Monday, 17 August 2015

Show your Face on Friday - Sorry I'm Late!

Hello and welcome to Magpieheaven! I'm sorry, but rather like the White Rabbit in Alice, I'm late! Kim Dellow's 'Show Your Face' on Friday blog goes live at 10.00 am on Fridays and here am I typing this up on a Sunday afternoon - and I don't think I'm going to be able to publish until Monday! Life has been hectic, but I didn't want to miss joining in with what is my favourite challenge at the moment, to create a face or faces; link up and share the fun! If you would like to find out more about this opportunity to try your hand at drawing your own faces in any media you like, please visit Kim here to find out all the details! For the month of August we're visiting one another's blogs to gain inspiration. I've not had a chance to do that this time, but I will be having a good look at my fellow contributors' blogs for inspiration next week. For now I had to create a face for a project. I've been taking an Artful Gathering class with the very talented and inspiring, Mary Jane Chadbourne called 'Tinytopia and the Magic of Little Things'. It was due to a wonderful class I took with Mary Jane last Summer called 'The Imaginarium' that I first decided to try to incorporate my own faces into my projects.


Yesterday in a few free moments, I created this gypsy lady on the page of a book about Mexico, sketching her first with graphite pencil and black pen; colouring with Inktense and then blending with some Pan Pastels. I then sprayed her with fixative before scanning her into the computer, re-sizing her in Word and, when she was shrunk to the size of a tiny pierrot, inviting her to stay in the land of Tinytopia.


Can you spot her  house and the houses of some of the other faces I've created in the little town of Fortune? What secrets live behind the doors? The faces won't reveal anything. We have to step inside to find out our...


I've also been having lots of fun creating little houses on canvas, using some of the faces I've been creating.



Dreams, I feel, are like little houses with open doors just waiting for us to explore: we step inside, walk around the rooms and - if we are open to the secrets dreams hold - discover all sorts of potential we never knew we had! 


Thank you so much for stopping by today and taking a look. I will try to get round to viewing as many blogs as I can in the coming week. Meanwhile, I wish my friends and followers a happy and creative week.

28 comments:

  1. Oh I did stop by and enjoyed the journey. I absolutely love your little town. What a fab class this was. I love the faces peering out of the houses. So many metaphors within the images. I love the way you've adapted the idea to canvas too. Wonderful

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  2. I love the notion that you have to step inside their little worlds because their faces reveal nothing....really like that! Love the cohesion as well with the playing card theme linking them together! You have obviously put some thought into these Julie Ann and they are wonderful! Xx

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  3. Forgot to mention that the lady on the book page has a beautiful heart shaped face! She looks very contented! She sits well! Xx

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  4. Oh my Julie Ann, your little houses are beyond amazing......I want to live in one!!!! So many details on each one, every time I look, I see something else.....just fabulous!!!
    Lin x

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  5. Your tiny houses are each so wonderful and together make the most magical "fortune" village!
    Your beautiful faces add so much interest and beauty to your creations as well.
    Thank you for another lovely and inspiring visit with you.
    Such a lovely way to start my day
    oxo

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  6. Lovely Julie, love your faces and how,you have incorporated the,mints your houses. Love the hands too. I love how they are incorporated into your canvases too. Tracy x x

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  7. Your little village of Fortune is an absolute delight Julie Ann, I love your faces too! Anne xx

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  8. A beautiful face to start with - and then so fabulous to get another glimpse into Tinytopia - a veritable treasure trove of faces and whimsical detailing - amazing to see what you've been up to.
    Alison xx

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  9. Goodness! You have been busy! I missed your face on Friday so it's nice to see the finished article here today.. As always, I'm excited to see where your lady is going to turn up next. I am SO taken with your beautiful houses and the canvases you made. You have really captured the sense of dreams and exploration in the canvases. I think they're lovely. So much to look at. I noticed something different each time I looked.

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  10. i'm so in love with everything here that I scarcely know where to begin to comment! the houses are absolutely magical. your faces are always so poignant. the canvas holds it all together so beautifully. luminous art Julie, all of it is a gift. xo

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  11. Love your little town and the lovely faces, hugs, Valerie

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  12. Love everything you have created in the workshop, Julie! They are all so endearing...and love that you have included your own beautiful face renderings into your houses...makes them even more special!!

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  13. Such a lovely face! I love seeing your Tinytopia houses, the thought of finding out what the future holds is scary though! Chrisx

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  14. So great to see more of your houses - and your lovely face!

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  15. I just love this concept of tinytopia!! Beautiful!

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  16. This is absolutely breath-taking, Julie Ann. I love the flow you have achieved in your fortune village, it is perfection. I love your faces as always. Mary Jane really seems to have brought something out in you with both the classes you have taken, and turned you from a crafter to an artist,

    Lucy x

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  17. Love you little towns. Were the pieces of wood part of the class? There are a few places I know that sell wood houses, but the are kinda expensive to purchase quite a few. You have done some really creative art pieces here.

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    1. Suzie, the little houses were sold as a kit by our class teacher, Mary Jane Chadbourne from her Etsy shop. I learned how to use power tools a little bit last summer and I do sometimes cut my own pieces from wood or MDF and now that nearly all the pieces from the kit are used up, I plan to create some more.

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  18. As always your faces and creations are beyond amazing Julie Ann! Your little houses are enchanting and together with the faces invite our imaginations to really take flight. Love the Tinytopia project and the canvas is so sweet.

    Hugs
    Lesley Xx

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  19. I love your faces on text and those houses!!!! Fantastic!

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  20. Sweet face and sweet dream houses. xox

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  21. WOW Wow and WOW!!
    Julie Ann- your tiny face topia is just exquisite!!! I adore the faces - Love love love this(I have seen others) and by far yours is above the rest-just saying!!
    You are so gifted and talented my sweet friend!! Thank you so much for sharing!! xoxo

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  22. Your talent and interpretation is wonderful....great faces, and your little town and houses just darling.

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  23. This is just so cute, and a wonderful creative way to re-use your own art! I would love to visit that town :-)

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  24. Golly...such beautiful, inspiring art Julie Ann! I adore those tiny houses! xxx

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  25. Your little town and the faces are awesome! ♥♥♥

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  26. Oh wow, stunning Julie Ann. Love your face and you know I love your houses :) Gorgeous. You are amazing! Thanks for linking up to Show Your Face and for the lovely shout out too, so glad #ShowYourFace is your fave :) Kx

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  27. Love the houses and faces!!!!

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