Life & Art: Works in Progress

New Painting Class

2011-09-28T11:14:00.001-07:00

I started a new painting class today with a friend. The teacher/artist is Tracy Marshall, and I was thrilled to find a weekly class so close by. It only took 20 minutes to get there from my house. Check out her cool artwork at www.artbytjm.com

Here is the image I used as an inspiration.

Here is the result of my first 2 hour class. I will work on the bear next week.

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Art journal sketch

2011-09-01T10:40:00.001-07:00

Today's art journal entry was done while I was watching the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera on HBO today. I suppose I was subconsciously sketching Christine, lol.

I was going to finish it with acrylic after I finished the sketch, but I ended up liking her just the way she is.

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Today's art journal entry

2011-08-30T07:58:00.001-07:00

Know where this quote is from? I think it's a great daily affirmation.

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Reworking an old canvas

2011-08-28T20:40:00.001-07:00

Today I dug an old canvas out of the scrap pile and used a paint swatch to guide me for color inspiration. The canvas is 16x20 and the color pallets inspiration was as follows:

Here is the initial start at covering up the old content:

And here is the pile of collage papers I used to work with in keeping with the teal, cream, and light brown pallette:

I simply began placing papers at whatever place seemed right to my eye, being careful to turn the canvas often to get a fresh perspective. Herr are some in progress photos:

Next I brayered on some white acrylic paint to soften the look and added other circular collage elements as well as a focal image.

And lastly I added text. I wanted to leave this open to viewer interpretation a bit as to the meaning behind the piece. Here is the finished canvas. What does it say to you?

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Recycled Materials Art

2011-08-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

I recently joined the Hands and Heart ning group, and there is such a wealth of good information, tutorials, art discussion groups and just good people over there. I encourage you to go check it out here if you are interested in mixed media art.

One of the groups on the site is Artful Recycling. There's been a lot of good discussion about how to recycle materials such as cardboard, old cassette tapes, coasters, etc. by turning these things into art. I love the fact that this is a "green" way to create as well as the challenge aspect of stretching the imagination to figure out how to incorporate various materials into my art. Also, I find this to be extremely thrifty because cutting a piece of cardboard out of a trash box is a whole lot cheaper than buying a new canvas.

I wanted to share some photos of the pieces I've done using materials that were destined for the trash can. These are all on cardboard from old cereal boxes, etc. and they are all approximately 4"x12" (ish). Some of the other materials I used include old phone book pages, scraps of scrapbook paper that I dug out of my art room trash can, candy wrappers, old styrofoam which was used to give embellishments some dimension, acrylic paint (of course), old maps, and various embellishments I've had lying around for a while. I hope to keep creating these so that I can have enough to use for trades for next year's Art and Soul in Virginia.

After doing these for a while you start to look at your trash in a whole new light. My Husband has even started asking, "Is this trash or is this art supplies?" before He throws anything away. LOL!!!

Have a great weekend all!!

Joy

A link to the fix that repaired my "comment" issues

2011-08-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

I recently posted a gripe about how I was having problems replying to comments on my own blog. That was so very frustrating for me, and I did an internet search to see if anyone else was having the same problems and might have a fix.

I found a wonderful post that detailed how to fix the problem. I followed these steps, and my comment issues are fixed. Yay!!!!!! I wanted to post this link in case any of you were having similar issues.

Here's the blog with the repair post that details the fix:
http://livesmartbook.blogspot.com/2009/08/problems-with-blogger-comments.html

A Cool Technique for Polymer Clay

2011-08-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have not yet used this technique, but I wanted to share the link since it looks like a very cool technique. The folks at Craft Test Dummies have posted a video to share a way to use the Cricut machine to cut polymer clay. It looks fairly simple and yet a really novel way to combine two crafty items that I wouldn't have thought to put together. I hope to try this out, and I want to use the cut items to embellish mixed media pieces or to use in art journaling.

Here's the link:
http://www.crafttestdummies.com/craft-projects-2/how-to-cut-polymer-clay-with-the-cricut/

I'll share my results when I get a chance to try this out.

Happy weekend!

Joy

A Gripe about Blogger

2011-08-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

OK, I lovew blogger...seriously, I do. But the last couple of weeks I have been having issues that make me irritated with it.

I can't upload more than one image at a time in the compose view. It simply won't let me browse my folders for more images after I upload one already. Seriously irritating. I've been working around it by going into the edit posts screen and uploading images one at a time, but that's time-consuming and irritating.

And lately, I can't respond to any comments. How wrong is that?!?!?! It won't let me log in as myself, and when I FINALLY get logged in it says my account doesn't have those priviledges. It's my own blog!!!!! What the heck does that mean that I don't have those priviledges?

Have any of you had these issues and found a fix? Help? Somebody....anybody? :)

Joy

Art journaling

2011-08-10T11:21:00.001-07:00

I've been working on some art journaling lately. My subject matter has mostly been the things in life lately that are bringing me peace and happiness lately...the growing plants around our house, my new horse, friendship.

Here are some photos:

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Flower Power

2011-08-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

So I just can't get enough of finding and trying these flower-making tutorials lately. I'm trying several different methods with the thought of incorporating these into my art journals or mixed media pieces or even home decor. Check out this site for a whole list of different ways to make flowers out of tissue paper, crepe paper, etc., etc. http://tipnut.com/paper-flowers/

I made this one today in less than 5 minutes out of wired ribbon. So easy, and I can think of so many different ways to use these.

and another view:

Have any of you found ways to use a 3-dimensional type embellishment like this into your art? Any ideas you can share?

Banner and journal page

2011-07-29T15:03:00.001-07:00

Today I finished my "Play" banner that I started a couple weeks ago at my friend Heather's house. The banner is made of gessoed muslin with a variety of materials including felt, wire, paper, and ribbon. I will hang it in my studio to remind me to take time to play.

The other thing I finished was a journal page using the crepe paper rose tutorial I found last night online.

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Jackpot on the App Search

2011-07-28T07:16:00.001-07:00

This is a test to see if I was successful in my mobile blogging app search.

However to test the photo upload function, I thought I would share a photo of another art journal page I completed a couple weeks ago. :)

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Wow, what a hiatus....

2011-07-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing I have the blogging without obligations badge on my blog, cuz it surely has been quite a hiatus since I last blogged.

