Constructed Heart #25

Just days before Christmas the sister of one of my students had an accident on an icy road and died. Any death is difficult, but a 24 year old young lady just days before a holiday is particularly difficult for family and friends. My heart and prayers have been focused on the family. This heart is dedicated to my student and her family.

The dark colors and words common in tragic situations reflect the "darkness" that we feel during such times. The dry brushed silver paint makes the blue/black look like cold, hard metal. Yet in tragedy there is hope and time heals all hearts. Metallic teal and words of hope and love are spreading up from the bottom of the heart. I pray the family will feel the healing presence of God and that rays of love will help heal their pain. We never forget a loss, but we go on with the strength of our loved ones.

Constructed Heart #24

I've needed a clock in my studio for quite a while. I did some prep work on this heart recently and finally got it made yesterday. I wanted to keep it whimsical as well as functional.

This is one of those pre-cut wood shapes from the craft store with a short-stemmed clock works. I painted the background with liquid acrylic red and stamped with Lumiere metallics. Numbers were painted with white first, then with the metallic teal. Small holes were drilled around the edge for wire stitching. I found I couldn't see the gold hands well, so I added black triangles of paper to make them more visible.

Constructed Heart #23

This isn't really "constructed," but it is the only heart I made Wednesday. My younger daughter gave me a new sketch book and pen for Christmas (my old one was nearly full).

Anyone who can count to 31 has probably noticed that my "daily" hearts haven't been so daily lately. Sure, I have been busy at work and with Christmasy stuff, but I'm normally busy with something or other. After pondering this for a bit, I realized a couple of things.

I had anticipated this thirty days of "constructed" hearts, imagining wonderful 3D creations of clay, polymer clay, knitted wire with beads and even some stuffed hearts. What I found was that most of my ideas for constructed hearts require much more time than I had or than was intended for the "daily" art projects. The point was for a bit of time playing with various materials, experimenting and (hopefully) developing my skills. The constructed hearts have become more frustrating and burdensome because they require more planning and time, though there is still some "play" involved.

I find myself longing for the little 3" felt hearts and the journal pages. These were quick. The felt hearts were portable. I loved dabbling with various paints and mediums on the journal pages (especially recycling old printer cleaning papers). And this is all very good! Since I love so many things, I often felt frustrated by lack of direction in my art. I still love to dabble in it all, but I'm happy to begin to identify some passion areas. As soon as my 30 constructed hearts are done, I'm back to felt for a while!

Constructed Heart #22

I bought some heavy interfacing and wanted to try drawing on it. Wanted to experiment with using this as a surface to show instead of just a filler between layers. Had an "oops" with my new Pearl-Ex powder. This needs more experimenting.

Constructed Heart #21

My daughter's friend was admiring my Peace heart outside, so I made her a tiny replica to take home with her.

Constructed Heart #20

Okay. So where's the heart? I decided to liberally interpret the concept of "heart" yesterday. (Actually, since I made the "rules" for making the hearts and they are just for me, I am free to interpret them in any way I want.) :-) It is art. It is constructed.

I work with the most amazing people. They come from a variety of cultures, backgrounds, experiences and opinions. We can have some great "discussions" in which there are few agreements. From the outside it would seem we have little in common and are unlikely to be friends.But we are. I am fascinated that we are so closely knit - even with new faces joining the staff. I can only surmise that it is our unified commitment to providing the best education for our students that binds us together. We can set aside our personal interests (at times) for the good of the kids. I am blessed to work with such a great group of individuals.

Most of you don't know that one of my creative mediums is food. My younger daughter and I cook competitively and invent recipes. This little creation was in honor of my colleagues. We have had a tough year with many changes and challenges. Yet they continue to put the students first and support each other. I wanted to invent a new holiday recipe and dedicate it to them and name it in their honor.

The delight pictured above is a Panther Holiday Dipper. It consists of apple-chipotle seasoned ham bites and a special cranberry-ginger sauce (made from fresh cranberries). - a bit of heat and spice, familiar holiday flavors and enough of a twist to make it uniquely theirs.

