There are strange things done in the midnight sun....(LTC #129)

Oh Captain, My Captain Swap

Sam McGee (LTC #129)

The Card:

Growing up in Alaska there are some books all kids read in school as a right of passage. The authors Jack London and Robert Service are a given.

I had to memorize "The Cremation Of Sam McGee" in sixth grade. Reading it now it seems quite morbid for grade school, but we all loved it just the same.

Making The Card:

 I've wanted to make a card for this poem for a very long time but have never found an image that fit it perfectly enough. I originally carved this image for Just The Stamp swap but after finishing it I just really felt it needed a backing and then it seemed like it would make a good burnt card. After playing around with fire for a bit I was reminded of this poem. I added the poem to one card just for fun and then decided I finally had my Sam McGee. Thank you Lava Girl for adding a swap for me upon seeing my card! 

The Poem:

I was going to post the poem here but when looking for it I found a link to You Tube with the one and only Man In Black Johnny Cash reading it... 

Alaskan Midnight Sun

Unconditionally....(LTC #128)

White, No White Layered Paper Swap

Fire & Ice (LTC # 128)

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

The Card:

Believe it or not I am one of the few people on the planet that has not seen Frozen. My son told me that his cousins tortured him to within an inch of his sanity watching it over and over again so I have not extended that torture by putting it on my television as of yet. However I absolutely loved this image when I saw it and I knew enough of the storyline and themes to know I wanted to try this card. Unconditional love is a topic you can never go wrong with....

Making the Card:

This was a fabulous challenge swap listed by Sharkboy and Lava Girl. The only rules were that you had to start off with white paper and have no white left in the end. I always do layers so for the back layer I covered white card stock in black Distress Ink. The top layer I first covered in alcohol inks and then stamped my image in archival ink. From there I painted in the image with distress stains, chalks, and oil pastels. I sealed the coloring with a spray fixative and then lathered the card in gLossy mod. All in all I am pleased with the outcome of the card with the minor exception that I could not get her hair to hold the white. I tried a number of techniques to no avail. So I remind myself that art is subjective and does not have to be perfect and slipped Anna and Elsa into sleeves.l in all I like the outcome of the card. 

Celestial Wings....(LTC #127)

Faeries Swap

LTC # 127 Ethereal

"She explained that sometimes the part of us with wings battles with our earthbound selves.."

~Monique Duval

Adjective:
(comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)
1.Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; otherworldly; as, ethereal space; ethereal regions.
2.Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
3.Delicate, light and airy.

Origin

From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, or the air or upper air; ethereal”), from Ancient Greek αἰθέριος (aitherios, “of or pertaining to the upper air; ethereal”).  

I carved this Faerie approximately 4 years ago. I originally carved it for an Earth Day swap but never did get to finish it. When this swap popped up I decided it was time to dust her off and see what I could do with her. I did quite a few prototypes and never managed to make one I loved. This one was as close as I could get to giving it an ethereal and cosmic feel. I wanted to create a nebular and celestial feel around her. I used Dyan Reavely sprays, Distress Inks, Copic Markers and Glossy Accents in the creation.

I also carved the quote  listed above and used it in the creation of this card. I was unable to fit it in a legible way on the front so I stamped it all around the faerie. I love quotes by Monique Duvall and previously used one for my card She. This was another in a long list of her words that I love, I used it as inspiration for the card.

My humble beginning.....A carving perspective

First Ever Carve

My First EVER carve

      I've noticed over and over on the AQ boards that people worry about their level of talent. First off I like to point out that Art is Subjective. What one person considers talent another person may hate and what one person thinks is juvenile another may see as a masterpiece. Many of the most famous artists were not admired or coveted until long after they left this earth. Some people like perfect art where as others prefer contemporary. I myself love all levels of art. My favorite painters are Rothko, Degas and Lichtenstein. They really do not have s ingle thing in common other than you can see their work in museums. I love the colors that Degas was drawn to, the blues and greens captivate me. I love the comic book fun that Lichtenstein brought to life in his work. I even carved three of his pieces and made cards from them. Last but never least in my book is Rothko...He painted colored rectangles. When I first saw his work I was almost appalled that he had ever become famous, but after spending more and more time looking at his stuff it took on an ethereal feel to me. I absolutely love his work. My 8 year old son can probably come close to imitating it...point being...Art is subjective. There is room for all levels and types of talent. 

    Anyways, I recently ran across my first ever carve. I decided to share it with the masses in hopes that it will inspire anyone who thinks they can't carve to NEVER quit. I started off with Pink Stuff, a pencil and a #5 nib. The picture above was the result. It took me years to become the carver that I am now. Everyone starts somewhere and if I had never managed to carve better than that heart I would hope that even that stamp would have given someone out there joy. Its the effort and heart you put into your work that matters...and mine is full of it. I truly hope I bring people joy. and if even one person looks at my work and feels the way I do about Rothko then I have accomplished more than I could ever hope!

The Thing Monsters Have Nightmares About... (LTC #125)

Whedonverse Swap

The Chosen One (LTC #125)

     I loved Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It was truly a guilty pleasure show for me. Joss Whedon is a ridiculously talented creator. I had this image lying in wait for a Whedonverse swap to pop up. A big thank you to Aiphid who lists the best swaps! I made the paper for this swap and then just couldn't resist putting the card in the little wood like paper bags I had laying around. I wasn't sure when they would ever come in handy, but sometimes all the elements just happen to be laying around and it was perfect for this. I carved a nice wooden stake for the outside of the bags and really enjoyed the end result. I wanted a quote for the back of the card because there were so many ridiculously awful and good lines in the show. This is not the one I chose but it seems fitting to add it to the blog simply for its beauty...

 Passion…it lies in all of us. Sleeping, waiting, and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir, open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us, guides us… passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments; the joy of love, the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we’d truly know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank… without passion, we’d truly be dead.

Angelus

And how about a few more just for fun...

Don’t be ridiculous. Martha Stewart isn’t a demon. She’s a witch. Nobody could do that much decoupage without calling on the powers of darkness.
Anya
The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live.
Buffy
[On humans] I guess I just realized how amazingly screwed up they all are. I mean, really, really screwed up, in a monumental fashion. And they have no purpose that unites them so they just drift around, blundering through life until they die… which they… they know is coming, yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them. They’re incapable of thinking about what they want beyond the moment. They kill each other, which is clearly insane. And yet, here’s the thing – when it’s something that really matters, they fight. I mean, they’re lame morons for fighting, but they do. They never… never quit. So I guess I will keep fighting too.
Anya

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (LTC #124)

Paint Chip Inspired Swap 

龙'血 Dragon's Blood (LTC #124)

     I used this carve for the Paint Chip Inspired swap. I had carved this image simply to see if I could. The moment I saw it I fell in love. I tried a number of times to make it into a card but never could quite find something I liked. Then my lovely friend The Dye Sue listed the paint chip inspired swap. So I went to Home Depot and Lowe's to peruse names. Low and behold there was a paint chip called Dargon's Blood by Bejamin Moore & Co. I immediately knew I would attempt to make this card again! After many hours and lots of advice I managed to put a card together that I truly love. I used the red paint chip as a layer on the card and sprayed it with a fine glittery mist before I painted over the entire thing with mod podge. Before I carved the Chinese characters for Dragon's Blood I had a huge void in the upper left corner. I had originally ordered a wax stamp press to add a wax dragon to the card. Once it arrived it looked truly terrible when I added it. However after spending money on something like that solely for use on a card I had to find a way to use it. Voila, the card gets delivered in a wax sealed bag! I LOVE this card. It came together better than I imagined after only half a million failures!