Easter pictures and photoshop fun

Before I had children, I was dependable, reliable, a clean freak (so to speak) and always-on-time. I don’t know what has happened to that person, but I haven’t seen her since my girls were born. Now we’re lucky if we’re only 15 minutes late to an event. Ella has only been on time for school two or three times this entire school year. Lucky for me it’s just preschool.

So, needless to say I’m a little late in getting these Easter pictures up. But better late than never, right? Part of the reason for the delay was my new-found obsession with photoshop. Thanks to the sun and nice weather, I’ve been able to break out my good outdoor camera that has been sleeping in the closet all winter. And with that amazing camera comes some pretty amazing pics…even if I do say so myself. I’ve always been interested in photography and have read my share of on-line tutorials and digital photography books, but really…the camera does all the work. I’ve added my own touches using photoshop. Take a peek.

On a completely different topic…can someone please explain just why it is that women turn into their mothers as they age? I had a startling realization on Easter. As a kid, I absolutely hated being dressed like my sister, yet every holiday my mom dressed my sister and I exactly alike. Now I find myself buying matching outfits for my girls to wear on special occasions. Why? They haven’t complained about it yet. Maybe I’ll stop when they do, but for now they are just too adorable when they have matching dresses on. Any advice on how to break this cycle now would be greatly appreciated.

The Easter Re-cap:
The girls got to hunt for eggs three times on Sunday and even though we were completely exhausted by the end of it all…we couldn’t ask for a better family-filled day. We started the day off with the Easter bunny egg hunt in the living room, then followed with lunch and an egg hunt at my Grandparent’s house in Marion, IN, and finally finished it off with dinner and yes, yet another egg hung at my grandma’s house in Indianapolis.

During all of that driving, I did manage to talk the driver into stopping at a few locations for a quick photo shoot while we were running around the state. One spot was an abandoned grade school just south of Marion, Indiana on highway 37…Duck Creek Grade School. The other was an abandoned motel in Elwood, Indiana. Those who’ve visited my blog before may have some idea of my obsession with abandoned buildings and the stories that they hold. Well, these unplanned stops really made my day.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Alisa

The Portrait Project

In an attempt to allow museum visitors and members of the community to see their artwork displayed in a museum, the Eiteljorg Museum initiated the portrait project.

You may remember my earlier post urging you to submit your own portrait. Well, I wanted to update you on just how AMAZING this project has become…it has truly taken on a life of its own.

We initially had no idea how many portraits to expect and started out with a 12’ movable wall to display the portraits on. As the portraits came pouring in…from schools, museum visitors, artists and community members of all ages, we quickly realized that we would need more space. So, we recently added another movable wall since both sides of the original 12’ wall were now full.

The portraits will be on display through August 9th in conjunction with the Facing West: Celebrating 20 year of the Eiteljorg Museum exhibition. Portrait submissions are being accepting through July, so if you haven’t gotten around to doing that portrait yet, you still have a little time. So, submit a portrait today!

These are just a few of the many hundreds of portraits that we’ve received so far.

This image includes the two pieces done by my girls, Ella (age 4) and Eva (age 2). Can you guess which pieces they did? Maybe a title will help. Ella's is called "Self-Portrait of Ella" and Eva's is called "Ella with Whiskers"...incase you're still having trouble, pink marker was their medium of choice.

Enjoy!

~Alisa

Spring is here!

I have to admit…spring is my absolute favorite time of year. I love walking by the flower beds and seeing those teeny tiny sprouts beginning to pop up…and trying to guess what they are. So, I haven’t been very productive in my studio lately.

Grow in the Sun, 5"x7" mixed media on paper

The girls and I have elected to play in the new sandbox or play on the swing set rather than sit at the table and admire the beautiful weather through the window. And thanks to daylight savings time it stays light well into the evening hours. So, we get to indulge our passion for the great outdoors until bath time, when the girls deposit all collected bugs, worms, snails, feathers and sticks and race to the tub where they are ritually scrubbed free of sand and mud…then they wake up ready to do it all again, which is fine with me!

Sing in the Breeze, 5"x7" mixed media on paper

What do you love most about springtime?
I love seeing tiny shoots popping up out of the ground…the smell of hyacinths (in moderation) and lilac blowing on the wind, the thought that in another month I’ll be able to plant my vegetable garden and get fresh produce from the local farmer’s market…the fact that I’m free, no longer confined to the indoors…

Here are a couple new-ish pieces that were done with spring in mind. To make each of the pieces, I transferred a flower image onto a piece of vintage ledger paper, then added a phrase from a vintage reader and embellished with black thread. I think I’ve sewn more paper with sewing machine than cloth. I wonder if sewing through paper, glue and paint could be bad for the machine…hmmm.

