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Sunday, October 31, 2010

And the Raven Said...Nevermore!

Last evening (Mischief Night) a local historical society sponsored a Dramatic Reading of Selected Works by Edgar Allen Poe. Intersperced with snippets about Poe's life story, four very dramatic gentlemen in appropriate dress read The Tell-Tale Heart, Annabelle Lee, The Black Cat, The Raven and one of two other stories. What a fun time and great way to celebrate Halloween!
Living in the country we don't get trick-or-treaters. I miss the days from childhood of planning my costume for weeks in advance. Just HAD to have the best costume! Then it was going out in costume, or later in life seeing all of the "treaters" come to the house in their search for treats. Now, we usually find other ways to celebrate Halloween.

I participated in Christine's Trick-or-Treat swap again this year. What a wonderful swap this is, and I really thank Christine for being such an organized and generous hostess.
Here are pics of the two treats and one trick I contributed:


And here are the wonderful items I received in return:

This Halloween is filled with many more treats than tricks. I hope your's is too!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Assemblage a la Michael de Meng

Awhile back I had the wonderful opportunity to take a seminar with Michael de Meng at Valley Ridge Art Studio (http://www.valleyridgeartstudio.com/). If you don't know his work, check it out: http://www.michaeldemeng.com/ It was probably one of the best classes I've ever had; Kathy is a terrific hostess and Michael is a generous, entertaining teacher. Here's the piece I made during the class:

I understand that Valley Ridge is not planning any seminars during 2011, but a seminar with Michael de Meng is being planned for New Orleans (http://www.valleyridgeartstudio.com/new-orleans/index.html) February 16-20. I'm really hoping to go. Michael is inspiring his students to make an altered apothecary kit. In a city like New Orleans the possibilities are endless!

Voila, Or, It's About Time!

About 18 months ago my enabler sister sent me a link she found on eBay for old wood type drawers. Now what, you ask, would I do with type drawers? Some people use them to display curios or create a collage. Old fashioned metal (or wood if you can find them) type pieces look very neat. But they can also be used to store beads and other small pieces.



The drawers were being sold by a man in a nearby town who was retiring from the printing business. So off I treked and purchased all he had for about $1.00 each. They are made of oak and have a terrific worn look to them. While I was at the shop I noticed that he had an oak wooden cabinet with 12 drawers in it. He said it was made about 1890 and he wasn't sure he was going to sell it but he would let me know. Sure enough I got a phone call, so off I went again.



Fast forward 18 months and the cabinet is still sitting in the barn outside unfinished. I was hoping that either my husband or son would volunteer to refinish it for me, but you know how that goes. So I finally got myself in gear and stripped, sanded, stained and finished the cabinet. It is "distressed" because it was used heavily for over 120 years, but I think it looks terrific now. It even has the original cast metal hardware in it.



So what do I use it for? Besides my assemblage and found art work I like to design and create my own jewelry, which tends to follow the assemblage theme also. I have a stash of pieces that I have collected and really need a place to store everything neatly. This cabinet will be perfect and will free up room to neatly store other supplies.



Here's a couple of pics of the final project:


Thursday, October 7, 2010

Creepy Halloween

I love Halloween; it is a hard choice which I like better, Halloween or Christmas. I love decorating even though living in the country means we don't get trick or treaters. Mostly I do the decorating for myself.

There are two swaps I am involved in. One is an Edgar Allan Poe assemblage swap based on one of his short stories. The other swap is Christine Edwards' 2 Treats and 1 Trick swap. So here's what I created for both:
My first "Treat," a skull that is weathered and crackled with sparkle eyes, a Halloween ruff, all on a pedestal.
Then there is my second "Treat," a Witch's Brew kit. I really like this and think I'll have to make one for myself.
My"Trick" is a creepy wreath with giant spiders, scary skulls and a black crow to look over the evil...

For the Edgar Allan Poe swap I created this "book." The idea of the swap was to create a cigar box type of assemblage about the story your partner picked. I picked The Black Cat which coincidentally was the same story my partner picked. Along with the book I included lots of little Halloween treats and I got lots back from my partner. Here's my version of The Black Cat:

And a close-up of the inside:
(PS-sorry for the glare from the flash)
Here's the creation I got from a partner (as well as a box of Ferrar Roche and a Ghiardelli Chocolate caramel bar...YUM!)

Finally, here's my Steampunk Bird. I was inspired when I saw the paper mache form on the Ellen Hutson website. I just KNEW what it would look like. The necklace around her neck are charms from a Steampunk swap I participated in and also some cool charms I had collected.

Wonder what will be up for Christmas?