Owl Love You ATC's

Owls may be an overused trend, but I'm still a sucker for these wide-eyed creatures. Here are four owls I finished for an ATC swap.

I procrastinated on this project for several weeks, agonizing over how I should create them. I originally considered a DIY scratchboard technique, like I did on my Frida Kahlo postcard and Stained Glass ATC's. You can read about that process here.  

But when I finally came around to completing my artist trading cards, I was inspired by something from my art paper stash, an experiment I did painting acrylic washes over crumpled paper a few years ago. It creates a type of batik effect which I loved. There was a random mix of rainbow colors I knew would be perfect to create the bodies and wings of my feathered friends.  I put that aside for later. 

First, for the base of each ATC, I used my cards cut from recycled food packaging. I traced and cut several rectangles from some leftover DIY scratchboard to use for a background The dark black color reminded me of night-time, and the foliage seems to glow. 

I played for a while to figure out what kind of embellishments to use for eyes. I knew I wanted to use buttons, but when I spied my jar of bottle caps, I knew they would help me achieve the wide-awake look owls are famous for! 

Bottle caps and buttons held up by glue-filled fingers!

I adhered the buttons to the bottle caps with E6000. I chose to use two layers of buttons for contrast and to create a pupil. It was important to get the right placement to give them a slightly cross-eyed look, like they're staring you down from their ferocious little beaks. 

Pieced together, awaiting glue

I then cut out pieces from my artful "batik" paper in Matisse-like fashion, enjoying mixing and matching different colors. I wanted to make sure to make each owl unique with its own distinct personality and MOOD. Yes, owls are very moody creatures. ;-)

Since I was being a night owl myself, I decided to reach a stopping point, and let my pieced owls rest on my art table while I got some shuteye. But before I did, I snapped the picture you see above, so that I would remember the placement of my owls. The next morning, I went to work first thing gluing them together. 

I grabbed my new hot glue gun...a replacement when my old one had a meltdown. 

My old hot glue gun gave me a temper tantrum

Using my photo as a guide, I began gluing the paper pieces down for each owl. I giggled before I began each one. Their expressions were pretty funny, or maybe I was still a little giddy from staying up so late the night before. I worked quickly and tried to avoid the hot glue burn that sometimes happens when gluing fabric or paper. Because the batik paper was fairly thick and textured, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Whew!

Here are my finished owls. 

#1 ~ Inquisitive and colorful 

I loved the color combo on this one the best, and almost kept it for myself, but I felt a small voice say to release it. 

#2 ~ Intimidating, deciding if you're dinner

I loved adding the longer wings on this one and the bright red buttons. 

3 ~ Up too late...yup a real night owl

I ended up keeping #3, since I have a tendency towards insomnia and late-night creating. The wide-eyed look was achieve by placing her eyebrows behind the bottle cap. She reminds me of WALL-e or Johnny 5 from Short Circuit. ("Johnny 5, alive!")

I cleaned up the glue on her mismatched-button eyes after taking her picture. I think the different buttons give her a slightly crazy, off-kilter look. Yup, that's me!

I want to show a detail of her breast feathers. I cut some v-shapes with an exacto knife to add more dimension. 

Detail

And finally, #4:

#4 ~ Mean and Lean

Well, he doesn't look as mean as the original photo where they are pieced together. But still he lets you know, "don't mess with me!"

Before I forget, I want to show how I made the white details on the owls.

Bistro Chalk Marker

My normal Sharpie paint marker ran out, so I grabbed my Bistro Chalk Marker. I added white edging and little highlights and spots to the owls. I used a dark pencil for shading. Hoping I didn't ruin my chalk marker, but I just had to add those details to jazz up the owls.

My number one lesson from making these owls is:

It's all about the Eyebrows.

Do you agree? 

Happy Creating!

Sandra Lee

Kandinsky ATC #4

Kandinsky ATC 4/4 by Sandra Martin, Creative Currents

“Life is a lot like jazz - it's best when you improvise.” 

~George Gershwin

 This is the fourth ATC in the Kandinsky series. I ended up choosing this card for my collection, and sent 1, 2, and 3 to my other swap partners. I love the rainbow colors of this piece, and some of the concepts that rise to the surface.

The bottom shape is alive with buildings and lights, but when I view it another way, it looks like a brain. All the circuity is alive and vibrant with activity.

