• An Artistic Year in Review

    A red tea rose bloom

    This year has been a trial by fire for pretty much most of us on this little blue dot of a planet we call home. Like many I had intended to do so much more but this year turned out very different.

    Earrings in pastel blue and pink using Jesse James Beads

    We moved once in the earlier portion of this year, selling our home of 12 years, moving into my mother’s house, as we were having difficulty finding a new home. It was a hectic time but one of my little pleasures was the continued subscription to Jesse James Beads‘s Magical Mystery Bead Boxes. Enjoying the colors and shapes, pushing my creative style into different directions.

    A soft grey and pink necklace set using Jesse James Beads

    With a rainy Spring in full swing, I took inspiration from my potted garden to create different grey and pink toned jewelry pieces. My mother’s house went up for sale and we started packing for a second time.

    A mixed assortment of jewelry using gold tone mixed with brown, blue, purple and pink Jesse James Beads

    When shelter in place orders came, everything was stuck in a holding pattern. Not knowing what to do, but not being able to do much of anything I found myself going to artwork for solace. Jesse James Beads released a series of Quarantine Beading Kits, which I was eager to buy and work on. With some findings from Beadalon I was able to make an early start on gifts for the Holidays.

    Earring assortment with gold and silver paired with blue, green, yellow and white Jesse James Beads

    I would work on making art, day and night, giving my nervous energy an outlet. Desert sunrises and the blooming wildflowers continued to be an inspiration. Sprinkled with making masks for my family and packing up the last of our things made for very busy days.

    SilverSilk necklace and earring set in gold and teal tones

    Silver Silk and More released a special Atlantis kit. Filled with golds, blues and greens it was a stunning collections of supplies. I found a sense of calm in a sea of uncertainty by creating these pieces while listening to the rain at night.

    A teal and gold necklace set using supplies from SilverSilk

    This set, that I ended up keeping for myself, would end up being one of the last pieces I would make before we moved again. I was getting increased tremors in my hands, more problems with my ability to walk, use my hands and losing feeling in my limbs. Once we moved a third time, my doctors were able to schedule surgery to work on my spine.

    A journal page with an ink drawing of a cat, in black, blue and pink quote by Terry Pratchett

    Recovery was slow but I could already feel my hands and feet, and walk with reduced pain. I started using wonderful journals from Rita Barakat as therapy and way to start testing my dexterity. At first it was simple doodles but it felt great to be able to hold tools without shaking too much.

    Pencil illustration of a Lady

    A first true attempt at sketching after surgery, “Hope”, a goddess of Fall and the ever changing future. Originally I was going to try watercolor but found out I wasn’t steady enough, I went back to an old comfort, pencil illustration.

    Resin pendants with cats, paw prints, plants, skulls and bubbles

    As I started to slowly heal and start unpacking some of my art supplies I found myself drawn to working with resin again. This time I wanted to give UV Resin from Let’s Resin a try. They had two different formulations and I found them both useful in different resin applications.

    Allegory Gallery bead selection

    While my bones were still healing I found a new bead shop doing lives on Facebook, called Allegory Gallery, located in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The owners, William and Andrew, were wonderful to watch. Sharing beads, treasures, design ideas and life stories. They were trying to keep afloat in these trying times while saving up to buy a permanent home for their store. They started a fund raiser called Little By Little, which one could, and still can, donate to via different options. I donated several times and ended up winning one of their wonderful prize packages.

    Silver, grey and blue necklace set made with beads from Allegory Gallery

    Andrew created an stunning collection of paintings called Opal Girls, (available for purchase on their website) that I found absolutely enchanting. Inspired by his work I used some of the beads and findings I won from Allegory Gallery, to create this jewelry set. The lovely pendant comes from with a pendant from Cynthia Thornton owner of Green Girl Studios, Andrew’s sister.

    In this coming new year I look forward to finding more businesses to support, and share with with you.

    Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!

  • De-Stress Doodles and a Creative Blog Hop

    ArtResurrected-Doodles-Tracy-Alden-1Hello and happy new start to the week! I have been invited to join the Creative Blog Hop. I am honored to have been invited by my creative friend and design team leader from Amazing Crafting Products blog, Susan M. Brown. Thank you kindly Susan for the wonderful comments and support of my crazy crafty ideas! 🙂

    I met Susan some years ago when she had an online class making a beautiful Asian style lamp from an upcycled box, that was displayed at Craft and Hobby Association show that year. We would talk a bit later when she asked me to join the Amazing Crafting Products blog and finally meet in person at the Craft and Hobby Association Mega Show of 2014! Susan has an amazing talent for all kinds of mixed media work, textures and keen eye for the perfect accent to cast for any project. Her sense of humor and interest in sci-fi/fantasy always keeps one guessing what beautiful new piece she will create. One of my favorite pieces of her artwork is this lovely Lime Slice Earring set she created.

    The purpose of the Blog Hop is to introduce fellow crafters to each other and share our passion for anything crafty by answering four simple questions. So here we go!

