Pizza Indian Style

No Fair
 they don't do this at our local Pizza Hut




Apparently this is not unusual, quite a few Pizza Huts in India have dancing waiters.






Sketchbook Project Page
My favourite memory is the night in Hetton-le-Hole when the sky was ink black and it sparkled with stars.
I sat in wonder on the doorstep as I ate the best chips in the world.
Mum's chips.
Mum had put them in a paper cone

Taipei Baby: knit graf in Taipei

Dear Visitor




Thank you for
visiting my blog and my sincere apologies. Unfortunately due to the continued
infringement, mining and exploitation of my images by individuals, spammers and
companies I can no longer show my images on this site. The images that remain
will be partially obscured.

"Taipei Baby"
A jafagirl camo barbie made its way to Taipei 101 district.

thanks to guest jafas

Smile!

Dear Visitor


Thank you for
visiting my blog and my sincere apologies. Unfortunately due to the continued
infringement, mining and exploitation of my images by individuals, spammers and
companies I can no longer show my images on this site. The images that remain
will be partially obscured.




I am experimenting with street art stickers and this didn't really work for me
but I thought I would

She wore BIG knickers

Dear Visitor




Thank you for
visiting my blog and my sincere apologies.

 Unfortunately due to the continued
infringement, mining and exploitation of my images by individuals, spammers and
companies I can no longer show my images on this site.

 The images that remain
will be partially obscured.















Sketchbook Project Page

and
I thought they were scary
but
one night I had to sleep

Cor, I love Crackers

That's a Deluxe Tom Smith Cracker sitting on my table and you almost need a forklift to pick it up, which tells me they don't have cheapo plastic pressies. Still they don't compare to the one's that Wee Birdy showcases on her blog (oooh la la, those one's are primo).


History and Tradition of Crackers

Sketchbook Project: Page 2

Dear Visitor





Thank you for visiting my blog and my sincere apologies.

 Unfortunately due to the continued infringement, mining and exploitation of my images by individuals, spammers and companies I can no longer show my images on this site.

 The images that remain will be partially obscured.




"In fairy tales the wicked

always get punished, but she wasn’t

in a fairy tale. She was in

A Geordie Life

Doesn't look like much does it, but this car park is a famous landmark that was controversial from the get go. Of course my memories of it precede Get Carter (my cousin was in the dance hall scene as a extra). That brick wall on Jackson Street in Gateshead is hundreds of years old (I think it's from roman days) and I tinkled next to it behind a billboard. Yes that is my claim to fame LOL! Oh!

The Sketchbook Project: Front Cover

Dear Visitor



Thank you for visiting my blog and my sincere apologies.

 Unfortunately due to the continued infringement, mining and exploitation of my images by individuals, spammers and companies I can no longer show my images on this site.

 The images that remain will be partially obscured.









The theme of the Art House Sketchbook Project is "everyone we know"
Since the eyes are the

The Govenors Award

I don't know who nominated me for the 2009 Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio, but I want to say a BIG thank you. Even though I wasn't selected I am honored that I was nominated.

************************




A tree in Yellow Springs Ohio
photo by c.bayrak
Do you ever just look up and feel like a kid again
lost in imagination and joy of the moment.
I just stood and stared up at the grand old

Yum Yum Poles and Kisses

Well this week Nancy (seen in the photo) and I are up to our eyeballs with projects, from putting up three yum yum poles, and working on the "Catch a Kiss in the Springs" campaign that the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring, installing an art box on a building, and removing three paintings from the chamberpot gallery. Yes, we have sold three paintings from the loo art gallery,

Humpty Dumpty was Pushed

A little creative altruism for Free Art Friday...Felt fried egg



NewsDesk
AC_Voki_Embed(200,267, '964873a973a93da1ae519eb76b0bba0d', 1020922, 1, '', 0);

Four and Twenty Blackbirds

Sing a Song of Sixpence,A bag full of Rye,Four and twentyNaughty boys (blackbirds),Bak'd in a Pye.

When the pie was opened,The birds began to sing;Was not that a dainty dish,To set before the king?

