Art Joural Journey August “Frida Kahlo” Challenge

today I am sharing what was actually the ‘first’ piece I created for the AJJ Frida challenge…

I just wasn’t thrilled with it so I kept putting it aside and creating something else…

I hauled out a lot of ingredients for this a little larger than a postcard size journal page…

the last thing I added was some of the blue Woody Stabilo hitting it with a wet brush and letting it drip a bit…

 the cage dress form stamp was my initial inspiration…

here are my creations for the Art Journal Journey’s August Challenge

(4, 44, 58, 75, 102, 112 and 125)

Frida and Diego…

 Art Journal Journey and Valerie has given many of us Frida Fever so when an image by Pierre Mornet in our local newspaper made me think of Frida and Diego and their stormy romance I was not surprised…

here are a few photos as I was creating this 6 x 9 inch art journal page to show some of the steps I took sketching a little adding paint and gesso with some rubber stamping on tissue paper (again I cannot identify who made the rubber stamps)…

and here I thought I was finished with Frida…

the image above was made using the first Frida that I shared along with some iphone apps to layer a flower photo from our garden with my artwork...

I still have one more Frida that I made and will share it here soon…

Frida Kahlo de Rivera

after reading a review written by Rita Kempley for The Washington Post (February 22, 1992) about a documentary called “Frida Kahlo: A Ribbon Around a Bomb” the title really stuck with me…

Rita Kempley wrote in part:  “The hour-long documentary “Frida Kahlo: A Ribbon Around a Bomb” is as flamboyantly lurid as Kahlo’s pain-filled, dripping art. The Mexican artist was horribly crippled in a traffic accident at age 16, and her surrealistic works depict the suffering that was her companion throughout life. The film interweaves 120 of her paintings, mostly exotic, often obstetrical, sometimes masochistic, with talking heads, archival film and excerpts from the play “The Diary of Frida Kahlo,” performed by Cora Cardona.” -Rita Kempley Washington Post Staff Writer

back in 2008 I worked with metal duct tape and embossing tools here on an altered book spread that opened to two more altered Frida pages…

 with the shrine rubber stamp by Stamper’s Anonymous in mind I knew I wanted to do some metal embossing with Frida again…

the lovely and talented Alison had shared recently how she created a wonderful embossed metal car here which was very inspiring…

I used an assortment of Dylusions ink sprays with plaster bandage that I finally opened after having the roll around for some years to put behind my embossed Frida shrine…

the final touch that doesn’t show up all that well in my photos was heat embossing a thin edge around my loose leaf art journal page with silver embossing powder (at one time I must have REALLY enjoyed embossing because I have quite a collection of powders!)…

with thanks to Valerie and Art Journal Journey for the exciting Frida Kahlo challenge this month…

born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón                            July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954

my other Frida creations for this month’s challenge at AJJ are numbers 4, 44 and 58 and can be found here along with lots of inspiring artwork from artists all around the globe ~♥~

Art Helps Me Breathe …

another loose leaf journal page for the Art Journal Journey Frida challenge…

I think Frida might have liked one of my favorite rubber stamps “Art Helps Me Breathe” ( black embossing powder is missing from my supplies photo above)…

I sanded an extra image I also used here that was printed out a little smaller adding some light pencil lines and shading (pressed rose petals adorn her head)…

the heat embossed heart with flames was fun and something I haven’t done in a long while…

la artista mexicana…

on the other side of my el corazón page I created this Frida page for the Art Journal Journey August challenge…

simple cut and paste collage with some light sanding and shading…

paint and bits of plaster stenciled tissue paper came in handy too…

El corazón …

excited about Art Journal Journey’s August “Frida Kahlo” challenge theme…

Frida has inspired my artwork in the past working with beeswax… wood… metal… etching… moo’s… atc’s… altered books and more…

this time I opted to concentrate on Frida’s moody blue side rather than her extra colorful persona…

sticking pins in the heart that I added a little cotton to for dimension (the heart is poofed up about 1/4 inch from the surface)…

the background is a dictionary page I had handy where I had played with a burst stencil… paint and plaster…

pieces of lace from my Mutti’s sewing supplies and some white roses finished this loose page for my art journal…

beeswax and fish tins…

 it begins by brushing melted beeswax onto your tin …

adding paper (I used pattern tissue for the background) brushing on more beeswax using it like glue to affix images, ribbons and such (laser jet images work well as they don’t smear)…

thinner papers melt into the surface beautifully…

I also enjoy adding bits of fabric … lace … zippers and more…

so many things look rich and interesting with the addition of beeswax…

Six Players: Mexican Folk Art Theme

as promised … here are the tip in pages I created for Dianne’s Mexican Folk Art theme … each player has chosen a different theme and varying page sizes…

lots of paint and gesso went into my pages … I printed a skull image onto transparency paper … highlighting with a white pen … I placed it behind the opening I cut in the front cover … the final step was using Golden brand Gold Mica Flake (Large) around the edges of the page … it gives nice texture and shimmer…

