Sunday, June 2, 2013

A Smokey Start to June

With two weeks left of the school year, I’m impatiently looking forward to having more time to play in the art room, declutter the house (again), and most importantly…not work. 

Even working, May was somewhat productive creatively.  Here’s my May calendar for The Kathryn Wheel’s Calendar Challenge.
stuff 351 And a couple of pages in my journal…
stuff 349_1 I had only worked on the background in April and finished the page this month. 
stuff 350This last week, I was luckily (or unluckily for my wallet) introduced to Dylusionals Spray Inks by Ranger.  OMG!  I am addicted.  I made this little tri-fold journal with stencils, Dylusionals, gesso, and a little acrylic paint for accents.  I foresee these spray inks in my future.
stuff 352stuff 353 stuff 354 stuff 355 stuff 356 stuff 357I haven’t made a card for months.  Then in May I was notified that 10 of the colors that I use for card marking are being retired.   Of course, I have a new pack of paper in almost every single one of those colors.  I spent a weekend hammering out as many cards as I could with some of those colors, just to use them up. 
stuff 359 It looks like I’ve got birthday and Christmas gifts covered for the year.

Thursday afternoon, a fire started about 50 miles north of Los Angeles.  Luckily, it began in a sparsely populated area and structures were not in any great danger.  However, our winds and dry weather have kicked in making fighting it very difficult.  This morning we found out it grew from 5,000 acres to 20,000 overnight.  We’re in no danger from it, but it is just ominous, even from here.
stuff 347

stuff 348 Driving into my neighborhood…the smoke and ash creeping across Los Angeles county.  Fire season has started early this year.

12 comments:

  1. Sorry about the fire. Hope it stays well away from your area.

    Your lettering is good. When did you learn that 'R' you could call it the Jolie. And the balance of colour in that 3rd one is very good.
    I think the ink wash is a girl thing :-).

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    1. To add http://newyorkinparis.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/angelina-jolie-2012-oscars.jpg

      Does the ink bead on the gesso. Is it that the acid in the ink is reacting to the gypsum/chalk/plastic. I wonder if it might run better on Japanese screen paper.

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    2. Ah, now I get it. :)

      The ink is supposed to be acid free, so I'm not sure why, but the product boasts it's made to react to water. I sprayed it first so (in my non-sciency explanation) it absorbed into the paper, but then it's like the gesso reactivates it a bit - the image can be manipulated and "moved around" but it also remains as part of the paper. The layers created are really interesting. The gesso tones down the color some without covering up the images.

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  2. Thanks, distance wise it'll be fine. The air quality will be affected and the ash will be a nuissance. A few years ago schools were closed because of the ash. I don't think we're close enough this time.
    Ha ha on the inks, maybe it is. The way it reacts with the gesso, it's like a science experiment and the colors are amazing. So cool! :)

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  3. OMG! Love yours background and love yours pages!

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  4. My Santa Barbara daughter has been dealing with the smoke since the fire in Camerillo the first of May.

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    1. Yah, that was actually the start of fire season, but we weren't affected too much by that one. The mountains always keep the smoke and what not along the coast.

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  5. I love seeing your projects. I'm always in awe of your pages. They're just awesome.

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  6. Love all your wonderful projects-the doodled calendar spread is delightful, all those beautiful cards-wow, great journal pages, and oh yes, those Dylusion sprays are so addicting! :)

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    1. I'm hooked! I spent Sunday looking for them here but actually found them online for much cheaper even with S&H. I ordered a few of my very own, and they arrived yesterday. I can't wait until the weekend so I can use them. :)

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