The king was in his counting-house,Counting out his money;The queen was in the parlor,Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes,
There

Wordless Wednesday: bums and bags

Fenwicks Window Display Newcastle Upon Tyne 2006

Commissions and The process

On commissions

I once had someone say in shock when I said I don't do commissions " but don't you want to sell your work?" I said "but you are not wanting to buy my work you want to buy my services to create something for you." The thing is I am not selling a service (more power to those who can), I sell the results of what I do as an artist.


The Creative Process: What I DON'T do
1. hum!

MultiMedia Artist?

Effigy wish doll by c.bayrak

I had a anon commentator on another blog (talking about knit graffiti) scoff at my mention that I was a multimedia artist when I stated I also used yarn as a medium to express myself (they said my claim of being a multimedia artist was a bit of a stretch). I had to wonder if they had either never visited my website or blog OR maybe just didn't know what a

Crafts: Felt Birds

felt, iron on transfer eye based on my painted dickey bird, fabric, paint, and buttons




Thought I would make a bunch of bird ornaments for the Nolaa Gallery while I sit and watch movies in the evenings. I can't get my teeth into a new painting series until I have cleared the studio of smaller projects and prepped the studio. Now if I had a lovely big barn with ooddles of space I could have

goodies in the mail

I got a lovely surprise when I won something on Judith's artsy blog, which is now hanging on my wall next to my wishing doll shrine. On the other side is a lovely postcard of Casey Klahn's work. I would say my doll is in good company.
Thanks Judith I am so enjoying your beautiful painting.

GreenArt Fair Miami 08

"alias"
As some of you may remember I submitted the above can to Painting Cans, an open collaborative project created by the Confusion Group.

Painting Cans was invited to take part in the "Green Art Fair Miami 08" with the support of Irreversible Magazine. So I am happy to announce that my can was selected for the exhibit, yea!!!!!!!!!

And talking of exhibits
I will have 12 painted cans in

Amica Magazine: Italian edition

The Italian Fashion Magazine Amica included a photo of my document from the "your documents please" exhibit in their November issue.


 The exhibit has traveled to Budapest and will open at 2B Galeriá November 28- December 30, 2008 with a reception at 6PM, Nov. 28th.


Here is my piece titled
"ID therefore I AM"


Thank you to Daniel Georges and all those who have made this exhibit possible. As

LeadBelly

Ink wash study in sketchbook






 No, not talking about the folk singer but that sudden feeling you get in your gut, that heavy dull ache that throbs like a pendulum, back and forth eating away at your soul when you hear someone you love is hurt. My son was shot in the eye with a bb gun. It was just one of those bizarre accidents but it was lucky it was a plastic bullet otherwise he may have

Photography: Giant Hairball

Photo by c.bayrak aka moi


Okay, it's not a real one, although the hair on it is real. My fellow jafa Nancy made it for a prize drawing and a talented local artist, Sarah Strong, was very happy to win it :) She has plans to use it in an art project, which I look forward to seeing. The background was filled in using adobe, but otherwise I haven't altered the photo.

Bizarre Hairball Story

Boo: The old and the new

St.Mary's Church Gateshead


I don't have a particular attachment to All Hallows Eve or Halloween . When I was growing up in England it wasn't celebrated in the way it is in the US. I don't' remember it being a commercial holiday, no trick or treating (that is an American tradition brought by Irish immigrants) and no pumpkins. I don't think my family encouraged participation either (guy fawkes

Using Resin for Painting

I use two types, one is envirotex and the other is Glaze Coat.
Setup: latex gloves, clear disposable plastic cups for measuring, brick, jumbo craft stick for mixing, hairdryer
Paintings:For the above panel painting ((17"x 24") I measured equal parts to fill 14 oz in a 16 oz plastic cup.
For my heart paintings (8"x11") I used equal parts to fill about half of a clear plastic cup (shown below)

Car-less and Visual Literacy

Walking into town on Dayton Yellow Springs Road


I haven't had a car all week so I've been doing a LOT of walking every day, and really enjoying it .The nice thing about living in a village is that everything is within walking distance and you get to notice and enjoy things that one normally sees in passing.
Our village was voted one of the "top ten coolest small towns in America" by Budget

FAF piece: Greed

"greed"
Lucite box, paper money, plastic skull
made in china stamped on bottom of box


Now that the 6 month obligation for Third Friday Fling in the Springs is over I will be getting back to doing pieces of work that make more of a statement. We were putting out about 20 to 25 pieces of work for free each month, so we had to make quick and fun pieces. The jafa girls will be getting back to

