Friday, July 3, 2009

Climb Every Mountain

Make the climb, toward the sky. On the edge, ready to fly -- SA



Mountain Crossing



Gather dust to build a mountain -- Korean Proverb



There are many paths to the top of the mountain but the view is always the same -- Chinese Proverb



Ingredients: watercolor paper, handmade paper, washi paper, acrylic paint, metallic acrylic paint, calligraphy ink, marker, rub on letters, dry transfer. sizes range from approximately 5" x 1 1/2" to 6" x 3 1/4". click to enlarge.

Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Time to Look

One thousand windows open to the sun...


Ingredients: watercolor paper, altered paper, masking tape, tissue paper, acrylic paint, wax pastels, dye ink, Indian ink, marker, colored pencil, rub on letters, dry transfer, altered found metal and wood objects. approximately 4 1/4" x 3". click to enlarge.

Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.

Sold. Thank you!

A big thank you goes out to LaWendula and her wonderful blog LaWendeltreppe (which means lavender spiralstaircase in German). She highlights my blog and artwork in this post. In case you do not speak German, here is the translation of her text:

"Dears, if you are busy and only on your way through, please don’t click on this blog, because it’s so full of interesting pics, ideas and inspirations, you can really get lost in it. Seth wrote me a comment on the blog about Bridgette’s art and checking his site, I was really delighted. Take a look."

If her blog is new to you, take some time to browse. I am certain that you will recognize the artwork of some familiar faces and be introduced to some new artists as well. Thanks LaWendula!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Combo Platter


Weeks of rain in NYC. Following a thunder clapping, sky blackening, torrential downpour last night, the sky turned golden and then hot pink. Pictured above is an unretouched shot of the beautiful moment.

I was lucky enough to have recently met Sarah Fishburn. Sarah and some of her family are on a whirlwind road trip all over the United States. We spent an afternoon together wandering around NYC. Turns out Sarah is as warm, friendly, and humorous as she is talented, creative, and generous. And what a great family too! Sarah wanted me to send a shout out to everybody and let you know that she will be home and back to blogging very soon!



If you liked the journal pages of Barron Storey that I recently highlighted here, head over to Kelly Kilmer's blog to learn a lot more about Barron, his art, and his publications. Thanks for all the info Kelly!








A long overdue thank you to Lynn from Getting my Feet Wet who passed along the Uplifting Blogger Award to me a while back. Thanks Lynn!








And a more timely thank you also goes out to Pat from Artfully Ooglebloops for passing the Kreativ Blogger award on to The Altered Page.





I also have to thank Pat for posting about the Glidden National Paint Giveaway. Click here to be taken to their site and sign up to receive a free quart of paint in your choice of color! Thanks for the tip Pat!!

Just added a new piece to my Etsy shop. Called Shattered, it is the newest artwork in my Text Tile series.

Sold. Thank you!




Ingredients: watercolor paper, altered paper, masking tape, tissue paper, acrylic paint, wax pastels, calligraphy ink, Indian ink, marker, colored pencil, linen thread, rub on letters, dry transfer, altered found metal object. approximately 4 1/4" x 3". click to enlarge.




Also still available for sale in Etsy is my Artist Survey Zine from The Pulse. Click here for information and click here to buy.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Writing's on the Wall


Work continues on my Graffiti collaboration with Julie Prichard and Lynne Hoppe. My Graffiti Wall is being built slowly, brick by brick, on my 3 foot by 3 foot canvas.


Each brick is collaged using papers altered by Lynne, Julie and Myself.




In the end, there will be 93 bricks in this wall. And once completed...the graffiti will begin!

For inspiration, I recently went to an exhibit at the Helen Beck Gallery in NYC called Whole in the Wall. The show highlights the work of American and European street artists from the 1970s to today.




My favorite part of the show was a room mixing urban street art with ornate, antique furniture. The contrast packed a wallop and yet blended seamlessly.




