Gadabout Artist: Mexican Street Art

Mr. How2 and I took the opportunity to travel across the border into Mexico a couple days ago. He had some dental work he had put off way too long, and I wanted to see what everyone was talking about.
  Well, we were very pleased with the experience, the dentists are good, the food was fantastic, and the shopping exciting, since every purchase is a lesson in the art of haggling! Every item I looked at started out with a cost of $45, no matter what it was. But after learning my way around, I realized that that is just the beginning. Almost anything could be haggled to 1/2 that or less, and I really did get better as I went along.

   The only exceptions to this rule are these;
1. Always try to buy something from the tiniest vendors. I mean seriously, these kids are no more than 3-4 years old, and so cute I just wanted to cuddle them. I know that their parents are trading on their cuteness, but I just go with it, and love my collection of tiny hand-painted critters, and at only $1 each, I can indulge. At home my rule is to never pass up a Kool-aid stand, and I have had some pretty watery lemonade over the years, but it is worth seeing the little ones smile!

2. I cannot stress this enough...never, Never, NEVER, haggle with your dentist, as he/she controls the amount of pain you will feel. Trust me, when you are getting $5000+ worth of dental work done for $500, pay the man what he wants, and don't nickle and dime him to death! Mr. How2's bridge looks great, and I can't tell which tooth they replaced...

While waiting for the dentist to finish his job, I had the chance to watch, and talk to one of the street artists in the main town square. There were about four there, all set up in tents in a row, and I just picked one at random and started to watch. The skill level is amazing, and the speed is stunning, all done without the use of traditional art supplies! As I watched, and oohed and awed, my chosen artist introduced himself as "Marlon". "Just remember Marlon Brandon!" he said, with a smile...

This art is created on any surface, and I mean any! They paint on vases, lanterns, walking sticks, hats, satellite dishes, plates, wheel-covers, and, oh yeah, illustration board! As I watched, Marlon was putting the finishing touches on a ceramic vase, adding small flowering bushes, a cactus, and a tiny roadrunner. He created the entire piece using spray paint, magazine pages and pieces of a cereal box. At one point, he stopped, removed his mask, tore off a piece of cardboard, grinned and said, "Mexican paintbrush!"...

...then proceeded to add highlights to the cactus with a quick stroke and a flourish...
When I think of the hours I spend agonizing over every stroke of my brush, I am shamed. I stayed and watched for as long as I could, asking questions that were graciously answered, and learning as much as I could. At one point, someone brought Marlon two mirrored cabinet doors from their RV, and asked him to paint them a desert scene in black, grey and white. Marlon confided to me that it was much harder to paint the beautiful desert when he couldn't use his full range of colors.
So my take away from this wonderful opportunity is this; try harder to enjoy the process of painting, and loosen up. After all, there is no such thing as wasting paint, it's all just part of the journey...
Oh, and of course, my beautiful vase...

and if you ever get to Los Algodones, Mexico, stop by and say hello to Marlon for me. Until next time, enjoy...

for more information about Los Algodones, Mexico, click here...

I, unfortunately did not bring my video camera that day, but I did find this video showing some very similar techniques...

A Trip to the Renaissance Fair...

While visiting here in the Yuma Foothills Mr. How2 and I attended the Two Rivers Renaissance Faire. I haven't been to one in a very long time, longer than I have been a mother, in fact. But oh how I remember them fondly! When I saw the listing in the paper, I just had to go...

As Ren Fairs go, this one was tiny, but the entertainment was great! We had so much fun watching the interactive way the performers engage their audience. Every show was in some way a comedy, and nothing can compare to live action performances, even when a high wind interferes with the juggling act! The music was fun...

and who could resist a magician called "William the Completely Average" ?

There was colorful bird act...

and, of course, cute guys in tights, wielding swords...

I'll admit I was a little disappointed when we arrived, the ren fair I used to go to in Minnesota was huge, had permanent structures and ran for seven weeks out of the summer. I comparison this one was only a three day event and had makeshift stages and tents. But the same flair was there, if in smaller doses than I remember, and I spent the day with a huge grin on my face! Best $7 I have spent in a long time...Mr. How2 was stoic and amused, even when the juggler traded suggestive banter with me during his act! But, that is just part of the Renaissance Fair experience. If one comes to town in your area, give it a try. The food is usually good, their is always something interesting to see, where else can you buy and wear a flower wreath in your hair and hey, did I mention the cute guys in tights? Until next time...enjoy!

Art Journal Page and tiny, tiny art...

Soon after we return to Washington, I have a couple of classes to teach at our local Community Schools. One of these classes is on Art Journaling. The problem is, I forgot to bring my journal along on this trip! So no new pages to show as examples... Since I didn't want to go into the class with only older work to show, and because I wanted to show my students alternative journal choices, I picked up this old Readers Digest book.

and covered it with this paper,

and started painting, tearing and pasting into it...

Isn't this little guy adorable? Makes me grin every time I see the ad he is pulled from. The quote reads;

"Today I bent the truth to be kind, 

and I have no regret. 

For I am far surer of what is kind,

 than I am of what is true."

-Robert Brault

 I decided the subject of this journal will be simply, "Things That Make Me Happy". I plan to fill it only with images, memories, art and words that make me smile. I think it will be the perfect place to practice my doodling lessons, and store my favorite quotes.

Since this is Monday, and I have been out of the loop with Every Inchie Monday, AND I finally have a decent WiFi connection, I also uploaded my latest inchie, the subject this week was "flyer", which was just too easy considering my connection to Flytribe! :) I finally got a chance to watch the last two videos in Strathmore's Online Workshop, and they were the best ones by far! I am really going to love playing with random mark making in my new journal. Until next time...enjoy!

Gadabout Artist: Playing in the Sunshine...

Well, we are firmly ensconced in sunny Yuma, AZ, and enjoying days of 70+ degree weather. I have no real complaints, we are hooked up to power and water, so no more batteries or sponge baths, very nice after dry camping in the desert for so long. There are many wonderful snow-birds to meet and I spent a lovely evening playing bingo with 253 of them! No beginners luck for me, though...too bad, it would have helped pay for all the extra beads and art supplies I bought in Quartzsite!

There are not a lot of art supplies available there, but a store appropriately named,  "Addicted To Deals" seems to be a clearing house for just about anything under the sun, and they had a wonderful assortment of scrapbooking supplies. The large rubber stamps were only 3 for $5 and the sets were under $2. I think they will be great for my ATCs and the art I am working on for Art-o-mat. Speaking of which, one of our new neighbors here is a wood worker, I am going to ask him later today if he might be willing to cut out the little blocks of MDF that I need for my first shipment to Art-o-mat. I have been working on the art, and had planned to affix them to the blocks once we returned home, but this would allow me to ship much earlier. There is a lot of trading of skills back and forth down here, and I thought I might join in...

Here are just a few of the beads I bought, there are hundreds of tents and stores selling them in Quartzsite, and you can find everything imaginable for jewelry making. I haven't been in the jewelry business for a very long time, but I just could not resist, old habits die hard. So when I finally get around to opening that Etsy shop, you will likely find a collection of jewelry as well as art. My sweet daughter has recently started making jewelry, so she will receive some as well. She likes the more ethnic/hippy style, so these pendants and wood and coral beads were purchased for her. Until next time, enjoy...