What a week!

This was my week. We had an ice storm that was phenomenal, luckily that's the only real damage we sustained. Dad's doing much better being home and getting back into his routine. He's almost to the end of physical therapy. Yay! Thanks so much to everyone who asks about him. 

Dealing with the aftermath of the storm and the comments of people who criticize, pretend to want to help, then back out, and those who completely blindside you when you try to take a moment to help someone else were all catalysts for creating this 2-page spread in my art journal.

Those who stop growing start barking at others.

We should all be focused on growing ourselves, and lending helping hands to others that are trying to find their way. It's just too sad to see people bent on tearing someone else down because they don't desire, or are frustrated by their own growth. Yep. Even in the art world there are those that want to nip at others as away to elevate themselves (hint: that never works!). And no. This isn't aimed at anyone in particular. And yes, it goes beyond the art world. I'm doing it all wrong, caring for my Dad this way. Hahahaha! Bugger off.

She really has an attitude of perturbment (lookie, a new word!). Honest - she came out of my pencil that way. I didn't even have to encourage her any. She's just minding her own business, running her own little world of nightmares and inspiring chaos when this clashing noise shatters her focus. Hahaha! Sort of like SXSW, eh Lydia?

Now, some of you know I am one of the design team members for Splitcoast Stamper's Mix-Ability Challenge. We challenge you each Friday to learn and grow into mixed media art, and it's not scary or demanding. In fact, we'll hold your hand every step of the way if you need it. Jeanne Streiff is our hostess this week, and she's challenged us to use watercolors, blended and run together, to create our background. I chose Dylusions water-based ink sprays for the back ground. That's when it developed a life of its own and I was merely along for the ride.

Then the Documented Life Project challenge came, asking for a bird or wings, so suddenly I had butterflies from a Heidi Swapp stencil showing up, and a bird that sang to me about the art of Sunny Carvalho through a die cut of Tim Holtz. It got psychedelic, man! (George Carlin would be so proud)

The zendoodle bug hit (thanks, Kelli Jo!), and these graphic tails and swirls started popping up and turning into random bird cats and fern coils. Wow! What an adventure I had! I couldn't put someone in this spread without a nod to Alice (see that really long neck?).

Some random cat-woman named Lydia asked about the sharp lines and vibrant color. Lydia, this is my process: I started with Dylusions spray. I overlaid a couple of stencils (the ovals on the left, the florals on the bottom of both pages, the butterflies), 'cut in' with watered down gesso, then outlined with Copic multiliners, and shaded with Sennelier oil pastels, fixed with a quick light coat of Mod Podge. I kept layering things, shading around them, smudging them into the background with a little paint, some stamps, a bit of gesso.

I created a couple of images on separate paper (barking dog, annoyed artist, fern tails, bird) and glued them in, smudging them with charcoal pencils, smeared Copic markers, Faber Castell Pitt pens, and the like. Then I randomly applied some texture paste through stencils, colored them with Prismacolor pencils, oil pastels, Dylusions spray on a brush.

When things settled down and looked calm, I rocked the boat with some Golden fluid acrylics in a variety of colors. I stamped SU! images using Archival inks, and colorized with Inktense pencils. I, in plain, bald-faced fact, PLAYED. Once the chaos began to settle and reduced to smoldering embers, I went back in with letters cut by hand, using QuicKutz squeeze handle and dies, the sentiment. I adhered it, then cut it into the page with Copic multiliners, charcoal pencil, and popped them with a Gelly Roll white souffle pen. More SU! stamps, this time in Memories white ink. Finally, on the seventh day, I rested and called it good.

Seriously - it's all about the shading and brilliant colors. If the colors were soft it wouldn't work. If there were no shading, it would be flat. Sharp lines and vibrant colors blossom when detailed, lined, and shaded. POW.

I hope you enjoyed the drama and the art of this piece. I hope you will take a chance to step out on the limb and allow yourself to play. Just play without worry about the result. You never have to show it to anyone, but you won't learn anything if you tuck your safe supplies into their safe beds and safe and unused. Go. You deserve it. Play. Now. Then hug a kitteh and NO BARKING.

Big smooches!
~ky

Ingredients: 
Kitchen Sink.
(ok really)
Pan Pastels
Dylusions Sprays
Heidi Swapp, Prima, Dylusions, Plaid and Crafter's Workshop stencils
Gesso
Acrylic paint (cheap and Golden fluid acrylics)
Sennelier and Crayon oil pastels
Mod Podge matte
Liquitex light modeling paste
QuicKutz dies and squeeze tool
Copic multiliners, markers
Faber Castell Pitt markers
Gelly Roll and Pilot pens
Koh-i-Noor charcoal pencils
Canson mixed media paper (7 x 10 inches per page, base)
SU! Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Tape It
Archival Ink, coffee
and a dozen other things I probably forgot...

