Black to Hope

This painting took on many forms and was literally put through the ringer.

I wanted to try a few new ideas, one being holding my painted canvas under running water to see what emerged.

A mess is what I ended up with, but I kept at it and this is what evolved.

I loved the bird cage, but thought it was ruined when my printer spit out a badly colored copy, so I used it as a practice piece. Well, that resulted in a bigger love, so I put it on! Oh, what one can do with seemingly junk!!

New Each Day is stamped on a swatch of boat canvas. There's anything to do with the sea sneaking in again.... ;)

Day is a choice to be New!

I have realized that as an artist, I've come a long way, a long, long way. I used to be so self-conscience about my work, what people might think of me...and the list goes on. But lately, I see myself coming out of that place, that Black, and into a more secure and confident place that is full of hope, knowing that what I create is pleasant to me, and to my Father, and who else really do I have to have the

acceptance of?

Black to Hope

Mixed Media

12x12 on canvas

"I awaken, and breathe in the air.

New hope is born."

Grace Remains

My soul felt chilly. It was like the warmth of the summer that once had filled my being just vanished, and I was left shivering. I've been listening to those constant, nagging voices that seem to surround me and say that my life was slow and mundane, and felt like my purpose had waned.

I don't say all that to be a downer, but as a testimony of the goodness of God that met me, let me know that His grace is big enough to keep me perfectly centered, and that I do count, just as I am. And all those feelings of insecurity melted away, as the sun melts the snow, when I let His love secure my heart. Grace and love, I cherish.

During this time, "Grace Remains" came to be.

It started out with longing, evolved, with an ending of sweet peace.

It symbolizes the knowing that Spring is faithful to come and

that His love is real & it never needs to be doubted!

Tucked in the corner is a little diddy

of the childhood game

"He loves me

He loves me not",

but ends with the fact that YES,

HE LOVES ME!!!

Who's a size 2 anyway?!?

Thriftstoring (one of my many made up words) is one of the more fun events of my week. I usually go with my daughter, daughter-in-law, and sometimes with my mom. It's always a thrill to see what treasures we're going to find, and on Wednesdays at the Salvation Army, well, all clothing is 50% off so the thrill is doubly as wonderful. On this one particular day, I didn't find a thing and was a bit disheartened, but did come across this very beautiful wool skirt with a unique trim a the bottom. Well, pretty is was, although in a size that has never grace my body...but my mind went wild with what it could become! So, I bought it, for a mere $2.

The trim actually coordinated with the wall color in my living room which led me to think...Pillow!!

I stared by sewing up that slit with a whip stitch. Then measured how big I wanted this pillow to be. To have the ruffly part be in the middle, I measured up from the ruffles the same distance it was from them, to the bottom, then sewed a straight stitch across to make it symmetrical.

Next, I found an old feather pillow which is pictured below. (I'm rather mortified to put this picture on the blog since this one had been around for a hundred years or so and has many disgusting stains on it) (I really am a clean person) I knew it would be all covered up and no one would know...well, until now. So, I went to work stitching in two places so I could cut in between to the size I needed, without that poor goose's coat go a flying throughout

my whole room. It worked!

Now I was ready to put the new-sized feather pillow into the skirt bottom and sew up the bottom with a whip stitch.

Here is the finished pillow sitting proudly on my new Ikea chair I got for Christmas. I think it came out rather nice and am certainly going to be looking for more

fun skirts to make a few others.

I just hope the lady who once wore that skirt never comes for tea and recognizes one of the items that once hung in her closet. That would be a strange thing to have to explain.

But for now, I'll just relax in my chair and enjoy my skirt pillow!

Once in awhile....

Every so often, you fall into something so wonderful, so incredible that it makes your palms sweaty & your heart sing. This is one of those rare moments.

I was asked to create a painting on, what I consider, a fantastic relic of a find.

The piece below is a salvaged hatch from a ship that wrecked off the coast of Wilmington, NC. How long ago, this only adds to the mystery of this amazing piece of wood. And not only that, but where it was found is close to my heart. I knew I had something very special to work with, and really wanted to make it come alive, adding to it's beauty.

The wood had so much character and I knew I had to leave some of it exposed, as well as the beat up, but in tack hardware that adorned this hatch.

The first application of paint is the hardest for me. It means there is no turning back...and also screams, "What if I mess this thing up!!" But something came over me, a courage, and I painted with no hesitation or fear. For me, this was a tremendous breakthrough.

Since this was a salvaged piece off a ship, I felt it fitting to paint a sailboat. I love how this one seems to stand suspended, alone, leaving it to be the focal point.

The family's last name who I did this for started with a W, so after some research, I found out the meanings of nautical flags that ships would raise. I went to a boatyard and got a piece of canvas to create replicas of a few certain ones. The one of the left stands for the letter W, and the two others, when raised together, means "We are going on". I felt these combined together had meaning for this delightful & strong family.

I prayed about a name and the word Intrepid came to mind. Not knowing it's meaning, I looked it up and in part, it means "undaunted" and "fearless". This too, played into the whole theme of the piece. The essence of the word Intrepid, was something that was birthed in my being as I painted. This name was not only meant to be the title, but was also for me, as I conquered some fears with my art.

I was honored to be asked to paint something for this family, and also on this amazing piece of history. This is really where my heart is at...to take old, sometimes discarded pieces or found beauties, and add to their character.

This piece was one that gave me the most joy to work on thus far.