Craftivism: felt skull art

Okay, they are just rather whimsical little things I like to do in the evenings when watching a movie on telly. I mention craftivism in the title because Sarah at The Eclipse Gallery blog brought the subject up and I realized I might be part of an ism movement LOL!
Well not quite, because if you see this artists work it will knock your SOCKS off. What Blythe Church does with felt is quite

"That One"

"What happens when America's airwaves fill with hate? BILL MOYERS JOURNAL takes a tough look at the hostile industry of "Shock Jock" media with a hard-hitting examination of its effects on our nation's political discourse."

Some radio hosts have compared Muslims and Liberals to cockroaches.
There is a history of what happens to a society that starts to listen, to name, to accept that those they

What, NO issues to talk about

"ID"
box, mirror, mesh, oil on wood

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

Screaming guilt by association
(from those involved with keating five and sat on the board of the Council for World Freedom-The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America.)
"“And that

APW Gallery: Vinyl Record Exhibit New York

These are two of my records in the exhibit.

A question of Art

side view of the gum wall
graffiti alley Ann Arbor Michigan
photo by Jafabrit
Featured on Web Urbanist


The Ann Arbor Chronicle did a story called "you say graffiti, we say ..." and they ask about the grafffiti in the alley, "Is it art?"
Sort of hard to justify gum stuck on a wall as being art lol! but if its used as tool to create a visual display, then why wouldn't it be? My feeling is the

Graffiti Alley Ann Arbor Michigan

Dear Visitor
Thank you for visiting my blog and my sincere apologies.
 Unfortunately due to the continued infringement, mining and exploitation of my images by individuals, spammers and companies I no longer have the incentive to show images on my blog.
Most are being removed or partially obscured.


Spent a few days in Ann Arbor Michigan and found this wonderful graffiti alley off E.Liberty

Political Art: Hobgoblins

"Hobgoblins"
This is a piece I made a few years ago, but still very relevant today.
It is made with a wood box I built, porcelain teeth, light fixture inside, and ceramic figure huddled on a shelf inside. The figure is sitting above the light to the left slightly so it is half lit and casts shadows in the box.. This adds to the ominous nature of the piece.There is also a statement written

struggles of an artist

Free Art Friday "what if"

Art News Blog always seems to bring up issues that stay with me, and the post about Hazel Dooney is no different. Some of the diary entries posted on Art News resonated with me. Hazel said: "When I'm not happy with my art, everything in my life is fucked. When it's going well, everything is perfect". Oh my, how true this is for me (and I suspect for many of you

Marmite Chronicles

Manipulated Drawing (2HB graphite pencil) by c.bayrak
"Some think marmite is evil!"

So Evil it got banned



Would it be better for parents to put a silly marmite ad into perspective for their child or shield them by attempting to ban anything that is scary? Yes this is old news story on the bbc from 2005 but I was thinking of censorship and was reminded of my fave spread marmite. Don't

Painting Cans Project

Our (mine and Nancy's) cans are now posted on Painting Cans, a collaborative project by the Confusion Group.
Hope you check it out as it's fun seeing the different ways people have painted their cans.


So we were one of the Thousands Without Power in Ohio
Just got our Power back after two and a half days.
.


We lost a tree, a few shingles, no phones or cell phone access.
Lived by

Effigy Doll :Must Knit

doll by jafabrit
Do NOT sleep! Do NOT sleep!



Seems like my major mission today is fight the urge to sleep. Noooooooooo, must not sleep. I am so pumped up with meds to fight this head cold. Did manage to go and buy a couple of barbie dolls from the charity shop this afternoon. Going to make some more camo textile totems. I bought the most fluffly yummy baby blue wool too so I will away and

Dickie Bird Tweets

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring
BUT
I got sunshine on a cloudy day
because
Today I feel almost human after a week of a horrid head cold.