Fall or Fly

Hello lovely people! It's that time of the week again when we unveil a new challenge for mixed media over at Splitcoast Stampers! This time it's inspiration-driven. This week, Dina is asking us to be inspired by Kintsukuroi. What is that? I'm glad you asked!

Kintsukuroi or Kintsugi is a method of repairing pottery 

that is done by filling the cracks with a sticky resin,

then covering the resin with gold or silver dust.

This week, use this Japanese art form as an inspiration.

Here is the lovely example:

I really love that - more beautiful for having been broken. Isn't that a summation of our lives? We strive to grow, we make mistakes, we get knocked down, beat up, embarrassed, but God is there to fill the cracks and put those pieces back together. He mends us in His way, and we are MORE BEAUTIFUL!

Here I've represented the golden mending on a heart that has been broken, but manages to be mended and ready to take a chance on relationships, again. I've used texture paste, Dylusions sprays and stencil, Tim Holtz Winged Heart die, crepe paper, recycled bits from other gelli-plate printing, acrylic paint, gesso, Creative Memories alphabet stickers, Copic markers, Bic white-out, Copic markers, and 8B graphite pencil. Whew!

I made my heart out of mulberry paper, tore it up, then glued it back down. I filled the cracks with gold embossing paste, then stitched over that with gold embroidery thread. It really looks more rugged, and I love that!

I had a blast making this page for my art journal, and I hope you get a chance to play along. It's really fun, and you can make anything using this prompt - card, scrapbook page, art journal, even 3D items. Share your work with us!

Ta for now,

~ky

Albert via Sunny Carvalho

Hello peoples! I've been very busy lately, but managed some time to make things while sitting with my Dad as he recovers from lung surgery.

Please Do Not Feed the Fears!

I made this spread in my Strathmore mixed media journal (5.5 x 8.5 inches) using a whole smorgasbord of supplies. I started with some Distress stains, then put some acrylic paint over it. I glued down lots of text pages, journaled over that with Copic markers, added more paint, more bits and pieces of torn paper, scraps from butcher paper that I sprayed with Dylusions inks during another project, and then added some pen details and letters. I used charcoal pencils for shading, and a white Souffle pen by Gelly Roll.

This whole business of nursing my Dad through this medical nightmare has stirred up a lot of fears in me, resulting in panic attacks, stress reactions, and exhaustion. He's on the mend and home now, but this page reflects a very dark place I was in. God saw me through. God held my hand. I know it's but the grace of God that we made it this far.

I have an artist-crush on Sunny Carvalho. Her whimsical style and cast of characters is so fantastic and amusing. She makes them in a variety of media which amazes me. So that little guy down in the bottom left corner? Yeah, that's Albert standing in for me on a very bad no good day. Hope you like it, Sunny!

This is for the 6th challenge week of The Documented Life Project to honor the work done by an artist we love.

I hope you have a blessed day - and feel free to leave a comment if you have questions or like what you see. Videos will happen when Dad's a bit stronger.

Ta for now,
~ky

Growth and Challenges

Hey there! It's time again for another Mix-Ability challenge over on Splitcoast, and I'm hosting this week! Here's a close-up detail:

This week we are all about the LAYERS! I love layers, almost as much as I love bacon!

I started with a little paint, and scraps of paper and bits of collage left over from previous projects. Then I added texture paste through stencils to get some texture. I colored the texture paste with Dylusions spray - using a small paintbrush to apply it just to the areas I wanted to accent.

I added bits of washi tape, some gold modeling cream, a little more bits of acrylic paint, some rubbed on with my finger, some put through a stencil. I added a photo of myself, and taped the edges with washi, added more texture paste over the edges to embed the photo into the background, added 2 word stickers. I die cut the letters and the banners (Tim Holtz - Sizzix), glued them down and accented them with my graphite pencil.

Once I was happy with it, I went around the edges with Distress Stains, added more shading with graphite, and some white accents. I used a gel Souffle pen (Sakura) for the white, but you can use a liquid paper corrector pen, too. Once I get it all done, I coat everything with Mod Podge to seal it all up.

This is a project in progress photo for another page I did not long ago.

You can see the raw texture paste through stencil in the corners, bits of paper, paint, stamped images and book text. I follow the same process, generally, just putting things on the page until I'm pleased with the effect.

And this is the final photo of that same project:

Can you pick out the details? The thing that pulls it all together, for me, is the shading. Don't forget to go around the edges of your pages - that really frames the page!

Here's another in-progress picture:

And this is where I'm at with that page. Not done yet! I still have a lot more layering to do, and I need to get some more items to pull the whole thing together. I was working on this at the hospital today, and the social activities director saw it. She wants me to come teach and play with her patients in the rehabilitation unit.

