dOCUMENTA (13)

Here´s where I´ve been last week: In Kassel at the dOCUMENTA (13). This international art exhibition takes place every five years, but this has only been my third Documenta. I´ll show you some of my favourites in this post though my photos don´t do justice to these pieces of art - so if you´re able to go to Kassel during the 100 days of the Documenta, you shouldn´t hesitate ...

You won´t miss this tree holding a stone by Giuseppe Penone ...

 but you´ll have to come close to see that it´s made of bronze.

You´ll notice this shop window showing a fashion collection by Seth Price and Tim Hamilton based on an envelope´s shape ...

 and yes, you´ll be able to buy these clothes at the store!

You´ll see some phantastic journal pages by Charlotte Salomon ...

 and Anna Boghiguian:

There are fantastic giant pieces by Julie Mehretu, based on architectural plans ...

and moving motors combined with murmured prayers by Thomas Bayrle:

At the old main station, you can see an installation by István Csákány,

and a wonderful video installation by William Kentridge called "The Refusal of Time": 

One of the most impressive installations for me has been Nalini Malani´s "In Search of Vanished Blood" (you really have to see and hear and feel this installation yourself!!!):

And I also liked Yan Lei´s room filled with paintings taken from the internet:

On your way from building to building don´t miss this piece from Stephan Balkenhol that isn´t a part of the dOCUMENTA ...

and if you´re like me, you also like the things you can find aside:

 There´s a booth in the Karlsaue where you can buy fresh vegetables and fruit to eat ...

and the vendor in this ice wagon is fed up with questions from Documenta visitors who don´t want to buy his ice cream.

Sometimes watching the other exhibition visitors is more entertaining than taking a look at the art itself ;-)

Still Life

Today you´ll find me featured in Seth Apter´s The Pulse, in the Still Life chapter. I just love letters in any form, so my still life is made of them.

My Body is a Cage Blog Swap: Done!

You all know that I waited for the last envelope to come, but it didn´t arrive yet, so I´m afraid it got lost in the mail. So I swapped out all other cards yesterday, and they will all go in the mail first thing in the morning on Monday. We´ve been 20 participants from Germany, the UK, Canada, the USA, Australia, and the Philippines in the end. Thanks to all of you, I´ll send out one last email blog newsletter to all of you.

Imagination

This week´s SPA theme has really been a challenge for me because "Sepia" is a very unusual colour for me ;-) Hope you´ll like my digital card nevertheless!
(Credits: Hidden Vintage Studios, Beth Rimmer, Krysty Scrap, Finecrafted Designs, Lauren Bavin, Rosey Posey, and Tangie Baxter)

Artful Words ATCs

These ATCs have been made for the current Red Lead ATC swap themed "Artful Words". Not very typical for me, I´ve used stickles on the first one and Glossy Accents on the other two to highlight several elements.

What Made You Smile Today?

Here´s my day´s highlight.

A Friendly Welcome

Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com has three new kits out now, and I´ve used two of them here - the background is from her fabulous background papers kit "On the Grid", and the tickets are from the new "That´s the Ticket" kit - if you check those out, don´t forget to have a look at the new "Ornamental" kit, too!
(all additional images used here are also by Tumble Fish Studio)

Nature

This week´s SPA challenge is themed Nature, so here´s my digital card illustrating a quote from Emerson. (Credits: Carole Harden, Sheri Johnson, Art by January, Tina Chambers, Cottage Arts)

My Body is a Cage Blog Swap Update No. 9

You all know that the due date for this swap was June 15, but there are some things to do before it can be finished, so here´s one more update for you.
First I have two more links to finished cards for you - please have a look at Ute´s and Ulrike´s gorgeous ATCs and leave a comment if you like them (on Ulrike´s site, you have to go to the left side and then have a look at the first ATCs there).
Then the good news is that two of the three missing packages have arrived now. BUT I´m still waiting for the last one which has been mailed from Illinois on May 15. This may be very slow or it may be lost - I´ve decided that I´ll wait for it until June 30 because it has been put in the mail in time, but then I´ll swap all cards  because I don´t want to let you all wait any longer. (If the missing cards will arrive later, I´ll send that artist a mix of my own ATCs as well as extra cards the others sent me; I think this is fair.)
You can all put the waiting time to good use to visit all previous updates and the given links and comment on all other participants´ cards - these comments will be a big help for me when it comes to swapping out the cards.
I hope you´ll all be satisfied with that solution and will stay patient for another while - thanks!
It has been brought to my attention that not all participants´ blogs show comments that were made by non-Bloggers as anonymous comments. If this is the case with your blog (you´ll notice that you receive the comment notification by email, but it doesn´t appear in your blog), then please go to your blog´s layout and click on comments and then spam - you´ll find all anonymous comments there. Please click on "no spam", then these comments will appear and can be seen by your blog visitors. Thanks!

Are You Patriotic?

