Be Jeweled

The j.ks went crazy for this groovy bass play'n, colourful shoe wearing cat! They sing his songs , read his books... so it was only fitting that I become "Pete the Cat" for Halloween . Here is the book

And here is my costume! Hope you like it and hope you all have a super Halloween!! xox

" I love my red shoes... I love my red shoes! "

Paper Mache Halloween Mask.... kinda

Well it's that time of year again where people are rushing frantically about to put the finishing touches on their Halloween costumes or worse yet.... trying to figure one out! Every year at work ( St. Joesph's School ) I scramble about trying to come up with a costume that is JK friendly. I LOVE the spooky scary ones, but alas I don't want to be responsible for years of therapy for a 4 year old. SO... I came up with this groovy character from a book that the kids absolutely went ga ga for. Of course if I started it back in September when I decided to do it, the mask would have been much bigger.... bobble head big!! However I waited until the last week to do it and I have to be satisfied with this not so bobble head mask. Here is the process and tomorrow I will post pics of the costume in it's entirety.

Your basic paper mache balloon! Used a paint brush to cover balloon with glue and newspaper strips. A few days of layering to make it strong and durable.

When it's all dry and you are happy with the amount of layers you can break the balloon and you are left with the shell of your mask.

Next I used some heavy gauge wire to form the ears and then attached them to the mask with Duct tape.

ok.... so I got carried away with the duct tape.... and no it's not batman!

I love gesso just as much as duct tape so I added a couple layers of it to the mask to give it some tooth for the paint to adhere to. Mmmmm paint...

A few coats of blue paint and next is the details! Which of course you will have to wait to see! MUUUAHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHA !

Three Things:

1. I am a bad blogger

2. Here are some cool blogs to check out!


http://somethingsublime.typepad.com/

http://amarkintime.blogspot.ca/

http://www.dianafrey.blogspot.ca
/
http://djpettitt.typepad.com/djpettitt/

http://www.kimklassencafe.com/

http://redvelvetcreations.blogspot.ca/

http://allnorahsart.blogspot.ca/

http://rsalley.com/wordpress/

http://www.rosa-josies.blogspot.ca/

http://rebeccasower.typepad.com/

http://www.soulhumming.typepad.com/

http://lostaussie.typepad.com/lost_aussie_on_the_loose/

http://www.pipnotes.typepad.com/

http://www.otherpeoplesflowers.blogspot.ca/

http://www.sweetbeadstudio.com/


3. I promise to post photos and make entries more often

That's all :)

Fanpage Journal Project Week # 3 " EVERLASTING"

One thing I know for sure is that a mother's love for her children is the greatest bond that there will ever be. My own children are the reason I breathe and my greatest achievement in this life is being their mother. This journal entry is about the everlasting love a mother has for her children from the moment they are conceived and when they leave the nest and start their own lives and families. Until the day we leave this earth... our children are our greatest love

Breathe

Week # 2 of the fanpage art journal project and as you saw in the last post , I drew the word " Breathe" out of the old tin coffee can!  I thought this was perfect and possibly meant to be , because this past weekend there was a benefit social for a local resident who is recovering from a double lung transplant!  What a strong , amazing woman she is.  I couldn't even begin to imagine all she has gone through and all that is still to come.  This little art journal entry is for you Lynn Kotz... you are my inspiration xo

Fan page Art Journal Project 2012 Week # 2 " Breathe "

Here is week # 2's Prompt..... I think I know exactly what to paint. xo

Fan page Art Journal Project 2012 Week # 1 "Beaches"

Week 1  " Beaches "

Thank you to Gina Allen Botier, a fan of my art page, for submitting this word for the project.
  I have  many fond memories, as I'm sure you all do, of spending countless afternoons playing and lounging  at the beach.     As a child I lived close to the Atlantic ocean, in a small community on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia one of most favourite places in the world.  The best place I could have ever wished to live as a young girl.
 This prompt brought back some of those treasured memories .  The taste of the salty water when it was accidently swallowed, the smell of sea air, the sound of the crashing waves, and the sight of the jelly fish floating lazily around us.  The soft warm sand under my toes and the prickly seaweed mixed with smooth beach pebbles and shells made me feel at home...happy.  I also remember how small and insignificant I felt while playing near the ocean... how easily it could swallow me up with those powerful waves and even as a small child I knew that as beautiful and as exciting it was, it demanded respect .  I miss the beach.  I miss everything about being near the ocean.  One day I'll go back and revisit this old childhood playground of mine and reacquaint myself with the sea.    

