21 secrets - secret 1...

hi all!

i hope everyone had a nice easter weekend!  i am currently chewing on some sort of nasty egg carton gum that pezza has been insisting i chew for so long i finally gave in.... the joys of motherhood huh?

i have been debating on whether or not i wanted to sign up for the 21 secrets mixed media/art journal playground workshops through dirty footprints and i finally took the plunge.  after having finished only my first one i am so glad i did!  i started with Dina Wakley's Intuitive Layers class.  we had to work in layers with NO PLAN WHATSOEVER in mind!  AHHHH panic!  i have LOADS of trouble loosening up but it is something i have really been wanting to work on so i can get peace and happiness from my art rather than stress! hhahhaha!

it was a bumpy road i must say but if i began feeling stressed or "un" free i walked away for awhile.  in the end i made 2 pieces and i LOVE them AND the feeling of stretching myself creatively in a way that was not stress inducing!  here is piece 1:

 and here is piece 2:

this is mostly acrylic paint but also inktense black pencil and luminarte radiant rain mists.  i did some painting, some stenciling, some mono-printing (oh how i love mono-printing and i NEVER thought i would!), misted book page pieces collaged on, journaling - what fun!  the only thing i would change next time is that i would add the book page pieces earlier in the process so they got a bit more "buried" in the layers...

things i learned:

1. dina wakley ROCKS
2. i {heart} mono - printing
3. i need better white paint
4. i CAN journal
5. i CAN be free-er in my art

i really wanted pezza to join in but she just could not let go of the end thought and be free.  i was sad because at one time she could do that but somehow she became end result focused :(  i will have to work on that.......

instead she wanted to just paint with momma:

her piece is a work in progress but i think it is adorable already!

finally a shout out to the new babies

the one in front is twizzler and the little girl in back is taffy, the runt.  they are still incredibly wobbly which makes it tough to get a clear picture.  of course they do the cutest things when i do NOT have my camera handy :P  i am not down there all the time but i am thinking our momma is a bit on the trashy side.  i have yet to ever see her cleaning them and when she is out of the box eating if they cry she growls at them like "Hey! Shut the eff up!"  hysterical!  perhaps when pezza is at school today i will have a chance to sit down there longer and see if she does any cleaning.....