A Struggle, a Canvas and Jean Michel Basquiat - a StencilGirl® Project

Servus and welcome to the invitation over to the StencilGirl® Talk blog, where I am sharing my latest project as a (returning) member of their new 2019-20 Creative Team.
(Thank you Mary Beth and Carol for having me again!!! Mwah! XXX)

This month's theme for the Creative Team is to create an abstract or summer themed piece of art.
I obviously went for the former.

(detail shot)

I received some fantastic new stencils to play with and I have used some older stencils alongside some of their latest designs to create a canvas that took a life on its own even before I realised it and that - in the end - reflects my actual state of struggling with nasty symptoms from an obviously heavy under function of my thyroid (due to the chronic Hashimoto's disease).
It isn't clear why and when thyroid levels have started to go down again after a long period with (not perfect but) good blood levels and without any heavier symptoms - it is very likely that menopause has lead to a change of hormones levels that now make me struggle with the really nasty stuff like fatigue, muscle pain, weakness, dizziness, feeling cold, anxiety, panic attacks and (no surprise) high blood pressure that does not respond to medication as easily as it should...

(detail shot)

That is nothing that can't be quickly fixed by adjusting medication - it actually takes months until hormones levels adjust - so I will have to hang in there for a bit longer I'm afraid. And it is nothing that scares me really as I have already been there and done that once or twice during the last years (but only once that heavily). What makes it really hard at the moment are the panic attacks that come out of nowhere and that make it almost impossible to find a proper dosage for blood pressure medication as I can never tell if it is the anxiety or an approaching panic attack that raises blood pressure or if blood pressure itself really is too high.
The thyroid expert I am seeing believes that my blood pressure will be back to normal as soon as thyroid blood levels are back to my personal level of well being. In the meantime my general practitioner added some beta blocker to my medication (to slow down my high pulse rate) but that isn't good for the metabolism of artificial thyroid hormones I have to take...so it very likely will make me slip into under function even deeper until (in two weeks hopefully) my second visit with the thyroid expert will hopefully solve this particular issue and my hormones dosage will be properly adjusted.

(detail shot)

My general practitioner has never heard of beta blockers interacting badly with thyroid issues (which is only an issue with specific forms of thyroid diseases, with others it is a proper and helpful medication actually) and he didn't believe me when I mentioned it (actually he said I must have misunderstood something the other doctor had said). My general practitioner really IS a good doctor (I can call myself lucky that he is one of the rare GPs who even know and consider Hashimoto's disease as a possible diagnosis with symptoms most other GPs regard as typical signs of burnout or depression) - but he is no expert obviously. But he is the one I need to go to for adjustment of blood pressure medication...well...this means I will have to be patient and try to relax and hang in there as good as I can for several more weeks (or maybe months). This means the struggle will continue and I need to prepare for this and find a way to deal with this situation.

So for now I try to accept things as they are and to accept situations when I find myself crying over practically nothing or hyperventilating because of a panic attack, or being a total scatterbrain most of the time...simply because I found that when I try to fight, things start to feel even worse and only make me feel more desperate, weak and exhausted. But sometimes I am just not prepared well enough to be able of utter "acceptance"... and then I slip into "struggling mode". Often this happens so automatically or slowly that I realise it too late and at a level of exhaustion or helplessness that makes me panic again. And I try to accept that this will happen again, too...

(detail shot)

I usually do not talk about my Hashimoto's disease issues and what they do to me, but this time I just felt I needed to because the canvas I did for StencilGirl® is an exact image of my momentary struggle and anxiety. I tried to create something bright and jolly to kind of escape struggle mode for at least some hours (during the creative process) - but it didn't work this time. You can read about this and see the "before and after" stages of the canvas over at the StencilGirl® Talk Blog alongside a detailed step by step (as always).

I know I am not the only one who is struggling with chronic (or recurring) health issues and I really didn't write this post to trigger compassion. I know we all know about those (mostly) secret struggles or battles many of us are facing and know that we all understand and care - without having to express it in words. But I wanted you to understand what it is that you see in the canvas, because something in me forced me to express it visually. Maybe you also feel it too when looking at my canvas - and now you can name it. It's struggle. And it is me - trying to face struggle and deal with it. And the style of the canvas is obviously influenced by the art of Jean Michel Basquiat (I love his art and have a print of one of his paintings hanging in my living room...not to mention the illustrated books about him and his - sadly very short - life and the impact his art has made).

Wishing you all good and struggle-free times!

Take care!

Claudia

xxx

Teabag, Wired - Mixed Media Canvas for SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenges

Hi, servus and welcome to a very special post for SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenges this time! Special to me as this is the first time lovely Maura is hosting our challenge over at the steampunk challenge blog and I cannot tell you how happy I am to have her by my side as a co-host from now on! Please, give her an especially warm welcome when you hop over to the challenge blog to find out about the teamies' makes and the current steampunk challenge!

