I have been on Flickr too much...

Most of my artwork is associated with some kind of Flickr group, lately, so I haven't been posting much of it here. Naughty me.

.....And I've become an admin on one of the groups, Artful Ideas, along with my friend, bowlingbelle, so I have to pay attention to that one and help take care of things.

.....And I have a new part-time job which will claim about 20 hours per week.

But here are a couple of pieces (postcards, both) that I've done for the Collage Play with Crowabout group recently. They are so much fun because we have to use the images we are given. Just copy and print them from the group site. As you can see, sometimes they turn out pretty crazy - but are a great, weekly challenge.

(Not A Mountain: Did you get that? Just scissors and glue, Baybay!)

Thanks for stopping in.
Nancy

Fowl Play

That's the theme at The Three Muses. Aren't they funny?

Here is my postcard.

'Zeigfeld Fowlies'

(tee hee hee)

"Long Ago and Far Away"

That's the theme at the 3 muses this week.

Here is my postcard.

Bill Shakespeare

Here's another challenge...

From Three Muses.

This one is digital. The theme is "hair".

'The Haircut'

I wore my hair very long for most of my life. It was kind of a trademark of mine.

I remember how scary it was the first time I had it cut very short. I went straight from the lengthy tresses - to a "pixie-do". The scissors seemed HUGE. I can even recall the sound!

Needless to say, I survived, and am letting my long hair grow back. It feels more like me.

The beautiful image of the lady is from a painting by E. Delacroix circa 1825.

Found Something "Interesting"

I've been working behind the scenes to improve my digital art skills. and have found something that really gives me a workout.

Make It Interesting is a Flickr pool.

Members post photos and the challenge is for others

to digitally "mess with it"

and make it more interesting.

What a great exercise in trying out techniques and styles.

My postcard entitled:

Angel on the Stair

The original.


My postcard entitled:
Home Invasion

The original.


Now, if that's not fun, I don't know what is.

What IS Zetti?

I get asked this a lot, as do others who attempt to "do" Zetti.
And I say 'attempt' because so many of us struggle to "get it".
But...
No one seems to be able to put it into words, exactly, myself included.
It seems to be a state of mind. Sometimes I can get there and sometimes I can't.

What I do know (I think):

• There are often pointy hats, stripey legs and strange faces with mismatched eys.
• There are lots of black and white stripes in borders and other places.
• Backgrounds are usually painted and textured.
• It IS collage work, usually, along with hand drawn and stamped images and backgrounds ... sometimes.
• Clown noses appear pretty frequently and bodies and heads are usually very mismatched.
• Magazine cut outs are commonly used along with other kinds of materials.
  
  So..... Does that help? No. I thought not.
  
  Teesha Moore is the person who "invented" as an art form/style, and you can see some of her work Here. She's the queen.
  There is a Flickr Group called Zettiology, and I've installed our hot-button in the sidebar to your right. It looks like this.

It was created by the group admin, Jade Adams, a true Zetti guru.

You can go there and see what others of us are doing with varying degrees of success.

Oh, and thanks for asking.

Zlightly Zetti

That is the theme for the Three Muses challenge this week. Here is my entry.

"Honest!" ~ A Postcard

One more song for You

As long as there is time

And one breath left in me

There will always be

One more song for You.



lyrics by Michael and Stormie Omartian

Imitation

There are forces at work on another level of reality-- forces for good or evil -- always at work 'backstage' on the theater of life.

Magic. What is it? Does it exist somewhere out there as a something to be grasped and harnessed by the fortunate seeker who finds it? Or is it more or less than what it appears to be?

Who or what is the power behind it

Is what we think of as "magic" only an imitation of the power behind Creation, pretending to be the Power of God, Himself?

Thank you, Sandy, at Thank God It's Friday, for a wonderful theme. Mine is a digital Postcard.

Texture from JoesSistah.

Sunday Postcard Art

SPA challenges us to the theme of "Mr. Right."

'A Big... What?'

He really was a balloonist (See Below)
New York Times Article

"SANTOS-DUMONT'S ESCAPE; His Balloon Burst, but He Got Off Without a Scratch August 9, 1901, Wednesday
PARIS, Aug. 9. -- M. Santos-Dumont, the aeronaut, had a narrow escape from death yesterday morning. His balloon burst and fell with tremendous speed. Had it not been that the framework caught in the coping of a building, the plucky Franco-Brazilian would almost certainly have been killed. As it was he was unhurt."

Ribbon Faerie Dolls

The MAD Mamma (Monthly Art Doll) challenge at MAMMA's House is up and it's a lot of fun. These are really quick to make and surprisingly beautiful. Click on the link to take part in the challenge and swap. You just post a photo of yours on the pool and wait for the announcement of partners - randomly selected - for the swap.

Here are some I have made.

Somebody really needs to intervene.

I've gotten terribly hooked.

Here is a Link to a tutorial at Ten Two Studios.

I think these would be great for angels as Christmas decorations.

Close up views available on my Flickr Photostream .

Moonlight

One of my favorite piano pieces of all time is "Clair de lune" by Claude Debussy. The name means 'moonlight' in the French language and a part of Debussy's Suite Bergamesque. Anyone who cannot envision the moon and its light, just by listening to this piece, is rare.

The theme from the Three Muses for this week is "Moonstruck". That's how I feel everytime I play or hear this beautiful composition.

This postcard is hand-collaged with old papers and new, inked a bit.

In the upper left corner is Debussy.

"Clair de Lune"

Here is a lovely rendition of it for you - with moon photos!

SAWO is Fun!

The instructions for the Saturday's Workout were to alter an original photo or postcard.

Here is the original.

It just needed some chickens, don't you think?

