V - Day is near!

What makes your heart sing?

Is it color?

Nature?

Sounds?

Art?

Textures?

With Meg Fowler, it's all of the above and more.
Just look at the vivid colors and rich textures
that she added to her piece.
The tree is "touchable". . .
with hand made papers and paints so
real that "you want to touch it".

How about that little Tweetie poking it's head
out from the reverse page?
The poem that Meg added really makes
one think about the world around us.
Thank you Meg for being a part of
our journal challenge. YOU are "Tweet".

Mary Wilken from Charlotte
chose a totally different palette with
jewel tones & joy.
It is always a "joy" to see Mary
and have her participate in our
ongoing projects.

Mary even chose to use the perimeter
of the bird for more "tweet" fun on the
reverse side of her page.
Wait and see what Mary's daughter
Rachael has done for her page.... to be continued.

Where is my page?

Marsha Stup from Simpsonville,SC
used a variety of fabrics and hand made
papers to create a very textural page.
Her bird perches on a stitched on twig
and an eyelet is used for the eye.

The reverse side of Marsha's page
features a quotation with another bird,
this time textured with paint. Isn't
that flower beautiful.
Thanks so much Marsha.

• • • • • • • •


Marla McCafferty from New Albany, Indiana
has two completely different themes
going here for her entries.

The painted & collaged bird holds
a humorous little note
while sitting atop the heart.

An interesting use of the bird with a photo
inside and a background of script.
Do you think there is something more
to this than meets the eye? Marla?

How BIG is this book going to be???

Susie Robey from Lyman, SC sent
this interesting page to us
using real "tail feathers" & grapevine twigs.

It's all about the world around us
as Joyce Berger created
her vision with "hope" for the future.
Joyce is from Rutherfordton, NC
(yes, this is our Joyce)


Lauren Grant's use of color
takes me to a really different place
that I can't seem to describe.
Can you help me figure it out?
I love it and I am not sure what
is provoking me.

Cindy Alexander from Lyman, SC
"wants to have fun"
with her journal page.
That's ok with us Cindy. . . Go for it!

Have you seen yours yet?

How many ways can one interpret the bird?
is it a crow?
a raven?
a messenger?
a talisman?
a pet?

•••••••

To Louise McClure of Saluda, her interpretation is "oh so different" from others who participated. "to the children of the sun. . . . .

the crow has brought the message"


•••••••••••••

Carol Moore of Big Stone Gap, Virginia dropped off her page when she visited us last weekend. Fabric was an integral part of her page along with rich paint colors that set a mysterious mood.

On the flip side, Carol used the bird as a stencil and added vintage music sheets for a contrasting look.

Are we there yet?

With all the pages continuing to come
in each day I am adding just a few
more at a time. I want everyone
to have a chance to see their special
creation on my blog before we bind "the book".

Linda Klassen used some fabric scraps in addition to some die-cuts & carried out the theme with musical notes & random thoughts. Thanks Linda. She is from Melbourne, FL

The bright colors and lacy borders really
make this page from Judy Novak stand out.
Looks like she used a sewn-on button for the birds eye.

Even the reverse side of Judy's page is a work of art with the lace border and marbled paper. Judy is from Holyoke, MA.

3 MORE PAGES TODAY

Isn't it interesting to see how each one of us interpret
using the bird and the heart as part of our page?
Below, Marjorie Jumisco from Asheville, NC went
"way out side the box" with her bird (birds).
This will be an fun addition to the book.




Barbara Brockell from Easley, SC
took a more subdued approach using
neutral colors yet creating strong contrasts.

On the reverse side of Barbara's page
she chose to add words associated with
journaling, yet connected to the theme
of the project. I just love the branches
projecting out, with the woman radiating
her thoughts. Thank you so much Barbara.

It's Wednesday already -

We are counting down.... to "V" day...
There are still a "V"ery few journal pages
that have not made their way to
the Random Arts mailbox
that sits on Main Street
here in Saluda.
"V"alentines Day is V day here
with "sweet tweets" abounding on our
gallery wall.

Here a few more of our "v" ery precious
journal page entries

Abby Kramer from Asheville, NC brought
in her journal page this past Saturday.
She used a lot of painted papers for
contrast and managed to
use the "given" elements (and more), to create
her very visual and show stopping page.

