GARAGE SALE SATURDAY/MAY 29

Garage Sale: Saturday, May 29th
Hours: 10-5 (or later)
Location: 4826 NE 15th (Alberta)

I just spent the last couple of days gathering huge amounts of cool stuff for the garage sale on Saturday. The weather thinks it will cooperate and I'm jazzed about the array of things I have to sell. I always meet a lot of wonderful people and I'm happy when people enjoy the things I bring out for them. I'm posting some pictures here and the link is to the Craigslist ad with even more pictures. Here's a partial list of things that I'll be selling:

vintage clothing
vintage hats
handbags
dishes
household decorative
framed artwork
mirrors
books
journals
crafting suppplies
Simpsons collectibles
cd's
books

There is truly something for everyone.

TYPE ON A PATH/PHOTOSHOP

My computer has been wonky lately, so I was trying to dump big files (audio and video) to maybe de-wonkify it. I'm noticing some improvement already, but the biggest gift is that while I was pruning podcasts from iTunes, I looked at an episode of Photoshop User TV and I learned something really cool: how to type on a path. I use Photoshop quite a bit for photos, but I work with the most basic tools. I love the cool things that other people do in Photoshop with graphics, but I don't spend a lot of time just playing around or even watching the great videocasts I've got stored away. Anyway, I'm jazzed because I think this will be a useful thing. I would recommend subscribing to this show through iTunes if you're interested.

And just for fun, I thought I'd throw in another corner of my kitchen.

HOME FROM WORK

We had guests this weekend that I've been getting ready for all month, really. Why? Because the guest room defaults as a treasure storage room for all my finds. It was a hodge podge of assorted gems: rolls of vintage wallpaper, a cool outdoor lamp that looks like a column of sculptured marble vines, awesome ephemera torn from encyclopedias, dictionaries and magazines, vintage and contemporary fabric, vintage clothing and stacks and stacks of books. What do I do with all that stuff? Well, I sell on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ColoresCorona

I sell to local resale stores Village Merchants, Red Light, etc.

What doesn't sell in those venues goes into huge garage sales. I'm having one this weekend:
4826 NE 15th (Alberta)
Portland, OR

I'm a collector-packrat-artiste. I love to arrange quirky beauty into vignettes and tableaux. They make me happy as I go about my everyday routine. It drives the love of my life mad because I cover every available surface, but I am obsessed.

I'm home from work today because I've had a stomach bug since Friday night. I had to lay low while our guests were here. Today I feel better, just not great yet (looking forward to that). Because I've been so busy cleaning and organizing, I've been able to only dream about being creative. I still have some wrist pain, so actually making something is a stretch, but I took some pictures of my tableaux.

Inspired by Yoko: Book Recommendations

I was inspired by Yoko Ono to list books that I love. I always start with these because they completely changed my schema of the mind-body connection. In other words they blew my mind in a good way. This is the material that excites and impassions my spirit. I loved Yoko's list:

http://imaginepeace.com/archives/3365

and I've read many of the books that she recommends. It was the brain books that caught my attention and she had Louise Hay on her list also. She is such a gift to our world. Her website is wonderful.

"Biology of Transcendence: A Blueprint of the Human Spirit" Joseph Chilton Pearce;
"Waking The Tiger" Peter Levine;
"Spiritual Initiation and the Breakthrough of Consciousness: The Bond of Power" Joseph Chilton Pearce;
"Evolution's End" Joseph Chilton Pearce;
"Trauma Through a Child's Eyes" Peter Levine;
"Traumaproofing Your Child" Peter Levine

Chilton Pearce is one of the great communicators of our time, I believe. He harnesses huge blocks of thought from numerous disciplines, distills and enhances it and makes it not only comprehensible, but a joy to read. My only caution: his conclusions are not always optimistic even though he illustrates the great power of the human spirit.

Levine I call a bodhisattva. He refused to accept the notion that trauma permanently cripples us and invented Somatic Experiencing, a modern form of soul retrieval.

OBSESSED WITH FLOWERS

I went to my friend, Glenda's, house after my last blog post and discovered that she had a large array of flower punches. Serendipitously, I had just purchased a partial roll of some vintage wallpaper that featured pink roses and gray accents. She went off to work and let me play in her scrapping area and I punched a lot of flower shapes. When I got them home I mixed up more glimmery paint using puffy fabric paint, Pearl Ex, Diamond Glaze, acrylic paint and gum arabic and painted a lot of the punched flowers. I also painted some pages from a cook book in French and cut circles for some larger flowers from that paper. I had a lot of fun working in a range of pinks and lavenders. I used some of the same glittery Stickles-like stuff on a number of the flowers and since I had just cleaned out my pen drawer and had a Signo on my work table, I decided to add some white. I also had a gold gel pen and used that on some of the flowers.

We learned that my father-in-law's wonderful careperson, Cindy, was in a serious car accident with her family so I made her a card using one of the flowers. Cindy is a really warm and gifted woman who has worked with Herb's family for a long time. She's one of the Visiting Angels and I got to meet her when Herb's fabulous mom was in hospice. Cindy was there when Herb's cousins and sisters and I sang Christmas carols to Pat as she made her transition to the other world. Here's hoping for a full and fast recovery to Cindy, her husband and their daughter.