I love this quote by George Gershwin. I admit that I don't always live my life as spontaneous as I would wish to. I have this inner artsy alter ego who would dress crazy and relish living in the moment wherever she goes. Someone not afraid to appear foolish or flamboyant in public. I tend to be calm and serene, but when I create those wild colors pour out on the canvas or art journal. I can't seem to restrict myself to a limited palette. When I paint spontaneously, I open up the color palette and allow the color room to breathe, to mingle with the other colors and have lively conversations. 

I love jazz, Celtic music, opera solos, and musical numbers to play in my studio. I also enjoy spontaneous worship music at times when I want to create a peaceful atmosphere in my art space. As the worship artists improvise, it opens up new depths of creativity in my heart, which comes out in my art. Each stage is a process of discovery.

I hope you enjoyed peeking at this series. Here are links to the others in this series in case you missed it:

Kandinsky ATC Reveal (intro)

Kandinsky ATC 1/4

Kandinsky ATC 2/4

Kandinsky ATC 3/4


Blessings~
Sandra Lee

Kandinsky ATC #3

Kandinsky ATC 3/4 by Sandra Martin, Creative Currents

Invest yourself in everything you do. There’s fun in being serious.

~Wynton Marsalis

In my third artist trading card paying homage to Kandinsky, I used a couple of my favorite color combos, coral and turquoise. I intermixed them with quite a few primary colors, too. 

I think this card is probably the most feminine of the four. Lots of fun shapes...the pearl-like circles, the paisley-like shape, and a little red heart peeking in the top right corner. The atmosphere is fun and light, fitting perfectly with Wynton's quote. 

The blue circle on the bottom right reminds me of the earth. There are also a lot of interlocking circles which remind me of the vesica piscis from sacred geometry, symbolic of birth. This is one I don't want to interpret too deeply, but just enjoy the dance of colors and shapes. 

Next, I will share about the last card in the series, number 4. 

To view the others:

Full Reveal

Kandinsky ATC 1/4

Kandinsky ATC 2/4

Sandra Lee

Kandinsky ATC #2

Kandinsky ATC 2/4 by Sandra Martin, Creative Currents

“That’s the thing about jazz: it’s free flowing, it comes from your soul.” 

― Billy Crystal

In my second ATC in the Kandinsky series, I filled the space with a busy array of shapes and colors as I listened to jazz music. Most of the music flowing through Pandora was mellow, like this piece called Stardust by Wynton Marsalis. Some of that was captured in the light purple section on the left.

I enjoyed paying homage to Kandinsky in this free flow work. I tried not to stress over mimicking him exactly. But at times I tried to echo the many-layered circles he is known for. Much of the time, though, my own style and mark-making shines through. 

Billy Crystal's quote about jazz is equally true of spontaneous art. In that place of free flow and letting go, our soul is revealed. Things seem to bubble to the surface on their own accord.

When I look at this piece, again with some distance now, I see a story revealed in the seemingly random marks. The "Kandinsky circles" remind me of cells in the body, dividing and forming new life, thoughts, and ideas. I see a leaf emerging...another symbol of life.

Some of the symbols I was conscious of as I created, but I didn't overthink things. I simply recorded. There are three crosses at the top, symbolic of my faith. In the top right corner is a word balloon. This is a picture of the dialogue between the artist and that which inspires him or her...whether that is God, a piece of music, or their environment. 

The word balloon is also a slight nod to the Peanuts comic strip, which as many of you remember was animated in the 60's and 70's. And the Peanuts theme and other music on the soundtracks were composed by none other than the great jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. 

Keep Creating~
Sandra Lee

Kandinsky ATC #1

Kandinsky ATC 1/4 by Sandra Martin, Creative Currents

“Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body’s breath, and the strings’ wails and moans are echoes of the body’s music. It is the body’s vibrations which ripple from the fingers. And the mystery of the withheld theme, known to jazz musicians alone, is like the mystery of our secret life. We give to others only peripheral improvisations.” 

― Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 5: 1947-1955

This is the first of a series I created for an ATC swap last month, which you can see here. One requirement was to use a resist technique. The bottom layer was created with rubber cement, a spiral dot stencil, and acrylic paints thinned to a watercolor wash.

