We are sharing with you this week some of the amazing artists that set up shop at the National Harvest Festival at Silver Dollar City. Yesterday, we showed you Dennis’ bronze sculptures. Today we get to look at a unique way of painting.Julie A. Rice takes finger-painting to a whole new level! We walked by her art and were instantly drawn in. We watched her for several minutes before we got her attention to talk to her. Using just one of her fingers and an ink pad, Julie paints life-like masterpieces. From far away, you just see the complete picture, but when you get up close, you can see the fingerprint texture.She holds her pad of ink and the photo of an artist friend on her phone in her left hand and uses her right hand to create this painting. The ink is an embossing pigment ink and the canvas is an acid-free foam poster board.
Julie started off as a pencil artist, but her attention to detail caused tendinitis to keep her from pursuing that art form any further.
About 10 years ago, her church asked her to help with a project that would involve the whole congregation. Using thumbprints, they created a picture of Jesus to hang up in the church. From this project, she was inspired to try it as a way to continue her artistry in a pain free way. She was concerned about being able to get detailed with just the tip of her finger, but as you can see by the pictures on her website she has succeeded!It can take her about a week to finish a painting this large. If the ink is light, it dries quickly, but the darker parts can take a day or two to dry completely. She uses pictures as her inspiration or takes pictures of interesting people she meets and uses those to paint from. Check out some video demonstrations of Julie fingertip painting here.
Thank you so much, Julie, for sharing this unique form of art with us!
Mom and I spent a beautiful day out at Silver Dollar City a week ago. It’s time for the fall festival (until October 26th) where artists from all over come to sell and demonstrate their craft. After talking to the people at the Folk Center a couple weeks ago, we were excited to talk to some more crafters at the 1800’s theme park in our backyard.Since there are over 125 craftsmen at the park right now, we decided to wander through the whole place to get an idea of what all was there. Before we had finished the loop, we came across Dennis E. Conner, sculptor, and all around nice, talkative fellow. He jumped right in to talking to us about what he was doing and was so nice to share even more when we told him we were doing a blog post about some of the crafters there.
Showing us how he made the beaded necklace on the Native American sculpture
One of Dennis’ woodcarvings
Dennis started woodcarving when he drew his brother’s name for Christmas years ago. He decided to carve him a duck decoy as his gift. He continued carving wood, but since he didn’t draw and sees art better in 3D, he started sculpting with clay to have something to model his carvings after. People looked at those clay sculptures and thought he should be doing something more with those than just using them as a model for woodcarving.Wanting a way to make the clay sculpture more permanent, Dennis found a foundry that would cast the clay as bronze statues. Each of his sculptures are made into no more than 30 bronze sculptures. After all of them have been purchased, the owners will receive a piece of the original proof of the sculpture to ensure that there will be no more of that one made. This adds to the value and exclusiveness of their purchase.
~Photo from denniseconnerbronzes.com
In 2001, his studio was burned down by a forest fire in New Mexico. He lost everything that he had been working on, and only had a few pieces left that had been in his home. He started fresh in Kansas City, Mo and rebuilt his art by setting up at a Cabela’s with his clay and the few pieces he had left. He sold a couple and that was enough to get him back in the business. He is still in Kansas City sculpting and teaching workshops. You can see more pictures as well as find more information on workshops at his website.
Dennis’ explanation about how he sculpted this little girl inspired me greatly. He starts with a wire frame and then adds muscle structure to give it shape. After the body shape is carved, he then adds the dress and details. Without the muscle structure underneath, the dress would not have the right definition to make it realistic and proportioned correctly. Sometimes there are processes in art that will never be seen but are so important to the believability and structure of the art.
Thanks, Dennis for the wonderful conversation and for sharing your art with us!
Melinda and I had the privilege of attending the Designed For Life conference last weekend in Ozark, MO. This was my 7th and Melinda’s 6th year to attend and we love it more every year. We came home uplifted, refreshed, and inspired spiritually, mentally, and emotionally (although our bodies were a little tired).
This year’s theme was She is the Revolution.
Take your everyday, ordinary life—
your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—
and place it before God as an offering.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture
that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God.
You’ll be changed from the inside out.
~Romans 12
The message of Designed for Life is simple. Every girl on this planet is magnificently and beautifully designed for a purpose by her Creator. Psalm 139 says, You (God) are the one who put me together inside my mother’s body. And, I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous!”
