Welcome! I was so excited to be a part of Tina Walker’s Dia De Los Muertos Artist Collaboration. For so long I have loved the bright colors and sense of history associated with Dia De Los Muertos.
“On October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children’s altar to invite the angelitos (spirits of dead children) to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, and the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives. The three-day fiesta is filled with marigolds, the flowers of the dead; muertos (the bread of the dead); sugar skulls; cardboard skeletons; tissue paper decorations; fruit and nuts; incense, and other traditional foods and decorations. ”— Frances Ann Day, Latina and Latino Voices in Literature
“People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.” Source: Wikipedia
While out antiquing with my mom several months ago I found a gorgeous hand carved wooden shelf that reminded me of an altar. I bought it immediately, not knowing for sure what I would do with it. At the next store we went to, I found a metal frame that also spoke to me. An idea was beginning to take shape in my mind, and it all came together when Tina asked if anyone would be interested in a Day of the Dead artist collaboration. Of course I was in!
I painted the shelf and begin to alter it using paint, paint pens, gems, marigolds, and other things that inspired me.
I hand painted plastic skulls from the Dollar Tree-talk about tedious work, but well worth the effort and time spent!
Here are a few detail shots:
Since I was so inspired by this theme, I went on to alter the tin frame I found. I used alcohol inks and gems, as well as some other items I found while antiquing in Pennsylvania. I also wanted to put a slightly different spin on the theme by creating an insert that was more mixed media and a little “dark”. I thought this created a fun twist to the traditional Dia De Los Muertos theme.
I hope you enjoyed the projects. Thanks for checking them out!
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Sustainable Souls-September & October
I’m a little behind once again on my posts for our year long Sustainable Souls project, but I wanted to share with you my journal spreads for September and October.
September’s theme was all about Fossil Fuels, how they are used and how they can be disruptive to the environment. Fossil energy sources, including oil, coal and natural gas, are non-renewable resources that formed when prehistoric plants and animals died and were gradually buried by layers of rock.
When I thought about fossil fuels, I immediately thought about those working in coal mines. Since my art tends toward a more vintage flair, I wanted to incorporate that into the theme. Here is my take on the month’s theme:
October’s theme was Deforestation and environmental degradation. Deforestation affects all of us. The forests produce vital oxygen and provide homes for people and wildlife. Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, and 1.6 billion people rely on benefits forests offer, including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter. My journal spread for this theme incorporates children, who will be affected by our actions today.
Thanks for stopping by. If you would like to learn more about our year long project, and see some more amazing art inspired by these themes visit http://thesustainablesoulsproject.blogspot.com/
Published in Art Journaling Magazine-Summer 2017
Just wanted to share a quick hooray blog post! I had two more of my art journals featured in Stampington’s Art Journaling magazine this summer. Here is a sneak peek at my article and a few other tidbits throughout…
Be sure to visit Barnes and Noble, Michaels, or https://stampington.com to get your copy 🙂
Sustainable Souls-June and July 2017
Hi everyone! I am doing a quick catch up post on my year long Sustainable Souls collaboration. June’s theme was “Carbon Footprint”.
A carbon footprint is defined as: The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). My immediate thought when reading about this was of an old abandoned factory. Very smoggy, dirty, and polluted. I am documenting each monthly theme in a recycled journal that I made, and carrying out the themes using children and how our actions are impacting the future generations. This is the journal spread that I made to represent this particular theme:
July’s theme was a fun one for me! It was all about saving the bees.
Honey bees are very important, as they perform about 80 percent of all pollination worldwide. A single bee colony can pollinate 300 million flowers each day. How incredible! I wanted this journal spread to reflect the beauty as well as function of these hard little workers, so this is how I chose to express this theme:
Please check out my fellow artists and their interpretations of each monthly theme at https://thesustainablesoulsproject.blogspot.com.
Sustainable Souls Project-January: Planet Earth, We are all Connected, Ecosystems
Good morning! This is my first project for the year long Sustainable Souls Project hosted by my good friend Tina Walker. If you are interested in learning more about this project, please click HERE. Every month we are exploring different themes through art. This month’s theme is Planet Earth, We Are All Connected, and Ecosystems. I chose to express this theme with the creation of an art journal made from recycled materials and eco dyed papers.
For the cover, vintage silk ties were quilted together and backed with muslin and then machine stitched. In my mind, the different styles and types of ties represented the diversity of humankind. Stitching them together is a way of “connecting” us. Binding the book with the string is what holds us all together.
The inside signatures were created using the eco dying process on heavy weight paper, a technique that I learned from Tina last summer. The pages were created using only items found in nature to create color and texture.