My Husband and I bought a new house and moved in. I'm happy to say we are settled in nicely and loving it here. I resigned from a job that was making me miserable and stealing the joy from my life (no pun intended), and right now I am a stay at home wife which both my husband and I are really enjoying. I have enjoyed making a better quality of life for us at home and taking care of other errands and such so that my Husband doesn't have to bother with things once he's off from work. Life is pretty darn good right now, I must say. :)

As for my art I have been a busy bee. I have really been enjoying art journaling, and I've also done a couple of mixed media pieces, one on a wooden board (a repurposed shelf, lol) and the other on a 16x20 canvas.

Here are a few of my art journal pages:

And here are the larger pieces:

I am looking for an iphone app that would allow me to use blogger on my mobile phone. I haven't had much success in the app store, so if anyone knows of a good blogger app for iphone please let me know.

I have more to share, but I'll save the rest of the updates for a later post. I'm anxious to go check on my favorite blogs and see what you all have been up to while I was away!

Have a great day!!

-Joy

Landscapes, Art Journal, and Jess Reno-inspired art

2011-05-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

I've had a pretty creative week and have finished some landscapes, an art journal page, and a Jesse Reno-inspired piece. Since my Husband was on call this weekend we weren't able to take a road trip, so today was devoted to hanging out around the house and doing art.

Here are the two landscapes I finished. These are part of the misty forest landscape class by Tim Gagnon that I signed up for recently. I'm enjoying the class very much, although the videos are glitchy. The class is turning out to be very interesting for learning about shading and light sources. Here are the first two finished landscapes of the class:

Today I also finished an art journal page: "Soar". I've noticed that a lot of my art journal pages have a growth or serenity theme. My life is professionally at a cross-roads right now, so I understand why the theme keeps coming through, although it's definitely a sub-conscious thing.

And lastly I finished a piece in the style of Jesse Reno. His style is very very different than my own, but I have enjoyed playing around with the technique since returning from Art and Soul. It is definitely a very free experience and also a method that tends to invest much more of your self into the finished piece. Here is the finished piece "Chrysalis":

Next time I try this method I really need to take in progress pictures. This piece looks totally different than it did when I put down the first layer of paint. It's very in keeping with the change and growth theme that seems to be showing up in all my art lately. Sometimes the universe speaks to you so loudly it's just hard to ignore! :)

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Hope you have a great long weekend.

-Joy

Happy Birthday Heather!!!

2011-05-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

"It takes a lifetime to thank a true friend for everything that they have given you."

Happy birthday to my best friend Heather! Thank you for all the times you've been an inspiration, a partner in crime, a shoulder to cry on, and an influence on how to view the world.

If you have a moment, go over and visit her blog, see her great art, and wish her a Happy Birthday!!

Assemblage and Art Journal Pages

2011-05-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Work has been so crummy lately that only the following things are keeping me sane: my Huband, my Friends, my art, and my martial arts. I've been creating a lot of things lately, mostly as a way to decompress. Truth be told though, Art and Soul really left me feeling inspired as well. It's like I just can't get in enough art time lately. :)

While at Art and Soul I picked up the Zentangle book I've been wanting for forever. I did my first Zentangle in my art journal here:

The background is nothing special, just a way to eliminate the whiteness of the page. But I did enjoy doing the zentange....very relaxing and stimulating as a way to warm up creative thought processes.

This art journal page was done with papers and images I had left over, and was a very intuitive collage-type work.

This little guy is an image transfer (contact paper method) of a sketch I did years ago from a drawing tutorial book. I did the image transfer and then attached it to scrapbook paper and finished him off with buttons at the appropriate areas.

I also completed a day of the dead inspired assemblage last weekend. Here is the beginning materials:

And since I needed some metal from one of my metal cigar tins, I got my Husband to help me deconstruct it:

And here are a few shots of the finished product:

The church is a modified bird house, the base is the top of an old cigar box. There are various bits of metal from a metal cigar tin, and the garland on the church is made from wire, beads, and string. I found the day of the dead figures at a local antique mall. It's a very simple assemblage but was a lot of fun to make.

I'm off to do a landscape painting from a tutorial I've been looking forward to all week. I hope to share the results a little later.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

-Joy

Finishing up the Art and Soul recap

2011-05-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share the finished pieces from the last 2 Art and Soul classes, Freedom to Create with Jesse Reno and Wabi Sabi Wax with Serena Barton.

In Freedom to Create, I really had to stretch my own ideas of how to create art. We started with no particular subject in mind and just immersed ourselves in the process and let the painting talk to us. For the first portion of the class we didn't even pick up a paintbrush....we used our hands. I enjoyed that tremendously, but it was strange how mentally challenging it was to pour so much of your own thoughts and symbolism into the work. When we had a foundation of color laid down with our hands we examined it for areas or portions which emerged as a focal point, then we painted out the rest. It is a raw, primal way of creating and is very much more difficult than I thought it would be. Here is my work:

and the other:

Funny how I managed to make something very primal and raw in construction still end up feeling whimsical, lol. Something tells me I didn't quite "stretch" enough.

And the last class was Wabi Sabi wax. I had looked forward to this class since we signed up, since I was so intimidated by encaustic. I'm so happy I took Serena's class, because I had such a major epiphany. I feel much more confident with the encaustic medium. Confident enough at least to have fun experimenting at home and trying to improve my skill.

Here's my work from the encaustic class:

and these ladies:

I framed the last two today and gave them to a friend as an anniversary gift. She seemed to really like them (yay!!).

I hope to go to Art and Soul again next year. This retreat fed my creative soul so much. I have been inspired to create every single day since I've been back.

In other non-art news, we are buying a house. I am excited, but it is at the time in the process when we are getting inspections done, evaluating the inspection results, etc. I'm trying not to become emotionally attached to the house, but I do like it very much. If everything works out (we have some concerns about the inspection results) I hope we can close by the end of the month.

That's all for now....gonna go see what all my blog friends have been up to. :)

-Joy

Art and Soul, Day 3

2011-05-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

On day 3 of Art and Soul we took the Resin Journal class with Ty and Marcia Schultz. Visit their blog here. We actually made several different things with resin in the class: a ring, several resin papers, and either journal covers or collage-type works on canvas boards. I decided to make collage works on the canvas boards and coat them with resin rather than making journal covers.

