Look Out Marlon Brando...You're Next!

I stumbled across this technique while cruising Youtube for art inspiration and this technique just amazed me. You could really use any photo for this but a repeated image photo like the one used in the video really seems to make a statement.

I happen to love photos (and film) featuring a young Marlon Brando. Not that I am opposed to the work of his later years but it just seems to me that the huge body of work he did before "The Godfather" (which I refuse to watch because of the violence) goes under appreciated. Marlon took a huge amount of studio head shots during his career and I can't wait to get my hands on a few of them to try out this technique on.

There is an antique mall that I love to spend time in that has an entire section dedicated to nicely arranged and well preserved, classic film, head shots. They are all taken on glossy 8x10's and are just perfect for this project. The video is a little over six minutes but well worth waiting to see how she arrives at the finished piece. Enjoy.

Be Afraid!....Be Very Afraid...Then Get Out That Credit Card!

The wonderful world of Etsy can be a fabulous resource for the mixed media artist to fulfill their commissioned art needs. However, sometimes it is nice to find other resources that rely on a bit more of a stable business premise. This is especially true when purchasing large orders of supplies to fulfill commissioned art pieces where a single checkout procedure would make far more sense. This is especially true when you have projects that must be completed and delivered under a pre-designated time frame.

Recently I stumbled across an awesome supplier called Ornamentea! They specialize in just about everything for the mixed media artist be it collage, Steampunk, or bits and baubles. The only area that they seem to be a bit lacking in is the vintage ephemera department but one can always go to Flikr or one of the other copyright-free vintage image resources out there for that.

I recently purchased several of the filigree items and cabochons for personal imagery jewelry pieces and WOW! was I impressed with the quality! Even the raw brass pieces needed only minor polishing before beginning to work with them. They had a variety of cabochons, cameo settings and bases as well as that darn 10oz bottle of Diamond Glaze that I have been searching all over the world for!

They also had a variety of other resin setting agents but I have always preferred the Diamond Glaze as it is far less toxic than some of the other resin products on the market and should I someday decide to have children I certainly wouldn't want them to be born with a third eye or something simply because I used copious amounts of toxic resin products in my artwork...LOL.

Bead Caps! Can I just tell you about the HUGE variety of bead caps I found there! You know how much I love creating vintage inspired hatpins...I was doing a happy dance all the way to the check out page after finding these babies. They have everything from raw brass to sterling silver findings in this category. Especially when you are making vintage reproduction hatpins do you need authentically aged looking hardware such as these.

This place was also a STEAMPUNK artist's dream! If Steampunk is your specialty then you will be thrilled to find that you can purchase your components in bulk! For a set price you will get everything you could possibly need to create collaged canvases, mixed media jewelry and everything in between. For all that you get I found the prices to be extremely reasonable.

And if all that wasn't enough, Ornamentea also features an external blog separate from their official website that features tutorials, ideas and tips from like minded mixed media artists to gain inspiration from. Remember, the prices are reasonable, the shipping fast and the overall experience much better than shopping Etsy for supplies from individual vendors. Be sure to check them out and give me some feedback about your experience with this awesome company.

* Post Script.

After re-reading this post I realized that I may have given the impression that Etsy.com is not a good place to shop for mixed media supplies and I now realize how that impression could ruffle a few feathers. This was certainly NOT the impression I was wanting to give.

Etsy is a wonderful place to acquire needed supplies indeed...heck, I even have my own Etsy shop! What I was trying to say in my own inarticulate fashion was that those looking to buy a variety of supplies all at once might likely prefer shopping at this new supplier.

Unfortunately with Etsy if you find 10 different supplies from 10 different vendors you will be required to make a separate checkout transaction with each vendor for thier individual store's products and that can be a time consuming hassle if you are on a time crunch.

Also, if you find that you have an issue with your purchase after receiving it then customer resolution is dependant upon your conversations with a single person's interpretation rather than a customer service department with predesignated policies and procedures. In the past these two issues have caused me a bit more stress and effort than I have wanted to deal with when purchasing larger quantities of supplies.

Hey! Didn't I used to create art and post it here on this blog? I have the faintest memory of doing just that sometime ago....LOL!

OK, now it is time for me to quit clowning around and finally get some projects done so stay tuned for some really cool things that I have got coming up soon.

In the meantime I will do as my Dad always used to say and

Quit -a- yackin and get -a- crackin!

My Heart Just Ached...

It was called Ladies In Lavender and it was a story that I don't think I will ever be able to forget. My heart still aches for its prominent character, Ursula. I watched this movie recently and was moved to tears by many of the heart wrenching moments of the film. It stars two absolute legends of English film, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench who happens to be my favorite female actress of all time.

