put the pencil down and step away from the drawing!

I have loved working on the one-eyed-women canvases, they are amazingly relaxing and I will be teaching them at a retreat in August for Cindy at A Scrappe Angels Heaven in Victoria.
I got out my watercolour pad yesterday and my Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils...of course the beautiful glitzy blue and pink shimmer you can see is from Lindy's Stamp Gang



I was going to use my lovely white paint pen to highlight but opted for silver...I think it was the perfect choice as she has such a great shimmer




yes she has lots of detail but it was so hard to know when enough was enough...I still don't know if it is enough...all I know is that I really enjoyed it and it won't be my last one-eyed woman



who gives a hoot? I do :)

as you may or may not know I am finally, after six years, moving back home to Western Australia in June. I am going to miss a lot of people here in Sydney, and so I thought I would create some arty goodbye gifts for a couple of my lovely friends...this piece is not quite finished but is for my owl crazy friend and uber talented scrapper Gillian Lester.



...as always my colours are thanks to Lindy's Stamp Gang products



my friend Julie Saxby has a great little online embellishment store called Jules Gems that sells some lovely charms such as these brass pieces sitting on top of WOW cogs...great eyes eh?



every long feather is hand cut and every short feather is hand punched...I didn't count how many I used so I will just say heaps...I used an entire 12x12 sheet of black cardstock




I love these brass leaves, also from Jules Gems



artist or crafter?

From time to time I am asked if I am a crafter or an artist...why can't I be both? Why do I need to be one or the other? What is the difference? Why does it matter?
The answers are simple I am both...it all depends on you and how you view my art, there is no right or wrong. Some people claim that crafters are people who use glue to put things together...ummm yeah ok...I use glue, lots of glue! I use glue to stick things together, to form a seal, to create texture and to resist...glue is fun! Then there are those who say artists are those who hold degrees and exhibit in galleries...hmmm? I was working towards a double art degree because I wanted to teach art, I postponed it because a friend asked me why I needed a degree to do what I am already doing. I don't need a degree to be an artist...the few classes I completed I received distinction and high distinction grades because I already knew what I was doing.
Art is what ever you think it is and an artist and crafter are what you think they are. There is no right or wrong.
Now there is another arguement and that is the opinion that scrapbookers are not artists...you only have to look at the work of Gillian Lester, Louise Nelson, Louise Williams and sooooo many more to see that scrapbooking is so much than just a picture stuck on a page.
I admire many people in many genres, they inspire me to try different things, to explore, express and experiment.
I owe where I am as an artist to the scrapbookers who support me as an artist/crafter...or should I say artistic crafter or crafty artist?
What ever I am to you doesn't really matter as long as you enjoy what I make and perhaps you are inspired by it. I hope so because I sure do enjoy making stuff. Now let's get back to being creative.

ATC frames...WOW

WOW Oval ATC frame

At first I just used my Helmar 450 to secure the old brooch to the center of this WOW ATC frame but then I decided I wanted some texture...so I filled the cut out with the gum glue and forced it dry...it bubbled and rose, then it settled and I smeared a little gilding wax over the surface...I love it!

WOW Rectangle ATC frame

Turning the canvas around...and then back again

Green 12x12 canvas

Rainbow 12x12 canvas

Teal 12x12 canvas (Sold)

Red 12x12 canvas (Sold)



I loved playing with these canvases not only for what I was creating but the fact that I was actually using the front of the canvas...except 'Red' as she was a requested piece. I plan to create more of these because I loved playing with the detail...it really is hard to know when to stop though on each piece as they really come to life with every addition in colour and texture. I still prefer the style of the one eye...beauty is not perfection and perfection is not beauty.