New Zetti Art Magnets In My Artfire.com Studio
Gift Set - Four Inspirational Magnets by Joanna Banana
Just listed in my Etsy store today is the set of four inspirational magnets from my original collage art. I am constantly getting requests to bring these "oldies but goodies" back again, so here's a great idea for a gift for those special people in your life, or a little, well-deserved treat for you.
JoannaBanana.Etsy.com
Yes, I'm the Queen ... Didn't You Notice My Crown??
Sassy, original pop art collage just listed today in my Etsy store: www.JoannaBanana.Etsy.com
Zetti Art Magnet Gift Sets in My Artfire Studio
I recently posted these three little magnet sets in my ArtFire Studio. I had so much fun making them.
I can't believe after all these years of recycling stuff into new treasures, that I still get so much enjoyment and such a sense of accomplishment from keeping even the littlest bit of "stuff" out of our landfills and turning it into something special that others will enjoy.
When I look at what other artists are doing, it's always easy to see what their "style" or "schtick" is. They know what they are good at and they stick to it and are successful with it.
With my overly-criticial eye I look at my art and can't do that and then it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking there's something wrong with me or my art.
And then I come to my senses and realize that my "style" or "schtick" is not so much the look of the finished piece but what it was made of. Recycled materials is my "schtick." Duh!
And that "style" or "schtick" is unique and special in its own way.
So there, egoic mind. I don't have to listen to you and your judgments of me and my art. Nyah, nyah, beat you this time. ;-)
"Mooka Garden" - I Am The Diva Zentangle Challenge
I haven't participated (as in submitted my doodles) in the "I Am The Diva" Challenges so far, but when I found out the new zentangle "mooka" was the feature for this week, I had to give it a try. As I suspected, like all tangle patterns, it's highly addictive.
Maria and Rick discovered this tangle after being inspired by artist Alphonse Mucha's work. I have long incorporated his images into my collage art, so it seemed a natural fit to try the "mooka" design.
Here's a little doodle from the other night called "Mooka Garden." I hope you like it.
Altered Art Doll in my Artfire Studio
This little beauty was just listed in my ArtFire Studio for sale. She measures about 5" tall X 7" wide.
I'm so very pleased with how she turned out and that I was able to use so many recycled materials and keep them out of the landfill.
I started with two really old pieces - a vintage wooden tag (for her body) and a vintage wooden milk bottle cap liner (for her head). "Leave Nothing Plain" being my motto, she soon emerged with a varied of metallic and jewel-like embellishments, along with funky fibers for her hair.
Her purple, gauzy wings were another recycled "find" and the best part is that they are wired on the back so that she can stand upright on display on a dresser, desk or tabletop. Too cool !!
I hope she finds a good home soon. She is anxious to bring a smile to someone's face and light up their day.
http://artfire.com/users/JoannaBanana
"Birds of a Feather" Original Collage
Just added to my ArtFire Studio today is this funky original collage, altered art piece.
I removed the glass from an old picture frame and then used the front side of the easel backing on which to do the collage. I really like the look of all the vintage papers in the background. The birds' bodies are made from recycled wallpaper.
The frame was headed for the trash when I rescued it and touched it up with a faux silver leaf finish (which unfortunately doesn't show up well in the scans (see the listing on ArtFire for photos of the frame). Watermarks do not appear in the original piece, of course.
A fun and funky piece and a real conversation piece for home or office.
Butterfly Art Magnet Gift Sets - in my ArtFire Studio Soon!
This little set of two butterfly art magnets have a real steampunk/zetti feel to them. They are much more interesting than the scans can show.
I'll be listing them in my ArtFire studio soon.
http://artfire.com/users/JoannaBanana
Butterfly Art Magnet Gift Sets - in my ArtFire Studio Soon!
This little set of two butterfly art magnets have a real steampunk/zetti feel to them. They are much more interesting than the scans can show.
I'll be listing them in my ArtFire studio soon.
http://artfire.com/users/JoannaBanana
Zentangle Art on Recycled CD
Here's another fun Zentangle-inspired project I did recently.
I took a discarded CD and tangled on it, then added a recycled jewelry piece in the center and finally put a large, flat magnet on the back.
It was a bit tricky doodling on the CD as the surface is very slick but I really like how it turned out, considering it was an experiment. I'm thinking that I will do more of these, perhaps as ornaments or a hanging mobile art piece ...???
Just think. No surface is safe now from zentangling madness!!
Mooka Madness
I am addicted to Zentangles! Okay, now I've said it, the recovery can begin. Or, do I want recovery to begin ... hmmmm. Nah, it's way too much fun to give up.
