Holy Family Shrines-A Peek-a-Boo Project

I Love Images of the Holy Family, I especially like when I can find Images of Jesus and Joseph, they seem rarer than those of Jesus and Mary or the family of three. 

Joseph's Song

-Michael Card

How could it be this baby in my arms

Sleeping now, so peacefully

The Son of God, the angel said

How could it be

Lord I know He's not my own

Not of my flesh, not of my bone

Still Father let this baby be

The son of my love

Chorus 2

Father show me where I fit into this plan of yours

How can a man be father to the Son of God

Lord for all my life I've been a simple carpenter

How can I raise a king, How can I raise a king

He looks so small, His face and hands so fair

And when He cries the sun just seems to disappear

But when He laughs it shines again

How could it be

Chorus 2

Chorus 1

They are the inspiration for this artwork. 

Supplies:  GSLC Arch Top House Silhouettes , UHU GlueStick, Wet Cloth, Ripped Magazine Images, Tea Bags, Matte Gel Medium, Thin Metallic Thread, Glue,Paintbrush, DecoArt One Step Crackle, Small Plastic Palette Knife, Colored Pencils, Iridescent Copper Paint

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Glue Printed Images to GSLC Arch Top House Silhouettes with a UHU GlueStick.
   
3. Once Fully Dry Use Damp Cloth to Rub Of Excess Edges of Printed Images.
   

   
4. Add Bits of Ripped Magazine Images and Tea Bags to portions of the GSLC Arch Top House Silhouettes.
   
5. Use Matte Gel Medium to to Secure Ripped Magazine Images and Tea Bags.
   
6. Once Dry Randomly Wrap Pieces with Thin Metallic Thread. I Used Red, Blue and Copper.
   
7. Secure Metallic Thread to Back of GSLC Arch Top House Silhouettes.
   
8. Use a Small Plastic Palette Knife to Add a Layer of Deco Art One Step Crackle.
   
9. Allow to Dry Fully Rub Colored Pencils to Fill in the Cracks.
   
10. Reseal With Matte Gel Medium.
    
11. Add Iridescent Copper Paint to Edges of GSLC Arch Top House Silhouettes.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Final Thoughts:

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Will calm the storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby

You kiss the face of God

Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know? Did you know?

Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know? Mary, did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear

The dead will live again

The lame will leap, the dumb will speak

The praises of the Lamb

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy

Is heaven's perfect Lamb?

That sleeping child you're holding is the great, I Am

Mary, did you know? (Mary, did you know?)

Mary, did you know? (Mary, did you know?)

Mary, did you know? 

Angels We Have Heard on High-A Peek-a-Boo Project

I Loved the stained glass windows in the cathedrals throughout the lands. While touring in Europe long ago we stopped  in Köln to see the Cathedral there. We also enjoyed the 1987 U2-the Joshua Tree Tour while there.

They are the inspiration for this artwork. 

Supplies:  GSLC Arabian Triptych , GSLC Fern Fronds , GSLC Queen Anne's Lace ,Stained Glass Printed Images, UHU GlueStick, Turquoise Stencil Butter, Paintbrush, Iridescent Copper Paint, Metal Ruler, Clamp, Gold Design Cream, Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold Golden Paint, Liquid Chrome Pen, Triple Thick Medium, Clear Embossing Powder, Vintage Bee’s Wax Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, X-ACTO Knife,Glue

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Print Images of Stained Glass Windows. 
3. Glue Images to Back Portion of GSLC Arabian Triptych.
   
4. Once Dry Use a Wet Cloth to Rub Off Excessive Edges.
5. Paint Edges of Back Portion of GSLC Arabian Triptych with Turquoise Stencil Butter.
   
6. Also Paint Top Portion of GSLC Arabian with Triptych Turquoise Stencil Butter.
   
7. Add Patient to Top Portion With Gold Design Cream and Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold Golden Paint.
   
8. Use a Metal Ruler and Metal Clamp to Add Lines of Iridescent Copper Paint to Stained Glass Images.
   
9. Use a Metal Rules to Add Lines From Liquid Chrome Pen to Stained Glass Images.
   
10. Use Triple Thick Medium to Add Clear and Vintage Bee’s Wax Embossing Powders to Stained Glass Images. Cure With a Heat Tool.
    
