Category: Altered Art

Nov 04

Fried Chicken Permeates

In preparation for my upcoming trip to Amsterdam, my husband did the grocery shopping. He came home with the makings for some delicious meals, and last night he cooked the most scrumptious fried chicken. The smell of this comfort food permeated our home, our clothes, our hair. When I went out last evening, I smelled the chicken. When I awoke in the night, I smelled the chicken. And today as I packed my bags, I still smelled remnants of that delicious meal. Fried chicken will ever remind me of Amsterdam and I’m not even there yet. The smell also reminds me of what a loving husband I have.

So I’ve been trying to wrap up loose ends before I leave in the morning. Today I got another circle journal passed on its way. The theme for this journal was Virtue & Vice.

My addition to this journal:

Vice

Vice

Virtue

Virtue

It’s hard to see, but I wrote lots on the Virtue page in white gel pen. After building a basic collage for each page, I had fun with spray paint, stencils, and a rarity for me, glitter.

My heart is displayed on the page as the words reflect my view on Virtue and Vice:

I’ve made enough bad choices in this life. I’d prefer the good, but that doesn’t always happen.

According to Noah Webster:

Virtue: Moral goodness; the practice of moral duties and the abstaining from vice, or a conformity of life and conversation to the moral law. In this sense, virtue may be, and in many instances must be, distinguished from religion. The practice of moral duties merely from motives of convenience, or from compulsion, or from regard to reputation, is virtue, as distinct from religion. The practice of moral duties from sincere love to God and his laws, is virtue and religion. In this sense it is true,  that virtue only makes our bliss below. Virtue is nothing but voluntary obedience to truth.

Vice: In ethics, any voluntary action or course of conduct which deviates from the rules of moral rectitude, or from the plain rules of propriety; any moral unfitness of conduct, either from defect of duty, or from the transgression of known principles of rectitude. Vice differs from crime, in being less enormous. We never call murder or robbery a vice; but every act of intemperance, all falsehood, duplicity, deception, lewdness and the like, is a vice. The excessive indulgence of passions and appetites which in themselves are innocent, is a vice. The smoking of tobacco and the taking of snuff, may in certain cases be innocent and even useful, but these practices may be carried to such an excess as to become vices. This word is also used to denote a habit of transgressing; as a life of vice. Vice is rarely a solitary invader; it usually brings with it a frightful train of followers.

My desire is to be obedient to truth. By trusting that God’s word is true, my desire naturally follows to be obedient to His word. I, like all of mankind, am so far from perfect, but it is a true and heartfelt desire of mine, a passion even, to be obedient to God. When one has received a love so immense, how else can one respond but with total surrender? So I pray that any vice that may be found in my life would be revealed to me and tossed in the flames. This continues to happen as God transforms my life, molds me. I am continually convicted about attitudes and actions that I display. One step at a time I am changed.

My thoughts go to Gladys Aylward, missionary to China in the 1930s, who was named by the people of her community, Ai-weh-deh, Virtuous Woman. Well named, she devoted her life to utter obedience to truth. What a beautiful example of virtue her life displayed. A great read about her life is Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman.

And next week I get to visit the home of another virtuous and inspiring woman, Corrie ten Boom. Can’t wait! The Hiding Place, written by Corrie ten Boom, is one of my absolute favorite books of all time, a very intense look into her own life.

So tomorrow morning I’m off to Fried Chicken, uh, I mean Amsterdam. I’m hoping to keep you posted on all we experience, and for fun I’ve added the Amsterdam clock at the top of the left sidebar. Let’s hope we all adjust quickly to the time difference!

amanda ∞

3 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, Art Journal, God's Word, Inspiring, Transformation
Oct 29

Oh nuts!

I am so glad to have wandered through our neighborhood yesterday. Not only did I soak up some glorious sun before the rain clouds arrived, but I also found a treasure pile of acorns, big beautiful acorns. Have you examined an acorn recently? They are truly beautiful in shape, texture, color. I filled my pockets and ran home to my studio with an immediate hankering to solder. And here’s what came of it!
Wrist acorn Wrist acornpic Whole acorn Acornpic Acorn Wrist

Love it? It’s listed in my Etsy shop, and also my Artfire shop.

Artfire is experimental for me. The format is very similar to Etsy. It is a handmade, online marketplace, but by accepting fewer marketing options, a seller can list and sell unlimited for free. I signed up for the free option, then later upgraded so that I can have a marketplace kiosk on my Facebook page. Now I pay a monthly flat rate no matter how much I list or sell. At this point, I have sold only 1 item on Artfire. Etsy, on the other hand, is just cooking along. Also, when I list a new item in both shops, the Etsy shop always has more than triple the views than Artfire. I’ll keep this experiment going for a bit longer, but unless Artfire heats up, I’ll be closing that shop down.

