Saturday, March 5, 2011

Creating Hyper-Links Tutorial

I don't know about you folks but my head starts spinning when it is time to do all of this computer language stuff to make my site(s) snazzy. Today, after posting a question onto a forum at the Fine Art America Site, I got an amazing response with a complete "how-to" tutorial on creating hyperlinks. A hyperlink is written in HTML code which stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. I will now demonstrate my expertise by creating the hyperlink here for you to follow to get to that great tutorial.
Creating Hyperlinks Tutorial

Hint: You may want to create a blank document and copy/paste the tutorial sections of interest into it so that you can refer to the step-by-step instructions now and at any time in the future.

If, for some reason, you are unable to follow the link, it may be that you must be a Fine Art America member. Please let me know if you experience any problems following the hyperlink here.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Beautiful art projects from junk mail

This is a neat way to turn your junk mail into picture frames, jewelery, handmade paper and journals. You can use your imagination to turn bottle caps into art too. Check it out!

Monday, January 31, 2011

Jan 31st is National Celebrate Art Day

I must admit, I did not know this before 7:30pm this evening. I was reading the hubpages posts in the art section (I'll put some cools posts at the end for you to link to), and came across a great post informing me it was Celebrate Art Day. I watched this video and saw the artist transform an old crummy back of a picture frame into a beautiful piece of art. Earlier in the day I had read another post with step by step instructions on making hand made paper.

I thought I would try making some paper out of the old newspapers and junk mail I have piled up here. I put about half a pound into the paper shredder. Then I dumped a few handfuls of dryer lint on top of that. I do like to recycle...ahem. I added about 2 gallons of water and let it all soak for about a half an hour while I straightened up and read e-mails. Then I took my trusty hand mixer that I use for smoothies and whipped up a great paper smoothie.

Next, I simply put globs of the pulp onto a big screen set up over a large pan and pressed the excess water out. I shifted the screen over to a pile of rags, lay one over the top and got my iron heated up. Then I pressed more moisture out and flattened the pulp. I put the pieces in the microwave to dry them out further. On a couple of the pieces, I pressed texture into them with various found objects while the paper was still damp, creating a Bas relief effect. They are just laying out overnight now to finish completely drying before I tackle them with scissors and glue and ink and whatever paint of the moment moves me. I think I'm onto something. Nothing speaks more to an artist than free art supplies!

Wednesday is Steve's birthday and guess who is getting a hand-made cool card this year? I'll post photos later so you can see how it all came out.

Here are some links to the neat sites I saw.


This is the video of the guy that made the art out of a frame backing


This is the hand made paper link

Saturday, January 29, 2011

What is with all of these Get Rich Quick Promotions?

I don't know about you, but I find it hard to believe that people can get that rich that quickly by sitting around in their pajamas and fumbling around on the internet for a half hour a day!

I have been researching various opportunities of late to supplement my income and help me to afford the expensive art supplies I generally buy. Just see if you have enough cash on hand for the soft and hard colored pencil set from Switzerland by C'aran Dache and you will feel my pain.

You know all of my art needs to be framed for exhibitions, and at $15 a sheet for 350 pound cold-pressed watercolor, the costs can really add up. One painting sale probably pays for 1/4 of my art supply purchases for the year.

Anyway, this one site caught my eye, and the guy in the video says he only wants 1 dollar to get started with 50 pre-loaded and designed websites. Unbelievable!
I am trying to get my courage up to push the button and do it.
If you are more courageous than I am, perhaps you might like to try it and call me from your yacht next month.

Here is the link: Click Here!

Let me know how it goes for you, and I will keep you posted if I opt into this also.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

2011 Resolutions...

You all have them, even if you don't admit it outright. At the end of the year, I think we all make a mental note at what we want to accomplish or do differently in the next year. Whether it be health, work or hobby related, I think no one is really void of this. So here are my goals for 2011:

* Sew more. Pretty open-ended, I know, but I think I can count on one hand the amount of garments I *actually* finished last year. That doesn't include the numerous unfinished projects I have or all the ideas I had but never executed.

* Participate in more gallery showings and competitions.

* Join Tarpon Springs Art Society.

* Go to at least 3 art openings that aren't mine.

* Go to the gym a minimum of once a week optimum 4 times and lose those extra holiday pounds that found me

* Learn how to make two really cool hats by crochet and knit for those special hat-loving friends and moments of boredom rotting in doctor's offices. Sigh.

* Make one new friend and stay in better touch with the ones that resurfaced.