I have been working on this little 8" x 11" painting over the holidays and finally finished it yesterday.
Done in a style called Fraktur, it utilizes watercolor and ink on tea-stained watercolor paper.
Often called Pennsylvania Dutch/German Folk Art it was popular in the 1800's as a decorative embellishment on marriage and birth certificates. I have also seen it on old wooden or metal storage boxes and furniture, but this little piece was taken from a piece of artwork I had saved from a magazine article on this art form.
Although the design transfer process is a bit tedious and involved the actual painting is fun and relaxing.
Definitely an art form worth trying!
Have a very artistic, creative day!
I love crows....yes even before they were a popular motif in art I had a fascination with crows.
Here where I live I am surrounded by farmer's fields that are largely planted in feed corn and meadows that are harvested a couple of times each summer season. Needless to say it becomes a favorite haunt of gulls, geese (as they migrate) crows and a variety of other feathered friends.
Winter is a hard time for some, the gulls largely stay down by Lake Champlain in winter, but the crows and small birds stay near the houses and wait for whatever gets put out for them each day.
During the summer the gulls come everyday for left over cat food that I throw out for them each morning but the winter belongs to the crows!
They usually leave one poor crow who keeps watch from a telephone pole and as soon as I emerge from the front door he sends out a signal call and they start to gather close by waiting.
Today there were more than usual and the cat food was gone in minutes so I went through the cupboard and got out old cereal (Grape-nuts and Corn Flakes) and threw that out on the road as well. I just had to scrape a little of the frost off the window and try to get a few pictures of them.
With the wind chill here today it was -8 and I just had to admire these wonderful crows who brave the freezing temps and wait so patiently.
As you can see the competition is fierce so I try to space it out on the road so all have a chance to get something.
I have a feeling I will be making a bread run to the store soon for dinner!
I want to take this opportunity to say I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with the greatest joy and peace! I am so looking forward to 2011 and I hope and pray it will be a year filled with great blessings for all of us!
Tina xo
Over the last few years I have to admit I was not always conscientious about sending Christmas cards, I always start the season with the best of intentions and then, Phssssstttt...the air is out of the balloon and I aim for next year.
This year I decided to make, yes make, a few hand painted cards for family and get them in the mail lickedy split (ok so the lickedy split part went out the window) and here we are on the Tuesday before Christmas and I am just now headed for the Post Office. But darn it I did make the cards and here is one of the six I managed to finish.
Done in watercolor on 140# cold pressed paper in the Fraktur style of Pennsylvania Dutch/German artwork of the last century.
Next year.....ahhh yes next year.....maybe I should get started tomorrow on next years cards!!!
Have a great Tuesday and I hope you got your cards mailed out on time...:(
Tina xo
It feels like forever since my last post, and maybe it has been....eerie.
First I made a commitment to attend a few impromptu craft shows with a friend and that meant trying to come up with an inventory really fast and I had numerous projects that were in various states of completion that I wanted done for Christmas to list on Ebay!
Well we all know about the best laid plans of men and mice...but with all that said I did get this girl done this morning!
I'm calling her Amelia and she has a lovely taffeta dress, tea stained lace and a shawl that was a doily made by a sweet 103 year old lady named Evelyn who passed away last year.
I did Amelia as a stump style doll. The bottom of her dress has a sand insert so she stands on her own.
It is amazing to me when I do something like this to find out how much work is involved.
But the wonderful part of the process is to hold the finished lady in my hands and look into her little face! The seem to have a life of their own.
Now on to the next unfinished project!
P.S. This is what I am talking about....I forgot to put her little gold heart necklace on before the pictures...*sigh*
Stay warm and well!
Tina xo
