Back in Action

I’m back from New Jersey and ready to make some art!  I did make a “trip log” during the va-cay, which temporarily satisfied my need to stick stuff down collage-style (well, as much as you can do with tickets, pieces of napkin, business cards, etc), but it’s great to get back to my studio, where the supplies are virtually unlimited!

Speaking of collage, we visited the Louis Armstrong Museum while in the big city – it’s actually the house he lived in with his fourth wife, through which you’re given a 40-minute tour.  My dad is a huge jazz fan (which he got from his dad; both played the cornet) and actually met “Satchmo” many years ago.  One of the interesting facts we learned about Louis Armstrong was that he used to make reel-to-reel tapes of his favorite music and radio shows (the latest technology in his day) so he could listen while traveling.  Each reel, over 650 in all, was housed in a cardboard box, onto which he had taped various ephemera – photos, news articles, song titles, etc. in collage style.  They had one in a display case, and the rest are archived somewhere.  Who would have guessed this brilliant musician was also, in his own way, a collage artist?

Anyway, after a nice long rest from our travels, I was itching to get into the studio.  Fortuitously, Helga over at Artchix just put up a new art challenge this week – monochromatic twinchies!  She has a nice little demo of how she made her green sample, and her adorable kitties will randomly pick a winner once all the inchies are submitted.  I decided on pink, as it’s pretty much my favorite color (at least it is this week).  I used images from two Artchix sheets, did a little pen and chalk work and added some bling in the form of a heart-shaped pink gem.  It came together quickly!  But then, it doesn’t take long to fill up two square inches of space.  🙂

It’s good to be back!