Sharp: Juice Got Juice

Henry Chalfant: Kel/Crash

Sharp: T.C.B.


Blek Le Rat: detail from Urban Angel

Daze: detail from Untitled 2007

Blek Le Rat: detail from Homeless in NYC

Daze: detail from Journey Part 2

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Telling the Storey

The Society of Illustrators in NYC is currently exhibiting the journals of Barron Storey. If you are within 1,000,000 miles of New York, make sure you do not miss this one. Walk, run, swim, train, boat, fly, or teleport there. The show has 100 of his journals on hand, all available to look through and touch!

If you are not familiar with his journals, at the very least spend some quality time looking through his blog. And if you cannot make it to the show, I will bring the show to you! And you will definitely want to click and enlarge the images to see the amazing details.

Barron Storey: Life After Black








The Covers:








The Pages:












Thursday, June 18, 2009

Journal Journey With Me


Bridgette Guerzon Mills from Contemplating the Moon showcases her beautiful handmade journals and more on another site, amanobooks. In addition, every week she includes a post detailing some aspect of journaling. Past topics have included using transparencies, finding the words, and dream journaling. She is currently highlighting travel journals and I am happy to say that several of my journals and travel journaling techniques are showcased here. Please stop by and look through her beautiful, inspiring, and informative site.

Below you will find some images of and additional links to two of my travel journals that Bridgette highlighted.

Greece 2008 - click all pics to enlarge and click here and here to see all the journal pages on my original posts.








New Mexico 2008 - click all pics to enlarge and click here to see all the journal pages on my original post.





Tuesday, June 16, 2009

ETSY & MMCA Today

ETSY Today

Golden Night




Ingredients: watercolor paper, altered paper, vintage book page, tissue paper, acrylic paint, wax pastels, pigment ink, dye ink, colored pencil, rub on letters, dry transfer, altered found metal objects. approximately 4" x 3". click to enlarge.

Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.
Sold. Thank you!


MMCA Today


A big thank you goes out to Debbie Overton who invited me to do a guest interview on her wonderful blog MMCA Marketplace.

Head on over to the interview to see a sampling of my artwork and to learn a little bit more about me, my artwork, and my collaborative projects. And while you are there look around through the blogs and shops of the MMCA members. You will also find free digital images and links to online art suppliers, workshops and retreats, tutorials, challenges, and exhibitions.

Monday, June 15, 2009

That's Odd

Alicia Caudle from Altered Bits has just published her second artZine online here. The theme is Odd Numbers and it is spectacular. And free! A new piece from my Text Tile series, The One, can be found in the zine and this artwork is now available in my Etsy shop.


While you are on Alicia's site, also have a look at her very cool first artZine entitled Anatomically Altered. And plan to stay a while. Alicia has quite a lot to see on Altered Bits.






Ingredients: watercolor paper, altered paper, acrylic paint, calligraphy ink, dye ink, marker, dry transfer, rub on letters, linen thread. approximately 4" x 3 1/2". click to enlarge.

The One. Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.
Sold - Thank you!



Also available in my Etsy shop is Clouds - always being made and melted here and there. A big thank you to Paula who included this piece in her Etsy treasury. Click here to see the treasury and here to see Paula's incredible assemblages on her own blog.

Sold - Thank you!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Precious Stone


I recently finished working in Roxanne's book for my Inner Works collaboration. Her theme is Earth Tones, something that totally resonates with me. This is the fourth book I have worked in for this project. With each book I receive, more and more pages are completed. I created three pages for Roxanne. One is below. Click here to be taken to the Inner Works blog to see glimpses of my other pages and to read more about this project.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

I am your Air



Like an Etch A Sketch with a twist. As the music starts, a single black line courses across the screen. Use your mouse to direct the line. Watch for bursts of colors. Bursts of birds. Bursts of words. And bursts of so much more. Play the video above to watch it. But better yet, click the link below and direct it. Hypnotic and entertaining. Go ahead. You know you want to!

