ROMANCING THE CANVAS: February 2013

THE WHATEVERS...

CREATIVE STORY TELLING?"

a one year project begun by 3 brilliant womyn

http://nathaliesstudio.com/2012/06/15/the-whatevers-1-or-the-bow/

This is a fabulous and creative project.

If you go to Nat's site, you will get the sites of the other 2 womyn, Cat and Vicki in charge (with Nat) of creating this project.

It is quite wonderful.

I will say no more and trust you will go take a look for yourself!

This is the photo we are given to work with this month

First my "THE WHATEVERS" art

Second my "CREATIVE STORY TELLING" story

ENJOY!

please double click to see the wonderful ephemera
as it doesn't all fit on the page here. thank you.

The Sisters knew throughout their childhood that their parents were set on them joining the Sisterhood in the next town. Three of the sisters, the older ones, were set with this idea and felt positive about it - actually looking forward to it due to the fact that this particular Sisterhood was in charge of the Music in the town and in charge of teaching music in the schools.

However, the youngest child, Marie, had no intention of joining the Sisterhood. The idea of going away, and being put to work at such and such a time of day and having lunch at such and such a time and everyone wearing a uniform was absolutely loathsome to Marie. She rebelled each time her parents talked about it, and especially in front of her mother and sisters. But no matter how hard they tried, the sisters could not convince Marie this would be a good life for her.

Marie was a rebel. She wanted to travel. She wanted to paint, she wanted to take pictures, she wanted to make things with her hands. She didn't have an interest in Music like her sisters and her mom. Every night she cried, thinking her paints and her dreams of going across to the other side of the world to see the sites would remain nothing but dreams.

When Marie was 10, her father Arthur, died. He was in the fields plowing and it was tragic for the girls and his wife. Especially Marie was devastated by his death. The family began to prepare Arthur's funeral and asked the sister's to prepare the music for the funeral, knowing they had the love of music and would be worthy of choosing appropriate hymns to represent who Arthur was - a generous man and a wonderful father and husband.

Suddenly Marie felt a tugging in her heart, something she had not felt before. She felt a pull to create the service for her father - to have a hand in the music that would be chosen. Being the youngest, Marie had a very "special" relationship with her father and they had their special singing times, something that Marie did not exactly consider "choosing music as her career in the Sisterhood" but rather special time with daddy.

Marie asked her mom if she could choose the hymns that she and daddy sang together. Marie's mom was stunned! She had never heard Marie talk about anything but distaste for music and its creation. Evette, Marie's Mom said: "Yes Darling, Of Course." Evette talked to the other sisters and told them she thought this might be the opening Marie needed to find her way into the Monastic life. Her older sisters agreed and gave over the job of music creation to Marie, with their supervision, of course.

Not only did Marie pick beautiful hymns, she asked to sing them.

At Arthur's funeral, Marie discovered "her voice."

She discovered that her calling was singing. Marie discovered that it was not to teach singing to the other children in the town or at the schools but rather to sing in the towns and at the hospitals and at Charity events. There was plenty of room for this within the Sisterhood as their calling was Music as a whole.

As Marie got older, she felt it was Arthur that spoke to her; that it was "Daddy" who was her angel - the one who helped Marie "find her voice."

Thank you for reading my story and for looking at my art.

Lovies,

Samara

https://www.facebook.com/WhateversCreativeStorytelling
http://vickichrisman.blogspot.de/
http://nathaliesstudio.com
http://cmscanlon.blogspot.ca

http://artistsinblogland.blogspot.ca/

http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.ca/

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/

http://creativeeveryday.com

http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.ca/2013/02/inspire-me-fridays-97-anything-goes.html
http://www.fingerprintsonthefridge.com/

A TIME FOR LOVE!

VALENTINES DAY CAME AND WENT...ONWARD TO EASTER BUNNIES!

Do you ever notice how good the stores are at that? How quickly they move from one celebration to another? You can barely take a breath. Well, I created a LOVE pic, along with many more so I'll just post away here and have some fun today...I hope you enjoy the many and varied creations.