First we made the rings and filled them with resin so that they would have time to cure by the time class was over. I happened to have some Art Chix images on hand, and they fit perfectly in the ring blank. I used an image of a beautiful lady for my ring, but I want to make a more 3-D ring with structure sometime soon at home. Here is a pic of the rings my friend Heather and I made. My ring is on the left, and her beautiful ring is on the right:

While our rings were curing we went on to start our canvas board collages. I tried to use a mix of papers, images, and 3-D embellishments. Here is my first one:

And here is my other, the beautiful princess:

I really enjoy how the canvases turned out. We also made some gorgeous resin papers, which can be glued, sewn, etc. I didn't photograph my resin papers, but I had some origami paper which is stunning when coated with resin. I did try coating fabric with resin, which theoretically will work, but I did not enjoy how it looked or felt. I can't wait to see how I can use the resin papers in other works.

So on Saturday night after class we met up with some folks from Gary Reef's ning group. They were a fun group, and one of the members brought berets and fake mustaches for everyone. It was HILLARIOUS to see everyone wearing them. Here is a pic of me and Heather in our berets and mustaches...cuz every "real" artist should have a beret and a mustache, lol.

So after this pic was snapped I called it a night to prepare for the next day. Art and Soul is truly an exhausting experience, packing in so much fun in so little time. :)

Ok, another post about day 4 coming soon. I have had a great weekend creating assemblages and art journal pages. I'm addicted to the art journaling experience, and I'm blaming Ophelia for that since she inspired me so much at a recent visit to Jerry's Artarama in Raleigh. :)

Recap of Art and Soul, Day 2

2011-05-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

More about Art and Soul....cuz really, I can't say enough about how wonderful it was. Day 2 my class was The Women of Juarez by Linda and Opie O'Brien. Go read their blog here. This was an assemblage class which is completely not my forte.

We made assemblage shrines dedicated to the women of Juarez. To quote Linda and Opie's blog:
"Our love of Mexico is a well known fact. We’ve been going there since the late 80’s. The art, the colors, the food and the people continue to touch our hearts, enrich our lives, and influence our art. This Friday workshop is a bit more personal and pays homage to the women of Juarez. The violence there against women is ongoing and no secret. Movies have been made, stories have been told, yet it continues.
This workshop is about awareness and empowerment and adding our voice once again to stopping violence against all women by creating a unique box construction shrine to house a dress that we will make from colorful tin cans, a vintage tin type, and some of your favorite beads, charms, Milagros, fibers, etc., using our favorite collage and assemblage techniques. "

I think their statement pretty much sums it up. It was a very moving topic to inspire our assemblage, but in addition to that I also learned so much about making attachments without using glue. I have so many ideas about what I want to do with my leftover tin!!!

Here is the piece I created in class:

I like it a lot. I am so inspired to use these techniques again.

So also on Friday I took an evening class as well called A Trio of Transfers by Lesley Venable. Visit her blog here. Her husband made home made cookies and brownies for our class, and let me just say YUM!! I learned a lot about transfers with transfer ink solution, contact paper, and saran wrap....yes....saran wrap. I didn't necessarily do a full canvas work or anything, but I did finish an art journal page and 2 tags with techniques I learned in class.

Here is my art journal page using the transfer ink solution:

And here is one of the tags I made using the contact paper transfer technique:

By the end of Friday I was just so tired, but also excited by all the things I had learned.

I'll continue my Art and Soul recap soon. Hope you are all having a most wonderful week!

-Joy

Back from Art and Soul

2011-05-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

All I can say is Wowwwwww. Art and Soul retreat in Hampton, VA was simply amazing. It was strangely exhausting, but in a good way. I know that doesn't make sense, but every night I was so tired after the class, but exhilerated at the same time. I'm glad I took today off to recuperate.

I have so many experiences and photos to share, but I want to break it down into various posts so that it's more manageable and I can stretch out the fun of revisiting what a great time I had, lol.

So on Wednesday after work I began my drive to Hampton, VA. I first drove to the Newport News airport to pick up my best friend, and it was great timing because we both arrived at about the same time, despite various delays for both of us. We stopped to get snacks for the hotel then checked in.

On Thursday morning we had "A Fluid Romance" by Kari McNight. Visit her blog here! She was such a sweetheart, and I really enjoyed her teaching style. We learned about how to better work with fluid acrylics, how to better use matte medium (the bestest of mediums, I am now convinced), and details about optical color mixing versus physical color mixing. Great stuff!!

I did a piece in the class where I mixed one of my own sketches with one of the images that Kari provided for us. The theme of my piece is supposed to envoke a sense of the central figure (the guy) being conflicted between his sense of duty and his love of a woman. I was so happy when I brought it home, my husband loved it, and when I asked him what it said to him he explained exactly what I had intended to convey. Yay! Here is a picture of me with my work (messy hair and all):

And below is a pic of my finished piece:

And aside from the class, there were the trades. OMG, the trades. I can't even begin to describe how cool trading art or supplies with other artists is. I got such good stuff in return for the things I prepared to trade. And the warmth of the people was just beautiful.

So I'll post tomorrow about day 2. It was equally amazing. :) Off today to go do some art and some real-world errands. Have a great day!

-Joy

Catching up...

2011-04-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, Art and Soul is just days away. I am so excited, but there is so much to do too. This weekend my friend Heather came up and we had a great weekend filled with art time, a trip to Jerry's Artarama, and just hanging out.

Saturday, we went to Raleigh to go to Jerry's Artarama. We both needed some items for Art and Soul, and what better place to go?? We met a lovely artist there, Ophelia, who was demonstrating some great art products. In fact, you can see her blog here. What a lovely lady, with an enthusiastic spirit. I loved seeing how acrylic inks work, and I purchased some bottles to try. I have loved working with them in my art journal. Here are a couple of pages I did this weekend using my new supplies:

And another (The Stars Are Within Your Reach):

I also was able to finish up a couple more trades for Art and Soul. I hope some people will like these whimsy girls collage pieces. They make me smile. Here are the two I finished this weekend:

This one is "Slave to Fashion":

And the other one is "Beautiful Princess":

Tonight I'm going to finish packing up my boxes of supplies for Art and Soul. And hopefully I will be able to finish at least a couple more trades before I go.

