Mixed Media Monday - Personal Symbols and Myths

This week on Mixed Media Monday Beth is back as our guest host with another very imaginative challenge - personal myths and symbols. Wings appear in my art all the time, whether it's birds, butterflies or winged people! Like a lot of artists, for me wings symbolise freedom. That's my aim with my art, to try to loosen up, lighten up and be a lot "freer" with what I do. This pendant was made with a gold tone tray, into which I put a tiny collage, featuring a vintage child. The bird is a gorgeous little gold charm attached with some wire wrapping. Another fun challenge, thanks Beth!

Mixed Media Monday - Marie Antoinette

This week on Mixed Media Monday the wonderful Rosie is guest hosting again and has issued a lovely challenge - Marie Antoinette. I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go with this challenge, but as I looked at images of her, I decided I wanted to work in fabric. I had a gorgeous old cigar box that I wanted to alter, so this was my golden opportunity. I used some big wooden beads that I've had in my stash for more then 20 years (yes I never thrown anything out - and this is why) so I attached them to the box and then painted it all blue. I printed the image on fabric and layered it with fabric, silks and laces. The whole thing was finished off with some beaded fringing, braid and an antique style butterfly brooch!

Mixed Media Monday - Child's Play

This week on Mixed Media Monday Beth is back with a really fun challenge. She wants to take us back to our childhood and the joy and freedom we had while being creative. One of the things that I loved best was making dolls from dolly pegs and pipe cleaners, so that is the direction I decided to take. These days I have lots more art supplies to play with than back then, when I would have used a dolly peg, a pipe cleaner, some scrap fabric and some pencils for the face. Of course, I used a dolly peg - but these days you can get them with little stands so they stand unaided - and although I wouldn't usually use a pipe cleaner for the arms, I did this time for old times sake :-) I wanted to experiment with my resin clay to make the face and head and I dug out some dolls hair that I had left from another project. I used silver charms for the hands and finished her off with German scrap wings and crown. What fun this was - mixing the old (me as a child) with the new (what I love doing now).

Mother's Day

What a wonderful Mother's Day, yesterday. A lovely relaxing day with my daughters and in the afternoon a visit from my son and his wife and of course, my beautiful little Lucy. Look what she gave me - my first ever "Nanna" mother's day card! How special is that!

Mixed Media Monday - Wedded Bliss

The very talented Rosie is hosting Mixed Media Monday this week and has issued the challenge of "wedded bliss". This was the perfect opportunity for me to do the comical piece I'd had in the back of my mind for a long time. I wanted to use the ridiculous advice for housewives published in a magazine in 1955 - you can see it here if you are interested. I chose some of funnier pieces to use in my piece, which I printed out along with the image of the 1950's woman. The background is done with layers of acrylic paint. I was having a good old giggle about this advice and then I realised - this was my mother's life! Although to be honest, I'm not sure how closely she would have followed these rules, grin! Thank goodness things were a little more liberated by the time I was married - and it's even more so now for my daughters!

Mixed Media Monday - Mothers

Over at Mixed Media Monday this week Cindy has issued us with the challenge "mothers", which is well timed with Mother's Day next Sunday here in Oz and in lots of other parts of the world. I decided to make a box in honour of my daughter-in-law's first Mother's Day. You can see a pic of her and my absolutely gorgeous first grandchild, Lucy on the box. The box is covered with vintage papers of all sorts which were then further distressed with gesso and distress inks. I also used computer generated words and image, and "sunk" it all under a few coats of acrylic wax medium. A beautiful flower motif and some lace around the lid finished the box off. I don't know what it is with me and show tunes at the moment, but the words to the Stephen Sondheim song kept running through my head when I was thinking about this project, so they had to be a part of it. I hope my lovely daughter-in-law enjoys this small gift in honour of her first Mother's Day.