my humble home, and art, and such....

Monday, April 4, 2011

pOrch aRt

I create my art on my enclosed front porch, it is my humble (truly HUMBLE) art studio. Our, um, shabby chic (emphasis on the shabby) Maine farm house rental came complete with a long, narrow closed in porch, with a wall of windows across the front (most of them still have the panes!) My favorite decor feature- A set of white Christmas lights I have across the ceiling...creating a warm, magical, vintage glow in the evening, and early morning too.

The more objects I collected on my antique market ventures, and the more art that I created with these finds, the more I noticed that my art was beginning to resemble my porch! The backdrop unashamedly old, weathered, gray, chipped, scratched, dented, faded...then here and there tiny random bursts of color, like the few yellow, pink and blue buttons in a jar of weathered grey and white ones...or my gypsy braids...ripped strips of bright vintage floral fabric, wrapped around a stack of antique grey and brown school books.

There is freedom in creating porch art. Stain spots, rips, tattered edges, all featured and loved for their age and beauty! random pencil jottings I have discovered inside antique book covers...thoughtful words ALMOST lost and forgotten, now featured as treasured writings adorned with bright flowers, birds, and butterflies.

There is lovely truth in porch art. Life is not precise (I hate measuring), perfect, or pristine. The grey and the colorful coexist in beautiful, honest, reality. The dark moments and the bright moments of our lives make us who we are. Porch art is a simple honest extension of the life I love- my life, my porch, grey and bright and beautiful.



Friday, April 1, 2011

spring quilt and art sampler



...found an old quilt..in the corner of a booth ..at an antique market...discounted 50%. Yes I bought it, and am now using it in my art. Lovely colors and fabrics! What a find- 1" x 1"...perfect for my new found love of making assemblage samplers as seen above and unique inchies. Never tried inchies before, check out my inchie w/ my handmade doll head a few posts down.


This piece pictured in this post is for the monthly Creative Paper Artists (CPA) blog, please check out the rest of the design team's take the spring color palette pictured. I love color challenges! It is always fun to go on a scavenger hunt through my art drawers, tins, bins, and boxes to find fabric, found objects, & paper ephemera that match the color challenge!

The best part is, that you can join the challenge too! So hop on over and check out the CPA blog and create some art with us!

I am now offering this piece on my etsy shop page sun dappled nest, please stop by to see this and other pieces from previous posts!