I have to share this cool picture of me and my Husband. We went from Jerry's Artarama over to the Melting Pot for an early dinner (what a great day, huh??), and that's where this was taken:

So that was my wonderful weekend. Hope you had a wonderful one of your own. :)

-Joy

Working on Art and Soul Trades

2011-03-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

Didn't have very much time for art this week, but I did have some time today to work on trades to take with me for Art and Soul. I'm trying to make items to trade that are small and packable, since folks travel a long distance to come to the retreat. I've made some ATCs, but I worked today on some tradeable canvases (small ones). I enjoy a very whimsical art style, and I hope that will be enjoyable to the people at Art and soul ('cuz I'm not too good at creating anything else...).

So I had a page on heavy watercolor paper where I had been practicing drawing whimsical faces. I finished the faces using watersoluble crayons, and I decided to use them in combination with some bodies I had cut out of magazines or books. I combined them collage-fashion on some 5x7 and 8x10 canvases along with some mixed media background techniques. Here's what I finished today:

Here is "Style" on 5x7 canvas board:

The next one is "L is for Love" on 5x7 canvas board:

Next is "High Maintenance" on 5x7 canvas board:

The next one is "Diva", and she's on an 8x10 canvas (this is a very poor picture, I think she looks lots better in person):

And the last one I finished was done in conjunction with some paperdoll clothes from a book my friend Heather got for me. It is on an 8x10 canvas also. I called her "Magic", and I really like this one. I may decide to keep this one.....

All in all, we've had quite a lazy weekend, which we really needed. I think I'll go read some art blogs now, and see what you have all been up to in your art adventures. :)

-Joy

A stressful week

2011-03-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a crazy stressful week. My Husband and I are in the process of selling a house that has been on the market for over a year now. It's an extreme relief to have this almost done, but working out the logistics of how to close and how to get the rest of the stuff out of the house (it's in Texas, and we're now in North Carolina) has been crazy stressful. Thankfully it will all be over tomorrow, when the buyers sign the closing papers. *whew*

Haven't had much time for art this week, but I did finish a piece yesterday. I had been browsing the current issue of Somerset Studio magazine before bed one night and was really enjoying the Kelly Rae Roberts artist portfolio article. So yesterday while I was waiting for Husband to get back from Texas, I dragged out an old canvas that had been living in the box of shame. The box of shame is where all the unfinished canvases I'm unhappy with go to stay. It's the box of canvases that are started but just never went anywhere good.....you know, the train wrecks that you just want to paint over and start again. :)

I decided to rework one of these canvases into something in the style of Kelly Rae Roberts. I find her work very inspiring, very sweet, almost vintage in appearance, but whimsical as well. I really enjoy her artwork. So just as we did in the M3 course where we worked in the style of another artist to inspire something of our own creation, I used the work of Kelly Rae Roberts to inspire this piece.

The canvas is 16x20, with many, many different materials: lace, cardboard, crackle paint, scrapbooking paper, loose canvas (for the girl and the text), hand made papers, glitter paint, acrylic, and water soluble crayons. Can you see the Kelly Rae Roberts influence? I see it, but I see a little of myself in there too. :)

Have a wonderful week ahead. I'm hoping to maybe get in some more art time today. Need to work on art and soul trades, but there's some fabric tutorials online I've been wanting to try.

-Joy

Adventures During this Beautiful Weekend

2011-03-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

During the cold, winter months my Husband and I stay in the house a lot. Neither of us enjoys the cold weather, so when decent weather arrives, we take every advantage of the chance to get rid of the cabin fever. This weekend, we had WONDERFUL weather here....sunny, about 70 degrees. We broke out the adventure backpack for both Saturday and Sunday. The adventure backpack? That's our name for the backpack we use to carry into the wilderness for our adventures....hiking, biking, boating, etc. The adventure backpack holds basic survival stuff (hey, don't laugh...we've watched too many shows about being lost in the wilderness), binoculars, trail maps, water, camera, etc.

On Saturday, the adventure of the day was mountain biking! I love mountain biking....it's really challenging, but so much fun. There's also an element of risk and thrill involved. Especially when my Husband is in the front, and I'm trying to keep up. He absolutely flies over rocks and roots and ravines at a veritable speed of light, while I'm in the back trying to keep up muttering 4-letter words under my breath, convinced I'm about to do a face-plant into a tree. But I'm also laughing the whole way, getting an adrenaline rush, and enjoying the journey. Here's a photo of our mountain bike trail by the lake:

Beautiful, huh? Trust me, the trail looks easy in this photo, but there's more parts of it that's rocky, rooty, steep, and narrow. We stopped half-way for a much-needed water break, and I snapped a quick photo of us:

Love the helmets? :) Mine has pink flames, lol. I love how my handsome Hubby can rock a dorky-looking bicycle helmet. We managed to finish the trail with only a few bruises, but a whole lot of fun.
Here's me at the end of the trail:

Forgive my sweatshirt, bandana, totally-exhausted look. :) We wandered down by the lake to finish our water and relax for a bit. What a great day we had.

On to Sunday. The Sunday adventure was the first hike of the year, with our two dogs. Now our dogs are not the typical hiking dogs. We have a min pin and a daschund. LOL, we have ankle biters, but we take them hiking....in ruffly harnesses.

We chose a relatively easy trail, 'cuz we were a little sore from the biking. Our min pin lead the way:

Can you see our min pin in the picture? Notice, if you can, the pink ruffly harness. Complete cuteness!

Here's another picture of complete cuteness....Dixie, our daschund, with her own ruffly harness:

The dogs really had fun. And so did we. :) Here's my Hubby during one of our rest stops:

Notice the adventure backpack?? Anyways, we hiked on a bit, and Dixie got tired. She decided that the trail was a good place for a nap:

She takes advantage of every stop to take a rest. :) The vet says she needs to lose a little weight, so I guess I understand. But when we start moving, she's ready to go again. You'll notice I don't have a lot of photos of our min pin, Pepper. The problem is she wouldn't sit or stand still long enough to snap her picture. She doesn't take as many rest stops as Dixie. I did manage to get some wonderful scenery pictures:

I have no idea what these little plants are, but I think they are gorgeous, and so so green! It's a tangible piece of evidence that Spring is upon us. Next photo is the waterfall over the dam:

It's a beautiful place for a picnic lunch. But we were ready to head on home, so we hiked on out of the trail. Dixie was more than ready to go home, as you can see from the picture below:

lol, She was definitely tired, as we all were.