And so the
Dickie Bird Tweets


I cut out this portion of the mdf board I started painting on earlier this week. I stitched on the beads (drilled holes on mdf and used black embroidery thread). For the pink flower center I used an old

Abstractions and Distractions

I have a head cold bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!and I am trying to convince myself it is not that bad. Not working, just don't have the energy to do much. However that creative urge, that muse is trying to distract me and I have to do something, even if it's just a little here and there. I started working on a 4'x3' primed mdf board.
This is the cropped portion that I like so far. I do have in

Cafe Show in Mechanicsburg

The Jafagirls will be part of an exhibit at the Beans-N-Cream in Mechanicsburg, Ohio.
I submitted two heart paintings (acrylic, glitter and resin on wood) and a small painting.

Ghosts of Antioch

Graffiti outside Birch Hall

Well I didn't actually see any ghosts but it was very very sad to see Antioch College nothing more than a ghost campus, shut down and quiet.

This was Antioch
Rod Serling wandered the halls, as did Coretta Scott King, and so many others but their voices still ring out.


I am a nonstopian
I signed up for a credit class with the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute (

JafaBrit is Fagged

It was FAF (free art friday) and the jafagirls were busy leaving work all over town. Wasn't easy trying to leave things discreetly as the town was packed for the grand finale of summer in the springs. As well as FAF Nancy and I were helping host a teen art show at the YS Arts Council Gallery. We did a workshop with the kids earlier in the week and then we helped hang the show this morning

vinyl record painting

"night demons"

by c.bayrak

I have heard it said that when an artist reuses an image it's because they've run out of ideas.
Maybe sometimes that is true, I don't know, but there is comfort in revisiting an old image. Sometimes it is because one loves an image and wants to explore how many ways it can be represented or reinterpreted.





resin coated painting

Found this snippet about "The

The Dog Days of Summer

Glass of RibenaPhoto by c.bayrakI usually prefer drinking it hot, but yesterday demanded a cold drink.

Dog Days of Summer

vinyl record painting

I can't remember if I've posted this before, but this one and the one on my jafabrit flickr page are going to be included in a vinyl record exhibit in New York at the APW Gallery in October. YEA!!!!!!!
It was by invitation with the first 50 submissions to be accepted.






One of my favourite blogs is skulladay as it is always fascinating to see how someone can make a skull out of almost

Niki de Saint Phalle at Missouri Botanical Gardens

Went to visit family in St.Louis and they surprised me with a wonderful 4 hour visit to see Niki de Saint Phalle's work in the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The Gardens on their own are just stunning, but add the sculptures and it was a total visual feast.













This is just such a sweet little award from San at "A Life with a View". Thanks San.

The Death Show

A fellow blogger, Rodrigo Pradel, at Estudio Luna is doing a Death Themed Art Show and I sent along my collage and acrylic reverse painting titled "ecstasy". I built the frame myself and then sanded the frame and a little of the surface of the Lucite.








artwork & photo by c.bayrak
Meanwhile the Southsea Free Art Exhibition that My Dog Sighs arranged looked like a fabulous day with a

Getting the finger

The first time I ever got the finger in America I was in Texas in the 80's. I was at a stop sign and the car in front of me has this finger sticking out of the sun roof. I think to myself, "hum! why is she sticking her finger out of the roof, how strange?" I wonder to myself if she is perhaps drying her nail (she had the most fascinatingly beautiful long nail with pink nail polish) or testing

Never Judge a Book by its Cover

"Labeled"

8” x 9” x 1 1/4



Oil on stone, mixed media 2005

I found an old library index box in a garage sale and it triggered the idea of how some people like to categorize others, to put them into neat comfortable little categories. “Never judge a book by its cover" yet people do it all the time. Sometimes it's based on an initial impression (and some of those

Knit Graffiti, skeletons, and crushed can art

"Peace Pole" photo by c.bayrak



Not much major artwork being done as our skeleton crew (jafagirls) are busy taking photographs for a postcard series, working on a grant, and preparing work for free art friday coming up this week. Here is one of the crushed can paintings I did for free art.

Who is Briana Sewage?


Briana Sewage is the female version of Brian Sewell. He earned the enmity of

a BIG nose and Pusillanimous

collaborative nose by c.bayrak and n.mellon


It is made with impregnated plaster bandage,painted with acrylic and then coated with resin inside and out. The booger note says, "don't pick on me" . Not sure where it will go, but it isn't free art, so we have to be careful about placement.



