Artworks Made for "Artists For the Cure"

I've been working on some artworks for "Artists For The Cure" a charitable event's silent auction.  I got stuck in kitty cat land from the Nibblefest Contest earlier this month and did a couple of larger cutesy cat collages with lots of pink in them. 

"Kitty Love" is made using a wooden plaque for a substrate embellished with decorative scrap-booking papers, sharpie markers, pink ribbon and fairy dust.

"Tickled Pink" is made using decorative scrap-booking paper, pink mulberry paper enhanced with pink glitter, pink thread, plastic gems and fairy dust on a wooden plaque substrate.

I really had a lot of fun making these dripping with cuteness mixed media works.  I love working this way, takes only a little planning followed by a lot of creative fun. And allowing myself to be a little kitschy sets me free to be over the top.  I think that in honor of cancer awareness month I'll make a few more of these over the top cats to sell in ebay, artfire and etsy, donating half of all the sales to the cause...  so if you buy from any one of my online shops in October and November and and buy an artwork with any pink in it or if no pink in it type PINK in a message to me and I will contribute half of the sale to Planned Parenthood with stipulation that it goes only toward their free mammogram program.  Why not Komen?  For two reasons, when I was young, uninsured and vulnerable Planned Parenthood saw me through a pregnancy, provided pro-rated medical care & birth control, and eliminated pre-cancerous cell growth.  Planned Parenthood is a most awesome organization that gets a lot of bad flack...just like my mix breed pit bull...

aaaannnnd I've already donated 100% of the above two artworks to Komen through "Artists for the Cure!"  Do click the link to get tickets to this sure to be fun event to show your support for Komen.  You'll have a fun evening with good food, music, beverages, plus get a chance to buy some great local art!

Happy Cats Bringin' Their Mojo to Ebay

Today I had fun making these teeny little collages for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC).  A big part of the contest involves listing them in ebay for 99 cents each...the contest is to see which of us gets the highest number of bidders competing for one item.  You can click on the title of the artworks below if you want to see the ebay listing for them,

 Happy Cat 1

Happy Cat 2

Each of these collages are ACEOs (Artist Cards Editioned or Original).  I really enjoy the challenge of working in this traditional small format.

"Artist trading cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards,^[1] or 2¹⁄₂by 3¹⁄₂ inches (63 × 89 mm),^[2] small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets.^[3] The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland.^[4] Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.) or even metals or cloth. The cards are usually traded or exchanged. When sold, they are usually referred to as art card editions and originals (ACEOs)."  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards)

When I do these I start with a printout of an original sketch reduced to fit the small format.  I then grab a bunch of decorative papers in the colors I feel like working in for the day.  I also gather tools: scissors, xacto knife, glue stick, old phonebook (for gluing surfaces), cutting mat, sharpies, matte medium, paint brush, transfer paper and bone folder for burnishing.  I decide what papers I will use in different parts of the artwork then trace the parts onto the papers, cut the parts out, assemble like a jigsaw puzzle and glue them onto the substrate.  When the glue has had time to adhere firmly I make embellishing marks with sharpie pens then seal with acrylic matte medium.

If you want to see more artworks cleverly built around this month's theme and very afford-ably listed with starting prices of just 99 cents then go to ebay and do a search for NFAC.  You can also see a cool little Nibblefest widget in their blog right here in blogspot:  

http://nibblefest.blogspot.com/

Eulogy for the Best Mouser I Ever Knew

So sad this week. We had to put down our little cat Buster Catitude. His kidneys suddenly and completely shut down and despite treatment his blood counts were rising rather than lowering. As we visited him at the vet hospital Buster had a violent seizure. It was definitely time to let him go.

Buster was immortalized in my artwork, our son's professional graduation photos and my husband's photography. Buster was also the protagonist in an art book I created last year about the backyard wildlife.

My friend Carol was especially fond of Buster and loved to hear stories of his latest escapades. She loved the art book he was in and read it often aloud to others.

Buster used to amuse us with his playfulness and spunky character. Every morning he would attack Jeff's shoe laces as he dressed for work. The night before he got sick he had snuck a rodent into the house (did I mention that Buster could open doors). I walked into the kitchen to discover that he had pulled a rug over to make a tunnel in which he trapped a small field rat. He saw me and ran out of the house leaving the rodent for me to deal with...I put a box over it and waited for Jeff to return home, letting him dispose of the creature as he saw fit...Buster gave us one last amusing memory to carry with us and once more proved to us of how much he earned his keep.