All in all, we have had a super weekend full of adventures. Tonight, I had some oil paint leftover from the painting I shared recently, so I painted this:

It's nothing really frame-worthy, but it was nice to practice and use up paint that would have otherwise dried up or gone unused.

It's been a full weekend, and I'm definitely headed to bed early tonight. Hope you all have a great week ahead!

-Joy

2 Finished Projects

2011-03-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

Good Morning! It's a bright, sunny Saturday here in North Carolina. The temperature is still a little cold, but once it warms up a bit my Husband and I are planning a mountain bike ride. Yay!!!!!! This will be our first ride of the year, and I can't wait to get out on the trail. Hopefully it will be warm enough to wear shorts today.....the last time I wore pants on the mountain bike I had a very embarrassing incident with my pants stuck in the bike chain. Yeah.......not too graceful, lol!! I ended up riding all the way back to the trail head with one long pants leg and one cut off above the knee. Can't complain though, it's a memory my Husband and I still laugh at anytime we think of it.

So, in recent art developments I completd a couple things this week. First, I completed my fatbook pages for the Loving Mixed Media fatbook swap for Art and Soul. I got them mailed off yesterday, and I'm glad I was able to meet the deadline. This was my first fatbook page, but it was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see what the final bound book will look like. Here is my finished page:

(OK, so no matter what I do, blogger turns this picture on its side. Very irritating to have to tilt your head to look at it, but you get the general drift.) The text on the page is an Irish blessing which says:

May the sun shine all day long, everything go right and nothing wrong. May those you love bring love back to you, and may all the wishes you wish come true! --Irish Blessing

The background was done with watercolor crayons, acrylic paint, ink and stamps, oil pastels, torn book pages, and gold leaf. Essentially, it's the everything but the kitchen sink technique. :) I put eyelets on the side and threaded gold ribbon through them to create little gold streamers to hang outside the finished book. I hope the group will like my page, as there are some very talented people in the group.

Also this week I finished a Bob Ross oil painting. I haven't done one of these in a while, so it was fun to do. This one is probably going to be a gift for a co-worker because she saw the painting I have in my office and asked if I would complete one for her as well. I really enjoy working with this particular lady, so I may gift this painting to her. Her favorite colors are purple and gray, so I think she may like this:

I'm by no means an expert in oil painting, but I really enjoy creating these. Bob Ross was right when he called them Happy Trees. :)

Time to go gear up for our mountain biking adventure. Hope I remember how to ride, lol. Have a most wonderful day filled with your own adventures!!

-Joy

Lotsa ATCs

2011-03-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Since finishing my mermaid for the M3 course, I have done a lot of ATCs for swapping. Hopefully these will go with me to the Hampton, VA Art and Soul in late April. I need to get started on my fatbook, but I don't have any composition ideas yet. So until inspiration strikes, I will work on ATCs for trading.

I thought I would share some photos of the ATCs I've completed:

First is Floral:

Next is Pocketful of Posies:

From This Day Forward:

A Moment in Time:

SuperStar:

First Love:

Lady Luck:

and Blue Christmas (lol, I'm either really late or really early for the Christmas season....)

Besides the ATCs, I also dabbled a little bit in my encaustic paint. It was an utter disaster. The videos I've watched and the books I've read make it look easy, but it's NOT. I put them away until I can take a class because I was getting so frustrated.

I think I will go get started on my Fairies and Unicorns video for the M3 course. I believe this is the last installment in the course. I have utterly enjoyed it, and am already thinking about the next class I can take, lol. There is a landscape oil painting class I've really got my eye on.

Have a most wonderful weekend!!

-Joy

M3 Course Mermaid

2011-03-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

Well after really struggling with the M3 Course Mermaid week, I have finally finished. Why did I struggle with this lesson? We were to create a Chagall-inspired mermaid. And quite honestly, I really dislike Chagall. I can appreciate the dream-like quality of his work and the whimsical, nonsensical (chickens????) style, but in terms of his figures and composition I just can't dig it. I tried to work through the block that the lesson presented, but in the end I have to admit that I caved in and returned to the style that I enjoy.

My mermaid is on an 11x17 wood panel. She started, of course, with the initial sketch:

Next, I laid down some base colors with water-soluble crayons and acrylic paint:

The next step was to start the background. I used torn book pages, stamps and ink, brayered paint, and mica flakes. I also added strands of hair to add some interest:

So I finished her up tonight. I added some oil pastels, some crystals to give the illusion of bubbles, and I gave her (and the fish) mega-thick eyelashes. *grin* Here she is, finished:

And although I did cave in and not truly complet a Chagall-inspired mermaid, I do enjoy how she turned out. And really, that's kind of the best thing about art.....when you "cheat" it's really just expressing your own artistic vision. At least that's my story....and I'm sticking to it! lol

I've also been working on some ATCs for Art and Soul. I have 3 completed especially to take for trade and need to complete many more. Luckily I have plenty of ideas, just need the time to work on them.

The weekend is coming soon....hope you have wonderful plans!

-Joy

Quick Update

2011-02-25T05:02:00.000-08:00

It has been a whirlwind week for me. I travelled to Atlanta, GA for a work conference and only returned yesterday afternoon. The very bright spot in my trip was that my best friends live down that way, and I was able to meet up with them and hang out after the conference was finished a couple days. I am exhausted, and I want nothing more than to stay home all day and nap, paint, and sew. I do have to go to work, however, and I'm reaching down deep to find the motivation to get ready to go to work today.

Thought I'd give a quick update on the week thus far though.....and no, I'm not procrastinating on getting ready for work.....ok, well yes I guess I am. :)

I'm working on some trades and a couple projects for the very quickly-approaching Art and Soul retreat. I cannot wait for this!!!! I am going with Heather, and I know we will have the best time ever. I can't wait to learn some new things. I just signed up for a fat book swap, which will be the first fat book I have ever done. I hope I get it right! I'm also making a lot of ATC and ephemera swaps to take with me for random trades.

