Party like an art star

Scenes from a seven-year-old's birthday party.

Seventeen kids descending upon Canvas, a studio where an artist guides the students through a simple painting lesson.

A break for cake...

... then more painting. Little or no blood spilled... just paint.

Unfortunately, we couldn't convince The Boy he could just paint over his minor mistakes. He defaced what he'd done and then asked me to throw out the canvas.

sigh Guess I need to learn how to help him unlearn the perfectionism.

No worries. The other kids took home their canvases, and The Boy took home seventeen presents. That child is feeling no pain.

Paint supplies crush

I would totally try to eat this if I were two years old.

You might remember I showed two assemblages in Fraker/Scott Gallery's ICON group show last summer. Although I didn't sell the pieces, I did win a prize -- whoo-hoo! -- a gift certificate to buy all the Golden artist supplies I could get for $100. Guess whose presents came in the mail yesterday?!

When I won the prize, the gallery owners said they wanted to encourage me to keep making art, and to try new ideas.

So I bought several paints I'd seen before, but for which I didn't have a specific project in mind.

I also picked up some coarse pumice gel and gesso, but I think I'll exchange those for regular gel medium (matte) and extra-coarse pumice gel.

Now I want to crunch it between my teeth like hard candy. If you've read this far, I bet you do too.

The extra-coarse pumice gel could really enhance the cave-effect I'm going for in my work. And the regular gel medium I use as a barrier coat on paper, as well as glue for said paper.  Aaaaghghhh! I'm so excited I can barely think straight.

How are you using your own supplies right now? If you use acrylics, what are you using and how? Tell me in the comments or on Facebook. I'm on Pinterest now too: share your boards with me!

Ideas and supplies

Yeah, it's just a glass in a cigar box now. But it's part of the idea stew that's bubbling in my head for the next assemblage. Actually, ideas for my next two assemblages. Aaarrghh...  I do not have the brain capacity AND time for this! [impatient huff] What, I should write the ideas down for each piece as I go? Well, that's just crazy talk. Meanwhile...

... scores for Clarissa Callesen's class at Artfest! Doll chair from Goodwill (which clearly needs a bit of weathering. Too shiny!). Stripey fabric on a clearance table at Pacific Fabrics. I so hope this'll work for the steampunk dolls we'll make.

So many ideas!