Get your Air here

Monday, June 8, 2009

Are you Board Yet?

I think it is clear from my Inspiration Board in the previous post that organization and order is important to me. As Michelle from 3rd Eye Muse commented...I have "grid-like tendencies." However, wanting to give equal time to both extremes of my creative side, I offer you an unretouched glimpse of one of my work tables. Hmmm. Sometimes chaos reigns supreme!



Thanks to all those who commented on my Inspiration Board and shared a link to one of your own. If you haven't yet visited them...click the following:

Lisa Hoffman
Merlin's Musings
The Weaver of Grass
Reminders2bepresent
This I Didn't Know...
Alley Art Studio
Openings Connecting
La Dolce Vida

And if you would like to share your own Inspiration Board (or file or box or wall or basket or shelf), please leave a comment and add a link to your photo! Who cannot do with a little extra inspiration?!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Inspiration Board III



I keep an Inspiration Board on the wall above my computer. It is in my sights often as I seem to be spending more and more time online these days. I change it up as the mood strikes. Right now, it is mainly filled with art created by other artists. In fact, my inspiration board is a veritable who's who of the art blogging world. Recognize anybody's work??? Or maybe your own???

I have twice before posted versions of my Board. Click the dates below to see the original posts. And click on any picture to enlarge. In looking at all three pictures, one thing that strikes me is that my inspiration seems to be very well organized. One of these days I think I will set up my Board in a more chaotic explosion of paper and colors!

February 2008



August 2007



If you have your own version of an Inspiration Board, feel free to post a picture on your blog and leave the link in the comments to this post!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Book Marks

I love everything about books. Especially their component parts. Whether it is using a torn out page to alter, a spine to add just the right touch to an artwork, a marbled end page that looks perfect unchanged, or covers of a vintage book worn by use and time. Love them all. While not true for everybody, I have no hesitation tearing into a book, repurposing every last piece, and creating something new. File it under recycling!

Book Marks. A new series that makes use of vintage book covers.

Adahy - Native American for "lives in the woods" 5" x 5"
Sold. Thank you!



Leotie - Native American for "flower of the prairie" 4 3/4" x 4 3/4"
Sold. Thank you!



Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy. Click to enlarge.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Be Open

Be open to what will happen next...



Text Tile: Think text and texture and scratches and layers and symbols and grunge! And an altered vintage key too boot!

Ingredients: watercolor paper, acrylic paint, wax pastels, calligraphy ink, dye ink, marker, dry transfer, rub on letters, altered vintage key. approximately 4 1/2" x 3 1/4". click to enlarge.

Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy.


Sold. Thank you!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Therapy Session


I’m the featured artist this week over at Creative Therapy, a great blog that gives weekly prompts, or catalysts, to get us creating art about the things in our lives that are important to us. I rarely make artwork based on a prompt but I find those that are offered on this site to be thought provoking and quite unique. Click here to see how I responded to the following prompt:

"create art about a time when something that then seemed small happened but then it ended up changing your life"

I often find that seemingly small experiences can have big impact, but life changing? Not usually. But in the case of the moment in time that is represented by this art piece, absolutely!


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Q and A on Everyday


Are you familiar with Everyday Artist Studio? Today they are featuring an interview with me about DisCo - the Disintegration Collaboration.

Jenn Mason is the mastermind behind this site and has created an amazing, one-stop hub of creativity. She features video interviews and tutorials, art book reviews, classes, a list of artist retreats, a blog, descriptions of and tutorials for art tools, a list and review of must-visit art shops across the country, and so much more.

Stop by today and visit often.



Thank you Jenn for this opportunity and for introducing DisCo to a whole new audience.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Expiration Date

Roughcast 4
Roughcast 6

These pieces are the last two remaining from the Roughcast Series. Click to enlarge. They are available for purchase in my Etsy shop. RC4 will be on sale in Etsy until May 29, while the listing for RC6 will expire on June 5. After that, they will not be relisted. Can anybody offer them a good home?

