No Fooling--Just Art Athon April 1-4

[Evalila]

Thanks for the invite! I hope to be able to play.

[CynthiaSillitoe]

Great to see so many of you will have time. I'm looking forward to it. I've been gathering up materials and also just got some new blanks. I don't cut my own atcs. I did for years, but it makes me so cranky. Although luckily I still have a guillotine cutter because a couple of days ago, when I was working on some blanks I'd dug out of a pile of stuff (because the new ones weren't here) were just a hair too tall. And I didn't realize it until after I had created art on them, so trimming them was a bit of a challenge.

[Collagaint Ashley]

Depends on work, and I love your idea for the challenge!

[dsign49]

Try to play. Thanks for the invite.

[CynthiaSillitoe]

Ok, crossed off my list: making my room in my gallery and clearing out PMs from the last athon!

[LuAnnP]

Great to see so many of you will have time. I'm looking forward to it. I've been gathering up materials and also just got some new blanks. I don't cut my own atcs. I did for years, but it makes me so cranky. Although luckily I still have a guillotine cutter because a couple of days ago, when I was working on some blanks I'd dug out of a pile of stuff (because the new ones weren't here) were just a hair too tall. And I didn't realize it until after I had created art on them, so trimming them was a bit of a challenge.

Reminds me of a funny story:
I bought little tablets of Legion paper, and used slick fabric paint to pipe out a cool little skeleton. THEN I noticed the size: 2.5 x 3.75. So I cut off the head, wrote the little note: "Oh NO! NOTE TO SELF: Trim the 3.75 x 2.5 card before drawing"

I was going to keep the card, but I showed it to a friend and she laughed and laughed and requested a trade. It is a much happier memory than it would have been if I had just "done things right..."

[CynthiaSillitoe]

Oh, that's great! Sometimes the best art comes out of adjusting to such things...it's like Bob Ross...little happy accidental trees...

[AngelJoy]

I hope to join...thanks for the invite!

[CynthiaSillitoe]

Ok, it's 10:45 a.m. on March 30th, where I am--mountain time, two hours earlier than eastern--and it is currently 5:45 a.m on March 31st in New Zealand, so we can start in about....nineteen hours...no fooing!

Today I'm doing laundry and also I hope to pick up my new glasses for reading computer screens. I recently had my 45th birthday and, I swear, on that very day, the font on all computer stuff suddenly was much smaller than the day before.

On the other hand, I have yet to get gray hair, which annoys me because I've always wanted gray hair, and my best friend has been touching up her roots since she was 27 and it's not fair. I have seriously considered dying my hair gray and I know people will think that's strange, but I never claimed not to be strange.

[sniisk]

We should be ready. I have some smaller things to do on the weekend but I hope to have plenty of time for crafting.

[CastleQueen5]

You can have some of my odd gray hairs. I have demarcation line on my grey head of hair. I gather one line shows my gray hair growth post chemo. Then I started a new chemo and the grey hairs are another color. Then the 3rd might be covid hair growth or loss, since my hair fell out by the handfuls in Jan 2022, after covid.
I can see the lines and shade of grey clearly when I am curling/taming my curly grey head of hair.

[Donnacr]

ooooo - CastleQueen5, I have never had colour demarcation before (I did have regrowth demarcation where my fringe refused to grow back for months after my first chemo - a naturally high, intelligent forehead? ) I will have to see what happens to my hair when I start the new treatment on April 13 (normally my lucky number, hope so)

currently battling a nasty chest cold (tested - not COVID) so am a pariah with the cough this has given me, so may not manage to be in at the start of the Athon.

do people mind if I offer up some stitched cards that I started for the St Pat's Day ATART but didn't manage to finish till now?

[Donnacr]

I managed to get to the start, I think, but here are my cards anyway. These are the now finished cards for St Pat's Day.
Attachment 230676#1 a more colourful version than the original in the other ATART
Attachment 230677#2 I challenged myself to not JUST use green backgrounds
Attachment 230678#3 I hate sewing with gold thread but what else could the coins at the end of the rainbow be?
Attachment 230679#4 Attachment 230680#5

And now I must go to my bed - I look forward to seeing what you make while I sleep.

[letterdiva]

Lovely stitched cards Donna. It certainly took you some time to do.

Sounds like a great ATHON Cynthia. I hope to play at least a little this time.

[CastleQueen5]

ooooo - CastleQueen5, I have never had colour demarcation before (I did have regrowth demarcation where my fringe refused to grow back for months after my first chemo - a naturally high, intelligent forehead? ) I will have to see what happens to my hair when I start the new treatment on April 13 (normally my lucky number, hope so)

currently battling a nasty chest cold (tested - not COVID) so am a pariah with the cough this has given me, so may not manage to be in at the start of the Athon.

do people mind if I offer up some stitched cards that I started for the St Pat's Day ATART but didn't manage to finish till now?

Do you ever get tired of the battle? I just want win it and live! Do you ever feel like "what am I doing wrong that this keeps coming back?" I am back on 6 rounds of chemo. My last was March 23. My next is April 25th.

[CastleQueen5]

Off to create.

[Evalila]

Finished five cards today:

Attachment 230687 01 - I need a drink

Attachment 230688 02 - Who cares?

Attachment 230689 03 - I´m quiet

Attachment 230690 04 - Therapy

Attachment 230691 05 - Sarcasm

[jo.on.the.go]

I'm skipping ahead to the Flowers theme, and using some of my postage stamps.

Attachment 230692 ATART 1 Amaryllis

Attachment 230693 ATART 2 Pink Roses

Attachment 230694 ATART 3 Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). This plant is found in cental and southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The stamp celebrates the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. The stamp was issued in 2009.

Attachment 230695 ATART 4 Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera)

[CynthiaSillitoe]

Yay, great art already!

Hang in there, Donna and CQ5. Chemo isn't something I've done (and hope to avoid, though don't we all?!) but everyone I know who has had it assures me it's brutal. I once saw a woman in a t-shirt that said, "You can't scare me--I've had cancer" and I think that's very true.

I hadn't thought of the different shades of gray, but I guess that makes sense. My cousin Abby had leukemia. She also had these gorgeous curls--I think the only person in my big extended family who had naturally curly hair. When her hair grew back in, it was straight.

I've got a couple of little things to do and then I'm off to the studio. I was able to get my new glasses yesterday and they're much better for the computer, but of course for art, I need my other glasses. I declined bifocals because I thought they'd be hard to adjust to. Now I'm not sure that was the right call because now I'm constantly switching back and forth.

[LuAnnP]

For my first April fool card, I am fooling around with digital images.

I used "Photo Booth" on my iPad to take seven images using the "thermal camera."

I chose six of the images for this piece.

Then I manipulated the photos using Pages, printed them, attached double-stick tape, cut them, and attached them to Stonehenge Aqua Hotpress Black.

!!!!! As I type this, I realize that I forgot the trim the 3.75 x 2.5 paper from the tablet. So if you trade for one of these, the images will have a little less space between them, top to bottom...

Duh.

I'm calling this HCHA Digital art: The images are hand-cut and hand-applied, so it's not just printed directly to paper. There will be very slight individual differences in the cards. I plan to make a dozen. I will keep this first (flawed) card and post another image soon... in the actual correct 2.5 x 3.5 size.