Alicia Griswold joined us again, from
Atlanta, Ga for our
second journal page challenge.
She mentioned that she had been
thinking about this bird/cat image
for a while and it worked out
perfect for her contribution.
Check out Alicia's blog

She followed through on the reverse page
with a similar image of the cat with
an overcast of vellum for interest.
thanks so much Alicia. Now...
be ready to bid on the ebay auction!

What's in our mailbox today?

Look here... more journal pages

have arrived.
Not only has Flavia sent along
a 2 page journal entry but she sent it
to us in a "full color" envelope!

The front page of Flavia Wood's journal
entry begins her message...
"what you choose is up to you"...
then on the back...

"only if you play your cards right"
Thanks Flavia, really different
and a great addition to the soon to be book.
Flavia is Jen's sister and lives in Asheville.

Life in Saluda with Patti Digh

For a few hours on Saturday, we soaked up the creativity
and inspiration of Patti Digh
when she came to read from her new book,
"Life is a Verb". What a delightful
afternoon filled with like minded individuals,
yearning to be learn more
about ourselves, about Patti and about the
world around us.
Betsy Libbey wrote in her Blue Haven Studio Blog
and posted some
great pictures of this special day. That's a really
really good thing that
Betsy had some pictures because my little camera
wanted to stop working
just about the time I needed it. Off to get a new one
that I can abuse just
about as much as I abused this one... maybe even more.

As a "Thank You", Patti presented me
with these 2 beautiful tiles
created by TileSmiles

If you missed this event and need a book, we have them available
here and we can have Patti sign them for you. Some people
have purchased several copies that they will generously
give to their dear friends and family members.
A gift like this is precious . . . as those of us who have
read it knows dearly.

More keep coming in - check it out!

Christy Hawkins completed both a front
and back page for this challenge.
The addition of vintage ephemera
and a very vintage sepia tone theme
truly makes the "heart" pop.
Notice how she placed the heart
off the top of her journal page.
Christy is from Jacksonville, FL

(back page of Christy's entry)




Fonda Haight from Flat Rock, NC
created this interesting page
with many transparent layers.

It's a Bird, It's a Heart, It's a Journal Page

Crystal Chappell from Charlotte, NC
used some interesting colors and textures
to create her page.
She added a quote from Langdon Hughes
and her own vision of a bird.

Carol Sloan started painting on fabric
then added paper then decided to
start sewing on it in a recent friday workshop.
One thing led to another and Presto!
A journal page was born.


Carol Sloan even took those paper
and fabric scraps a step further
with the addition of stamps & more sewing.
Great job Carol!

Donna Downey here in Saluda

Don't miss out!

Donna Downey Workshops here at Random Arts

Sample of Swatches Workshop with Donna Downey

paint, watercolor, doodle
Sat. March 21st 9am till 12noon
8 page, 6x6 acrylic and chipboard album

Mix and match sizes, shapes, textures, colors, and mediums to create a bold and beautiful hand-painted and collaged mixed media scrapbook. As you experiment with color, each page will be immediately transformed into mini-masterpieces individually colored and designed by you. You will explore new techniques for using watercolor crayons, layering and collage for acrylic album pages, as well as, paint and doodling tips for taking your creative scrapbooking to the next level.

Your Cost $85.00

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

SWATCHES
Sat. March 21st 1pm till 4pm
Three, 10 x 10" canvas swatch artworks in framed loop

You asked for it and here it is!!

New in a series of craft media workshops where you’ll learn the step-by-step process of how to create my signature Swatch art pieces
In this 4-hour workshop we will create three individual 10” framed canvas Swatch art pieces utilizing more than a dozen art mediums, techniques and tools. As we create each canvas we will build upon layers of technique and applications, introducing new ideas that will open up multiple creative possibilities for layering and texturizing your art.

Your cost $85.00

Tweeeeetie Tweeeeeet

Artist Doni Jordan from Columbia
took the contents of the packet to a totally different level.
Bird = Feather
Heart = Love

Denise Henderson's striking colors, textured and
painted surfaces create a very cohesive
journal page.
Denise lives in Etowah, NC

Chris Tessnear created this
interesting piece keeping
it in a total "valentine" theme.
Thanks Chris, it's awesome.

