Bands of America Marching Contest in St Louis

Here we are on the steps of the Arch in St Louis...this is one of out trailers that carry some of the stuff that bands need...you know...instruments, uniforms, and tarps. The big blob of people is the band...The Putnam City North Panther Pride Marching Band...This was on Friday morning...they marched in the Ram's Dome at 3:30 that afternoon. There were 56 bands competing from all over the US: Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Arkansas. This is Susan, sitting under a tree at the river across the street from the Arch. She is the Band Director. There are 124 band members and it takes those 3 big buses in the background to move them around...plus a big big truck, and two big trailers. Thankfully she has a wonderful staff and a terrific band booster organization that helps.
This is a shot in the stadium just before they marched...The show is call "Escape from Dystopia" They finished in the middle of the "pack" at 36th. That Dome is so HUGE, it is a very exciting experience for the kids and the adults. We were all very proud of the kids and their performance....

Christy's Care Package

Check this out...this is just some of the awesome "stuff" I received in a "Care" Package, I got from my friend and partner Christy from Fort Myers, Florida...The big sheets of paper are like 24"x24", there is printed tissue paper, pages from dictionaries, some hand made tyvek papers that she made, a precious orange box filled with all kinds of goodies(like flower shapes of all colors) a medallion with an L on it...Some beautiful tags she made for me with vintage jewelry, and gold "paint chips", A large note pad with my initial on it...OMG it was like Christmas opening the box....Thank You Christy...you made my month (which wasn't going so good with this total knee replacement thing) you put a smile on my face and a spark in my rehab...what a great friend.

Where The Green Fern Grows

This is the inside back cover of my AB for the ICE in Altered Books Group Round Robin...We are mailing today and everyone is very excited to get this project rolling.

This lizard image was a B&W pic from a book I got at a used book store called "Book Trader". The book title is " World of Strange Animals" and I bought the book ($2) to use as an Altered Book...but when I chose my theme (nature) for the RR on the ICE Group, I remembered buying the strange animal book and looked in it for pics to use in the ICE Group book...Only problem was that most of the pics were black & white, and you know me..."gotta' have that COLOR"...so I used my gel pens to color the Iguana and write my introduction and instructions for my book. Then I sprayed it with clear cote sealer...gel pens don't always dry real fast and can be sticky for a while...but the sealer took care of that problem. These Flamingos (on the left side of this spread) are from the same book as the lizard, and so is the big shell. I used gel pens to high light the pink in the Flamingos and I sewed and glued vintage pearls on the shell pic. I painted the whole spread with Golden Glaze, then I folded down the page to make a pocket. I added some feathers (I just love feathers, don't you?) and some beaded fringe that has little teeny tiny sea shells on the ends. There are small pink ribbon rose buds in the beaks of the Flamingos. I made some tags with the words "By The Sea, By The Beautiful Sea" and added those to the page. I'm not sure that you can see the beaded/teeny tiny sea shell fringe at the bottom of the page....but it is there... I added pink card stock to the back of the shell pic for stability because it hangs over the edge of the page. I found the pink poka-dot candle in my stash and I always think pearls look better by candle light.

This page is called bugs...the back ground paper is some of the great paper that I got at the Flax store in San Francisco...and the big red flower with the beetle came from the same book as the lizard, flamingos and shell (only it was already in color). The feathers are Wild Turkey feathers from a hunter friend of mine, he teaches with me at Rose State College and he brings me Pheasant and Turkey feathers every year...gotta love that. The brass metal leaves are from a wreath candle holder I got at the thrift store for .50....I just cut them off with wire cutters and flattened them with a hammer. I just love 50% off Senior Citizen Day at the thrift store...there are so many advantages to being a Senior Citizen....lol....really!

