March Madness

Things have been hoppin' around here! First, besides refrigerator on back porch quitting and food spoiling and shopping for new fridge for kitchen so old kitchen fridge can be on the porch, I have also gone through 2 hard drive crashes in two weeks. First, the hard drive crashed in my desk top. Son got a new one and saved all of my files somehow (I hadn't put everything on to the external drive). Then big external hard drive that had EVERYTHING crashed yesterday. I had all of my family pix and every single image I have ever purchased or made for art on it. I about came unglued. But, brilliant son, got a new one again and by very cleverly freezing (yes, in the freezer of the new refrigerator in the kitchen), freezing the crashed drive was able to keep it cool enough to keep it working just long enough to pull all the files off onto the new one. Evidently, Seagate hard drives have a tendency to overheat and quit working - both of mine were about a year old. One came with my Dell computer and the other we bought to keep my images safe. Uhuh - that worked well. Oh my . . .

But, good news too. I'm so excited. I was just asked to be on the Creative Team for a brand new image shop that will be opening soon that will cater to altered artists as much as scrapbook artists! Woohoo! I've been working on a couple of pieces for it and can't wait 'til it's open so I can share everything with you. I think you're gonna love, love, love this shop!

I finished another piece in my little faux scrapbook series (not for the shop - just for me). I left it unlinked so you can see it a little closer (thus, the watermark).

April


copyright Marsha Jorgensen 3/19/2010. All rights reserved.

This is an 8 x 10 mixed media collage using a face and a separate body from flickr's picassoswoman, an umbrella and rain from designer Nicole Young at DigitalScrapbookPlace.com, wings are from Itkupilli.etsy.com, doc martens scanned an altered from a catalog, bucket and most border pieces from designer Christina at ChristinaReneeDesigns.com, blue wall and texture over lined background from Distressed Textures, floor from flickr's rubyblossom, cloud from designer Jeanette Bolinger. All designer pieces were used with commercial licenses.

(detail)





Speaking of linking pictures. Had a few ask how to do that. If you just upload your picture and do nothing else, people can click on it and copy and paste and print and download your nice big crisp image in another window. If you link it back to your blog, they can't open it larger. So, all you have to do is . . . after you upload it and before you publish your post, just click on the picture, a box/frame will appear around it. Once that box/frame appears hit the link button in your tool bar (the earth with the chain link on it) and type in your blog's url/address. That's it! Easy as pie.

Other Links to share . . .
I have a friend going skydiving for the second time soon. I was there when he went for the first time last year. I wanted to go but didn't have the guts - still really afraid of flying at the time. I'm almost more afraid of flying than falling out of the plane. So, he's going again and I really thought hard about going too this time. That made me think of my own "bucket list". I have one. I've had it going a few years now, even before the movie came out. I have things marked off but it keeps growing too. Anyway, I was looking up the concept of a bucket list (which is going to be the subject of an art piece for me soon) and found two great links to share.

This site has a ton of suggestions for things you should think about doing before you die . . . I was really inspired by it. It added a few things to my list I hadn't though of.
http://www.squidoo.com/100things

And this site, is from an incredibly sharp life coaching/inspiration site. I agree with this list of things women should do . . .
http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/2008/05/15/75-skills-every-woman-should-master-the-first-25/

I was tagged! This is a fun game. You just go to your 10th picture in your picture file and post it and tag 5 other people! I was tagged by Theresa of http://msartisttheresahuse.blogspot.com/

So, the tenth picture in my art picture file was this. It's one of my first collage attmepts. I think it was the second, actually. I called it Coping Queen at the time. Oh, it makes you really see things differently when you go wwwaaaayyyy back to an old piece.



And, I tag . . .
Sarah Haslam aka Muckypup
Tracey of Glitterbug Studios
Melissa of Honey Girl Studio
Pam of Yoborobo
Susi of SusiCreates
You're It!

I'm not doing what I should be doing . . .

. . . again. What else is new? But I did get a couple of pieces done over the last few days.

I watermarked this first one so you can click on it and see it a bit larger. I usually link pictures so lurkers can't click and download a nice big copy.

The Lesson Remembered


copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 3/15/10. All rights reserved. You may not copy, download, print, or use this image in any way without my permission.

This is a large 8 x 10 collage that is not digital but but includes 23 hand cut pieces and the characters were hand colored from grayscale images. This piece uses a woman's face from DigitalCollageSheets.etsy.com and used with a commercial license. The man's face came from flickr's catnipstudio. The main bodies come from flickr's takeabreak and the shoes were scanned and altered from magazine and catalog pictures. The blue background is made of two textures from flickr's JoesSistah and used with commercial fees. The grass is from Holliewood Studios at Oscraps.com and used with a commercial license. The wings and most other elements are from Christina at ChristinaReneeDesigns.com and used with a commercial license.

This one is kinda simple. I had saved pieces to participate in Art Creations Friday and left them undone so I combined them to use them up and finish a little ditty here.

I Heart Fish


copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 3/15/10. All rights reserved. You may not copy, download, print, or use this image in any way without my permission.

This is a small 5 x 7 collage using a face and upper body from the gals at Art Creations Friday blog. The fish is from DigitalCollageSheets.etsy.com and used with a commercial license as was the grass from Holliewood Studios at Oscraps.com. The water and upper background are from flickr's rubyblossom and the boat is from siefert2.etsy.com. The wings are from AsunderEphemera.etsy.com and the hat is made from a 100 year old dictionary. The pants are from my own vintage picture and the shoes were scanned and altered from a catalog. The striped border is from Crowabout.etsy.com.

