The last two weeks were filled with friends and family who came out to Oregon to help me recover. I was treated royally by my sister, Sigrid, and by my childhood best friend, Lorah, who both kept me busy seeing the sights and enjoying the local hipster ‘hoods. I had very little time for my CT duties but am trying to catch up now…

Here are the latest from Crowabout Studio B

here is a submission to Tumblefish Studio’s monthly challenge on tattoo’s

my entry was an altered vintage portrait done in photoshop:

and today I made the world’s largest bookmark! 4×12 and filled with images from Crowabout Studio B!

From Grassy Hill a kit by Nancy’s Crowabout Studio_B at www.deviantscrap.com

I posted this to Flickr as ‘Dream It and BE FREE’ and my friend Sue (aka Zibelline) thought it said “Damn It and Be Free”…This one is for you ZiB!

here are some more pieces created with kits from Crowabout Studio B at www.deviantscrap.com

5 days till surgery…

used bit of vintage which i crop and hand colored:

thanks mixiepixie for the images!

paper doll with moveable legs on back ground cardstock from Ciao Bella.  legs, face and partial arm from Vogue. body parts painted or embellished with watercolor or pen. used six images from mixiepixies rad sheet for week 70 Collage Play with Crowabout. border bevel by artist on computer. some digital paint programing including the quote from the fabulous French bon vivant and writer, Colette, who sported the en vogue pear shape at the of the turn of the century. Her scandalous bio here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colette
crown embellished with scraps and rhinestones by artist; coffee cup from paperscraps.
size is approximately 10×12

It has a bit of green in it but since she is a coffee drinker you can assume she is on the wagon today….Have a grand day in parade or what ever you do today-and unless you enjoy being pinched you’ll be wearin’ the green, I hope!

I was deeply saddened to learn of Mark Linkous’ suicide on March 6th. His band, Sparklehorse, was one of my favorites.  I had only discovered him about two years ago while browsing the CDs in the Beaverton Library. “Dreamt For Lightyears in the Belly of a Mountain” was not only filled with indie lullaby weirdness but had a fabulous album cover; a collage of a smiling baby with a giant crown surrounded by birds, bees, frogs, flowers, fruit, and stars. The artist had created a masterpiece along with the songwriter/performer. If I ever need to chill this is the music I listen to.

I created my own tribute here with a variation of the baby king-while altering a W magazine ad by ‘BULGARI” featuring the actress Julieanne Moore. The page was lacking a focal point so I constructed a baby king out of scraps from my stash and the following magazines: Eating Right, Travel & Leisure, and Vogue. Crown from freebie sheet downloaded from Flickr member ‘ArtsyFartsy Queen’, border pieces from freebie created by my Crowabout High Priestess pal, ‘Nancy Baumiller” (for valentines day?) and some various trims from my K&Co scrap pile. There is a little bit of handwritten text; rambling about my pain levels after undergoing a procedure called Radio Frequency. It is treatment for a disabling condition known as ‘cervical radiculopathy’. I was in so much pain this morning I called in ill to work (knowing that I would be unable to drive or do my job from the massive pain meds I’m on).

For info on Sparklehorse: http://www.sparklehorse.com/

I do not know why Mark Linkous chose to take his life but understand he was troubled and had a history of unbearable pain and sadness. This I can relate to. I just hope that he is now at peace in a magical calm dreamlike place that is like his music, the beautiful music that was his gift to us.

one year ago today I made a promise (a delayed new year’s resolution) that I would ‘Create ART Everyday’…I am happy to report that this piece marks 98 on Flickr and over 110 pieces in my portfolio. I think this means I AM creating a new piece every 3 days (some art takes time).

This piece was submitted to Nancy Baumiller’s Collage Play With Crowabout(see her blog here: http://crowabout.blogspot.com/) from week 68′s collage sheet. The central girl figure was originally b&w in a grainy dark early 20th century style. I worked that image with pen and watercolor pencil. Then I  added to her dress with other images from the sheet and used legs from an ad found in In Style. I cut & paste all the images  to line the border. Background sheet K&Co Life’s Journey-with additional motif’s from other K&Co scraps. (I have tons).

