birds

60 Days of Birds


The 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge

Join me starting April 1st! 

The challenge takes place in my FaceBook Group, I will post a PDF filled with 60 days of Challenge Prompts.  

If you participated in past challenges I sent a daily newsletter.  There will be no newsletter for this years challenge.  I will be posting daily to the FaceBook Group instead. 

Day 2 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge


Day 2 Story
Resting in arborvitae beside my house
Your song brings to the trees to life.
Is your song ushering in the coming storm?
Or are you singing a song of joy?
A tasty morsel to share,
No creature dares to leave the protection of the tree.
Branches shivering, the Sun twinkling, and the sky a brilliant blue,
Deceptive beauty as nature braces for a fatal blow.
The wind smells of snow.

Going back to Day 2, I had a head start by a couple of days because well I'm writing the prompts, etc., so noticed that I had made a couple of attempts at either a poem or story in my journal.  

I think the sketch pretty much sums it up, it's frigid out right now, the birds are all huddled in the neighbors arborvitaes, I know they are roosting in the tree because you can hear them chirping away if one listens closely enough.  I suspect that they are egging one another one (pun intended) to leave the tree for food and water and no one wants to give up their warm spot on the branch.

60 Day Crow Challenge


It was suggested that I should start a 60 day challenge since I couldn't find one that was theme specific (thank you Jody Lund) I will be drawing Crows and Ravens (Corvus sp.). 

How many of you would like to participate with me in a 60 day bird/crow challenge, this means one bird/crow a day for 60 days.

The birds/crows can be drawn, painted, stitched, sculpted (if you are so inclined), digitally manipulated OR you can write about birds/crows everyday for 60 days.  Interested?

If I get 10 or more peeps interested I will start a facebook group for the challenge.  I will be starting tomorrow as I am getting ready for an Open Studio Tour, October 4th, and want to have some fresh birds to offer up for the tour.

Black Birds in Trees


Working on some Crow Cards this afternoon using my Black Birds in Tree Stencil.


The orange mat is a non-slip artist map, unfortunately there is no label on the mat so I have no idea where it came from.


I started out with a piece of painted timtex that was painted by Seta Color Fabric Paints.  I will be adding some oil bar, ink, and other yummies next, and then it's time for some stitching.

Birds in Tree with Madder Lac


Madder lac natural dye extract screen printed, using deconstructed screen printing techniques with my Birds in Tree Inverse Stencil, onto cochineal dyed cotton fabric.


Birds in Tree Inverse Stencil taped to the front of a traditional silk screen for deconstructed screen printing!  Stay tuned for more on this technique!!!

Learn more about these techniques in my eBook and Video series 
Mark Making with Nature!!! 


Getting There


It's the journey, not the destination!


In Progress and now with more paint.  I need to make up the glaze for the left hand side of each panel, and then I can start adding the queen anne's lace and crows to the right hand panels.  I may change the color of panel No. 6 add more pinks and yellows.


Bonus I found these six narrow panels while looking for another small sample panel, stay tuned!

WIP Queen Anne's Crows No0 1


I have to admit while I really like the half and half harlequin coloring of this particular niche it's really rocking in metallic gold paint!  I need to add a second coat of paint and then when it's dry enough buff on some metallic black gold wax.


I will add purple to the back of niche (inside) and I think it's pretty much done.

Experimental Birds and Studio Clean Up


I have a bunch of altered papers so I decided to use my Three Crows Stencil to make some cut outs for some upcoming projects, so far it's a LOT of fun!


Shiva paintstik in iridescent copper and raspberry pink folk art paint on blue scrapbook paper.


Cleared off my drawing table, let the fun begin, well for me it's cleared off!

Am gearing down for my solo show next month, and another project that will be revealed about mid-month so decided it was time to do a little cleaning and organizing so I can focus!


I found this raised panel frame earlier, while organizing my paper storage rack, it's been hiding there since about 2009.

Some Bird Art


Little medallions with featuring Black Birds in Tree, alcohol inks to the left, shiva paintstiks to the right (prussian blue)


Experimenting with copic markers and gelli pens on scrap booking paper.  Barely noticeable at the bottom are three of the washi tapes I purchased last weekend.  This will probably end up as the cover for my "new to me" journal.  Crow is from my Three Crows Stencil.

More birds to come, I'm working on a major project (all new work for an upcoming solo show) the big reveal will happen and soon, until then here's my latest samples to see how the various mediums work with the stencils.

Spring has Sprung


Well sorta, in about three weeks most of the bulb type flowers should start popping up.  This from past experiences/observations of when the Robins, Cedar Waxwings, and Grackles return from their winter feeding grounds.



The neighbors crabapple is preferred over ours, once they pick it the birds will start in on our tree.



Some of the Robins are looking a little rough around the edges, this one was healthy looking.


Grackles are pairing up already, not surprised.

Creating a Strategic Objectives Journal for 2014


Am working through Lisa Sonora Beam's "Creative Entreprenure" book again, last time was 2008/09, and am now just creating my Strategic Objectives Journal.  I have to say this has been a lot of fun this time around, it especially helps that I now understand most of what she discusses, this due to five years of reading and researching how to run a business. (Raven Stencil available soon!!!)


And what would a journal be if I didn't personalize it with my own artwork?  Blackbirds in Tree from StencilGirl Products stencil with FolkArt Indigo paint for the first layer of this journal section.  I found these old manilla folders in hubs office, when I say old we're talking 30-40 years old here, and am repurposing them for my new journal. 


How I dealt with the uneven edge of the manilla folder, I simply placed a piece of old reciept journal paper under the folder edge. 


The journal paper freshly stencilled.  I'll add more layers to this piece of paper and glue it inside of the journal somewhere.  More later, I have more birds to paint now that the first layer has dried, while I think about my objectives.