Mailing stuff tomorrow. I had a big Etsy week last week (28 pieces - I think - sold! woohoo!) and still have a few things left to mail. Then chore stuff to do. Hope to do lots of blog and flickr visiting this week as I got almost all caught up last week and don't want to get behind again.

Busy, busy, busy . . .

Well, it has been a busy last few days. Nothing incredibly exciting, just busy. I did get my Etsy reopened and new stuff listed today and that was something I've meant to do for days.

Thank you for all of your encouraging words about journaling! You all are so good to me and so kind. I haven't had a chance to work on it anymore but I'll keep giving it a try. Am thinking of actually taking another class soon.

The first group of pix I'll show you are from something new I've tried for a swap group I'm in. We had two different swaps for little tag books and 8 tags each for each of the two themes. We get to keep our books, send in our tags and get 8 tags back in each theme. Never made a book, never made a tag until this project, so it was great fun.

House Tag Book



House Tag Book (open to show a couple of pages)



House tags (the first one shows that the doors open to reveal a little surprise message or image - each one is different)







Bird with Hats Tag Book



Birds with Hats Tag Book (open to show a couple of pages)



Birds with Hats Tags




All tags and artwork here, copyright Marsha Jorgensen 3/2010. All rights reserved.
Image credits for tags: Holliewood Studios at Oscraps.com, Studio Jen U and Studio Lorie at Scrapbookgraphics.com, siefert2.etsy.com, lisasalteredart.etsy.com, Christine Honsinger at Scrapartist.com, Sande Krieger at Two Peas in a Bucket, keeperofthenest.etsy.com, LandofEnchantment.etsy.com, indigochyld.etsy.com, crowabout.etsy.com, Lauren Bavin at digitalscrapbookplace.com, and DigitalCollageSheets.etsy.com. All images were used with a commercial license when required.

Mail Call! Wow, how I've gotten good mail lately. The two skinnies are from another swap group I'm in. This first ATC and skinny is from Viola of Viola blog. Aren't they gorgeous? I have had them since I got home from my dad's but they have been sitting here on my desk to admire everyday. Finally got them scanned to share.



In the picture below . . . The skinny on the right is from the same group but this one was made by Marion of Bockel24. Again, just another gorgeous skinny to own. I particularly loved the words to this one and they continue on the back to say "but my mind holds the key I'm standing on a stage of fear and self doubt though the fear keeps me moving still my heart beats so slow" *sigh* Such lovely words and now a lovely image to savor from a lovely person.

The round inchies are from my first swap group (the one doing the tag books). These inchies are from (top to bottom) Mary aka PaperScraps (only have her flickr linked), Cathy Parmelee, Verna of Bird, Bee, and Bloom, Sharon of Livewire Jewelry, Michelle of Lost Coast Post , and my dear friend, Roc of What's Up Roc.



And there's more . . . This piece is from Karin of Karin Winter Arts blog. I had hosted a "Dreamers" swap that took place while I was gone and so this was waiting for me when I got home also. It is so textural and rich. I wish you could feel it with it's stitching and layers. I just adore it.



And lastly, also waiting for me were these. I will try and fight back tears to see to write this. You may remember reading about my friend Tina Wright who passed away from cancer in early January. Back in September, just before she found out about her cancer, she had asked if would do a swap with her. She would do the pendant making and soldering if I made a little collage for each of us. So I made two little collages and sent them off. I didn't know for sure that Tina ever had a chance to finish them, but she did. She had mine ready to mail and even had a thank you note written with another piece I wasn't expecting attached. Tina's daughter Nicole sent these onto me. I cannot tell you what it means to me to have not only our finished piece but her hand written notes and the extra piece she made just for me. I will treasure them always as I will the memory of her and her spectacular spirit.

What to do, what to do . . .

. . . when one is cut off from their computer that they spend more time with than anything else in the world, sad as it is. My hard drive in my one year old computer crashed a few days ago and expert computer whiz 18 year old son has me all fixed up with a new one and all of my work salvaged. All of that computer gaming that encouraged all of that computer building (like my generation's boys souped up their cars) has paid off.

While waiting for said new hard drive to arrive, I have done a bit of blog hopping, written a few thank you notes, gone bowling (of all things), spent some time with my very goodest friends (yeah, I know, not a word), cleaned house, did laundry and thought very hard about doing my taxes for several days and then actually did them.

More importantly (epic, actually, in my little life), I started an actual little journal since my computer and printer were not available. And little it is, a small mokeskin journal, 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. My first journal since design class in college. But let me just say now, for the record, that I cannot currently journal. I lack the gene that allows oneself to journal. I think you have to be more expressive, more carefree, more impulsive, more gestural than I am. I am okay at collage, my little style of collage that is. Remember my background and training is in graphic design and typesetting. So very controlled, planned, neat and tidy lay-outs are my thing, my nature. This doesn't lend itself well to what is currently understood to be journaling. But I am taking baby steps to teach myself. I only allowed myself to use scraps so far - no printing stuff up to use. Must make what I already have in my scrap drawers work. And, I must hand write something every few pages.

pages 2 & 3 (I left these so you can click on them for a better view - I usually link pix back to my blog but thought I'd let it go this time - see? a little more carefree)



pages 4 & 5



Cover and inside cover aren't done yet. I'll post when they are and keep sharing this uncomfortable little experiment with you as it progresses.