FROM THE SKETCH JOURNAL ...

Pencil drawing over paint ....

DOT PAINTING # 3 ...

DOT PAINTING # 2 ...

This is the second dot painting. These are so relaxing to do! Maybe I need to do a series? Here you can see them side by side. I only brought a limited number of paints with me on vacation. So, this has forced me to see ways to use them creatively and come up with different designs using the same colors. A good exercise for me as I tend to just pick up the nearest bright color! This is also a good exercise for me, to create a design that is really a controlled space; lines are precise and exact. Much different than other things I have painted. Yes, I now see the challenge of creating #3 using these same colors in yet another variation. Love this game!

ABORGINAL DOT PAINTING.....

Recently I have been reading about the different art forms of the Aborigine people. In particular I am enjoying the many images of their dot painting. In the past, this painting technique was used to decorate their bodies for sacred ceremonies. I love how they put together certain colors and the designs that appear over and over in their art. You can read more about this at www.iconsofthedesert.com/virtualA.html where you can also see many examples. I encourage you to drop in and have a look at this fabulous art form. This is my interpretation of Aboriginal Dot Painting. I found the repetitive exercise of all these dots to be quite meditative. This is done in acrylics on canvas board measuring 11 X 14. Now that the Aborigine people are painting on flat surfaces, they are using acrylics instead of dye paints from plant fibers. Their works are beautiful.

"GABRIELLA'S WINDOW" ....

16 X 20 canvas board. vinyl wallpaper, acrylic, oil pastel, paper collage.

"LOLA" ...who is tired of the snow.....

16 X 20 canvas board. Acrylic, oil pastel and paper collage.

MAYBE T'S AN OBSESSION? ...

Paper mache fish # 3 ...

HOW CAN I RESIST ...

Actually I am also really liking that very cool handmade truck. Where are the toys like that today? We need to bring back handmade toys........made here.

KEEPING MY HANDS BUSY..MAKING CUFFS !

Here are closeups of five wrist cuffs I just made, using only materials and embellishments already in my studio. I love creating something without having to go out and buy something to do so.

I cut the fabrics at 9 inches by 3 1/2 inches. I sandwiched the fronts and backs with a piece of felt to give it some structure. Then I did some free motion quilting all over it, and finished the edges with a zigzag stitch. I cut pieces of tan Velcro and attached them to the ends as a closure. Then the fun part! I used things I had, vintage buttons, bits of interesting stuff and attached them. Of course, you can't go wrong with bling so I used some glued on rhinestones.

I sewed my clothing label on the ends. { Jude Original ...Always One of a Kind }

Here you can see the linings. When I was dyeing fabric and clothing I threw in small pieces of a black and white cotton fabric and got these cool matching but different linings.

Here you can see the bottom side of the cuffs as they would look on the underside of your wrist.

And here is the top side of them. Yes, I MUST make more of these! (the one in the bottom row on the right is smaller because my wrists are smaller than average.)