Fun mail day :)

Jane LaFazio posted about this felt heart that I sent her on her blog

she drew the most amazing Pitcher of my Heart, she took my art and turned it into her art! how cool it that!
She sent me this really cool fabric post card with a vinyl heart on it :) we both really love fabric and vinyl, its always so much fun to find someone who loves to play with the same materials as you! :)
I just fell in love with Jane's work in cloth paper scissors magazine that features her interview and "Ralph's Letters" quilt. It's the January/February 2007 issue.
I have been her #1 cyber stalker ever cents :)

HELP!

its not so easy to go from a black blog background to a light one because so many of my back post have light text that does not show up now... and I really do not want to go back and edit every post!!! so if someone has a easy way please share :)

oh my!

my blog will be beautiful again :)
but for now it has a little hangover :)
till I have a little more time :)

Merel's The Portrait of SELF

All the girls who have worked in this book have added there own self portrait.
I did a lot of pockets and details with pull out's in these pages so there are a lot of close up shots!

Pages 1 & 2 for Merel's RR journal.

Pages 1 & 2 details:
I added the red heart with vintage book text to a small golden locket that had a pic of me in it, the little tape talk pocket has a little pull out tag with kids on it and a mother of pearl bead with vintage book text
Pages 2 & 3 for Merel's RR journal.


Pages 3 & 4 details:
A 2 sided fabric pillow tag pulls out of crescent moon pocket. A little pic pf me with the reverise side has my name. The Red heart has some batting behind it so its a little puffy and there is a vinyl 2 sided pull out tag behind it.

I had fun working in this book I just got it on Saturaday... this is a new world record for me!!!

words of wisdom deco

These are my pages for Nancy's RR deco titled "words of wisdom" Nancy is my Best friend that moved away to Reno last year... I miss her so much! She and I will be at artfest together so we both can't wait! She really got me into mixed media and she is a amazing assemblage artist!


These two pages have words by Brian Andreas They are two of my favorites story's by him
this deco was a child's board book so it was Strong and I took advantage of that, the wings are stuffed with batting I sewed the wings onto the page so when you open it it pops out! :)

Nancy this is in the mail! :)
sorry that I was late! but I did do 7 pages more then was called for!

My Altered Asian Victorian Calendar

Back and Front covers of my book

I sent out my Asian Victorian Calendar January 31st 2006 and this started an amazing round robin calendar art project That I was part of, it was headed by Kathy Wasilewski .

How it worked was we all got a 8x6 engagement calendar and for the month of January we all work in our own books before we sent them out then after each girl got to work on the calendar till the end of each month then they sent it on to the next girl.

Amazing still I just received my Calendar on Saturday January 20th almost exactly a year to date!

You can see the work that I did in all the girls calendars here
I was in shock yesterday when I got a H U G E 12 x 14 x 12 Box ... it was from Sharon so I knew it was my supper fat calendar!

I was almost afraid to open the box!
But I over came my fear quite fast once I got a knife in my hand to open the box!
It was amazing in so many ways to see something that I started over a year ago ... this was my first RR so little did I know what kind of a journey this would become when I started it!
I think about how much my style has changed along the way and how differently I would have construed my book had I done it now :)

The book is a little over 9 inches thick! and all of your art is so amazing along with all the details that I have yet to soak in! I have still to really read all the words I have only been able to just see the art... over the next few days I will soak it all in :)
Thank you all so much for your work and the time it took to work in my book this was such a big project and at times I know we all had mixed feeling when we saw that box at our door!

but in the end it was so worth all the work!
you can view this amazing book as a slide show!
and see all the girls work! if you click on a pitcher during the slid show it will stop and tell you who did the page :)

This was the Rotation list:
(and links to the girls sites)

1.DAWN SUPINA (Canada)

2.BETH ROBINSON (Pennsylvania)

3.SUE BERRY (UK)

4.Liz Smith (UK)

5.CAREN MCNEE (New Zealand)

6.CHRISTINE SHEBROE (Florida)

7.LORRAINE GEORGE (Texas)

8.CECE GRIMES (Texas)

9.JENNIFER ROWLAND (Texas)

10.SHARON WISELY (Missouri)

11.RUTH RAE (California)

12.MARCI GLENN (Oregon)

Tip in page with all the girls name's on tags :)

Happy Day!

