2D art – Bluebird Hill Art

Winter Mixed Media Art

I have been squeezing in studio time as much as I am able to these days. I keep stalling out on a now years-long project with a winter solstice theme. I am more than halfway through the project, however I have a few images in this series that just need a complete do-over. This wasContinue reading “Winter Mixed Media Art”

Cheese & Macaroni

I just wrapped up a printmaking class at the Des Moines Art Center. I’ve done relief printing most of my life, but wanted to dive deeper into other printmaking techniques. My new-found printmaking love is a modern lithography technique called pronto plate. The pronto plate is drawn on with Sharpie and then taped to aContinue reading “Cheese & Macaroni”

Winter Tabby

I don’t always remember to document the process of my art, but collage lends itself particularly well to this. I always have an image in my head when I begin an artwork. My perfectionism hinders my speed at times. For whatever reason, I find that collage is the media where the outcome most often matchesContinue reading “Winter Tabby”

Collage: Getting Started

Collage is one of those art forms that kids naturally understand. As adults, I think it is best if we give them access to materials and then get out of the way. However, as children spend more time practicing with collage, their work will become more sophisticated and they will need additional supports with materials,Continue reading “Collage: Getting Started”

Object Stamped (Wrapping) Paper

Object stamping is one of my favorite artistic processes to do with young artists. There is something so magical about scrounging around for everyday items and with a little paint transforming them into beautiful works of patterns, richly layered designs, and textured papers just waiting to be used or simply happy to be an artworkContinue reading “Object Stamped (Wrapping) Paper”

Paper Snowflakes

This week has been the week of paper snowflake demos for many of my virtual art classes. There are papers, scraps, and snowflakes in all stages of completion all over my bedroom, which has been taken over as my remote teaching space. I love the unexpected element of a paper snowflake, as I tend toContinue reading “Paper Snowflakes”

Sea Change

Sea Change, mixed media, 18×24″, 2010. This combination of painting, collage, and drawing came about as a result of a weird dream I had where this woman was sailing away on a Viking ship. I added in surreal details to add to the dream-like idea. It recently found a new home, in a friend’s newContinue reading “Sea Change”

Garbage Landscape

Garbage Landscape, 12 x 16″, mixed media, 2019. Pretty self-explanatory image. The clouds are tissue paper with paint thickly applied. The ground is corrugated cardboard with the top layer peeled off, and painted.

Ayeka?

Ayeka, Mixed media, 9 x 12″, 2019. Ayeka? Where are you? The inspiration for the artwork comes from various things- my love for all things science and the art of diagrams, for one. The idea of skin and a barrier to outside forces, and a sermon on Ayeka, delivered via video conferencing, due to aContinue reading “Ayeka?”

Tropical Cat

Tropical Cat, Mixed Media – collage, Gelli printing, ink drawing, watercolor, 2018. I have gotten so far behind on documenting completed artworks – there will be a spree of posts coming up. This one I completed when I was in Boston last summer for the TAB (Teaching Artistic Behaviors) art teacher grad class extraordinary weekContinue reading “Tropical Cat”