Unknown Artists

If you have ever visited our home, one of the first things you will have noticed is that i don't have the typical "sofa-size painting" as the focal point in our living room. Instead, I have chosen an eclectic collection of original art to adorn every available space. Most of the art is the work of family and friends who enjoy painting.However, some of the paintings, like the ones I'm showing you here, are done by unknown (to me) artists. They come from different sources including garage sales and the ReUse Centre.

These works of art are a mystery to me. Who is the artist? When did they create the painting? If it's a portrait, who is the person in the painting? Almost for sure, I'll never know the answers to my questions, but in the meantime, these paintings have been given a second look, and a new home after they were discarded by someone who didn't see their value.

NOTE: Please excuse any formatting irregularities, such as bold print and underline text.

Blogger is being glitchy ~ sorry.

Get Well, my friend

My friend Shelly has been in hospital since Friday, May 22nd with a brain injury that she sustained when she fell backward out of her van, after adjusting a window for her daughter.

It's a very worrisome time for everyone who cares for her. I've visited with her almost every day since her accident, but today being unable to, I chose to send a 1960s circa Get Well greeting card along with some of her family who were going to spend some time with her. The card I picked for Shelly had a picture of three kittens in a basket with embossed lacy trim, transparent glitter and pink accents. She'll love it.

I have a cache of wonderfully glittery retro greeting cards which I only use on very special occasions. I have found these treasures throughout the years at Estate Sales, 2nd Hand Stores, Garage Sales and our local Reuse Centre. Unfortunately the glittery wonder that is these cards doesn't reproduce well in my scanner. You'll have to use your imagination.

Anyway ... while searching through my special "oldies", I was happy to find several Get Well cards. They are all very delicate and so much prettier than the mass produced cards we can buy at the Dollar or Hallmark stores these days. One thing that I noticed is the interesting messages that are inside these lovelies. Below, are some samples of their messages ...

Though times have changed Since Grandma's day

Some things are here to stay

Like these Old~Fashioned Get~Well Wishes
Sent in the same old sincere way!

If special hopes were sunbeams ~

Your room would be so bright,
Because such hopes are with you
From morning until night!
If special thoughts were flowers ~
How cheerful it would be,
With all the thoughts that blossom
For you especially!

The "bright room" mentioned in the verse above quashed using that card. I can't imagine Shelly enjoying a bright room at the moment when she has a serious concussion and the world's worst head ache ~ it's low lights and low voices for her, under the circumstances.

Get well Shelly.
You're in our hearts and in our prayers ~
we're all pulling for you!

7th Day of Christmas & the Ties that Bind

The 7th day of Christmas is my day to give back to all the wonderful artists participating in the 12 Days of Christmas. It's just after midnight here, and I wanted to post this so that it would be up for the overseas gals.
It took me the longest time to decide what to make for this year's swap. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a serious Sewing Phobia, so I am very proud of myself. I stretched real hard, and jumped completely out of the box by making these little Tie Pockets. Each gift was created by using an old neckties from the the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s! I found some of these delightful ties at the ReUse Centre, one was my dad's, and a couple I snuck out of my husband's closet! Once I had assembled 12 ties, I tried as best I could to match everyone's colour preferences. Also whenever possible, I added embellishments I felt each person may like. My friend Shelly, was kind enough to lend me her sewing machine, and I was off ... going where I hadn't gone since eighth grade home ec. class ... to use a scary, scary sewing machine. Argh! The first couple ties I made were pretty rough. (You'll probably know if I made yours first ... or maybe you won't *smile*) However, as I went along, I actually started to enjoy myself. I decided that straight lines weren't that important, which took a lot of pressure off, too. Each Tie Pocket has a button with Velcro fasteners to keep them securely closed. Finally, I made 3 cards to stuff into the completed Tie Pockets: Permission to Play, Permission to Make Mistakes and Artist of the Year. I had photos of some of the 12 day artists, so for those folks, I added "Photo ID" (or would that be Faux-toe ID?) to the Artist of the Year cards, just in case they have to use it at an airport or something. MOO cards seemed to be an obvious choice for one last item to stuff into the Tie Pockets for my friends ~ each MOO card features some art piece that I've done in the past. Finally, I wrapped the gifts in simple old-fashioned tissue paper with sparkles and added little Christmas tags featuring little children and angels (another great find from ReUse). I hope everyone likes the Tie Pockets I made them and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Now please excuse me while I secretly open the mysterious #13 gift from Lelainia ....

By the way, I made an extra Artist of the Year card for my son Zachary because he is fast becoming an
excellent artist in his own right!

Show & Tell 3 ~ Tweet!

Sorry I didn't post for Show and Tell Friday last week. I will make up for it by posting two things this week, how's that? The beautiful painting shown here, "Empty Thought Balloon" was painted by my very talented brother-in-law, Nick Supina III. This painting hangs on my gallery wall in my livingroom. The colour of the reproduction here is a little dull compared to the actual painting. I love paintings that feature bright, happy colours!
Since I believe spring has finally sprung around here, I have some birdies for your viewing pleasure today. The silver set on the right are salt and pepper shakers that my mom and dad received as a wedding present in 1948. The fat little birds on the left are a pair of salt and pepper shakers ReUse Centre treasures and the bird house with its attached birds was a gift from one of my nieces.

Christmas in April

Can't remember where I saw the first bulb wreath, but I started collecting old Christmas tree bulbs at the ReUse Centre soon after with the hope of collecting enough to make one. Well I did collect enough and here is the result ~ my first Christmas Bulb Wreath.

This one measures about 17 inches in diameter. Once I collect more bulbs, I think I'll make a couple more for Christmas gifts. The only thing is, is that these babies are going to be difficult to store. Perhaps I'll make some wreaths with newer, non-breakable bulbs. Also if I want to hang one on my door, I'll have to make it entirely out of non-breakables.

ReUse Wonders

The oh-so-cool 12 Days of Christmas Swap is here and I've completed my gifts! They're wrapped (see right) and ready to be mailed. Headed up once again by Lelainia Lloyd, this year promises to be another fun-filled experience. I can hardly wait!

My ART buddy, Arlene is participating this year too ~ yay! She's in the other group of 12, so I'll get to see all 24 creations. Plus we are making an additional gift to exchange between each other which will be fun.

Can't tell you what's inside the packages though, but I can tell you that (1) I created the gifties with stuff entirely from the Edmonton ReUse Centre (my favourite-est art supply store, e-ver!). (2) People who receive these babies will be able to hang them on their Christmas tree if they wish. (3) The item has a vintage feel to them. (4) The gifts are wrapped in florist foil wrap and topped with a slide with the number "9" on them (since my gifts will be opened on the 9th Day of Christmas). A little red, green or gold bow tops the slide for a little added pizzaz.