    ArtResurrected-Doodles-Tracy-Alden-2The project I am sharing today is not one of my Halloween or Fall projects I am normally working this time of year but instead something of a de-stress exercise. While I have never taken a Zentangle® class and only own one sadly neglected book from the series, I honestly don’t know how to create the stunning Zentangle works many other artists do. However I have always been a doodler; I doodle on my sketch books, notepads, napkins, scrap paper and the backs of receipts. I had gotten to doodling on a piece of cardstock and had randomly glued on pieces of tissue paper to test out an adhesive. I liked the random pattern and started to draw between the tissue paper. I glued on a couple of glitter scrap paper and kept going. I honestly don’t know how much time I took to make this piece but every time I worked on it I felt better, relaxed and just happy to be mucking around with paper with no rhyme or reason.

    ArtResurrected-Doodles-Tracy-Alden-3Here is the start of the next one, still not sure what direction it will go but I know it will be fun!

    Now for the questions…
    1. What are you working on at the moment?
    Besides my exercises in de-stress art I am trying to get ready for Halloween and making several Home decor projects with that theme. In the process of major home improvement of our house I am finding some of my fabric and ribbon stashes, getting me thinking about some sort of fabric craft. I also got in a new supply of hand painted beads that I can’t wait to start using. I think I start more projects than I finish!
    2. How does your work differ from others in your genre?
    While at heart I am a mixed media artist and use everything including the kitchen sink, I find myself gravitating towards wearable art and sculpture. True one-of-a-kind art that you can wear or place around for others to see is such a personal expression of who one really is, your interests and inspiration. Art is for me an emotional experience and I feel it reflects my moods and emotions of the time I create it.
    3. Why do you create?
     I was raised to create art by my parents, who also were artists. Life without are doesn’t seem right. I can’t imagine not doing something creative! I come up with all kinds of ideas all the time for artwork and if I can’t make at least a few a physical reality I feel lost and regretful I could not create. I feel doing something artistic keeps one healthy and truly happy.
    4. How does your creative process work?
    I wish I knew! Sometimes I get an idea like a flash of light, complete and raring to go, but then other times it is a slow, churning creature that might only come to be when I find the right clay, paper, fabric or stone. Many ideas come to me when I am drifting off to sleep or relaxing in my garden, those moments when I can clear my mind and let it wander.

    Now I will pass the creative pen and introduce a creative friend of mine to you!
     Linda-Neff-artist-photo

    Please give a warm welcome to Linda Root Neff, who blogs at Linda Neff the scraps of life. I had been on a trip to Michigan and was shown her beautiful Framed Piece “Beauty”. No photo can do this piece justice; the detail, texture and colors were just stunning! The fairy tale aura to her pieces seem so natural, no matter how big or small, such as in her lovely “Celebrate every day” ornament. Those wonderful pieces along with other pieces of her artwork would end up being displayed at Craft and Hobby Association shows and quite a few magazines. Linda has the amazing talent to take the most ordinary paper, wire, frames and old objects and turn them into heirlooms to be treasured for years. Do take the time to go through her blog posts and see what wonderful new treasures she is creating. 🙂

    Lindaplease continue “The Creative Bloghop” by answering the above questions in a blog post published next Monday (October 20th) and inviting a couple of other artists/crafters to continue the following week.

    Susan’s post you can find at the following link, and you can follow her links in her post to see how far this Creative blog has gone!

    Until Next Time, Safe Travels!

  • Starting a new Art Journal

    ArtResurrected-inspiration-Art-Journal-Tracy-Alden-1
    Recently I was talking to one of my clients about what I call my ideas/inspiration note and sketch pads. He laughed and said I was art journaling and didn’t even know it. I thought I wasn’t since most of my pages seemed a mess and wasn’t what I would call pretty but I was reminded that is how all creative processes start! So while I still have my beat up notebooks and pads around here I started one a little more artistic in nature by re-purposing a old sketch pad of mine.

    I had to start with the front cover, adding a new layer of card stock and pulling out all of my paper crafting supplies! I started with stamps and kept going!

    ArtResurrected-inspiration-Art-Journal-Tracy-Alden-2
    I stamped gears, a clock and words to remind me to take the time to create and let go. I used one of my favorite embossing powder recipes, added stickers, paper and doodled across the cover.

    ArtResurrected-inspiration-Art-Journal-Tracy-Alden-1
    It is rather enjoyable to create a book for myself and not anyone else,  a great way to relax and to highlight things I enjoy. After I worked on the front cover I wanted some of my art journal pages contain little snips of stories or themes that inspire me. Using one of my favorite quotes by Lewis Carroll from Alice in Wonderland I came up with the idea of doing a Cheshire cat page. I have always seen the cat as philosophical in nature, a reminder of how things are or could be.

    Hop on over to the Globecraft and Piccolo Blog for my Cheshire Cat journal page tutorial with Globecraft and Piccolo products!

    ArtResurrected-inspiration-Art-Journal-Tracy-Alden-3
    If you would like to read Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has a free EBook of Alice in Wonderland.

    The Project Gutenberg website preserves literary and other intellectual works, and make copies of or products based on those works available free of charge or at the lowest possible cost to the people of the United States and the rest of the world. Many of the books are free because their copyright has expired.

    Until next time, safe travels!