I Have been "Tagged".....Six Word Memoir

"It is all about the LIGHT"

"Lawanda" I have been tagged by Dawn Gold. Who is so sweet, talented and gracious. I am so happy to say that we have become fast friends even though she lives in England and I live in Oklahoma...Thank you Dawn (aka. Betty Boop)

The challenge is to use 6 words that could describe your life as you would write it in a personal Memoir. On the surface this sounds fairly simple, but it was harder than I imagined....I wanted it to reflect my progress through life and what I have tried to accomplish in my journey to the "Light". Light-hearted, En-Lightened, Light-weight, and Lighten-up.

The rules for the "Six Word Memoir Tag are......

1. Write your own six-word memoir.

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration, if you'd like.

3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.

4. Tag 5 more blogs with links.

5. Remember to leave a comment on the blog with an invitation to play, I am tagged.

These are blogs of artist that inspire me and make me smile......

Christy... http://www.averageamericangirl.com/blog/index.php

Gayle.... http://www.gaylepage-robak.blogspot.com/

Lori.... http://www.alteredartexpressions.blogspot.com/

Patricia.. http://www.coolcrone.blogspot.com/

Kris... http://www.artoutsidethebox.co.uk/

I could list about 50 more but the rules say 5... you can find links to lots of other great blogs in the right hand collum and over on http://jewelsoftheeast.blogspot.com/

Ella's Music Tree

This is my grand daughter Ella...I had posted some of her collage art work previously, you can see it in the older posts...I am so proud to tell everyone that her "Music Tree"
collage won 1st place in the Mid-Del School District "Visions" Art Contest, and her "Flower" collage won 2nd place in it's category...Ella is in 1st Grade and this is the 3rd year in a row for her art work to win 1st place for her age group. When she was in
Pre-K and in Kindergarten she had her work chosen for a state wide exhibit...She is quite the artist.

She loves to come to "GA's" house for an "Art Weekend".... I want to tell you how I got the name GA. When my grand daughter Katlin was little,(she is now 13) her brain worked faster than her mouth, so she shortened most of her words, my other grand children all called me Grandma,(I have 7 grand children) anyway Katlin shortened Grandma to GA...and that name stuck. So, of course, when Ella (she is now 7) came along she picked up on that and now they all call me "GA" It is really pretty cool, and definitely unique. I really wanted my grand children to call me "Mammie" because that is what we called my grand mother and I always loved that name...but you know how children are? No NanNa or MamMa or Mammie for me...it is great to be "GA" Ella is so beautiful, smart and artistic. I snapped this pic of her on my porch, in her "1st Day of School Dress". God blessed us and God blessed her when He gave her to us. Ella is adopted and we were lucky enough to be there when she was born, and my daughter got to be in the delivery room with Ella's birth mother, so my daughter was the first one to hold her, and a few days later we took Ella home...now if that isn't a blessing, I don't know what is....

New Traveling Journal Pages

Well now I have 2 blogs and I don't know which one to post on....I have posted my New Traveling Journal Pages over on http://timelesstreasuresofleast.blogspot.com because I want to start putting all of my art work on that blog and keep this blog for other stuff...So I hope you go over there to see my art work....

Nico in Oklahoma City

We took Nico all around OKC to see the State Capitol Building, the Bombing Memorial, the Oklahoma Museum of Art. He really liked the exhibit of the "Chihuly Glass, I snapped his picture in front of one of the sculptures, and the "Paris Exhibit". Our friend Cherea went with us and I took this pic of Susan, Nico & Cherea in front of one of the optical illusion painting. We took him to the Oklahoma Symphony on Saturday night, it turned out that the Symphony was playing a selection on South American tunes, that was really just a co-incidence that Nico got to go for that. Susan and I took him back stage after the performance and introduced him to Joel Lavine, the conductor and a lot of our friends that play in the Symphony. After that was over we took him to Chili's for a "White Chocolate Molten" it was a sweet ending for a wonderful day. He really liked all of the places that we took him to eat, he kept commenting on how big the portions of food were.