Women need to lay aside what they have been told, to forget what media marketing is telling them and realize that the most high God of the universe, their Heavenly Father designed and crafted every detail of their person…and every tiny detail is magnificent and beautiful! And I believe that when a girl (no matter what her age) embraces and accepts who she was created to be and can praise God for how she was designed (physically and intellectually), then she will be free to serve God fully and joyfully…released from the bondage of insecurity.
-Debbie Lindell
Make plans now to join us next year at Celebrate Designed For Life Women’s 2014 Conference on Oct 9-11. You can get details and registration information here.
By the time we got the last few shops at the Ozark Folk Center, we were so overloaded with information but we still wanted to know as much as we could. Our last stops were at the Broom shop, the Doll shop, and the Basket Shop.
Brooms
The broom shop is run by Shawn, who has been broom making for seven years, and Elena, who has been doing it for five years. Before broom making, Shawn said he did just about everything.
There are 20 varieties of brooms in the shop, and they are made from what is called broom corn. Apparently in the 1700’s any grain was automatically called corn
They attach the broom corn to the wood handle by wrapping wire around and adding more broom corn. To secure it in the shape they want, they sew with a nylon crochet thread in a figure eight and then a lightning bolt pattern. Back in the 1800’s, they would have used a waxed cotton to sew with. The brooms that have colored broom corn are dyed. It takes one day to dye and two days to dry.
A good broom stands alone!
There was an authentic cookbook from the 1800’s on display that instructed the baker to test the doneness of the cake using a broom strand. Who knows what you swept up the last time you used your broom, so they sell a special bunch of broom corn just for cake testing–guaranteed clean!
Thanks, Shawn, for taking the time to talk to us.
Dolls
Paula Lane greeted us enthusiastically when we came into the doll shop. Though we were tired, she lifted our spirits greatly. Right away she shared with us what she was working on, corn husk flowers. The shop is full of corn husk dolls. These delicate dolls are beautiful. Paula explained to us that it is a Native American craft. Her Great Aunt Mary, who was born 105 years ago, made these kinds of dolls and were the only kind of doll she ever had.
Antique Corn Husk Dolls
The corn husks, nowadays, are dyed with a fabric dye. She has tried using natural dyes but found that they brown more easily.
A lady named Erlene was the one who started making these corn husk dolls at the Folk center twenty years ago. She wasn’t finding any instructions on how to do it, so she decided to try it and make her own patterns.
Like many of the Folk Center artists, Paula was a school teacher before coming to work at the center. She has now been there for four years and has a great time doing it.
She showed us a fun trick playing with a button on a string! Thanks, Paula.
Baskets
Our last stop of the day was at the basket maker’s shop. Sharon Fernimen was working on a lovely egg basket and showed us how she was doing it. The shape keeps the the contents of the basket from rolling around because it forms two wells at the bottom.
The baskets are made out of a kind of reed, which darkens over time to the color we often see in baskets. Some of the reeds are dyed by using fabric dye because it holds the color better.
Sharon worked in a factory years ago before working at a craft and dulcimer chop. Since then she has always been in the tourist industry working in gift shops. She got started weaving baskets 11 years ago and started as a substitute in the Basket Shop before taking over.
Thank you, Sharon, for talking to us (and thinking I, Melinda, was young enough to be in school still).
The bottom of the basket is made with a hump to allow air to flow around the fruits and vegetables.
We had a great time talking to all the wonderful people at the Folk Center. We look forward to going back!
We had so much fun at the Folk Center talking to such interesting people about their crafts and how they did them in the pioneer days and now. Along with the shops we talked about the last couple days, we also visited the Leather Shop, Cooper, and Quilter.
Leather
We spoke to Doris Panicci about her experience working with leather. She has been doing it for 55 years and three of those years have been at the Folk Center. When she was 16, she did rodeo acts and trick riding. She learned leather work from the people there. When she was back in school, people would talk to her about wanting leather belts and such, but back then, it was difficult to get ahold of the people she had worked with. So, she decided to start doing it herself for the people that asked.
She does a lot of original work and does her own drawings. Sometimes she will mix original drawings with old patterns to make unique pieces. She will use drawings or pictures that she hasn’t drawn as long as they are not copywritten.
After she has the pattern that she will use, she places it over the leather and does a rough draft with one of her tools. She will then go back over it with other tools to make the distinct shapes and patterns that she wants to achieve. Any tool has multiple uses to get the look that she wants.
She makes anything that is leather except saddles (but she will fix them if needed). Doris can dye the leather or paint on it. She will use stains, dyes, or acrylics to get the color on the leather.