My heart is definitely "in there."

Constructed Heart #19

Most of the time she teaches writing to ungrateful teenagers. Though a few are writers themselves, most teens don't relish getting their nouns and verbs to agree nor all those other rules of English. She also teaches drama to students with a wide range of abilities. Tonight is the closing night for "The Outsiders." She puts her heart and soul into her work and into our students. She is an amazing lady who doesn't always have the time to devote to her own writing talents. This "Writer's Heart" is for Gayle. The small journal is attached with hook and loop tape, so she can read quotes about writing or jot a note of her own.

Constructed Heart #18

Tonight the wood cut outs and wire got into the act. I'm also working on another heart that has taken multiple days, so I'm not getting too bored with the repetition.

Constructed Heart #17

Sincere flattery? Or is my craft foil just jealous because I adore my wool felt? At any rate, it refused to be embossed tonight and insisted it needed the faux embroidery and buttons. Who was I to argue?

Constructed Heart #16

I love my wool felt. Just made a quick freehand heart and twisted some wire for a hanger. Stitched it together with blanket stitching and lightly stuffed with fiberfil. Had to add some buttons - I love the aged ones, especially shell ones.

Christmas Postcard

I finally finished one of the 4 Christmas postcards due to my group from ArtUMail. I was trying to get the tree to pop out to 3D. The glue, though dry, tends to stick and the bulk makes it hard for the card to lie flat. I'm not sure I'll attempt to make duplicates for the other 3 or if I'll create something new for them.

Constructed Heart #15

My daughter wanted to hang the packing tape heart in her locker at school, but it was too large and bulky. I agreed to make something flatter with a magnet just for her. I wanted to make a mosaic, so looked through our stash and found the boxes of "beads" (no holes) that I bought at a garage sale. Of course, I had to add some of my old buttons. Then, I decided that regular grout just wouldn't look right, so I used clear adhesive and those teeny weeny beads with no holes. She likes it. Her locker will be so stylin'!

Constructed Heart #14

I decided to try the beeswax again today. This heart ornament began with a heart cut from a scrap of a tissue box. I added the ribbon loop and sandwiched between two tissue paper hearts. Next came the doily and scrapbook paper heart. I added some mica powder and gold alcohol ink, but while noticeable, don't add the shimmer I was hoping for. I love old buttons, so added one on top of a scrap of lace. The heart is topped off with a couple more roses cut from the scrapbook paper. A touch of nostalgia.

Constructed Heart #13

I actually started this heart a few days ago, but realized I couldn't finish it in just one day. I purchased a 2' x 2' square of plywood, cut the shape with my jigsaw and sketched out the ideas. It isn't as nice as I had hoped, but not bad since painting is not really my "thing." I much prefer sewing or other fiber crafts. But we did need something for our lawn and since I'm making hearts anyway... It needs a bit of touch up on the edges and some kind of sealer to withstand the elements. For now, it will have to stay on the porch to be protected.

Constructed Heart #12

I was hours into a heart today when I realized I wouldn't finish, so back to the craft foil. Tried to color it with permanent markers and it looks okay. Next time, I need to borrow my friend's alcohol inks in all those jewel tone colors! That will look sharp!

We had a couple dozen snow flakes today - very tiny and melted on impact with our windshield, but we'll take any snow we can get. I know, many of you get too much snow in the winter, but here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon we can go years with no snow. And I love to build a snowman just as much as the other kids.

Constructed Heart #11

After admiring the mica powders on the clay heart, I wondered if I could make translucent polymer clay look like opal by mixing in the mica. It didn't work too well. There was some shimmer, but not much. I wound up dusting a bit of mica on the surface and it will make a nice pin, once I add the pin back.

Constructed Heart #10

Still fighting a cough and remnants of a cold, plus I've been very tired today, so I looked for something quick and easy! I grabbed the air-dry clay, rolled out a small slab and cut a freehand heart. I rolled small balls and placed them around the edge and poked through the ball and slab with the end of a paintbrush. I used the open end of a metal paintbrush to add texture to the middle. Then mica powders were brushed over the whole thing. Not all the balls adhered well, so will have to be glued once dry, but I love the look of the mica powders.

