RedBarn Studios

rummaging thru the studio {trying in vain to find something else of course} i came across a painting i’d done earlier this year.

i propped it up for a few days then, as it seemed to be calling to me again, i took a paintbrush  to it, tweaking it here and there. I didn’t start over, it just seemed to be needing something more.

i remembered afterwards that i’d made a video of it so here goes.  for some reason, at the end. it just stops.   i have no clue why or if there’s more.  i’ll have to dig thru more of my files to see where the other part is. until then…enjoy watching my process.

embedded by Embedded Video

vimeo Direkt

toodles,

G

Tags: mixed media, mixed media, video moments by grace
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she knew her DREAMS

were Untapped Possibilities

so…

she opened her eyes

and walked into her Life

(detail)

a recent painting

toodles,

G

Week 1 BMT

Tags: mixed media, paper art by grace
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when someone purchases a journal or notebook from my etsy shop i usually wrap it in brown paper…love the simplicity of that wrapping.

last week i got an order in for the zine i created above
(read more about it here and here).

as i went to wrap the zine for posting, on the spur of the moment, i decided to step it up a notch create an art mailing envelope
a la roben-marie….thanks girlfriend!

instead of using a manila file folder (still wanna try that too) i tore a piece of the same brown paper i usually use, got out my stash of scrap papers, put some music on and went at it.

i gotta tell you……..it’s so way cool a project!

(i even did a video of it but in my haste to record it i pressed the button to pause the recording [because of kiddus interruptus] thinking i was pressing to start recording.

i’m sure you don’t want to here me talking to my kids with my hands just sitting idle on the table…or maybe you would huh?).

anyway when i went to the post office to mail it, the postmistress kept turning it over and over not believing i made it or that i wanted to send it through the mail…ha!

doesn’t she know know that we crazy folks mail all sorts of stuff.  just as long as they hand cancel it we are good to go!

i even had her hold it for a mailing labels pic before she whisked it away.

to finish it off i stitched the sides, stamped, gessoed and added some lace i spray painted.

that’s my newest purchase…a rubber stamp with my company name. LoVE it!

toodles all,

G

Tags: Inner-views, mixed media, zine by grace
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i recently finished a new mini and have added it to my etsy shop but….i completely forgot to post pictures of it here. duh!

this beautiful ‘love you mom‘ gate-fold mini album is chock full of pocket and tags.

it measures a mere 4.5″ x 7″ but is made to hold a bunch.  the base is made from regular #10 size mailing envelopes and is decorated with the beautiful paper line from k & company…the flora and fauna collection…lots of birds, flowers and butterflies, perfect for spring time and perfect to give as a mother’s day gift.

i kinda went overboard with the pockets and tags but had oh so much fun.

there are 7 large solid cardstock tags and the remainder (over 30 in this mini) I designed to showcase this beautiful paper.

love these flowers on the front cover…..with a bit of bling as well

as a gate-fold mini it opens on both sides….love, love, love that ribbon!

those cherries look luscious enough to eat

my favorite tag…aren’t those eggs gorgeous!

a tri-fold tag ready for photos and journaling

a flower used as a different kind of pocket with 2 ribbon tags

a butterfly pocket filled with a matter tag…love the punched out edges

this one of a kind mini album is available for purchase in my etsy store. click on over & check out this and other items.

toodles all,

Tags: mixed media, paper art by grace
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just a quick post to let you know that i’m set up to teach again at donna downey studios. It’s the chelsea vintage mini that’s just way too cool.

it starts off with 6 regular #10 letter-sized envelope and we are rocking and rolling from there, cutting ‘n fold ‘n gluing ‘n embellishing to our hearts content.

then you get to fill this puppy with loads of photos and journaling and do-dads.

the original i made for a friend as a christmas gift. I showed it to her and let her touch it and caress it then promptly put it back in my bag to take to the shop as a sample.

she loved it…btw.

so call the shop and book your spot for march 24th….i promise not to make you laugh too, too much while we play!

Toodles all,

Tags: mixed media, paper art, schedule, teaching by grace
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here’s a sneak peek at a new journal i just finished.

some background
a friend helped me out recently and i wanted to pay her for her kindness.    she told me that in lieu of a monetary payment she wanted instead payment in kind, deciding that she’d like me to make her one of my journals.

i loved this idea! a little bartering of art and each person goes away smiling.

so after i got back from the Nancy Crow workshop a couple weeks ago i started creating, keeping my friend in mind.

she has no idea what it looks like and i get to surprise her with it soon.   now you know why the sneak peek.   i’ll reveal a pic of the completed journal after i present it to her.