She also showed us how she uses two needles to hand-stitch the leather together for wallets, money clips, etc.
Thank you, Doris, for talking to us about your craft!
Cooper
We met Steve Folkers at the Cooper Shop. He was a hoot to talk to. So many stories. He started with cutting trees in 1975, moved onto spoons and bowls in 1985, and finally coopering buckets in 2000. Spoons are his favorite to make.
He shared with us that prior to the 1900’s people would spend their evenings whittling their own spoons. After that, buying your spoons from someone else who made them became more common.
He uses red cedar staves with white oak hoops to make barrels and butter churns.
Thanks, Steve, for the the info you gave us!
Quilter
As we walked into the Quilter’s Shop, we spotted Nancy Snyder working on a beautiful quilt top.
She was an 8th grade teacher (english lit major in college. We hit it off right away), and she retired right before coming to work at the Folk Center three years ago. Her mother didn’t teach her how to quilt, but in her 20’s, she paid someone $40 to teach her how.
As we wandered the shop, Nancy shared with us that long ago a girl couldn’t get married until she had completed her 12th quilt top. The 12th one was her bridal quilt for her wedding night. All of her girl friends and women family members would get together to help her with it. She would receive wisdom and encouragement from the ladies in her life in all those hours working together.
Yesterday we posted about the Clothier and Spinning/weaving at the Ozark Folk Center. The places we share about today are the Apothecary Shop and the Printing Shop.
Apothecary
Walking into the Apothecary Shop, we were hit instantly with the lovely herbal smells. Linda Odom greeted us warmly. The “Home of Aunt Linda’s Lye Soap” was full of natural soaps and lotions. Linda shared with us that she has been at the Folk Center for three years, but she hasn’t always been in the soap shop. She started off in Spinning and Weaving. Before that she was a general science teacher, and you can tell she was a good one because she jumped right into teaching us about her soaps and the process.
She explained to us that there are two ways to make soap–cold process and traditional process. The cold process is a more modern method and doesn’t take as long to make. The traditional process is done in a cast iron pot over a low wood fire. She has to stay close and stir often for about six hours. The soap is set and let dry after that. If you let it dry for two weeks it will last even longer than if you let it dry for just a couple days (even though the soap already lasts longer than store-bought soap bars).
She follows no recipes except what’s in her own head when choosing the scent for the soap. Her favorite scent is the calming lavender. Unfortunately at the shop, it’s hard to distinguish each smell when you are surrounded by so many. We couldn’t smell the lotion we tested till we walked out!
Linda got started making her own soap about 10 years ago. She wanted to know what she was putting on her skin, so she took a class at the Folk Center to learn how to make her own soap. She started off just using it personally (even as shampoo) but then started to sell it at craft shows before coming to the center.
Thank you, Linda for sharing with us!
Printing
Linda’s husband, Troy Odom, runs the Print Shop at the Folk Center. He jumped right into telling us about the printing press and the whole process. Troy, like his wife, was a teacher before taking over the Print Shop two years ago. He taught high school printing for 30 years.
The model of press he uses at the center was from 1888. He showed us how they put the letters together in the frame and tightening it with a “quoin,” which is where we get the idiom to “coin a phrase.” These frames if used for printing a newspaper could weigh 100 lbs. They would have to lay the frame out on a completely flat surface, usually marble or metal, so that each letter and picture was even all the way across.
Prior to the 40’s they would etch pictures into copper, moving into using plastics after that.
When printing on the press, the ink is rolled or brushed onto the disk and will spread evenly as it rotates. The modern ink that is used now does not dry on the disk but will dry by absorption on the paper. In the past, they would have to clean the disk off every day to prevent the ink from drying on it.
Troy showed us that he was working on printing some notecards that had a bird in one color and a quote in another color. The colors must be added separately and takes two days to dry between printing. (Reminds me to be less frustrated with my printer taking too long! At least I don’t have to wait days between colors.) To get the pictures lined up correctly, he has to do a lot of measuring and calculating before printing and has to do some test printing to get it exact.
The process is fun to watch! Thanks, Troy for showing us what you do.
We had so much fun at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas last week. The last couple days, we have highlighted our friends, Racheal and Skip, and their copper flame painting. Now we want to share some of our experience with the other artists at the center.
Clothier
Our first stop was the Clothier. We met the sweetest lady, Melody Conatser. She is a craft interpreter for the Clothier as well as the Spinning and Weaving in another building. She has been at the Folk Center for seven years having apprenticed for six months with the master weaver.