I am looking forward to creating more pages in this book as they year moves along, using the different themes that we have planned!
Starting From the Same Place Artist Collaboration
Hello everyone! It’s been a few minutes since I’ve blogged 🙂 Today I am sharing with you another artist collaboration project that I recently completed. My good friend Tina Walker hosted this incredible challenge for over 60 artists from all over. The goal was to create a piece of art with everyone using the same materials.
After seeing all of the goodies provided by Amazing Casting Products, Beacon Adhesives, and Stencil Girl, I was inspired to create a mini book. 
These are the materials that we were given to work with, with a few variations.
And this is my mini:
You can visit these other sites to see what the other artists have created. There are so many amazing projects, and I love to see how differently everyone used the same materials!
Weaving Artist Collaboration
Hi everyone! I wanted to share a quick post on a project that I completed about a month ago for another round of our artist collaborations. This time the theme was weaving. This is my first attempt at weaving, and there’s a definite learning curve, but all in all it was a fun little project.
I used a few different types of yarn, and some rustic twine. I may go back later and add to this. I made my project small, since I was just trying to get the hang of it. I also added a piece of driftwood that I found on the beach in Galveston a few months ago. This is definitely not one of my best projects, but it was fun to try something new and I will probably continue to keep at it. 🙂
We’ve organized a little blog hop to show off all of our weaved projects. You can check them all out by visiting the following links:
Martha Richardson
Beth Soler
Albion Gould
DeeDee Catron
Tina Walker
Laura Mooney
Robyn Crowningshield
Enjoy!! 🙂
Around the World with 80 Artists!
I wanted to share with you all that I will have an altered art piece published in the upcoming eBook: Around the World with 80 Artists! I will be joining 79 other artists from all over the globe, sharing a wide variety of art projects. For more information please check out our page. You can sign up for a FREE copy of this book at launch on Amazon on April 15th 2016 to celebrate World Creativity Week. Also, 20% of the proceeds from this project will go to The Malala Fund to help girls gain an education.
So make sure to visit the Creative Art Academy to sign up and get a preview of some amazing art!
Here is a sneak peek of my project:
I hope you all will check out my project, as well as the many others included. Full tutorials and color photos will be presented in eBook format, as well as printable format.
Thanks for stopping by!
For the Love of Mixed Media Blog Hop
Hello everyone! Welcome to our first “For the Love of Mixed Media” Blog Hop. I’m so glad you’re here 🙂
Our theme for this hop is hearts. I decided to alter a paper mache heart. I had some lovely “Downton Abbey” tissue paper that I’ve been hoarding, and I used it to cover the heart completely. I added some fabric trim from my stash, and a broken Charlotte doll that I molded with Amazing Mold Putty and casted with Amazing Casting Resin. I also had some doily pieces that I cut into little wings and added behind my molded piece.
And here is my ornament!
For more heart inspired projects, please visit my fellow artist’s blogs:
Christy Strickler: http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/2016/02/for-love-of-mixed-media-blog-hop.html
Robyn Crowningshield: http:///cozienookhomestead.wordpress.com/2016/02/for-love-of-mixed-media-blog-hop/
Tina Walker: http://adogslife-thirteen.blogspot.com/2016/02/for-love-of-mixed-media-blog-hop.html
Katie Smith: http://www.punkprojects.com/2016/02/mixed-media-heart-journal.html
Beth Soler: http://scrappingwonders.com/for-love-of-mixed-media-blog-hop/
Susan M. Brown: http://sbartist.blogspot.com/2016/02/cre8time-beauty-lies-within-for-love-of.html
Lulu Bea http://lulubeas.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/mixed-media-altered-art/
Mixed Media Projects Galore!
Hi everyone! Life’s been busy yet again (what’s new, right?!) but I wanted to quickly catch you up on some of my recent projects. Full tutorials can be found on the Amazing Casting Products blog.
These are some that I’ve done recently for Amazing Casting Products
Mixed Media Dream Catcher using vintage scarves, lace, dyes, and charms.
Mixed Media resin painting using Alumilite dyes and Alumidust on vintage book paper
Hand painted mixed media plates! (one of my most favorite projects to date!)
Wine cork serving tray
Decorative paper clips and art journaling techniques using Amazing Mold Putty and Alumidust
In addition to my creative team projects, I’ve also been doing quite a bit of work in my journaling Bible.
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I've have worked on several large scale paintings. Here are two of them:
And finally, I’ve been getting back into my photography. I’m currently taking Galia Alena’s Camera Craft Classes (Into the Light, and The Art of Seeing) which I highly recommend. Here are a few samples of some of my work:
Thanks for stopping by!!
Mel's Art Journal 