Wednesday, August 22, 2012

I Will Find My Way Back

I am in love with Artist Trading Cards!  I previously received adorable ATCs from Marcia Beckett, and then on Friday I received these beautiful cards from Michelle V. Alkerton, who does digital photo-painting with her original watercolors.  Aren't these cool?  Thank you Artists in Blogland for hosting this swap!
This weekend I had an ATC party with me, myself and I, and made these!  I'm ready and willing to do some trading so let me know!  These are all made with bits and pieces of original watercolor paintings and are one of a kind, never to be repeated!
The end of August is approaching, and I still had a design I wanted to create for Scrapping the Music's 5th Anniversary party.  There are 5 songs to choose from, and I've already done two.  (See here and here).  But the song "Summer Paradise" was also calling me.  That song perfectly evokes the longing to go back to a special time and place.  I had a very special summer in 1973, falling in love with my First True Love the summer I turned 15 at Westchester Music and Arts Camp.  For years, I pined for him and for that summer.  Thanks to Facebook, many of us who were at that camp found each other and had a reunion a few years ago.  In the Harlequin novel version of my life, my FTL and I would have walked through the old camp grounds, felt like we were teenagers again, and then run off together. Instead, we shared a lot of laughs, as well as photos of our spouses and kids.   

Here's the painting I made:  first, a collage of scraps and pieces of a background page I didn't really love, so I ripped it up and glued it down:
 Then I knocked it all back and blended it together with some gesso:
 Think I'll use these stamps....
 Until it looks like this:
Now for some stencils using acrylics in sea colors...

Add some warm colors.  
And a fish and a face!  
The text says:  someday i will find my way back.   I will be listing it in my Etsy shop after I resin it!  (LOL!)

The memory of the summer of 1973 prompted me to create this art journal page.  Thinking about the trajectory of my life, and how all of my experiences led me to this moment, with my wonderful husband and two amazing daughters, I am forever grateful.
The picture of us is from a few summers ago -- I asked Freddie to bleach his hair blond for the summer, which is how he wore it in his 20s when he was a lifeguard at Orchard Beach, and he did it!. (Awww)  The photo with my girls is from a trip we took to Florida in 2002.  Samy was such a chubby baby -- so cute.  Here we are now.
I'm linking up to Artists in Blogland, Paint Party Friday, Creative Every Day, Out of the Journal, and Art Journal Every Day at Balzer Designs.  Thank you for visiting! If you are so moved, please leave a comment. Hearing from you means the world to me.

28 comments:

  1. These are great!! I wish I did ATCs so I could trade one with you, but they are oh so tiny. Your "someday I will find my way back" fish lady is so intriguing...

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  2. Your artwork is just so inspiring. It makes me want to create -- but I am not an artist, I guess, because nothing I make feels inspirational.

    Were you trained or are you just naturally gifted? Or both?!

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    1. Thanks so much for your sweet comment. I took lots of art classes as a child. As an adult, I am mainly self-taught, although I have taken some amazing workshops with artists such as Julie Fei Fan Balzer, Cindy Wunsch, Jane Davies and Sharon Pitts. I am always learning and getting inspiration from the various tutorials that so many artists generously post. Just follow your heart!

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  3. Love your ATCs!
    Stay inspired!

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  4. Absolutely awesome work, Jessica! I am inspired by the beauty of it! thank you so much for playing along with another song at Scrapping the Music's anniversary party!

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  5. Owww, I really LOVE your artwork!

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  6. It's lovely to see your progress and all the materials you used. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  7. Terrific ATCS and loving your other pages as well. Happy PPF, Annette x

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  8. ATCs are such fun, aren't they? Yours look wonderful. I really love the painting atop the collage background. It is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing your family pix with us. You all are a handsome family.

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  9. What fun this all is. I do love seeing the progress of an art piece so I appreciated seeing the steps it took to get to that fun fish lady! Wonderful ATCs too!!! HPPF!

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  10. Love how you created your ATCs-I haven't made any in quite awhile-I have boxes of them from swaps and trades and I still enjoy going thru them all! Thanks for sharing your lovely journaling page and family too!

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  11. Love your "someday I will find my way back!"
    Bet it sells qickly on Etsy!! :)
    ♥♥♥
    Happy PPF!!
    Mary
    Mixed-Media Map Art

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  12. Wow! You have been busy. I love your ATCs. :)

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  13. Love your fish with a face ~ and other artwork is very creative also ~ A Creative Harbor)

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  14. She is BEAUTIFUL, Jessica!. Such happy place/sea to live in :). LOVE your multi-layer colors, stamps and paints. The ATCs are gorgeous too!. Hugs.

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  15. I would love to trade with you if it's not too late, i love the believe and inspire ladies. You can email me at lelloavengers(at)yahoo(dot)com. The fish is a perfect piece as well!

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  16. Your ATC's are outstanding! I'm interested in trading if you wish. Your story about your summer camp romance made me snicker. I graduated from a boarding school in Mississippi back in 1978, and lost track of my High School sweetheart. Well, we found each other through FB too. My wife and I met her and her husband when they were down in DR on a hunting trip. It was fun catching up for us, but I believe it was kind of awkward for our spouses. LOL! Have a blessed weekend.

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  17. Your fish lady is amazing...and the ATCs too!

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  18. Your journaling is amazing! great inspiration :)

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  19. Beautiful ATC's! Love your fish lady... the detail and colors are totally amazing.

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  20. Lovely pieces, really cute ATC's! Love your fish lady, beautiful iridescent effect on her body!

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  21. You've been busy! Stunning ATC's & a wonderful step by step painting with loads of layers & a fun journal page! Beautiful girls by the way!

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  22. Wonderful WIPs!
    I love the atc/aceo as well ♥

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  23. Beautiful ATC's!! AND I LOVE seeing your step-by-step canvas; it really turned out beautiful. Thank you for sharing that and your scrap page, I love your selected theme, xoxo

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  24. Wow! I love all of your inspiration here! I especially love your Scrapping The Music piece - sooo creative! Thank for giving us the backstory, and also showing your process!

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  25. Your ATCs are inspiring. I love the story. . . I too went to church camp and didn't think about contacting anyone . . . . 100 years ago, well, it seems like it. Blessings, Janet PPF

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  26. Really enjoyed browsing through your work. I love your ATC's and the cool fish!! I really liked your story about summer camp :) reminds me of my own special summer... :)

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