lost & found

New. Fun. Art.

The blog How About Orange has a wonderful tool called "Odosketch" featured today. I played for just a bit and while I found it limiting (color-it needs more color!) it is FUN. It's the perfect stand-in for  "real" art making if you happen to be home with the flu or it's a rainy day & you don't feel like dragging out all the art supplies . But they do need to add more color choices as all the work begins to look the same due to the limited color palette.
You'll find me under ginaserigraphy & the best part about the whole thing is: when you click on a thumbnail in order to get an enlarged version of the art-you get this animated , from the ground floor up rebuilding of the image -just as the artist created. You even get to see mistakes get made (look at this one for example) and corrected. As a printmaker, I work just like I would when creating a silkscreen-with layer upon layer. Very fascinating ...

Happy Valentines Day!

The magic & mystery of the creative process

I was going to write an insightful paragraph or 2 on the magic & mystery of the creative process-as I experienced it tonight.

But I am bone tired * & so, without further delay:I introduce what can only be called "snow globe cards" for Valentines Day. I've yet to decide whether the static in the plastic is a good or bad element...

Mulling & playing ...

A family member has "loaned" me a collection of correspondence from 1918-1919. Letters and postcards sent home from France .

There is something about handwriting, old paper, and dated images -the history, age & reality that is tied to each seems to resonate=making them the perfect Valentines material.

"Spread The Love" gears up for Valentines Day 2011

"Spread The Love" is a not so covert , anonymous project to ...spread love-on Valentines Day & always. Created in 2009, it's mission is to inspire random strangers to take some love and then pass it on "Spreading love throughout the world, one person at a time" -using artful text , color  & design-in the form of fliers placed out & about . 
Keep your eye peeled as you never know where we'll pop up next. Perhaps we'll be coming to a lamp post near you...
P.S. A simple but sweet idea for a Valentine can be found on today's posting of maya*made . Maya is one of my favorite bloggers-in no small part because her creative philosophy and use of recycled materials is very much in sync with my own artistic values. If you have never heard of her-you will love exploring her blog & the life it depicts along with the many simple & easy projects (& recipes!). 

Make some art from your heART...

As Valentines Day draws near I'll be spending some time this weekend making Valentines. I draw inspiration from the mediums I LOVE working in most: cut paper, printmaking (read: silkscreen & rubber stamps)  and collage.

 I also love looking back over collected ephemera-one amazing resource of mine had always been The New York Public Library's picture collection. (Online viewing is no replacement for seeing the actual items in person-I happen to love working with the librarians to see what topics they might suggest & then sifting through the large folders , along with my fellow seekers-hoping for that one amazing & perfect image of inspiration.) 

If you are looking for creative ways to express your love you will find lots of inspiration on the Internet & in blogs. Some wonderful ideas can be found here on the care2.com site where you'll find ideas for cards,made with origami, some sewing &  a little stitching .
Then there are the envelopes-something I have always loved decorating with silkscreen, rubber stamps and collage(see photo for some recent samples). One brilliant idea is this sewn version.
Have fun creating, experimenting & playing!
XO
Gina

Valentines for dogs in need

DDB-Dogs Deserve Better-is an organization that helps dogs who are left, chained & outside. One of the ways they hope to help is by making and sending out Valentines to the homes of dogs ,  encouraging owners to bring their dogs inside where they can become part of the family and get the care and love they deserve. If you would like to participate you can find their info. here . They are looking for homemade Valentines & dog food coupons that can be enclosed in each Valentine. It sounds like a very worthy cause & it is a great way to use your creativity for a greater good.
XO
Gina

It's February!

It's February and you know what that means! Valentines Day is coming! I love making cards and I love using symbols in my artwork - both of which means Valentines Day is perfect in my book. I'll be posting some ideas for things to make, along with some images of my own.
The above postcard is courtesy of the Helen M. Ondik Archive . Pictured is "Lamalou-le-Haut(herault)-La Tour du Chateau-d'Eau"-or, as I call it now-"Brave man displaying 2 hearts while craftily balancing on a high  stone tower ".©RAES*2011
One old standby for ideas is always MSL. I have always wanted to try the project pictured...