Jeanette Janson-Mixed Media Artist

Finding a peaceful retreat

I wanted to share with you a picture of the koi pond in our back yard.  This area has been such a peaceful oasis to us this summer.  Even while the sun is blazing down upon us, turning the grass brown and baking the land, we still have this little water feature out back to escape to.  You would never believe it, but the fish really do have personalities.  They actually communicate in their own way and definitely get excited when it is feeding time.  I like to unwind here, next to the pond and listen to the waterfall after a day in the studio.  It helps to clear my head, especially if it is blocked up without any new ideas flowing.

That is exactly what I did the other day after finishing up "Rosey."  She is made from a Moss Hill Studio collage sheet, a key, watch parts and beads.  She is available on etsy along with this other little dolly.   She is called , "true blue."  Her head is made from a vintage pin that I found in an antique shop.  The flower is actually attached to the pin on her front.  It is a neat old piece, kind of hard to describe without looking carefully at it.  I would venture to say this is truly a one of a kind, I have never seen a pin like this before.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Bird Kits and more available

I listed some new assemblage bird kits on etsy today.  Everything is included to complete your own custom birdie.  Of course you are welcome to use your own embellishments to decorate these as well.  I am in the process of setting up a gallery to showcase some of the birds people have made from these kits.  If you bought one from me in the past and have finished your bird, PLEASE send me a picture.  Don't be shy, now.

I also listed some typewriter key words on etsy.  These would be perfect for birds, assemblages or jewelry making.  They are ideal for the artist that doesn't want to go through the hassle of cutting and grinding down keys...a dirty, tiring job.  I have found it is best to just get that part done at one time.  These keys have flat backs and the edges have already been cleaned with steel wool.  They are so much better than the faky ones you can buy at the craft store.  I promise you will find a ton of things to do with these : )

Hope everyone has a good upcoming week!

A few new birds

I've had fun these past few days creating assemblage birds.  As many of you know, I like to create "play on words" and double meanings for my pieces.  I am constantly trying to think up new themes for my birds as well. I love getting suggestions, so please write if you have any ideas.

How many times have you been called a bird brain?  I have, more times than I want to admit!  I think the bird brain may be a distant cousin to the "dumb blond." 

I am also drawn to a simpler look with pastel vintage  colors.  This "egg" birdie is made with some of the nesting material that I found the other day on my morning walk.  These birds are available on etsy if  you are interested.

You will notice that I finally posted a picture of myself in the upper left corner.  I have avoided doing this in the past because I preferred my artwork to speak for itself.  I was the "figure behind the curtain" like in The Wizard of Oz.  I realized, though, that I always appreciate seeing a picture of the artist on the blogs that I read.  Not a childhood picture, a current one.  It helps me put a face with the artwork.  So I decided it was time that I did the same.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Bird Collage Sheets!

I am so excited to let you know that you can now purchase bird collage sheets!  Use these images to create your own "birdie inspired" work.  These images can be used in your collages, assemblages, altered books and more.  Through a collaboration with Moss Hill Studio, they are available HERE.

They are of the highest quality available.  Check out the other collage sheets being offered while you are there.  You will love the original designs.

Please email me with pictures of your artwork, I would love to create a section on my blog of other artist's work using these images.

Just Charming

I’ve been having so much fun making my new assemblage dolls with collage sheets from Joanna at Moss Hill Studio that I can barely tear myself away!I really love these little painted dresses and the quality and clarity of the sheets can’t be beat. You must check them out. This one is available on etsy. I call her “The Little Charmer.”

Speaking of collage sheets, stay tuned for some exciting news for all of you bird lovers : )

It is nice and quiet today. We have had workers here for the past 2 weeks putting a new roof on our house. The pounding would start at 6 am and go non-stop until about 4pm. Seems like it took them forever, but it was worth it all. It made me thankful that I can stay inside at my little worktable in the air conditioning all day. Sometimes you can really appreciate what you have when you see the conditions that others work in…100 degree heat in the beating sun…not for me.

(SORRY, THEY ARE ALREADY SOLD) I have a few new birds listed on etsy. I really like the way this “Key to my Heart” bird came out. I love the rust with greenish/verdigris color combination. I wonder how I could incorporate those colors into a room without it being too dark and overwhelming?

Maybe just one accent wall. Something to think about. I finally got some of my assemblage windows displayed at our local coffee shop.  This is the cutest little place, full of warmth, style and individuality, a real haven for the creative mind.  My pieces look great displayed on the wall and they should get a lot of exposure with the amount of people that are in and out of there.  I am going to eventually sell them online.  If you are interested in one, email me and I will send you pricing, etc.  Here is a picture.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Assemblage Packets

After a long, somewhat lazy holiday weekend, I hit the ground running this morning by listing a bunch of new assemblage packets on etsy. These packs have a variety of vintage fabrics and laces, images from collage sheets with a handful of 3 dimensional rusty things thrown in. One of these could really jump start your creativity! They are only $15 each including postage, what a deal!

I didn’t get a lot of artwork done over the weekend, but I did make about 3 batches of Pesto. I have 3 huge basil plants in my yard that have exploded over night. I love fresh basil, but there is only so much that you can eat. I have a couple different Pesto recipes that I like so I got my food processor out and went to work. The pesto freezes really well. I roll it into balls and freeze them on sheets. I then put them in Ziploc bags and I have great tasting pesto to put in spaghetti sauce, spread on bread for bruschetta and so much more.  It doesn't look so great, but the taste is out of this world!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4^th of July! Hope everyone has a relaxing, leisurely day, spent with family, friends or anyone that is dear to you.  We finally tackled our vintage picture wall in our house today. We have lots of old family photos that we have been dying to put up since we moved to our new house. Today we finally dug them all out of storage. Here is the finished product.

These are pictures of the great grandparents and grandparents. With some great aunts and uncles sprinkled in. There’s a few baby pictures of our parents as well. I ended up touching up some of the frames to make them presentable. We had a grouping of 6 that had terrible shiny gold frames. I was ready to toss them, but decided to try a little paint instead.

Here they are with a little black added in the grooves and then some cream added to highlight. I don’t think they look too bad. Certainly good enough for the moment. I can always replace them when I come across some that I really like.

 

Hope these ancestors will bring me some artistic inspiration. I wonder what they would think of me being an artist that uses everything old and vintage from their era??

New assemblage dolls

Boy, I am having some problems with Typepad...3rd time I am starting this post, so I will keep it short.  I have some new dolls listed on etsy.  This one is the "Queen Bee,"  a very regal being that rules the insect world.

I also have a few assemblage pins available.  These are small assemblage dolls that can be worn on a blazer, scarf or blouse.  I can guarantee they would be a conversation piece!  And last but not least is the "Drama Queen."  She was inspired by shows such as Bridezillas and a few of the other reality programs.  Some of these drama divas are so outrageous that it makes me think the show MUST be staged.

My bounty arrives

I wanted to share with you a picture of what I received in the mail today....lots and lots of typewriter keys.

I have several friends and family members that keep an eye out for old typewriters for me.  What happened with this load is that an antiques store was going out of business and they had quite a few typewriters they wanted to get rid of.  As luck would have it, one of my "spies" came across them and worked out an excellent deal for me.  I was so excited I didn't even think twice about how long it was going to take me to cut the backs off all of them....or how many little cuts I would have on my fingers.  Ah well...that will be another day.  Speaking of spies, I walked into our living room the other day and there was little Oscar (see previous post) getting ready to pounce on my much older, fatter, kitty.  I thought he looked so cute I had to run for my camera.  I don't know if she will survive him, she is not use to so much play time and friskiness.