I count...

...it a good day when I can spend  time in the the studio, and now that I can play while I'm at work, that happens nearly every day.

This week I managed to finish a crate

 and a book sculpture.

 I  embossed teen-some tags for future exchanges,

 and nearly finished a fun foam tangle drawing (Gelli plate here I come!),

as well as a painting (just a sneak peak here).

 I started laying out pieces for a gold themed painting,

 and gazed cross-eyed at a pair of shoes waiting patiently near two bottles, all in progress.

I also inked half a dozen mandala designs for my next adult colouring book.  Go, Win, go!

I'm a happy creator - how about you?

I'm in here...

...somewhere, although it's hard to find anything (or anyone) in the studio right now.  How did it get so messy?

From completed journal pages (Gelli prints used to the max),

to some that are barely started (that's a fabulous card I received from Laura Leeder there on the right),

to journals being made from Gelli prints,

miniature bottles being crackled,

and bottles and glasses getting their first coat of colour, it's riotous inside.

I've been experimenting with printing on Gelli prints and I like this reminder about how to keep centered. Perhaps it will even work if I take the advice.

I'm in the throes of creating a new colouring book for adults, so there are mandala designs everywhere.  I can't quite figure out where the 3,000 copies of the first book went - did you take them?!

By now you've probably got the picture, and if not, here's the definitive one.  Has anything changed since the last time you saw a full studio shot from here?  Don't you think it's a good thing that I rarely teach in my home studio any more?  Fitting four students in here without using a crowbar would be a miracle.

Why not send me a link in the comments below so I can see your studio madness?  I'd love to know I'm not alone.

Wandering on the dark side...

...seems to be my thing these days.

I've been playing with foil and embossing folders, using my gallon of black gesso to good effect.

 At the rate I'm using it, there will be none left by tomorrow.

I did manage to finish one glass this week - champagne never looked like this before.  It rather reminds me of a Queen's Coldstream Guardsman who's had a wee bit too much.  His tassle has gone askew and he's a wee bit green instead of his usual jaunty red.

 His top hat is still carrying the texture, though, so all is well.

I've finished the crackle lamp, and now I'm on a hunt for the perfect shade...suggestions or links anyone?

I also had to test run those embossed papers, so I used them on the ends of a small crate I was distressing.

I think this will make a terrific gift 'basket', don't you?

What's on your work table this week...have you gone over to the dark side?

Good grief -

- you'd think I'd gone back to work full time given how things have fallen off the table.  I didn't even get one post done last week, never mind two.

I'll make up for it today, though.  I thought I'd show you some tags that I've been making over the last few months for a tag swap on a Google+ community called Creating and Sharing Mixed Media Art.

I've been enjoying the process of creating the tags nearly as much as I've enjoyed receiving them.

From a tag for Women's Day

to a wintery scene,

to one that was un-themed, I love the creative challenge of working in a 3 x 6" size.

I like the fact that, unlike a painting, they do not (necessarily) take weeks to develop,

and they can utilize those Gelli prints that I'm so very fond of making.

 I can test techniques with abandon, and who know's what could happen if I find one I like?

 Like a painting, each one has its own unique flavour and style.

I'm delighted that I found this community that has me hooked on this style of creativity. What's your current addiction in the world of art?