Week in Review

I've been having so much fun with the Index-Card-a-Day (ICAD) challenge, made even better by all the fun feedback I've been getting from you wonderful people!  (You can check out my first two cards--the fireflies here and the toadie here--if you haven't seen them yet.)

I've gotten on board with some of Tammy's inspirational prompts for the rest of my cards this week, and thought I would share the whole week's efforts at one time:

ICAD2:  Card #3

Theme:  Yellow

I made this postcard after waking up at 4:40 a.m. to take my friend Christina to the

airport on Sunday morning.  Ouch! 

ICAD2:  Card #4

Theme:  Maps

This index card sounds like it was complicated to put together, but it actually only took about 15 or 20 minutes.  I used a green and red pen to write on the index card some thoughts about the nature of the differences that divide us from others in the world, and whether or not we would discover more similarities than we would expect, if given the chance to find out.  Then, I put a splash of green over the writing, and used a bottle cap inked in magenta to add circles to the background.  I collaged a picture of a girl from a magazine article, with the skirt cut from an ink-edged swatch of map.  Finally I used various colors of pen to add a border around the card.  I think it looks kind of cool; I'm especially pleased with the map-skirt, and will be trying something along these lines on a larger scale in the future.

ICAD2:  Card #5

Themes:  Dragonfly, Grid, Dictionary

I think I like this index card best of all.  I glued a dictionary page to the index card, and

painted over it with French vanilla acrylic paint.  Then I added a few different colors of acrylic paint in a grid pattern over the card.  I used pencil to draw the dragonflies, then went over them with black pen.  I added blue and black watercolor paint with my waterbrush to one, and red and black watercolor paint with my waterbrush to the other.

ICAD2:  Card #6

Theme:  Fish

I like to call this one, "You win some, you lose some."  Yeah, it doesn't look so great, but it's still kind of fun.  I painted the card with blue acrylic paint, then stamped the fish with black Staz-On ink.  I used acrylic paint to add color to the fish, and paint and marker for my seaweed.  I highlighted the fish then in black ink.  I just kept going back trying again and again to make it look better.  Then I reminded myself,  This is an index card, and tomorrow is another day.  Wrap it up!

ICAD2:  Card #7

I didn't follow a theme for this one, but just used a doodle I've been doing a lot lately. 

I call it, "Wheel-spoke amoebas."  There's no deep significance,

just a great way to pass the time and calm my mind!

So far, so good with this ICAD challenge.  It has been a lot of fun to see what the day will bring, and what style is going to come out of the day's effort.  It is a great way to keep me doing something creative on a daily basis, without feeling too overwhelmed at the prospect.

If you want to learn more about the project, check out the details at Daisy Yellow!

Taking It on the Road (and a Toad!)

I have never taken my art journal in public to work on.  I shrink from the idea that someone might walk by me, look over my shoulder, and see a sub-par work in progress!  And I don't feel prepared to chat about my art-making, even though I write about it on my blog all the time.

I had the opportunity to ease into public art-making this weekend, when I worked on my second ICAD for Daisy Yellow's challenge at a coffee shop while a good friend was in town visiting from Texas.  With Christina there, we could chat as I worked, and somehow that made me feel less conspicuous.  She took my picture at the Seven Stones coffeeshop in Media, so you could see my on-the-road art space:

I have my index card, along with my water brush and a set of watercolor pencils.  Later in the evening, I completed the card on the back patio, where a rubber stamp and a bottle of wine were additional art supplies:

I have to tell the story behind this little frog card:  The night before, we had a rain storm, and my husband came up from his basement workbench to tell us that a little toad was trapped in our window well, and was looking at him through the window:

With that priceless expression, this little toadie clearly earned a spot on a daily index card!  Christina and I made up a haiku together:

late night visitor

seeking the light of our home

refuge from the rain

We felt like we were back in our high school English class!

(By the way, we all went out to rescue the little guy from the window well, and set him free in our yard.)

I even bullied Christina into playing around with my water brush and markers in the little Moleskin notebook that I carry around in my purse.  She thinks she might have enjoyed herself, but she wasn't willing to confess!

Tammy provides us with some great prompts for the ICAD challenge, but it's also fun to use the cards as a kind of daily diary of something interesting that has happened that day. 

Wishing you an artful week!

Index Card Art Challenge

Last year, I watched as many of my blogging friends participated in the Index-Card-a-Day (ICAD) challenge hosted by Tammy at Daisy Yellow.  Participants create a work of art on a postcard every day for a designated period of time.  They might doodle, draw, paint, collage--whatever they want to do on their 3x5 "canvas."

This summer, I decided to partipate in the ICAD project for the months of June and July.  In the same way that altered Rolodex cards create a yummy collection of small-size art, I look forward to seeing the stack of altered index cards representing the days and moods of my summer.

Here is my first effort, inspired from a mailing I received from Longwood Garden:

If you would like to play along, you can check out all the details at Daisy Yellow; Tammy has a tab at the top of her blog dedicated to the challenge.  She is very low-pressure, so you can jump in at any time, and give your creative muscles a gentle daily stretch!