And, although I’m not a power tweeter, I invite you to join me on Facebook: amanda.jolley and Espressivo, or Twitter: hiddenart

amanda ∞

7 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, Creation, Inspiring
Sep 04

Art Journal Morphing

First Fridays at VERONICA’s Voice are so much fun. The art journaling class has morphed into a general art class due to necessity. I found it difficult to explore new art journaling techniques when so many times the women in class did not have their journals or had not begun one yet. Many times the class was about making a new journal or altered book which did not develop past the cover. There were a faithful few who brought their altered books to add more to their pages, but overall I began to lose enthusiasm. So today we tried something new.

The assignment was to choose an image from a magazine, any image that spoke to them, and glue it on a piece of cardstock. After adding a bit of gesso, I had them add words, words about their day, their feelings, or why this image spoke to them. Then the layers with creamy Portfolio pastels were added. Some were very satisfied at that point while others journeyed on with layers of paints. My favorite part was listening to the stories behind the finished collages. One spoke of her mother, another of her new life, another of her freedom, beautiful stories, eyes lit up with sharing.







So my sweet artist friends, if you have ideas to share for this art class, please leave comments. I need projects that will work as a one-time class with limited supplies, since the audience is different from month to month. Have you experienced a project or taught a class that would work well in this setting? Art = community.

amanda ∞

8 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, Relationships, VERONICA's Voice
Aug 24

Circle Journal Joy

My dear friend’s inspiration has evolved into something grand. Alexandra invited many of her Artfest sisters to join in on a collaborative altered book project. Since then the idea has become a circle journal with a group of about 15 gals making and sending their journals around the group each with a distinct theme.

I was so fortunate to be the first to receive Alex’s book. Here’s the cover and pages she made using a Victor Hugo novel. I love Victor Hugo, but alas, I could not read it in French:

Her page is on the left which opens up to a sign in page for all the participants:

And the pages I added:

Page in progress (I love mud and weeds):

Done:

My own journal, below, which was sent to Amy has the theme, Symbols – Personal Imagery. I made the journal from a book cover and filled the inside with Bristol paper. The journal is bound with rings so that pages can be easily added and removed, and chunkier pages will not be an issue.

Cover:

Sign in page:

This is an old dictionary page with the definition for symbols, symbolism, symbology, etc. Although I sent this journal on already, when it finally arrives back home, this page may get another going over. It just doesn’t feel done to me. I was in a hurry to mail:

And my personal recurring symbol is trees. The tree on this page is a sketch I did about 8 years ago at a park in Nashville. Ah, memories, the children were so young:

And on the flipside of that notebook paper is a journal entry about my feelings for trees, the cottonwood in particular. It can partially be read if held to a mirror.

Right now I have Jessica’s journal and look forward to adding a page before sending it on. Her theme is Signs and the journal is just incredible.

More pictures to follow as this journey plays out.

amanda ∞

4 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, Art Journal, Relationships
Jun 12

Symbols Shaping Space done!

Artfest was over 2 months ago. I am still finishing up details and adding thoughts to my Artfest journal. Yesterday I was thrilled to have completed the mobile from Katie Kendrick‘s class: Symbols Shaping Space

This was my absolute favorite class. Katie is an intuitive artist, so as she taught, she drew out creativity in each of us. To begin the class, she broke our minds free with some non-dominant hand exercises which were incorporated into the final piece. I learned so much and was overflowing with emotion.

I hung my mobile from a piece of an antique rocking chair seat. The shape of this wood just called to me.

The mobile is covered with thoughts and remembrances of childhood, from the pieces of my favorite childhood book, The Owl and the Pussycat, to the antique barrettes that were my mother’s.


I was hoping to share with you a song, Beautiful Pea Green Boat by Laurie Anderson, but sadly cannot find it. For those of you who have the Bright Red album from 1994, go back and take a listen. It’s delightful.

amanda ∞

13 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, Hidden Art
May 12

Botanica Exotica


The last class I took at Artfest was Botanica Exotica taught by Melissa Manley. We formed botanical shapes from wire and added sausage casing. Having had little experience working with wire, I found forming the shapes to be the challenge. Also the lack of sleep from several days of Artfest infusion was affecting my ability to let my intuitive creativity flow. I was having a serious mental block and couldn’t remember what a flower looked like! To top that off, I found myself comparing my work to the others in the class. I caught myself soon enough, but really struggled with it the whole class.

