rightbrain/leftbrain

My First Animation - Seasons of a Michigan Tree

2009-11-14T20:22:00.008-05:00

My first gif animation - seasons of a maple tree in our backyard:

New Art - "Pomegranate with Leaves" and "Many Hearts Sampler" Shelf

2008-06-24T21:15:00.002-04:00

Here are two new pieces I've been working on...

"Pomegranate with Leaves" acrylic on black canvas, new faux Victorian vintage-style frame. This would look great in a kitchen or dining room. 12" x 14" including frame. This one will go up for sale on Ebay on Friday, June 27 at 7:00 pm, # 220249973919.

And "Many Hearts Sampler" decorative wall shelf. The ornate hearts are painted in oils, acrylics, watercolor, ink on canvas and heavy paper. This will be for sale in February of '09, if not sold before. If you are interested, just e-mail me :)

All archival acid-free materials used. I guarantee all my work to last and last.

THANKS for lookin'!
Annie

Silly little glass bead

2008-05-18T15:57:00.001-04:00

Here is my funny silly little sea-urchin glass bead that I made at the WMG hot glass workshop yesterday. My respect for glass artists goes waay up every time I take a hot glass class :)

Black kitty cat

2008-04-18T17:43:00.000-04:00

New picture of Francine.

HAPPY EASTER from Michigan >:o

2008-03-22T18:01:00.000-04:00

HAPPY EASTER from Michigan :)

Art Show

2008-02-16T19:16:00.000-05:00

"Lady Gardener"
Watercolor in antique frame, exhibited in 2008 regional juried art show.

I'll have more photos of the exhibit posted this week. The painting right under mine is a very beautiful Lake Michigan scene done by my reiki therapist's husband, Larry H.

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Coming soon - I'm working on 8 small pieces, watercolor and acrylic on canvas. They will be posted in the coming weeks. As I clear the clutter out of my new art space, I am much more inclined to paint. Must be the time of year to create new spaces and get rid of old junk because I know two more artists (waving at Jen, waving at Pat) who are doing the same thing :)

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Saw my first robin today! So there really is a spring? When I was a kid, I would worry about the first birds to come back, whether they would be cold, where they would find food, etc. And I still worry! If you're in a cold climate like ours, please put out bird food, bread crumbs, apple cores, and anything else that a returning bird might want to eat. They'll return the favor ;)

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Another coming soon: Plans are under way to move my blog to Live Journal. I'll put a note here when I move. I probably won't be putting a link here, so if you are interested in following my blog, drop me an e-mail and I'll send you the new address (all two of ya, teee).

Enjoy your day and brighten up your world with art :)

Kitty Valentine :)

2008-02-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

The happiest Valentine ever from Sweet William :)

Happy Valentine's Day month :) RED, red, and more red paintings

2008-02-01T12:46:00.000-05:00

Late flash: Here are the Ebay numbers, ending tomorrow night, 2/3/08: 220196908077. After you get to this auction, just click on "view sellers other items" on right side to see the rest.

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Valentines, Valentines, VALENTINES!!! Went crazy painting Valentines this year! Some will be listed on Ebay and end Sunday night, Feb. 3 and here are the numbers:

Lips! Acrylic on paper art card/ACEO size (2.5" x 3.5"), many layers of sealant to make them shiney! Selling in lots of two each:

Frilly heart acrylic paintings on paper with mat and backing board included. Ebay nos:

Frilly fancy hearts acrylic on canvas SOLD (one made with grandma's antique glass seed-beads:

#1

This lot of 4 is ACEO sized (2.5" x 3.5") acrylic on canvas, all the embellishments..... yada.

All SOLD:

This one is done with the new Silky Crayons:

If you are interested in owning any of these, just let me know. Always glad to oblige :)

VaLeNtInE CARDS.....