On Friday night I took him to PC North High School where they were doing the musical "Fiddler on the Roof", Susan was conducting the orchestra, he got to meet some of the students that were supposed to attend his Workshop, and they brought their sketch books, Nico did a drawing in the book and signed it for them...they were so excited to meet him and tell him how much they love his Speed-Painting and how disappointed they were that the Workshop was canceled. He told them hopefully he will be back in the Fall and do the Workshop.

We truly enjoyed his visit. He is so gracious and so so smart and talented. I told him that he will be "Rich and Famous" someday....and he said.."I hope so". He speaks very good English, which was great because Susan and I neither one speak any Spanish.

Even though Nico's presentation was cancelled he still came to OKC and staid a few days with Susan and me before he went on to Long Island, New York. He is such a nice young man. Susan taught him how to play Guitar Hero on the Wii, and he and I talked "art" for hours. He burned me some CDs on my computer of his Movie and the making of the movie...he is now in production of a claymation stop action film for his theses for his degree...he will be graduating in less than a year and is very excited to get finished.

Heeeere's Johnny!!!!

This is "Johnny Lee" he is a cute little boy Paper Doll that I created for my friend Dawn Gold that lives in the UK. We traded Paper Dolls that were inspired by a Paper Doll swap over on the Paper Whimsy Formum Group that we belong too. I received a precious doll named "Betty" and she has her own doll named "Boop" and "Johnny Lee" is on his way to Dawn as we speak.

Make my Day Award

I received this awesome Award from my friend Gayle (a very talented artist). It did make my Day...and I am passing it on to some other terrific artist that "Make my Day" every day. If you want to pass it on to some one that makes your day...just save the award and post it on your blog and list 10 people that make your day. I could send this to a 100 people, I have been so lucky to make more friends through "blogland" than I can count. If you get this more than once count yourself lucky. Thanks Gail

Dawn in the UK

Christy in Flordia

Toni in Lousianna

Ingrid in Michigan

Baron in Dallas

Nico in Argentina

Lisa in Houston

Elizabeth in Kansas

Rick in OKC

Lori in the Desert

There really are at least a hundred more but I am only susposed to post 10.....I guess I will just have to make another post....yeah that is what I am talking about.

Serendipity's Journal #13

Ella's Art Work

This is a mixed media collage done by my 7 year old grand daughter Ella. She is a budding artist...and loves to do ART. I gave her some printed paper, stickers, stamps, fibers, a hole punch and a key and this is what she came up with. She really likes glitter (I wonder where she got that?). She is letting me teach her how to tear paper instead of cutting. This is a collage Ella did by tearing and cutting the paper. She really prefers to cut, but is trying her hand at tearing. I think she likes having more control with scissors than tearing. I just can't imagine where she gets that wanting to control stuff from....lol...I think she is really artistic...she also paints in acrylics and water color and loves to "just draw" with colored pencils and markers.

Nico's Workshop has been canceled

I AM SORRY TO TELL YOU THAT NICO'S WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR A LATER DATE.

Another Traveling Journal is on its Journey

These are my pages in a traveling journal that started it's "Journey" in Bexleyheath Kent, UK, and went to Edmonton, Alberta Canada, then came to me in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is on it's way to Redwood City, California. A journal is a great way to get a glimpse of 10 days in someones life. It is very interesting and entreating. Of course I always think everybody Else's entries are more interesting than mine. But, it is great fun and I get to use all kinds of different art techniques and glazes and stuff like that. I keep a few personal journals of my own also. They are kinda test grounds for the things I like to try in the traveling journals. In this particular journal, each participant starts their own journal and then sends it to the next person on the list. So eventually you get your journal back with everybody having done some pages. They keep the journal for 15 days and work in it for 10 of those 15 days. I think I need to relax a little and just write what I am doing each day. When I read other people's journals, the ones I like the best, seem to be just writing ordinary things and it is very interesting.