Constructed Heart #9 and a half

This was a total experiment. I've been interested in caustic wax collage, but haven't done anything about it. I've also dabbled with my soldering iron and never seem to get things to work right.

Well, I bent the wire and managed and ugly blob of solder at the join. I then layered some of my Christmas tissue paper, a Christmas tree charm, some threads, glitter and a shell button with hot beeswax. I stuck it in the freezer to harden and voila! Not great, but not bad for improv.



As long as I had that soldering iron hot, I decided to use my new glass slide squares. I layered music (with "heart" and some mica powder and used foil tape on the edges. I couldn't get the solder to work, but at least it is cute. (a "bonus" heart for today)

I must learn what I'm doing wrong with that solder. I use flux, heat the iron... and the solder just balls up and dribbles off, not sticking to the wires. I'll get it some day.

Constructed Heart #8

This isn't a happy heart, but it has hope. It is dedicated to my neighbor, Haley, as she recovers. Monday she was hit by a vehicle and the officers told me it appears her husband ran her over after a fight. I can only imagine. My heart and prayers are with her.

When I began hunting for inspiration for constructing a heart tonight, this was not my initial choice. I soon realized that my first idea would take hours longer than I had or was willing to invest tonight. I'll save that for the weekend. So, I looked high and low at my treasure trove of "stuff" and settled on this... packing tape (the old fashioned paper kind).

I bent some wire, scrunched paper around it and held it in place temporarily with blue painter's tape. I covered the whole thing paper mache style with strips of tape. (I bought a bunch of it at a rummage sale for a quarter - I read an article on how to make a dress form using this stiff tape and I can't wait to make one!) Some strips were cut in half lengthwise to fit the contours more easily.

A coat of red paint to start, then dry-brushed white in a criss-cross pattern reminiscent of gauze bandages. Highlights of gold speak of hope.

Constructed Heart #7

Wow. The photo actually looks better than the real thing! This 5" heart is made of craft foil, "tooled" with a dull pencil. (I find the metal embossing tools snag and scratch and feel yucky, so I prefer the pencil. I think the graphite helps it glide a bit better, too.) The large wrinkles were a "happy accident" and I like them. I finished it by experimenting with my new gold and silver alcohol inks. Didn't look great (wish I had the jeweltone set), so washed over the whole thing with brown Dye-na-flow. Done. Time for bed!

Heart Felt

I want "heart felt" to be more than just art in my life. I hope to live by my heart, too. But sometimes I'm just too disorganized.

Earlier this evening when I treated myself to some of my favorite oriental take out for dinner, I met a woman outside the Dollar Tree store. Actually, she approached me. You see, she and her daughter had been waiting over an hour for the cab that was called. Thankfully, the weather tonight isn't the drenching, wailing storm of the past two nights, but it is December and it is a bit nippy after the sun goes down. She and her daughter were stranded without the cab. She offered to pay for gas if I could drive them and their few parcels up the road a few miles. She was apologetic the whole time and offered that if I didn't feel comfortable with the idea she completely understood and was embarrassed to have asked.

You need to know that while I have been in humble straits a number of times, I don't generally give notice to all the needy people on street corners sporting those "hungry - will work for food - God bless" signs. I know too many of them are scammers and prefer to give my donations to established organizations that help, like the Salvation Army or the Union Gospel Mission. I'm not heartless - I'm proud that my daughter works with the homeless each week. We were homeless when she was born 17 1/2 years ago, but I don't "do" streetside donations.

However, this mom had the ring of truth all over her. I'm just recovering from a cold and the special treat of chicken with warm noodles and vegies was tugging at me to just go home. The biggest deterrent, though, was that mess in my car. Between the water bottles (in various stages of emptiness), assorted items left after different errands, un-picked-up trash and my granddaughter's car seat, there was honestly not enough room for the lady and her daughter. So, I left, trying to convince myself that I had no obligation to them and that either the cab would show up or some other kind soul would give them a ride.