As all of you who've tried zentangling know, it is SO much fun and highly addictive. I have been experimenting with zentangling for quite a while now and never get tired of it. The possibilities are truly endless.
Zentangling came to me at a time when I was just starting to get my "art mojo" back after a difficult time in my life of about two years where I was not even interested in creating art. As one whose soul gets kinda squirmy if too many days in a row go by without creating, this was, indeed, a dark time. But I always knew my mojo would return when it was appropriate for it to do so, and zentangling was there right around the time I was gettin' back into the swing of things.
I immediately recognized the myriad possibilities Zentangles would add to my collage art. It really inspired me to re-visit my love for all collage-y things of the zetti world. I could see marrying zetti and zentangle (in fact I coined a new phrase "zettangle" to describe this union) for a cool new look.
One thing though, with all the doodling I've been doing, I had been avoiding shading my work. Weird, huh? I don't know if it's just that I like my work to be very bold (which I do) or that I had some idea I couldn't master shading. A daft idea, I know, but we all have our little pauses for a lack of self confidence now and then.
Anyway, last night I doodled this piece while watching an old movie with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. I forced myself to do a bit of shading on it, even though I thought it looked perfectly acceptable in my usual bold, black and white style. Wonder of wonders, the world did not end with a bit of shading thrown in and the piece turned out okay after all. It might even inspire me to be so bold as to do more shading in the future or re-visit existing tangles and shade 'em. You'll probably hardly be able to see the shading, it's so subtle, but I promise, it's there.
I was also trying out two newer tangles "Zedbra" and "Mooka" and I love them both.
Enough ramblings. I hope you enjoy this little doodle.
Gift Magnet Sets in my Etsy Store
I just listed this little set of three inspirational magnets in my Etsy store today. I've had a number of requests to re-issue, if possible, some of my vintage inspirational magnets that I created some years ago now.So, I dusted off the cobwebs on the ol' hard drive and found these little treasures.
When I look at them now, all these years later, I can see why they are still so popular with my customers. I love the beautiful vintage images and I am still proud of the care I took in finding just the right quote to go with each special image.
At the time, I had no idea how hugely receptive my customers would be to these mini works of art. I can't even tell you how many buyers wrote to thank me for the impact a simple little magnet had on their loved ones in times of need. Now that is what makes doing this all worthwhile!
New Listings In My Etsy Store
I've been having lots of fun lately destashing my studio supply of art materials. I can't believe how much stuff I have accumulated and how quickly. Especially considering we downsized our home considerably last summer when we moved. Oh well, this artsy thing is a curse, you know. Once people know you recycle stuff into art, they are forever giving you things to re-use. That's great, but it doesn't help keep the art supplies level down to a dull roar!
This greeting card was made with a limited edition print of one of my original collages and then I took a bunch of stickers, doodads and embellishments (given to me by a friend who was just going to throw them out, if you can imagine), to make a whole new original card. I love doing this! It really breathes new life into already existing work and I love being able to offer my customers affordable versions of what originally would have been a more pricey piece of art.
You'll see more of these little goodies in the coming weeks and months. I'm just having too much fun re-creating to stop!
New Art Tags / Bookmarks
I've been having so much fun lately getting back into making art tags/bookmarks. Those of you who knew me in the old days of Ebay Art (and ZNE) know that I did a ton of these and I was so lucky to have a real demand for them from altered book artists/journalists who wanted to incorporate these little goodies into their own artwork.
Anyway, this bunch of five were done completely with recycled materials. I started out with some old bookmark/tag blanks that had been lying around forever and did a really rough paint treatment on them. Then I created centerpieces using all kinds of vintage images, scans of my own original collage art and other found items. It was great fun seening the juxtaposition of the rough paint treatment against the funky and crazy stickers and doodads that came from a friend who hoped I would recycle them rather than she throwing them out. Lastly, it was great to use up some of my huge stash of recycled funky fibers to top off the tag/bookmark.
These will be listed as gift items in my ArtFire.com Studio and my Etsy Store.
Aaarr Matey!
For something completely different than my usual collage subjects, I've been working on developing some skull and crossbones images to use in a wearable art project I've been wanting to do for some time.
These are scans of two of the base images I created using bristol board cutouts (from the kiddies' section at Michaels). I took my acrylic paints and basically dry-brushed the surface of the bristol board to get the rustic, weatherbeaten look I was after. I think they turned out quite well, IMHO.
The next step will be to transfer the images to muslin, which can then be affixed to whatever piece of clothing I decide upon. I'll share more photos when I get to this stage. Stay tuned, ye scurvy dogs!!!
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