BOOGER AWARD


Snotty People: A friend of mine encountered one of these the other day, a so called

photography by Corrine

photo by c.bayrak
Yellow Springs


YOUR DOCUMENTS PLEASE
The travelling exhibition "Your Documents Please" has its own web presence for those who can't make it to any of the galleries kindly hosting the show.
You can check out my contribution as well as Loretta's at Your Documents Please website.

EXHIBITION DATES
April 4, 2008 - April 20, 2008 ------ Museum of Arts and Crafts - Itami,

Your Documents Please Exhibit:. catalogue is online

The travelling exhibition "Your Documents Please" has its own web presence for those who can't make it to any of the galleries kindly hosting the show.
You can check out my contribution as well as Loretta's at http://yourdocumentsplease.com/


EXHIBITION DATES
April 4, 2008 - April 20, 2008 ------ Museum of Arts and Crafts - Itami, Itami-shi, Japan
August 2, 2008 - August 17,

Free Art Friday Exhibit: FAF

I submitted these two pieces (reverse painting and collage on plastic) for the Free Art Friday Exhibition July 20th in SouthSea UK that's being organized by MyDogSighs. I am part of the Free Art Friday Flickr group and I was delighted to participate (keep your fingers crossed the US mail delivers in time).
Here is a link to an an article in The Portsmouth News titled "Takeaway art's a

Reverse Painting on Plastic

This was one of my favourite pieces that I really enjoyed doing and had no plans of selling.
It found a home with a special lady, now in Chicago (yoo hoo! hope you are enjoying your new life-you are missed).


About the Painting


It is a mixture of collage (using modge podge), and acrylic paint on a lucite shelf I got from a Liquidation Outlet in Dayton Ohio. They were selling boxes of

Homage to Frida Kahlo

Homage to Frida Kahlo
oil on board

Yes, doing what passes through my head
In between prepping wood for the next painting, and waiting for paint to dry between layers I am always working on something. If it's not knitting for the jafagirls textile totems, then it's painting a crushed can or a stone,or sewing a happy doll for the art vending machine, making noses, scribbling in my sketchbook

SKull Art: Homage to Basquiat

wip oil on wood

Here is the painting so far, needs a bit tweaking, especially the face and hand and a few areas on the skull. Once it is thoroughly dry I will coat it with resin.
NOTE:If you would like to licence or use this image please contact: jafagirlart (at) yahoo (dot) com





As you can see on the shelf there is a wee kewpie doll Margot, YIKES! I haven't got a clue what I am going to

Skull Art: Homage to Basquiat

wip oil on wood

Here is the painting so far, needs a bit tweaking, especially the face and hand and a few areas on the skull. Once it is thoroughly dry I will coat it with resin.





As you can see on the shelf there is a wee kewpie doll Margot, YIKES! I haven't got a clue what I am going to do with it for your kewpie doll challenge.

Painted Stone Assemblage

"chat room"
oil painted stone, camera box and wood box

He kind of looks like Peter Lorre, but really the face was determined by the shape of the stone. In a way though it is rather fitting that it should look like him in one of his finest roles as Hans Beckert in the chilling Fritz Lang movie "m"




Safe Kids: Internet Tips

Mr. Pickles

Mr.Pickles enjoys the flowers

I was very happy to see an old painting of mine at the gallery found a home





I hope the buyer enjoys "Felicity Goes to Tea in her Finery"
She is wearing her finest clothes
Miss Snooty hopes that all the guests will be impressed with her new satin pants, which quite frankly are as ugly as sin BUT she thinks they are the bees knees.

Knitted Poo & Noses

Knitted Poo Invitations

I saw one on the net somewhere and thought it hilarious, so I mentioned it to my jafapal Nancy, and wham, off we go knitting poos nightly. One of the blokes off the Dwyer & Michaels show that interviewed us suggested we put potpourii in them LOL! Anyway we are making them as invitations for the ChamberPot Gallery reception. I thought I would do a google check and see

SKull Art: Homage to Basquiat

Method: Adobe Photoshop

I can't really get into painting because I'm gearing up for art stroll night (jafagirl demo for free art friday and chamberpot gallery opening), so I have been playing with ideas for paintings using adobe photoshop. Basquiat is one of my favourite artists, I think because I like the raw quality of the work, the meaning behind it and the colours.
I saw the movie (

It's Monday and its Studio Day

It is such a beautiful morning. I am working on another camo doll, sewing and my skull painting. I am really so excited about my skull painting to the point I can't wait for it to be finished. Not good, it means I have to SLOW myself down so it isn't rushed.

