A Professional Blogger I May Never Be...

I have a dear, precious, beautiful friend who is a professional blogger. Every day she composes blog entries loaded with useful content and laugh-out-loud descriptions of her adventures with her four sons. She is such a delightful wordsmith I sometimes just go visit her so I can bask in the glow of her talent!

Me, on the other hand, well...

It's June and here I am finally composing another entry into my fun little funky junk love blog.

So, here's what's new. I worked on this little garden tote for a couple of weeks to get it just the way I wanted it. Wait! I'm getting ahead of myself.

It was a Saturday morning and I was doing what I do on many Saturday mornings. I was checking out the local garage sales for funky finds when I spotted this long wooden toolbox looking thing.

I asked the nice man behind the card table, "what is this, exactly"?

The nice man looked at me like I was a goofy blond and said, " 'sa carpenter's toolbox". Oh, well duh. Facepalm!

I offered a small amount for the find and made my way, blond head hanging in shame for not knowing what it was, to the Jeep and back home to hide.

I gave it a good sanding, then started thinking of a paint scheme for this little cutie.

To me it looked like something that could be used as a sort of garden buddy. You could take your little sprouted plants and carry them along to where they were going to be planted, along with various tools and trowels, maybe your garden gloves...yeah. Sounded good. With that idea in mind there was really only one color I could paint it. Okay, well there are hundreds of colors I could have painted it, but I only have a few on hand so there was only one choice. I mean, who wants a garden buddy painted black?

I gave the garden buddy a few coats of spring green and breathed a deep sigh of satisfaction.

Ahhh. See, isn't that a perfectly springy green? NO, it's not white! It's GREEN. Say it with me spring grreeeeennnnn. So soothing.

Next I decided to give it a kind of argyle design on the front side. I used an orange color called paprika. It's a spicy orange. Oh so spicy. I alternated with meeting house blue milk paint for a little cottage-y kind of feel.

It still needed more. What did it need? Hmmm...  I know! It needed a french phrase and some flowers. Say what?! I don't know, really. My creative brain is sometimes an insane place to live. Just go with it.

je t'aime. See! Isn't that just lovely? Ahh. Now for the final unveiling of my carpenter's toolbox turned french-speaking garden buddy.

There she is. Sweet, no? C'est magnifique! Ok, I don't really know what that means but it sounds so lovely I just had to throw it in.

If you like my projects, and don't mind my goofy humor, come by my facebook page and say hi! https://www.facebook.com/feistylisfunkyjunk

<3 Feistylis

While Spring and Winter Battle it Out...I've Got a new Project to Share

Has spring done it's thing yet in your part of the country? I was going to say world, but then realized that not everyone around the world is experiencing the transition from winter to spring just now.

The Funky Junk Bunch and I are in Nebraska and spring has been battling winter for several weeks, one little blow at a time until the weekend before last. That Saturday was the most perfect spring day I've seen in a very long time. The temperature was right around 70 degrees, the humidity was low, and there was a nice cool breeze. We even had our first spring storm, complete with thunder and lightning. It was glorious!

By Tuesday we were in the deep freeze again. Winter gave spring a sucker punch! So now we're holding on with that little promise of spring from almost two weeks ago...WINTER! GO AWAY!!


This week I have been hard at work on a little project. Not long ago I picked up a medium sized arched top wood chest. Isn't it cute? I think so.

I do not claim to be an expert on woods, at least not yet! My assumption for this sweet square-arch top chest was that it was oak and had a clear varnish for the finish. So I decided to just paint over it. I started by removing the lid and all of the hardware attached. I was feeling really great, like I was bound for my own HGTV show any day now...

Any day now...

Ok maybe not! What I discovered was all at once frustrating and enlightening. Well, ok, it was mostly frustrating. I heal quickly though so it's alright.

After the paint dried I began freehand drawing a design for the front of the lid with a carbon pencil and to my dismay the paint was just sliding right off with every stroke of my pencil! Nooooo!

So, I did what any level-headed artisan would do (which, by the way, is a total oxymoron). I made the husby  take the chest out back and sand 'er down!

He did a great job. Of course I stepped in after a while. You know, because I'm the compassionate type of slavedriver and I took pity on him. Yes, I am truly a kind ruler.