2008-01-16T21:02:00.000-05:00

Three Valentine cards just listed on Ebay and they'll show up tonight at 10:00 Michigan time:

220192834988
220192885255
220192893560

Inside:

Did you ever wonder about the Ebay numbering system? How just in the couple of minutes it takes me to list these sequentally, how several hundred items got listed in the space of a couple of minutes? A-mazing ;)

SNOW..... and Snow Fairy Princess watercolor illustration

2008-01-14T18:07:00.000-05:00

New painting and new story line for a snow fairy children's book inspired by all the SNOW we have here in Michigan... although, probably snow fairies aren't anything new. I've added a different spin to my snow fairy story, though, that I think is new. Any children's book editors or children's book writers out there looking at my blog??? I've been through the whole process of having a children's book successfully published, so I constantly long for more. Here's your illustrator - step right up ;) Just e-mail: amarmur@verizon.net

I've developed a new font that I'm using in this story. Font name: "Annie'sFun" (copyright 2008). I've written up the "font rules" like a all good font designah's need to do. Here's a sample:

I'm also working on one more font. I'm going to frame the original fairy and the font and will post a photo when I get them in the frame. I like framed illustration art and lettering, hand-lettering, fonts and calligraphy, so I wanted to get these in a good frame in case there's another commercial art show this year. There was one a couple of year's ago that I missed :( my bad.

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Yay! Just received notice that I had one painting accepted in the local art center's annual juried art show. It was "Lady Gardener" watercolor illustration. Wish me luck! Lots of prizes and awards being handed out and I'm an award ho. Like the great philosopher Mary Kay said... there are two things people want more than money and sex; and that is recognition and praise (or somethin' like that, sorry MK if I didn't get it quite right, but you all get my drift).

I still have two smaller original versions of her (around 8 x 10") similar to the big one (about 16 x 24" in the show), only I've added borders on the smaller ones and her expression is slightly different. They are both still available in quality frames, and then I will retire the design. If you're interested in having the little lady gardener brighten up your space, just e-mail me. Look in my September postings to see the smaller versions framed for the Fair.

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SNOW! These photos are from two weeks ago, but I've had the after-holiday-blahs from too much sugar and way too much food, so they are being posted today. We got 15" in one night. What you see in the second picture is a "roof snow rake". Looks like fun, dunnit? We wondered how many TONS of snow we actually had on our roof after that storm. Then we got an unseasonally warm week with temps in the high 60's (unheard of) and I was outdoors in my bare feet! 'Splain that one to me, Lucy. It all melted off in about one day. Now we are back to our more normal 3 inches today, 3 tonight, and 3 more inches tomorrow. :)

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All artwork seen on this site is ALREADY copyrighted to the artist and may not be reproduced or copied in any way shape or form w/o express permis. of the artist. NADA, nada, if you are thinking of copying anything, tsk tsk, big BAD, don't do it :(

Nora the Piano Playing Cat

2007-12-29T12:15:00.000-05:00

Right, WE always knew cats were smart. But wait till you see Nora, the piano playing feline. Here's a link to her YouTube video, and she has her own website. Want a feel-good fuzzy-wuzzy story for the new year? Read and enjoy :)
Rick spotted this on the news this morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ860P4iTaM

http://www.ravenswingstudio.com/NoraWeb/nora_home.html

Quote of the Day

2007-12-17T11:21:00.000-05:00

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)

Ponder.

Pritten* arrived! Needle felted cat

2007-12-12T11:32:00.000-05:00

Look who arrived! Flutterby Pritten*, an original creation by multi-talented artist and craftsperson Jeanne (*waving at Jeanne across our watery state*). Little Flutterby is a one-of-a-kind original felted animal. Jeanne puts amazing detail in these little guys, all the muscles, facial features, each individual TOE are carefully crafted and shaped. Needle felting is a painstaking, long, exacting process. She's selling the first of the Prittens* on Ebay right now, seller name maiee123 . The poses she's crafted into these guys are so realistic. Gotta love that little pink tongue. Also, they come with lots of little extras right now, and their own STORY line. So cute! Check her seller name out on Ebay and you'll find a link on her Ebay page back to her portfolio on EBSQart.com. Wait until you see her realistic nature paintings!

Like I keep hammering away, SUPPORT LIVING WORKING AMERICAN ARTISTS!!

*"Pritten" is a registered name.

