Summer Photography

 Summer photography can mean so many things.   In the beauty of summertime, I captured words, feelings, and themes that are associated for summer.  Such as casualness, holidays, vacation, water, flowers, nature, boats, festivals, street vendors, outdoor dining, strolling, families, road trips, day trips, the beach and relaxation.  Click here for tips on summer photography. ~ JM

Yarn Wreaths

I made wreaths out of yarn since I had so much left over from an earlier project. 

The first wreath I used a wire wreath frame to weave yarn through.  

The start of the weaving process.

The finished wreath.

In the second wreath, I used two different size cardboard circles and wrapped colorful embroidery string around various parts of the circle creating a unique design.  ~ JM

Wrapped colorful string around two cardboard circles.

Museum Visit: Museum of Modern Art (NYC)

 I did a quick day trip to NYC before one of the exhibits at the Museum of Modern Arts (MoMA) closed.

I knew I wanted to see an exhibit on Marlon Mullen's art when I saw this video about him on their social media.  He is an artist who has a developmental disability.   More details on Mr. Mullen are found on MoMA's website 

Marlon Mullen

Another wonderful exhibit I really enjoyed was the artwork by Jack Whitten.  The MoMA's website states, "Through his exploration of materials and tools - from new paints to Afro-combs and electrostatic printing- Whitten invented art-making techniques that were the first of their kind.  Through his confrontation with racial prejudice and technological change, he made art matter in a world of turmoil."  Below is some of his artwork.  This exhibit will go until August 2, 2025. ~ JM

Whitten

Whitten

Digital Art

I took advantage of attending a class at the Apple store.  The focus was on the software Procreate.  You can use other applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fresco, Corel Painter, etc. to create art.

Below is the progression of outlining a flower and then applying layers to add more color.  In the end, I displayed my finished picture in front of the class.   😁~ JM

Chalk Pastel and Watercolor

 Using watercolor as a base, add pastel to create dimension, texture and to modify the color.  Edgar Degas experimented with this in the below painting, "Two Women".  Click on this article that explains Degas's process.

Below is my experiment of watercolor and pastel. ~ JM

Collage of watercolor with pastel added in geometric design.

Art Deco - 100 Years

 When I was reading the art magazine, Galerie, it was a delight to read the article "Celebrating 100 Years of Art Deco".  (Click here to read the article.)   This stirred up wonderful memories of a recent visit to South Beach Miami where Ocean Drive is lined with Art Deco buildings and has an Art Deco museum.

The above-mentioned article list Art Deco exhibits in the U.S. and in Europe.

"The movement came to prominence in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts.  Art Deco is known for its blocky, strong geometric forms."

Below are a few pictures when I took part of an Art Deco tour in Miami.  ~ JM

Clay Bowl + String

With air dry clay and embroidery yarn, I created a colorful and unique bowl.  While the clay is wet, poke holes in the bowl in uniformity and/or in a zig-zag pattern.  Weave the embroidery yarn in loops or an in-and-out formation.

The one thing I would do differently is to smooth out the cracks while the clay is wet with small amounts of water.  ~ JM

Self Portrait (Inspired by Bisa Butler)

 Bisa Butler's art captures a colorful array of quilted portraits. Click on The Art Institiute of Chicago's web page to read a great description of Bisa Butler. 

As I was researching ideas on how to tie-in Butler and craft projects, I saw several suggestions to use your own portrait and color it in with colorful designs using paint, paper or cloth collage pieces. I printed an old portrait of myself and added paint and old cloth scraps.  ~JM