When Life Hands You a Shed....Name Her Frida

"I paint flowers so they will not die." 

— Frida Kahlo

    It has been a busy summer (actually year, of not blogging). But a lot of projects were conquered. This the last one started and finished is a little shed I like to call: Frida. If you have known me long you will know that I have a bit of a fascination with flora and fauna, oh, and wings.  My beautiful friend presented her quandary that she wanted an artist to paint her shed. I racked my brain and thought, why not, why should the fact that I've never painted a mural stop me?  So without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen: Frida.



    The idea was scribbled out on a notepad and folded into sections when the time came to draw it out on the wall. (Here is a link showing you long hand how to do this:) http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-use-a-grid-to-enlarge-an-image-while-drawing--cms-20593 
    I used chalk to show up on the wall that I painted first. I wish I could say that I'm the type of artist that freehand draws but mostly I work from several pictures. (I mostly prefer realistic looking things, the easier to "cheat" with pictures.)
    Once I finished painting I cut mirror bits to glue onto the dragonfly wings. Mosaic is my first love and I wanted to reflection close to the water.



 Here is the design that I fit the glass into. I loved mixing the mediums and will most likely do it in the future.

 Here is the finished lakeside. What a blast having boaters pull up close enough to throw out a few "hoorays"!   I knew I wanted a sunflower on the street facing side and to surprise the client, I added in a portrait of her adorable kitty, Sneetches.  Here is the initial layout. I ended up changing the background color to the same blue-green on the other side to make the flower pop.

 I thought this was the finished deal until I woke up the next day and decided to write some beloved quotes all over the flower, the cat even got to wear one or two. And here is Miss Sneetches inspecting her portrait. She would not sit still long enough so I had to work from pictures:)

 Here are a few closeups of some quotes.

 The final final shed picture. What a blast! I put a few coats of marine varnish on it to save it from our harsh Michigan winters. It could probably use a couple more just to be safe. So thankful for the opportunity to create such fun artwork (thanking the divine thoughts that inspire me as well:)

The Ancient Craft of the Beautiful...

"Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in times very different from the present, by men whose power of action upon things was insignificant in comparison with ours. But the amazing growth of our techniques, the adaptability and precision they have attained, the ideas and habits they are creating, make it a certainty that profound changes are impending in the ancient craft of the Beautiful. In all the arts there is a physical component which can no longer be considered or treated as it used to be, which cannot remain unaffected by our modern knowledge and power. For the last twenty years neither matter nor space nor time has been what it was from time immemorial. We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art." 

— Paul Valéry

Profound changes, indeed, have been taking place at A Work of Art Studio this year!

A look back at the year of 2014 in the Studio... 

Molly's Projects and Commissions~

"Wyoming Memories" Mosaic for a Florida client. While there delivering and visiting my sister I worked on the "Mobil Pegasus" sign for my brother-in-law's garage.

 "Mobil" Pegasus

 "Gallus Gallus" Rooster Mosaic Commission with Client's barns included.

Mosaic Auction for Doctor's Without Borders, my first attempt. I lost interest in the beaded version of this butterfly and instead made a new one from the quote, "I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world. ~Sadako Sasaki . My daughter offhandedly suggested making a mosaic "Tardis" time machine from the "Dr. Who" tv series, so I worked that onto the back side of the butterfly. It is aptly named, 

"A Time for Peace".

Mosaic "Ophelia Wading" from the Martin Cheek Mosaic Workshop hosted at A Work of Art Studio in March. 
Here I am helping Martin Cheek install his dragon mosaic in an Ann Arbor school.

The Martin Cheek Mosaic Weekend Workshop.

 Julie and Jim's mosaics from the workshop!

Other classes in the studio this year included:
watercolor, mosaic, mixed media, stained glass, sewing, candy making, oil painting, sign painting, arm knitting,acrylic painting, sculpture/armature, Etsy selling, crocheting, block printing, essential oil uses, energy work, etc....

Then the Studio Makeover! Painted from top to bottom with the help of loyal and loving friends:)

 More classes: soap making, arm/wrist warmers, hobo bags, jewelry making, etc.....

My hubby designed and installed shelves!

Christmas in Lakeview brought lots of families to work on a "rag-tree" craft...

And even Mrs. Clause gets her hair and shopping and artwork done at A Work of Art Studio!

Some Christmas Candy making!

And sign making...

A very popular "Arm Knitting" class taught by Kadren and her two smart girls.

Magnet making, crocheting, etc...

A Studio Potluck end of year celebration.

Thank you to all who ventured in to a Work of Art Studio to learn a craft and expand some brain cells and skills. Looking forward to many successful ventures and classes for 2015.  Hope to see your beautiful faces and willing hands and hearts for a class or visit. Here's to a healthy, happy and prosperous 2015. Blessed Be!

Photo by http://jackbjohnsonstudio.com