A Successful Show! We are doing it again!!!

Yes, the art show was a great success! And Pyramid Inc asked us to do it again in December.

Pyramid Adult Day Training Program is a non-profit organization serving more than 170 individuals with developmental disabilities in the Tampa Bay Area. Pyramid offers a true Liberal Arts Training Program. This program offers a diverse curriculum with advanced performing and visual art courses. Their Artists have shown in galleries throughout the state and have their own Gallery here in Tampa. All their art is for sale!!! By inviting other artist they are hoping to attract more awareness to their program. 

I feel so honored to be asked back and to help bring in more art lovers and help this program grow. 

Please come visit the Pyramid Inc Gallery on December 5, 2014 for First Friday Seminole Heights Art Crawl. 

If you would like to buy posters <a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/tampa/posters" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">tampa posters</a>

My favorite month and time of year

The leaves are changing even down here in Florida! We had our first cool front and everyone was so excited. It got us out of the 90 degree range and gave us all hope that our weather will be glorious soon...and new beginnings. Life out doors! There are so many things to do this time of the year like, the downtown market, crafts and art fairs, pumpkin festivals, spook houses, and beautiful lights on the Hillsborough River, walks downtown.

And, I am so excited about this Friday. I have not been in any Art Shows in a long time!

I have a piese of Art at the "Five by Five". Small art for a big cause. All art will be for sale for $25.00.

It will be this Friday, October 17th, at 8 pm at the Tampa Museum of Art. I hope to see everyone there!!!!!!

New websites for my Art

Hi everyone!

Just updating you with new websites for my art.

FineArtAmerica

and at

Instacanvas

I have been very pleased with both companies and their high quality products and service.

On FineArt America, I had one picture that the resolution was not high enough for the size print I wanted. They immediately sent me an email telling me of the problem and had a solution that would change the picture to almost a watercolor type print. I loved it so much we went with it and was very pleased with the results.

And on Instacanvas they have prints, canvas and prims. Prims are 1-thick acrylic photo glass that look great on an office desk...bought one from my desk!!

Here is a picture of my creative space and I put up a couple of their products on my wall. I am loving my space.

Go visit these websites, I think you will be very pleased.    The Joker Print

Another giveaway!!!

Another American Carpenter's Apron Pocket from my friend Brenda at http://therustythimble.blogspot.com/

Depending on the amount of entries, she

may select a second place winner for a surprise!

Rules to Enter are

*please remember if you do not have a way for her to

contact you to leave that in your comment*

1. This is the only one you have to do, you must be a follower

New Followers are always Welcome!

and you must leave a comment on this post only to be signed up

2. Leave me a comment on The Rusty Thimble Facebook Page

3. Share this giveaway on your blog sidebar

4. Share this giveaway on your Facebook wall

Good luck to all who enter, 

(BUT I AM CROSSING MY FINGERS 

AND TOES TO WIN IT THIS TIME!!! LOL)

Left or Right brain

...which are you?

(the print is small, so here's what it says:)

The text for the left brain reads: "I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am." 

And for the right brain: "I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning.  I am the sound of roaring laughter. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be."

I think I am stuck in left brain still.....

And another GIVEAWAY!!!

I think all my art buddies have gone crazy!! They are all doing giveaways and who doesn't like something that is made from one of your art buddies! This is done by Diane Salter and isn't it just yummy with layers and texture? You must go to Diane's Blog and read the instructions on how to win. You will also enjoy reading her blog "My Art Journal" where she has tutorials and information that you can learn all sorts of things. So what are you waiting for....jump on over there!

It is a small world!

I can not believe how small this world is really getting thanks to the internet, blogs, and Facebook. I have taken a few class on the internet and found so many friends, then you see them on a blog you are following and now it seems I am finding them on Facebook. But here is the thing, so many of them know *my friends* as we are being inter-twined through our interest in the art world.  Take a look at my the blogs I am following and see who you know, it really is amazing.

I just finished another art piece from a class I have mentioned before, Suzi Blu - Les Petit Dolls.  If you have not visited her site, I highly recommend you check it out. There is a variety of classes and all of them are great. I am so hooked. I have dolls coming out of my ears now. As I get them done I put them aside for projects I can do at a later date. This is my latest project I just finished and I am sure there will be many more to come and will be selling them on Etsy soon. Hope you stop by to see them.

Happy Halloween

           HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!
Another project on wood. I used color pencil, acrylic paint, collage and ribbon.

Altered Book Class

I have a fellow artist and friend, Leslie Venable, that will be teaching a class at KC Willis' Studio Retreat in Longmont, Colorado - February 4 - 6, 2010, with beautiful views of the mountains.  It is an Altered Book class, "Bound Reliquaries",  and these books are gorgeous!!! To learn more about the classes, visit KC Willis site at: http://studioretreats.ning.com/page/visiting-artists-classes . The class is limited to 10 people so sign up before it fills up.  When the first 5 sign up there will be a drawing and one of those lucky artists will receive the class at 50% off the class price...that's right one half the cost of an already splendidly priced workshop!  :)  But hey it doesn't stop there....when the next and final 5 sign up another drawing will be held and one of those lucky artists will receive the same 50% off discount off of the class!!!!!   Be sure to visit her site because KC Willis will be having more workshops through out the year.

Work in progress

It's the Labor Day weekend so I sat down this evening and painted something that was a little different. I sketched this out but my hand at the top end of the pencil like a child might do. Then I painted gesso over it to make it a little scary looking. Now I am putting color in so I have some definition and hollow the eyes out a little more.  I am not sure how this is going to finish out, scary or just different. Stay tune to see the out come.
                                                             #1 - The beginning

#2 - Just a little different. Changed the shape of her face and put more color in.