And for more texture...click on my Inspiration Station icon in the sidebar!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Triple Crown


The time has come...

















Please come into The Altered Page...








And take a seat...

















I know you all have been waiting...










And waiting...












To find out who will take home the prize...




When I decided to have the giveaway, at first I thought there would be 1 winner to better represent 100,000 posts...














But as I was creating the post, I thought there was a lot to celebrate and I decided to have 2 lucky winners...






After seeing how many people left comments, I decided just today that there should be 3 winners.














And after reading all your comments...



My head was spinning...














I thank you from the bottom of my heart...
















For all your generous feedback...

But, enough waiting...


Time to announce the winners...







The giveaway goes to...

Jane Farr from A Place to Flourish

Erin Perry from Altered by the Sea

Ginny Gaskill from Ginny's Chaos

Thanks again to everybody who participated. Keep visiting so I can have another giveaway soon!!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Zine That


If you have been following my blog for a while, you know about The Pulse. This is an ongoing, online project that focuses on the art blogging community. There have been three editions of The Pulse to date. Two have been artist surveys and one was a project called "Playing Favorites" where the participating artists shared a picture of their favorite artwork that they have made and a story to go along with it. Links to all the posts from The Pulse can be found on my sidebar.


Last year I created a print zine to showcase the latest artist survey. The first printing sold out and I just decided to print additional copies. It is available for purchase in my Etsy Shop. The zine is coil bound and 144 pages (72 back and front). It is old school and quite basic. Except for both sides of the front and back covers, there is no artwork. Only questions and answers. And links to the pictures on my blog for each question. Each copy is $10.00 plus shipping.


94 artists answered 7 questions in the zine, only 6 of which were posted online. Here is a glimpse of what you will find in the zine...

In a few words or a few sentences, how would you describe your artistic style?
In a word…Unruly…It is happening when I am connected to the art…It’s where I am not second guessing myself, where I just know what element to use… it just flows…It’s breaking rules I didn’t even know were rules…I know I am in the zone when someone enters my studio and says hi and it makes me jump out of my skin. Angela Cartwright

SHOW us one photograph of the object or objects that you collect and TELL us how your collection(s) came to be and/or what they mean to you. Feel free to include any anecdote about how you might have found/bought any of your treasures.
Well I am a collector of many things: ledgers, seed pods, pine cones, cashmere sweaters, rusty bottle caps... but it is my rock collection that speaks to me most deeply - stripeys, river rocks, herkimer diamonds, tumbled beach stones, hollow holy stones, moldevite, blue opal... the list is endless - but my favorites are those I find regularly at the beach and on various adventures - the stripeys, the heart shaped stones and the river rocks. Here is a little story: one of my earliest memories is being a little girl of about 8 in Lodgepole NE - I would walk out to the water tower a long walk far behind our house and sit down in the sun, find a smooth sun warmed stone and rub it on my upper lip relishing in the sensual warmth and smoothness of that rock - tuck it into my pocket and bring it home. Click here to see more of this collection. Elizabeth Bunsen - Eb

How do you get your creative groove?
I sustain the fantasy. That life is good, that people are always kind, that I can accomplish anything I want. I believe it and then I do it, whatever I choose to do. I think you cannot create easily or well unless you are living right and by that I mean your work must be infused with love and compassion and you must be good to the people who need you. If your head isn't clear your work will not sing. Judy Wise

If you could work in one medium or format that you haven't yet tried, tell us what it would be and why.
Ooh, tough question. I've tried various mediums and am still in love with acrylic paints and paper. I'd love to possibly explore fabric more-combining fabric and paper, but sewing machines scare me (chalk it up to a bad experience when I was young and took a class on how to sew Cabbage Patch Doll clothes...yup.). I love the work of Lenore Tawney-her fabric installations were amazing. I'd love to have the space to explore more large scale paper arts/mixed media work, but that will have to wait for now. Kelly Kilmer