I kept thinking about them through dinner and chided myself a bit. But for a messy car, I could have easily helped someone in need. That mess. I usually just feel guilty and berate myself over my lack of organization just because of how it looks, how embarrassed I feel and how much time I waste searching for things. I usually don't think it affects anyone else. But tonight it affected a woman holding a few sacks and standing in the cold with her daughter in front of the Dollar Tree store.

Constructed Heart #6

Not the prettiest thing, but boy! does it have a story!


At first I wondered what technique I'd want to use. I finally decided to make a needle-felted wool heart on wool flannel and then make it into a pillow. But first, I had to find my needle-felting tool! I am in the middle of reorganizing my spare room/studio (and I've been in the middle of doing this for at least 6 months), so this was no small task. I eventually realized I hadn't used it in nearly a year and finally found the right box.

I've really been fascinated by the needle felting I've seen and have decided I want a needle-felting machine, but all I can afford at this point is the hand tool. Unfortunately, while it managed to secure my wool roving to the background, I couldn't get any of my other wool scraps to felt together or to the background.

I gave up and decided to free-motion stitch my felt scrappy heart by machine. After breaking 3 needles, one bobbing and several threads, I gave up and had to complete the heart by hand. When adding a bit more roving to try to round out my original heart, I even broke one of the felting needles in the tool! I've concluded that the density of felted wool and top-stitching is just too much for any machine.

Unfortunately, this meant I couldn't finish yesterday and had to finish yesterday's heart this evening before dinner. Today's heart will be simpler and I will finish that this evening, too. (Is this computer wood? I just knocked on it anyway.)

Felt Hearts

I have uploaded my first group of 30 felt hearts. Each heart and the backing squares are handmade from recycled wool sweaters and garments. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Constructed Hearts

Felt Purse

Yesterday's "constructed" heart. A recycled-wool felt purse lined with oriental brocade. The purse is about 7" tall.

Entry #1

"I am an artist." There. I said it. Actually, I've said it to myself many times and in recent years I've come to believe it more strongly than ever before. To write and create are the reasons I was put on this earth. Now, how do I use those gifts effectively?

As part of my commitment to nurture my creative self, I have decided to accept the challenge of creating art every day. For the most part, I have succeeded. I am in my fourth 30-day block of making hearts. Each 30 days I use a different medium or process for creating hearts.

Back in August, I began with wool felt hearts. I love felting old sweaters from the thrift shop. There's something warm and comforting about the texture and muted colors of the wool. Each small wool heart was stitched onto a 3" wool felt square. Each completed "tile" is unique with various colors of embroidery floss, various shapes, buttons and beads. This has been the most satisfying unit to date (hence the name for this blog), so I plan to have another 30-days of felt hearts later in the year.

My second unit was "wild hearts" and was intended to encourage me to play with colors and techniques. Each heart was fabric and attached to a 6 1/2 inch fabric square. The hearts and squares were sometimes embellished. I found I didn't go as "wild" as I had predicted, so I'll have to attempt more wild hearts later.

The third group of hearts were created on 9" x 12" paper. Most of these were created on watercolor paper, but some on recycled cleaning mats from the offset press at work. I found I really preferred the cleaning sheets because they offered an initial wash of color and texture instead of a blank white ground. Hearts were drawn, painted or collaged onto the background paper. Some days I was pleased with my experiments, but some days I wanted to crumple them up! However, the goal is to experiment and try new things. Each "failure" is part of the learning process - I learned that from Thomas Edison!

Today I completed #5 in my series of "constructed" hearts. Today I used felt to make a heart-shaped purse. It is couched with yarn, sports a braided yarn handle and has a few beads to embellish (they look "lost" and random, but I was too tired to add more to keep them company). The inside has a nice oriental brocade and I successfully added a magnetic closure.

I'll add photos as I can. Comments are welcome.