Cay Denise

The instructor for Week 17's lesson is Roxanne Coble, and her lesson theme is 'Your Story, Your Altar'.  My interpretation of the lesson was based on my recent trip to Michigan and what it meant for me. My first effort for this lesson went awry in that the background painting didn't work.  My second effort didn't work either because the background painting got lost because of too much collage work. This was my third effort.  In working on it, I liked the use of the white gel pen for outlining as well as for some other finishing touches (in assorted pen colors). I'm still getting air bubbles when collaging and haven't yet been able to remedy that.  It happens using Liquitex Matte Medium and Golden Gel Medium.  I'll keep practicing and hopefully get better at it.  It seems to happen most often with the use of pages from magazines. This piece was created through a class offered by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts Ltd. For more information,

My art quilt is now on display through the fall at the City Attorney's Office as part of the first of its kind -- employee art sharing program. Employee art pieces were pre-selected earlier in the year for display at offices throughout City Hall. Two of mine are on display.  Aside from this one, there is an untitled painting that has taken up residence at the Department of Transportation.

A trip to my roots brought with it opportunities to make some art finds along the way.  From walks and drives, to museum visits, to a shopping excursion--there was an amazing array of visuals as you can see.   'Sloth Pieta' in front of the Broad Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI Abandoned Building Eaton Rapids, MI Entrance Tile Design at the Lansing Art Gallery Lansing, MI Porcupine Quill Box by Y.W. Keshick Natural History Museum, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Quilt Block Painted Barn Siding Dimondale, MI 1920s Millinery Exhibit Natural History Museum, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Painted Hubcap from Wall of Painted Hubcaps Lansing, MI Alley Painting of Brick Wall Lansing, MI Decorated Key by Sharon Martin-Fertig

This project was done with a lot of acrylic paint washes applied to 140-lb cold-pressed watercolor paper.  I like the texture of the dried piece...very similar to the feel of a watercolor painting.  Posca markers and other pens were used for some of the decoration. For this project which was to create our 'Lady of Self-Compassion', I followed the instructor's directions. My project's face is kind of wonky because of the off-center chin and the fact that you only get to do the outline once.  But it works for the project purpose. One thing for me to remember next time is when using Tombow markers -- they are water soluble.  So putting a wash over them creates problem especially if you've used them for detail work before applying the wash. This piece was created through a class offered by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts Ltd. For more information, visit this  link:  www.willowing.org .