Tags: journals, mixed media, paper art by grace
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slowly but surely my need to create is returning and about darn time i say!  as i sat a my table this morning i glimpsed out of the corner of my eye a drawing that had been on my wall seems like ages.  it always mocked me every time i looked at it…“hey Grace…what ya waiting for girly girl…miz arteest….seems really you cannot finish me…nananananana“.

i heard the relentless taunting and, for the most part, chose to ignore it every time.  just couldn’t put my finger on what the sketch needed and why it wasn’t working.  but today i tamed the mish-mosh beast.

any thoughts?

what i think is that i was trying to include too many different designs in the one piece…ugg!…..simplify girl,  so i took it down…put it back on my light box to redraw the base, reworked the design and came away with 2 new drawings. nice! and of course they are circles…you can always find them in my work.

next step is to recolour both new drawings in PSE8 altho patience will not be with me as i try this.  i’m on a Mac now and have  a much older version of CorelDraw that i got for my old PC,  but didn’t want to purchase another copy of the software…funds are tight.

I asked around on one of the lists i belong to and someone suggested these incredibly inexpensive vector based programs, Intaglio and EasyDraw, both made for Macs. mmmh….(if anyone has used either of these, let me now how you like it).  sometimes a girl just wants to colour the point and click way.

before I got my mOjo back today (oh yeh) i forced myself to go into the studio, not to do anything mind you…just spend 10 or so minutes reacquainting myself with being there.  before long, i couldn’t help myself (she says with a giggle)…..i created….i started another grunge journal.  here’s the first one I made.

inside cover….stitched from front then painted in and grunged..the best part

love this new-for-me way of attaching the spine.  as always—-filled with lots of wonderful paper to write/draw on, some really cool bits and, of course inspirational thoughts & ideas throughout to get the muse juices flowing.

i’m calling her lillibird…..my first painted photgraph

i still have some more stuff” to add and will sew in the signatures and put the finishing touches on it tonight.  as soon it’s completed i will be making a video clip showcasing both journals so you can get an up close view my step into the grunge…dun…dun…dun!

Tags: fiber art, journals, mixed media by grace
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The next issue of the iNNer EyE Zine is percolating away in my brain. The theme has been picked and little tidbits of inspiration and creativity are making their way to the surface.

For those of you who don’t know, a zine (pronounced “zeen”) is a self-published book of whatever your heart needs to express. It can be full of images, poetry, art…almost anything is game.

The cool thing about them is a that it’s a little bit of creativity that is instinctual and personal to the creator that YOU get to share in.

iNNer EyE Zine, Issue 1

In addition to ideas for the new zine, I’ve also been putting together a new list of artists to inner-view for this 2nd issue.

Here’s a call to you….if you can think of a fiber or mixed media artist you’d like me to inner-view, by all means, drop me a line and let me know. It’s so much fun getting to know a little more about our favorite artists or someone whose artwork or personality intrigues us.

On another note, Alma Stoller has a blog all about zines which is how I got started making them. She’s got a new zine swap that just got started. If you wanted to try your hand at it, this is a great place to jump right in.

Creating my first zine was loads of fun and a great challenge to myself. I didn’t even mind the hard work! Challenge yourself….sign up for the zine swap and consider making your own bundle of creativity.

Stay tuned….

Tags: Inner-views, mixed media, paper art, working small, zine by grace
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Okay, so I finally figured out how to shoot movies (I’m still perfecting that craft), I know I can edit out all the bloopers and messed up bits (lots of those buggers) and I now know how to add audio to my video (love that part). Play time is over…right?

Heck no I say because I’ve just added a new video to my YouTube site!

Remember the “Journey Girl” I painted  on the front of a cereal box I cut apart a few months back? The one I used in my zine? Well I’ve posted a video of what I did to create her. It were fun!

(Mummy, if you’re reading this….I know that that last bit was bad grammar but in blogland, sometimes that’s allowed).

I got such a kick out of going green with the cereal boxes that I thought a short vid was needed. Okay, okay….that had nothing to do with it, I really wanted to play with iMovie again.

So……on with the shoew!

(if you are having trouble with the video, click here to go directly to my YouTube site and view other videos as well).

Tags: mixed media by grace
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