The story takes place in Cornwall England in the pre-war era of the English sea coast. I will not go into all of the details of the film but I will give a brief overview so consider this your spoiler alert! if you wish not to hear the details.

Janet (Maggie Smith) and Ursula (Judi Dench) are two aged sisters living on the sea coast of picturesque Cornwall, England. Janet's husband was killed in the first war many years before and Ursula was never able to marry for one reason or another. One morning after a fierce storm a young man washes up on the shore after falling overboard his ship sailing to America. The sisters take him in and nurse him back to health where they learn that he is Polish and speaks almost no English.

Ladies in Lavender. (2004) Photos


Ladies in Lavender. (2004) Photos

This was the part of the film that just had me blubbering in tears. It took me a while to catch on but I began to realize what was happening. Ursula who was never married and has now grown old begins to awaken to feelings of love and romance that she has never experienced before, for this young man. You can imagine how carefully and sensitively this had to be portrayed in the film so as not to give an unsavory impression. It was beautifully presented and my heart just ached for poor Ursula who had begun to experience love for the first time in her life although it would never come to be as it only exists in her mind and heart. The young man has no idea of her developing feelings but Janet soon catches on and tries to reason with her very emotional sister to no avail.

Ladies in Lavender. (2004) Photos

Not only is the film a moving portrayal of unrequited love and raw human emotion but it is also a cinematographic pleasure to watch. Every scene is filled with coastal beauty as well as the indoor scenes that are filled with beautiful antiques, vintage millinery, teapots, china and cottage adornments. I ended up watching the film a second time just to savor the clothing and accoutrement's of the era that are very visible in the film.

Ladies in Lavender. (2004) Photos

The film is also filled with beautiful and emotion stirring scores and violin pieces which will bring you to tears from the shear beauty of them all by themselves! In the film Andrea (the young man) is an amazing violinist and this ties in wonderfully with the overall feeling of the movie.

Ladies in Lavender. (2004) Photos

So there you have it, ladies! The next time you are in the video store and need a good chick flick to help you get out those bottled up tears, be sure to look for this wonderful piece of movie mastery called Ladies In Lavender.

1940's Glamour Girl.

Isn't this the coolest painting! She is a 1940's Glamour Girl. I found her in my Flikr Collage Pool of images. It was designated as free to use in your art so go ahead and make something fabulous with it. :)

I Dare You!

I just found this adorable video tutorial from Rosebonbon Creations on how to make a very nicely done "Wedding Jar" to give as a decoration or keepsake. There are so many things you could do with one of these cuties. How about giving one as a wedding gift with a photo of the real bride and groom inside? What about for a 50th wedding anniversary? This nicely done tutorial sent my mind reeling with ideas for creating a very special gift. Now, what about the dare part? I dare you to watch this entire video from start to finish without tapping your foot to the music once! Can you do it?...I sure couldn't!

Aren't these the most adorable soaps you have ever seen? I found these at The Feathered Nest Blog Shop. I have been following this neat blog written by a gal named Dawn for awhile but only just realized she also has a blogshop with some really great items for sale.

These adorable soaps would look so beautiful nestled into a nest from the craft store and placed near the sink of a guest bath wouldn't they! They come in several colors too. She also sells a speckled cream egg that looks very much like the eggs laid by my little nuthatch birdies each year in my backyard bird boxes. Do be sure to check out her Blog as well as her blogshop on your next blog hop.

A Blue Beauty.

Bird Photos from: Flikr.com.

For as long as I can remember I have always loved birds. You can imagine how excited I was then when my hubby and I purchased our home on a bird sanctuary in southern California. Our home is surrounded by several large park areas and three serene lakes that are stocked with fish, turtles, ducks and American Coots. We also get loads of visiting birds such as Canadian geese, grebes, cormorants, and egrets. Although most of the birds that frequent the lakes are migratory, many of them are year round residents. Mixed in with the flocks of wild ducks you will find a handful of tame ducks and geese that call our community home all throughout the year.

Several times a week I grab my binoculars in the early morning hours and head out to my favorite part of the lake where I love to watch the egrets and blue herons fish. They sit there patiently for long periods of time until they are swiftly able to spear a fish. They toss it straight into the air and catch it with their beaks and swallow it down whole. It is really something to see!

The Great Blue Heron has been the most shy of all the birds by far. As soon as they spot you approaching at a distance they usually take flight and fly away to one of the other lakes on the property. It has been hard to examine them closely even through binoculars for this reason. So you can imagine my delight this morning when on my morning stroll when I came across this giant flight feather from a Great Blue Heron! The picture does not do it justice. The color is so icy blue and the detail is just amazing. The next time you visit your neighborhood park or wetland you will want to be sure to scan the shores for one of these most amazing of creatures.

.My Photo.