She sweetly shared with us that she had been sewing since she was a little girl. She showed us a bag full of hand-sewn yoyos that she had been making since she was a child. She asked us if we had any ideas for what to do with them, and I thought it would be cute to make them into Christmas tree garland (might have to work on that for myself when I teach My Princess to sew). Melody’s favorite thing to make is little girls dresses.
Melody showed us the 1907 sewing machine they use to make the clothing at the shop. They had a few other sewing machines from different decades, one was a 1860 sewing machine that sews from side to side rather than front to back like we are used to with modern machines. Her assumption was that it was because they were so used to hand-stitching from side to side that it was a more natural thing for them at that time. And that possibly it was much easier to sew their yards and yards of dresses fitting with the fashion of that era.
The shop is full of fun old tools for sewing and fashion.
Mini sewing machine
You can also learn the skill of tatting to make a very delicate lace at the Clothier Shop.
Spinning & Weaving
After looking around at other buildings, we stopped by the Spinning and Weaving building and were happy to find Melody had left the Clothier in her volunteer, Judy’s, capable hands and opened up the shop.
We had such a good time talking to her before that we knew she would be a great help to us again.
She showed us the techniques they use to dye the fibers such as wool and cotton. They mix chamomile, sandalwood, or zinnias with water for a couple weeks in large jars.
I had never seen wool being spun on a spindle before, so she gave a little demonstration for me. They spin the thread onto corn shucks to easily slide off.
She also showed us the different weaving looms they used and what she had just recently made on one of them.
Melody just finished weaving this.
There are 284 threads in this particular loom and takes her four days to thread. That’s dedication!
Today we pick back up with Racheal Mathews of Copper Colorists to finish out her fascinating interview. If you missed it, you can read Part 1.
Have you always made a living doing creative things?
Most of my life, yes. My mom encouraged creative thinking. She was a scientist, and creative thinking is absolutely necessary for science. Well, it is also necessary for art. From the 5th grade on, I knew I would be an artist. I spent 4 1/2 years in college doing fine arts. As a young mom, though I was thankful for my kids, I was miserable as an artist at that time. I would wake up every morning with two kids in diapers and a great desire to draw and paint, but I was not able to do so at all–and couldn’t for many years. During those years, I learned embroidery because I could put it down in an instant and pick it up in an instant. It was very helpful, but I still ached.
Crying out to God, I asked Him for relief and understanding. I had a dream one morning and thought it was from God. I saw myself receiving money for art work that day! Well, I thought it would be interesting to see how God would fulfill such a dream, especially since I had no car, no babysitter, and no job as an artist. By the end of the day, I had a sitter out of the blue, a car, and a job doing charcoal drawings of a brick layer’s beautiful and unique buildings. At the end of the interview, he pulled out his wallet and pulled out a $100 bill as a down payment for the work to be done. I took the message to heart. I had asked God if He would be my manager, my art manager. He was saying, “yes.” I could trust Him to manage and direct me and use me. How kind and encouraging to a young artistic mom!
What kind of creative things did you do as a child?
I always got awards for my science fair projects, but today, I realized I was just very good at creating a wonderful visual display of what I had discovered in my scientific adventure. I also did pastel illustrations of my history projects and other such assignments from 5th grade on. At that grade level on my own, I began to study visually how to draw 3D objects such as houses, trees, animals, and so on. This was a gift I needed since I was dyslexic and had a great difficulty reading. It gave me a sense of self worth and was very satisfying and exciting.
I also took piano for 12 years, and after the first six years, I began to own it as an avenue of self expression just like the visual arts. I also learned to play the 12 string guitar and the violin.
What other creative things do you like to do now as an adult?
I have recently taken up playing the mountain dulcimer. I’m having great fun joining in with others playing tunes together and singing here in Mountain View. This place is called the Folk Music Capital of the World. . .at least that’s what the signs say! There is a wonderful and rich culture of music and arts here. It is encouraged to join in any way that one has the unction to. You don’t have to be the best at anything. You don’t have to compete. Everyone is just encouraged to express their creativity and share it. This has been a wonderful place to grow and participate in the arts and music.
I also teach drawing again. I have classes at the Ozark Folk Center that run several times a year. I’m learning to waltz with my husband and jig dance as well. . .being inspired by so many others around me.
What kinds of things inspire you to be creative?