Twitter Is Fun

Hey, I'm clumsy as all get out right now. I've had a flare up of some tendon problems and I'm back in a splint (self-prescribed), so typing is a bear. BTW if you have wrist or thumb problems, Jo-Ann's sells these awesome crafting wraps and braces that are really wonderful. I think they're about 10 bucks w/a coupon. They're green, so less homely than the blue velcro and fake leather splint I'm sporting right now.

I have been working almost every day, walking almost every day for 45 min followed by 15 min of weight resistance (small weights). I feel pretty good. I think the weights might be flaring me up, plus I've been on the computer a LOT more, so go figure.

I've been watching all the Prima flower and DIY glimmer mist tutorials on You Tube and I dove in yesterday and just did it all. 3 colors of glimmer mist (pink, brown and blue). If you follow me on Twitter, you'll see any video I've favorited or any that I've subscribed to. All the flower and GM links are there. I don't have much time to type right now, because I have to get out and walk before dark, but I'll link to the videos later. Besides the cool flowers, I ended up with background papers, too, because I misted the color onto the flowers as they rested on 3X5's or a notepad I keep by my worktable.

Twitter Account: twitter.com/judyfrida

Oh, quick triumph story. I sub rarely at a local male prison school. I had a group that was giving me grief and playing a lot of games (they usually want to mess with your head if they don't know you). They had an assignment, but it seemed when I quizzed them, that they knew the material they were supposed to be studying. Bored and frustrated, they began acting out. Nothing major, they just weren't on any kind of task. Okay, I said, those who want to study, grab a book and dig in. The rest of you I want over here, because I'm going to give a lesson on brain and nervous system function. (I studied Somatic Experiencing for a couple of years, have taught these concepts in this school before and have had wonderful outcomes.) Lots of griping followed, but within about 10 minutes all these guys were engaged, many asking questions, commenting and expanding on what I was saying. Amazing buy-in and wonderful info for guys who, like most of us, have some dysregulation of their nervous systems.

It's Been Years

Two-and-a-half years since I blogged!!! I just opened my first Twitter account and I've run across links to great blogs, so I'm reinspired. I also didn't have a laptop until a year ago, so here I am blogging while I watch "This Is It". I will want to watch this again and again--the creative process is inspiring to watch. I'm very thankful that my arms and wrists and forearms and shoulders are in a more healthful state than in the past year. I've journeyed through long-term chronic pain episodes and learned so much. I am so blessed to have been led to somatic experiencing which has helped me make friends with my nervous system and to resolve so much. YAY!!!!!

So, in all this time away I've been making and making. I've gotten more into sewing and I've made more dolls, which are labor intensive. I made two very cool polymer clay primitive folk art dolls and one flat painted doll (which I never dressed or quite finished wigging) from a pattern from Cloth Paper Scissors. I also did a line of Frida Kahlo flags inspired originally by a friend's idea to make our own prayer flags. We did that project and out of that came this idea to use Frida images. I finally surrendered to my obsession with Frida Kahlo and stopped feeling sheepish for using her image or her creations in a huge portion of my artwork. I am about to launch a new Etsy shop: FridaKahloStore.etsy.com. I've just done a group of ATC's, a Frida pillow and some other Frida-related artwork to list in the store. I'm also going to be selling Frida-ish vintage clothing/costumes. I think it's going to be really fun.

I'll dig around and find some pictures to post. They will probably be of the dolls and a few of the flags and maybe some other things I have floating around.

This Michael Jackson music is so inspiring. The film is really entertaining. Oh, I also got a Flip and plan to make some technique videos, which might not come together until the school year is over.

P.S. A long time ago I blogged about an artist's website I visited which inspired me to use spray paint and stencils. I could never find her blog again and recently found her through someone else's post on Inkjet Transfers or some other Yahoo group I read. Her blog is called "Dispatch from LA" and I was thrilled to see that she is also a teacher. Here's the link, which I will also add to my blog roll if I can remember how to do it.

13 FRIDAS

Cover of "13 Fridas"












Two posts in one day!!! Unprecedented action on this beautiful fall afternoon in Oregon. I've had printer/scanner problems for quite some time. It's really OS problems, but it's kept me from scanning recent work. I took some photos of one of my favorite projects, which I call "13 Fridas". The idea for this project originated with an altered board book years ago. I had created a stack of hand-painted papers during an artful afternoon in the backyard with Quetzal, a member of my extended family (my son's half-brother), who was 9 years old at the time. He had been generous, to say the least, with what he squeezed out of the many tubes of acrylic paint I had brought outside for us to paint with. We had all this paint left over and I wasn't about to let it go to waste. I had a foam roller and a styrofoam tray and I began rolling away on cheap drawing paper. The roller locked in place at times instead of turning, and it caused the paint to skid across the paper, creating many interesting effects. Then I began randomly dotting the the loaded roller with metallic paint; this created a repeating pattern, which I liked a lot. So after one afternoon, I had 30 big sheets of beautiful paper.

