Spring Open Reception at Art at the Cathedral

April 20, 2012 ~ Gallery Hop in Lexington, KY

Echinacea Art - Painting with Paper

My Friends are Flowers - By GG Burns

For a long time, I have admired artist who create collages or paint with small pieces of paper. Until now, I have only dabbled with this technique. After creating two exploded views of Echinacea Cone Flowers, my thoughts are this is an extremely time consuming and a back breaking method to create art. 

'A Walk in the Garden' by GG Burns

Consequently, I will no doubt return to painting with either watercolors or alcohol inks since I enjoy painting quickly with instant results. Now, I have more admiration for my collage artist friends than ever before.

First, I altered various vintages pages from old books, sheet music or clippings from garden magazines. 

Then, I painted an undercoating with acrylic paint of each flower on canvas.  

Next, I used a paper shredder, hole punches and scissors to cut up thousands 

of tiny pieces. After about 20 hours of tedious, eye straining work, the paper paintings are complete. 

The Creation of my latest Derby Chic

First a few sketches on tracing paper, with

emphasis on a large and fancy derby hat.

Next, I copied articles and newspaper headlines from previous derby races.

Using Golden's Gel Medium, I collaged dozens of 

vintage pages with derby quotes and derby related articles,

all over an 18" x 24" canvas.

Next, I used various models from magazines as my 
inspiration for hat and face. 

I polled my Facebook friends for suggestions on the
hat color decision. I needed help to decide if Derby 
Chic's hat should be black, red or pink.  
Most suggested hot pink.

Framing and finishing touches were added by cute guy in 
Hobby Lobby's frame center.

PRICE: $700

GG's Derby Chic, additional Derby Diva originals and prints, 

can be purchased here:

  http://gg-burns.artistwebsites.com/featured/derby-chic-gg-burns.html

or here:

http://www.zazzle.com/derby_chick_2012_design_by_artist_gg_burns_postage-172018345979373809

Purchase GG's Derby Chic posters or framed prints here:

 http://www.imagekind.com/-Derby-Girl_art?IMID=01702f21-5d90-48b5-b45c-4782bc50de91

GG's 12 x 12 original on tile: $125
hand-painted, "functional art trivet" featuring: It's Complicated Livin' in Kentucky", will also be for sale. 

Buy GG's Derby T-shirts here: It's Complicated ~ Livin' in Kentucky

Purchase 'It's Complicated' prints or canvas here

Purchase your Derby Diva bags here at either cafepress: http://www.cafepress.com/ggfunctionalart.462003686

or Derby Diva bags and stamps at my Zazzle store: http://www.zazzle.com/derby_chick_2012_design_by_artist_gg_burns_postage-172018345979373809

Colorful Quilt Divas by GG Burns

Buy GG's Functional Art here: 
http://www.cafepress.com/ggfunctionalart

Valentine Ribbon Wreaths

Heart - Ribbon Wreaths

A recent 'heart-inspired' crafting project was a joint effort with a dear friend. 

I had created a ribbon-fabric wreath once before. It was so time consuming, 

I realized it would be much more enjoyable to share that time with a friend.

 We begin with several trips to Hobby Lobby and Michaels Craft store.  

Then we cut fabric swatches (about 200 pieces) into 1.5" by 10" pieces. 

Next, we cut up a few hundred ribbon pieces ~ same size. We tied them to 

a wreath ~ mine was a 12" wire, heart shape wreath ... 

my friend's was a 12" round. 

I added vintage fabric mixed with new cotton fabric as well as stiff ribbon. 

I think overall the ribbon wreath will hold up longer.  Once you buy these supplies and spend the time it takes to complete this project, you then know 'why' these wreaths sell for large sums in retail shops. :-) Happy crafting.

Valentine Art - Crafting with Vintage Buttons and Sears Catalog Pages

For a long time, an idea of creating art utilizing vintage buttons has danced in my head. Especially since I inherited several boxes of beautiful buttons from my Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and three Great Aunts. Even though I began my career as a fashion illustrator, I really don't enjoy sewing. I do not own a sewing machine! Which is quite interesting, since most all the women in my family are talented seamstresses. As a child, I watched my Mother and Grandmother stitch everything from dresses to drapes. I was always fascinated by the illustrations on the the dress patterns, which perhaps inspired me to study fashion design in college. Nevertheless, my muse has compelled me to make something special with these buttons even if i did not add them to clothing.

A few weeks ago, I finally made time to create 'collages' using these heirloom buttons. I felt as if I needed 'down time' , to "just be", instead of the serious 'left brain' projects I have been working on since the beginning of 2012. (I am also a mental health advocate and have been very busy with state wide advocacy projects.)

As I began to work on my art collages I thought, "if only these buttons could talk and tell me stories about who wore them, where they lived and the clothing items they belong to." 

