This happened last fall but none the less I was inspired and it was fun walking through the ArtFair, so I wanted to share some of the art. The Artfair took place in the Armory here in Jersey CityThese Mixed Media pieces by Andrea McKenna caught my eye – no pun intended
One of my very favorite pieces were these ones by Deborah L. Morris- the idea of embroidering clay, porcelain or metal – love the juxtaposition of something so fine and delicate with a hard material!
Another local artist I always love to see is Pam Cooper – her paper assemblages and books are just so delicate and beautiful!
Thought provoking art
And fun art about cats
Art by local artist Distort depicting local artist Sam Another favorite booth of mine was Robert Lach’s, who used those delicate bird’s nests for assemblage piecesThere was a lot of art -and I really enjoyed it – Art Fairs are a great way to see art and I especially enjoyed seeing local artists there.
I am signing off with a picture of the cool wooden seats of the Armory- because rest was needed after walking to see all the little booths and stands. I will def. go back this year – hoping it will happen again and can only recommend this one if you are in the NYC metropolitan area.
Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me get unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.
These houses are just so cool- the patina and colors and everything. We actually looked at one of those houses several years ago but it was not for us but I still love the facades!
We started the year off with some fun little home projects – like turning old locks we found in the basement and some additional ones we bought at a salvage place, into hooks / decoration pieces in our basement. We love them and I would like to add some “old” pictures of the house and people who lived here to the wall as well. I will keep you posted if I do.
We also bought some Sash Locks that were missing on our windows at a salvage place and I found this incomplete sash lock with a porcelain knob and made it into a little hook for a hand towel in the guest powder room.
I am also taking a 10 week class in Wheel Throwing and it is a blast ! It just started, but I am already committed to say it is fun LOL. The studio is in this amazing old building from 1884 – I have to ask Frank our teacher what it was used for back then.
I love the colors on this building and the wonderful pediment on the top. The houses on the left and right don’t have the pediment and I am wondering if they restored it or had it made – in any event, it is amazing!
This church is being converted into apartments. The original structure of this church was an important hiding place on the Underground Railroad to get further up North.
I am a sucker for old brick houses and the brick work is just amazing on those! It is beautiful!
I always love looking up and wonder what kind of cornice and siding is hidden underneath the ugly vinyl and sometimes you get a glimpse – if only as in this case for a day before they started demolishing the house.
Here is another glimpse on one – I am assuming the window came later -very interesting.
Even though it is not that cold so far, I have spent a lot of time in my studio, painting – which is exactly what I planned for this year :) Bobby Pretzel thinks that is perfect – he loves to have me around so he can ignore me by sleeping safe and sound
While Mingus is slightly annoyed that his beauty sleep in the studio is interrupted by music, me moving through the studio and stopping to look at the two of them to exclaim “OMG you guys are sooo cute” ;)
Well that was it – see you next month – I hope you enjoyed the Stroll through the hood !
Nat, I also love the brick houses.
The history of the church is cool and it will be fun to be able to tell folks the story once they move into one of the apartments.
It is hard to believe that David Bowie died 7 years ago. His song came to mind when I plugged off the calendar page from the 2022 Artist Almanac which shows a part of an art journal page I created back in the days.
I loved playing with the stamps and I like the stars that evolved. I love using those little calendar pages as a Creative JumpStart wether it be the colors, the words or the image – in this case it was a combination of all of it.
I hope your January goes well – you might have noticed I am blogging less this year – intentionally but I will blog – because I am playing hard this year and I am having fun – I will tell more later:) Have a wonderful day and happy arting!
I had fun playing with some Spray Paint and my Downtown Stencil (you see some grungy remains of a blotted Space Age Stencil as well)
The photos is from an old album with a lot of double nature photos my great aunt must have taken on one of her trips – she didn’t write anything about it down- but I can see the beauty.
Free shipping for customers in the US: If your cart totals more than $25 of physical products now through Sunday (December 18th, 2022) in my online shop HERE, you can get free shipping in the US. Just enter the coupon code FREE25SHIP when you are checking out and all those goodies will get shipped to you for free! Who doesn’t like a little free this time of year?
Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me get unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.
December already, things are slowing down – the cats are hanging out in the art studio in their new cat tree … don’t they look as if you could just pluck them off there?
We got our tree for the living room – it is huge and fills the room with a gorgeous smell! Every morning I sit here with my first coffee and a cat on the lap and read the news …brings me joy
We also decorated our stoop – we are all in this year – our first Christmas in this house :)
In other house news- we have still some loose ends construction and painting wise- but we stripped those plaster brackets that were painted over and over the past decades that no details were visible. I couldn’t believe when I found all those different patterns like dots and grids in there …those things make me so excited – it is ridiculous LOL
We went an artfair held in the Armory nearby – I always wondered how it looked inside and well – now I know. Love the floor
But these old wooden gym seats with the brick wall just are my fave!