I'm learning a lot about sewing. I am working on a project for Art and Soul which has heavily used my sewing machine, but I don't want to share that until it is finished. :) But, the point is I am LOVING it and so far I have not stitched any finger together, lol.

This weekend we don't have travel plans (Yay!!!!), so I hope to have lots of art time. You know how frustrating it is when your creative muse is silent and you have a creative block? I think it's almost equally frustrating when your creative muse is compelling you to create, and you're full of all these ideas but have no time to work on them.

Hope you have all had a beautiful week. Here's 3 cheers for FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

-Joy

Finished M3 Course Angel

2011-02-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

I am thoroughly enjoying my Magical Mythical Makings (M3) class, but I have gotten a bit behind on the schedule. Luckily, it's a self-paced course, so it's all good.

I shared my Goddess a little while ago, but I also wanted to share my Alphonse Mucha-inspired Angel. Prior to this course, I had never heard of Alphonse Mucha, but I quite like his style. See some google images of his work here. Notice the ornate backgrounds, the architectural-esque (is that even a word? lol) elements, the intricate loveliness....well, my description doesn't do it justice. Go google him!

This piece is on 11x15 watercolor paper. It is truly mixed media....and I say that because I pretty much used everything but the kitchen sink to create this, lol. Some of the materials included watercolor crayons, acrylic paint, stamps & ink, gold leaf, oil pastels, prismacolor markers, and loose confetti-type stuff.

The theme for the week was unconditional love and protection. I'm pleased with how the piece conveys that feeling to me. See what you think:

Somewhat unrelated, I discovered JoAnn's Fabrics store today. OMG, I LOVE that place. I went there during my lunch hour today and got so wrapped up in shopping heaven that I was almost late going back to work. :) I can already see that I'm going to have to enter that store with a budget in mind. My sewing adventure is going well. I have many plans, lol. I'm really enjoying learning to sew, and it has opened up all kinds of crafty ideas and notions for me.

Happy Friday everyone, and hope you have a lovely weekend planned!

-Joy

This Week in Art

2011-02-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

In this week's art-related news I have completed some cute backgrounds on canvas boards, finished several ATCs for swapping, did some sketching, and received a wonderful present from my Husband! I have some photos to share, and what I noticed is that a lot of what I've worked on this week has a Valentine's Day feel to it. And yet....I still am behind on my Valentine's day gifts. *sigh* My initial thought isn't going to work out so now I'm brainstorming about what plan B should be.

Here's my lunch time sketch from earlier this week. She's a little shy, and clearly besotted with an unknown love interest. I like her, and I think I would love to finish it on canvas with some paint.

Here are the backgrounds I've been playing around with. I am now totally lost about what to do with them, but as they are all laid out here together I love the colorful appearance. :) It looks like a confetti explosion, lol. Underneath the confetti explosion on these canvas boards are some old pieces that I hated. This is one way to give them new life. Now I just need some inspiration about what to do with them next, lol.

I wanted to share the ATCs I finished. These are not committed to any swaps yet, but I thought I should get a head start on making ATCs for the upcoming Art and Soul retreat.

Here is Amore:

Next is Bloom:

Below is Vintage Love:

And lastly Chrysalis:

Today I got the bestest present for Valentine's Day. My Husband got me a sewing machine and all the accessories!!!! I want to learn to sew so bad (not to make clothes necessarily, but more to do art and mixed media stuff). I am so excited that I got the sewing machine, and I plan to start learning how to use it later today. Here's my present:

Now I need "Sewing for Dummies" or something, lol. To be honest this thing intimidates the heck outta me!! Wish me luck on the learning curve!

Off to go learn to sew. Have a happy Sunday everyone!

-Joy

Some Finished ATCs

2011-02-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

I finished several ATCs yesterday. 3 were for a swap, 1 was for the swap hostess, and 1 was just 'cuz I was on a roll, lol. Have a look:

Life's Roses

She's a Little Vixen!

Destiny.

Be Fierce!

Hero.

So I was happy to get my swap mailed out today. I hope someone will enjoy what I've created. I mailed off all of these except Destiny. That one will go in my album for perhaps a future swap.

You may notice my blog has a new look! I totally love it! I grabbed the background & the header from a very cool blog (Cute n Cool Blog Stuff). I encourage you to visit and check out all the FREE stuff for your blog.

My mission for the rest of this week is to finish my Valentine's day gifts. I am so behind on those. I know what I want to do, I just need some hours to focus on working on them.

Happy Valentine's Day (early) everyone!

-Joy

Something From Nothing

2011-02-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

I just got back home from an absolutely wonderful weekend visiting with my parents, sister, and my little nephew Aidan (who is 4 weeks old now). He is too adorable for words, and he has stolen my heart so completely. I'm glad to be home though. I have been travelling for what seems like every weekend this past month. I'm ready for a weekend at home, and hopefully we will have one of those at the end of this week.

I have finished my latest piece. I posted a WIP picture of her in my last post, but I thought I'd show some pictures of how she evolved and the sources that inspired me along the way. I started with the intention to create something beautiful from "nothing". I really enjoy making art from junk. There is beauty in the process of altering something of no value and making it something that is beautiful to the eye. So this piece started with a trip to the salvation army, where I found tons of stuff to use in art for very little money. I used the following youtube videos as a model for technique and for inspiration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a59mFa-l064

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCPEOGvmYXc

Go check out these videos! They are great tutorials.

So, here's how it all started:

There's my record from the salvation army, my old friend gel medium, and some really old hoop earrings that were too tarnished/worn out to wear anymore. They will ultimately be covered up, but they do add great texture.

