Preview Week ::: Collage Mania II to benefit the American Cancer Society

Collage Mania II is open for preview this week!

Collage Mania II organizer and artist, Virginia Spiegel writes - "Preview Week is a great time to browse through the collages, make your shopping list, prepare an e-mail to send me (note: for which collages you want to acquire!) and ask any questions you may have about Collage Mania and how to acquire the artwork."

To the right is one of the collages I have proudly submitted in honor of my father, a cancer survivor, for this fund raising event. It is amazing but true; 100% of the proceeds from Collage Mania II will go to the American Cancer Society. This is all done through Virginia Spiegel's Fiberart for a Cause. Virginia's efforts, combined with the help of artists she has gathered worldwide, have raised over $150,000. for the American Cancer Society since Virginia began Fiberart for a Cause in 2005. Recently, Fiberart for a Cause was recognized as the #2 fundraiser in the nation for the American Cancer Society’s 'Relay For Life' in 2007.

You'll find *BOTH* of the fabric-paper collages I created are on page 15 of Collage Mania II. You can acquire any of the collages offered there for a donation to the ACS on May 5 & 6, 2008: There is an $80. minimum donation on May 5th, and a $40. minimum donation on May 6th. You'll find 21 pages of wonderful collages from very talented artists to choose from, and all for a great cause. I am definitely going to be shopping there myself!

This week is the time to take a peek and see what you may want to email Virginia about acquiring on May 5th & 6th! Read HERE about how to choose and select artwork, and then scroll down and have fun looking!

Fabric Paper Collage - A collaboration

This collage was not planned at all. It was one of those things that just happened. The scenario: I am preparing for a Tag Sale on May 9th & 10th, and it's forcing me to unpack the boxes I've been neglecting to open the past 6 months since we moved. On Friday, I opened a box with lots of art inside that we used to have on display in one of our former homes. Included in this box was a drawing Steven had done of my eyes. When I saw it I literally gasped because I had forgotten about it. My first reaction was - wow, something needs to be done with this! It cannot just sit in a box . . . maybe I could do something with it?? I called Steven at work to ask "permission" to use it. Was he done with it? Could I do something with it? YES! he said, by all means, you don't need to ask! So I took his drawing of me and proceeded to grab things off my table from other projects in order to create something more with his drawing . . . . This fabric-paper collage was very hard to photograph or even scan. Steven says that is probably because of his graphite drawing in the middle of it. Click on any photo for more detail . . .

There are snippets of fabric from the last collage I made, even some of the test stamping! There is a bit of the wallpaper I used to make envelopes for the Colour Groupies, and some of the base for both the silver and gold inchies I made for swaps hosted by Frieda Oxenham on ATCs-for-ALL . . . it's just wild that I added whatever was there on the table! For me at that moment, it was more important to create something than to worry too much what it looked like. I do like how this collage came out, but I also think it's a little unusual and not everyone will like it. I have never done a self-portrait before -- this is the closest I have come to doing one yet. I am very happy to have Steven's drawing, which is so excellent and does reflect how I look, incorporated into a piece of art that will be displayed and enjoyed. By itself his drawing was in a way, incomplete. I feel now I have taken his artwork and done something with it to showcase it. Another collaboration for us! (hee hee -I have been asking Steven about doing this again lately!) It is a little strange to see my own eyes looking back at me . . . . .


The iridescent spheres, which I love, are from Alpha Stamps.

Colour Groupies ::: Sepia & White ATCs

Everyone has received their ATCs, so I can share them with you now! I made these ATCs for the Colour Groupies ~ a small group of mixed media and quilt artists who create ATCs for each other every month based on a color combo theme. For April, our color-combination was Sepia & White.

I chose numerous fabric images from the Alpha Stamps' Shakespeare's Heroines sheet and layered them on top of the fabric I had free-motion machine quilted (something I am just learning how to do). The fabric itself had a nice pattern of leaves and flowers which I roughly went along with.

Below are two pieces of the same fabric I used -- the one on the left is plain so you can see what it looked like before, and on the right is where I did free-motion quilting. This really is an interesting process . . . it is almost like you are painting with your machine needle.

I do like the way it looks! Click on any photo for more detail.


I started with a larger piece like this and then cut it down to size, first in strips and then in ATC size.



I only needed four ATCs for the group, but I created an extra one for me, and one for Leslie at Alpha Stamps.

For the group members, I took a greeting card and cut an opening for the ATC to show through! I think it showcased it rather nicely . . . . Steven is in love with this idea for cards now!

Then I created handmade envelopes very simply with a template and a roll of textured wall paper!

I am really happy for the challenge this small group gives me and the friendships I have developed. Thank you Frieda, for inviting me!! To see all the Colour Groupies ATCs I have completed so far, including this post -- please go here.

Collage Mania!! Preview next week!

More than 100 artists worldwide have donated 235 fiber collages to benefit the American Cancer Society -- and I am one of them! You can see one of my donated collages, to your left. The other one can be seen on my creative swaps blog. Both will be available for purchase by a donation to the American Cancer Society. Where? On Virginia Speigel's website! Collage Mania will be held May 5th and 6th with a preview of all the collages (so you can shop before buying!) beginning on April 28. More information is available on Virginia Spiegel's website -she is the organizer of the event. * * * 100% of the proceeds are donated directly to the American Cancer Society, through Fiberart For A Cause, which has already donated more than $150,000 towards cancer research and education in the past three years. WOW. * * * I am very proud to be a part of this and hope you will support it too! This cause is close to my heart as cancer has touched my family more than once. Both of my collages are in honor of my father, who is still in rehab/ nursing care after the removal of a cancerous tumor this past March.