*these pages measure 8 x 16 inches*

it wasn’t hard for me to decide to go with Frida…

I created a tin foil frame by rolling and smooshing foil together … stitching it onto the page with bits of colorful fiber… the  flower  is rubber stamped and hand colored…

on the left hand side I used assorted papers to help affix the skeleton transparency dry brushing with gesso and adding a loteria game card at the bottom … el corazon means “the heart”

I painted the back page with blue paint and used a piece of torn wax paper that I had used some time ago for making mono print pages … glad I saved it as it made a perfect layer under the shrine stamp that I used as a frame for the black and white Frida image … white gel pen helped add interest to the stamped frame…

Frida has a lot of powerful quotes … I chose

“I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.”

I used black fine marker to accent the pages too…

here is the tag I created to go along with my tip in … I certainly did enjoy this theme …

next month I will be working on “Trees”

two days with a master artiste

the one and only

Michael deMeng

taught two workshops about twenty minutes drive away …  all thanks to Angela of Happy Stamper in Reston for nabbing him after his Art & Soul classes in Hampton, VA … what a treat!!!

Day 1 Cave of Pages

a simple wooden cigar box … got excited and forgot to take a picture of the actual box part before I got busy … there is the lid

my focal image was going to be a swan … but something different came up in the end … found my box a bit challenging to photograph to capture the true coloring and depth

Michael deMeng is an extraordinary teacher … he creates an atmosphere of creativity and fun in his classes … he could have his own “deMeng speak” dictionary with all of the color wash names and other clever jargon he uses … one of the things that is apparent is that he Loves what he does … he is so present and giving

Day 2 Loteria “Cards” made of simple wood blocks … special cool Apoxie Sculpt clay

(thank you Leslie for sharing) … rusty bits of this and that …

I had so many ideas for these and brought SO much stuff to class

in the end I had to put on a few final touches at home … I got to use some of the great rusty bottle caps Mr Magpie is always surprising me with

I highly recommend

Michael deMeng’s newest book, Dusty Diablos …  a visual feast full of inspiration … he shares some great techniques and tells some fascinating stories in the process … his artwork draws you in with its richness … mystery and depth

I was lucky enough to take an altered light bulb class with Michael at Art & Soul a few years ago … I would definitely take a class from him again… each time I learn so much from this generous and talented artist!

many thanks once again Angela !!!

WS: PARTY

“Party” is the theme this week at Wednesday Stamper

I am still in Frida mode and created a postcard with another of the beautiful painted backgrounds that the lovely and talented Linda in Norway gifted me with

*you can click for a close up of my postcard*

cutouts from a seed catalog…stamping…with white gel pen highlights

plus one  Impress rubber stamp

Note: to my blogspot friends, I have tried to leave comments on several blogs this morning with no success … I will of course be checking again later

WS: Flowers

flowers bring so much color and interest to life…they are among my favorite things

there is even a “language of flowers” which has been used to communicate feelings since Victorian times

this week’s challenge theme for Wednesday Stamper/Mittwochstempler is “flowers”

my postcard began with a beautiful painted background from Linda in Norway

a B Line Design arch stamp and a Rubber Stampede daisy stamp … flowers from Dover clip art and a seed catalog

clickable for closeups

the bluebird of happiness was not a frequent visitor at Frida’s Casa Azul
Here’s Hoping you all had a Happy Cinco de Mayo!

WS: Women’s History Month

there are so many women of note that came to mind for the WS Women’s History Month theme

I could not pass up the chance to do a Frida Kahlo piece

it all began with a sardine can

and beeswax at our local altered arts group gathering

torn map and tissue papers …  bits of lace … a piece of metal zipper and a crepe paper Memorial Day poppy made by a veteran in 2005 (see it’s good to hang on to things sometimes)

the final touch was the red ribbon holding a mother-of-pearl sacred heart pendant that I have also had around for a while

one word from this American Art Stamp (Designer: Kathleene Callei) went into my Frida shrine

be sure and visit Wednesday Stamper to be inspired by our guest designer Sherry Goodloe …  she created an amazing reversible Fragments necklace for this week’s theme to celebrate women

* * Happy St Patty’s Day … here is a sweet Irish tune for ya * *

Frida in the House and a giveaway

This Frida piece is for two challenges this week…..Dans ma maison il y a….une peintre (a painter) and Wednesday Stamper (WS) Bows/Schleifen.  I used a Stampers Anonymous shrine stamp highlighting it with white gel pen and gold gouache.

It’s a rainy dark day, so getting a good photo was a bit of a challenge, you can click for a closer look.

This short video shows real footage of the lovely and mysterious Frida.

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A talented art friend, Roberta,  is having a 200th blog post celebration. Be sure and pop over for a visit and leave a comment for a chance to win her lovely giveaway.