#3 - Is she done????
       Anyone have some feedback????


Well, I have decided I like her so much that I am going to use some techniques that I have learned from my journal group, SoulJournaling which is a yahoo group. Sarah Whitmire teaches this group and has a few classes you can do for free. Sarah has been published several times in the Somerset Magazines. I have learned so much from this group. Please stop by and see what we are doing in this group....you will love it.
Visit us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoulJournaling/


So stay tune with this project. It is going from a thin piece of paper that I was just playing around on to a cool picture that will be put on board next.  Stay tune.......

Little Red Tin

Trash to Treasure, Recycle, Re-use.

I love tins. This was a tin that I spray painted, put a drawer handle with washers, then decorated with a piece of metal and a key. Thought it turned out pretty darn cute! I hope my friend likes it!! If you like crafts go to my other blogs: http://artsandcraftsintampa.blogspot.com/ and http://artintampa.blogspot.com/

Free IMAGE download of a Lady

Happy Birthday Woodstock!
I was doodling around and came up with this sketch of a lady. Just sign up on my blog and leave a comment and I will email you a copy (9 images on 1 sheet, each image is 3 x 1.5 inch) for you to use. I am keeping the copyright, so you can use as long as you do not sell it.




http://sites.google.com/site/redfishartwork/

Vacation time

It was a time of rest and relaxation. I went with my husband to one of his training classes and it rained off and on. I enjoyed my morning walks but after lunch here came the rain. So I took out my watercolor crayons and started playing. If you have never played around with this, it is easy to use and


perfect to carry on your vacation. This was a box of 12, and 2 brushes and 5x7 watercolor paper. You color just like it is a crayon, then wet your brush and and start moving the watercolor around....instant watercolor.

Max says "Happy Birthday"

"Max wishes you Happy Birthday!"
I belong to another yahoo group "Paper Imagery Designs" .
This is a contest that is going on right now. You download the picture and alter it. They said it was Lori's birthday so I figured Max needed to wish her a happy birthday!

I started with my journal book. This is an old book that I altered for all my journals. I painted a light coat of gesso so the words could show through for the background. I cut the head out of the picture PID provided. I found the body, cake, balloons and hat in old magazines. I think think the head and body goes together nicely but I had to make copies on my printer in black and white and reduced the body and enlarged the head to match. I colored with crayolas, markers and ink. This type of art journaling is fun and fast. Who knows I might win the contest and get a prize!!

Just started my art jounaling

This is my art journal were I play... scribble, learn new techniques, put my favorite quotes, say what is on my mind....you get the idea. I can be as messy as I want. I found an old book. Glued some pages together to make it strong enough to paint on. You can see the print in the background. Then I claimed this book as mine and I can not be critical about any of it. I even put my soul of armor on the second page to remind me that this book is protected. I can have courage just to let go and experiment.



The next picture is a celebration and to thank all our Troops for our Independence. I found a few definitions from an old dictionary and glued them and then wrote a quote from Thomas Payne. Then I played with my new painters pens and made fireworks.

If you are interested in learning how to make your own art journal we have a group you can join on Yahoo - Soul Journaling by Sarah Whitmire. Come learn with us.

Fun with Tins

Since my Art and Soul Retreat, I have been playing around with tins. I have used spray paint, and "Sophisticated Finishes" which ages the tin to look antique. I have finished 2 tins so far and the 3rd should be done in a couple of days. Sophisticated finishes are so much fun. You can take a tourch and burn off any paint or paper that might be on the tin. Then all you do is put the finish on with a sponge or paint brush and watch it age right in front of you. There are different colors, gold, patina green bronze and blue. The 2 pictures I am showing now I used both brown and gold. I found a card, yes...I save all my cards that are given to me, that looks like my sister and me when we were small. I glued it on after the finishes were to my liking. I used distress ink to age the picture and put a a clear sealer on the can and picture. I added ribbon and lace and lined the inside with fun foam. I also added a latch so it will be easier to open. This was a fun project that is a present for my sister. A late birthday gift.

The next tin is more "Steampunk". It is aged but also has copper on top for a handle and nickle star washers for the steampunk look. I also lined the inside with foam and I use it to keep my change in for my purse. Everyone comments on it when I pull it out and that is when I tell them I am an artist. This is great way to start a conversation about art and give them a business card!!! Advertise yourself!! Promote, Promote!! I will be posting more tin on Etsy.com

Summer is almost here

Summer is almost here and I wanted to dabble in my watercolors, something I am not very good at. I painted in watercolor a picture of a woman and did not like how it turned out. I took a picture of it anyway, then I got on my computer and printed some small pictures up of her. You could not see all the mistakes in a small picture so she looked pretty good to do some projects like a collage or even my new art journal.

Then I decide to make it a black and white and really liked how she turned out. Can't wait to see how I use her.

Art Journal

I went to Art and Soul Retreat at the end of April and learned so much. I got home and organized my art area and put all my new goodies I bought. I wanted to create a project and notice I just don't have enough images, so I started searching on the internet. One thing led to another, images to blogs to magazines to the art stores to ebay. Ok, ebay was addicting! And that is a whole other story I will tell at another time.

I was reading a blog at collagedivatypepad/TrueNorth
which is a great blog for getting ideas to journal about. It was Signs and Serendipity. At the end there are suggestions on ideas and one of the ideas was to open a random book to a random page and be open to the message. Design a journal page about what you discovered. So I did just that, I opened a magazine and I found these words "The road ahead is merely a suggestion". This was a sign for what is going on in my life. Without using any pictures, I jumped in and did my first journal page.

To learn more on art journals go to www.TrueNorthArts.com

Original Paintings and Greeting Cards for sale

Etsy Buy Handmade vredfish

January Art Show

Tampa Artist Emporium