Toy Box Circus

This toy theatre (theater) was created by Tatjana. Two of my clowns had been accidently broken in my store, so I couldn't sell them and they needed a home.

From the two clowns, Tatjana developed a home for them. It was a theatrical piece, which she aptly named Toy Box Circus. This is reflecting an olde world charm, that of childhood dreams and fantasies, something we both like specialising in. We have also used Mamelok relief die cuts which have been glued onto card, then cut out and glued on to the piece.

Also when you look at the clown you will be able to see a parrot on its shoulders. That's such a fanciful touch Tatjana made there. You will be able to see that we have also eclectically used other products, like Alice in Wonderland's rabbit, shown here jumping out of a box:

This little scene is of two clowns on the tightrope (i.e. Krylon thread).

This is a closer look at the top of the toy box circus, where the carousel animals are riding. You have to use your imagination like a child to appreciate the 'static' movement going on here.

More detail of the clown holding the balloons. The papers being used here are predominantly from scrapbook manufacturers.

And the view from the bottom: the clown is holding a ukelele (doll's accessory/miniature), also there is a wooden laser cut train set, and around the edge of the threatre (theater), wire pearl sprays have been used to represent the stage lights, dark blue mulberry paper with silver leaf has been podged onto cardboard as the base:

This is the upper right view. We have used Karen Foster's circus stickers and more of the Mamelok Press die cut reliefs:

And the final piece, all of it viewed together. It's quite magical transporting you there.

King Arthur's Tales

This is King Arthur's tales with a difference – a collaged difference! I own several copies of King Arthur, etc; but have not yet read any of them, I spend all my time observing the artist's work.

So, seems I haven't read the book, I've 'altered' the story line with my own storyboard book.

The book is still unfinished ... I've run out of time to work on this one ... or my inspiration has flown away from it. I'll come back to it later and re-post the next 'altered chapters'.

Fabio

One of my staff members (Jade) was having her 21st birthday party, and she had a theme, where everybody had to wear a mask. So that was a semi major undertaking.

The mask we made was a collaborative project: I designed it, Ann Na helped, Alana helped and Tatjana helped. And viola we named him Fabio. Once he had been worn, well what else can you do with him, so up he went onto his own mount and framed for everyone else to enjoy!

And thanks Fabio for the night out (he ended up being my date, as my husband had to look after the kids, and wasn't keen on wearing a mask either!).

This is him without the flash.

Antique Road Show

It's time to dig out your antiques, kiwiana, heirlooms, art and bric a brac to be evaluated by professional valuers.

Saturday 5 April 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Ngauruhoe Street, Mt Eden (Mt Eden Village, near Altered Art Scrapbook Shoppe) is the annual Antique Road Show. Valuations live on stage, alongside a myriad of Victorian styled street entertainment for the whole family to enjoy.

Highlights include the dancing monkey, string quartet, shoeshine boy, badminton gents, flower girls and the hilarious tea service of Great Aunt Myrtle and Dear Cousin Arabella.

It's a day for music, dancing, market stalls, fun and entertainment to raise money for the Maxine Van der Velden Charitable Trust and Scholarship. There'll be Victorian characters, urchins, flower sellers, sport for gentlefolk and fun for the kids.

We aim to collect over $5,000 for this wonderful cause, dig deep and help us to help a young Auckland person to pursue their dream.

Maxine was only 19 years of age, when she was struck by a drunk driver and killed in October 2004. We continue her memory and honour this life that was cut short.

We will be assisting with this trust by donating a beginner's class fee heritage page, sold on the day at our shop towards this cause; however, materials and consumables will still need to be purchased.

Sighs of Love

This collage canvas has been created by Tatjana (she works in the Mt Eden store). She also enjoys story telling in her work, and is another romantic at heart too! So those who like reading pictures for story and meaning, here is her three piece collage canvas. We're not going to tell the story, you can read it through the images.

Scene One:


Scene Two:


Scene Three:


The apple makes her feel better, nice ending.

Completed art work: (Two views one on white background and the other on black background)



Yeah, one girl got the guy, the other one didn't.

Alchemist - word/meaning

Okay, I’m a person that plays with words. I will often explore the subtle meaning of a word, and see if I can contextualise that word and then transport it into another environment (i.e. the context). This is what I did when I rebranded my shop Altered Art Alchemist.

However, I was well aware of the negative connotations of the word alchemy, and had a prick of the conscience to use another word, but ploughed on ahead anyway. Now, I should have listened to my conscience as it appears the word has offended some. And another point to bear in mind, is that when people are unsure of a word, it can create a bit of fear, and they will avoid such things. For this reason I am removing the word Alchemist from the shop name.

The shop isn't about alternative science or anything such, hence the images are of artist palettes, bottles of stuff (but that’s bottles and jars of gels, pastes, and glazes for sale). I did, however, start getting a new customer base of people who thought I should be selling this and that, for it matched the name of the shop, however, that isn't what the shop is about, it is just about paper crafting, altered art and scrapbooking, nothing more.

I was using the word alchemy in the context of ‘transforming an object into something special’. That was the idea behind it, transforming found objects, books, canvasses, photos into altered art pieces that were then special and treasured.