I'd always wanted to try covering a board book instead of sanding then painting to create backgrounds, so the paper seemed like a good option. While covering the first book (using glue stick), I was jazzed to see that the painted paper ended up looking like abstract landscapes or created colorful worlds behind the Fridas. I'd always wanted a book with nothing but images of and/or by Frida Kahlo. As it turned out, this book had room for 13 such images, hence the name 13 Fridas. I had the book for quite some time and always thought I would get around to scanning it. I took it to a craft sale just as a showpiece to advertise a class I was teaching, and someone made me an offer I could not refuse, so I sold it. The next one I made was on commission and I kept futzing with it until the last minute and didn't scan that one either. The 3rd one is what you see here. These are photos, since my scanner is out of commission, but I think you can get the idea. You can find my handpainted papers here.

MORE ARTWORK FOR YOU

This is an altered book layout using a photo transfer on the right and some fluid acrylics and collaging. I love bright colors and I also love the muted sepias and black and white in contrast. I love the artwork used in the opening sequences of the HBO show "Carnivale". I'm not sure if I love the show or not--I do find it riveting at times--but I love the period feel they give to everything. I think they get it spot-on. I don't get HBO but I love to rent some of their series.
Another altered book/photo transfer layout. This is done with an alcohol ink stamped background. It's John Lennon, of course. It's so interesting to me to meet young people today who are total Beatlemaniacs, just as I was at their age. I'm so excited about the new Julie Taymor movie, "Across The Universe". I saw some excerpts and the performers are monstrously talented. I'm a crossover artist. I always sang. My mother and I were the go-to talent in the small town where I grew up. She was a gifted pianist and I sang. We performed on Mother's Day and for Christmas shows at the Grange Hall. I'm talking a town of 600, so it wasn't huge audiences, but I loved it. I wish, wish, wish we'd had the technology to record in those days. I would love to hear what I sounded like. I also soloed in various churches for the adult service. "Onward Christian Soldiers", "Rock of Ages", "In the Garden" and all those classics were my stock in trade for church. But the Beatles totally blew me AWAY! And John Lennon.....it was love at first sight. The thinking-woman's Beatle.
Another Frida AB layout. My fabulous partner, Herb, once said, "You don't have to put Frida on everything!" (In all fairness, this was in response to an idea I had that I could photo transfer Frida images onto a couch I was painting.) She's one of the famous Mestizas in the world and I admire the hell out of her for her art.
This is a little painting I did during my bird phase--I swear it hasn't ended yet. They say birds are the messengers from the angelic realms and the spirit world. I have had and continue to have beautiful experiences and interactions with birds. I love them. I'm actually writing a song called, "Pay Attention To The Crow".

Pay attention to the crow with the berry in her beak
She just might be an angel coming down to you to speak
To remind you of your purpose
And to help you find your path
Pay attention
Pay attention
To the crow

Altered photo. You can see more of these here on Gillian Allen's fabulous Art-e-Zine website. I've got to go mail some things that I sold at My Etsy Shop and at Boutik-A-Blog

BOUTIK-A-BLOG: PRACTICAL ODDS AND ENDS

This is an incredible Mexican piece I got a few years back in a Salvation Army thrift store in Contra Costa County for 8 whole dollars. I found this on one of my many journeys to California during the two years I spent in counseling there. Those trips transformed my life and my soul. This piece I call The Ancestors. I am half Mexican, and while I am very proud of my heritage, there was some internal conflict because my Mexicano father's parenting was not nurturing. I see now, though, how the negatives in my life have given me amazing and tremendous gifts. So when I found this wonderful sculpture, I claimed my heritage in a new and powerful way. I have come to believe that I actually chose a rocky and difficult path in order to come to this place of incredible well-being in which I now reside. Pues, bienvenidos a los antepasados.
Another shelf in my dining room. All thrift store or flea market purchase.

An ATC.
This is a little collection of ATC's I did for a trade.

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Well, it's been way too long between posts, but I've been busy in classrooms and at my computer. I've just set up a SALES ONLY blog (Boutik-A-Blog: boutikablog.blogspot.com) as an attempt to streamline my business a little. It's definitely in its infancy, but you will find some wonderful things there. I'll have, of course, arts and crafts supplies for all you crafty people, but I plan to sell a bit of this and a bit of that flea market style. You'll be able to find vintage fabric (from what my partner, Herb, terms "the cloth mine"). Look for vintage ephemera including old photos, vintage greeting cards and wrapping paper, old wallpaper, salvaged book pages, advertising, illustrations, etc. I'll even offer vintage and contemporary clothing as the fancy strikes me. If you've read earlier posts, you know that I've dealt in collectibles, so I have things I've owned and loved and am passing on as well as things I've found just for you. Since the blog is one day old, I've listed just a few things. Some Dymo Label Makers (w/an extra roll of tape), some extra-fine mister bottles (for use in rubber stamping and watercolor) and an assortment of tags. I'll be listing more in the next couple of days as I begin to take more photos.