Texture

I've been wanting to play with Valerie and Chrissie at Tag Tuesday for weeks.  When Wendy picked Texture as the theme

I knew I simply had to play.

Wendy suggested such items as fabric, ribbons, and yarns.  So I dug in my fabric and fiber drawers and came up with this.

The sewing kept the fibers, hem tape, and knitted yarn in place. 

For this piece, I started with a die cut tag, to which I added various fibers, hem tape, knitted yarn, a punched and stamped circle, a sandwich pick, and variegated thread.  For the tag tie, I wanted something unusual, so used a recycled twist tie that I'd removed from my new monitor cord.  I really hope I find time to make more of these textured tags before time runs out.

But I was very unhappy with the scan, so decided to see how different it would look photographed.

To say it made a difference is like calling the Queen Mary a rowboat.  My scanner couldn't compare to this photo.

Even the close-up provided truer colors.

The texture in the knitted bottom was so much clearer, too.  I hope you agree.

Thanks for visiting me today, and thanks to the wonderful artists at Tag Tuesday for sharing their texture tags.  I hope to see you there, too. 

Go Fish! (a three-fer)

I finally found a bit of time to create some art for three challenges.  Today I'm joining Art Journal Journey, Moo-Mania and More, and Try it on Tuesday with this piece that came together after I saw how well each challenge fit together.

I call it Go Fish!  It's a play on a card game of the same name.

We'll begin with the bubbles expelled by the fish (yes, you must use your imagination) because these bubbles contain letters and numbers which is the theme this fortnight for Try it on Tuesday.

The fish are the main focus of an underwater theme, Moo-Mania and More's challenge this fortnight.

And finally, the circles are Rosie's theme this month's host at Art Journal Journey.

Materials used include heavy white cardstock painted with watercolor crayons.  To that I added small circles made from a Martha punch and colored, and a large circle punch I colored in a different blue watercolor crayon.  The fish and most of the fish bubbles were stamped, although some had sticker numbers added.

Thanks so much for joining me today, then please join me at Art Journal Journey, Moo-Mania and More, and Try it on Tuesday. 
 

Keepers of the Plains

Some of you saw a Keeper of the Plains I showed during a T Stands For Tuesday post a couple of weeks ago. 

This is the actual Keeper as it is lit by a ring of fire (a nightly event).  It was created by Blackbear Bozen, a Native American, in 1974 and placed at the confluence of the Big Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers.  

It is a large (44 feet/13,41meter) metal (steel) sculpture.


Back in 2014, there was a contest in which artists were juried.  At the time, I thought there were to be 10 Keepers.  I've since learned there are currently 19, but 25 were originally ordered.  According to Together Wichita:

Keepers on Parade is a public art project proudly brought to you by Together Wichita. Ten feet tall fiberglass Keeper of the Plains replicas were painted, adorned and magically transformed by local artists.

This is what they looked like before anything was added.

I also learned they are all around town.

This is the first Keeper I found.  I took this photo from the car as we were leaving the zoo in November, 2016.  Not the best picture, but I had to rush because they had just unloaded it.

This is the second Keeper I found.  I stumbled onto it accidentally.

The rest I found on the web.  As I find them in real life, I will update my blog.  Until then, these are the ones I've found on the web.

This one sits on the campus of Friends University.

These were on display at the Indian Museum

before being placed around town.

This one was a progress report on a zentangle blog.  The woman was creating zentangles on the Keeper, but the blogger didn't give the artist's name or anything about her.

I was unable to download the ones from Together Wichita, so if you want to see them you will have to go here.

Thanks for joining me today as I take a break from the Cosmosphere photos.  They have begun to get a bit overwhelming and they don't seem to create much interest for the incredible amount of time I spend documenting them.

T Stands For Bungalow 26 Purchases

Before we begin today, I want to get definitive answers about celebrating our fourth anniversary, which will be here in mid-July.  I would like to know if you would be interested in sending an ATC (artist trading card) to the next person on the linky list who puts an asterisk after their name.  

For that week only, I will use Inlinkz because you can remove your own links there, and even I cannot remove links in Mr. Linky.  The removal tool doesn't seem to work.

Please let me know in comments if you want to play.  You won't be banned from T, and no one will think less of you if you don't want to make and share an ATC, but I just need to know if there is an interest.

For the past two T Tuesdays I have shown some of the beautiful mugs and other goodies found at Bungalow 26.

This is one of the two teas I purchased. 

The lady who owned the shop and I got to talking about lifts. 

I decided to emulate hers.

Most of the tea she sold was green, but I prefer black.

Doesn't this sound yummy?  I can't wait to try it.

Instead of making tea, I chose my cup to show the other purchases I made.

These are wonderful blends of essential oils you rub on your pulse points.  The one on the left is called Stress Free, while the one on the right is

Egyptian Goddess.  It smelled better in the store, but Stress Free smelled better once I put it on.  I'm glad I bought both, though.

EDIT: a lift is something that elevates and in this case it's what the tea container was sitting on.

Now it's your turn to share your T entry this week.  The rules are extremely simple.  Your drink related post may be anything from a photo of a glass, cup, or mug, to an actual drink.  You may choose to share a sketch or a digital, hybrid, or traditional page in your scrapbook, art journal, or altered book.  Maybe you'd prefer to share a tag, or wow us with your photography.  You might choose a postcard or decorated card.  You might even draw an image on a used tea bag.  Or perhaps you prefer to review a place you visited, a movie, or book.  It makes no difference as long as it's drink related.  And don't forget that the more unique and outside the box it is, the better we like it.  Please tie it back here, and please link only to your T post, not your entire blog.  When you link, Bleubeard, the T gang, and I will be by to visit.   Bleubeard would also like to remind you that your photos may be taken any time, even months or years ago, if you choose.

ICADs from June 12 through 18

Here are this week's ICADs or Index Card a Day.

For Day 12, I chose this image of Cavallini's Phrenology.

On Day 13, I simply had to create something with a heart.  I thought this Mother and Child Reunion sounded right and it brought to mind the song written and sung by Paul Simon.  Simon's strange, dark lyrics have nothing to do with the joy of this mother as she greets her child.

Day 14 was Flag Day in the USA.  Of course, I had to honor the flag, something we seem to have gotten away from doing lately.

For Day 15, I created a bit of humor when I made this piece entitled "Color Theory."  It has nothing to do with real color theory, as it was a tongue in cheek entry.

For Day 16, I found this black and white  giraffe in a magazine and decided to create my own color using paint markers.

On Day 17, I threw some lavender paint on an IC, then sewed various scraps to the page.  As I predicted, the yellow vellum helped turn the lavender brown where the two colors met.

Day 18 honors Father's Day in the U.S. with this manly stamp I colored.

Thanks for visiting today, because this is the only place you will find my ICADs.