Marriage Equality for Utah - Art Quilt

I've always been very supportive of LGBT rights. I remember in junior high that I would cringe when peers would use the word "gay" as a negative slur. Maybe it's the part of me that wants tolerance in the world or fairness. Not sure. 

Marriage equality is very important to me for a number of reasons, but there is one that you may not know. My husband is Latino - so we are considered a "mix race" family/marriage. I can't say I ever think of us that way, but there it is. It was not all that long ago that our marriage would have been illegal. I can't even fathom that. I can't imagine someone trying to explain to me how our love and commitment was wrong or less entitled than others. It makes me ill and I refuse to accept this for other consenting adults. Love is love, and that my friend in my opinion is what this world needs more of.

XO,
Jenny

First Art Book Publication - Incite, Dreams Realized: The Best of Mixed Media

When I decided to branch out into textile art and mixed media earlier this year, I never dreamed that it would go very far other than fulfilling my inner desires. I'm so honored and excited to be published in my first art book - Incite, Dreams Realized: The Best of Mixed Media. This book holds such amazing eye candy and inspiration.

And here is my page..

I have another textile collage art piece in the works. It's quite large and has taken some time, but I'm hoping to reveal the macabre twins soon..

I hope you will pick this book at your local bookstore or on Amazon - I just know you will love it!

XO,
Jennifer

An Experiment With Plaster, Watercolors, Fabric and Embroidery.. Or Fresco Embroidery..

Ever since I dived into Plaster Studio: Mixed-Media Techniques for Painting, Casting and Carving, I've been experimenting with adding plaster to my repertoire. I have absolutely loved including plaster into my work, but I've been searching for ways to marry it with fabric. In the book there are a few projects that use it with burlap to create some beautiful pieces, but it wasn't quite me. I didn't want the fabric to simply be a substrate, I wanted it to breathe and have a relationship with the final piece. I have a number of ideas I want to explore with different fabrics and types of plaster (gesso, joint compound, plaster of paris, etc), but I'm so excited and I wanted to share my first piece with you.

This piece started with a single piece of linen and was frosted with a thin layer of joint compound. Once it set, I painted the background with a wash of watercolors. Then with perle cotton, I embroidered a primitive design of two homes. To add stability and color to the project, the piece was then deconstructed and hand sewn on to another piece of linen. Once it was secure, I free motioned it all together with a flannel batting and heavy canvas back.

It is delicate, simple and thoughtful. This piece is a gift and has a long story behind it.

It is the start to hopefully many more "fresco embroideries". I love the texture and fragility of it, though I hope I can find the right combination that will allow more detailed embroidery without impacting the plaster too much.

Sea Port - Encaustic Art & How To Wall Mount Thin Wood

Sea Port is my latest mixed media piece of art. It began from a day of doodling compasses and transformed into an abstract dreamy vision of days at sea. This piece is another wood panel layered in plaster, paint, pastels, wax, shallow carved and more! All the layers really add to its dreamy nature. In the end it cried for a bit of bling, a bit of a frame.. so I soldered it with lead free silver solder and buffed it to a high polish. I hope it speaks to you! It makes me miss my California hometown terribly..

Then when I was finished I was perplexed as to the best way to wall mount this art. The wood I work with is typically 1/4" thick, too thin for sawtooth hanger nails. I decided to mount another small piece of wood at the top and drill through both. This art is now super secure and ready for the wall.

Hippity Hop - Chocolate Bunny Mixed Media Art

I started this piece a couple weeks ago. I had some spare time and just was playing. When I first started with  fine art mediums, back in high school, my favorite was oil pastels. I still have a large supply of them and thought it would be fun to try them again. The first layer reminds me of jelly beans - bright, yummy rainbow of colors. From there I built up several layers of texture and finished with my favorite Easter candy - a large, chocolate rabbit. Just makes me want to bite the ears off! Hippity Hop  is a much sweeter piece than I've been doing lately and every time I see it, I want a handful of candy.

Wax On, Wax Off

I can't help it! I have fallen in love with melted beeswax and plaster!! This past weekend I had an extraordinary amount of time in the studio and just played the days away.

First off is "The Gilded Memory". I know, I know.. put a bird on it.. But I can't help loving the imagery and the meaning behind bird cages. This started as an ordinary heart paper mache box. While I was playing with plaster earlier, I had a bit of excess and decided to shmear it all over the lid. It gave me awesome depth and such a fun background to work with. There is cream and pink paint along with a gold glittery wash. I spritzed some Glimmer Mist. There is an original postcard from 1910, lace and book pages in French. Lots of yummy, hot wax to finish it off.

Next up is a piece in my Dark Carnivale series. I'm actually still working on I - Double Trouble, and it will be a bit before that is completed since it a quite large fabric collage. This one is II - The Magic Eye.

This one started on a 12" square mounted canvas. I originally layered joint compound and strips of plaster. Then it was iced in a thick layer of white gesso. I had fun painting the background with acrylics, fluid watercolor, and oil pastels. I wasn't sure where I was going with it at first and then it seemed perfect. This image was one that I sketched a few months ago when I decided to create the series. After the first layer of paint, I collaged fabric on top for the eye, banner, and circle. I then came back with more paint and darkened it up. All topped with of course.. hot beeswax. I wish this picture did it some justice. The layers of plaster and paint give it an incredible depth and texture.

Next up for the Dark Carnivale? A lizardish man on a high wheel bicycle. I'm not sure which medium I'll use to create it yet..

The Stitches That Bind

Oh my, this was just too much fun to make! I have been itching to do another encaustic / textile mixed media piece. My girls both had the flu this past week and there has been little time to sleep nor play. As soon as fevers subsided and laundry cleaned, I ran to the studio for some art therapy!

This was done on a mounted canvas. I pulled out one of my easels and acrylic paints with glee. I then layered it with the quilting cotton fabric (they are from Blend, Charlotte Lyons line - Walnut Hill Farm) I embroidered on linen the following quote - "Reinforce the stitch that ties us, and I will do the same for you". They were embedded into the canvas with warm, hot beeswax.

I wanted something more.. Something organic. I wanted to have some free motion sketching on the canvas, but I did not want to cover up more of the paint with chunks of fabric. I had an idea!

I knew that you could create free standing lace by stitching soluble stabilizer and tulle. I wondered if I could do that with just free motion sketching and if the hot buttery wax could melt the stabilizer. And it did! Looking back I could have washed off the stabilizer, dried it and then embedded... Oh well, maybe I will try that next week.

This was such a fun treat to make after a week of some ickiness.
I think it is the perfect Valentine art and just placed it on Etsy..