Here's the next step:

I've covered the whole thing with a couple layers of aluminum foil, and used a stylus tool to bring some of the details to the front. I love all the texture this has. :) Now I'm ready to add some color:

I put down a base of gold with some brushes of hot pink (cuz how can you go wrong with hot pink?). Then I hit the high parts with some dry brushing of black just to make the texture more prominent. At this point the base is pretty much done, and I can start on my doll:

Keeping with the theme of making something out of nothing, I used an old cardboard snack box and sketched out a form for my "doll". I cut it out and applied a base coat of color and inked the edges:

And at this point, since I'm a huge fan of texture, I decided to add some texture to her skirt using egg shells and wood glue:

And at this point I started pulling together the finishing touches. I formed a face out of polymer clay and a mold. After baking it in the oven I applied a bit of color with some simple markers. Then I painted her skirt and applied some paper flowers and leaves. I also decided that she needed some buttons for her lady parts, lol. :) I created her wings with coffee filters, dressed up with some paint and bling. I also added some paper flowers to the record to integrate her with the background better. I used some letter tiles to spell out "create" to remind myself that opportunities to create are everywhere. And as a final step, I glued her to the record with E6000, which is truly awesome stuff. So here she is, and I called her simply "Something from Nothing":

This same look could probably have been achieved in a much simpler fashion, but I really had a good time trying out new techniques and just simply playing around to see what I could make out of items that would normally just be trash.

-Joy

A Quick Post to share a WIP

2011-02-04T04:49:00.000-08:00

Funny that I haven't blogged this week because I've been just CONSUMED by working in my art room. I've made some ATCs for a mixed media swap (not entirely happy with those yet....they still need some work before they are swap-able) and I've started working on an altered record. I totally scored with a lunch time trip to the salvation army near my work. I got tons of items that I can alter or use for assemblage for $20. What a great deal!

So one of the items I purchased was an old album. I think it was titled Songs of America or something. I thought it would be a great base for something to alter and hang on my wall in the art room!

I've been playing with this thing all week. What fun I've had creating this, and it's by no means done. Just wanted to share a quick pic of the work in progress. She is my creative muse...the one who won't shut up this week, lol, ....the one who sees possibilities for beauty in junk.....the one who loves color and texture and grunge and flowers. I like her. So she's not done, she still needs wings I think. But here she is so far:

I've been taking photos of the process along the way. I'll post more later on how she was "born".

Going to my mom's tonight to meet up with my sister and visit my new little nephew. He is the newest little man in my life, and such a heart stealer. I can't wait, it's going to be so much fun.

Have a great weekend!!

Joy

A couple of finished pieces

2011-01-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

Just got back home from a Fabulous weekend with friends. We had such a great weekend, as we always do. Although we had a very busy weekend, we were able to fit in some art time. My friend Heather had seen a great tutorial on Suzan Buckner's blog, and we used that to guide us. We both tried to use different color schemes or different subjects than what we normally use, and both pieces turned out so great! I love both of them.

Here is my finished piece from this weekend's art day. It's called "Love Song". Notice the "143"? 143 is code for "I Love You". ("I" has 1 letter....."Love" has 4 letters...."You" has 3 letters, hence 143). And of course the birds are love birds, singing their love song to each other. :) It is on wooden panel, so that's a bit different for me, but I loved the texture of working on wood. And the colors are not a pallette I normally use, although I love the "shabby chic" look of it.

Speaking of my friend Heather, I have to share my Bob Ross that she got me.

I love Bob Ross. I love doing oil painting landscapes using his techniques. Bob Ross landscapes totally got me over my fear of oil paints. So this little guy is a finger puppet, and he now has a permanent new home perched on the top of my easel. I think he's going to make a wonderful muse. :)

Another art-related development is that I got my fingerless gloves that I purchased on ebay. Tam (Willowing) uses these in her art course videos, and I love them. I seem to always have cold hands, and these babies are sooooo warm! Lookie!

I have one more item on my "show and tell" list today. :) I finished my M3 course Goddess!!!! I am so happy with her. I could probly tweak small things forever on her, but I've decided that she is "done". She is the goddess of strength and serenity. She is a reminder to me that in the face of turmoil, a woman can be beautiful, strong, and serene. That is what I hope for myself and what I am working toward.

Here she is:

OK, that's all I've got for today. Hope each of you have has a weekend that was as wonderful as mine was!

-Joy

Creating An Inspirational Space

2011-01-26T19:42:00.000-08:00

Over the past couple of months I've been slowly trying to make my art room more of an inspirational space instead of a cluttered mess. I tend to create and work in our living room, lol, although I have a whole room dedicated to art space. I prefer to sketch, draw, paint, etc., in our living area where I can hang out with my handsome Husband. But the drawback to that is that our living space ends up housing a lot of my art clutter. :)

So I thought it was time to make the art room a little more inviting. I can always use it when Husband isn't home, and I can use it to display finished pieces to gain inspiration, and also to store my supplies in a more orderly way.

So I cleaned out all the storage cabinets and labeled everything so that I can locate supplies easier. I hung up most of my canvases using a display idea I got from my friend. And just lately, I found a display idea for loose artwork on a blog I was reading. Here's a picture.....I have done this with both windows in the art room, and I love the way it looks!

I had all these loose pieces in a portfolio stored away, but how much more fun it is to have them out where I can see them! They seem to brighten up the room and I've started hanging out in there more. I find myself wandering in there just to look around at everything and think about how I have improved and what I want to work on improving.

In other art news I am loving the ATCs For All site. I've mailed 2 ATCs for swaps this week, and I've joined another ATC swap for mixed media ATCs. I have some ideas for some ATCs, but I am engrossed with my M3 course and finishing my goddess. I've made some progress on her, but I don't want to post another picture of her until it's done. I hope to finish it this week, but I'm starting to think that I could tweak it for quite a while until it can be called finished. :)

~Joy

ATCs

2011-01-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

I recently joined ATCs for All. I began to photograph the ATCs I have available for trade in order to post them to the site. Thought I would post them here as well. :)

This is Bachelor #3. He has a beeswax background and a very dashing bowtie and hat!

Here we have Spring:

Petals #1:

Petals #2:

Mermaids have more fun!:

Naughty & Nice:

Pinwheel:

Abstract #1 (which funnily enough has a nice shot of my finger in one of the mirrors....):

And finally, Santa!:

Anyone want to trade? :)

Goddess in Progress

2011-01-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

As part of the M3 course over at http://willowing.ning.com/ I have been working on my goddess. I racked my brain trying to come up with a goddess that I primarily identify with. Nothing.....nada.....zip. So I decided to start in the style of Klimt and in the style of the course and see what developed. So as I worked on her she began to give me the impression of strength and serenity. That's what she "spoke" to me of. That often happens to me when I create.....I start off with a very general concept and as the piece develops it takes on a life of its own and IT tells ME what it wants to be. Sounds crazy, I know, but thats my experience.