Today was such an over the top great day!!!
Kelly and I got together to hand deliver the just simply charming offerings to Michelle Flores the editor of Belle Armoire ! which included one of the original 20 bracelets along with the work of Carrie Edelmann Avery , Crystal Neubauer, Lelainia N. Lloyd, Deryn Mentock and Jerri Reimann

This is Kelly and I in the lobby of stampington and company with all the boxes full of books all over the place!
Could it have been possible for us to look any more happy!?!

The stampington and company head quarters is a wild place with stacks and stacks of magazines and art work in box's out of box's on rolling pie racks! but it seamed that at every turn we encountered art from our friends! there was Crystal Neubauer's house getting ready to be sent back to her that you can see on page 116 of this months Somerset Studio and then some upcoming soon to be published work of Judith (cheek out her new blog!) Michelle Flores was so nice and took the time to share some wonderful upcoming art and even showed us a manuscript of an upcoming book that Deryn will be in! it was so wonderful to be able to see the behind the scenes workings of all the magazines and books that we all adore!

I am still smiling from ear to ear!
It was truly an amazing day!

tree of life

tree of life, originally uploaded by ruthrae.

I feal like a bad blog mommy...
But I have been so busy!
busy doing must do art stuff !

if you click on the tree it will take you over to flickr and you can see a few little bits that I have been working on :)

I still have a few more things on my must do list befor I can just play :)


THE TREE OF LIFE

by: Robert Buchanan (1841-1901)

HE MASTER said:
‘I have planted the Seed of a Tree,
It shall be strangely fed
With white dew and with red,
And the Gardeners shall be three--
Regret, Hope, Memory!’

The Master smiled:
For the Seed that He had set
Broke presently thro’ the mould,
With a glimmer of green and gold,
And the Angels’ eyes were wet--
Hope, Memory, Regret.

The Master cried:
‘It liveth--breatheth--see!
Its soft lips open wide--
It looks from side to side--
How strange they gleam on me,
The little dim eyes of the Tree!’

The Master said:
‘After a million years,
The Seed I set and fed
To itself hath gatherèd
All the world’s smiles and tears--
How mighty it appears!’

The Master said:
‘At last, at last, I see
A Blossom, a Blossom o’ red
From the heart of the Tree is shed.
’Tis fairer certainly
Than the Tree, or the leaves of the Tree.'

The Master cried:
‘O Angels, that guard the Tree,
A Blossom, a Blossom divine
Grows on this greenwood of mine:
What may this Blossom be?
Name this Blossom to me!’

The Master smiled;
For the Angels answered thus:
‘Our tears have nourish’d the same,
We have given it a name
That seemeth fit to us--
We have called it Spiritus.’

The Master said:
‘This Flower no Seed shall bear;
But hither on a day
My beautiful Son shall stray,
And shall snatch it unaware,
And wreath it in his hair.’

The Master smiled:
‘The Tree shall never bear--
Seedless shall perish the Tree,
But the Flower my Son’s shall be;
He will pluck the Flower and wear,
Till it withers in his hair!’

Once upon a time in Marpessa

This tiny little book is 6 x 5 and it belongs to TRUDY McLAUCHLAN I was the last of 5 girls to work in this book and all the work that came be for me was beyond amazing! the outside of this book is a soft leather

I am glad that I was not the first to work in this book, I do not think that I could have started it and my Son call me "the book murder" !!! if its a late 1800's book about love I cant not bear to tear :) and this was one of those books!
just the pages that I had to work on broke my heart to alter them because all the words were so lovely!


This Altered book was so hard for me to work in because I was in love with the book! so I ended up embellishing the pages :) I did do a cut out and did a two sided fabric piece.
if you look close under the lace there is a small die and a old mother of pearl button and 2 tiny pearls.



trapped under the lace is a paper leaf and the letter T for the owner of the book Trudy :) I was also machine stitch on the sides of the pages.