Hope you enjoy the post...and the beautiful spring weather if you happen to be experiencing springtime where you live.

Happy Anniversary

David and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday, although we each think of June 26th, the day we first met, as our real anniversary. We've been together much longer than the official 5 years and often joke that we've been together for a third of our lives...okay, in my case it's more like half.

Because he has been so supportive of my passion for art, I decided to make a special piece just for him. So, this is what I came up with. He teaches computer technology to sixth grade students and is a total techie. This collage took me a little out of my element, but I was happy to use some of the wonderful ephemera that I normally shove to the side because it is "not vintage enough".

The piece was done using bits of ephemera...monopoly money, a flash card, a vintage playing card that used to belong to David when he was a kid, some of Ella's handwritting, bits of an envelope and graph paper. Then I added a transferred image of an old computer, used some colored pencil, charcoal and black acrylic paint and finally embellished with black thread. The piece is on a 6"x6" deep edge gallery wrapped canvas and the sides are painted black, so there is no need for a frame.


Enjoy...oh and the anniversary gift was a big hit and will most likely find its way into that sixth grade classroom I mentioned earlier.


~Alisa

Interview with a 4 year old

When I saw this fun little interview on Marisa's blog, Elegant Bloggery, I knew I just had to see what my own 4 year old would come up with. Here's what Ella had to say...

1) What is something mom always says to you?
I love you

2) What makes Mom happy?
When mommy goes to ma & pa's house and swims with me.
(Ma & Pa are what Ella calls my mom and dad, short for grandMA and grandPA.)

3) What makes mom sad?
If I be mean to her.

4) How does your mom make you laugh?
When she makes funny faces at me.

5) What was your mom like as a child?
Like a girl that always wanted to have all my stuff.

6) How old is your mom?
50
(Um, not quite yet. I'm 29.)

7) How tall is your mom?
This high.

8) What does your mom do when you're not around?
Go to work.

9) What is her favorite thing to do?
Go to work to get money.

10) What is your Mom very good at?
Painting

11) If Mom became famous what would it be for?
For telling the weather.

12) What is your mom not very good at?
Remembering things.
(I'm afraid this is true.)

13) What does your mom do for her job?
Go to the post office and send something.

14) What is your mom's favorite food?
Lettuce and sandwiches

15) What makes you proud of your mom?
When she lets me go outside and play in the sandbox.

16) If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Laurie Berkner
(Not a cartoon character, but a fabulous singer of children's songs...I'll take it.)

17) What do you and your mom do together?
Wait until Eva goes to sleep then go outside and play.
(This is true...we often wait to Eva takes her nap, then we sneak outside for awhile.)

18) How are you and your mom the same?
We have the same socks.

19) How are you and your mom different?
Because our hair is different. Mom's is short and mine is long.

20) How do you know you mom loves you?
I always ask her.

I highly recommend interviewing your own little one...
you're guaranteed more than a few laughs.

Enjoy!
~Alisa

An etsy Garden treasury

GloriousGlassGarden put together this beautiful treasury on one of my absolutely favorite subjects...Spring is finally here!

Coffee anyone?

Is it wrong that my girls LOVE their coffee? My two year old knows all the steps necessary to brew espresso. My oldest has her own special mug to drink her favorite warm beverages out of. What exactly does this say about me as their mom? lol.

Okay, I'll admit that they don't necessarily care for the black stuff. They prefer fluffy frothed milk flavored with vanilla syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon and would probably gag if they tasted "the real stuff". In fact, Ella often orders her coffee with a specific request..."don't put any that black stuff in there, okay Mom?" So you see…I'm not such a bad mom. Giving my girls coffee would stunt their growth (does anyone know if this is really true?). And the house is crazy enough without a caffeine-induced frenzy aiding the girls in their mess-making...I mean creative play.

So in the mornings and sometimes in the afternoons, we have coffee parties where all of us girls gather around the table with mugs of all sizes and down a few cups of delicious coffee. I remember doing the same thing with my mom when I was small, only she gave me watered down "black stuff". Maybe that's why I love my coffee to this day.

~Alisa