Nature was the first thing that inspired me to be creative–the beauty of it, the order, the emotion just spoke very loudly to me from early on as a child. As I watch relationships and God work in them, I am inspired to be creative, to express the beauty of how people grow together, learn to forgive, learn how to build life and grow in unity. It is a thing of beauty, and so I am inspired to create something beautiful in response. For me it’s that simple. For others it may be quite different.
What encouragement can you give to someone just discovering their creativity?
I believe, as the Bible says, that we were all created in the image of God. He is a creator, so we are all creative in some area. Not all will be creative in the same way. Creativity involves problem solving, exploring, observing, taking risks, working outside the box, getting instruction, being relaxed (though being energized is necessary too), and the process is usually quite enjoyable. Creative endeavors include science, math, visual arts, music, making clothes, cooking, teaching, and just anything that involves creative thinking in solving a problem. It is usually motivated by a passion and one can find that he or she is rather gifted at it (comes almost naturally). It always requires building skills in the endeavor through repetition and practice. So find what areas God created you to be creative in; explore, observe, get instruction, build skills, ask questions, make choices and decisions that are outside the box. Have fun discovering!
And don’t forget about our Christmas Giveaway!
{GIVEAWAY}
Ends TONIGHT Midnight September 25, 2013
We want to give one of you lucky readers a [FREE] Christmas Advent Calendar Pattern! All you have to do is comment on the original post with a valid email address and tell us your favorite family Christmas tradition. Your name will be entered into the drawing for a chance to win.
Winner will be emailed and must respond within 48 hours or the prize will be passed on to the next person.
We are pleased to share with you artist and owner, Racheal Mathews with her husband, Skip, the Father of Flame, of Copper Colorists. They have been good friends for several years and graciously opened up their home to us last week when we visited The Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR.
Skip and Racheal’s Studio
If you have never seen flame painted copper, you are in for a treat. It’s a beautiful form of art, full of color and science! We learned so much from them, and we are happy to let you take a peek into their lives and craft.
Tell us how you got started with copper flame painting.
I watched Skip for years, but I was already a fine artist. Truth is, it was hard to make a good significant income with fine arts, and I realized God was not encouraging me in it any more, nor opening doors as He has in the past. I finally trusted Him enough to let go of my vision and goal to be a fine artist. When I turned around to see what was next, I looked at my husband’s art form and business in a new light as something perhaps I could come along side and help him with. He said, “Of course, I’ve been waiting for you to ask!”
He was waiting for it to be my idea because it is hard to do and you would need to have some kind of drive to do it yourself. Mine was that I still wanted to work with my hands. This was one of the best choices I ever made. God had bigger and better ideas than I could ever have imagined. I just needed to trust Him enough to let go of fine arts and trust Him that He still wanted good things for me. Huge step for me!
Explain what happens to the copper with the flame.
The flame causes the copper to heat first, which forms an oxidation on the surface of the copper. This oxidation gives off different colors depending on how hot the metal is. The length of time you heat the copper determines which colors you get.
She showed us how it always starts with orange, then changes to red violet, then blue, then yellow, then pink, then green, and finally gray. She showed us how they always go to gray and let it cool a little before starting to work on the patterns. You get more brilliant colors.
The blue haze that forms at the end of the fire in the cone is our drawing tool; it is a reduction flame–meaning it takes oxygen molecules away instead of adding oxygen molecules (as in the oxidation). So we use this blue haze to take the color (the oxidation) off in little shapes that we create. Then we can reheat the copper and those little shapes and patterns begin to turn colors again. We stop heating at the color we want. We always start with the hot colors first then go to the progressively cooler colors after that. This way we get many colors next to each other. We can find 14 distinct colors with the heat on the copper. When the flame painting is done and the copper has cooled, we apply two clear coats to make the colors permanent and shiny. It’s a very exciting art form to work with and to watch us do. We love demonstrating it in front of people at the folk center.
What kinds of things can you make/flame paint?
Anything in our heads that will not break the rules of flame painting copper. Some of the rules are that the cutting, shaping, and soldering of the piece must be completed before you can color the piece.
Skip is soldering framework to the back of the copper fish before flame painting.
Also, there is an order to the colors, and you can’t change the order. They are called reduction colors and have their own color wheel. Coloring on convex is easier than on concave because the shape of the flame, which is your drawing tool, changes as the shape of the piece changes. And on and on. I used to draw things for Skip to flame paint before I learned how to do it myself, and he would say, “You can’t do that in flame painting. It won’t work.” Of course, that’s how we got our wonderful pumpkin pin–Skip was challenged to try anyway, and we came up with a winner.