Oh this is the bench I helped paint for (jafagirl) Nancy's project outside the cooperative gallery she is a member of. It is a wonderful

Presents, Trophies, and Challenges

Sometimes there are days when things are said and done that just makes a persons day. I had one of those the other day, not only with such lovely comments ( thank you to those who take the time comment, I really appreciate it.), a present from olga the traveling bra arrived in the mail, and a trophy (Art Y Pico) waiting for me on her blog. I couldn't stop laughing when I got the mug (I mean

Raining Cats and Dogs & Street Art

So instead of our usual one hour walk on Tuesday Nancy and I went and had brekkers at Foys Rock and Roll Grill in Fairborn , Ohio. To me this is so Americana and a lot of fun to visit, plus the egg and toast wasn't too shabby either. Great atmosphere and the staff are really friendly.




Afterwards we had about 30mins no rain and we managed to yarn bomb two posts on Dayton Street before we

Graffiti granny strikes again

Okay, so technically I am not a granny, but I am to some people. Remember when I was asked by a local teen when I was doing the knit knot tree if I was one of the guardian grannies, yikes! So here is my latest bit of knit graffiti with a camouflage doll, which I had a lot of fun doing.





A fellow artist and friend Pierre Nagely took a break from doing his mural to come and have a chat

Skull Art: From Adobe Photoshop to Painting

I started by collaging various images over the skull, erasing parts, and adding others. Once I was finished I printed it out and used it as a point of reference for a vinyl record painting.



I focused on being loose and not too precious (as in detailed and perfect). I find, like gestural drawing, painting like this doesn't give you time to think too much. It becomes more an exercise in the

Art In a Ball and Tattoo Baby Genesis

Undaunted asked what sort of art we (moi, Nancy, Talitha and Jennifer) put in our art vending machine. I don't have any recent pics but here are a few samples. The challenge is coming up with pieces that are are original, not labor intensive and don't require buying supplies to make. The Art Vending machine is not a money maker, but it is fun and people seem to really enjoy it, especially

Grumpy Potato's and Found Art

"Mrs. Neighbour" I says. "why do you have a grumpy potato on the shelf above the stove"? "eeeh, what are you talking about"? says mrs.neighbour. I asked her, "you mean you didn't do that on purpose"?. "no, what"? says mrs.neighbour, "I just put the tattie there for my son so he would remember it for lunch"?



She couldn't stop laughing as I told her over a cup of tea (not with sherry or

skeletons and hearses

Somebody asked me why I had a skeleton in the car today!

Nothing complicated really!
She was supposed to be photographed with Darth Vader in town last Saturday, but it was raining so heavily the photo shoot wasn't going to work. I just haven't been bothered to take her out of the car. Between me driving around town with a skeleton and this fella with a hearse, well I suppose it is hardly

Big Brother

 " big brother"

oil on canvas

There was a day in England if you didn't put your rubbish out then you got stuck with it for another week, and that was not a very appealing prospect. Well not now because little spy cams in the bins and back alleys can alert authorities and fines exacted against those rabble rubbish rebels. And if the spy cam doesn't catch you then a paid informer for the

Revisiting an old favourite at the National Gallery of Art

Agnolo Gaddi

Florentine, active 1369 - 1396Madonna Enthroned with Saints and Angels 1380/1390, tempera on panelOn my visit to Washington D.C. in April I revisited one of my favourite paintings at the National Gallery of Art. I have spent hours in this gallery exploring the exquisite icon paintings and this one floored me when I first saw it in 1995. Having tried (unsuccessfully) to paint

60's and 70's crafts/fashions are baaaaaaaaaaack

Photo from my 1970 sketchbook-decorative drawing by jafabrit's ma




Does anyone remember doing this with old records back in the 70's and then painting or decoupaging them? Remember tie-dyeing, candle making, macramé, and flower power, and decoupaging anything that didn't move. I picked up an fashion mag, elle, and the Hippie Trend is back with a zing and a twist. Does anyone remember

Evil Squirrels and a birthday in Georgetown

"don't mess with me, this is MY tree bitch"



Man, those black squirrels in Georgetown have a real attitude LOL! but what a gorgeous squirrel, first time I have seen a black one. He stood his ground staring at me for a quite a long time. I thought he was going to go after me . Don't you just love his back legs.

