Meet Phoebe-Time for Daydreaming

I'm sure I am not alone when I say I wish I had more time for daydreaming.  Sitting on the curb in the summer dreaming up adventures, lounging in the tub, or staring at the clouds and seeing fun shapes seems like a luxury out of my reach.  As I get older, it seems some of the time to just "percolate" evaporates.  But not for Phoebe, my latest creation.

She began in a relatively elaborate setting-- compared to her other buds in the Serendipity series.  I designed a wrought iron chair in front of a wallpapered wall---perhaps too ambitious a feat in paint and paper.  But when color inspiration struck and I wanted her her chair to be blue, my layering was suddenly all wrong.  Joyfully, mixed media is a medium that allows for major renovations with creativity and a dash of daring.

Phoebe has finally emerged----sitting pretty in her chair with giant bun feet.  She is quite adored by all of her bird friends as she daydreams the time away........

If you enjoyed this post, I humbly invite you to follow my feed on twitter (braitzatl) or visit my website at www.echcolothingcompany.etsy.com to see other creations.

Latest Paper Doll? Meet Casey in the Aspens

I am going to confess.  I love aspen trees- especially as they turn yellow and "twinkle" in the fall.  It's a magical combination against a western sky---and nothing along the East coast, except maybe for a flaming red maple, comes close.  So, as I continued my Serendipity series of grown-up paper dolls, I added Casey in the Aspens.

Working on this piece allowed me to literally peel the paper bark off the trees and put it back on again using various archival handmade papers from my flat file.  So fun!  And Casey watches it all, in her boots with skirt, hair and bow blowing in the breeze. (Gave me a momentary memory of Marlo Thomas in That Girl throwing her hat up in the air.) So much fun.  Can't wait to start another and really wish I could just snap my fingers and borrow that skirt tomorrow......

I humbly invite you to follow me on Twitter at braitzatl

Grown Up Paper Dolls

Is anyone out there old enough to remember playing with paper dolls?  When I was growing up, I would play with them from time to time before Barbie and all her clothes came along.  It was fun to play fashion   on paper and kind of funny that I am now doing it again- this time on canvas- years later.

When I began the fashion collages with the girls in my studio class, it was just to give them a little practice in designing and preparing a background with a focal point in mind, as well as to use some different mediums--paint, paper, oil crayon, etc.- to create their subject.  What was a practical exercise for them has become a new series for me.



This happy accident led led me to title my new series "Serendipity" which is defined as: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way such as "a fortunate stroke of serendipity".

Gigi- the latest piece- was really quite fun to create and came together rather quickly.  I fell in love with a certain paper from my flat file that had a steely gray background and some really happy Japanese cherry blossoms in reddish pinks and creams.  (This is kind of like choosing your socks then building your outfit around them.)  I wanted to paint a background that would bring out that particular color in a sea of black, red and grey papers, so I started with a medium pink and added some streaks of red, hotter pink and cream. Some wonderful cut out numbers gave the piece even more dimension. With the addition of one polka dotted hat and elegant black gloves,  Gigi is ready to take the town by storm----

For more musings, thoughts, and an occasional quip, follow me on braitzatl on Twitter. For real life creations, visit my website at www.echoclothingcompany.etsy.com

Serendipity Series Begins

For an artist, inspiration for various series come from different places.  Sometimes it is from an experience, maybe a memory, a color, or an idea in passing.  This time, it was the idea that all women can be strong and masterful, but still love to be special, unique, and memorable. In short, we are multi-layered and multi-faceted.  Much like mixed media- from many different things- that somehow combine into something special.

My new series is called Serendipity for the feeling of the word and optimism of the series.  I began my first- Chloe- as an exercise with my studio class.  Chloe is made of paint, newsprint, archival paper and finished off with a few sharpie swirls. Who wouldn't like more serendipity?

If you would like to follow my current musings, you can find me as braitzatl on Twitter.

Neat Ninja Assemblage

Who doesn't love the cute ninjas that run around in one of Gmails' email themes?  Well, in one of our recent Art Studios, I challenged the girls to create an assemblage as a sketchbook assignment.  (see "Collage is not just for Ransom Notes").  Enter Nikki and the Ninjas.





She has recreated a ninja painting at a low table.  Love the way she used a page of writing for the face, and cool paper for under the Ninja hood.  Love the pop of red!
















To complete the page, she used other Ninja pics, cut outs from magazines and flyers, and then finished it off with complementary prismacolor markers.  This side represents his work life.

The left side of the page, below, is full of his romantic escapades.  She snagged some fun pics with his lady and continued the theme across.  Love the overall effect and the color palette.

Overall, charming and very creative.  Just what entries in a sketchbook ought to be.  Think how much fun she will have coming across these pages for years to come.