I used organza to house 2 golden rings and small golden balls and the words "I love you" stamped on muslin and hand stitched X's to hold the art heart to the page.



I used Mica on image from the book with sewn fabric, lace and paper.
On Monday this little piece pf magic will be sent on it long trip home to Australia :)

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)

This 6x6 quilty pocket is for Mary Z it has machine quilted felt, fibers, coffee stained muslin and vintage lace, organza and tulle.

The wings and the package are both stuffed with batting.

reverse side with vinyl over lay to trap fibers and beads, and vinyl heart pull out.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e.e. cummings

Remember This

This has been in my head for a week now... it did not turn out as I intended. Tomorrow, I will try to get the one that is in my head out. I am not sure how my quilt turned into a pocket :)

6x6 felt heart quilty pocket

close up of red jewel heart trapped between lace and tulle with the word beloved on it.

vinyl heart pull out

revise of felt heart 6x6 quilty pocket with treasures traped behind organza

Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you.

Paradise is there, behind that door, in the next room; but I have lost the key.
Perhaps I have only mislaid it.

Strange, the desire for certain pleasures is a part of my pain.

~Khalil Gibran

a nice sunny day

I made this for Dot I wanted so bad to put sticks on this!!! but I had to improvise so I made felt leavs and used twine to give it a stick feal, so it could make it way into Australia :)



I have a altered book that I need to work on and get out tomorrow and I ran out of one of my favorite things so with a little help from my friends, and a wonderful 78 I took advantage of the sun and coffee dyed some muslin.

I get to a point where I get so full of creativity that I can not get it out of my head and make it turn to something more... I am at that point right now ~


Art as Flirtation and Surrender

In your light I learn how to love.

In your beauty, how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest,

where no one sees you,

but sometimes I do,

and that sight becomes this art.

~Rumi

I tore up the just simply charming blog
it has a new look and I made my first ever banner!
I upgraded my template on the just simply charming blog... I was afraid to do it on this blog....
but fear no more! its really cool and very easy to use! you can change everything so fast!I was amazed!... so this blog is next!

Sheba's Passion

Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.
~Solomon


Sheba's Passion is the card I made for Trudy's
Spirit Card folder Sheba is a atc dolly and is all Fabric I had to rig it to card stock so it can slip
into its slot that Trudy had made in her folder for the cards, because my atc's are a little on the fat side!

My Romatic mood continued with these.

just simply charming girls!

I just updated the just simply charming blog Carrie and Crystal did amazing things with there charms! way to go girls!

HAPPY 2007!

I hope you all had fun welcoming in the new year!!!

I am diabetic... so a little cold can put me down for days! thank you all so much for your well wishes, I did not get to party in 2007, but I am doing better :)

one of my goals for this year was to give my web site a overhaul... I no longer teach jewelry classes... so I closed down alot of pages and I need to clean it up, I have decided to use it as a place card to show case my art like so many do. My other art goals are to open a esty shop and get some of my art published and over hall my stuido and make it a more creative looking space, it just amazing to me how some artist can make there studio look like art and not a landslide of junk! my studio is organized and user friendly but I long for it to look inspirational, and its hard because I really lack wall space because I have really packed it in my odd shaped 12 x18 space :) oh how I long to have Sara Lechner's , amazing studio loft!

ok so all you girls that are going and sees this know what it means!

In Three short months I will be at artfest!!! with my best supper best friend Nancy Nelson and I want to know who I will get to meet! so please if you see this and will be attending, droop me a line and let me know :)
I put a count down to artfest on my side bar and its really funny because the 28th of March is also my birthday so its really funny for a soon to be 41 year old to count the days before her birthday!


Teesha Moore did this and I just love the words! (artfest attendees got a stack of Teesha's art cards as a treat with our registration pack)

Tuesday I have:

Patricia Seggebruch

Friday:Anne Bagby

Saturday:Susan Lenart Kazmer

This is my first art retreat so I can not wait to be amazed and inspired :)