Plate wreaths for the hoilidays

Just before break started from School I started working on these paper plate wreaths This child hood favorite has so much advanced adult potential. I had the kids make them from the after school  program as a holiday craft.

I even worked on them on Christmas day and had my Family join in.We took over the table after unwrapping gifts and eating breakfast. We used the wrapping paper from the gifts, the tags and tissue paper combined the make these beauties.

 Here's Brittany works of her masterpiece!

Mom working on her candy wreath from wrapping paper.

I even used shiny wrapping paper and made a New Years wreath.

Then I ran the activity themed for Kwanzaa at the Memorial Art Gallery for family Kwanzaa day.Special thanks to Vicki from "In my Head" studios for the ribbon the shiny red plastic stuff was a big hit for the Kwanzaa event. I had a poster up with tissue paper techniques and I was on hand to help people when needed but they could stop in and use the supplies and do their own thing.I forgot my camera but I wish I had gotten a pictures of the amazing things that people walked out of that room with.Below are a few of my examples.

Two art shows this month."Tarot" and" SoulSELFSpirit"

 In addition to the polymer clay work  I  also paint and draw! I will not only have my works up in the Tarot show at Genesee Co-op credit union next month but also at Stella Art Studio for the show SoulSELFSpirit.Others artist who will be exhibiting in this show include Dennis Furiouso, Kat Baldwin, Come join us for a Free admission opening from 6-10 on Friday Jan 6,2012.

More Happy Smallidays Holiday Stuff for small hands to make

 Forgive me if you have done this one before it seems to run to circuit..

Shoe trace hand trace reindeer.This is fun and fast.On brown construction paper Take off one shoe and trace around the bottom of it.  Cut this out.On Yellow construction paper trace both your hands. Glue the two "hands" to the heel part of the shoes tracing for antlers. Cut our an approx one inch red circle and two white circles.Use crayon to add detail and personality.

Snow globe..winter scene got this from subbing!

 cut out a blue circle of construction paper. Draw a winter scene with crayons. Cut a strip of black construction paper to act as your stand. Add Glitter. I prefer the glitter glue less messy then the loose stuff but I recommend  that you do it over a tray if you use the loose stuff.

"Tarot" an Exhibit of my oil paintings

 There will be an exhibition of my paintings at The Genesee Co-op credit union here in Rochester NY. The show will be hung on Jan 8th and will be on display in the lobby of the Credit union. The paintings will be visible during normal bank branch hours and there will be a reception on Sat Jan 21, 2012 from 7-9.

In addition to the hair things and polymer clay things I make I also love to paint.I paint with acrylic sometimes at home but I have also been taking advanced classes in oil painting at  The Memorial art Gallery for a few years now. I began working with oil paints in 2000 while studying Arts for children and a studying as a sculpture minor at SUNY Brockport. My initial experience with painting for years had been only working with acrylics and my instructor there insisted on me using oils. Since the process of working with and disposing of oil paints in so hazardous I refuse to use them at home but have been happy for the chance to work with them at the MAG and use up the old paint remaining from my college days.

I have been working on a series of canvases based on imagery from the Deck of Tarot. As a teenager I became intrigued with the cards and wanted to get my cards read. I then took classes and studied bought myself a few decks. The symbolism and what we make out of it the personal connection to these images is what intrigues me most about the cards. Some people see them as evil but really they have suites just like playing cards but use wands, cups, coins, and swords in exchange for  hearts, spades, diamonds,and clubs.Their are also kings and queens in a Tarot deck just like in cards. Their are Pages in Tarot and Jokers in playing cards.

I have currently created roughly 25 out of the 78 cards that are in a Deck and hope to photograph these canvases and turn them into a deck some day that could be sold.

Happy Smalladays things for small hands to make for the holiday.

 I went into the after school care program the other day and was planning on doing one project when I realized that we did not have the materials I thought we had and i would need to come up with a quick and fast idea. I had been in Target the night before and we noticed the little trees made out of  piled ornaments. I made a quick look in side the supply cabinet and stumbled across pipe cleaners, craft pom poms and glue.. Mini trees we made. The steps are easy but the work is delicate so little hands may need some help.Twist the pipe cleaner on your finger then spiral the rest of it around itself.  Pull the large coil down and stuff  the inside with craft pom poms.Secure the "tree" around the base onto a piece of cardboard or upside down plastic up as shown here with elmer's glue. When it is dry you may need to go back and reinforce some places with hot glue.

Paper ornaments. Trace two circles and cut one slit in the two circles Make sure it is the same size on both.Decorate both the front and the back of the circle with crayons or markers and then turn the one slot toward the other to match them up. Add some glue to hold them in place and some glitter glue for sparkle.
Hole punch the top and put ribbon of string through the holes to hand on a tree or other ornament stand.

More then one way to build a snowman

 So there is this holiday irony going on in Rochester NY. By now we are usually covered in snow and we are complaining about it. We have only had snow twice and very light amounts. Yet, I look around me and all I see are snowmen, snowpeoples to be PC snowgirls, snowboys, etc. I starting making my snow people earrings from polymer clay and ornaments at Thanksgiving time but now while substitute teaching a for art and doing after school programs etc. It has been snow peoples all the times..

