Citra Solve Grand Experiment # One

This is one of the whole pages which kept its look. I have scanned and cropped and am now playing around with printing. I am on Terry's computer so apparently I can up load just like this. Lets see what happens.

More Citra Solv

 

It's so random. I just did a 2000 + Nat Geo and the first few pages didn't work at all and then they were over "cooked"! I took pictures before and after but haven't been able to match them all up. I thought I might be able to learn what makes what but with some not working - well who knows! I wanted this writing at the top but am not willing to muck with what I have sorted so far. 

I am finding this blog harder and harder to deal with. Pictures used to be easy and now they take forever. Getting two together - takes forever. I don't like this new system What ever I don't put in first time disappears into Picasa and so then that needs loading. Whats happened to one at a time. WordPress here I come I think!

Citra Solv - at last

I've done it. I bought Citra Solv from Ecohip in the UK It came fast and I've been playing iwth it all afternoon. It seems to be me to be very hit and miss. You really have to slop it on but even then sometimes it just doesn't do anything. The 80's National Georgaphic's didn't seem to do it at all but the 2000's mostly do but not always. I have taken a couple of pictures of what I have done today but really I left taking the pictures too late so they are a bit blurry cost the flash is too reflective. I have about 50 pages and will go through them all properly over the weekend. This first one didn't dissolve properly so while it was still damp, I used a brush..

This one which I hope is below, I need a little workshop on how to get the pictures where I want them, is the only one I have a picture of that you can't see anything of the original picture. Thought it has made its own.

The next one two and three - I seem to need to write a whole line to get the pictures to come after the words are all partly 'cooked'. I will put others up soon that are wholey cooked.

Going under the gesso

Having a gesso moment. One down so far, the flower one further down and now this below. How may to go? No new canvases for this little black duck. Terry liked this one, he had it on his wall before I took it back again.

New painting class

I did my painting class with  Liz de King on Wednesday. It was fun, a good group, I'm near the bottom, as usual but it was fun. We did some chat and then she said PAINT. I made a red one then ended up scraping it all off and made a blue one which by the time I came home looked like this

Then yesterday I had another go at it, in between making a SoulCollage card, it ended up looking like this

I have now gesso'd out the base, I will have another crack at it. Its darker than the picture shows. A wonderous fluke really! Just for the record, I am editing this blog to show you what it looks like a few minutes later!

Have ordered the Citra Solv and now just need to wait and wait and wait. So frustrating. Its a glorious day and I really should plant the beans but I think I will do it tomorrow. Its a Saturday. A more bean planting day.

SO many ideas

I'm coming to the end of a four week stay with my Papa, it is his 90th birthday. I am itching to get home. I have so many ideas bubbling around that want to get on to paper or canvas. I am very keen to use the rice paper technique for illustrations. I want to illustrate my most favorite childhood book. It was read to me so many times I can still quote all of it. Gung ho on the citra solve idea. There is lots about it on the net. Some one printing onto cloth with citra solve why not canvas? I asked my brother to bring some over from the States, he couldn't get it in time and its only just occured to me to see if I can find it in the UK and of coure I can BUT it's all on line ordering and I leave in 36 hours so there is no time to get it here. GGGRRR to me. I start my art class next Wednesday. I think there will be a whole burst of creativity which I am really looking forward to. Holidays do have there uses!

Great show

Human Slinky During Half-Time Show - Watch more Funny Videos

New backgrounds

I haven't written about the affirmation art for a really long time. But here I am with some words and pictures.

I had a long go at trying to master Adobe Illustrator. I did sort of get it but realised I was still discouraged and depressed after my best day with it - and it was not a harmonious house hold. So I decided, spurred on by Kim's success with finding an illustrator through guru.com, to give it a go to find a graphic designer to do the whole thing including the words. I had lots of offers but didn't like any of the samples. As the samples came in and I didn't like them I realised that I could do the letters myself - or at least Stu can cut them out of vinyl so that I get back to the whole thing of the child putting the words down them selves. Which gives both ownership and a kinaesthetic experience which cements their affirmations in much more strongly. So I thought maybe I should go for an illustrator not a graphic designer and then I thought no, the whole thing was to based  round my art so I'll do it. These are the first two tries. Feedback given is that they are too busy and maybe they are. I will make simple ones and get the whole lot printed on vinyl and stick letters on top and see what looks best. Will this be done before I go to England? Maybe not.