Lovies

Samara

I really loved the depth and texture of this page. I started with some corner's that my friend, Karen Wallace of Karen's Kreations (she is the best stampscaper around) sent to me from the U.S. (after knowing her for about a minute!!!!) then just build around that. Thanks Karen!!!! I loved the pop all around this page. Sometimes pages just turn out that way...and :( often they don't! lol

I used a combo of Stampin' Up! and Bo Bunny Paper here and my Stampin' Up! stamps. Some of you will recognize that. After I finished the page, it reminded me of where I live, thus "country."

Basic Grey, I love you! All the paper here, underneath, is basic grey. For this, I tried using Elmers Glue as my Gesso and you know what - I found absolutely NO difference!!!! It gave the page tooth, the colors took really well and it thickened up my page beautifully. In fact, I believe the Spakling was easier to spread and stayed on easier. It was fun using rub ons here - something I don't typically do. I'm loving this painter's webbing though.

I was so bird crazy this day and flutterby crazy plus really wanting to dream summer! I used some Stampin' Up! paper first then only Stampin' Up! reinkers with my hands and stamps. I colored them in with Tombows. An extremely simple page, but one that makes me feel there is hope that 4' of snow will subside and the tulips will soon be out!

I am a huge fan of Roben-Marie Smith's art. More than anything, after I finished this, it reminded me of R-M and her pastel pictures. I used all kinds of designer paper underneath and "lightly" gessoed over it and then went straight into the caran d'ache pastels. and washi. it was so fun! Hey, today I bought a bingo dabber at the $ store and I am going to see how it works on journalling. It is a lovely team and they had them in about 20 colors for 1.00 each!!! Steal.

Almost everything on this page is from the container of Philosophy Bath gel/bubbles that my daughter gave me for Chistmakkah. It was wonderful to put such great sayings, plus my box of cut outs from womyn's fashion magazines to use. I liked incorporating the ribbons as well. The flutterbye (for me) made the pic!

This is my "all time fav." As you might be able to see, the creation is split into two - the top half and the bottom half with "my voice for (date) love (date) has come. Botticelli, and his love for shapely womyn is the theme. At the top, notice the sentiment plus WHO: and WHAT: I really enjoyed using the fabrics and the emboss with the stencils. I put versamark on the stencils and then just used the powder from there. I use "Spakling" (household grout) as my modelling paste so it is really easy to dye any color. Comes pink so nice and easy to see where it is going and also very thick so doesn't leak under stencils. Best of all "cheap!"

This was fun. It started with ALL school pics from a school book of papers. Buses, running shoes, stop signs etc. And it kept evolving. I particularly enjoyed using the embossing powder on it. That was a hoot! I really like the sentiments alot.

I decided to post the pic below because it is just the beginning of a very complex pic that I am working on. I really love it just like this, so it is hard to part with it and wanted it commemorated somewhere...so here it is. However it will "become!" And, I will show that next Friday, likely.

LOVINGLY SUBMITTED TO

http://artistsinblogland.blogspot.ca/

http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.ca/

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/

http://creativeeveryday.com
http://365cards.blogspot.ca/
http://artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.ca/
http://www.charismacardz.blogspot.ca/
http://craftuscrazy.blogspot.ca/
http://cutecardthursday.blogspot.ca/
http://www.drsdesignsblog.blogspot.ca/
http://foryourinspirationchallenges.blogspot.ca/
http://happycamperscc.blogspot.co.uk/
http://movingalongwiththetimes.blogspot.ca/
http://paper-craftingjourney.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.sarahhurleychallenges.blogspot.ca/
http://theplaydatecafe.blogspot.ca/
http://craftingbydesigns.blogspot.ca/
http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.ca/
http://freshbreweddesigns.blogspot.ca/2013/02/fresh-brewed-designs-2013-challenge-2_6.html

See you next friday!

xox

FRIDAY FILL INS

HOLY SMOKES!

T.G.I.F.

And...here we go!

1. In New England THERE MUST BE TONS OF SNOW JUST LIKE IN MY BACKYARD IN ONTARIO, CANADA, BECAUSE I READ THIS ON THE "FRIDAY FILLIN" BLOG!
http://www.fridayfillins.blogspot.ca/
2. IT IS A CELEBRATION AROUND HERE WHEN THERE IS LOTS of snow BECAUSE THE SCHOOL CALLS A SNOW DAY. I ONLY FIND OUT AFTER I WAKE UP, SHOWER AND GET DRESSED THOUGH. SOMEHOW, MY CHILD SEEMS TO KNOW IN HIS SLEEP BUT DOESN'T TELL ME! MOMMY REVENGE! LOL

3. Ahhhh, I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO TAKING A NAP IN 5 MINUTES AND REALIZING I NEED TO DO THIS A 2:30 EVERY DAY - TROUGH TIME FOR ME!