Despite these challenges, I found myself truly enjoying working the SAUSAGE CASING and plan on experimenting more with it this summer. The casing was soaked in water. To apply it to the form, it either needed to be split open to wrap around the form, or slid over the form in its natural tubular shape. The casing adheres to itself when wet, so no adhesive was needed. While wet, it looked like a lumpy white mess, but when dried it had the appearance of aged translucent parchment. I used a type of wire that I knew would rust. I loved how the rust added to the ancient look of the pieces.

My dad’s birthday is this week. He is such a creative, earthy person, I thought this would be the perfect gift for him. Actually, he is the one I would like to work with this summer on some new projects. I hope we have the opportunity.

amanda ∞

13 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, Creation, Relationships
Apr 10

My daughter, the teacher

While I was away at Artfest filling my head with creative things, my daughter became the teacher for the art journaling class at VERONICA’s Voice. She did a wonderful job leading and teaching and guiding.  Here’s the mosaic collage technique she demonstrated that day:

tree-collage She sketched out the tree for placement, then added the color. The paper is from magazines which she tore and placed with a glue stick. Fun!

The art journal class is going well. While we do bring suggestions and techniques to the table, the women are free to do whatever they would like in their journals. I’ve signed up for the Stencilry Class over at Dispatch from LA and am hoping I can share some of what I learn. Fresh ideas are always welcome.

On another note, I just had to share this hilarious card my mom sent me:

symbol-minded-card The inside reads, “You’re my symbol-minded friend…”

Isn’t it hilarious? My grandmother purchased this card sometime in the 60s or 70s. I come from a family that either saved or used everything, so after both my grandparents passed, my mom inherited a box of very charming vintage cards. I am so thrilled to get them in the mail on occasion. They are my absolute favorite.

Our family will be joining with all of my husband’s immediate family this weekend for the Easter Holiday. It has been years since all the siblings and cousins were together at the same time. We are all very excited for the reunion.

And then next week I’m going to share all my wonderful tales from Artfest as well as glimpses of my projects. I’m still on a creative high. Even preparing tax returns could not bring me down.

Have a meaningful and joyful Holiday in celebration of the risen Savior, and in remembrance of the Passover.

amanda ∞

7 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, Art Journal, Family Fun, Relationships, VERONICA's Voice
Mar 06

Harvest

This last piece for the Summit is entitled Harvest. The face is of a child, so I added imagery from children’s books and encyclopedias. The clock was stamped by my mother-in-law when she was a child. The verses featured were:

John 4:35-36  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.  (36)  And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

The wheat is from my grandfather’s field the year that he died, and the dirt is from my back yard. Our basset-lab was kind enough to dig a fresh hole for me. The sides are cut from an old farm journal.

While I was gluing everything down with gel medium, I was reminded of the 4th grade. Being bored in class, I had spread glue on the palms of my hands and was peeling off the dried glue when the teacher noticed. She thought that was the strangest thing I could be doing. I thought it was cool how the glue came off in sheets and I could still see the lines and wrinkles from my hands. And here I was again peeling glue off my fingers after having such a wonderful time spreading it all over this final piece. Maybe I am strange, but glue makes me happy.






amanda ∞

6 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, God's leading, God's Word, Prayer, Worship
Mar 05

Providence

The focus verse that was used for this year’s Summit is Esther 4:14b.

Esther 4:14b  and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

In the last couple months, our pastor taught through the book of Esther. Wow. I loved learning and applying what was being taught. In Esther, God’s name is never mentioned. God is represented by Providence. Esther was created to be queen to save the children of Israel from annihilation.

During the teaching on Esther, the topic of providence and purpose in each of our lives was heavily implied. This can be a difficult topic for me when I am in the throws of depression from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but knowing the truth, that God has a purpose even for me while I am dealing with depression, helps me to find joy within my winter days.

And here is step by step, Providence:






5 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, God's leading, God's Word, Prayer, Worship
Mar 04

Purpose

Our church puts on an annual event focusing on missions called the Summit. This year I was asked to submit some art to support the theme, The New Missionary. As I worked through each piece, I felt prompted on each step through dreams, prayer, words, thoughts (with exclamation points). I was guided by the Spirit through the process of each piece.

Here’s the first one which I entitled Purpose, the focus of this one being God’s purpose for each individual. I enjoy seeing the process behind other’s art, so I thought I’d share the steps with you:






amanda ∞

3 comments Posted in Altered Art, Art, God's leading, God's Word, Prayer, Worship
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