I'm certain my Mother never threw anything away, and believe that many of my button collections were passed for generations through family members.  In my memories, I can still see my Mother taking apart an old dress or shirt, that was perhaps handed down from my Great-Great Grandmother's family. She would discard the buttons in a large Mason jar, then storing the used fabric away to perhaps recycle for a future quilt project.  I actually own a quilt that is made from old dresses and fabrics from my ancestors from early 1900s. I found the quilt squares in my Mother's closet about 15 years ago and asked one of my favorite Aunts to quilt them together, using my favorite color ~ purple.

Vintage Button Collage by GG Burns

For Collage #1, I used vintage pages from an old Sears and Roebuck catalog for the background. I found this catalog years ago at an antique show. The pages are so fragile, the only thing I have thought to do with them is to glue them to boxes, canvas or functional art coasters.

This catalog does not have a date on it, but I discovered one page that mentioned how long Sears had been in business, (1886). The article stated: "Covering a short period of about 12 years...." which helped me determined that the catalog was most likely published in 1898. I know if was before 1897, because color was added to their catalogs that year and mine does not have color.

I begin my project by thinking of a design inspired by Valentines Day. I sketched two heart shapes inside each other in the middle of a 16" x 20" canvas. Then I glued torn pieces from the catalog around the hearts using gel medium by Golden. 

To add some interest to the old yellowed pages, I diluted red acrylic paint with water and speared on the edges with my fingers. Sorry, I forget to take a pic of this process. I also added the vintage scrabble tiles in the center of the heart.

While the background dried, I started creating collage #2.  

Small Button Collage by GG Burns

On a 12"x12" canvas, I also sketched 2 hearts in the center.

For the background on this smaller collage, I glued pink tissue paper that had a hand made look. I learned that the buttons needed a background color on my first collage, so I painted the heart with red and pink acrylic paint before gluing on the vintage red and pink buttons.

At least now, I have two unique art collages to admire my vintage buttons ~  instead of them taking up space in a box on a shelf.

Coldwater Creek "Meet the Artist" Exhibit

On November 18th, I was honored to be invited to collaborate with Coldwater Creek for a "Meet the Artist" day.  

The location was Fayette Mall in Lexington ~ the largest shopping mall under one roof in Kentucky.

The store managers Donna, Tracy and Joey were all gracious host, pampering me with first rate accommodations. Being around retail for the day, brought back many fond memories. When I first graduated from college, I worked for a large department store as a fashion illustrator. Fashion will always be my first love.

As an added bonus, Coldwater Creek promoted my art before and during the exhibit. This proved to be an excellent venue to exhibit my original designs and latest holiday "functional art" gifts. Plus, it gave me a great opportunity to meet new customers.

After strolling through the nearby department stores, it is easy to see why so many women enjoy shopping at Coldwater Creek.

Coldwater Creek's beautiful merchandise last forever and colors from past seasons always coordinate with their newest fashions. 

Coldwater Creek's displays and friendly customer service make shopping an enjoyable experience. I hope to be invited back one day to showcase my latest artwork. Thanks again, Tracy for inviting me and creating such a wonderful venue for GG's Functional Art!

Hummingbird Delight with Sunflowers by GG Burns

 

Hummingbird shows us how to re-visit the past for the purpose of 

releasing it instead of being caught in a permanently backward flight 

pattern. It also helps us to see that if we step aside we may see our 

life differently. Hummingbird teaches us to transcend time, to recognize 

that what has happened in the past and what might happen in the 

future is not nearly as important as what we are experiencing now. 

It teaches us to hover in the moment, to appreciate its sweetness.  

- Constance Barrett Sohodski

Original art 12" x 12", acrylic and alcohol inks on ceramic tile 

Purchase this print here (canvas or framed) 

http://gg-burns.pixels.com/featured/hummingbird-delight-with-sunflowers-gg-burns.html

How Sweet It Is ... SweetGum Leaf Art by GG

Autumn generates a sense of excitement for many artist. The bounteous combination of leaves turning from gold, to orange, to red and then to brown ... is like a palette of paints just waiting to be brushed on a canvas. 

Stanley Horowitz expressed it best, Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.

Adding these dried leaves, "especially Sweet Gum Leaves", to my work has been a favorite form of art for many years. Their colors inspire me ... they motivate me to create as I discover new ways to capture them before they have vanished under a blanket of snow.

As a child, I glued them to greeting cards or attempted to reproduce them in clay. Later as a digital designer, I photographed them and edited hundreds of layers and patterns while adding them to my marketing materials.

Now, I add them to my "functional art" coasters and trivets and seal them in 4-5 coats of resin. Prices range $40 as set of coaster or $25-$40 for larger trivet sizes.

They will remain the way they tumbled to the earth, for many years to come ... long after I'm gone. It's my small way of preserving nature and saying thanks to "Mother Nature" for allowing me to enjoy these small gifts ... as I make it through the journey of life.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.  ~ Albert Camus

Adding resin to my coasters and trivets is how I preserve nature as well as making my art a functional object.