4. READING ABOUT BODY AND GLUTEN FREE STUFF is my favorite thing to do nowadays.

5. Last night, I had a dream about OOPSIE I DON'T REMEMBER SO IT HAD TO BE ABOUT SEX! LOL

6. BEING CUDDLED UP IN A HEATED BLANKET, which is the perfect way to HANDLE THE 30 CM OF SNOW WE ARE GETTING TODAY.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to WATCHING BLUE BLOODS, tomorrow my plans include TAKING MY SON TO GET A PAIR OF RAY BAN WAYFARERS and Sunday, I want to FIGURE OUT HOW I AM GOING TO PAY FOR THEM!

have a safe weekend friendz

lovies

samara

ARTISTS IN BLOGLAND!

GREAT CHALLENGES!

It is so refreshing when there are a number of ways one can play a challenge.

This particular blog (along with others) has a few very neat options.

You must check it out!

Besides, who could resist the yummalicious color wheel rainbow.

CHALLENGE ONE

CHALLENGE TWO

I've really been looking for a way to combine all my years of paper art - over 20 years now of scrapbooking - beginning with my now 27 year old, card making, stamping, traditional card making and now, mixed media.

This is one of my first attempts at using "everything" so to speak. Opening every drawer, looking on every shelf and finding all those foreign items I haven't used in ages. So here we have it - my best friends, who are my quilts - they age but I never lose their warmth and I hope they never feel they lose mine - my 3 cubs.

LOVINGLY SUBMITTED TO

http://artistsinblogland.blogspot.ca/
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.ca/
http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/
http://creativeeveryday.com/

NOW THAT IS DIFFERENT!

LOOKS A BIT SKETCHY TO ME!!!

It was time to try drawing....EEK! Double EEK!! I am such an abstract-or, boheme-ian, out of the-box, it has always felt impossible for me to draw a "thing" other than in University when we had to do the apple and orange and vase and nudes. Yuppers, the nudes were something else...especially when one of the womyn was the wife of my children's father's friend.

So, yesterday - while watching WALDEN (drool) on Two and a Half Men I decided to Sketch a Character. Of course she had to have big eyes, this I knew. Beyond that...she's...ummmm....

Well, I like the colors! lol COURAGE (as the early settlers in Canada said, while putting the flag into the ground) COURAGE!!!

Lovies, Samara

I do Lovvvve the eyes!

Well...I must say, I feel the eyes are the only part of the sketch I am attracted to repeat.

OH, Did I mention that I....

LOVINGLY SHARED WITH

http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.ca/

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/

http://artistsinblogland.blogspot.in/

http://creativeeveryday.com

http://copicmarkereurope.blogspot.ca/p/challenge-page.html

BE HAPPY DAMN IT!

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO HAVE A HAPPY CHILDHOOD

~Claudia Black Ph.D, M.S.W

Sometimes our Mixed Media Art is "pretty," Sometimes it is "ugly," Sometimes it is "curious." But the reality is it is always OURS.

And the JOY of Mixed Media is that it is DEEP and it is about LEARNING and it is about FREEDOM of EXPRESSION, whether that be with the pen, the marker, the gels, the knives, the paints and on and on and on.

The best part of Mixed Media is that it gets to be REAL. Yes, really REAL - real in its HURT, real in its LOVE, real in its QUESTIONS and real in its STATEMENTS.

On that note...

To free yourself from the past, you must break the rules of silence and compliance. C.B

One needs to walk through the pain,
not over it,
not around it.
You never again have to walk through it alone. C.B.

Feelings are from your heart and what your heart wants to tell you. C.B.

Feelings are to be listened to = they are cues and signals that indicate where you are and what you need. C.B.

Yesterday, this picture came out of me. Bizarre as it was...it was in front of me...it's a big picture - I advise you to take it in slowly lest it trigger you. It is truly a "yester-year" picture for me - but up the spiral of life we always go if we are being authentic and sharing the truth! Art can be that way when we least expect it! Mixed Media is a place where I've learned this is what authenticity is all about in the artist's way...

Lovies, Samara