I have been on a wonderful cultural trip to Bregenz and its impressive "Kunsthaus" with a dear friend this weekend and have enjoyed some amazing art by Mika Rottenberg there and we also visited another gallery with stunning video art from German artist Susann Maria Hempel.
Both exhibitions have made me want to get more playful and intuitive with my creative process and I guess this already shows a bit with today's make for our June challenge.... (I have embedded a video with an interview and parts of Mika Rottenberg's art for those interested at the bottom of this post).

My little 4''x4'' canvas started out with a teabag that I stuck to it by simply placing it into wet DecoArt media white Modeling Paste. From there I just ran wild and combined assemblage, rubber stamping and collage techniques and hat a lot of fun.

The rubber stamped teabag, pressed into the wet Modeling Paste. 

DecoArt media Mister paints Orange and Turquoise (Shimmer) spritzed onto the still wet paste and watered down with water from a spray bottle. 

Electronic parts and watch parts were glued to the canvas with Heavy Gel Medium. 

Black archival ink was used to partially stamp the images onto different spots on the canvas. 

(the originally stamped on image on the teabag had been painted over while being carried away with creating texture on top of texture..)

DecoArt media white Crackle Paint was scraped on here and there with the tip of my palette knife. 

Fixing the watch parts to my canvas with the Heavy Gel Medium.

White mark making and doodling with a gel pen around the glued on die cut (a Seth Apter design) metal parts. 

Done!

I love how "big" my mini canvas looks. It's always amazing to find how much you can do on small formats like mini canvases or ATCs...

Maura is awaiting you over at our steampunk challenge blog, where you will find more inspiration from my amazing teamies! The challenge is - as always - open until the end of the month. From this month on we will present all the teamies' makes on the 1st of the month and only announce the Top5 and prize winners from the previous challenge on the 15th. So stay tuned and I hope to see you play along this month! 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia 

xxx

Here's the promised video about Mika Rottenberg and her art. I have also included a picture I took in Kunsthaus Bregenz, so you can see how the videos and installations were presented. 

I have also found this video showing the trailer to Susann Maria Hempel's "Seven Times a Day We Bemoan Our Lot and at Night We Get Up to Avoid Dreaming" (which won several renowned art prizes and got me deeply impressed as well).

Winter Delight - an Altered Canvas for Calico Craft Parts

Hi, servus and thanks for stopping by today! I hope you're having a good start into the week!

This is - as usual - my "every other Monday invite" to the Calico Craft Parts Blog, where I am sharing a tutorial on how to create a lovely, grungy, crackly mixed media winter scene canvas from a chocolate box with loads of yummy crackle and built up layers! Simply click HERE to get taken to the post with the finished project and tutorial.

Three sneaky peek images...just so you know what you will get ;)

I hope to see you over at the Calico Craft Parts Blog soon!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia 

xxx

Steampunk Summer - Round Two of SASPC's Summer Special

Servus, hi and I hope you're enjoying a wonderful summer and great holidays! It's time for Team B's makes over at SanDee&amelie's Steampunk Challenges so I am happy to share my latest (and first) summer-themed steampunk project with you today!

Summer and iced lollies are a perfect match, aren't they? Who doesn't love to enjoy something that is not only cold and refreshing but also colourful and a joy to look at?! So I tried to capture that iced lolly feel on my little 6''x6'' canvas.

My little butterfly's body is made from an old metal fitting I found in my "found metal treasures" box. For the letters and wings I used some of the fab Calico Craft Parts and the whole canvas was created using DecoArt media Misters and fluid acrylic paints.


The Calico Craft parts and the butterfly's body were glued to the canvas using matte Decou-Page.

Once that was dry, I dry brushed some white DecoArt Acrylic Gesso onto the MDF parts (so none of the details would get lost) and stippled more white Gesso directly onto the metal piece and around the glued on pieces for additional texture.

Then the spraying fun began! I spritzed some clear water onto the dry canvas and then added several tones of DecoArt media Mister colours to the wet canvas to create drip lines. I added more spritzed on water where necessary.

I also created some drip lines using washes of DecoArt media "Burnt Sienna" and "Transparent Red Iron Oxide" fluid acrylics alongside tiny traces of Carbon Black Mister.

More pure Transparent Red Iron Oxide was randomly added to the MDF parts and the butterfly's body to create a rusty look.

To tone everything down a bit I created more drip lines with White DecoArt Mister and water from my spray bottle.

And finally some more drip lines of "rust" created with Transparent Red Iron Oxide fluid acrylic.

