lara

I've made these cards to sell for African Well Fund at my etsy as all purpose cards to send to people and look at year round
.
I'm actually pretty giddy about them as i mixed paper craft and sewing for the first time EVER thanks for being with my parents on Thanksgiving and my mom showing me how to use her sewing machine. The background uses stencils I've recently discovered and am MAD about them! I fear they are my new collectible item of 2014, luckily they don't take up much room!

I stenciled, painted and misted several sheets of paper then cut them up into different size rectangles then re-glued them together.







The heart is a doiley I Glimmer Misted then sewed fabric scraps on. Fun but a bit frustrating. I'm just not a sewer, unfortunately, since i love the effect so much. I then glued the alpha letters and buttons on. In retrospect i don't know what the hell i was thinking using a glue gun, and i regret how sloppy some of these look because of it, but perhaps that's just part of the handmade quality.







I really enjoyed touching and matching all the different textures and textiles and I expect more experimentation will be in the works in my future!

It seems for the last 3 years i've been trying to find the right drippy tool. I've tried fluid acrylic, acrylic with water, watercolor, glimmer mist, and now ink... and i think i found it. Love the ink drip! I also put them in a mini-mister with water for spray.

The quote on this heart is from an old techno song a friend once put on a mixed tape for me circa 1992 that i recently uncovered. I cant find that song on Spotify or itunes, but it does exist on youtube.





OK, this was another big test for me. I've been trying to find the perfect image transfer technique for years and years (i'm sure more than 3). I've tried transparency and tape, amongst others, and those get the clearest transfer however i hate the shininess of them. It occurred to me the other day, i could use transparency but then put one layer of white tissue over the entire page to unify the image!!! It worked way too well. Especially since transparency aint cheap to print on! The added bonus was dripping ink-water on it and getting those cool drops that absorbed into the tissue!





This last one is just playing with shapes and texture. Oh yes, boys and girls, i've discovered the wonderous world of stencils! The background of this page was from using it as a paint palette during other projects.

Cause i'm a big old nerd, i went to Barnes & Noble this weekend to see my article in Somerset Memories Art Journaling Magazine in the store. What can i say ... I'm proud ...

a couple more new art journal pages.
for YEARS i've been wanting to explore the notion of fear and my relationship with it.
Even creating an art journal just about fear.
Somewhat unconsciously these pages have that theme.



this photo was from a hike i did recently in north georgia. there was a 90 degree side of a cliff i was asked to climb and not only am i scared of heights, but i've never done anything like climb the side of a rock before. This one had lots of roots and vines growing along it that was used to climb. I was super hesitant at the beginning then went for it and at the top was super proud and relieved!

I'm head over heels excited to share that I've been included in the latest issue, Autumn 2013, of Art Journaling Magazine! My favorite!!! It's a pretty crazy honor!!!!

On newstands October 1!
Full size scans at my Flickr

This is an 8" x 8" canvas i made for my friend Aprils birthday. It's her lovely daughter.
The canvas is inspired by a workshop i took with the lovely Anna Dabrowska a couple of months ago.



Lots of textures and layers and droppy paint and glimmer and found object loveliness!

SNAP magazine just published a spread of some of my photos from Benin Africa!!!!!!! To say i'm honored and a little overwhelmed is an understatement! They did an amazing job!!!!!!

I recently made this notebook for a friend of mine's birthday. I've taken two workshops this summer, one from Andy Skinner and three, actually, from Anna Dabrowska. The techniques i've learned really excite me!!

 

The back shows what i picked up from Andy, using different techniques and layers for ultimate texture. And, yes, the base of the journal is cardboard.


 

 The front is inspired by Anna's class. Some of the objects are from her Prima line but a majority is from my "found object" stash. And one last look of the journal in the sun showing all the delectable texture :)

i started a new art journal a couple of weeks ago.
Here are some of the first pages.

 

I'm definitely trying to re-engage that part of my brain that isn't afraid to make mistakes.
Sometimes it hurts more than others...
This first page was made with using only things found on my work desk at that moment. I've been having alot of "getting back into it" challenges so i thought instead of being overwhelmed by ALL the possibilities, to just grab what was in front of me and throw it down.