I turned on the jazz on Pandora and began playing with shapes, color, and recording my emotions. I remember towards the end of the creation of this piece, I saw how much the abstract shapes reminded me of a city, particularly New York City. There seems to be a great deal of traffic, blinking lights, and buildings compressed in this busy abstract landscape. I even see a river and lines which remind me of bridges.

Looking at it with fresh eyes today, I also see anatomy as well. This often happens in my abstract work. It's as if the inner workings of the body are put on display. I see a windpipe here, which also resembles a city street. It runs at a diagonal. There is a funny purple and red shape near the top right which looks like puckered lips. The lips are releasing little red shapes which I see now as music notes! This sound is going forth over the city skyline below.

It sometimes feels odd explaining my abstract pieces. But this is truly how I see my work. I don't always have to be conscious of what I am painting or drawing. But these forms always carry meaning and there's usually a story.

What do you see happening in this piece? Feel free to share you thoughts below.

Sandra Lee

Kandinsky ATC's Reveal

Earlier last month, I signed up for an ATC swap that focused on the abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944). The objective was to create a set of four ATC's using some form of resist technique. And the fun part....create these while listening to JAZZ music, letting the notes and rhythm influence the composition and movement of each ATC. I'm a great lover of spontaneous art, so this was right up my alley. 

I decided to use rubber cement for my resist technique. I decorated about a half dozen or so ATC's made of watercolor paper I purchased on eBay a while back. Using the brush that came with the rubber cement, I brush on the thick, smelly goo onto the watercolor paper. I also used an old thin brush to do more detail. The day before I began the resists, I found a heat-resistant stencil at the thrift store. It came with rhinestones that could be glued in a scroll pattern. I planned to use the rhinestones for various projects, and found the stencil worked perfectly with the rubber cement resist. I allowed the rubber cement to dry for several hours. 

I used acrylic paint thinned with water (and maybe a little acrylic medium...can't remember) to create more of a watercolor effect, making washes over the dried rubber cement. Here are the results on the right. As you can see, I used up leftover paint and rubber cement on the book pages as well. 

A Day's Work 5-22-14

As you can see from the caption, I created the ATC backgrounds on May 22. Flash forward to this week, where I am busy playing catchup to get these ATC's to my swap partners. Yesterday, after I spent a happy afternoon putting on the finishing touches, my husband surprised me with a little gift, an early birthday present. Isn't it darling? 

 And now, the ATC reveal:

 Now what's the first thing you notice? The art I was creating goes *perfectly* with the dressform pincushion, no? My husband smiled and said, "I know those are the colors you like." After fifteen years of marriage, he knows me too well. :-) 

I listened to jazz great Winton Marsalis, as suggested by group leader Betty (she listened to Winton during her ATC session, too). I found him on Pandora, which of course plays the artist and similar artists and songs. Here are a few of my favorites which you can watch on YouTube:
"Struttin' with Some Barbeque" ~ The Marsalis Family (the drum solo is amazing)
"Bourbon Street Parade" ~ Winton Marsalis
"Stardust" (Live at Village Vanguard ~ Winton Marsalis

I wanted to share a little about each individual ATC. Since they were done spontaneously, it's difficult to put into words. In upcoming posts, I will share a few thoughts that went into each one along with a Kandinsky quote. 

Sandra 

P.S. Today is my 37th birthday. :-) 

Happy Thoughts 365 ~ #25 ~ Sew Special

I shared in the last post that I participated in an ATC swap. The theme was "Sew Special." I enjoyed finding vintage ephemera and free printables to make my little cards. Each one has a different feel or style, and that's OK. Each ATC is as unique as the recipient! I sent them off in Friday's mail in decorated envies, which I shared last time. Now for the reveal!

Sew Special - ATC

Sew Creative - ATC

Blending the Old with the New - ATC

Blooming with Ideas - ATC

I took some of these while the glue was still wet. The "Sew Creative" card is dedicated to my mother, who passed away last March. She instilled a love of creativity in me, and she was an excellent seamstress. 

The last one shows a reprint of an antique French postcard. Isn't she lovely? The candy-colored palette and the bluebird of happiness fill my heart with joy. It also hints of an upcoming event...the re-opening of my Etsy shop, Bluebird Song Cottage! I will be sharing more details soon. 

I hope this week finds you blooming with ideas. :-)

Take care, my creative friends. 

Sandra Lee