This one is a drawing in oil pastel on black construction paper and was done as an elementary school sub assignment. you can also draw on black paper with crayons

This one was an elementary school sub assignment based on Louis Elhert's book Snowball.This project uses white paper and "good stuff" as the book calls it to make a collage picture of a snowman. Just trace three circles an white paper and cut them out. Then glue on pipe cleaners, beads etc. for the snow person. Add yarn for hair or cut paper..... in this case I used sequins and pipe cleaners.

I still need to photograph the one we did at the after school program is uses paper chains instead of just cut paper it adds a nice 3 dimensional effect.Plus today we did craft stick snowmen.

Our Holidaze flier has one....Which by the way we have two more days coming up this weekend!  On Saturday night and Sunday you can come get  your hand made gifts of jewelry, clothing, stickers, pottery, cards and ornaments from K-5 art, APC gear, Sculptresslink and more!

Holidaze at Spot coffee

Local artist vend their wares! local musicians play and sell their fares.. Get some coffee and chat it up....Get that gift shopping out of the way... Come see me Eddie Davis 3 and Tori Lynn Dipetro. Shop local Buy Handmade!

The Making of a Ketchup and Mustard Packet,No Really, Sorta Kind of

So I am part of the RNEST network which stands for the (Rochester NY Etsy Street Team). This group of Crafters and Etsy shop owners does monthly challenges and other fun creative projects to keep people motivated and looking to create,craft and post on the internet etsy shop walls.


The team took a believe it or not Rochester food favorite called "The Garbage Plate" and created their own version of it. Several local late night and small independently owned restaurants serve their own version of a garbage plate and people do really eat a lot of them. A Garbage plate consists of macaroni salad with egg in it, hamburger or hotdog patties, Potatoes or fries, a gravy sauce or ketchup and mustard and a hunk of bread.
Their is also a soda can which is not shown here... This weekend it was raffled off to a lucky RNEST craft show attendee.

I created  my own version of a ketchup and mustard packet to go with the "garbage plate" .The etsy shop artists who created this are john of Jack bear stamps( mac salad), Kira of Kira Arts (hot dog) Michelle of the quilted house (plate) Casey (potatoes) of Peaches Products. Karens Swimmer of Duncan Creative (hamburger) and Carol Traynor of Buenhelena.(gravy) to find out more about RNEST and view members shops go to the RNEST etsy team page

Below is my step by step tutorial to the making of the garbage plate ketchup and mustard packets.

 Step one in Paint on the computer create little generic  labels for ketchup and mustard and print them. Create 1/2 inch by 2 in approx box fill in with color using paint bucket. Add text, use magnifying glass to increase size use paint bucket tool to fill in the letters between the text. Then print these out

Step 2  fold aluminum foil into rough shape of  packet

Step 3 fill in middle section of aluminum foil  with smoothed out parts of polymer clay


Step 4 Roll out white polymer clay and put on layer on either side of aluminum foil

step 5 Use a dental tool to put texture on the ends. use a sculpey knife to cut of uneven edges

Step 6 Smooth out the "package" with fingers

Step 7 Bake in the oven at 275 degree for approx 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool
 

Step 8 When cool use wet dry sanding block to sand the folds and creases etc. out of clay

Step 9 Use caulk to fill in uneven areas
 

Step 10  Cut the paper logos out and Use Elmers white glue and glue the logos for ketchup and mustard onto the polymer clay. use some glue on top to help seal the image.Let dry.

Step 11 Paint into the white area of the clay with craft acrylics

my FLickr album or poylemr clay mini jewlery

Flickr album.. Just started uploading images to my flickr account recently and you can look me up there and check out my new stuff!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11178693@N00/

From the teaching tables

 I have been trying out so of my tricks of the trade this week with my after school care kids. I learned  years ago from a old elementary art teacher book this trick... Drawing with melted crayons. There is some safety concerns involved with these one but it is so much fun.

 You go to the thrift store and get an old plug in electric  buffet food warmer. This one cost me 2.99 at the thrift store. Use copy paper of construction paper and the old stubby crayons.  Remove their papers and make them "naked crayons". I have done this before using large crayons and been able to draw more elaborate designs. The kids used a Popsicle stick to move the way around and were given elaborate safety instructions so as not to get burned. As you draw on the hot surface of the board to crayon starts to pool and puddle it gives the image a very painterly effect. The kids really loved it I let them work alone or in a group of two. The process id very experimental and the images can be scratched into and colors mixed.

Ho, Ho, Ho holiday items and RNEST event at the Hungerford!

 I have some new holiday theme items up in my sculptresslink shop. These will be great for holiday gifts!
If you are in the Rochester area come see me this Saturday at the Craftmas event put on by the RNEST (Rochester New York Esty Street Team) the event will be on at the Hungerford artisans studios from 12- 4 on Saturday.

There are many other events being put on by RNEST artists within the Hungerford space during the month of December including a clothing swap, a creative play workshop and a live craft demo night.