My Latest Project from the Downtown Studio

A couple of years ago, I bought this frame at "Heart & Soul," a local store that carries some pretty fun stuff!  This frame was in a bin of damaged items....it looked pretty ragged,  but it did have a bird on it and you know how I am about them!  So,  I bought it for less than half price, took it home and there it has been for all this time.  You know how you INTEND to do something, but time just gets away?   Well, not too long ago, I took the frame to the downtown studio, thinking that would convince me to do something with it.  And, it did.  I had made some bird rubber stamps and wanted to do something with them...so, thinking I could accomplish two things at once, This bird collage just 'happened.'

I had to spend a bit of time getting the frame back into good shape...I lightly sanded it, then painted it with a bit of green paint...just to cover up all the dings and worn edges.  Then, I painted it with two or three coats of matte gel medium...just to give it a good finish.  We use painter's cloth as table covers in the studio and I tend to save all of them for one project or another, so the background for this collage is a piece of one of our used painter's cloths.  This piece is about five inches by seven inches.
I like all the reds and pinks and greens.  (Actually, I DID turn this piece over and use the other side of the one pictured here....and added a couple more colors, specifically, more red and green.)

I painted the tree, then stamped the birds on the branches.  They looked kinda sad until I put a little color on them....but before I could make sure they had wings, my daughter, Kelly, took a look and told me not to add another thing to the birds!  She's a minimalist and of course, you know, I will 'do something to death' if I'm not careful, so I took her advice and left the birds with just a touch of color.

Because I have lots of scrap paper around, I decided to cut the leaves from paper and sew them down with the antique sewing machine I keep down there.  I should say the 'seldom used' antique sewing machine.  I need to remedy that, for sure!  So, I just cut out some vague leaf shapes and sewed them to the canvas.  I did touch them up a bit with some oil pastels.  And, I felt there needed to be some kind of flower there...and a funky simple flower seemed a good idea.

There's some little musical notes there too.....well, the birds DO have a song!  I used a permanent pen for those.  

And, here you see the words I cut from old book pages.....touched them with a bit of that green paint, added a little bird nest with eggs from Hobby Lobby and it was done!  I like it.  Thought about keeping it at home....but, at this point, gosh, where would I put it....so right now, it's in the window at the studio downtown.  We are open this Saturday, as it is the second Saturday of the month...who knows, maybe someone will want to take some birds home!

So...what do you think?  It took me a couple of years to decide what to do with the frame...but I did finally decide on something.  One example, I suppose, of having things on hand when you do get an idea...and then, there's all that 'hoarding' of stuff until those ideas quit floating around in your head and actually land on something you've 'saved.' 

Hope you enjoyed the birds....now stay cool out there and take care....see you again soon.  pat

"New Beginning" Bird Collage

It's Monday morning.....at this moment....10:24 a.m. Usually, I am at the downtown studio at this time, but I've had a revelation....and it is this - I need to be home on Mondays! Nothing much happens down there on Mondays and I am having a terrible time getting anything done at home, so staying home seems a really good idea. I'll still be downtown on Wednesdays, Fridays and the Second Saturday of the month..plus 'special' times, like May 5th, when we are participating in the Downtown Sidewalk Sale.

I couldn't let this particular Monday morning pass without posting. I always feel like I'm behind in posting...so I'm showing you my latest bird collage. It will be followed this week by two other collages...neither with a bird motif. Imagine that.

As you can see in the second photo...this collage began life with a painted canvas and paper napkins. I wish I had left the napkin on the right out of this photo, as I decided not to use it, then forgot to take another photo with it removed from sight. I did decide to use the white napkins with birds on it...just so sweet. Notice the canvas is not in my usual color scheme. Here's the story on that - I had some yellows, reds, oranges and one of my favorites, called "Apricot".....they were left over from something else I was doing and since I hate wasting paint, when I finished the other project, I just painted this canvas with the leftover paint. Not knowing what I was going to do with it...I saved it for 'another day' and that day was the one I decided to use this paper napkin with it's cute bird's nest. Other colors were added and here we are...the basis for this collage. I also used one of those vintage ledger sheets I have and, as always, WORDS.

Using these paper napkins is so much fun. You can use bits and pieces of the napkin, or the whole thing if you want to. (Remember to use only the top layer of the napkin, removing the back two, or you'll make a mess as the printed layer won't stick!)

Last Fall, I found the leaves I've used on this collage blowing down the sidewalk in front of the studio and I've saved them 'til later.' And, later is now....in Springtime! I've chosen to paint over them using oil pastels. I've also used the oil pastels to add some color to the birds and the nest. Again, I've drawn, then painted a vine. I've no idea why I like adding these to my collages other than I draw these kinds of vines on embroidery all the time and I guess I'm just so crazy about doing it, I also feel the need to include them in my collages. Who knows?

I always paint the sides of my collages....add my name and the year. Sometimes I had little bits of print or decorative paper too...then paint over them. Making these collages are so much fun. As you know, I'm not really an artist...but I like to pretend I'm one!

In my next post, I'll show you my other two new collages. One is red tulips, the other will be another of my 'new vintage' ones. I'm going to do my best to show you those two THIS WEEK....meantime, I hope you have a great week and thank you so much for visiting me!
take care, pat

A Special Bird Nest

It should come as no surprise to you that I am partial to birds. Real ones. And, the not-so-real ones. Likewise, I am totally nuts over bird nests. Well, the name of my blog is BIRD NEST ON THE GROUND...what would you expect? Anyway....people give me birds and bird nests. The 'real' and the 'not-so-real.' The birds...well, of course, they are definitely not real. But, we do feed birds here and I see them each day. We have regular visitors...my favorites are the Cardinals...perhaps because being RED, I can see them better than others, however, I'm awfully partial to Mourning Doves for their sounds. And, then, there are the hummingbirds. Oh...you know I really love them all.

So, I wanted you to see a special Nest that was presented to me by my friend, Vicki. It is sitting here amongst other nests...some real and some not-so-real. Vicki's beautiful nest is knitted. Yes, I did say KNITTED! You see it here....all those gorgeous yarns and ribbons, trims, glass leaves, and such. She says there are over 200 different yarns, ribbons and such making up each nest. I believe it. And, I think it is a VERY SPECIAL NEST, indeed! Before this Nest arrived at my house, I couldn't imagine how she made it...and, now that I've seen the Nest in all it's glory, I still can't imagine how she did it....and there's no telling how much the time she spent doing it....after all, knitting together hundreds of little strands of magic yarns....and then, getting it to turn out like a real Nest, now that is tricky!!! Actually, this Nest looks as if it should live in a magic forrest.....just delightful!!!

I played around with these Nests the other night, trying to find a way to display the real and not-so-real nests, along with the Very Special Nest, somewhere in my house...and came up with the idea of displaying them on my entry buffet. (Yes, I know you don't usually put a buffet in the entry, but my dining room already had one and there was no room for another anywhere but right here! Found at one of the local flea markets - for a great price, you know I just had to buy it! As I mentioned to my friend, Jim, the other day....YES, we are both evidently "hoarders.") After placing the nests there, I decided I needed something else behind the nests, so chose a painting by my brother-in-law, Don. "Autumn Stream." I think it looks pretty there. For sale, of course, and borrowed, from our downtown art studio.

An avid knitter, Vicki makes these very special Nests with a specific reason in mind....she raises funds for the Ronald McDonald House in her area. In addition to knitting (a lot!!!) she is a nurse. A very special nurse, if you ask me. You may visit Vicki at her blog, 2 Bagsfull, HERE. When you do, you can find out about the Nests and see what all Vicki does....including showing you the beautiful gardens that her husband, the "Gardener" tends. You can travel along with them and see beautiful places they visit too. You'll enjoy it.

I find bird nests around our two acres....even one of my neighbors, Jimmy, has been known to bring me a fallen nest once in a while. They are fascinating to me....perhaps because I am also a nest-maker in a way. But, actually, this special soft and glittery Nest is something I will always enjoy and every time I look at it...I will remember the very special lady who made it. Thanks, again, Vicki and may your new year bring you much joy!!!

Visit again soon...I will be showing a quilt...I know you love seeing those and I like showing them to you. Meantime, stay safe, warm and cozy! pat