The building on the left is in a very sad state but must have been magnificent back in the days- nonetheless I love this little view with the Queen Anne on the right, a church visible in the middle and the brick apartment building with fire stairways on the right …it is so typical Jersey City to me!
This is one of many identical apartment buildings on a neighborhood street and I find it just so interesting – the oval windows next to the columns- the door obviously not original . And then the very long quoined window units on the left and right of the second floor …was this ever ONE window? or how did the middle look in between back then …these are the weird things I ask myself when I walk through the city- LOL.
Wonderful wood rose window in this gothic style church. One day I would love to see the church from the inside.
This building is being renovated and I love love love the massive entrance – isn’t this amazing? I just wish they would have created a different stairway or will still do something with it -the stairs do not fit at all with this.
And lastly this gorgeous color combo on the house with the green and mauve and pastel yellow and the wonderful foliage. I find this highly inspirational.
Hope you enjoyed the stroll this month – see you next month :)
Hi, Nathalie! You have a wonderful front door! I always love your strolls through the ‘hood. I grew up in Rumson; these posts stir up a little homesickness in me.
Wow, I just love your festive front door! Your tree is wide and nice,
The pic with the three different buildings is wonderful with the contrast.
Merry Christmas Nat.
Free shipping for customers in the US: If your cart totals more than $25 of physical products now through Sunday (December 18th, 2022) in my online shop HERE, you can get free shipping in the US. Just enter the coupon code FREE25SHIP when you are checking out and all those goodies will get shipped to you for free! Who doesn’t like a little free this time of year?
Here are some fun items you might have put your eyes on before:
Wether as a bold statement with a Love Foam Stamp or by adding a little grunge with the Love Tag Rubberstamp, this holiday season Love is in the air!
Or you are still looking for an original painting or print to give to a special loved one this holiday season …and after all- giving art makes a lot of people happy- the recipient, the giver and the artist – WIN WIN WIN!
speaking of Triple Win …how about the wonderful Triple Play Foam stamp set which was designed by Birgit Koopsen, Marsha Valk and me to give you lots of fun options to play and create patterns and backgrounds? Grab yours now !
Free shipping for customers in the US: If your cart totals more than $25 of physical products now through Sunday (December 18th, 2022) in my online shop HERE, you can get free shipping in the US. Just enter the coupon code FREE25SHIP when you are checking out and all those goodies will get shipped to you for free!
“Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory”
This is a photo I found and to be honest, I have no idea where it came from – was it from a box of my great aunt, was it something I found at a flea market? In any event I found it again, put it on my work bench for later use and accidentally had some spray paint get on it…making the image even more blurry. ..hence ..this is the store how this page with it’s quote came along ;) I used my Downtown Stencil for the background – moving it around and spraying it over with acylic spray paint in different colors. I also used an old napkin with a german beer quote and some snippets I had in my stash. I love rummaging through my collage drawer to see what could fit my idea for a page.
Here are some of the supplies used in these projects:
My Creative Squad has made some really cool videos for their projects through the years (what a talented bunch indeed) so I did a little 4 part series where I shared some with you. This is the 4th and final so I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have. Also I encourage you to check out the Creative Squad archive of projects as an excellent resource for serious artistic inspiration.
First we have Squad alum Tania Ahmed sharing a fun card with us that she made using my Stroll Around the Block set of house stamps, my My Home is My Castle stamp, and my What’s the Point stencil. Our theme was: Inside Outside – Inside can be cozy and warm. Outside is about fresh air and freedom. Are you a homebody or do you suffer from cabin fever? We’re creating with these opposites in mind.
I love the texture Tania creates with my What’s the Point stencil!
Lastly we have alum Nicole Watson and her magical art journal spread using my foam stamps and the theme: Under the Sea – There is something so fascinating about water. We love being in it, floating on it, relaxing next to it, and it remains one of the last frontiers here on the planet. Create something that is an ode to the sea.
This is a great way to make a whole bunch of gorgeous collage papers!
I hope you enjoyed all the Creative Squad videos I have been sharing. Be sure to check out the archive of their projects – they show so many ways to use foam stamps, rubber stamps, stencils and more in their beautiful mixed media creations.
Here are some of the supplies used in these projects:
Comments (1)
Sue Clarke
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I really like the pieces by Andrea McKenna!
Were the couches for sale or for resting?
The big silver one looks fun.
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