Pet Dressing

2007-12-07T04:52:00.000-05:00

Have you noticed how dressing up pets is very in this year? Several of the Christmas catalogs I got from major brands had a dressed pet on the cover. The latest one is Lands End with an oh-so-chic bulldog in matching red coat on the cover. Tres chic! Bow-wowwwwww.

Annie

Elf Yourself !

2007-12-04T20:24:00.000-05:00

This is the funniest thing I ever saw. Go to:

www.elfyourself.com

and you can create a funny elf animation with faces of family and friends. A friend did three of us using pics from our high school reunion, and it was so funny! It's free from Office Max. I have a feeling the whole country has gotten wind of this because the site seems to be slowing down a little tonight. It takes a while to open, but it's worth it.

Have fun :)

Give ART for Christmas.... Art on EBSQart.com

2007-12-01T19:46:00.000-05:00

***Here's a neat-o website supplied by Jennifer - lots of art and craft ideas and how-to, recycling, how-to build hand things around the house, etc. etc. Check it out, especially the Art and Crafts areas:

http://www.instructables.com/home?category=craft

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Scooter in a basket of dolls

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Give ART for Christmas! Get personal and give a GOOD gift. (Forget the dollar store fruitcake!*) Does your family member like cats? Dogs? Color? Nature? Just type any of those and other favorite words into Ebay in their "Artists Self-Representing" category and you'll find just the unique gift that your friend will remember. And, while you're at it, you'll be contributing to keep American artists working. :)

Check the left side of the main page at EBSQart.com and you'll see my little Christmas snow globe card representing their Seasonal Gallery this year. Check out the Seasonal Gallery while you're at it and you might find an interesting gift of art for sale. Or get YOURSELF a nifty gifty :) (Click on the snow globe on EBSQart.com main page and it will take you to the seasonal gallery).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

*Note about fruit cake: If you've ever had the real deal, original fruitcake made from the old-fashioned recipes that took time (like days) to make, you won't believe the difference between that and cheapie fruitcakes. It's YUMMY! If people could taste what it's really like, there probably wouldn't be any more fruitcake jokes ;)

Black Cat in a White Tree ~~ Paper Folded Christmas Bird Ornament~

2007-11-27T19:40:00.000-05:00

Update: New photo without the red eye (found the red eye tool

(Sung to the tune of "A Partridge in a Pear Tree")

Altogether now.....

"On the first day of Christmas,
Santa gave to me....
A black caaaat
in a white tree."

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Olive visiting the new observatory.

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Peace dove folded paper bird made in Pat's class. Made with medium heavy-weight scrapbooking paper, tube beads, glitter, gold chord, carpenter's glue, decoupage. It was harder to make than it looks ;)

Silky crayons

2007-11-15T20:27:00.000-05:00

(P.S. So FUNNY, ha HA ha ha! I see I've glazed a cat hair into my painting :) :) TG this is only a class project and intended for my wall only. Well, I guess that means that we not only eat cat hair around here (I know, I know, YUCKKKK), but use it for art as well, teeee. Now, how can I work the derned stuff into art like the dryer-lint lady, who BTW, is actually selling her works for pretty good prices on Ebay. That's what I love about Ebay. Who'd a thunk it :) )

Hi Bloggies:

Just wanted to share a note about a nifty art supply we just tried out in Pat's inspirational art class called "Silky Crayons". The effect was very much like glazed oils or washes of water color and it was wonderful to work with. It thins with water so there was no solvent smell. These are chunky soft crayon-like pigments in a pastel-like holder and very soft, spreadable, and easy to shade. We used them on regular oil-painting gessoed canvas. These were found in the children's art supply department at a local book store. Who'd a thought? A kid's art supply that turns out with a very grown-up effect. The only criticism I have, and it is a small one, is that they are slightly garish if put on too thick; but, hey, sometimes garish can be really good too. I paid $9 for a big set and Pat bought a double set that cost only $13. The font I used is Annie's Fun (copyright Annie M! Annie M!) and the lettering is hand-done in India ink with many coats of sealant overall. Love your class, Pat!