So to keep everyone happy the shop is: Altered Art Scrapbook Shoppe.

Easter Decorations

Well, we have been having fun at Altered Art Alchemist making Easter decorations. These can be either for the dining table or hung as a mobile.



The little Easter eggs are made from paper clay (Paper Delight). After moulding them into shape, we then decoupaged various scraps of pastel type papers (we used one of Brenda Walton's range with Crafty Secrets Pastel pad). The thicker paper needed to be spliced a little. Then we dipped parts of the egg into clear micro beads.



The larger egg (our dinosaur egg!) was just made from scrunched up newspaper, this was then taped, then a layer of tissue applied all around it, before decoupaging again with Brenda Walton's papers, we also added her range of dimensional stickers as well. Further embellishments were added, such as Kindy Glitz glitter and lots of ribbon.

They are really easy to make, so have fun, and it's a great way of using up those scraps. Also I'm sure your kids will love helping you with these ones, ladies.

In Celebration of Pre-Raphaelite Women

This was an empty chocolate box, and now serves for a purpose – for some of my jewellery.

These images are from the story Camelot. The artists featured are some of my favourites: Rosetti, Millais and Waterhouse.

I have used K & Co's Amelia Wildflower in gold (Brenda Walton) paper.



The box opened:
(Here I have used K & Co's flocked paper by Brenda Walton, plus some beaded trim).



This panel of the box has smaller images of Camelot scenes overlaid with mica sheets to highlight them. It also has a ribboned pansy - just for fun.



Inside the box, the compartments (without the jewellery):
(Here I have also randomly added some tissue.)



And the back of the box – another story is unfolding here. I like to use an eclectic mix of stories. (and again more tissues randomly added.)

stilettofied Cowgirl

Okay, this is a bit quirky. A bit of romance, and a bit of adventure.



This work is a painting on canvas. It also has a suede cut out of a semi stiletto boot on it, with a cowgirl spur. It's fluffy and feminine.

Disney Scenes

I went to Disney with my family back in 2003, so this is how behind I am in my scrapbooking! I have only just got that page completed! (And all I had to do was add photos, as Tatjana had done this one for me). I have just recently returned from Anaheim this year, so it was a bit of a prod in the .... to get things done.

We've used DMC Once Upon a Time Fairy Tale series of glittered papers, and yes, we still have these in our stores (www.scrapbookersdelight.co.nz).


Then the door opens.




Enjoy the fantasy world of Disneyland (I LOVE it!). Heck, these photos take me back, trapsing four kids around the place, as you can see the youngest is pretty tired.

Blokes do Scrapbook!

Dan Eldon was just 22 years old when he died, in 1983, at the hands of a Somali mob in Mogadishu reacting to the UN bombings of General Aideid's headquarters. This book is a collection of selected pages of some of the 17 journals he kept in a short but action packed life. It is what I describe as bloke scrapbooking.

He was a Reuters photographer.



Back in East Africa, while working on a film-set, he heard rumours of a famine in Baidoa, Somalia. Together with a friend working for a US newspaper he set off north to investigate. Many of his photographs made the front pages of newspapers across the world, and he began to devote his time to photo-journalism, returning to Somalia on frequent occasions for the Reuters news agency.




On 12 July 1993 in Mogadishu, with two fellow Reuters correspondents, Anthony Macharia and Hos Maira, and Hansi Krauss of AP, he met his death.

You can view his style of scrapbooking in the book "The Journals of Dan Eldon: The Journey is the Destination" First published as a limited edition in 1997, this book has been reissued to coincide with the release of a feature film being made by Kathy Eldon of her son's life. Dan Eldon's gift for assembling photographs, drawings, words, maps, news clippings, scraps of documents, foodwrappers - in short ephemera - documents a passionate life of travel, his love for beautiful women, his despair at witnessing war's horrors, a deep streak of rebellion, and a wonderfully irreverent sense of humour.

Kathy is currently producing a feature film about her son, artist and Reuters photographer Dan Eldon. Kathy and Amy also produced a half-hour pilot, Global Trek, in search of New Lebanon, for CNN International. In l997, Kathy edited The Journey is the Destination, a collection of Dan's journal pages which was published by Chronicle Books. Kathy and Amy have collaborated on Stay in Touch, a communications program for children, and are the founders of the Creative Visions Foundation, which helps fund young writers, journalists and photographers who wish to produce commercial projects with a social, humanitarian or environmental focus.

www.creativevisions.org/

Craft Meets Fashion

In December 2007 I rebranded my store in Mt Eden to Altered Art Alchemist, actually I'm going to add to it: Altered Art Alchemist's Scrapbook Shoppe (reason being some of my scrapbookers got a bit upset – it's not that I wasn't going to cater for them anymore, it's just that this shop is still selling scrapbooking products, but a lot more messier stuff too!).

