It’s Been a Long Time

I can offer no excuses. I just got out of the habit and my Mojo decided to take an extended vacation! She’s back and having a challenge adjusting to not being on vacation. While she has been getting back into the swing of things, I haven’t been idle. I am still creating just not in my art journal or posting here. I am trying to change that. Baby steps.

Back in March, I went to see my family in California. I spent quite a bit of time with my parents and loved every minute of it! I even got to do a bit of altering and decoupaging some TV trays for Mom. I asked her what she wanted and she said, “something gorgeous and beautiful,” as if that didn’t put the pressure on! After a couple restless nights wondering what I was going to do since I had no art supplies with me, I hit upon the wonderful idea of decoupage collaging with decorative napkins. I sat Mom down with my iPad scrolling through Pinterest with tons of pins of ideas. She liked. Off we went to get gel medium, paintbrushes, paint and napkins. Now, I thought that would be an easy task, but NO! Fortunately we stumbled upon some happy, colorful ones in Pier 1. Armed with supplies we headed back home where I got to work sanding down the wooden trays, prepping them for their imminent face-lifts. Armed with the spray cans I started to spray but Mom was so worried about my workout shoes getting painted that I had to stop and rig up some protective gear. I was wrapped in giant clear plastic bags! It was a sight. Sorry there aren’t any photos. Dad couldn’t get the video to send to me but he has it for posterity.

Mom and I worked on tearing out images of butterflies, birds and flowers to use to cover the trays. I was so proud of her for perservering with helping me out. I know she didn’t enjoy it at all! Thanks, Mom!

Here’s the end result:

Please keep in mind that it’s more orange than fuschia, although I like the pinky-ness of the photo.

Everyone is happy with the finished trays and they are lovingly used at every meal.

 

The Leopold

The Leopold  was our final museum. I met new painters I had never heard of and that art (like beauty) truly is in the eye of the beholder. I learned to appreciate the time spent and effort exerted of all the creatives whose works were on display. I learned that it really is ok to walk right by some displays or stop and peruse as much or as little as I wanted! How liberating.

That’s me on the left with our youngest daughter.

There is a permanent exhibit for Egon Schiele, a protégé of Klimt and known for his many self-portraits. I did like a few of those but I was especially drawn to his landscapes and cityscapes.

 

New artist “friends” I met…

Koloman Moser

Koloman Moser

Carl Moll

 

The Annex and More Klimt

**My apologies for double posting some of these photos. I should have looked at the previous one first! Boy, is my face red!!!

Still museum hopping in Vienna… We came upon this small, unassuming building (which later we learned was called the Secession) with a sign at the front directing us inside to view Klimt’s art. We followed.

Even though this frieze is unfinished, it’s still a very beautiful piece of work. This isn’t the entire frieze – it spanned 3 walls – this are just the parts I liked. (To see the entire frieze, click here).  I was absolutely enthralled with all the gold leaf that was used. It looked different from every angle!

Klimt – Vienna

Continuing my summer travels, no trip to Vienna should be without visiting at least one art exhibit. And there are SO many to choose from. So many, in fact that I just couldn’t decide which one to see first! I had it in my head that I would be determined to see as much Klimt as I could, so armed with my lists of galleries, museum apps and Google Maps at the ready, we set off…

We actually went to three, besides the Kunsthistorisches (the National Art History Museum) – the Belvedere (Palace), the Leopold and Seccesion.

I was and still am amazed at the delicate detail of his faces. They are so life-like, I can just about imagine reaching out and feeling the soft skin. And I love his Gold Phase along with all the vibrant colors he uses!

More amazing is the frieze near the ceiling over the staircase! To view, there is a telescope (with a Swarovski crystal lens) on the lower landing facing the paintings. While I couldn’t find how large these particular paintings are, I’m thinking they must be life-size or larger considering how much detail you can see from across the hall. How I would have loved to have visited during Klimt’s 150th anniversary a few years ago when the museum had installed a bridge where, for the first time, visitors could get a close-up view of the paintings here and the Beethoven frieze in the Seccession building!

While pictures don’t show off the paintings like they should, but they are proof that I was there!

Enjoy…

It’s 2017!!

Happy New Year!!!

