encaustic class

sometimes when i get to class i have no idea what i'm going to do

today i had several boards to scrap down

(work i decided not to finish)

in the process of heating and scrapping

i liked what was happening

another happy accident

once i got home i decided to play with the photos in ps

making some cool grunge layers

adding some text and a frame

once i added a photo and tried on every blending mode
i ended up with this

switching gears

now that fall is officially here

it's time to switch gears from gardening to jewelry making

today i filled my work table with lots of supplies

some things i bought on my paris trip in the spring

it was fun to go through everything

wondering what i will create

tomorrow i will start designing

on the weekend my friend karen taught me how to do

viking knit

it reminded me of a cross between crochet and embroidery

only way more time consuming

once i got the "rhythm" it wasn't that difficult

that and some skittles (i offered to open a bottle of bourbon)

it took me all day to make one small chain!!!!

i'm hoping someone will invent a little machine

that when you turn the handle out pops the viking knit!!!!!

fall line-up

while catching up on all my recorded tv shows

i decided to do some work in ps at the same time

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last summer while in nyc

i photographed a advertisement for

as new show coming in the fall called

the vampire diaries

(i thought..." i must remember this"

so i took a shot of the ad)

it was on the side of a stainless steel building

since i'm watching the second season

i decided to work on the photos

this shot you can see my reflection on the right

and my friend lu flagging a taxi

after a few tweaks in camera raw

i used two grunge layers from shadowhouse

(using the linear burn and hard light blending modes)

and some pages from an old math book

encaustic class

today's class was all about texture

but for something different

i decided to do a monochromatic color scheme

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9 6x6 canvas boards

layers of wax (over and over again)

washers to make the rings

and some shells

string

handmade roses of wax

and cheesecloth

a broken tea cup

wooded stir sticks

and square pasta
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it was fun to move the squares around

to see how they relate to each other

next project i'll try some colour

summers end

still blooming in the garden

lavender
brown eyed susans

a second bloom for my spirea

the first sign of fall

just up the street from my house

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clipping mask from shadow house

the butterfly project

i love the blog world!

as i was wondering through my favorites

lisa, from mudhound studio

had posted about the butterfly project

(see her butterfly here)

which she found through trudy at two dresses studio

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the butterfly project

the holocaust museum houston

is collecting 1,500,000 handmade butterflies

one for every innocent child who perished

and all will be on exhibit in the spring of 2013

(read the story here)

butterflies should be no larger than 8x10 inches

any medium and two dimensional

(no glitter for food products to be used)

see all the details here

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above, my butterflies

made from armature wire and beads

special occasion

tradition

ben and alanna faith
happily ever after

------

"grow old with me

the best is yet to be"

robert browning

congratulations

ben and alanna

i was so honoured to share this special day

encaustic class

it's been 12 weeks since my last class

time flies......

i thought this summer i would spend time

painting in my garden

but one thing leads to another

and before you know it

i'm back at school wondering

"where did the summer go?"
today's class i decided

to work on something familiar

----

above, todays work with a

photo transfer of one of my photos

layers of wax and copper guild


i love texture!!!!!

new look

one thing leads to another................

while taking marie's on-line class

she told us about coffee shop

free stuff for photo shop

once i had a chance to really look over the site

i found that they do custom blog designs

i've always wanted to change my look

and with the help from rita

it is finally happening

just a few more "tweaks"

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above, me in my red shoes

which i used for my banner

late harvest

with the cooler weather

the garden is looking like fall already

as i wondered through

deciding what needs to be done

i noticed that my pear tree

which has never bloomed

has 2 perfect pears

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above, photo from my garden

played with in ps

using 6 different layers

and blending modes

beautiful women project

an unexpected surprise while visiting the ex

i came across the

beautiful women project

created by artist and speaker

cheryl-ann webster

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above, cheryl-ann and her art

cherly-ann has created

120 life-size clay sculptures of real women aged 19-91

each decorated to reflect an aspect of the women's life journey

the project was inspired by her daughters friend

who was saving for breast implants at the the age of 13

the mission of the project

to raise awareness about the link between

self-worth, self-identity and physical appearance

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above, self portrait of the artist

"body image is not black and white"

and " self acceptance"

a women who lost a breast to cancer

=======

i purchased

"the book"

containing photos and stories of all 120

works of art

"the book" has been produced as

a fundraiser for the project

a teaching and healing tool for people

from all walks of life

longweekend fun and games

if you live near toronto

you know when you hear the song

"let's go to the ex"

it is that time of year again

the cne is a long tradition, 132 years, of fun

there's games

and food, lots of food
my favorite, tiny toms donuts
a bag on the way in and one for the ride home




the midway, concerts , kids world,
the farm, horse show, cats and dogs,
casino, shopping, air show
and so much more



and did i mention the food building
my second favorite
the perogies
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wishing everyone a great long weekend!!!

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above, photos taken last year at the ex
top photo of the princes' gate