We were using 36 grit sandpaper and an electric finishing sander. Guess what I learned? Finishing sanders eat sandpaper for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and come back later for a snack! Ugh! We went through at least 9 strips of paper, and didn't quite get the entire box sanded.

It's looking great though. Trust me, it is. Really great. Really, really great.

Ok. More to come. If spring comes back over the weekend we'll be able to get it finished up and I'll share the progress. :)

Ciao for now friends. Stay funky!

~Feistylis

First Funky Day

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

Today is the first day of my new blog. If you're not already a facebook follower then you may be wondering what this is about. So, I'll give you a little background.

I have always been told that I was born in the wrong decade and that I would have been a fabulous hippie. I've never taken offense to this assumption because in many ways it's true. I'd say my love for the funky, bright, colorful, natural, etc etc things in life can be attributed to my father. He WAS (and by any reasonable standard still is) a true hippie. I was raised on Janis and Jimi and taught the power of sticking it to the man at a very early age.


Then again, I could just as easily give the credit to my dear sweet mother. Raised by older, depression-era parents, she rarely threw things out and loved a good secondhand bargain. She was the thrift and garage sale queen!

Whether learned through modeled behavior, intentionally taught, or just an innate trait one thing is certain. I enjoy being me. :)

I started my artistic life as a musician. It wasn't until I was in my 30's that I started experimenting with other art forms. I had developed some skill in graphic design and began trying my hand at some digital artwork...which I dubbed "digipainting". This is one of my favorites, "Serenity":

Fractals were something that I quickly found to be extremely fascinating. I must have cranked out over 100 different fractal designs inside a year.

Fractal art (especially in the western world) is not drawn or painted by hand. It is usually created indirectly with the assistance of fractal-generating software, iterating through three phases: setting parameters of appropriate fractal software; executing the possibly lengthy calculation; and evaluating the product. In some cases, other graphics programs are used to further modify the images produced. This is called post-processing. My take on fractal art is more direct. I do not use fractal-generating software. I use graphic design software and calculate and modify the images. 

This is an example of high irony as I detest every form of mathematics. Here's one of my fractal pieces named "Entangled":

My process for creating a fractal generally begins with a color scheme and a single shape such as a circle. From there I will play with the design of the fractal anywhere between 10 minutes and 4 hours. I never know how long it will take to create a new fractal or what it will look like when completed.

Photography has always been something that I find soothing. I have photographed people for a living in the past but I prefer nature and architecture. Sometimes I'll manipulate a photo to give it more of a funky artistic feel. Other times I won't touch it at all and marvel in the perfect beauty of creation.

Here's two examples. One obviously manipulated, the other totally natural:

copyright 2010 Feistylis Art

 

I'm always trying something new. I just can't help myself! Last year a neighbor moved out and left me about 40 old house windows. I was giddy with excitement at the decorative possibilities! 

 

We live in Nebraska, Big Red Country...so it only seemed right to treat one of the single pane windows with a little Husker love. Another very weathered and chippy single pane window became the perfect canvas for a funky tree. Twelve large window frames braced and hinged together became a beautiful shabby backdrop for a funky cottage-themed wedding.

My attention of late has been turned primarily toward architectural elements and giving them new life as repurposed and revived pieces. In my workshop right now are projects ranging from smalls such as a cute little pine box to enormous - a set of 7x8 ft barn doors. There's also the somewhat odd, like the 52 compartment wall o' chicken nesting boxes. I probably have a dozen or more projects cooking right now.

My family groans and roll their eyes every time they hear me say "guess what I found!" because that, of course, means it's likely something they are going to have to help me haul home.

 

Recently we've been to a huge estate sale, a parking lot sale, and have picked up several unusual pieces that I'm just itching to get started on.


That's a bit about me. I'd love to learn a little something about you. In the comments leave me a note and share something you've been thinking of creating or have been working on.

Until next time - stay Feisty my friends!

Visit me on facebook:  www.facebook.com/feistylisfunkyjunk to see the latest on my projects and fun features like the Funky Find of the Day, Too Cool Thursdays, and Lo Fi Fridays. <3

~ Feistylis