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If I don't post beforehand, all of you have a great TOFURKEY DAY!!!

Annie

2007-11-08T11:08:00.000-05:00

Here are my new photos fashioned into collectible limited edition art cards listed on Ebay right now (*numbers below). Some of these are no. 1 of 5, so you would be getting a *first edition*. They're very collectible because people without much space can collect them in baseball sleeves in a scrap book. I've made a couple sets of mini-mini-art cards for your dollhouse! These make great little Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. Prop them next to your monitor to brighten up your cubicle, on a shelf, or treasure them in your ACEO collection. Art cards are the ~H~O~T~ collectible on Ebay right now, so put ACEO or art card in your search and you'll see hundreds of these little gems :) Such a deal! They start at $5.99 and each is shipped in a protective ACEO sleeve and signed and numbered by the artist, moi. Here is an Ebay number and it will lead you to all 8 of my listings (just go to "view sellers other auctions": 220169679376

Life Goal

2007-11-07T17:01:00.000-05:00

LIFE GOAL: To be the person my cat thinks I am.

:)

Michigan Fall Color Photos on the Gazette Website...... Bring Pets inside for Halloween

2007-10-30T15:19:00.000-04:00

REMINDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Humane Society (and common sense) says to keep ALL of your pets indoors for these few days of Halloween, especially if you own any black cats or dogs. LOCK 'EM UP - don't put those pets in danger just by being lazy or by thinking "it can't happen here" - pets get stolen every day and you have to be especially careful the next few days.

DO IT, bring 'em INSIDE!

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My two photos (see post below) have been chosen for the Kalamazoo Gazette website. To see them, go to mlive.com/kzgazette and scroll down and to the right to Multimedia + More, where you'll see a camera icon. Click on "Photo galleries" beside the icon. There are many gorgeous shots picked by the Gazette as good representations of our beautiful Michigan fall color and amazing glowing trees. Tonight (Oct. 30) the moon should be out and it should be a good night to stand under a maple tree and see the unique "glow" from the yellow leaves :)
This photo is now listed on Ebay as an ACEO art card #220166786971. Stop by and see it - I'm in a contest to get the most unique hits ;)

Have a happy, safe and FUN Halloween, and bring those critters inside,

Booooooo...oooo.....oooo,
Annie

HaLlOwEeN BlAcK CaT CoOkIeS...... Gazette photos

2007-10-19T12:17:00.000-04:00

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!!

How do you like my black kitty border (above)? Each little black kitty is actually a delectable artisan-made cookie made by Jennifer J. from California*. They are actually supposed to be saved for our annual birthday gathering, but lo! It just happens the frosting cracked on two cookies so yours truly and her hubbie HAD to eat them - and they were dee-eelicious; especially dunked in milk. Mmmmmm-mm. I brought some of these special cookies to my art group and they were unanimous in demanding the recipe. They thought they were so CUTE. I can see Jen's unique artistic hand in these. If you're out there reading this, LilJ, please e-mail the secret recipe (for the frosting too) and the artists would be extremely grateful.

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Don't forget to stop by Rick's Astro blog (see the list on the left side of this screen) and see Rick's new star chamber. It represents three days of all day intensive work by the Sky Shed crew (Russ, Ronnie and Sarah) and it is fab! We were able to open the top last night in between two tornado warnings and see the stars. Its a beautiful little observatory complete with warm room which is essential to keep us from freezing out there in the winter. Check out Rick's astro photos while you're at his blog and look forward to many more photos now that he has his Sky Shed.

P.S. Tornado "warnings" during the night and especially in the middle of October are rare here in Michie. There were two separate warnings about an hour apart and we gathered up the kitties and went down to the basement twice. Lucky Three Rivers escaped again. They were on the north, east and west of us, one within 4 miles coming our way, but none hit here. Our cats are getting so smart - one runs for the basement when he hears the take-cover siren, the other two let themselves be caught near the basement door and allow themselves to be carried down without too much fuss.

