the silence.

Expecting light

Silly page

I had such a stressful day that at the end of it I was left with a very nervous/aggressive/sad energy and decided to go to my art room and see what comes out of it. I thought that I will be working in dark reds and blacks and make something angry and scary, but instead - this silly face came out. And the words.... they are in my head very often anyway. It really is complicated being an adult. Sometimes I wish I could just step out... and go to a happy, chld-like place.
But I don't.
Because I am responsible.
I just create silly pages.
Speaking of it - here is another page that I created while my friend Connie was visiting the other day. I introduced her to rosin paper and it was love at first sight. I think Connie might have stopped at Home Depot on her way home. :-)

Red Rosin Paper

I received several questions about red rosin paper, so I thought it would be the best if I answered them here.
I first heard about this paper several years ago. I can't remember which artist used it and did I read about it in a blog or a magazine, but I remember the enthusiasm she had while describing it.
First time I tried it was in Katie Kendricks workshop. There was a big roll of it and we could cut as much as we needed. It was love at first sight! I admit that I didn't fall in love with the color it has... this kind of dirty pink doesn't really inspire me much.
What I loved was the fact that I could collage, paint, scratch, collage some more, paint over it, scrub, sand, paint etc. etc. and the paper would handle it beautifully. It is absolutely perfect for my newly found "I enjoy the process and don't care that much about the final look" thing.
Red rosin paper is used as a construction material. Not to be confused with construction paper (although it does look a little bit like it before it's transformed into something else). You buy it in big rolls in places like Home Depot and Lowes (in the section where they have paint, glues and stuff like that). It is heavy weight and wonderful.
After all the layers of paint and collage material I sewed through sometimes three papers and it handled it without a tear. What's not to love?

In case that you are willing to try it, and not buy the whole roll, you might be interested in the blank journals I made from it. They are just waiting for colorful spreads of your imagination. Or - if not - I am sure that I will fill them all before this year is over. The journals are listed in my etsy shop (here).
If you have any other questions - let me know and I'll try to answer them as quickly as I can.
Happy creating!

Almost finished

Almost finished, but not quite... I'm making journals from red rosin paper. It was challenging the cut a huge roll into workable pieces, but I managed without cutting my fingers off...

Snippets

I had seven (7!!!!!) hours of uninterrupted art time yesterday! It was sooooo good! I didn't notice the time pass by. I didn't have time to finish, so I'm showing only snippets (I love snippets the most anyway). I feel like I was on vacation. :-) Happy August everyone!

Witness

Together. In their world. Happy.

-8"x10" on wood, available on etsy-

It seems that whenever my husband goes on a business trip I paint two birds. They just show up, without much thinking. This is the 'erased' painting. It is painted on plaster. I found it interesting that after many layers of paint and gesso I could still 'feel' the plaster. It seemed to absorb the paint differently than what I'm used to. It's very matte, textured, different. I liked scratching through it and unveiling previous layers.