I know these last 2 in particular look odd - I took the in-progress picture with my phone camera, and the final with my Canon SLR, so the color and detail quality aren't the same. I think you can pick out bits and see where the layers have been added and changed as I went. It's very obvious how important shading is between these last 2 photos.

In case you can't read it, it says, "One day this pain will make sense to you." Caring for an elderly parent with ICU psychosis is very painful indeed, and I need to remind myself that while I'm going through a dark place right now, God can see beyond it. I just have to trust Him, and know that the sun will shine again.

I really wanted to give you a video, but my Dad had surgery and there have been complications, so I've been at the hospital all day every day. So, let me be in your debt and 'owe' you a video, ok? I love to share! Is there a product or technique you really would like to see me demonstrate? Leave a comment below!

Thanks so very much for stopping by, and play along! I want to see what you do with my challenge!

Ta!
~ky

A Zen Frame of Mind

Since I'm living in a tiny bedroom, I've got a bit more time but fewer supplies. I'm really getting pleasantly reacquainted with my zen doodling. Here are a few items I've created since being fired as a wife.

Puffin Maze
©Kyra Sanders

I started this 8x5.5 inch journal page while at Copic Certification in Milwaukee. I just randomly scribbled Copic markers all over the page, then started following the doodle muse as it guided my Copic Multiliner. There are some credits for patterns and some patterns I've just created. You can see the details of the Puffin Maze here.

Modern Cube Zen doodle
©Kyra Sanders

I learned Linda at the Tangle Patterns blog has begun issuing starting string challenges. I think it's really cool how everyone starts from the same design, but no two even come close to being the same. You can play along too! There are 9 patterns in this one, and you can see the credits at this link.

If you're looking for a neat way to keep track of things in your life, check out what my friend Samie Kira Harding is doing. She's created a mini-tutorial with downloadable art journal starter pages and she's putting it out there for... get this... Whatever You Can Pay! It's a great chance to document your health concerns, your diet plan, or even a project you're working on. Check it out at the Journal Girl!

Thanks so much for stopping by - I am thrilled you came to visit!

Ta for now,
♥ ~ky

It's not complicated, it's Tangled!

I have been restored to one of my favorite pastimes - zen doodling. You might call it zentangling but that is a copyrighted word, so I choose zen doodling. Here are some of my latest works.

Down the Drain - Copic multiliners,
and Derwent Watercolor pencils

Peep Eye - Copic multiliner on kraft cardstock

Spain Rain - Copic multiliner on kraft cardstock

Bunny Treats - Copic multiliner and
Derwent watercolor pencils

I will be turning a few of these designs into tangle patterns very soon. I hope you enjoyed visiting today - try your hand at it!

Ta!
♥ ~ky

Squish 'em!

Once again you all have created amazing and bold pieces of art! Loved all the creative ways you explored using chipboard, blue and copper. Blew me away!

Here we are again, with the beginning of a new week. And a new challenge!

It's October. A month ripe with aware of this, celebrate that, and Hallowe'en. So many things!

But there's one that's bigger. One thing that affects us all. It's international cancer awareness month. Most people recognize this as Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Are you old enough to need regular screenings? Have you taken care of it? Or are you like me, putting it off because it's uncomfortable or inconvenient? In "honor" of our reluctance, we will take a challenge. We will explore our feelings about these misgivings in avoiding what we know we should do. Here is my sample for this week:

Now, this is NOT finished. But it has the elements. Use pink or blue - pink for women's breast cancer, blue for men's. Use a shade of the color that has been hard for you to use. I find bright pink is hard for me to match up, so I pulled that shade out. The second element in the challenge - use something that represents what would be lost to cancer if early screenings weren't done to catch it early

For me, the loss would be that important home life that typically follows the woman's lead in the household. So, I used sewing icons - stitching, buttons, and feminine grace. I chose an image that is reminiscent of waiting for the mammogram, and the wonderful sentiment decorating the background (says, "Get 'em Squished").

If you were using blue, you might incorporate icons of fishing, a man's job, sporting ephemera, tools, vehicles.

Think of it as honoring more than one person - acknowledging how that loss would affect a family, a community, a nation as more and more people succumb.

We enjoyed the Chicago Marathon this weekend. There was a lot of pink. There wasn't much blue. I think men's cancer diagnoses are poorly represented, so I will do another page to face this one in blue.

Please tell, in your project description, what your focus was, what your symbols mean, anything you'd like to add. I encourage you to write about it on your page so you can look back on it. I will be writing about how I dread getting my mammogram. And about how I will "fight like a girl" even though I don't love pink.

This week's winner is Darcy!! Darcy - send me your mailing info at scrapacat at yahoo dot com so I can get your prize out to you.

Don't forget to link up your project here, using the inlinkz below!

Ta for now! ~ky