Hard to believe, isn’t it?

I sure do have a lot of posts to catch up on. I’m hoping to get caught up within the next couple of weeks. So you’ll have plenty of reading.

Wishing you much joy and prosperity in the New Year…

Kunsthistoriches Museum

Not being a big opera fan, I opted for a bit of museum hopping. Luckily, our oldest daughter is also interested. So, armed with museum apps and Google maps, we headed of on our museum adventure! We started with one of the big one that houses a variety of exhibits.

I am a BIG fan of Egyptian art and was happy to discover the very extensive exhibit on display. After seeing the art in Egypt I knew this was quite an impressive collection.

I fell in love with this hippo (a replica of the original); so much so that I bought a reproduction from the gift shop! 

Vienna – July 2016

This was a fun surprise to find on our way to the train station near our hotel. According to the plaque nearby these were painted in a minimalist style in 2013. We love superheros!

Also on the same route to the train station, I spotted these beautiful wildflowers. But they may have been intentionally planted.  What caught my eye was the color and as I got closer, the unusual shapes. Of course, I had to get a photo!!

 

My son, husband and one of our three daughters walking through Nacht Market.

Summer Vacation

I am having the hardest time getting back to posting. I can find anything else to do but sit down and compose. Ack! I am trying to improve…

For our vacation this year, we all agreed on a family one. It’s been a few years since all of our schedules have meshed. With four adult children it takes a bit of planning! But we did it and decided on Bratislava (Slovakia), Vienna (Austria) and Budapest (Hungary). All three destinations were close enough that we didn’t have to traipse through airports, which is a big plus given security measures in effect globally. And since all three countries are member of the EU, it makes country hopping that much easier!

Our first stop with our two youngest,  was an overnighter in Bratislava. We arrived in the afternoon so had a chance to explore around the hotel. The next morning we hired a car for the hour drive to Vienna, where our two oldest children would meet us.

I loved discovering all the wondrous architecture…

I took many other pictures, but these are the most stunning, especially with that gorgeous blue sky as a backdrop!

We found the famous open air  Nacht Market and had schnitzel and other local food for lunch.

Fell in love with this sign outside a cafe:

Just a few pictures to share today. More soon…

I’m Back!

It’s been quite a while since I last posted. It’s so easy to get out of a routine and more challenging to get back into it! I had quite a busy summer and plan on sharing what “I Did On My Summer Vacation.” Remember the read-to-the-class introductions we had to do write for grade school? Well, a lot of us had to write those. My upcoming posts will fit very nicely into that niche.

Not only did I temporarily stop posting I stopped creating in my art journals! Gasp! Horrors! I still haven’t gotten any of my journals out. I’ve eyed them and looked at them with something akin to longing, but haven’t opened one. Yet. Baby steps, baby steps…

I have done a few crafty, creative things. I’ve finally, finally painted the river stones that have been sitting patiently in their bag outside. Since this is my first time painting on rocks, I wanted to keep it simple. I’m in love with how they turned out and have gotten very positive feedback. I’ve adorned my outside wall and they’ve really brightened up the place!

First attempts

More additions

Used some gelli printed papers

Their home…

DIY Necklace Storage

If you’ve read my previous post,  you’ll know that I’m in the process of reorganizing my closet space especially all of my jewelry.I say in-the-process because it’s always ongoing, changing, and possibly moving things around so it works better.

I have so many necklaces I don’t wear mostly because I forget that I have them since they aren’t in plain view. With that in mind, I perused furniture stores looking for what I wanted. Of, course, I couldn’t find anything that grabbed me. Then I had a light-bulb moment and decided to look on Pinterest for ideas. It has everything! I did find several do-it-yourself ideas for storing and displaying jewelry. I found one! Adding hooks to the underside of a wooden hanger really caught and held my attention.

So, off I went out and got a set of 6 relatively inexpensive wooden hangers. I removed the pants bar then altered them by covering with decorative napkins. I ended up using clear-headed thumbtacks because I just couldn’t get those darn hooks to screw in! I’m happy with how it turned out. I also got rid of so much jewelry that I don’t wear and most likely won’t. And the most fun part? I’m wearing different necklaces because now I can see what I have!