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I've entered the two photos below in a photo op at the Gazette. These two photos

have been sent in for a chance to be on the Gazette's Fall Color Tour cover and also to be posted on their website. Send me good winning vibes, please :)

Happy color, happy fall,
Annie

Alien Landing Reported in Michigan Back Yard (Happy Halloween)..... Member's Choice Award

2007-10-11T17:32:00.000-04:00

EXTRA!! EXTRA!!! Alien Landing Reported in Michigan Back Yard

"Hello? Hello? Any intelligent life out there?"

Oh! A familiar looking species. "Hello plant. How ya doin'? What's the haps here on Earth?"

"Yes, I will report back to my leader that I have encountered an extremely intelligent and peaceful life form here on planet Earth. Glad to find out that your name is Gourdy."

"Beam me back up, Skipper. See ya Gourdy. Stop by our planet any time you're in the neighborhood."

"Always nice to encounter the rare intelligent species. We need more of them in our quadrant of the galaxy."

(--- (Happy Halloween :) ---)

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Award

I am PLEASED that my fused glass crystal ball/paperweight (above) just won a Member's Mention Award on the EBSQart.com website. Check out EBSQart.com to see the show "Lifting the Veil: The Art of Divination". I take divination seriously, so it was a pleasure to be in this particular show. Scroll down to the middle of the main page and click on the show. There are two other unique art shows on right now too. You'll enjoy :)

Happy me,
The Award Maven,
Annie

New ACEO Art Card "Asian Dreams III".... Tom the Halloween Cat.... Four Freedoms Speech by Roosevelt.... Apostrophe Police

2007-09-28T13:10:00.000-04:00

FLASH: Be sure to check out Rick's astronomy website (Rick's Astroblog) in the list on the left-hand side of my screen here. He's posted a great astrophoto of the Elephant's Trunk Nebula that looks like it's on fire. He's used a photo pallette of orange and white so it fits right in with this Halloween season ;)

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Here is another aceo art card to be listed Saturday (Sept. 29) on Ebay (6:00 Ebay time)Ebay #220155076249. All of my art cards start at $4.99. Such a deal! Note the beautiful sunflower yellow Michigan fall leaves I incorporated under many THICK coats of decourpage which gives the whole thing real texture and dimension.

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And here is a new art card (ACEO) that I just got from Lynn Bonnette Buchner. See all that teeny tiny detail? That is the original size of her paintings. i.e., they aren't shrunk down to that size. Check out her portfolio on EBSQart.com.

P.S. Look who's enjoying her card.... Francine. She just had to see it when she heard it was black cat art ;)

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On a completely different note.... are you watching Ken Burns World War II series? It's excellent, if extremely sad. But everyone needs to watch it. I was taken by the mention of President Roosevelt's "The Four Freedoms" speech. So I googled it. Being a Utopian thinker myself, I believe this is the way things could be, almost should be, right now. Except that human beings would have to give themselves an extra awareness crank or two and it really could be right now. Here is the Four Freedoms portion of a much longer speech. You can read the whole thing by googling " roosevelt four freedoms speech ". It looks like Roosevelt was a utopian thinker too. Note that this speech was given during WWII. Also note that he refers to the world in his speech, not just the USA.

"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation."

Read and heed.

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Pray tell... I am SOooo guilty of apostrophe over use (these things ""). I love language and emphasis and emotion* and clarity and pointing things out and direction in writing. YES, I plead guilty to emphasis over-use :) I did it! I'm guilty, guilty, guilty! Now, when I can find the apostrophe police website, I will post it here so you can read about my fellow language convicts and I.

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Peace, love, and EMOTION,
Annie

*Emotion overuse: I plead Italian.

PS: All art seen on this blog is copyrighted to the artists who made it.

Halloween Ghostly Art Card (ACEO)..... Ghost Hunter Bryan painting... Blue Ribbon.....

