Finally posting again

My name is Dale, and i am a lazy blogger. It has been a week since my last blog post.

Feels like i'm at an AA meeting or something. BA maybe(bloggers annonymons)? hahaha

I have to admit, i briefly fell of the 'one creative thing every day' wagon. I missed three days of creative this week. And things got busy. As a result, the blog was briefly set aside. But i'm back now.

I have been keeping busy with a number of projects. In the temporary absence of an ATC website home base, i had looked around the net to see what else is out there. I admit, i was mostly fairly disappointed. There wasn't much that really called to me out there for trading websites. Until i found swap-bot.

Swap bot seems to be a website where you trade many different things. ATCs are part of it, but they have other stuff there too. That really interests me to branch out into other areas of altered art. I am especially interested in trying one of their 'matchbox swaps' but unfortunately, the floral one i really wanted to be in was for US only :(. Really... it can't be that expensive to send a tiny matchbox to canada from the US, is it? Oh well. Instead, i signed up for an Altered Journal swap. I uncoil a boughten journal, add some fun pages every 5 or 6 pages or so, add a cover and then mail it away. Someone will do the same for me :). I can't wait to get started. Just need to somehow find an A5 journal.... hahaha. Tried buying one at walmart today but realized that i don't know what size A5 is, and no one there did either.

Been keeping busy on another project. I thought for this one i could keep you posted with pics at each stage. My mother had a really neat mint tin in Carolina, and she gave it to me. I sanded down all the paint off the outside so it was scratched metal, and then proceeded to paint the lid iridescent purple. Here are some pics of how it is turning out so far. I wish i had taken pics of what it was like originally. Oh well, too late now.












































My plan for this box is to create sort of like a shrine type thing inside. I have seen many 'shrines' in magazines and on the internet, and i find them facinating. However, i don't fully understand what entails a 'shrine'. It is an odd name for them, since i doubt these have any religious significance. I know mine won't. I was thinking more of a burlesque, can can dancer type theme. Don't know yet, but the lid is painted a vibran, sparkly purple so far. That or a snake sort of theme? I haven'd decided yet. I need to look more into this. Anyone know a good 'shrine' artist, where i can check things out and be inspired?

I have also been creating some ATC's. There is a new site for us created by some ex-mods from ATCards.com. We're now at atcs for all. I am really pleased with the quality of much of the work being uploaded in the gallery there. I already set up a couple of trades.

A definite bummer about the couple days i took off from creating art is that my 'to trade' section of my ATC's is almost empty, and i have my monthly face-to-face swap that i am going to tomorrow! I feel bad going to the swap, and i only have 5 cards for trading. Here are two i just finished off tonight.



This one was inspired by an artist's work i met at the Artist Guild that i just joined. The only mixed media artist there seems to be quite friendly, and she showed me some of her previous work. Some of my favorites were the paper mache tree branches she had bumping out on a winter tree painting. I liked the idea so much i tried it for myself. If i remembered her name i would credit her for her idea, but i have a horrible memory for names so unfortunately she will have to here remain nameless.



I also finished this one tonight. Today i went out, and while at walmart searching for a journal, I found India Ink. I have always been fancinated by the idea of trying it out, and it was fair inexpensive so i bought it. This is my first experimentation with this medium. I do enjoy the shiny, smooth blackness that it leaves. I believe this is a medium i will definately need to further explore. The symbol is the chinese for 'fish'. The picture in the corner is cut out from an envelope i picked up at 'Grand Asia Market' when visiting my parents in Raleigh.