At least for today, your can't-live-without blog or website is...
Amazon....not too sexy, but I’d hook it up and drip new books intravenously if I could. Lisa Hoffman

Where does the magic happen? Tell us about the studio, room, corner, desk, table, floor, or wall where you make art and show us one photograph which somehow captures your creative space or a work in progress.
The magic usually happens while I am out and about....a coffeeshop, a bookstore, a picnic table in a park, a hotel room. While I have a fabulous art studio, I find that getting out of familiar surroundings can be the catalyst to really get into the groove. So I have a journal bag with all the pens I could ever want and lug it around everywhere. My studio is on the 2nd floor and I have 2 windows that look out onto the woods. Teesha Moore

At this time, the seventh and final question is available only within the print zine. However, in preparation for the next edition of The Pulse, look for all the answers to the last question to be posted on my blog sometime soon.

To purchase, go right to my Etsy shop or click the Pulse Zine icon on my sidebar to come back to this post at a later date.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Glimpses into my Self

One more. Just one more. My first posting on just one more collaboration that I have been involved in. Think raw. Think grunge. Think personal. Think real. Think self...contained. Viv and Steph and I have created our own structures and each of us has completed one go round, working on another artist's project.

Glimpse of my work in Steph's piece - click to see the detail:



Glimpse of my piece -- before the first mailing & waiting to be worked on:



I am now waiting to receive Viv's piece for my first go round.

Click here to see the beginning of Steph's piece and here to see a glimpse of her work in Viv's project. And click here for a peek into Viv's work in my project. And stay tuned for more...

I am also thoroughly enjoying my ongoing collaboration with Bridgette and Jen. I am currently working on a spread in my own book Contexture. Here is a glimpse of my pages in progress...which is symbolic of how I think of myself...a work in progress.



Thanks to everybody who has commented on my previous post thereby signing up for a chance to be one of the two winners of my giveaway. Your feedback and generous thoughts truly mean so much to me. If you haven't commented on the previous post, you can still do so until the end of the day on Sunday May 24 to have a chance to win.



And don't forget to visit my Inspiration Station. Click on the icon on my sidebar to be instantly transported to what is inspiring me in the moment.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

You Can Count on Me!


In astronomy, 100,000 metres is the altitude at which the Federation Aeronautique Internationale defines spaceflight to begin. Appropriate because I am flying high right now! The Altered Page will soon reach 100,000 visitors. That number boggles my mind (detail of artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat)...


...but also warms my heart (found heart embedded in sidewalk in Santa Fe)!


I began this blog back in August 2007 with the hope that it would become...and I quote from my very first post..."one more element of my mixed media artwork. Much like the paper, gesso, acrylics, and other components of each piece, I believe the conversation that I am hopeful that this blog will generate will become an integral ingredient to the creative mix." Well today I can honestly say that my expectations have not only been met but far exceeded!


I want to extend a tremendous thank you to all my visitors, to those who have sent comments & emails, and thereby joined the conversation, to all the artists who have taken part in the collaborations I have initiated, and to the art blogging community in general. As a result of this experience, I have developed truly significant relationships and feel as though I have grown as an artist -- both technically and in terms of my identity.

As a way to say thank you, I am having a giveaway. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and you will be entered.

I will randomly draw two names from that list at the end of the day on Sunday May 24. (detail of mixed media artwork by Howardena Pindell)


Both winners will receive a package overflowing with...

Art magazines











Vintage papers











Art books











Art supplies











Art stuff!












*Of course these photos are just abstract expressions of what might be in the packages the winners receive. The actual contents will be even better!! So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment and throw your hat in the ring! And either check back late on May 24 to see if you have won or be sure your comment includes a way to reach you. Thanks again!