And, I have been and continue to be busy with being a fledgling funeral celebrant, helping with the organisation of Heart Politics this summer and joining the VES committee. Plus of course playing with SoulCollage.

My first reading

I did this reading yesterday morning as part of my morning pages.  I seemed to read from both the main figures in the card. Once I wrote it out and read it  I edited a bit. ( I like nice edit!)

I am the one who is pretending to scare you but, I am just a mask. I have no arms. I am strong and menacing but I am static and cannot move.  I am powerless except in your mind. I am the one who menaces your thoughts. I am easily devoured by flames and I have around me beauty and new life if you can just see it. I am the one who watches over you while you have your head in the sand.

I am the one who has buried my head in the sand and left my gold exposed on the earth.

I am the one who holds the world in my hand as a memory.

The gifts I bring you are to remember that I am in your mind. I am your thoughts. I only have the power you give me, I have none of my own. Because I can do strange and powerful feats, like not breath for a long time, the gift I have to offer you is to remember your strength and your power. Remember that you can do or be anything you want as well as, as healthy as you want to be.

We both want you to rise up like the flame in the middle and become like that flame, pure, bright, vigorous and unfettered by fearful thoughts.

Flowers

Not having a great time at the moment. I feel stuck. And have a lot of self talk about not being a good artist. Which we all know becomes self perpetuating. I need to make pointless play an end in itself. I seem to be on this whole thing about making flowers with my fingers. So, here is what I have been doing for the last few days - on the canvas with tissue paper on it, which has gone through any number of incarnations. Oh and in the desperate attempt to use cut out roses so I can justify cutting out more, I have placed them on the picture. I actually did some more on this before I put this up and now I see I could do something quite amusing as the back of someone's head! Well, we'll see what comes out next.

Stage 2

Done the first paint over after cover it with rice paper then scraping some of it off again. Colour not so good on this photo and still along way to go.

Picture up before it gets the big going over

I get that I am trying to do something new and in fact it could take 6 months to get it right. I'm back to hand painting and rubbing off color on a differently textured background with things on top - or at least things on top is the plan I would put a picture of one of the bases up but the purple looks blue on the photo as does the green so it just looks blue. I see that failure thinking rather than learning thinking was what made me stop all painting for a couple of months. So, new broom and I am now into learning thinking.and if that means 'wasting' paint and canvas then so be it. The picture here is going to be covered up and I am going to start again. I like it, sort of but its on a wall I don't look at so I obviously don't like it that much. I have also learned that 24 x 24 is too big an area to waste paint on. so 18 x 18 and 20 x 20 will do. I've spent the morning outside on the deck on the 3rd of July - middle of our winter - sunning myself  near naked  cos its so hot. I thought I should stop cos I could well be getting sun burnt. I'm sure all that vitamin D is very good for my pretend chest infection. My volunteer stint at the movies - Toy Story 3 - calls.

I'm painting again

Np picture yet - I'm into something new and want to see how it progresses before I show off. The 24 x 24 I put up the other day has been painted over. I oil pastelled it and I think, no I know, it was the nastiest thing I have ever made. The colours were diabolical. I don't know what happened but I didn't like it. So tomorrow I try hand painting it. Had a very down couple of days re the kids affirmation art but feeling positively back on track again, Thanks Lynda. After Heart Politics I will do a bit of a motor and get things happening. But for now, well its go slow, keep my immune system as healthy as possible and do some painting tomorrow. No gym in the morning if I feel like this tomorrow. and now the soccer is on. Yoo Hoo

Colour again

I've put some pictures up just to get some colour back into this blog.The one on the left, which is still wet,  is another 24"x 24"

 This one says:
I ROSIE AM LOVED ACTIVE VIBRANT NIMBLE TALENTED CLEVER CHARMING TRUTHFUL HONEST MAKES LOTS OF MONEY AM VERY SUCCESFUL
and as of today 29.11.10 its going under gesso.I'm interested to see what the textural outcome will be.

