Giveaway goes to...

Incipient wings! I'll be popping this in the mail to you just as soon as I have your snail mail addy!
Thank you to everyone who left a comment. It just makes me feel so great. *smiles* to all of you especially, Norma

Look for the Silver Lining

It is said that every dark cloud has a silver lining. I say that if you can't see the silver lining in the cloud, look in the shadows of the cloud. That is where I mine most of my silver.
Week seven in the Summer of Color gave us the color purple to work with, with an addition of glitter if we chose. I chose silver glitter where the lightning strikes clouds and where the shadows of the clouds can therefore be seen and therefore where the silver linings shine brilliantly. Painted on used tea bag paper with acrylics. Sparkle added as well.
I am house sitting (cat minding) for my daughter so don't have my pants hanger display here.

Thanks for dropping in! *smiles* Norma

Buried Treasure

Welcome to Buried Treasure: an online, collaborative project that invites art bloggers to go into the depths of their blogs and dig for buried treasure. Each participant was asked to repost one (or more) or their favorite posts from their own blog. There are so many brilliant artists out there but so little time to explore all their work fully. This gives us all an opportunity to see highlights from posts we may have missed from so many of our favorite bloggers!
This event is created and hosted by Seth at The Altered Page so pop on over there to have a look at what other artists are loving about their work or just loving period. Have fun!

If you want to see my contribution, I am number 12 on the list. I chose this post because while the photography is fuzzy, it shows an atc artdoll that folds down into itself. This was an early atc for me and one I did before I picked up a paintbrush. Now I paint my own faces.

Thanks for dropping in! *smiles* Norma

What is on your workdesk Wednesday

AND A GIVEAWAY!


Yesterday I started what I thought was to be a very quick sketch for today's post and it was going swimmingly until I started to sketch the pinecone! Have you ever drawn a pinecone? I immediately ran into trouble so knew I'd have to do a preliminary sketch and when I carefully began that part I came to realize that a pinecone is probably one of the most difficult things to capture in a drawing there ever was (in my opinion now). So I slowed right down and did the best that I could. I have a new appreciation for those little things!
This giveaway will be drawn on Sunday. It is an unknown flower seed pod, another heart rock that I found the other day, a pinecone, and with a few real lupin seeds thrown in for good measure. India ink, watercolor pencil on used tea bag paper. Just leave a wee comment for your name to be added!

Thanks for dropping in! *smiles* Norma

What is on your workdesk Wednesday? Drop in to see what great art happens!

Week Six: Red (Summer of Color)

A fire bird takes flight. He has these gold globe shape things on his head and when he gives his head a 'flip' they scatter to the wind. More continually grow back. We don't know exactly what this means. Look for gold in any event. It may lay where you least expect it!
Week six of the Summer of Color gave us the color red to work with. Thank you to Kristin for hosting this fabby and fun and 'teaching me how to work with acrylics because I actually have to produce something' event! *smiles* Norma

Week Five: Brown (Summer of Color)

Donkey (well yes he is a rabbit but his nickname is Donkey) keeps watch. He keeps finding golden round things and has started to collect them. He has two sections of his warren set aside to house them (he is thinking BIG and he is one of my favorite friends because of this trait of his) and so far he has about eleven golden round things. Where do they come from? It is a puzzle.
Week five of the Summer of Color asked us to use brown. I immediately thought of earth. So an underground habitat came to mind for me.

Sunday draw for botanical still life sketch goes to...

Corrine! I'll be in touch later today for your snail mail particulars.
I want to thank each one of you who put your name in for this giveaway. Because of you I am practicing what I love to do but what I avoid like the plague. Thanks to you I am drawing (learning to draw). I embrace you for that! Talk soon, Norma

Where Bloggers Create 2011

My studio is in a closet 3 feet wide by 4.5 feet long. If you took a single size bed mattress and cut off 1.5 feet from one end of it and laid it down on the floor that would be my floor space. The images here are my sewing space only. It is 3 feet wide by 1 foot deep (on a shelf) so that is 3 square feet. Behind the sewing machine is my inspiration board. I set up my Indian gold trim holder (really a pants hanger with multi tiers) to add some interest to the shot.
My entire studio can be seen on a previous post entitled 'studio move.' I have one other work space in my apartment. I have set up a light table right on top of my sink in the bathroom. I draw and paint there.
Well hope you enjoyed the tour! Much *smiles* and creative hugs to you all, Norma

Thanks for dropping by!

To return to the blog hop: click here.