Sincerely and creatively yours, lenna

TipTop Journal spread for Caryl Hoobler!

(my pages for Caryl Hoobler below - click on them for more detail)


~ I am in the TipTop Journal exchange with 9 other wonderful artists: Frieda Oxenham , Debby Harriettha, Abby Lazar, Angie Hall Haviland, Caryl Hoobler, Judy Evitts, Paula Dion, Peggy Gato, and Terrie Lightfoot : )

The group's description reads: "We're a group of 10 mixed media artists participating in making journal pages for each other. Every month every artist will make a spread for one other artist and every month every artist will receive one spread from one other artists, till we've all received and made a spread for every artist in the group."

Frieda Oxenham pairs us with a different artist each month and we create a spread of pages for each other on a theme -we all chose a theme at the beginning of the exchange. Because we are all working in the same format/journal, we send just the pages to each other! Each artist can simply add the pages to her own journal, and then take out 2 new blank pages to do the next spread for the next partner. The group has created six spreads out of nine so far, pretty amazing! To see all my pages so far, click here and scroll down as the link will include this page too.

I was early in doing my last set of pages, Peggy's . . . and this time I am a little bit late with Caryl's pages which were due to be sent out by April 15th. Caryl's theme is Masquerade, oh my!!

Caryl wrote: Masquerade! (Venetian Carnevale, Harlequins or Pierrots). Background white & black, masks and costumes as colorful as you like!

Well, I must admit, Masquerade is not my "thing". But that is always good for me because it makes me do a little research, learn about something I do not know a lot about, and it gives me the opportunity to stretch myself creatively . . . . . thanks, Caryl!
I hope you enjoy these pages.




I printed out some of the information I had gathered about Venetian Canivale onto a sheet of ExtravOrganza -you may be able to see the texture if you click on the photos for more detail. First, I covered the journal pages with some handmade white paper that had black & white paper - sheet music - embedded into it. Then I sewed the ExtravOrganza on top of the paper & the journal page.



I found a number of Venetian Carnivale masks and had fun selecting some to adorn Caryl's pages. I also found an image from Alpha Stamps that was just right. This spread is really quite simple, but it felt "right" to me. I liked adding some of the history of "Masquerade" to Caryl's journal. : ))

Last, but not least, Caryl needed an appropriate mask TAG from me to add to the pages!

enjoy! lenna

Six Word Memoir

Last week I was tagged by the talented Caryl Hoobler for a blog 'game' I had never heard of before: Six Word Memoir ~ Can you tell your life story in just six words? After some thought, I decided on: Creative girl loves connections, sharing, art. The photo I'm using to illustrate this memoir shows me on the right, with my friend and student Mary Zimany on the left (you can click on the photo for more detail). This photo was taken before a class I taught a few years ago at a wonderful store that sadly, has since closed -Kookalicous in Cheshire, CT. (the link is to the owner Denise's blog, which I just found!)



Looking at Caryl's blog, this is what she wrote for her six word memoir: Crazy, silly artist, loves fun times! Caryl had been tagged originally for this game by artist Theresa Martin who wrote the following for her Six Word Memoir: Loner artist, formerly shy, now blogs : )

The rules:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog (and include a visual illustration if you'd like).
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag 5 more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

I am tagging:

1. Kate North - http://katesquilting.blogspot.com/
2. Carla Kurt - http://anonyrrie.typepad.com/
3. Frieda Oxenham - http://friedaquilter.blogspot.com/
4. Michele Witchell - http://lifeonthisgoodday.blogspot.com/
5. Christine Gafney Peden - http://evidenceofanartisticlife.blogspot.com/

I hope they can play. If not, it's perfectly okay! I enjoyed using my brain to come up with my own six word memoir. Hope you enjoy this little diversion . . . and if you wish to be tagged - you're it! Please take this challenge & run with it!

Fabric Collage - Breathe

I'm working on a free online class about how to make image transfers (to fabric) for ARTchix Studio.com using their collage and transparency images. After trying several different transfer methods to write the tutorial, I decided to use one of the iron-on transfers I made for this class to create something -see below : ) I think the image transfers I did onto fabric came out so beautifully, they were simply calling me to work with them! I truly enjoyed creating this piece and matted it on watercolor paper so it is ready to frame, like the two fabric collages I created for Collage Mania II.

Fabric Collage, originally uploaded by creativelenna.

The image in this fabric collage is from the Women in Art paper collage sheet by ArtChix Studio. I transfered this image to fabric using iron-on transfer paper and will give more details on how to do this in the free image transfer class. Some of the other methods I will go over will be printing collage images directly onto fabric and a gel medium transfer technique that works with ARTchix images. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a site update at ARTchix Studio-that's when you will find this new class uploaded!

Note 5/19/08! The site has been updated! Find all of the ARTchix Studio Free Classes right HERE. I have a number of free classes there and you'll find tons of ideas & instruction from many acomplished and creative artists : )

This fabric collage, titled Breathe, is now matted and ready to be framed . . . . and it was was purchased since this original post by our Pet Sitter April Dube, who fell in love with it when she saw it! : ) I also ended up writing a short tutorial on how to create a fabric collage like the one you see here for the ARTchix site. To read it, follow this direct link. I hope you enjoy!