Now, that's more like it!

September 11th.

Bus Travel - an altered matchbox

Matchbox for GAS Mamma swap.
Measuring a tiny 1 and 3/8 by 2 inches,

covered with a British city map and embellished with an authentic

London bus ticket, coin and silk cord,

the slider opens to reveal some necessaries.

A 'Lucky Piece' several vintage bus passes and a key to the flat.

(authentic brass key)

And all the way on the inside, just pull the little handle for a bit of history.

A photograph of the installation of the first traffic light in London.

The bus drivers appear to be scoffing. Like that's going to stop them!

At one time a preferred mode of transport, buses may have lost some of their charm today.
In this little altered matchbox, I hope to hearken back to those other times.

dans ma maison...

il y a ecolier. The Challenge this week: In my house is a school kid.

Here is my house.

"Back to Eton"

.

Nancy

Funny Animals for TGIF

The Thank God It's Friday challenge is 'funny animals' this week.

Here's mine ~ a postcard.

"Helloooo Kitty"

Three Muses Challenge.

I've done a digital skinny for the challenge from Ann, Marie and Bev.

The theme was "Show us your Hands".

"Hand Fed"

I know. It's pretty crazy.

Journey of the Heart

My sister and her husband have never had children. Nearly 5 years ago they applied to adopt a child from China. I don't know why the adoption process slowed so drastically in recent years, but the waiting has been excruciating, especially since they were approved right away. Add that to the years they spent hoping to conceive a child of their own, and it's been decades of waiting for them, as they are now into their 50's.

Finally, they received the final step - photos and information on the little girl who would be their daughter - and are scheduled to travel to China near the end of September to get her.

On our beloved GAS Mamma challenge for this month, we were to alter a matchbox themed "travel".

Needless to say, I'm not entering this in the challenge swap, but am giving it to my sister. It will hopefully go to China with her, as a little token of our love and our joy.

Included in it is the verse from I John 5:4 which says:

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:

and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

They have chosen for her American name - Victory.

And here she is!

Thanks for sharing our joy.

Nancy

Handle With Care

Orange Challenge at Theme Thursday

Desiderata

ATC submitted to

Created By Hand challenge of a favorite background with words.

One Minute Writer ~ "Quote"

Today's Prompt: In 100 years what one statement

would you like others to remember you as having said?

"It is better to pursue strength than happiness."

Happiness is transitory and situational.

It comes and goes with our circumstances

and cannot be relied upon to remain with us ~ and in us.

Strength allows us to navigate through

the un-happy times in our lives.

The One Minute Writer

provides a 60 second journalling prompt for each day of the week. Click on the link for an opportunity to participate.

Gothic Arch

"Leave my Loneliness Unbroken!"

from The Raven

Inspired by the challenge at the Gothic Arches group this week ~ POE.

This is my entry.

My Fragile Heart

dans ma maison il y a... something fragile.

My Fragile Heart

dans ma maison is a wonderful challenge. Click on the link above to visit the site.

Clown Party

Clowns love to party. Making people laugh and joining in themselves - they absolutely LIVE for it. Here are a few of the clownish persuasion enjoying an evening together.

Clown Party

This piece was inspired by and entered into the Saturday Surprise "shapes" challenge.

Go there to see more!

Texture Paint Background Technique from Saturday's Workout.

I love to try the new techniques I find and Sandy has provided a great one this week at Saturday's Workout. You can go there for a link to a tutorial and examples of this method.



I created an atc with this technique.

"Write the Vision...Make it Plain"

From the book of Habbakuk Chapter 2, verse 2.

"Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that reads it."

God's Vision for our lives and our world cannot be seen by those who are running unless we display it prominently through our lives ~ our actions ~ our words.

On a Royalty kick? I guess I am.

The Last of the Tudors

Queen Elizabeth I.

She has long been an inspiration to me. I began reading everything I could lay my hands on, about her, when I was a teenage girl and was encouraged by her faith, her strength and her persistence.

Having lived an uncertain life of peril and intrigue, imprisoned and abused, and under constant threat of assasination or exile, she survived to accomplish wonderful things as Queen of England and Ireland.

She has her admirers and she has her detractors - even now - just as she did when she lived.

I shall remain a faithful fan.

~0~

This is a 3x5, collaged using some of my own hand-prepared papers and some 'ready-made'.

Entered into the 3 Muses' "Inspirational People" challenge.

So Artful

I've been unable to put a name to this 4x4. There are too many possibilities and I can't decide.

What do you think?

I won't tell you some of mine, but they are cracking me up!

The original image was given as a challenge for "So Artful".

I've entered this one.

Queen Eleanor and Fair Rosamund

"To Be A Queen"

The lives of King Henry II, his queen, Eleanor and his young mistress, Rosamund, are shot with legend and mystery. Did Eleanor murder Rosamund or did she, as some say, die quietly in the convent to which she finally fled?

And who was the culprit? The philandering king, the strong-willed, hard-hearted queen, or the young maiden, herself?

Many artists have taken up the brush to illustrate this story. The images I've chosen are from a painting by Evelyn de Morgan.

To learn more about the story go to The Woman in the Bower.

It's one of those wonderful "Olde Englishe Tales". :)

I've submitted it to

Think Monday - Think ATC

for the Kings and Queens challenge.

Background is done with gesso, inks, pen and ink and embossing.

I've used vintage gold glitter and glossy gold backing paper.

Fashion Postcard

Sunday Postcard Art ~ Digital 'Fashion' entry.

Artarazzi

Artarazzi presents a digital challenge, providing an image which must be digitally altered to create a piece of artwork.

Here is the original image for this week's challenge.

The one I've done is below.

"The Fugitive"