My favorite part is the Japanese paper lanterns (my studio is lit with these in one corner but they are white not multi-colored) I used a FISKARS 1″ circle cutter (the squeeze kind-so EZ!) on a half dozen paper scraps. I then drew the lines on them to give them the circular dimension with PITT pen.

All my images are glued down with TOMBO permanent adhesive. If any peel up due to humidity I seal the corners with some O’Glue. The final step is adding the quote.

The key in the lower right corner inspired me and thus I chose one from www.great-quotes.com about the key to Heaven. (She is not really wearing a dunce cap-but she does have doubts about herself)

Nathaniel Parker Willis’ bio here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Parker_Willis

I am not new to journaling or graffiti text but am challenged by the limited space on a piece-this time I practiced the set-up on a piece of vellum over the spot I want to add the quote. No matter-I still screwed it up and it took FOREVER to finish it….I am in love with my white SAKURA Gelly Roll pen but the damn thing dries out in 30 seconds. I recently bought UCHIDA Marvy Opaque DECO COLOR pens (recommended by the cashier at Art Media) but they only work on magazine glossy paper!! AARGH!

So if any of my readers know of a good white pen-please let me know

briedah@msn.com

The central part of this piece was done in the traditional cut&paste format. Then I imported to my photo/collage creator and added the zetti strips from my “You Can Play Too” and the pink circles from Nancy’s Week 47 collage sheet. I painted the background black. I tweaked the contrast and saturation only a wee bit. And now it is DONE! Total time: 14 hours!

This year has bought me much joy along with much pain from a pinched nerve in my neck (still seeking treatment). Art has given me a chance to focus on something other than the pain and also to keep me away from the cookie jar which my doctor warned will send me into full blown diabetes if I don’t quit sugar! It has worked! My numbers have all dropped and I’m feeling less *puffy*.  I still have sugar once in a while but I am conscious of the effect it has-it KNOCKS me OUT!

The other benefit from being creative is knowing I am using my talent to make others HAPPY! Sometimes I even get a few dollars for my work but it is not so much the income as the joy of being lost in my work; it is an escape from fear and anxiety that brings me the most satisfaction. Also added benefit-my home is beginning to look like an ART GALLERY!!

One more thing, joining www.Flickr.com  has introduced me to a world of new friends and incredible artists whom I’ve been reading about in Somerset Studio or Juxtapoz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juxtapoz) and getting feedback from them is like a drug. My view count is currently 8,394!!!

Having my own website is possible thru the kindness and generosity of my brother John (www.jebswebs.com) . Without his incredible support and phenomenal technical wizardry I would be one sad puppy (sitting on a wet newspaper). He is also my strongest booster in regards to making my ART a commercial success…I owe him a gazillion thanks and big hugs!!

Now as I did one year ago today: a snapshot of my desk currently~

where:  studio

when: Sunday Feb 28 1:30 pm                                                                                       

Listening to: “Diplomat’s Son” Vampire Weekend   

on my desk right now: tombo roller, Ranger distress ink, FISKARS circle punch, FISKARS 12″ paper trimmer,  UCHIDA, PITT, SHARPIE, SAKURA pens, Kimberly watercolor pencils, pencil carousel, electric and old skool pencil sharpener, Running Press “Friendship” mini book, cut-out parrot bird from dover book, red, white & gold GLITTEREX glitter, crystal geyser water bottle, coffee cup,  and current art work “Key To Heaven”   

mood: energetic, happy 

recent creations: key to heaven, altered magazine (W), ‘be glad

inspirations: fashion layout from W, new desk from Deb & Jeff (belonged to Lois B)

My life depends on creating art…and a sunny day!

Next I look for the skinniest most immaciated models and cut them out for zetti collage.

Then if I need an assorted body part I go thru it again and grab those and if I see any big EYES or MOUTHS~ those get cut out too. Last but not least: Any time the text is downright obscene and is larger than a 32 pt font it gets cut out for the scrap bin for letters and verse.

Random quote author unknown: “Great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget”..background K&Co card stock design enhanced by watercolor pencil. The underfed models from W, Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire. all images hand colored with pen and acrylics. glitter applied to random spots where glue did not dry correctly. piece then altered in collage creator to add painted effect. completed in two stages. art work took about 6 hours.