Art Show - AAC - Juried Member Show 2024

I dropped off these 2 pieces at the Art Gallery on Saturday morning to have them accepted or rejected for our Allied Arts Council - Juried Member Show.

Title: Tar Brush Strokes

Size: 13.00 x 17.00 inches

Medium: Photography

Print: 09 x 13 inches

Mat: 13x17 Dark grey with white second mat

Frame: 13x17 Metal Dark Grey 

This print is a triptych of 3 sections of tar brush strokes made by a tradesman at the end of the job of coating a cement parkade.  I expect the brush was 12-18 inches wide and the brush strokes covered an area of 8 x 12 feet or so. 

I chose the most dynamic sections.  I framed them with black lines and inserted it into an opening in a double mat of white and dark grey.  

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Title: Patchwork Fields

Size: 11.00 x 14.00 inches

Medium: Mixed Media - Watercolor and Pen and Ink

Art Size: 04 x 10 inches mixed media paper

Mat: 11x14 white with a wide narrow opening

Frame: 11x14 Black Metal Frame with non glare glass

I was inspired by aerial shots of dry stone walled fields in the United Kingdom. Featuring a river running through them with a long red roofed farm building.

UPDATE: Sold on May 28 2024

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I returned at 3:00 pm to find that both pieces had been accepted into the show.  Looking forward to the reception.

Donations to a Fundraiser

I prepared a couple of photos to donate as prizes at a fundraiser being held this weekend.

The 8x10 inch frame is metal in a gun metal gray color.  It has very angled edges.

I chose a black mat 8x10 mat with an 5x8 inch opening. It is archival but in a size I would not likely use for the gallery.

The photo is a black and white photo 8x8 inches of chess pieces I took a couple of years ago for Flickr Macro Mondays. It fit perfectly in this frame.

I placed the pawn and shortest piece in the front then aligned the knight in the middle ground and the queen in the background.  I was just making an appealing presentation of the shapes of the pieces.  I have since learned a bit of how chess is played from my grand nephew.

This frame is a warm white color.  It is plastic in an 8x10 inch with a very narrow profile.  It was very easy to assemble the sandwich to insert in the frame.  Very well designed.

I paired it with a shot of The Wilson`s Snipe I took at the wetlands when I first got my zoom.

An oval mat is not likely something I would use for the gallery and it is archival as well.

The photo is an 8x8 inch which I printed a while back.  The color of the frame works really well with the colors in the feather of the bird.









I put together a gift pack of 10 A7 5x7 photo cards as well as a prize at this fundraiser.  I have decided to go back to making A2 cards as those are more efficient in materials and time.

I hope the folks that receive these will enjoy them in their world whatever that may be.

R2Go Christmas Stack kit - Pinecones & Reindeer

I cut the pine cone element with a Sizzix Squares Thinlits at about  3 inches square.  I then cut with the paper cutter a white layer at 3.25 inches. These are adhered together.

I cut black and white snowflake designer card stock into pieces 4.25 inches by 2.5 inches. The paper is by Teresa Collins - Christmas Home - Cmas Damask. This is the reverse side. I adhered the piece on the left side aligned to the edge of a black card.

I then cut a length of 6.5 inch red crimped ribbon and placed in the center of the wide card and taped the ends to the inside.

I added 3D foam tape to the four corners of the pinecone accent and adhered it to the right side leaving even border on the top, right and bottom edges.

This is the same sketch but in the portrait orientation.

The Reindeer element was cut to 3 inches and an ivory layer was cut to 3.25 inches. These are adhered together. I chose ivory to coordinate with the striped ribbon.

The striped light and dark green designer paper is by Graphics 45 from the Twas the Night Before Christmas collection. It was cut to 2.5 inches tall and 4.25 inches wide and adhered to the bottom of the green card.

The striped ribbon was cut to 6.5 inches, placed in the center of the card and the ends were taped to the inside of the card.

The reindeer element was adhered with 3D foam tape placed in the 4 corners.  It was aligned to leave an even border on left top and right hand sides.

R2Go All Occasion Stack Kit - Set 05

I cut the flowers from black card stock.

I selected designer paper and coordinating card stock for the base.  It was cut to leave a small border.  I adhered the DSP to the card front.

I then aligned the flower and and stem onto the card front. Once happy, I adhered the flower then the stem and trimmed it to the edge of the card.

I made a hole in the center of the flower with a push pin.  I placed the flower sequin then the handmade flower by Prima onto the tiny black brad and placed the prongs through the hole and press them apart on the inside of the card.

 This set features black and white printed elements.  The images were downloaded from Pixabay. They were printed onto white card stock then they were punched with a 2" circle punch.

I chose designer paper which would coordinated with the elements and then cards in black, white or kraft.

Once the desinger paper was adhered to the card front I wrapped a piece of black knitting ribbon around the card front and knotted it.

The element is created when the white circle is adhered to the black Stampin Up Deco Label die cut.  The label is then adhered over the ribbon with 3D foam tape.

 This card features a large metallic copper diecut daisy done with the Sizzix Daisy #4 die.

I chose designer paper and card stock combinations that worked well together.  The DSP is cut to leave a small border then adhered to the card front.