Fan page Art Journal Project 2012

  In the beginning... there was a title page.  Let the games begin xoxo 

Pretty little mess ;)

We are in this together xox-

Fan page Art Journal Project 2012

  A few days back I posted on my facebook fan page an idea that I have mulling over for quite awhile now .  The idea was that I would begin another art journal project using words, themes, quotes, lyrics and ideas from the followers of my page. As I receive the words etc. I write them out on slips of paper, fold them up and put them into my trusty old enamel coffee pot.  Each week, for 52 weeks,  I will be pulling a new idea from this pot and will use the word in my art journal in any way that comes to me.
   The ideas shared will spark my creative process and force me to think outside my comfort zone.... it won't be easy but I enjoy the challenge and am very excited about this project.  My hope is that when it is completed I will have a Book filled with images and words inspired by all of those that have contributed.  I can't thank you enough for participating and helping out with this project !
  Over the past few days I have received some fantastic  feedback from numerous friends and here are some of those ideas they have shared with me and here is the first word I drew from the pot!    Please visit my fan page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Schmidt-Art-Studio/153812141326067  like it and join in the fun!  I will add every word you send my way to the old pot and I hope you follow me on this new artistic journey! xoxo

Ideas from all of you xo

The trusty coffee pot !

My first prompt is BEACHES!!

Worth The Wait...

Inside My Head...

My recent painting " Inside My Head "   lots going on in there!!

Connected

16x20 x 1.5 Acrylic painting using only 2 colours, Naphthol Red  Medium and Ultramarine Blue by Golden

Some close up shots of painting

 

 

Silent Moon

I began this painting a couple months ago with no preconceived plan other than I wanted to use  blue and  yellow paint, and let my emotions do the rest .  No matter how many times I paint like this , I am always surprised with the finished piece and have to stand back and try to understand what I have created and why.  I do notice ( as has other people ) that my artwork almost always includes circles.  Even as I look back  in my art journals, I notice that on every page there sits a circle.  Interesting.

I wanted to find out more so I found a few sites that explained the meaning of the circle in art and life .  Here is one that is easy to understand and gave me some insight on why the circle is prominent in my art.    

Circle & Self

Finding the Sacred Center

The Circle is the ultimate symbol of the sacred feminine. The symbol of the circle helps us to connect to the depths of our soul or "true self".

Ralph Waldo Emerson begins his essay entitled "Circles", with the statement, "The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary picture is repeated without end. It is the highest emblem in the cipher of the world. St. Augustine described the nature of God as a circle whose centre was everywhere and its circumference nowhere."

Carl Jung studied the archtypal meaning of circles:
"The circle (or sphere) is a symbol of the Self. It expresses the totality of the psyche in all its aspects, including the relationship between man and the whole of nature. Whether the symbol of the circle appears in primitive sun worship or modern religion, in myths or dreams or in the spherical concepts of early astronomers, it always points to the single most vital aspect of life - its ultimate wholeness."

-Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Essays and English Traits, ed. Charles W. Eliot (New York: PF Collier & Son, 1909), 155.

-Carl G. Jung et al., Man and His Symbols (New York: Doubleday & Company Inc, 1964), 240.                                        

  

My completed painting aptly named " Silent Moon " as my eye is drawn first to the moon like orb and it sits as if watching over the confusion below... waiting.  This painting has taken me months to complete because it seemed I needed to be in a certain frame of mind to work on it which really drove me crazy!  I would sit for hours ( I seriously would ) and wait for it to speak to me and when it finally did I believe the result was worth the wait.   I would love to know what you see or feel when you look at this painting, there is no wrong answer, so please feel free to comment xox