 I'm at it again with the art! I've given up on Illustrator. Last Wednesday I had the best day so far with it and I was still discouraged and depressed about it. I hated sitting down all day at the computer, I didn't like what I had made, though I was happy with how much I had learned, and if I was going to keep going I was going to need a new computer. My little darling is 10 years old, which is probably about 100 years in human terms. It works really well for everything except big graphics. So - I put a project proposal up on Guru.com. I've had a number of replies and getting some samples through. Some have great promise, Leah's wont work for kids but I think will be dynamite when I get into the adult stuff. The others look too young. The best is from Germany. Go figure. I think the samples being young are my fault. I didn't specify 6 - 12. If I want to see more I will offer to pay.

What's happened to the art?

I'm not doing any. I'm tied up with learning how to use Illustrator. I more properly costed out the Kids Affirmation art idea. It is costly to make. So I am learning how to do much the same thing on Illustrator. This way I can offer a series of prices cos I can do PDF's as well as original art. My practice words - given that it's all about affirmation is I ROSIE AM A WONDERFUL LEARNER.  I am also doing an internet marketing course and have been thinking long and hard about what I am creating, why and who is it for. Then, writing a sales letter, pulling together resources, freebies etc etc. There is a lot more to do on that too. Plus of course trying to come to grips with Twitter. This all takes time, lets write that again TIME! I'm back on my bum at the desk. I need to incorporate standing up which was how I painted. I feel much better after a day of standing rather than a day of sitting. Changes need to be made but I am not sure how to work at the computer standing up with out moving it all over to the art table which feels like a huge sell out. This is not a moan. I am having a really great time solving problems, learning new things and creating a business. Three of my favorite things. Put some art back in and I am doing brilliantly.

This is too good not to pass on!

SCRIBBLE KNITTING

Nothing much to do with art but heaps to do with having something nice to do while watching TV! I just looked up scribble knitting on Google. Apparently it comes from Debbie New's Unexpected Knitting
book published in 2003. (She has an incredible collection of knitting experiments. ) I learnt this technique from a wool spinner at the Hornby Markets (off Vancouver Island)  There are lots of scarf versions - my version goes like this:
# 10 needles. A ball of funky colourful wool anything up to 8 ply and a ball of 1 ply kid mohair. (In New Zealand its made by Naturally hand knit yarns.) The whole scarf is knitted in garter stitch.
With your funky wall loosely cast on 130 stitches.  Leave a 20 cm (8") tail of wool. Then knit five rows with the 1 ply. Then one row with funky wool. 5 rows 1 ply, one row funky etc. Every time you use different wool leave a 20 cm (8") tail of wool. This makes the fringe. One ball of 1 ply will usually give you (including casting on and off) 8 rows of funky colourful stuff. When you have your eight rows of funky, cast off loosely and there you have it a long, soft, pretty and warm scarf.

Two scarfs

A Waiheke Event

A local Waiheke Event - and some information about The Red Shed our local co-operative art gallery that I am on the committee of and some times exhibit in.

Kids Affirmation Kits

No pictures today. I have been focusing on marketing and social media I am now on face book and twitter! Who would have thought. And... on the first page of Google if you type in Affirmation Art. I am very pleased. I have been doing marketing and headline copy. I am certainly not the best in the course. But did come up with Kids Affirmation Kits. Domain names and copy right now. All those other little bits that I like doing but mean I don't paint. I intend getting some pictures to Daring Donna to put into the cafe as part of the gifting economy. That will empty out my wall big time so I will feel like making some. Oh all right. One picture of something! My Maori heart phase. I made two in January. Both given away now.

Hot Air Gun Art

Spent some time today using the hot air gun and cheap oil pastels. Just mucking about getting my 'hand' back in. Maybe I need to think about what I am doing before I get started rather than my usual launch. But the launching in can also sometime make good stuff. These are close up pictures and they look great. If I was really exposing myself I would show the whole thing not just the close ups! Taking pictures has given me a whole new level of interest - yeah for blogging!