I randomly stamped on a circle pattern here and there using black archival ink and one of  Tim's stamps from the Mixed Media set.

Using a permanent black fine tip marker I drew the butterfly's legs and feelers...

...and also added some handwriting and a thin border:

I love my little hairy winged dude in all his bright colours!

And I hope you like him too ;)

Our summer special challenge over at SASPC is open until the end of August - so there is still enough time to enjoy some creative steampunk mixed media fun and play along! And don't miss the chance to win one of our two wonderful prizes being sponsored by DecoArt media and boozybear chipboard pieces!

I hope to see you over there! The teamies have come up with the most amazing summer projects - so make sure to take a closer look at their makes too!

Hugs and happy summer crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Guesting at A Vintage Journey

Servus, hi and welcome! Today I have the very special pleasure and honour to guest over at A Vintage Journey where I am sharing a little canvas - especially created for their wonderful "Canvas" challenge hosted by lovely Nikki Acton!

Nikki says: "Let's work with canvas this month in our vintage; shabby; mixed media, art journalling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk style.  It doesn't matter how as long as some canvas is a dominant feature of your project. Perhaps you may use a canvas in the traditional way or use the reverse to create a shadow box? Canvas boards are fabulous to work on or perhaps you have some canvas sheets which can be cut and adhered to another surface."


I did not only use a canvas to work on as my substrate but also a strip of canvas in a very special way to create some extra interest and dimension.

On this piece some of my favourite materials and media to work with came together - raw canvas (which I have learned to love being part of the Canvas Corp Brands design team), some cool steampunk MDF wood shapes from the fantastic and wide range of Calico Craft Parts and of course some of my beloved DecoArt media as well.

My goal was to create something precious or "worthy" by partially using gilding flakes on the MDF parts and in some other spots on my canvas) and then partially "stain" and/or "hide" them - which in a way draws even more attention to them. (we often only find out what things (or persons) mean to us when we find them being taken away from us or in danger of being damaged or stained, right?)

And I have recently promised myself to have more faith - in myself, my body, and life in general (seems I have lost a good deal of that during the last years of struggling with bad health).  But sometimes things happen - unexpectedly - that make us aware of the fact that we have just quit trying again or believing that things can get better).

Hence the gilded wings - to remind me to be more daring and try to fly again without fear of falling or not even getting off the ground.

So this is the motto of my canvas - one that definitely is worth being lived by and that I hope to never forget again.

If you want to find out more about my little faithful canvas and the how-to, simply hop over to A Vintage Journey. I would love to see you there!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Hooowwwl!!!

Servus, dear creative friends!

It's time for another invite over to the Calico Craft Parts blog where I am sharing my latest project. 

is the title (and also part of my creation) and I hope you will be brave enough to hop over to find out who's howling. ;)

Here's a quite mysterious little detail too to lure you over to the post where you will find a step by step as well as some inspiring Calico Craft Parts of course ;)

I hope to see you over there soon!

Have a good start into the week! 

Claudia

xxx

"A Story Autrichien"

With Creativations being over I can finally share a project with you that I made for my lovely boss, Kim, the owner of Emerald Creek Craft Supplies, and one of the bestest bosses ever!
She creates and sells the most fabulous embossing powders I know and getting to know hers finally hooked me up on heat embossing. I had liked using embossing powders before but with hers I started loving it.

I also love Seth Apter's dies and rubber stamps a lot. So when Kim told me that Seth would be demoing at a booth quite close to hers at Creativations I was inspired to create a project using her embossing powders and some of his dies. And this is the result:

I created a small mixed media piece on a 4'' x 6'' canvas board as I love the texture they provide.

I used old French dictionary pages that I put behind the die cut and heat embossed pieces.

The background was done by scraping on acrylic paint and taking some off again with a piece of card and pressing that down in other spots to create some random patterns and layers.

I also used some of Seth's rubber stamps in the background and for the center word. As I am from Austria I was very happy to accidentally come across the "Autrichien,enne" on one of the pages on my desk. So this project is "my story Autrichien" in a way and I am a girl Autrichienne....so I knew I had to use this word on my make!

Of course I wish I could have been at Creativations in person and meet all the wonderful artists there and my boss, Kim, but knowing that some of my artwork was there still is very exciting and something that makes me proud and happy!

Most of the pieces were glued to the canvas board using sticky foam pads for more depth.

So once more my finished piece. Oh, I forgot to mention that I also used a tea bag behind the center piece but the effect is very subtle. I just love how the Hammered Metal and Charred Gold embossing powders look on Seth's wonderful designs!

Stay tuned for another post that's to come within the next twelve and a half hours...it's time for another dare at Emerald Creek Dares and I will be sharing my latest DT project with you. But for now thanks for stopping by and - as always -

hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx