Maria Callas, la Divina (the Divine), certainly was also LA GRANDE DIVA, but you don’t have to be an opera star to be a Diva. I think my fabric Zetti diva has just the right look and attitude! haha Head, arms and legs stamps are from Zettiology. Check out this week’s WS challenge for more Divas HERE! A tip: The Zetti heads only come in a set of 8 - we shared them amongst four friends

Maria Callas, la Divina (die Göttliche), war sicherlich auch LA GRANDE DIVA, aber Du mußt kein Opernstar sein, um eine Diva zu sein. Ich denke, meine stoffige Zetti-Diva hat das richtige Aussehen und die passende Einstellung! haha Kopf, Arme und Beinstempel sind von Zettiology. Mehr Diven gibt’s diese Woche HIER bei der MS-Herausforderung! Ein Tipp: Die Zetti-Köpfe gibt’s nur im 8er-Set - wir haben sie unter 4 Frauen aufgeteilt.

And here’s my favorite aria from Puccini performed by La Grande Diva! *** Und hier ist meine Lieblingsarie von Puccini, gesungen von der Grande Diva!

Maria Callas - O Mio Babbino Caro

My sweet and incredibly talented friend Susan Tuttle put an amazing book project together - Exhibit 36! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Here is the book description that is posted on Amazon: “Within the pages of Exhibition 36, readers will enter a virtual art exhibit featuring thirty-six mixed-media artists whose collage, digital, assemblage, altered and repurposed art adorn the walls and pedestals of this unique gallery. The artists are “present” throughout the exhibit, answering questions, sharing their thoughts, talking about their work and offering instruction. The tour is structured to provide insight into the creative process of the artists whose work is on display and the reader will be delighted with the plethora of inspiration, articles, techniques and general visual candy. As a final bonus, many artists featured in the book have contributed imagery as a gift to readers for attending the exhibit to reuse in their own creations.
Possesses great crossover appeal for mixed-media artists of nearly every discipline, including jewelry makers, collage artists and more.
Readers will enter a “virtual tour” featuring art from a variety of contributing artists, including well-known crafters such as Claudine Hellmuth (Collage Discovery Workshop) and Suzanne Simanaitis (Kaleidoscope).
Includes bonus collage imagery sheets for readers to use in their own art.” It’s already available for pre-order at Amazon here.

She invited moi to submit some of my fabric art which is such an honor and pleasure to say the least. Thank you so much! Cannot wait to see it all in print.

Stripes are the new WS challenge. While stripes were easy, it took me a while to figure out how to incorporate a stamp into the tag. 2 reasons why I stamped dream onto the transparency: 1 - didn’t want to goof up the fabric and 2 - wanted to make sure that the word was a crisp black. Changed the flowers and then also added fab white iridiscent wings from  ARTchix Studio. Oops, forgot to mention that the image is a stencil cut in February (while I was at it) and was sprayed onto a striped paper napkin!

Streifen sind die neue MS-Herausforderung. Während Streifen leicht waren, hab ich eine Weile gebraucht herauszufinden, wie ich was Gestempeltes auf dem Tag unterbringe. 2 Gründe, warum ich Dream auf Transparentfolie gestempelt habe: 1 - wollte den Stoff nicht vermasseln und  2 - wollte sicher gehen,  dass das Wort schön schwarz ist. Hab dann andere Blumen genommen und noch ein paar tolle weiße Flügelchen von  ARTchix Studio aufgeklebt. Oops, hab vergessen zu erwähnen, dass die Frau eine selbstgeschnittene Schablone (als ich im Februar mal die Muse dazu hatte) ist und auf eine gestreifte Papierserviette aufgesprüht wurde.

Would you believe that I already have a spray paint station (photo below)? Thought I’d use a tv box while I’m having fun with it. I can see why sprayers have so much fun! It can be quick (once you know what you are doing and know how to deal with the tools) and absolutely fun. Made this envelope for a pal. She owns this hotel, so I can post her address Need to buy some alpha stencils for sure!! Are you getting tired of seeing my self-portrait stencil? I think it’s way cool on envelopes and I had to make a sign-in tag the other night for a fabric book. If you’re quick, you can make monoprints of the side up of the sprayed stencil. The cool floral plastic stencil I bought from Stewart Gill. Thank you Michelle, Tina and Gillian for inspiring and the final pushes!

Ob Du es glaubst oder nicht, aber ich habe bereits eine Sprühstation (Foto oben). Dachte, ich verwende einen TV-Karton und so macht es echt Spass. Kann besser verstehen, warum Sprayer sich amüsieren! Es geht schnell (wenn Du einmal weißt, wie es geht und das Zubehör hast) und macht Spass. Hab dieses Umschlag für eine Stempelfreundin gemacht. Muss aber noch ein paar Alpha-Schablonen kaufen. Schon die Nase voll von meinerm Selbstporträt-Schablone? Finde, dass sie total passend für Umschläge/Mail Art ist und hab gleich ein Sign-in Tag für die Stoffbuchrunde damit verziert. Wenn Du schnell bist, kannst Du sogar noch Monoprints mit der besprühten Schablone machen. Die coole Blumenschablone ist von  Stewart Gill. Danke an Michelle, Tina  und Gillian für die Spray-Inspiration und die Schubser!

Had lunch the other day with Laury and she treated me with this fabulous needle holder book (don’t know what you really call them!). How lucky am I? I hoard needles, so this is the perfect home for them and they won’t fall into my fabric tool box. Thank you sooo much!! *** Hatte letzt Lunch mit  Laury und sie überraschte mich mit diesem tollen Nadelmäppchen. Womit hab ich das verdient? Da ich Nadeln sammle, ist es das perfekte Zuhause für meine Nadelsammlung. Somit fallen sie nicht mehr in meine Nähtäschchen. Tausend Dank!

Have been honored with again: Jacky from Australia, Evie from Scotland, Felice from Malaysia and Dijanne from Australia surprised me all with the Arte y Pico award. Thank you sooo much!! The amazing Blogland brings us all so close together.

Alebrijes are everywhere in Mexcio, you just cannot miss them. These colorful painted creatures are made of wood (with sometimes detachable pieces like wings, flowers, feathers etc.) or papiermaché and originate from Oaxaca. Wooden alebrijes were made popular by Manuel Jiménez, a master wood carver from Oaxaca. Got Happy Fish a new friend, couldn’t resist this green wooden bird. Wings are detachable and I love his feet!

*** Alebrijes - Wood ***

*** Alebrijes - Papiermaché ***

Couldn’t resist these cuties above, they measure about 2,5 inches. *** Diese süßen oben sind ca. 7 cm hoch und ich fand sie einfach unwiderstehlich!

These monsters are just too cool, love the one with the special “behind”. *** Diese Monster sind einfach zu cool, lieben den mit dem besonderen “Hintern”.

*** Huichol Art ***

Huichol is a native Indian tribe which lives up today in the Sierra Madre, in the western part of Mexico, close to Puerto Vallarta. “Apart from several previous records the existence of the Huichol had been perceived consciously by the modern world only during the last 50 years. This is very important, because it makes that tribe the last, nearly authentic native indian tribe directly connected to the Azteca history, maintaining the same ageless rituals and beliefs. They are considered by many anthropologists to be an invaluable window to the past.” Contemporary Huichol Art can be seen and found everywhere. “To preserve their ancient beliefs they have begun making detailed and elaborate yarn paintings, a development and modernization of the nieli’ka.” Yarn paintings are created by layering beeswax and pine resin onto wood or clay and then pressing fibers into the “glue”. I couldn’t resist the above mask which was the only artwork I found combining beads and fibre (here glued onto pottery).