2007-09-25T20:45:00.000-04:00

Just for ~~~H~A~L~L~O~W~E~E~N~!~~~

Who's your favorite ghost hunter on the t.v. show "Ghost Hunters"? Even though I love all those guys, here is an ORIGINAL watercolor caricature of one of the most colorful and interesting ghost hunters, Bryan, equipped with all of his great ghost hunting paraphernalia. This was sketched by me during an episode, inked onto heavy high quality watercolor board (never warps!) and watercolor painted. It is sealed with several coats of acrylic sealant. This will be listed on Ebay on September 29 at 6:00 pm Ebay time and the number is: 220154132822. Staring bid is 9.99, such a deal :) Be the first one on your block to own an original work of art of "Bryan the Ghost Hunter" :)
(**see note below)

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Here is more spooky Halloween art:

Three ACEO's (art cards), just 2.5" x 3.5" ORIGINAL tiny works of art. Affordable and collectible little gems that are sweeping Ebay. Just put ACEO or "art card" in your Ebay search. The three cards you see here are original collages sealed with THICK coats of textured sealer (not visible in the photos); the edges are painted black so that they can be displayed without a frame (just like a regular wall painting) or propped anywhere you want; and they will NEVER wrinkle or bend, these are sturdy little guys. Or they can be collected and stored in baseball card sleeves, which is what art cards were originally intended for. Great idea, no? Whoever came up with the idea of tiny art that is easily stored and fits in a baseball sleeve, was a genius. Even if your living space is small, you can own hundreds of original and editions of tiny art. It will be listed on Ebay starting September 29 and the number is:
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"Lilly stops by on Halloween night" ACEO 2.5" x 3.5"

"Every Halloween night Lilly peeks in to say hello. See her slowly coming into focus... or does she have something else in mind for you than just a hello? As much as you want to, do not engage Lilly in conversation. She needs company as she slowly fades out of view.... and you don't want to be her company, oh, my no! Let her go... let her go... you will see her again next year at Halloween."

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Now a departure from my Halloween ghostly theme. This ACEO is called "Asian Dreams II" and is 2.5" x 3.5" made with collaged gold foil paper which emulates the sun tinkling down upon our dimensional raised bee. Made with: Bee and Flower soap paper, decoupaged red tissue paper, alcohol ink on photo paper background*, thick coats of texturized acrylic to make it last and give it yummy texture. Black edges. Guaranteed never to warp. Fits in an ACEO art card sleeve. Listed September 29 on Ebay and the number is:

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*Alcohol ink on photo paper is a technique learned in Pat S's inspiring ACEO class. I've scanned a sheet below so you can see another version of an alcohol ink on photo paper background that could be cut up and made into ACEO's or collages. I especially like the way the chemicals on the photo paper make the paint craze which adds a vintage look. Just take a piece of photo paper, dap on alcohol ink and either dap the spots of ink with a spone or pick up the paper and roll and drip the ink around on the paper. The crazing effect was done by repeating the process of dripping more ink onto the same already inked area. With enough alcohol, the area began to craze. The key here is to experiment - this method is not predictable and lots of beautiful patterns and shapes emerged.

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Last but not least, I won a first place blue ribbon at the St. Joseph County Grange Fair for my "Bee and Sunflower" small watercolor painting. (modest bow) My reiki instructor's husband also won a blue ribbon and I'll post pics of his beautiful landscape soon.

I'll post more pictures of the fair in a couple of days. It's a special earthy harvesty old-fashioned fair, with some antique buildings still used, and lots of ag stuff like 600 pound pumpkins, 4-H displays, beautiful mosaics made out of beans and grains, white picket fences still stand in front of the ag displays. And it's huge. I've heard people say it's bigger than the state fair. It even has a separate "children's fair" complete with lots of rides, it's own midway, a very cool real farm on about 1/8th of an acre with pathways that wind through it. We're lucky to have this special fair in our area.

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Here's a puzzler - perhaps one of you bloggers out there might know... my blog counter shot up by almost a thousand. Is that possible? Maybe I've been linked somewhere and don't know it. Anybody got any ideas? I'd like to think that my blog is especially interesting, but there might be some other reason, ha ha. Nope, I haven't been sitting here hitting my own blog either. Maybe it's the "Ghost Hunter" in the title? That really is an excellent show and one of our favs. Hmmmm..... (?) Leave a comment if you've got any ideas.

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*Buyer owns the work of art; artist retains the copyright unless special arrangements have been made with the buyer.