Still life botanical sketch on tea bag paper

Sweet peas, lupin pods and a heart rock feature in this sketch. Done on used tea bag paper with india ink and watercolor pencils. This will be another giveaway so just leave a comment and I'll pick out a name on Sunday. I had so much fun doing the last one I decided to do more!! *smiles* to you all, Norma
P.S. This will be my post for What is on Your Workdesk Wednesday? Have a look at what other folk are doing. It's so interesting and varied and fun.

Sweet peas, Lupin pods and my first heart rock

On my way home from the thrift store I popped in to the community garden which I often do. I chose a few stems of sweet pea and a couple of lupin seed pods (they are so furry on the outside) and planned to do another botanical sketch on tea bag paper with these as the subject. As I walked through the garden I saw in front of me on the path as clear as a bell a heart shaped rock. My own heart stopped for a second. This is my very first find of a heart shaped rock and I've been looking for years! So the rock will be in the sketch as well. I am planning to do another giveaway if the sketch goes okay. *smiles* Norma

The sentiments of the hearers were various.

Summer of Color: Week Four (Yellow)

In the yellow house lived a lady with yellow hair. She was a soothsayer whom it is said, had the "sight." In the corner of her parlour sat a golden samovar that never ran dry. It was here that she told fortunes by reading tea leaves. Some believed more than others.

Do you believe?

Have a look at what others are doing in the Summer of Color.

And the Winner Is.....

My daughter Jennifer makes scrabble tile necklaces along with tons of other fabby things. As there were ten players for this giveaway, I decided to pick out ten random scrabble tiles with differing images and give them a number. I tossed them into a bowl, had a good stir, and chose...number 6 which corresponds to...indie grrrl. So I'll be contacting you for your snail mail addy. I had so much fun doing this, I'm going to do more! *smiles* Norma

Giveaway of a botanical sketch on used tea bag paper

I've been itching and itching to do a sketch on tea bag paper. Specifically, a botanical sketch. I'm working on other projects right now but this has been pressing for some time now. So tonight as I walked home from the grocers I picked a small unopened bud of a cream color peony and then a few blocks later spotted some maple seeds hanging from the branch and ready to fall. The maple tree has a medium size dark burgundy color leaf and there is very very dark plum colors on the edges of the cream peony.
When I got home I put dinner on the stove which would take about 30 minutes to cook and so when the timer rang to tell me dinner was ready I stopped sketching and that is what I am giving away.
It is done with india ink and watercolor pencil. As it is done on used tea bag paper there are the normal holes and wear and tear of the paper. Usually I manage to tear another hole in the paper as I press too hard in a spot or two. This did happen with this sketch. And of course, there is the usual india ink blob. A solid dot that speaks for itself. So this is not fine art I am giving away here. It's a sketch. I am thinking it will be easy to mail out and you can use it in your art somewhere. Maybe part of a collage. Or maybe you can just spray it with adhesive and put it on a card. Anyway, just leave a comment below and I'll pick a winner on Sunday. Talk soon, *smiles* Norma

This post will be the Wednesday post for What is on Your Workdesk Wednesday. See the button on the sidebar and have a look at what people are doing!

Thanks for dropping in!

Spirit Bottle

My bar is one of my favorite things in the world. I don't drink. A sip of liqueur in a shot glass maybe six times a year. When I write out my Christmas cards, when something really special happens, when something really awful happens, you know, those kinds of events. And sometimes just because.
I have a full bottle of Cointreau unopend that I received last year for Christmas. Same for a bottle of Baileys. My favorite drink is B&B and that is what I usually have on the go. But a bar is one of the most fun, social, inviting, warm, and just visually beautiful things in this world that I can think of. So I love my bar. A full on chandelier sits under my bar as I have no room to hang it. It sits on a mirror on the floor which reflects the light, and there is a full length mirror at the back of the bar so when the chandelier is lit up there is a whole lot of reflected light going on. Nothing subtle here.
Yesterday I received in the mail a beautiful 'spirit bottle' that is a piece of art made by an artist that I met on line some time ago. You shake it for luck. I put it in with my other bottles of spirits on my beloved bar, where it has pride of place. I shook it up real good and I am thrilled to have this treasure. Thank you Corrine!


Corrine also sent a large skein of hand spun natural fibre which will find its way into something I have in mind. It looks hand dyed and there is a bag of gorgeous linen and some glass beads which are tiny, tiny, tiny. I am truly thankful for this package of delicious things. Thank you again Corrine!

Flying Pink Horse

Week three of the Summer of Color gave us the color pink! My story unfolds as we see a flying pink horse with gold hoofs passing by a group of houses. One of the houses, the bright yellow one, has a golden door. I wonder who lives there?