New Home for my Art

The Tuscan House is a quaint old house in my home town of Cornelius, NC, where you can find all kinds of wonderful, home decor treasures along with unique items to accent the outdoor areas of your home.

Recently, the owner asked if I would like to have my art on display and for sale at her shop. I very happily said yes, knowing my art would fit right in with her Tuscany style of home furnishings and, give me another place to sell some of my work.

The Tuscan House is located at 20722 N. Main Street in Cornelius, NC. You should definitely stop by when you're in the area and browse through this tastefully decorated shop, and who knows, maybe find that perfect gift for the holidays. Or better yet, purchase one of the pieces I have there! (no pressure though, not my style)

Out back, you'll find this cute little extra bungalow with more delicious finds!

If you would like more information, you can browse their website at

www.thetuscanhousecornelius.com

Looking Back....an Artsy Memoir

Creating a memoir with Textiles, Paper and Old Hardware

One day last week I wanted to do something different. I found this old framed piece of store bought art that I used as my technique/experiment board. It was kind of calling out to be transformed. At this point, I didn't have a clue as to what my goal was, but just wanted to experiment a bit. I thought it would be fun to put some different mediums on this one, like material, paper, some paint....then my mind started reeling and I rummaged through my box of goodies and found some old keys, hardware to an old Singer sewing machine and a sawed off end of this broken down crate I found on the side of the road one day. Now we're talking!! I thought, "Jen, let's put all this wonderfulness on this 'Masterpiece in the making'!!" (I like to speak things into existence) lol. So I got to work: cutting up an old dress of my daughters, measuring, painting a bit, gluing, but no waxing on this one, since I didn't want to dull the vibrancy of the beautiful colors. This piece forming it's theme, and as I worked on it, thoughts of my grandparents overwhelmed me. "Looking Back" had become a memoir of them. This is what it finally ended up to be, and I really love it!!

Here is a close-up of the "side of the road" wooden crate piece (bottom left of the photo) and one of the two keys. I left parts of the original "practice board" showing, like the pictures of the beach and tree scene. The tally marks are all part of the meaning of this piece. I wanted to pull out parts of my past...of my Grandpa Tord, who was a school teacher, and my Grandma Florence, who sewed and also created things as well.

Here's one more close up, showing the Singer hardware, which has numbers on each "hook part", tying in with the tally marks, and also the other side of the beach scene. I grew up with my grandparents on the Great South Bay on Long Island, so leaving these photos, embodies my upbringing. My Grandparents have been gone for many years now, so this piece is a touching reminder of the blessing they were, giving me love and a beautiful life, as a little girl.

This piece is called "Looking Back"

and is in memory of my Mor Far and Mor Mor

(Swedish for mother's father and mother's mother)

I quit.

One of my biggest frustrations in being an artist is having my work come out what I envision it to be, and the process of actually knowing how get my work the way I want it. This frustration almost made me throw in the towel these past few months. My husband Dean is always so encouraging and tells me to "just have fun and paint like no one is going to see it, let alone try and sell it." Well, nice, but way easier said than done. I see wonderful works of art and know what kind of artist I want to be, but for my work to actually come out like I see it in my head...well, this is where I almost wanted to quit with this piece.

This painting, "Sweet Freedom" is the result of all that mess. It certainly didn't start out and end the way you see it now. Oh my...it was a pretty mess for sure. I painted on it some, put it away. Tried some other things, hated it, then put it away backwards as to not see that ugly, so called "art". But, I really didn't want this to get the best of me. So after months of this never ending game, this is it, finished. I call it "Sweet Freedom" for it's significance in personal areas of my life, and also for the freedom that it brought me as an artist. I learned to just do something, anything. Who cared if anyone was going to see it. I painted and didn't think, I just did. I was let out of a cage that had bound me, in my being, and in being an artist. I wanted to soar...I wanted my brushes, rollers, thrown on wax, spray paint cans and even raw materials, to show the freedom I was beginning to attain in my heart. I believe this piece does just that.

So, here's the story, via some embarrassing pictures, how it all began. After making my 24x24 frame, I put down a lot of bright colors, trying to get away from my earthy tones I always rely in. I kind of liked the all the different colors, but in no ways was I happy with this.

So from that state, I covered it up with more paint, HA! going back to those dull colors (but ones I love) leaving a few areas taped off to let some of that previous color show through. Then I sanded the heck out of it.

Now I throw on some bees wax, scrap a lot, cry, put on some more paint. Oh MAN!!! Well, this was turning into a compete disaster, and where I wanted to get out the gasoline and torch the thing. I couldn't even call it art at this point. Just lead me to the fire pit out back.

OK, so now I'm at the point of seriously doubting myself, my talents, and 'what the heck am I doing?!?' kept resounding in my hears. I'm even embarrassed to post these pictures. But, it's a reminder to myself that with persistence, turning a deaf ear to those lying voice that were constantly yelling in my head, and wanting so badly to have 'some beauty come out of ashes', I tried what my husband kept telling me, "Just have fun".

Ahhhh....I love the way "Sweet Freedom" came out, and certainly glad I didn't quit. I hope you like it too and can relate it to some crazy moments in your life that have brought you freedom when you wanted to just give up. So....Enjoy!! (and if you do enjoy it a whole lot, it is for sale!! It's a 24x24 on a handmade, wood-raised panel (which I made with my own two hands and a lot of sweat, and is $250)

In trying to get out of the box, and

just do what I want to do, this is a

close-up of some burlap and wire I

added to the bottom of the piece. I

really am glad I did. Just different,

and just because I can!