11. Use Leftover GSLC Fern Fronds and Queen’s Anne Lace to Add  3-D Element. Securing with Heavy  Matte Gel Medium.
    
12. Use an X-ACTO knife to Cut Off Edges of GSLC Fern Fronds and Queen’s Anne Lace so Top Frame Will Lie Flat.
    
13. Glue Top Portion to Bottom Portion with Glue. 
    
14. Dry Pressed Flat and Weighted Down.

Final Thoughts:

I Believe in Father Christmas

~U2

They said there'll be snow at Christmas

They said there'll be peace on Earth

But instead it just kept on raining

A veil of tears for the virgin's birth

I remember one Christmas morning

A winters light and a distant choir

And the peal of a bell, the Christmas tree smell

Eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of Christmas

They sold me a silent night

They told me a fairy story

But I believed in the Israelites

I believed in Father Christmas

I looked at the sky with excited eyes

'Til I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn

I saw him through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful Christmas

I wish you a brave new year

All anguish, pain and sadness

Leave your heart, let your road be clear

They said there'll be snow at Christmas

They said there'll be peace on Earth

Hallelujah, Noel, be it Heaven or Hell

The Christmas we get, we deserve.

Tony Fitzpatrick's Birds in Cages-A Peek-a-Boo Project

I discovered Tony Fitzpatrick on Pinterest after a foot surgery many years ago. In his ongoing series “The Secret Birds”, Tony Fitzpatrick intricately draws and layers images, poetry and found materials onto the page. He combines inspiration from his working class roots in Chicago, and influences from folk art, comic book characters, and tattoo imagery in his trademark style on view. Each drawn collage depicts a specific species, ranging from the Peregrine Falcon, to the common “immigrant” Starling. Tony Fitzpatrick’s earliest drawings as a child were of birds. He credits his Grandmother for instilling in him a sense of wonder and reverence for a creature she believed inspired hope, telling him, “for the price of a crust of bread you can hear God sing”. “Each bird becomes a “visitation to her”, says Fitzpatrick.

As a mixed media artist I was intrigued by his collage like images with layers unifying diverse and eclectic items. He is the inspiration for this artwork.

Supplies:  GSLC 2 Inch Cage with Solid Back , 3-GSLC 3 Inch Cage with Solid Back , Printed Images of Tony Fitzpatrick Birds, Magazine Images, Scissors, UHU GlueStick, Metallic Paint, Van Dyke Brown Hue Paint, Paintbrush, Green Highlighter, Wooden Leaves, Acrylic Paints In Autumn Tones, Heavy Gell Matte Medium,

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Print Tony Fitzpatrick Images Sized to Fit into GSLC Cages with Solid Backs.
3. Paint Top Layer of GSLC Cages with Metallic Paints.
   
4. Add Patina by Making a Wash of VanDyke Brown Hue Paint and Water.
   
5. Find Magazine Images To Use as Backgrounds of Your GSLC Cages.
   
6. Trace and Cut to Size.
7. Use a UHU GlueStick to Glue Magazine Images to back of GSKC Cages.
   
8. Cut Out Birds from Printed Images.
9. Use a Green Highlighter to Soften the Edges of Bird Cutouts.
   
10. Glue Birds to Backgrounds with an UHU GlueStick. 
    
11. Use a UHU GlueStick to Glue With Pieces of GSLC Cages with Solid Backs Together.
    
12. Dry Completely Pressed Down with a Heavy Object.
13. Use Acrylic Paints in Autumnal Colors to Paint Wooden Leaves.
    
14. Secure Painted Wooden Leaves With Heavy Matte Gel Medium.
    
    
    

    

    
    

    

Final Thoughts

“Fitzpatrick’s is a narrative journey and the birds become a catalyst for self examination. They play symbolic roles some delivering otherworldly messages and cautionary tales, while others serve to commemorate and eulogize late writers like Gabriel García Márquez and he gives a soulful tribute to the Chicago songwriter and rhythm and blues legendary musician Otis Clay. His interests are numerous, and his narratives are reflections on his travels, social and political concerns or they become commentaries on the inequities and injustices found in Chicago and beyond.”

I like that Tony Fitzpatrick is a self taught artists as I am. As self taught artist does not follow the rules. They follow their hearts and create what they want. Because I never have had a class on Color Theory I do not know that some colors are not suppose to go together and I use colors that appeal to me. I take inspiration from nature with its wildness, unbridled regard for our wants or desires. Nature speaks its own language and surprises us with it beauty and recklessness. 

There are many name given to my style of art: Art Brut, Outsider Art, Neuve Invention,Marginal Art, Art Singular, Folk Art, Visionary Art, Intuitive, and Naive Art. 

 Our art is raw, “uncooked”, created uninhibitedly.  We are eccentric if only in our own minds. We may see ourself on the fringes or run the margins. My backwoods upbringing caused me to be resourceful and creative. Folk Art was in my blood as my mom’s family were crocheters, tatters, knitter, yard art not quite whirligigs but more of junk art sculptures.

A famous Bob Ross Quote: “We don’t make mistakes, just little happy accidents.”

I always like this quote by Jacob Nordby-

“Blesses are the weird people: Poets, misfits, writers, mystics, painters, troubadours, for they teach us to see the world through different eyes”