Art Now for Autism

It’s that time again! Time to prepare for the Art Now for Autism exhibit and sale.   

http://artnowforautism.com/blog/   It doesn’t happen until October 1st, but I thought I would start getting the word out to other artists about possibly donating art for this worthy cause.

I was able to participate in this exhibit last year, and it really made me feel good to be able to donate some of my own art, created by my own hands, to help with this increasing problem. I have a very good friend who is autistic, so this charity is close to my heart. With the loving support of family, friends, and a wonderful community resource…he has found a way to overcome so many of his so-called disabilities. He is one of the sweetest people I know, and so talented too! He has a photographic memory, and has perfect pitch…meaning, he can hear a song played JUST ONCE, and play it perfectly on the piano!

I worked on my art piece today, after waking up a few months ago, with this image in my mind. So, I drew it out as best as I could remember it, and finally put paint to canvas. This is an acrylic painting on an 11 x 14 canvas. I guess you can say “mixed media”, since the butterfly was glued on. I knew I wanted to keep it simple, I wanted the thought to come through: Autism can be an isolating experience for children, but with proper education, love, patience, support…there is hope. I know it is exists, because I have seen the reality of it with my own eyes.

 I am so excited to be able to share my little work of art with Art Now for Autism. It just makes my heart happy to be able to give something made with my own hands, to help out families who are dealing with autism every day of their lives. If you would like to donate art, you can find out more about it here.

http://artnowforautism.com/blog/donate/donate-art-2/

 

New Wearable Art Pendants

Just because the ecomomy has halted travel plans, doesn’t mean we still can’t dream of travel, right? I am a map lover, globe lover, travel lover. I’ve seen beautiful things in beautiful places. And I carry with me lots of great memories of seeing ancient wonders.

If you can’t fly across the globe to your favorite country, why not just wear it around your neck?

I am pleased to share my newest map pendants with you…now available on Etsy.

www.ArtcyLucy.Etsy.com

 

Dreamy Digitals

It’s been far too  long since I updated my art blog. Since posting here, I’ve been to Asilomar Art and Soul, and enjoyed workshops taught by Misty Mawn and Michael deMeng. I was able to work on my drawing and painting skills, as well as my love of assemblage. There is lots of new art to come, as I have projects lined up for the summer…more painting and 3D art!

In the meantime, let me share some of my newest digital creations with you. As you see, I enjoy this color palette quite a bit…from the rich and rusted reds, to the soft mauves. They combine well with deep greens, and glowing torquiose. There are a lot of color combinations I adore, but I always seem to come back to these shades and hues.

I’ve been busy working on a new painting technique I have learned, and can’t wait to show you what fun it is. I will soon be offering more of my digital creations in my Etsy shop. And I have also been working on a new batch of wearable art. More map pendants will be coming shortly…so stay tuned!

May your summer be safe and fun…and full of beautiful art!

 

For the love of traveling

I’ve loved maps and globes ever since I can remember. Maybe it was that adventure to Greece with my Mom when I was just 12 years old, that made me fascinated with the world around me…geography, history, art…who knows. I do know that the fascination hasn’t stopped, and I am constantly picking up old maps, atlases, and geography school books whenever I see them. I use a lot of postage stamps in my collage work, as well as maps. For me, it tends to “ground” the piece, to help the story I am trying to tell, come alive.

I decided to take that love of travel just a step further, and make wearable art out of old vintage maps and book pages. What a great way to remember a special place you visited, or are longing to see. Or to remember a place where you came from. In my case, Greece is my mother’s home land, so to take that trip with her was special in many, many ways. It was part of my heritage, what makes me tick. It was a trip of a lifetime…and opened a whole new world for me. When I came home, and saw the country, Greece, on a globe…I could proudly say, “I’ve seen it for myself”…it wasn’t just a distant place I had only imagined, or read about in a book.

Three decades later, I have very vivid memories of the countries I have visited since, and each time I see them on a map or a globe, I still get that giddy feeling inside…memories flood back, and I can relive them again.

These pendants are a lot of fun to make. Recently, I created a custom pendant for a friend.  She wanted a special gift for her Mom, who loves to travel. If you would like a custom pendant for your someone special, feel free to email me, and I will do my best to make something  just for you. ArtcyLucy@aol.com

In the meantime, I am pleased to offer my newest map pendants in my Etsy shop. While you are browsing, most likely I will be here creating something fun…maybe something with a map

 

Drawn to faces

I have had a love of drawing faces since I was a small child. I still have some of them, the ones I drew those many years ago. Some were of people I knew, some were from magazine pages. The older I got, the more fashion illustration appealed to me…those gorgeous faces in the latest Vogue magazine, staring back at me, with perfectly done hair, and shiny red lipstick.