I've been drinking alot of "yogi" tea lately which prints these "words of wisdom" on the tea bag tags and i save those along with the fortune cookie fortunes i already have a pile of.
The burlap heart was made for Bono's birthday card but i decided not to use it (obviously)

 

This is another "and the kitchen sink" page with things laying around. Again, the lace heart was a thought for Bono's card that got put aside. I also learned how awesome lace doilies take glimmer mist :)
 

This one i went to my "scrap bag" for pieces.
In attempting to get myself back into art journalling and even scrapbooking, i spent a couple of weeks going through the four giant totes of scraps and ephemera i had been just throwing things into and making scrap bags with 12"x12" ziplock bags. So now the thought is, i can just grab a bag and hopefully find some inspiration sifting through it.

And ya, it almost hurts my eyes to look at this page! But pink and yellow are one of my favorite color combos regardless.

And then finally:
 

I created the background using some new techniques i found on pinterest including using rubbing alcohol and sandpaper. I think it turned out AWESOME. The photo is my favorite one i took from the africa trip last month. It's very compelling to me and just always makes me think deep thoughts no matter how often i look at it.


So yeah, none of this is my best work by far, but it's all a part of the process. Gotta re-exercise the creative muscles and get back into a groove but at least i'm taking the first steps which are always the hardest!

This year's birthday card made for Bono was very much inspired by West African art. I was really taken by the use of "natural materials" and the way things were framed with them.




For this years card I used burlap (from a coffee sack from Rwanda I've had for a couple of years not knowing what to do with), this cool birch wood paper i found at a local art store, hemp string, cheese cloth and a glass heart pendent.



Whats cool about this card is that it reflects the recent trip taken to Benin in which we saw well sites and latrines that were built using money from the Bono Birthday fundraiser two years previously.

Knowing how sharp Bono is after meeting him with the presentation of the other card, I am confident he will get the connection!

This was made for my friend Diane's birthday. It's size is 12" x 24". We went to West Africa together and when we took a trip to Ganvie instead of selling postcards this shop sold paintings local artists did of the city depicting scenes of its local life and rich history. Diane bought this, rolled it up and once got back to the hotel realized the paint had chipped off and she considered it somewhat ruined. Being the upcycler crafty person i am, i took it with the thought in mind to use it to create another piece that would bring it back to life.



One of the things i noticed about the West African art i saw around me while in Benin was it used mostly found objects and really at its core, is the grand daddy of upcycling. There is so much garbage around due to a lack of adequate waste disposal systems and many artists appear to use things most of us would just throw away. So, for this piece i wanted to stay as true to that as i could (but of course adding my own lara flair)
 

The cardboard, string and burlap i already had in my house and the birch wood paper was a fortuitous find at a local art store. And then, of course, i had to add the beads, because, well, i love beads ...

I'm so very proud of this piece and she adores it from what i hear. It was a pretty amazing feeling to see this piece of damaged art all the way from benin reborn into not only an awesome keepsake from the trip but a lovely wall hanging with texture and layers and sense of history.

Last weekend i visited Old Car City in White, Georgia.  About an hour and a half from Atlanta. Interesting place . . . a bit overwhelming . . . a bit inspirational . . . a nice stroll on a nice day . . .

I think what everything in my life comes down to are these words.
Perhaps some day i can make a living off of that philosophy.

Here and there were these handwritten signs. At first they were disturbing my flow since i had thought i was there to look at the old cars, but soon my focus shifted and i sought them out. I love the folk artiness of it. The mispellings. The universal sentiments...
 

and of course, the moral to every story . . .



But, there were cars too! So so so many.

 



And buses . . .



And amazing pantina's and paint and rust that i will try as hard as i can to replicate . . .





Look forward to going back soon, although note to self, bring bug spray!!!

After spending 6 days in West Africa, i stopped over in Paris with three others. It was somewhat of an unfortunate time for my first visit to the city, but nonetheless i'm glad we spent three days there.
Now, my goal is to learn French and return for a longer visit to Paris as well as Southern France!

Here are some obligatory photos of the Eiffel Tower through the lense of Hipstmatic:








And then my other favorite photographic passion, statuary (which Paris is ripe with!!!):


At the Louvre, this is the Cupid and Psyche statue:



One of the 100s of cupids and angels that line the Seine river bridges:



At La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre:



At Tuileries Garden - Leveque's Nymph:



On the wall of the Museo of Modern Art:


At the Montmartre Cemetery:





To see other travels via the Hipstamatic viewfinder:
Central Wisconsin
House on the Rock, Wisconsin
Southern California
Austin Texas
Tennessee and North Carolina
Atlanta Oakland Cemetary
New Orleans
Washington DC
Lomé, Togo
Ganvié, Benin
Bohicon, Benin


To see the current nine volumes of photographs:
Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Volume Five
Volume Six
Volume Seven
Volume Eight
Volume Nine