So here are some pics of my Goddess of Strength and Serenity.

Here is a picture of the initial sketch. She is on a 24x36 canvas......so she is HUGE!

Sketching on canvas is a pain. Graphite does not want to come off!

Here is what I have accomplished so far:

I'm unsure what to do with the background right now. I'm thinking of torn book pages or texture paste, or gold leaf. Not sure. Perhaps I'll just paint it.

I have had so much fun making this goddess. My Husband jokingly said she could be the Goddess of Patchwork Quilts, LOL. Obviously He doesn't know the style of Gustav Klimt. :)

We are supposed to get snow tonight . I have my fingers crossed that I will be snowed in tomorrow and can do art all day. We have bread, milk, cereal, and paint in the house. We're all good for a nice snow day!!!

The Lady was Framed

2011-01-21T16:52:00.000-08:00

I posted this lady a few days ago, but today I found the perfect frame, and I love the way it brings the whole piece together:

I bought a huge canvas to start my M3 Goddess tonight. It's 24x36 and by far the largest canvas I will have ever worked on. I'm excited, and off to start my sketch.

Have a happy weekend!

-Joy

Magical Mythical Makings

2011-01-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

This week has thus far been incredibly busy. The kind of busy that makes you want to come home and go straight to bed. Work has been crazy, and it has sadly left me little time for art this week (or much of anything else either).

I have been able to fit in time for the beginnings of Magical Mythical Makings (M3) over on http://willowing.ning.com/ I highly, highly recommend taking one of willowing's courses if you have not done so. I love them.

So far I have not even had time to put a pencil to paper (or canvas) so far this week, but I have been enjoying chilling out on the couch with my puppies and my art videos before bedtime. (See afore-mentioned puppies below)

Not many plans for this weekend, so hopefully I can get a good start on creating my magical mythical makings. Come join me!

Joy

A Quick Link to Awesome-ness

2011-01-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

I last posted about my weekend art day with my friend. You saw my finished piece, Guarded Heart, but you gotta check out her finished piece, Amour.

Click the link here to view her awesome-ness!

Notice how different they are? Although the technique was nearly identical for both pieces, you can clearly see our individuality. How cool is that?? :)

Here's hoping your week started out with .... awesome-ness! :)

-Joy

A Guarded Heart

2011-01-16T19:31:00.000-08:00

So we just got back from our weekend trip to visit best friends in GA. I have a TON of things I'd like to blog about, but I just can't wait to post the mixed media piece I did with my friend. I have had a "phobia" about working with clay due to recent attempts that resulted in utter failure. My friend, however, makes wonderful things with clay, so this weekend she taught me a little about working with polymer clay.

The whole process started with a lump of polymer clay (white) which we ran through a pasta machine and then shaped into a heart form. Once that was done a vintage-style lock was pressed into the clay and rubber stamps were used to give it some texture. We also coiled some wire and placed that into the soft clay to form a mechanism for attachment.

Mine's the one on top in the picture, and as you notice they are lying on wooden frames that we'll dress up. Next we baked the clay in the oven until we thought it was dry. Meanwhile we began working on the wooden frames. I decided to paint mine a blue undercoat with the middle insert covered in a silver metallic textured scrapbook paper. Then when the hearts were dry, we removed them from the oven.

The next step was to gesso the heart and cover the frame with crackle and silver topcoat. Then once the heart was dry, I painted it a crimson red with silver dry-brush accent.

Then it was time to assemble. I chose a red ribbon from my friend's supplies, and decided on eye hooks to insert into the frame and tie the ribbon onto. Also, the middle silver insert was cut to size and inserted easily into the center of the frame.

So I wanted to add a caption of sorts to tie the piece together. I decided that this spoke to me and said it was a "guarded" heart. One that obviously had seen turmoil and strife, but still held some inner beauty and elegance. I think of this as a heart that is only accessible if one if willing to brave the defenses and be bold enough to seek out the key that opens the tightly locked heart. But obviously a guarded heart would not allow just anyone access.....so it would be highly defended.

With all that in mind, here's how it turned out:

I enjoyed making this for so many reasons: I got to work side by side with my best friend, I learned a little about clay and may be brave enough to try it on my own now, this piece was one of those rare ones that told me its story as it went along, and plus I got to use flechette rounds, LOL (that's what the arrow things are....). It's also one of the rare pieces that I truly felt was done when I got finished.

More about my wonderful weekend later, I'm all tired out now and need to go to sleep. :)

Art Room and Excited for the Weekend

2011-01-13T04:38:00.000-08:00

So I spent some time in the art room yesterday, and was enjoying looking at all the past art I've done and the way it's arranged on the walls. It's nice to see it all together and see the progression over the years. I completely stole the idea from a friend, and I love the way it looks as a display. I put most everything up,even the ones I think aren't great. How else to see improvement unless you consider the "not so great" items along with the "great" ones too? Here's a peek:

and another wall:

One of the paintings on the top row of the first pic is the work of my friend, whom I will get to visit this weekend!! I am very excited and can't wait to get in the car and GO. We always have a lot of fun and I find a lot of inspiration by spending time with her. We will leave Friday after work, and drive down to Georgia....a few hours driving. I think I'll take my sketchbook for the trip. I have some ideas floating around in my head that I'd like to get on paper.

First Post and a Work in Progress

2011-01-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

After much internal debate, I took the plunge and decided to start a blog about my art. Not sure if I'll get a lot (or any) followers, but I thought it would be nice to have for myself to document my thoughts and skill progression. (Hopefully that skill progression thing improves over time, lol).

So this is my first post, in which I discuss my newest work in progress. :)

She is untitled as of now. She started with gel medium to add texture and some buttons and swirly metal things pressed in. Then a wash of color and a printed photo from flickr that I modified with colored pencils. Along the way I added some ephemera (gold doily things and paper flowers and gold leaf) and some smooch spritz (love, love, love that stuff). I think I will add some beading to the top and she will be done.

Now to think of the title for the piece.....I am trying to summarize in my head what "feeling" she conveys to me. To me she is suggestive of remembered pleasure and past splendor. I'm sure she will tell me what to call her eventually, I just need to listen. :)