There's still more to come

Carroll Ann Wykoff from Asheville, NC
has joined our challenge twice now.
Thank you so much, Carroll.
She also used some real feathers and a
personal message in her journal page.

Brenda Berchey has been a avid stamper
for over 15 years and is one of our very
first customers, way back when....
She has a personal message in her journal page
as well. Love the colors.
Brenda is from Hendersonville, NC
and you may have seen her many contributions
to all of the stamp magazines; she is a regular.

Amanda Demick-Noyes is from McHenry, Illinois
and has been to our shop with her sister
Denise Henderson who lives in the area.
Amanda did the "valentine hershey kiss" thing
to her page. Thanks so much.

More "sweet tweet" inspiration

Sharon Kolbye of Landrum, SC added a little
humor of the upcoming "love" holiday.
"love comes, loves goes"

Cindy Trobaugh is from Morristown, TN
and she used multiple painting techniques
and offers a "shadow" bird using
the stencil portion of it.

Real bird feathers were added to the bird
image sent to Jean Simpson from Naples, FL
(summertime in Brevard, NC)
I like the way that she positioned the bird
on a 3 dimensional limb coming right off
the Basic Grey paper.

You all need to see what Patti Digh
told us after her visit here in Saluda this past Saturday.

Dear Jane,

Well, that's it.

I've decided.

I'm moving to Saluda.

I'm going to work at Random Arts, eat gorgonzola mac & cheese at the Purple Onion every day for lunch, get an ice-cold Cheerwine at the hardware store for dessert, and swing on the swing sets across the train tracks every day at 3pm.

What a glorious day! I am so touched that you spent your afternoon with me - and so, so, so appreciative of Jane and Joyce and Jen hosting me at Random Arts. The moment I stepped in and met Jane with her incredible energy and saw those cupcakes in my favorite color (teal) and those little flower cookies and that purple bathroom and all that beautiful paper, I knew it was a special place, a special day.

And I was right. What an amazing energy in that room. I wanted it to last forever. Thank you for your support and love and stories. The fact that my words have been meaningful to you in some small way is so precious to me. I hope we will meet again. Tess asked me all the way home if you all really liked her spider story - she was thrilled to share it...

A few notes:

If you are loving Life is a Verb, I hope you might consider writing a review of it on Amazon--even if you didn't buy it from them, you can write reviews on their site, and those are important in the book world. My publisher thanks you. :-) Alternatively, if you're not comfortable posting on the Amazon site, if you'd like to write a short statement about the book that the publisher might use in publicizing it--what it's meant to you, for example, or how you are using it--I'd love to receive those also and will pass them along.
If you are interested in pursuing a more in-depth exploration of Life is a Verb, perhaps my April 24-26 retreat near Asheville might be of interest--there are a few spaces left and it would be lovely to have you there.
My next book readings are in Atlanta on Feb 5th and in my hometown, Morganton, NC, on Feb 12th (at the annual "author's luncheon" for the public library I read about in the story "Save Face for Someone Else", so that will be really meaningful to me - I guess I should take tissues, eh?!). If you're close by or know people in those areas, I hope you'll pass the word along to them! If you'd like to invite me to your town, let me know. I've been known to say yes!
Life is a Verb was recently chosen from over 440 nominees as one of five finalists for the prestigious "Books for a Better Life" awards, alongside Randy Pausch's bestseller, The Last Lecture. I'll take my older daughter, Emma, to NYC for the award's ceremony on Feb 23rd. On that evening, light some good vibes candles for us, won't you?!
I'll be back in touch about art for the next book! The thing I forgot to tell you about the artwork for Life is a Verb is that I asked the publisher to hire the woman who first sent me that artist trading card, Donna B. Miller, to create the cover art for the book, so there was a great sense of a circle being completed in having her work also serve as the cover.
Many thanks again for joining me in Saluda for such a special gathering. It meant a lot to me for you to be there. Let's do that again! Since I'll be living there, it'll be easy... (smile).

Love,
Patti