Had a great trip to D.C. For my 53rd (sheesh time is flying by) birthday we

Faces, Faces, Everywhere

My daughter saw this face in the tree when we were walking in Glen Helen, and Nancy saw one in the Newstand. My favourite is the one below that I saw at the Docs office, it has this non plussed look, which is exactly how I felt that day.




To see more check out I See Faces by photographer Dave Gorman at Flickr. I never knew there were so many hidden faces in so many objects.


Not one but

recycled art

I love the idea of recycling things to create art and so when a neighbour's son gave me about 30 old records he had rescued from the trash I was over the moon.
I have been mulling over the idea of using photographs of dolls and then using adobe to overlay patterns on the dolls, which I then paint on the records. It is in a similar vein as what madsilence was talking about on his blog, The Art

Art Fairie's at It Again - Found Art

Well we just can't seem to help ourselves (Nancy and Moi that is) LOL! Tuesdays are our day to walk and then exercise/ unleash our creative mischief. So we decided to add a little knitting and flowers outside the Nolaa Gallery, much to Jafa Jens delight, and add lace to a tree outside the Village Artisans.


Since it was Found Art Tuesday, I left this little flower painted
cd piece on the

Blither Blather Bother

Blither
Blithering on seems to be my thing lately, but Jean Yates at Snap out of it Jean! There's BEADING to be Done did ask me to do an interview. How could I say no, she is one of my fave bloggers, and it was a honor to be asked. I know many people are probably sick of reading about me, but what I found interesting is how different interviewer questions exposes another facet of a person's

I Won Something and NOT in Vegas

I, Jafabrit, actually won something. I won a book called, "Men In Space" in a competition on The View From Here, a literary blog by writer Mike French. The question was what would you graffiti on the wall and I wrote JAFAGIRLS ROCK--hee! hee! of course! To see why the author, Tom McCarthy, chose my entry visit Mike's Blog. Considering I love Jaffa cakes and I love painting faces on Rocks, Tom

The mighty MGM

You're
reading art by corrine bayraktaroglu originally
posted on Jafabrit's Art. 


Thank
you for dropping by.

Knitters beat MGM Mirage in Public Art Media Blitz: Arts JournalSo I thought I would leave a little found art from little ol' me outside MGM Mirage :)
I wrote good luck on the back of it.


About the NewsIt's been quite intriguing and interesting reading the reactions to this story

I'm Baaaaaaaaaack

Oh my! Vegas is a strange place. While every hotel/casino has a unique theme, they all have the same beautiful BUT unrelenting vomit inducing carpets (well if you've had a few too many drinks-which is rather popular to do here) in EVERY casino, slot machine, slot machine, slot machine (surprised they didn't have them in the bogs as well), more carpets, smoke, slot machine, SMOKE, and more

Too Famous to Blog

Naw! just kidding, we're yesterday's news
. Truth is I am off to Vegas so I won't be posting for a week.


Will ya miss me, huh! huh!


Nancy and I did the Dwyer & Michaels Radio Show ysterday morning, what a riot those guys are, humph! and they were wondering if I was OFF my meds ;) It was a FUN interview.

STUPID RESIN
I hate it, it isn't hardening. I am going to have to scrape it off my

"Your Documents Please"

"i d therefore i am"



Scheduled venues for the

International Traveling Exhibit

April 4- 20 2008The Museum of Arts & Crafts-ITAMI2-5-28, Miyanomae,Itami-shi HYOGO 6640895 JAPAN
April 26 -

Hello: I still have to do laundry

News or no News

I still have to do laundry, wash the dishes, bath the dog, update the arts council blog,
and
pluck me eyebrows
and then there is art making to do
for the Jafagirlart Doll ExhibitI am Mother
Time to Nurture
the seeds of creation
to stitch, to sew, to paint



I had so much doing this doll for Found Art Project. Somehow she ended up being adopted by the Emporium a couple of

In the News :"Knitters Dress Up Trees for Public Art"

photo by c.bayrak

I don't even know what to say LOL! James THANKYOU ! it seems the story about the "KnitKnot" tree is being picked up by just about every outlet there is around the world.
Here is James Hannah's article in the Associated Press.