Free Vintage Pics from Texas

Here are somemore of the great Cabinet Cards and Post Cards that I found in the Antique Store in Jacksonville, Texas. I hope you can use them in your art work. I have already used a few of them myself. Feel free to download and enjoy.

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Guestbook!

Artist Baron Farha

This is the art work of Baron Farha. Baron is one of my former students. He lives and paints in Dallas, Texas. It is very exciting for me as an art teacher to see some of my former students making a living as professional artist. It is very rewarding and flattering that they stay in touch with me, when you have a student for 6 or 7 years, you become very attached to them. Baron is a very talented young man and I am proud to still be involved in his life and his art. You can find a link to his web page, which contains a lot more of his work, in the Partners in Art column on the left side of this page. You should check him out....his work is terrific.

Jeremy Thomas Artist/Professor

This is the work of one of my former students Jeremy Thomas. He is a metal sculptor and art instructor at the famed Santa Fe School of Art. These sculptures are made from metal that is welded together and then expanded while still pliable. This piece is one of his many gallery pieces. If you want to see more of his work you can Google his name and it will take you to other galleries where he sells his work. He is really an awesome young man, father and teacher. I am very proud to have been a part of his life.

Some More Free Images From the Antique Store

Here are some more freebies for you to use in your art work. These were in the batch of antique post cards that I found in Jacksonville, Texas. Hope you enjoy.......

Nico DiMattia has a new Web and Blog Page

Nico has updated his Website and created a new Blog. You can check them out by clicking on his name in the left hand column.

Nico is coming to the US for an Art Conference and Workshop. The Conference will be held at Rose State College on March 1, 2008. It will be an all day program with Nico doing demonstrations in the morning and some hands on work in the afternoon. This is a rare opportunity to meet Nico in person, he has never been to the US before and he will be showing his award wining film clips and his Speed-Painting techniques with tutorials He will be sharing all kinds of tips for drawing portraits on the computer using a pad and Photoshop.

If you would be interested in attending please email me at leastart@hotmail.com for registration forms.

The BIT Department of Rose State College is very excited to be able to bring this very talented young man from Cordoba, Argentina to Oklahoma. The animation program at Rose State is a fast growing degree plan, and this workshop is just one of the the perks offered in the program.

Be sure and email me it you are interested, seating is limited and it is filling up fast.

You can find one of Nico's many YouTube Videos in the older post on this blog. Look in the Older Post on the left side column.

Got a request for more "Fish"

Here is one of my fish drawings. This piece is Prisma pencil. I use all kinds of fish as models, fresh water and salt water, I choose them by color. This particular drawing was started in one of my art classes as a demonstration. The class had been working on perspective and I used the fish as an example of ways to place objects on the paper and give the appearance of 3-D. By making some of the fish larger and some smaller it gives perspective to the drawing. The pic below is a close up of the same drawing. The drawing was done on blue 90 lb. Strathmore pastel drawing paper and it is pretty big, 25" X 32".

This is a pen and ink and gouache' watercolor picture of some iris....Iris are my favorite flower, for one thing iris bloom in more colors than any other flower. Plus my grand mother was the president of the State Iris Society in 1948, I can remember her buying an Iris bulb for $5 in 1945 and I thought my grand dad was going to have a heart attack. $5 was a lot of money in 1945. But my grand mother raised chickens and she sold the eggs and saved the money to buy the Iris bulb. The Iris she bought was pink, so that is why this Iris pic is pink.....plus it was hers and my favorite color. This is a large (8" X 24") porcelain clay wall hanging. I took a porcelain clay workshop where we rolled out slabs and then pressed shapes into the clay. They were fired with a process where when the clay is so hot it turns white, salt is thrown into the kiln and the salt burns into the porcelain making the beautiful brown colors you see here. I did some other pieces the same day, and I add fibers coming out of the holes. I sold them and forgot to take pics of them. But I made enough money to pay for the workshop and the supplies.....can't beat a deal like that and it was a fun and educational experience.