Patriotic Mail Art

(cut and paste postcard using Hidden Vintage Studios kit "The Patriots")

For the first time in my life I´ve created a lot of patriotic artwork - and I must say this has been much easier with kits that are celebrating a different nation ... I don´t think I´d had any fun playing with a black, red, and golden kit as German nationalism still seems to be not political correct - at least in my eyes. In fact I don´t like nationalism for any country. Nevertheless, I´ve had fun with this challenge of creating artwork with not only one but three patriotic kits which are new at Deviant Scrap today: The Patriots by Hidden Vintage Studios, Red White and Blue by Finecrafted Designs, and Day of Independence by Rucola Designs.
As always, the Hidden Vintage Studios kit comes with png as well as jpg files, so you´re able to make some cut and paste art with the collage sheets like the mail art postcard on top - I`ve used a lot of cancelled postage stamps from my collection here as well as a few rubber stamps.
Many thanks to Evelyn and Ildi for giving us their kits to play with them!

 Celebrate

(using Hidden Vintage Studios kit "The Patriots" and Finecrafted Designs kit "Red White and Blue")

The Parade

 (using Hidden Vintage Studios kit "The Patriots" and Finecrafted Designs kit "Red White and Blue" plus images by Tumble Fish Studio)

Liberty and Freedom

(using Rucola Designs kit "Day of Independence")

All the World´s a Stage

This week´s SPA challenge theme is Shakespeare, one of my favourite authors. The quote given here is from  As You Like It. It´s not my favourite play, but I like it. I think my favourite Shakespeare plays are Macbeth, The Tempest, Hamlet, and Richard III. - and yours?

My Body is a Cage Blog Swap Update No. 8

I have good news and bad news about our swap today. Definitely bad news is that two more players had to bow out because of personal issues, but hey, there´ll be two other new participants for them.

Now let´s talk about the due date ... You all know that your cards have to be in my hands before Friday, so there are only three days left.
I also told you that I´ll wait for your envelope if it was sent in time. Well, that means of course that I need to know the date you´ve sent your cards. I´ve sent personal emails to everyone whose cards aren´t here yet and asked to contact me, but I´m still waiting for some feedback - Sarah, please email me soon!
I´m still waiting for seven entries, so I´m afraid I won´t be able to swap out the cards next weekend. I´m sorry for all of you who will have to wait, but as I know that some envelopes I´m waiting for are in the mail for 2-4 weeks already, I hope they´ll arrive soon.

Now here are some more links to finished cards for you - please go and have a look at the fabulous entries from Christa, Ingeborg and Patsy (the picture was taken when the cards weren´t finished, but you get the idea).
There´ll be at least one more update before the swap closes, so please keep your eyes open for it.

Summer Junque

Summer Joy

(all images by Tumble Fish Studio and Hidden Vintage Studios)

Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio at DeviantScrap.com has two fabulous new kits out that are great for creating all sorts of summery themes. Both kits come with png as well as jpg images, so you don´t have to go digital to use them.

Madame Butterfly

(all images by Tumble Fish Studio)

Beach Scene

(all images by Tumble Fish Studio, texture by Shadowhouse Creations)

July 4th

(all images by Tumble Fish Studio and Holliewood Studios)

Under the Sea

Here´s my underwater world for this week´s SPA challenge themed Under the Sea. All images by Crowabout Studio.

Darkside

Another digital piece made just for fun (images by Holliewood Studios and Tumble Fish Studio).

Just Sing

I´ve had a day off work today and enjoyed playing with Photoshop just for fun. 

(images used are by Art by January and Altered Emporium)

My Body is a Cage Blog Swap Update No. 7

Only ten days left before all ATCs for this swap have to be in my mailbox - I´ll send out personal emails to all participants whose cards I haven´t received yet on Thursday. If you´ve signed up and haven´t sent your cards yet, do it NOW please. We´re 22 people in this swap and I don´t want to let anyone wait for her returns.
Some of you don´t have an online site to post the finished cards - so I´m sorry that I´m not able to give you links to the entries from Elizabeth, Sandra, and Claudia. But believe me, their cards are lovely!
And here´s the link to Tracey´s swap ATCs - aren´t they great?
There´ll be one more update before the swap will close, and I hope to have all "missing links" for you then!

Little Mariners

Down by the Sea

(all other elements from Eena´s Creations)

The digital collages in this post have all been made with the lovely new "Little Mariners" kit from Hidden Vintage Studios at DeviantScrap.com - my new favourite among their kits! 

 Mermaid Soap

(all other elements by Tumble Fish Studio)

 Safe

(background by Tumble Fish Studio, ship by Holliewood Studio)

 Stormy Sea

(additional elements by Eena´s Creation, Palvinka Designs, NLD Designs)

The Roof Adventure

(additional elements by Holliewood Studio, Finecrafted Designs)

Bird Queen

Today Queen Elizabeth II. is celebrating her diamond coronation jubilee, but here´s another queen for you - I just love her snobbish and defiant expression! This ATC was made for the monthly swap at Creative Souls.

Animation

Have you seen this funny flip book kit that Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has in her shop at Deviant Scrap now? I´ve never made an animated file before, but if I was successful, you´ll be able to make one, too! And as these images come as jpg and png images, of course you can use them in your digital or cut and paste collages or make a cut and paste flip book with them - the instructions for both the animation as well as the printed and glued flip book come with the files. Have fun!

Ten Cards ...

... will go out next week to ten different recipients from Canada and the USA who participate in Shannon Ganshorn´s Mixed Media Postcard Swap 2.0. Can´t wait to see some colourful cards from then other artists in my mailbox!