BBC Radio is interviewing Nancy and I , so keep your fingers crossed.
And if you are reading this and wondering why?
Well it's simple really.

Oh! those groovy Romans

The image I used for the adobe overlay is based on a painting I did of a roman bust I saw in a museum. A moment with Gaea I lay on the soft grasssheep bleating, bees buzzing sun kissingslipping into psychedelic dreamsdissolving into the earth
I am one with Gaeaa moment in 1972

This and That and Fancy That

THIS


is my favourite painting because it is my daughter

THAT


because it is my favourite painting of my son

and

FANCY THAT


Nancy and I were interviewed by the Associated Press this morning as part of a larger story about tree sweaters (our KnitKnot Tree) and knit graffiti sweeping across the country. Keep Your fingers crossed.


OTHER ARTISTS IMAGES OF THEIR CHILDREN
Bill Evertson

I See You Peeking

more info




"Peek a Boo"


IN THE NEWS
The Xenia Gazette had a nice little story about our tree sweater in the paper yesterday.
"Local artists knit tree sweater as downtown art project"
by Ron Siemer



Knitting and Crochet Donations
Knitting for the Homeless Compassion Knit
Knitting for Soldiers
List of Knitting Charities and Donations from Interweave Knits
Project Linus-providing security

ArtFul Playing

This is my first attempt at doing an overlay of a photo I took of my daughter. This image reminds me of the the Tattle Tale sayings.

Geordie Version
Tellie Tale Tit
yer tongue'll get bit
aaaal the little dickie birds
will come an have a bitScottish VersionTell Tale TitYer mamma cannae knitYer daddy cannae go tae bedWithood a dummy titDummy tit is a baby's pacifierTell Tale TitYour tongue shall

Trees and Art

I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Document for Traveling Exhibit

"ID therefore I AM"






I am everything you say I am and I am not. I am what you choose to see.
I finally got my piece done for the traveling exhibit called 'Your documents please'. To see another document with a different take on it, please visit the failed painter. While Loretta's theme is "'the stateless person' mine is centered on the mercurial nature of our Identity, and how it shifts

Photograph of Found Art

"bugs rule, ha!ha!"
The jafagirls were leaving bits of art around town and I was photographing some of them. I hurriedly took a pic of my bug on the post in Kings Yard in Yellow Springs and somehow managed to capture some wonderful shadows and reflections.

To see a slide show of some of the found art just click on jafagirls. Nancy painted a stick that has a total of 36 faces in it and its

Heart Paintings and New Links

Every now and again I need a colour fix. So while my oil paintings are drying I like to do my acrylic heart paintings. I use mdf board that has been primed, and then I just let loose with the colours, a little glitter, and sometimes a little collage. Once dry I will cover with a clear resin coat.

Talking about colour, I got some lovely postcards from the ultimate colourist Casey Klahn (one

Culture Watch: Maori Art

Painting on Stone 2004

I was browsing through a body art book that had several pictures of Maori tattoos (Tā moko) and was really taken with their artwork and culture. Tattooing has a long rich history and for me it is quite fascinating to see how different cultures use it to define themselves. We do have a Maori Elder in Yellow Springs called Raymond Ruka who has written a book called "The

Meanwhile in the Studio

The jafagirls got together in my studio and experimented in our sketchbooks. The goal was not to spend time thinking about it, just rip a picture out of a magazine and start to paint over or around it. Mine ended up looking very Basquiat like, and I am not sure Rufus liked the way I depicted him (or maybe he did as he imagines himself to be quite a scary big brute).

WIP: Portrait in Oil

I started the top and it's interesting what I can see needs to be changed/refined when I post the image up on the blog. Another method artists employ to get an objective view of what they are working on is to look at a reflection of the work in a mirror. It is amazing how you can spot some of the flaws in a painting in the reflection and completely miss it when looking at it directly. I erased

Studio Painting

It was snowing all day yesterday, but I've been in the studio working on several projects, drinking lots of tea, and listening to "mourning becomes electra" by Eugine O'Neill. Suffice it to say I am not complaining about being stuck in the house all day.


This is one of the projects I am working on. It is oil on wood and as you can see I started with a grisaille first. It needs quite a few