Huichol Bead art (also called Chaquira) is relatively new. Beads are pressed into a wax-resin mixture (serving as glue) using such prepared beaded needles as shown above. I asked and finishing the beaded sun will take him about 2 days. The patterns and motives used are derived from their rich ceremonial traditions and shamanic rituals. *** Huichol’s Perlenkunst (auch Chaquira genannt) ist recht jung. Hier werden Perlen mit solch vorbereiteten Nadeln in ein Wachs-Harz-Gemisch gedrückt, das als Klebstoff fungiert. Hab nachgefragt und es dauert ca. 2 Tage, eine solche Sonne fertigzustellen. Die verwendeten Muster und Motive stammen von den reichhaltigen Traditionen und Schamanenritualen ab.

*** Retablos and Mirrors ***

Saw these gorgeous contemporary retablos/shrined mirrors in a gallery. I couldn’t resist the above gorgeous Day of the Dead retablo. The artists creates his figures with plaster and mashed potatoes. Enjoy your meal! Box is made of wood. Quite special!

Wunderschöne Retablos und Spiegel in einer Gallerie gesehen. Obiger Day of the Dead retablos hab ich mir gegönnt. Der Künstler gestaltet seine Figuren aus Gips und Kartoffelpüree. Guten Appetit! Box ist aus Holz. Was besonderes!

*** Muertos ***

and calaveras… Couldn’t pass up on these 2 papiermaché calaveras/muerto heads from Oaxaca. While there are mass produced clay muertos, I saw some unique and delightful ones in various galleries and shops, here are a few. And look what’s dancing in my car now…

Muertos und Calaveras … konnte an diesen beiden Papiermaché-Totenköpfen nicht vorbei. Während es viele Ton-Muertos in Massenproduktion gibt, hab ich in Gallerien und Läden herrliche Einzelexemplare gesehen, hier ein paar. Und schau mal, was nun in meinem Auto umhertanzt…

*** La Bandida ***

La Bandida - a new fabulous boutique in Puerto Vallarta with my kind of things from Mexico, India and more. Reminds me of my favorite shop Sugobo in Frankfurt, I know Susan, the owner would love it!

La Bandida - eine neue wunderschöne Boutique in Puerto Vallarta mit Herrlichem aus Mexiko, Indien und mehr. Erinnert mich an meinen Lieblingsschop Sugobo aus Frankfurt, Susan, die Besitzerin, würde er sicherlich auch gefallen!

*** A few random impressions ***

Loved the contrast of the indians and the Mexican Goths at Jardin Hidalgo, spotted just down the road from the Frida Kahlo Museum. *** Klasse Kontrast zwischen den Indianern und den mexikanischen Goths. Gesehen im Jardin Hidalgo (Hidalgo-Garten), etwas die Straße runter vom Frida Kahlo Museum.

And last but not least, I love children books and found this one at the Frida Kahlo Museum: El Zopilote y la Chirimia (the buzzard and the flageolet ) by Gabriela Olmos and paintings by Valeria Gallo. My Spanish isn’t quite intermediate, so my kind of level. Other than that, the books illustrations are painted in the Huichol’s yarn painting style and it’s a wonderful story, worth the money.

Zuguterletzt noch ein Kinderbuch, dass ich im Frida Kahlo Museum entdeckt habe: El Zopilote y la Chimiria (Der Truthahngeier und das Flageolett) von Gabriela Olmos und Zeichnungen von Valeria Gallo. Mein Spanisch ist mal gerade mittelmäßig und solche Bücher sind prima zu verstehen. Abgesehen davon, hat dieses Buch wunderschöne Illustrationen im Stil der Huichol Garnbilder und und eine wunderschöne Geschichte ist, das Geld wert!

Jardin Hidalgo, Cayoacán, Mexico City

La Bamba - Puerto Vallarta Folk Dancers

Got this from a friend, enjoy and happy picture downloading!

 Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.

If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn’t oversleep.

The best vitamin for making friends…. B1.

The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.

The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.

One thing I can give and still keep…is my word.

I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.
One thing I can’t recycle is wasted time.

Ideas won’t work unless ‘ I ‘ do.

My mind is like a parachute…it functions only when open.

The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It is never too late to become what I might have been.