An Owl Begins Her Time Travel Journey

The last 2 months had been great fun and excitement as I searched local and online for supplies that I would need for my new collection of mixed media assemblage artworks. Ophelia the Owl also a historian apprentice is preparing her journey to France in the 19th century. Here's an initial sketch of how the 1st piece, "The Gears That Set History In Motion" may look like:

Sketchy Thoughts From My Journal

Something was definitely gearing up within Ophelia to go back to historical times. She could hardly wait to be a first eye witness to the arts and cultural happenings of that era, she had to experience it for herself! She has come up with a  list of people whom she wants to meet and places she wants to visit, she's still consolidating her list at this juncture, trying her very best to make the most out of this trip.

Here are the pics of what I had hunted and gathered for this purpose (just part of it):

Vintage Watch Faces

Vintage Small Clock And Watch Parts

Vintage Clock And Watch Gears

Vintage Keys And Hardwares

Vintage Bisque Doll Parts

Vintage Decorative Tourist Souvenir Piece

Will be working on the 1st piece on canvas this week, finished work will be updated here :D

Wearable Owl Art Necklaces

This limited edition necklace series of my owl artwork is now available here 

The owl image is encased in a clear glass dome that measures 1 inch wide. The glass dome is then mounted securely on an antique bronze crown bezel setting, simple yet elegant. A matching 18 inches antique bronze cable chain with lobster clasp comes attached to each of the pendants. Be sure to check out the rings,brooches and bobby pins here too!

Wearable Owl Art Collection 2012

I'm pleased to announce that these handmade accessories and collectibles of my owl paintings will be made available in my store in Jan 2012 :D Each image is preserved under a clear magnifying glass bubble dome and mounted securely onto antique style jewelry. Only limited quantities available for this collection.

These beautiful ornate brooches measure about 2.25 by 1.75 inches, the owls look like miniature paintings in these frames. Pin them on your jackets or cardigans for that extra unique flair!

The glass domes on these bronze toned rings measure about 1 inch wide. They are not too small to go unnoticed, just the perfect size to strike a conversation piece. The rings have adjustable romantic filigree style bands to accomodate most ring sizes.

Like the rings, the glass domes on these bronze toned bobby pins measure 1 inch wide. Wear them on weekends with your girlfriends or whenever you feel you need a mood lift!

Necklaces? Very soon once I'm able to find the right chains for the bezels :D

Owl Art - Simply Bleutiful (Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the fifth artwork in my latest "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Simply Bleutiful.

If you could use a color to describe your current stage of life, what color would you choose?  I chose the color blue.


Blue: caring, devotion, trust, wisdom, peacefulness, serenity, loyalty, truth, coolness, harmony.


At this current stage, my life's pace is unhurried. There are minimal conflicts between my inner world and outer world, I do not feel the need to compartmentalize my life into personal or work, there's really not much distinction between the two. I treasure my personal moments, I go on mind trips with my books, walk the dogs, take silly photos, be a taster for my husband's culinary exploits, experiment with my art and keep a daily journal so that I can remember to be grateful. Most importantly and also the best part of it all is I get to choose where to spend my time, what to spend it on and who I want to spend it with because time is a resource that's irretrievable.

I chose a french blue for the background and the owl.  The owl was then painted on a blue with white florals vintage fabric which I applied some diluted white paint to give it a softer look. I constructed this tranquil garden scene using hand-dyed laces, blue yarn, antique watch faces, wooden butterflies, indigo blue rhinestone gems and custom made blue-beige fabric flowers with pearls with lace. The owl was embellished with white pearls around the eyes, milky white rhinestone gems on the wings and a simple silver hair bow :D

This artwork measures about 8 x 10 inches unframed and 11.6 by 13 inches when framed.

Owl Art - SeaCret (Original Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the third and also the smallest artwork in terms of size in my new collection of "Catching A Fleeting Moment" , SeaCret.

Inspired by the age old charm of the seas and oceans of the world, its' vastness,deepness, secrets and mysteries in them that have captivated the imagination of humankind. I feel that it's hard for one to be unmoved when one comes face to face with the sea. It evokes feelings of awe and wonder, at times, it even feels that it's issuing a "come-on" to put aside your present baggages, to step out from where you are and embrace a new world of unknowns. The sea is like a wise old traveller, he has seen it and been there, there's nothing that can daunt him easily, nothing that can quench his thirst for adventure. He simply moves on, ever learning, ever adapting.

 I distressed the vintage love song music sheet to give it an old world look. Then I painted a serene aqua bluish green owl and embellished aqua pearls around her eyes and matching rhinestone gems on her. She's surrounded by strings of pearls,mother of pearl buttons, elegant laces, chiffon fabric roses and sweet seahorses.

The artwork measures 6 x 8 inches unframed. When framed, it measures about 8 by 10 inches.

Owl Art - An English Rose Garden Tea Party (Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the second artwork of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, An English Rose Garden Tea Party.

I often daydream that if I could hop onto a time travel machine, I hope it could transport me to a victorian tea party in a garden full of roses and a table filled with multi-tiered stands of colorful pastries. While the adults are engaged in their tea chats and pastries, I love to imagine that somewhere in a quiet corner of the rose garden, there's a little girl enjoying her version of tea party with her dolls and teddy bears. The little girl has her own miniature tea set and she's busy playing host to her doll and teddy friends. There's such an endearing charm to all of these :D

Searching for the right rose fabric took me quite a while and I finally settled for a shabby chic warm beige piece with roses and tiny stars. I love the wallpaper look that this fabric was able to provide. I went for dusty pink shades for this owl,white pearls and pink rhinestone gems add sparkle to the owl's eyes and wings.

The oval border was embellished with many delighful pieces of miniature ceramic tea cups, saucers and teapot. And of course, the cakes and sweets! Fabric roses, butterly applique, a teddy bear and pink floral themed yoyos add lots of sweet victorian charm. One of my favorite piece has got to be this fine porcelain cameo of a girl and her doll, it's mounted onto a vintage style brass frame.

The artwork measures 12 x 10 inches unframed. When framed, it measures about 13 by 15 inches.

Owl Art - Beethoven's Moonlight (Original Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the first artwork of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Beethoven's Moonlight. They will be available for purchase at my etsy shop once I finish posting all 12 artworks here.

It was one of those afternoons when you just want to listen to classical pieces and I chose Moonlight Sonata. After a while, I found myself drawn into its' beautiful haunting tunes and I ended up playing it all over and over and over again. I was stirred from within and this artwork was my response to the stirrings in my heart. Without any delay, I went online and hunted for a vintage piece of its' music score. It was a successful find, I was thrilled!

I then proceeded to sketch and brainstorm the elements and objects which I felt were in sync with the music's mysterious, enchanting and melancholic qualities.

First, I painted an owl on the music score and added white pearl cabochons around the eyes and sparkling dark indigo blue rhinestone gems (they really sparkle in person, especially when light falls on them :D) on the feathers.  Then I went on to embellish the border with an antique china doll head reclaimed from the site of one of Germany's famous Thuringia region doll factories, doll head was likely to be manufactured in the early 1900s. The other players include a vintage watch face, black lace, appliques, vintage buttons, shabby chic black and white floral fabrics and a custom made singed organza chiffon flower. (All elements were glued securely using trusty glue with industrial strength)

The artwork measures 12 x 10 inches unframed. When framed, it measures about 13 by 15 inches.

Stay tuned for more! :D

WELCOME!

Finally the day has come for this new blog to be unveiled! In the days to come, I will be putting up the main thing that has consumed my hands, mind and heart fully for the past 6 months of this year.  "Catching A Fleeting Moment" is a new collection of 12 mixed media assemblage collage art on canvas pieces with a touch of vintage nostalgic charm. Each piece was given birth when I entertained certain out of the blue thoughts which were at times meaningful and at times amusing (to me). I meant to compose the artworks (in this case my fleeting thoughts) in a decorative style, just like how someone would decorate his/her house. Hence the artworks contain bits of whimsical and fanciful 3-D elements, some antique, some vintage and others vintage-inspired. To do this, I went to many and great lengths to lay hold of these elements and incorporate them in the artworks. Even though I am usually fond of painting big eyed owls with heavy lids, the owls painted in this collection have their eyes closed, as if they are savouring every fleeting moment, exploring deeper into that moment itself.  There's such sweet joy in musing over them. I wish there's a special camera that can snap shots of our fleeting momentary thoughts so that we can keep them in an album and reminisce later. Until the day such a camera is in the market, my method would be to embellish these thoughts, give them life on canvases and in so doing, they have been cherished and have become imperishable.

Till my next posting, here's a recent pic of me and my owl companions :D