Anyway this shop's motto is: Where Art meets Craft, and Craft meets Fashion. With that in mind you can imagine the sort of items we have in the store, all unfunctional I must add, but a sheer pleasure to look at. Us girls here just love beautiful things, that's all. Our store has become a magpie's dream, where women enjoy fossicking among, yes dare I say it, our clutter, but it's for that tribe that take great pleasure in doing just that, then they will climb our stairs into a second floor of more fascinating and intriguing artful feasts; whereas my store on the North Shore is large, roomy and easy to navigate.

To get an idea of some of the projects we are working on and teaching, this is a papercrafted torso using K & Co's Ancestry paper and rubons, combined with toile, paper flowers and ribbon. Walter Knabe's paper has been used on the bottom.

The torso we added its neck, head, stand and supporting frame.

Artists in Mt Eden

For those of you who have never been to Mt Eden in Auckland, I thought I'd introduce you to this Bohemian enclave in the heart of Auckland city.

Mt Eden is noted for its cafes, specialty shops, and a blend of the bourgeois with the artists. Mt Eden Village (the shopping centre) has three artist organisations: Eden Arts, Artists in Mt Eden, and Young Artists Awards.

So here is a glimpse of some of the shops, cafes, etc in this place.








From Wikipedia
"Mt Eden is now a "leafy suburb" of predominantly large houses from the first half of the 20th century. The gardens are verdant and the trees have grown large. On the eastern slopes of Mt Eden were constructed several large country houses set in palatial grounds. These included "Harewood House" (now the site of the Mater Hospital), Justice Gillies "Rocklands Hall" (now a hostel), Alfred Buckland's "Highwic" (now a museum), the Hellaby family's "Florence Court", and Josiah Clifton Firth's "Clifton House" (both still private residences). Close by the current Government House (residence of the Governor General) is Eden Gardens, a botanical garden set up in a disused quarry.

In the 1950s and 1960s the inner suburbs became unfashionable and the old houses of the Mt Eden area were comparatively cheap to buy. Mt Eden developed a slightly bohemian image during this time as a community of artists, writers, teachers and university lecturers made it their home. Mt Eden village is still regarded by many as the "Home Of Arts" in Auckland, due to the large amount of creative activity in and around the suburb and the large number of artists who live nearby."

But now: (www.mounteden.co.nz/shop/the-village/press-releases/)
"Mt Edenites are almost exclusively white (70-80 per cent, depending on which part of Mt Eden) or Asian (16-18 per cent), well-educated (over 50 per cent have a post-school qualification, compared to 41 per cent in Auckland as a whole), and wealthy. Young professionals without children dominate the north of the suburb, where houses are smaller and there are lots of flats. In the central and southern parts, there are more families with kids.
“Grammar zone” are the two magic words when you are talking about property prices in Mt Eden. A four-bedroom villa might cost you $1.2 million or more if it comes with automatic entry to Auckland Grammar and Epsom Girls Grammar schools. Two streets further over, and out of zone, an identical house might cost $800,000."

So it has this sub-culture of artsy people mingling with those that can afford to pay for their art -- a good synergy!

And of course, our cute shop:



More info at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt_Eden and www.mounteden.co.nz/shop/arts/.

2D Bohemian Rhapsody

Here is the work that was selected into Somerset Studio's Gallery Series Winter 2007.

I have used 7 Gypsies and Rebecca Sower's (EK Success) products.



And more finer detail. The gypsy wagon is a 2D piece.

More Baby layouts of Emma - my step daughter

This page layout has a little pull out tag at the bottom of the heart.



Experimenting using The Crafters Workshop stencils, and then spraying with the glimmer mist. It worked well on the single sheet, but when I tried it with photos already on the page, the millimetres in height caused some of the mist to go underneath the stencil. So do watch out for that.

Page Layouts of Emma

I have been experimenting using Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mist. What fun I have had today. I have used Basic Grey's Two Scoops paper here, and then sprayed parts of it with Glimmer Mist in Key Lime, Sea Glass and Cherub Pink. It gives a beautiful irridescent look, which the picture doesn't quite show.
Here is a close up view, so you can try and appreciate the irridescent spray.

Peace I offer you

This is a painting of one of my daughters who has been projected as a 20 year old woman by my friend and fantasy artist, Paula. Paula created this picture just from a photograph of my daughter when she was five years old. That photo is pictured below (now has been removed). I also collected three other photos of myself as a young woman (my teenage wedding). This was set against like an English moors look (inspiration from the Wuthering Heights, Bronte sisters).

I got this painting done for personal reasons, where through certain circumstances I was unsure about my future, and this daughter is my youngest, so I just wanted to see what she would look like as a woman. Then I was going to get my other daughter done (which I will one day), but the circumstances had changed and I had passed my trial, but only by the grace of God. It's ambiguous, but it has to remain so, but through this adversity, I came out a braver and more courageous woman, I can honestly say now, I fear no one or anything.

There's a saying
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” -- Edmund Burke.

Well, I'm certainly no coward, so I confronted a situation, but didn't realise its implications. Enough said. As Psalms say 'Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy' (Psalm 107:2). That's why the picture is called "Peace I offer you", with the dove symbolising peace.


She was given a brief to create a pre-Raphaelite like type of painting and scenery of the English moors.




Check out that looong hair. Eek these photos are so old!