Do you have a favorite thing to create?
Yes, I love to flame paint plates the most. They end up looking like kaleidoscopes of color! Skip says there’s probably no one else in the world that can do these. He is probably right, and I love doing them!
Racheal had just flame painted this plate that morning.
Also, I love hammering out my own shapes from a flat piece of copper. I make a bowl that is quite unique, beautiful, and challenging to flame paint. They turn out rather special.
I have great joy in creating all the wall crosses, three different sizes.
I create a dove for the wall, which is a representation of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus after He was baptized. I had this in my heart and mind for many years and was finally able to achieve it. Turns out very nice, and I have sold many of them.
You do this with your husband, but who is better at it?
We each have areas of expertise. He does things I can’t do, and I do things he can’t do. He has a flare for the abstract, and I have a knack for symmetry. He loves 3D, and I am more excited to create in 2D. We are a great compliment to each other. Also, Skip has been a wonderful role model. From the beginning, he chose to prefer me and compliment me. I followed his example and did the same, preferring and complimenting him. You guys. . .this works beautifully, and God has blessed it. No problems with jealousy and such. Thankful!!
Check out their video below explaining more of what they do, and come back tomorrow for Part 2 of Racheal’s interview.
And don’t forget about our Christmas Giveaway!
{GIVEAWAY}
Ends Midnight Wednesday September 25, 2013 **CLOSED**
We want to give one of you lucky readers a [FREE] Christmas Advent Calendar Pattern! All you have to do is comment on the original post with a valid email address and tell us your favorite family Christmas tradition. Your name will be entered into the drawing for a chance to win.
Winner will be emailed and must respond within 48 hours or the prize will be passed on to the next person.
Last week, mom and I went to Mountain View, Arkansas for an inspiration trip.
We stayed with some friends, Skip and Racheal Mathews, who have a shop at the Ozark Folk Center. It is an Arkansas State Park that highlights the traditional music and crafts of the pioneer era. Their shop is one of twenty-four that demonstrate and sell crafts to the people that come and visit.
We had so much fun talking to them about what they do. Before going to visit the other crafters, Racheal told us that this is the place where you have to learn how to “mosey and dawdle.” You can’t be in a rush or you will miss out on some wonderful experiences. We were so fascinated by the stories and demonstrations that we were not able to visit every shop in the Craft Village. We have plans to go back again in the future and visit the places we missed.
Racheal explained to us that each shop owner is hired by the State Park to be a Craft Interpreter. They bridge the gap between the past and the present. The people were so amazing and willing to share information about themselves and what they do. We are so thankful for each person that spoke with us, and we want to take several upcoming posts to highlight them.
The Folk Center is not the only reason to go visit the town. We found out when we got there that it is the Folk Music Capital of the World. There were very few people that we talked to that didn’t play some kind of folk instrument. In fact, we even attended a slow jam and listened to people play banjos, guitars, dulcimers, fiddles, etc. It is common to see people walking down the street carrying an instrument in one hand and a chair in the other gathering with other musicians for jam sessions.
We strongly encourage anyone that could make the trip to go down to Mountain View, Arkansas. It’s a great little town with lots of history and education, fun and relaxation. We plan to take the kids one of these days for a homeschool field trip. They would learn so much and see so many new things they’ve never seen before.
And don’t forget about our Christmas Giveaway!
{GIVEAWAY}
Ends Midnight Wednesday September 25, 2013 **CLOSED**
We want to give one of you lucky readers a [FREE] Christmas Advent Calendar Pattern! All you have to do is comment on the original post with a valid email address and tell us your favorite family Christmas tradition. Your name will be entered into the drawing for a chance to win.
Winner will be emailed and must respond within 48 hours or the prize will be passed on to the next person.
Julie A. Rice takes finger-painting to a whole new level! We walked by her art and were instantly drawn in. We watched her for several minutes before we got her attention to talk to her. Using just one of her fingers and an ink pad, Julie paints life-like masterpieces. From far away, you just see the complete picture, but when you get up close, you can see the fingerprint texture.
She holds her pad of ink and the photo of an artist friend on her phone in her left hand and uses her right hand to create this painting. The ink is an embossing pigment ink and the canvas is an acid-free foam poster board.
It can take her about a week to finish a painting this large. If the ink is light, it dries quickly, but the darker parts can take a day or two to dry completely. She uses pictures as her inspiration or takes pictures of interesting people she meets and uses those to paint from.
Check out some video demonstrations of Julie fingertip painting here.
