Meaningful Gifts For Mom

Before you know it, Mother's Day will be here.  Are you prepared to give the mom in your life a special gift that shows how much you care?

I think all moms deserve to be treated special on Mother's Day.  I think mom's through adoption would love a special something that speaks directly to them and their experieince.  Being a parent through adoption suggests a special connection.  I know because I am one.

Adoptive moms have jumped through hoops and filled out a dossier of forms.  We have endured fingerprinting, background checks and home studies to determine our fitness to parent.  Many of us have made huge financial and sometimes personal sacrifices to realize the dream of parenting.  Back in 1999, when I became a first time mom, I wanted something special, a symbol to show how proud I am to be an adoptive parent.  I couldn't find it online or elsewhere.  I decided to create a piece of handcrafted jewelry that expressed what I was feeling and that was and is the "Adoption Is Love" bracelet.  After the creation of that piece, I went on to making other designs to represent adoption from different countries.  My daughter was born in China so finding symbols to celebrate our special connection was easy for me. 

Although my adoption designs have been well received by the adoption community, some are more favored than others.  The Mama Chinese Character Necklace in sterling silver is a favorite for mom's with children from China.  I must admit that although I made this necklace with the China adoption mom in mind, it's a beautiful symbolic piece for all moms.

I love being creative and welcome custom orders.  If you see a design on my website and would like it personalized to represent something meaningful for you, please do not hesitate to inquire.  I will do my best to make a special gift for you or someone on your shopping list.

Your commets are welcomed on my blog.  I would love to hear your thoughts about the blog content, any of my art creations and/or what you would like to see on it.  If you have suggestions for jewelry designs, I would love to read about those also.

As always, thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.  It means a lot to me.

www.OffTheCuffArt.com
www.BarbaraGiordanoArt.Etsy.com
www.SunfluersJewelryDesigns.com
www.Zazzle.com/Sunfluer
http://SunfluerDesigns.Imagekind.com

Collage Art and Lov'in It

Recently I purchased the book "Collage Discovery Workshop" by Claudine Hellmuth and it is nothing short of fabulous. By following some of the guidelines in the book, I created two collage art pieces. Each artwork is created on 4 x 6 inch canvas board.

 

I layered acrylic paints for the background. The fairy with honeybee hive is a cut out from left over wallpaper. I added in a piece of cardstock that looks like old type face and added in the miniature scrabble letters to create a three dimensional effect.

I used the same technique with this collage.  With this piece, I cut out a photocopied image of my original acrylic cat painting and embellished it for added dimension.

Golden gel medium is used throughout the artwork.  It's great for mounting the collage elements as well as sealing the art.




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http://www.sunfluersjewelrydesigns.com/
www.Zazzle.com/Sunfluer
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Promoting Our Artwork

Kindness trumps greed: it asks for sharing. Kindness trumps fear: it calls forth gratefulness and love. Kindness trumps even stupidity, for with sharing and love, one learns.  ~ Marc Estrin ~

Lately, there has been much discussion on the Fine Art America forum about the pros and cons of having a Facebook presence to promote artwork.  Some people are opposed to it, considering it to be a fruitless waste of time and they worry about privacy.  Personally, I disagree with the opinion.  I think artists must promote their artwork in all ways that are available to them.  The internet and social networks in particular provide a vehicle not otherwise possible to talk about art, network with artists, collectors and reach a very wide audience.

I enjoy Facebook although I do know there are many privacy concerns.  I don't let it get me down.  I've made lots of friends and contacts on Facebook.  It's a great place to learn about art related opportunities and meet like minded people.  We get what we put into it.  As for privacy, I believe it's good to exercise prudence on what is shared and the pursued activities online.  There is no privacy on the internet.  Everyone has to know it and if they don't they should be aware.  I tell my kids this all the time.  When it comes to the internet, nothing is scared.  We have to take precautions to safeguard passwords and basicially not do much of anything you think someone will raise an eyebrow or pass judgement.  Of course, that doesn't stop some people from doing unscruplous things.

I've created a space for my art on Fine Art America.  They offer varied printing options for art including reproducing work on canvas.  My work is offered via FAA on high quality prints in formats I'm unable to reproduce from my studio. One of my recent pieces is "Sculpted".  I created the art by first making a pencil drawing on Bristol.  I captured an image of it and digitially enhanced it in Corel Paintshop.  I like the mixed media effect I achieved using the tool.

Every now and then, I'll digitally manipulate a piece of my art.  It's interesting to see the different effects that can be achieved.  All digital work is collected in print form.  Using a resource like FAA makes these print offerings a breeze.  Art collectors will enjoy the reasonable prices.

Do you have a favorite place to sell and/or purchase artwork?  Please do share it here.  If you have an opinion about social networks or a favorite page or artist you want to share, leave your comment on this blog.

www.OffTheCuffArt.com
www.BarbaraGiordanoArt.Etsy.com
www.SunfluersJewelryDesigns.com
www.Zazzle.com/Sunfluer
http://SunfluerDesigns.Imagekind.com