I tack the copper daisy lightly with adhesive.  This time because I have no greeting I swung the stem to the center.  I used a push pin to create a hole in the center of the flower.  I placed the teal and copper flowers onto the tiny copper brad and pressed it through the hole I made. Spread the prongs on the inside.

Check the kit tab for availability.

R2Go All Occasion Stack Kit - Set 04

I cut the flowers from black card stock.

I selected designer paper and coordinating card stock for the base.  It was cut to leave a small border.  I adhered the DSP to the card front.

I then aligned the flower and and stem onto the card front. Once happy, I adhered the flower then the stem and trimmed it to the edge of the card.

I made a hole in the center of the flower with a push pin.  I placed the flower sequin then the handmade flower by Prima onto the tiny black brad and placed the prongs through the hole and press them apart on the inside of the card.

This set features black and white printed elements.  The images were downloaded from Pixabay. They were printed onto white card stock then they were punched with a 2" circle punch.

I chose designer paper which would coordinated with the elements and then cards in black, white or kraft.

Once the desinger paper was adhered to the card front I wrapped a piece of black knitting ribbon around the card front and knotted it.

The element is created when the white circle is adhered to the black Stampin Up Deco Label die cut.  The label is then adhered over the ribbon with 3D foam tape.

This card features a large metallic copper diecut daisy done with the Sizzix Daisy #4 die.

I chose designer paper and card stock combinations that worked well together.  The DSP is cut to leave a small border then adhered to the card front.

I tack the copper daisy lightly with adhesive.  This time because I have a greeting I swung the stem to the right.  I used a push pin to create a hole in the center of the flower.  I placed the teal and copper flowers onto the tiny copper brad and pressed it through the hole I made. Spread the prongs on the inside.

The greeting was printed in teal on ivory card stock and punched out with the Stampin Up Artisan label.
Check the kit tab for availability.

2018 Open Photography Competition & Show

Here are the photos I submitted to the 2018 Open Photography Competition of the Allied Arts Council hung at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery.

Spring on Rose Glow
17x17 inch frame
12x12 inch Color photo

This was taken in spring as the beautiful burgundy leaves were emerging from this very grey wooden branch.  The bush is the a variety of the Japanese Barberry called Rose Glow. 

The feedback I received on this photo was

• nice use of depth of field
• great composition - use of rule of thirds
• the highlight on the leaf to the right of the center of the flower is a bit distracting

This was a composition and photo I had taken for Macro Mondays.  I just created a pleasing composition with the shapes of the objects. I had no idea how these chess pieces relate on the game board.  My grand nephew educated me a bit last summer.  The short one in the front is the Pawn, the next one is the Knight and the tallest is the Queen. It would have helped to have them sitting on chess board.  I know better now.

Small to Tall
14x14 in frame
8x8 inch B&W photo

The original was shot in color as the pieces are beautiful maple hard wood pieces.

I converted it to black and white for this show.

This is a Rose taken at the Muttart Conservatory for another Macro Monday challenge.

It was just so well lit when I shot this flower. 

Sunlight on Rose
14x14 inch frame
8x8 inch Color photo

I loved how the dark mats and the dark background in the photo really work to make the rose the centre of attention and focus.

This photo has been gifted to the Compassion House for an auction.  I thought the pink rose for cancer fundraising quite appropriate.

Cityscapes Photo Calendar

I've completed my black and white 4x6 photo calendar for 2017.  I was given some feedback last year that street photography and black and white photos would provide more variety to my the calendars I was offering.  Taking that to heart I started looking outside my comfort zone of macro photography.  I thought they would be landscapes and wide open spaces but I chose some cityscapes instead. The calendar includes buildings, bridges, parks, lighting and doorways.  I meant several trips to the downtown core as well as some early morning trips to get good contrast in my shots. I chose to also make it black and white.  It was a stretching experience and I am better for it. 

Card Club - October - Polaroid Frame

I started with a purple card onto which I printed a frame all around the card front and I inserted the word Nature in the bottom right hand corner.  I then printed some of my photos in black and white.  I chose the globe flower and a sunflower. I paired the globe with purple and sunflowers with yellow card stock.  I cut black Polaroid frames with the Instant Camera die from Lil' Inkers. I placed dry adhesive on the back of the frame and aligned it onto the photo.  I trimmed the leftover photo to the edge of the frame.  I then adhered this accent layer to the card front.

2016 Ready2Fill Calendar - Black & White

I worked on a DIY calendar for someone to create photo calendars from their favorite images.  I decided to keep the color scheme neutral and went with black and white.  The photo on the left is the front page. I've placed a bit of information in the frame. The inner frame makes it easy to line up your 4x6 photo when adhering your photo. If you are giving the calendar you can select a special photo for the front page and cover the text just leaving the 2016 on the bottom of the page.

The photo on the right are the 4 other B&W textures I found on free clipart and patterns websites. I chose 2 bold images and 2 line drawing images to provide some interest to the overall calendar.  The pages are 8.5x11 inches and are held together with a Zutter metal OWire binding.  I've placed a hole in the top centre to hang it.

B&W - Petrified Wood

I took this picture of a large piece of petrified wood.  It is a very large tree stump that likely measures 3 feet across.  It had this little green plant growing in the middle.  This circle shows the plant in the center.  The other is the side as it is probably 18 inches high.  I thought these shots had enough contrast to convert to black and white.

Submitting to
B&W Wednesday.