I left off the drawing for a while…but every once in a while, it would come back to me, and I would sit and draw for bit…only to put away my charcoal pencils again, to get on with real life. But still, that love of drawing…especially faces…was there. And one day, I knew, I would go back to it.

Fast forward a couple decades, and here I sit in my living room late at night, with my sketch pads and charcoals, quietly drawing what comes into my head, my imagination. And again…it is mostly…faces.

When I learned to add paint to my drawings, that was exciting for me…to add dimension to my faces, meant a lot to me. To incorporate drawing, painting and collage…thrills me.

I’m happy to say that my mini face paintings are now being showcased in a beautiful little boutique called The Vintage House, in Brentwood. One of the co-owners, Terrie, graciously asked if I would bring some of my art today…and I did, a mixture of canvas collages, paintings, beeswax collages, and assemblage. I absolutely LOVE her shop, and I am so happy that my work will be displayed there!

As for my larger painted collages, I am offering them on my Etsy shop. The next few weeks, I will be adding more pendants, collages, and paintings to the shop…so make sure to bookmark the site, to check back soon.

I would like to thank my family, friends, and customers (new friends!) for coming out to support me at the Clay Station at Mankas Corner the last weekend in April. It was my very first art faire, and I had such a great time meeting people, and hearing reactions to my mixed media art work.

As artists, we get so used to working alone in our own spaces, creating art that we love, art from our heart. So, to share it with my community made me very proud (though I admit, I was a bit nervous!). But I had such great support, and comments and feedback from all who came.

I am not sure when and where my next art faire adventure will be…but I will make sure to post it here.

 

Creating Art in Miniature

I am once again, happy to create something new…something different, something small. These are 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch canvases, with collage, drawing, and painting on them. I have loved drawing women’s faces since I was a little girl, so it is nice to have had some great teachers that helped me to hone my drawing and painting skills! I still have far to go, and lots more to learn, but in the meantime, I am enjoying creating little art stories on tiny canvas.

 

Telling Stories with Beeswax

I am not really sure what appeals to me most about beeswax collage…but I think it might be the transparent nature of it, how the wax seems to meld and blend together all that you embed into it…from images to papers, to buttons, keys, even leaves! I love how each 4 x 4 canvas seems to come alive with a story, and stand on it’s own (with a little help from a vintage book cover!) I love how it feels in my hand, when I pick it up, and buff it with a cloth, to make it glow and shine. Collage is my favorite medium, but to combine that with the warmth of beeswax…well, it just makes me happy!

I am pleased to present two of my newest beeswax creations here. I hope you will stop by to take a look.

 

In love with postage stamps

I haven’t tired of them yet…these little bits of wearable art. In fact, I love being able to look through my ever growing vintage stamp collection, and pick out my favorites to put on game pieces. This is my newest batch…though I have a few more to follow. Some I made as gifts for friends, and some I am offering on my little Etsy shop.

 

The mah jong tiles are very light, and easy to wear…at least that is what my sister says She has a nice little collection of my art pendants, and it makes me proud to see her wearing them. She is partial to the butterfly ones, whereas I think I like the flowers better. My next batch will be ready soon, so come back to take a look. I have plans to make more “map” pendants, as I have a traveler’s heart…and I think I will try my hand at some “poetry” pendants, as I have a bit of a poet’s soul. I may even be daring enough to add some of my drawings to these little game tiles…they are like miniature canvases. The possibilites are endless….

 

New Altered Jewelry

I have always had a love of vintage things…not just old photographs, but paper ephemera, such as maps, old children books, magazines with interesting advertising, to postage stamps from other countries. I have a collection that I started years ago, and I am glad to be able to find a use for them…wearable art.

While wandering the antique store the other day, I spotted a beautiful Mah Jong game, still in it’s original box…full of gorgeous wooden game pieces, just begging to be altered

So, I had fun collaging on these tiles, adding postage stamps, vintage book pages, and maps…some of my favorite things! There are silver pendant bails added to the back, and they are now ready to hang on a chain.

These will be up on my Etsy shop shortly…so stay tuned for these and other wearable art creations!

 

I am addicted to…

Beeswax!

There is something so calming, about working with beeswax.  Maybe it’s the organic nature of it, or how you paint it on your collage as a liquid, and in front of your eyes, it cools to a very beautiful solid texture. Then when it is completely cooled down, you can buff it until there is a glossy sheen, and your collaged elements seem to glow beneath it!

There is no other adhesive used in this 4 x 4 chunky collage, only beeswax covering and adhering images, papers, buttons and lace. There are three words, “I Love Thee” delicately displayed below the image of the woman in the collage. The back is finished with collage and beeswax, and there is a small vintage button hiding in the niche.

The whole canvas is then adhered, with beeswax, to a vintage book cover.  This “I Love Thee” beeswax collage is now available on my Etsy shop.

As you can see…I didn’t stop with just one