Project Updates ... Breaking News.

COLOR! Ooh la la! Color!
Even when I'm not bold enough to dress in it myself, I'll put it on paper ... or glass.
Here is the update on my Window Lady.
I think she's done. There's a touch of the 60s about here, what with the flowers in her hair.
Shellac ... varnish ... some sort of preservative must go over her, since I plan to hang her outside in the garden. Candace suggested two coats of whatever I do. JoAnn said try it on something else first, just in case. I think I will do that.
The local PBS affiliate in Oregon has a show called Oregon Art Beat and I was surprised to learn that a local artist, Gregory Grenon, also paints women's portraits on glass. I'm going to watch the show this Thursday and hopefully pick up some pointers. His women aren't in the same style as mine. His are very fierce looking - most anyway.
I have also, sort of, finished the Lady Picture for Sylvia. Here it is. I'm not happy with the nose, but then I'm never happy - entirely - with what I turn out, so what else is new.

I've also been playing with the paper bag book that I'm working on. Yesterday and today I got a few pages painted. As you can see, the plain brown paper is no more on four of these sheets. I like the crinkled paper texture and plan to do stamping on them and other work to "mess" them up a bit more. I am thinking of using this book to do a "Tribute to My Father" book.
Now, after saying that, I'm not sure if I shouldn't have left them plain brown paper - since he was a real "guy" kind of guy. Not a pink, orange or glitter sort of fellow.
I may have to rethink this approach. I don't have all the plain brown paper painted yet, so I won't have to undo a lot of it. Hmmm. Rough and tough, smoked Camels, fought in the war, worked the land on a tractor, milked cows, fixed cars.
This may turn out to be a different sort of book altogether. I'll have to change my palette, me thinks - femminismo

Oh, Poor Me! Poor Me!

IT'S one of those nights when I'm feeling pretty worthless, insignificant, uninspired and sorry for myself. And there's only one cure for that ... go make something with my hands.
I remembered the large amount of grocery bags to be recycled and felt my hands itch as I recalled a technique Judy Wise used to make a book from grocery bags.
Search her blog (upper left-hand corner) for "more stuff" or click here. Scroll down and you'll see her ripping apart grocery bags and then soaking them in water ... just like the ones above.
I like to really wrinkle them up by quickly soaking them and then squishing them in my hand. Dunk them again in the water until they are soaked through. Squeeze as much water out as you can and then hang them up somewhere so they can dry.
I have eight 10 x 15 1/2 inch pieces of paper drying in the garage. So my book would have 32 pages (four pages would be taken up for the cover, front-inside, back-inside). I think I want a bigger book, so tomorrow morning I'll tear a few more bags apart.
I have one pretty thing to post and then I'm out of here for the night.
The magnolia tree is now in bloom. It is the most wonderful tree, even though it sheds a bazillion leaves in the summer and fall. The older leaves fall off and are replaced, but I will gladly rake up the "castoffs" for the greenery the tree provides year round and the summertime blooms which smell like exotic places I'd like to be - femminismo
p.s. Something that made me smile today: A new lily in an unexpected place
Something that made me happy: A spontaneous hug I got.
Something beautiful I saw: Hosta leaves.
Something wonderful I felt: Warm summer breezes.
Something great I smelled: Warm chai tea.
Something I thought about all day: A dream I had last night about an old boyfriend.