lara

Havent done a Hipstamtic post in a while.
Here are some recent shots - all straight off the iphone...

Early Spring Sunday:


Frog Alley in Glendale, CA:


Valentines Day Card:


and



Tin Lizzy's Patio at Sunset:


and



Street Graffiti:


Sunday Morning, 9am:


Mi Amores:


and



Mannequins:


and



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To see the first three volumes:
Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three

Flickr Page

A couple of weeks ago I posted to my facebook page for the first five people to respond I would make them something hand-made in 2011 - someone else had called it "pay it forward." Eight people responded (i didnt know i had eight friends who cared - seriously.)

Well, unlike past years where I've made sweeping promises such as this, this year I intend on pushing myself to keep it. Damnit. This year is a reemergence of many things. Again... damnit.

The first Pay It Forward gift goes to Ashley and Zeleika - two new friends from the 'hood. And they just celebrated their 8 year anniversary, so i created this "love bouquet" for them.



The vase itself is about 5 inches tall and comes from the Target $1 section - a scary scary place for a crafter. I grunged it up a bit with acrylic paint.



The flowers are a collage of paper and paint i cut up and put back together again (yes, my go to favorite thing). I then had to retrain myself how to cut a flower shape! How weird was that?! The flowers are pulled together by some electrical wire I found at Ace Hardware in their $1 bin and capped off with buttons.

one gift down ... seven more to do ...

Nom Nom Nom

i present my 2009 and 2010 Year in the Life of an Art Journals!



I just looked through the 2009 one for the first time in probably a year and it was AMAZING and AWESOME to see that history of my emotional life. I'm SO HAPPY I started keeping the art journal when i did and so thankful for Rachels Prompt Blog!!!



2010 Prompts.
Completed.

THE PROMPT: Time
THE SONG: Butterflies & Hurricanes by Muse
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: Numbers


I am the Guest Host for the Art Journal Prompt blog A Year in the Life of an Art Journal and I've chosen the topic of "Time".

Time can be a friend or an enemy.
A source of consolation or anxiety.

Recently I've been just listening to classical music - whether it be an influence of Muse (one of the reasons why their song is on this prompt) or because of the drama and comfort I'm discovering from the great composers, I've been thinking my life can be compared to a symphony of several movements.

I've built this page from sheet music i journaled some ill-feelings on then cut up and glued the parts back together. I covered it with a bit of white Gesso mixed with my new favorite media obsession - Golden Fluid Acrylic then sprayed and dripped some Fluid Acrylic over that. I also mixed in some Golden Course Pumice Gel and Punchinella for more texture. That Punchinella was also used for stamping stencil.

I love grunge. And i feel like my life is starting to really define the beauty of what grunge is... and crescendo ... :)

Another wall piece! I'm still scared to do these for some reason. But am working my way through that fear :)

Anyways, the center quote is from Howard Finster - it's part of an exhibit at the Atlanta High Museum of Art, and even though most of his work is a little too religious for me, this quote obviously really spoke to me.

I took a 5"x7" piece of thick chipboard for the base. Spray painted most of the elements blue and used Golden Thick Molding Gel Medium mixed with blue acrylic paint as the adhesive. The bits and pieces are things i've collected over the years or are directly from Gauche Alchemy Mixed Media Kits.

January brings a new year of a Year in the Life of an Art Journal! This is the 3rd year i will participate, and like the last two i have custom made my own art journal.



This year I've switched it up a little and tried to perfect what i've learned works for me in an art journal by using different sorts of papers at different sizes. All papers are heavyweight with different textures and size. I've also elected to use holes to bind so if i need to take them out to work on them easier OR if a paper isnt doing it for me and i want to replace the page with a different type of paper i can.

The thing I think i've decided i like best about art journals are the bits that hang over the edges and make you want to explore. Therefore the pages are different sizes and orientations to exaggerate this!



I've completed the front cover with many things from Gauche Alchemy kits like sheet music and punchinella. The background are paint strips cut up and interwoven.

I am looking forward to working in it in the upcoming year!!!!

Prompt is "Slow" from A Year in the Life of an Art Journal 2010.

Only one more entry to go, and I'll be done with all 24 prompts from 2010 ready to start 2011!

cleaning my table, thought I'd take a quick photo of my favorite painty tools!

emerge.
this is my word for 2011.
My One Little Word if you will.

i tried living by one little word 3 years ago but life derailed me.
for.
three.
years.



this year i want to emerge from that wreckage - caused by trial and error, mega-bad choices, death, depression.
this year my intentions are to emerge from the paralyzation charo's death caused.
emerge from the anxiety that runs my life since making the choice to leave my ex-husband 3 years ago.
emerge from the fear that at any moment something will happen to change my life sending me into a tailspin ending in despair and hoplessness.



i want to be that person again that thought she could do something extraordinary.
not thought...
believed.

i want to be that person that didn't have to fight every day to feel happy, creative, vibrant.
that didnt fear what was behind the corner, but welcomed it with exhilaration and enthusiasm.



e·merge
–verb (used without object), e·merged, e·merg·ing.
1. to come forth into view or notice, as from concealment or obscurity
2 come up or arise, as a question or difficulty.
3. to come into existence; develop.
4. to rise, as from an inferior or unfortunate state or condition.


I am committed to becoming extraordinary again - to emerging from my perceived obscurity.
I've also put on my calendar to revisit this word the 10th of every month and create something (maybe not as extensive as this wall piece!) to meditate about my intention.

What's your One Little Word?

Over the new year weekend i got a little caught up on my 2010 Year in the Life of an Art Journal following along with the prompts at Year in the Life of an Art Journal.
Super image heavy post!

















Now its time to start the 2011 one!

1. Running to Stand Still


2. My Art Journal


3. Evolve


4. Hope


5. Elizabeth's Art Journal


6. Tangled


7. London


8. Stop


9. Exhausted


10. Don't Want To Cry No More


Year Past:
2009

And some more Hipstamatic shots....
To see the first two volumes:
Volume One
Volume Two

Flickr Page


Some shots using the Limited Edition Salvador Dali 84 Lens:













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Other lenses and Films:

Wooden Angel:



North Georgia Mountains:


Rose in the Moonlight:


A Macro Shot of a Mixed-Media Installation at High Museum of Art in Atlanta:


It snowed on Xmas in Atlanta for the first time in like 150 years. Here's a remembrance: