Mask of a Different Dimension

Drawing on the many years that I live in Mobile, Alabama … the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the U. S. and the original capital of French Louisiana … I really enjoy creating art with carnival themes and bayou superstitions. 

BUY PRINTS HERE: http://www.imagekind.com/-Mardi-Gras-Mask-Black-Background-by-GG-Burns_art?IMID=ee455e34-c610-4f16-bd5f-9f13f0356780

Masks hide true identities. Is the wearer merely a shell, devoid of being? Is the mask a sly cover for duplicity? Does it project a wished for beauty? Or veil to allow freedom of movement?  I  created these for fun , but later realized that might fit the "call for art" that the Lexington Art League had recently published. 

 

Eye of the Beholder

11x17 Watercolor Illustration ~ finished this last night.  Rarely do I  draw from "whats in my head" instead of sketching from a photo or still life subjects.  This drawing was inspired by LAL's call for art ... for the Alternate Selves Exhibit. Beauty isn't really in the eye of the beholder ~ or is it? 

The Urban Market ~ February 13, 2010

Sharing a few photos made yesterday at the 3rd Urban Market held at Lexington's Hilton Suites at Lexington Green.



This is an event to help fund the mission behind a non-profit called Capacity Inc. For more info click here:http://www.capacityinc.org/ 

I was pleased with the event and was honored to be a vendor!

Even though it was a cold snowy day in KY yesterday, lots of customers turned out to support us.  The free wine, chocolate, etc., made it extra fun also.

Next month ~ on March 13th, the Urban Market will feature Soreyda Fashion Designs. 

Soreyda's passion for fashion started at very young age, as a little girl she sewed by hand and used any materials she could find to create her designs, she still uses unconventional materials on her designs. At the age of 13 she entered a sewing academy were she learned the techniques for pattern making and garment construction. For 18 years she has been continuously designing and making clothes, creating unique pieces that have been shown on the runway and in art shows around the Kentucky area and in New York NY, Chicago, Virginia Fashion Week and Atlanta, GA. She also has won several awards for her work. Soreyda's clothing line, S. Benedit, debuted in Spring 2005.  She has expanded her line by including cocktail and evening dresses. Her clothing is available at Zag's Boutique in Lexington.  

To view more of Soreyda's designs click here: www.soreyda.com/

 
or go to: http://www.soreyda@bluegrassfashionhouse.com

A special Fashion Show from 4:00 - 5:30 will be held during the market. 

Plan to come out and support this talented local designer, market vendors and Capacity Inc. causes. The Market is free with great products at great prices. The Fashion show cost is $5.00 at the door or pay on line through at Capacity Inc.'s website.

 

Designs by Anita ~ check her fabulous website here:

http://www.meicustosangele.com/

 

Mellow Ellis with her beautiful European fresh cut flowers. For more info about "The Cutting Garden" click here:http://tcglex.com/

There were over 30 vendors, these are just a few that I did not make photos of:

Steve Heartsill's Ceramic and Metal Designs:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LookWhatSteveMade

The Blu Sash  ~ Donia Simmons' custom announcements, invitations, and party favors. http://www.theblusash.com


Be sure and mark you calendar for the next Urban Market ~ March  13th.

Hopefully, our snow will be long gone by then.

painted ponies

one of a kind gifts from Lexington KY ~ the horse capital of the world

Kitty Jester ~ inspired by the Saints

I have been thinking of entering the next exhibit at the LAL called: Alternate Selves. The past few days, I've been working on various mask designs and found a photo of jester statue while browsing through my clip art stash. Since I wanted to sketch something different and everyone seems to like my cat illustrations ... why not create a kitty to join in the Mardi Gras fun?  I think I'll consider adding a new line of Functional Art "cats with hats" ~ (i.e., witches, Santa’s, etc.).  Ahhh, so many possibilities ~ so little time, so little energy! Enjoy. :-) gg

You can purchase prints and other “functional art” items with this my Mardi Gras Jester Kitty design here:

https://www.cafepress.com/dd/51447640

and here:

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/mardi-gras-jester-kitty-gg-burns.html

You can even purchase it on a bedcover:

https://fineartamerica.com/products/mardi-gras-jester-kitty-gg-burns-duvet-cover.html

custom projects for customers ~ 
hand illustrated/painted fleur de lis 
and digital designed fleur de lis 

seeing/experiencing art

Today our local art league “the Lexington Art League”, posted a question on Facebook that really made me think ... what would our world, (i.e., homes, offices, hospitals, even our capital’s White House) look like without art?

The question was: "What is the best thing about seeing / experiencing art you've never seen / experienced before??"

I didn’t really answer the question but rather commented on what I thought about what seeing art does to us … my response was: We can always benefit from viewing art or experiencing art events. It's like nutrition for the mind and the creative soul that lies within everyone. Plus, viewing and discussing art soothes the senses and lowers the blood pressure ~ it's healing and therapeutic both to create art as well as viewing/experience art! Thank you LAL for reminding our community the importance of art!

Was I exposed to art as a child? No. My parents never took me to art events, art galleries or even great buildings where art may have been displayed. Was there art in our church … yes, one painting of Jesus. During my childhood, some internal force drove me to sketch, color and paint on any surface I could put my hands on. As a child I would sit by my Mom when she cooked, worked in the garden, etc., and I recall drawing what I saw around me. If she were in the sewing room, I would copy the ladies fashions from clothing patterns. (I still love to old patterns and have quite a collection, that I've collected over the years). Perhaps those earliest memories are what inspired me to study fashion in college and to become a fashion illustrator? Then later as a teenager, I painted the animals around me. We lived on a farm, my brother loved horses and I painted his horses, more than I rode. Had I grown up in a crowded city would I have been an architect?

Regardless, art helps our world be something it wouldn't be otherwise. I am grateful that I live in a city where "art" is appreciated by many and has a thriving culture of artist, musicians and talented writers. There are many wonderful art events, galleries and theaters to experience ART!

Heart Inspired Functional Art Coasters

Sharing a sample of a few of my recently created Functional Artworks ~ these are 4"x4" abstract coasters.  The last few days, I have completed a table full and will be applying resin as soon as the temps warm up enough for me to open the windows for ventilation.

Make Your own Valentine Garland from “Serendipity Paper”

To make your own heart inspired garland these are the supplies you will need:

Commercial grade wax or freezer paper

Elmer’s® glue diluted in half/half water

Disposal brush

Sheer fabrics, lace, fibers, or ribbons

Heart tissue paper or colorful Valentine paper napkins

Heart punches and scissors

Heart rubber stamps

Torn or cut out pieces of vintage paper, sheet music, hand-made or scrapbook papers

Even colorful pages from magazines work

For my Valentine Garland, first I diluted about 4 ounces of Elmer's® Glue in 2 parts water in an old plastic bowl.  Stir the mixture until you have the consistency of soup.  Paint a small amount of glue with a disposable brush onto the freezer paper first.  (Shiny side up.)  Then, I took an entire sheet of sheer heart fabric; some hearts punched from old books and added it to some paper napkins printed with roses.

Then I added some silver flecks, tiny beads and some red fringe fibers. Some of my tissue paper was stamped with faces using rubber stamps. The one shown was purchased from http://www.myheartstamps4u.com/

I covered my materials in a thick layer of white glue and allowed it to dry over night. Your art will appear cloudy, however it will be transparent when it dries. After my art had completely dried, I cut out 17 hearts approximately 3" in diameter.  Then I attached tiny ribbons and tied them to a strand of small pearls I had on hand. Fun and inexpensive!

Read in my blog in the Jan. 2010 section, to view my heart inspired tree, also showcasing ornaments made for “serendipity paper making” technique. For additional instructions about this creative technique view artist Robin Moore's page at http://sunnisan.com/jacqui/tute-crazypaper.html

These are some other examples of papers made using this technique:

 

I framed this Serendipity Collage, it has dried leaves, torn strips of hand made papers, sheet music and river oak birch.

Finished Garland