I cam across a vintage book of music, used in a classroom during the 1930s, in an antique shop. It inspired these little paintings. I used complete songs to border the related art. The borders have a crackle/antique treatment and the whole piece is sealed with a mat finish. You can find them on Ebay by typing "folk art cris" in the search bar--or follow the links at the top of this page.

New Friends

My son, Jordan, started the University of Missouri--Kansas City this past January. He made so many wonderful new friends from all over the world. He will be renting a house this coming school year with 3 of them; One is from Missouri, one is from Nigeria, and one is from Ghana. It is amazing to see them discover that they have more in common with each other than not!

Jordan was in Hobby Lobby with me this week and asked if I could make a piece of art for him to hang in his new home. This is what we came up with together! I hope his roommates will like it too~

New Paintings

Here are two more new paintings! The first one, "Perfect Paw", is a kitty washing her paw to perfection. The second one, "Momma Love", is a universal theme--but kitty wants in on the act! These will be available on Ebay tonight. The link to my Ebay is at the top of this page.

Altered Art

Here are some more pieces of altered photo transfer art. The first one features an old photo of my mom and some family members in the early 40s. You can scarcely see that a photo was transferred on to the painted background. The second one features a very old image of my husband's grandma in the early 1900s. I used lots of layers of paint, paper, and crackle on these. I never really know how they are going to turn out until I am finished!

New Techniques

I have been experimenting with new techniques using old family photos. I used a gel medium to transfer lazer ink copies of my old photos on top of a background of paint and paper. The top one is of my beloved aunt Alice in the early 40s. My mom always sang "Alice Blue Gown" to her.

The second one features of photo of two of my uncles in the late 1930s. I didn't even realize until it was glued down that the page was from a story called "The Remarkable Child" out of one of my vintage books. I altered the photo slightly with light washes of paint and a bit of charcoal pencil.

The third one features my great grandfather Maurice Ruschenberg in the late 1800s. We were always told he was the Marshal of Ste. Genevieve, Mo, so the image is on top of a copy of an old map of Ste. Genevieve. During later research, we found that he was actually the Marshal of St. Martinsburg, a smaller neighboring town. I accented this with gel pens.

These all have lots of texture. I may list a couple of them on Ebay later. If you would like to know more about any of the techniques I used, I would be happy to share. It is still 100+ degrees in the St. Louis area today--it is really getting depressing! We have had no rain in close to a month, I hope we get some soon. By the time my tomatoes ripen they will be worth about $10 a piece when you consider all the watering involved to keep the plants alive!