This House is for the Birds

I hadn't planned on posting more

than once this week, but I took

these pictures this morning and

thought, 'Why not?'

 This is another one of our collaborations 

(my husband the builder, and me the artist). 

This is probably

my favorite bird house that we've

made together. 

I think it's because the design

is the funkiest he's made so far, and

I'm all about the funkier the better. 

It also makes me think I'm sort

of weird as an artist, because I 

love color clashes. 

(as is obvious by my pieces). 

Sometimes it's intentional,

and sometimes it's just because

I have to use whatever paint

I have on hand. 

Either way, I try and make 

it work and am usually 

pleased with the outcome. 

Thank you for visiting

and saying hello. 

Terri

"Home Tweet Home" Bird House with Stand

It feels so good to have this one finished. 

I've finally freed up a little more floor

space in my art room. 

It's funny though, solving one problem can 

sometimes create another.

The newly created space in my art room

is now filling up space in our guest room.

Oh well, hopefully we'll get some of

these sold and that'll free up that room.

Dream big, right?

I wanted to take this out in the yard

to get some pictures, but we had

a much needed rain storm last

night and the ground is still wet. 

This'll have to do for now. 

We've made two stand sizes for our

bird houses. This

size is the shorter of the two. 

The flower embellishments on the sides of 

this house are raised wood cut-outs. 

I drew a couple flower patterns on

wood and my husband cut them out

and affixed them to the sides. 

The next two pictures I took from underneath

so you can see that every spot is painted. 

This was an important tip I learned

from a very wise gallery owner and art dealer. 

Don't leave any blank spaces!

Thanks for visiting!

Folk "Heart" Bird House with Stand

This cute little bird house has been sitting

on our guest bed just waiting for me 

to paint a stand for it. 

I've had 2 unfinished bird house stands sitting in my 

art room/studio FOREVER (it seems). 

They're taking up a bit of floor space

and starting to get in my way. 

It's one of those projects that I know

will take some time, so I put it off. 

One day rolls into the next and

well, you know. . . 

Last weekend, I felt the need to check 

it off my list and "get 'er done"!

I set a goal for myself of one day

to accomplish it. 

It was such a good feeling to have 

finished it in the time I allotted myself. 

Today's goal: 

*Paint the 2nd stand. 

The only problem is that today's goal

is in competition with 5 loads

of laundry AND changing the bed linens. 

We'll see, I'm going to push myself. 

I'm all about striking while the iron is hot!

Folk Art Bird House 5

This bird house gave me a little

trouble at first. 

My initial idea for it (which I was

really excited about) bombed when 

I told my husband what I wanted to do. 

He told me how hard he worked

on certain features and I was going to cover

them up with my idea. I could see his point 

(after a long discussion) and I decided 

to move on to a plan B. 

By the way, after this incident, we made

the decision that he'll do his thing when it

comes to building, and I'll do my thing when

it comes to painting. Our team projects have been

harmonious ever since.

Back to plan B. .  . I had to come up with

a new idea, and instead I just sat and sat in

front of this thing, starting at it and 

wondering where to start. 

Ever been there yourself?

After a grueling amount of time passed I 

decided enough was enough. 

I set a timer for 20 minutes and started painting

a base design without thinking about it. 

"Just paint!" I told myself. 

After all was said and done,

I really liked the way it turned out. 

Sorry my pictures aren't the best.

I keep this bird house in my daughters

old room and the lighting isn't the best. 

I think the gist of it comes across though. 

Hope you have a fabulous day!

Happy Creating. 

Terri

Home Tweet Home Bird House Part 2

Here're the rest of the pictures

of my funky folk art bird house. 

If you missed Part 1, you can see that here.

My husband asked me to 

draw a couple designs for him 

to adhere to the sides of the house to

give it some dimension. 

I gave him my drawings and after looking at me 

quizzically for a second, 

(He's the first to admit he doesn't get art.)

he cut them out using his scroll saw 

and nailed and glued them to the house. 

He liked them much better once

he saw them in their finished state. 

I took the following picture so 

you can see that every visible 

surface is painted with some

type of design. 

I even paint a design on the bottom

(which I didn't take a picture of). 

There's more dimension and raised

elements on the back. 

I try to make the overall design balanced,

but not perfect. That's the fun of folk art for me. 

Thanks for visiting. 

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Terri

Home Tweet Home Bird House

This is the project I've 

been working on this past week. 

As I mentioned before, we're

building up our bird house collection. 

I'll post some pictures

of the other two sides on Friday. 

My husband is thinking it's too blue. 

Hmmm. . . I'll have to think about that. . . 

Thanks for stopping by!

Terri

Bird House No. 3

I keep this bird house in 

my family room of all places. 

My friend gave it to me as a gift 

to paint and keep. 

She designed it and her husband built it. 

I love the shape and the bent spoon perch. 

This project was one of the first

times I used a folk art technique. 

Prior to this I was more structured

and measured in my designs. 

I'm hoping eventually to have my 

husband make a stand for it. 

I'd love to move it to our front entryway. 

Thanks for visiting! 

Terri

Pink Castle Bird House

I'd love to share some pictures

of our pink castle bird house. 

I say "our" because my husband and I

collaborate on our bird houses. 

He builds, and I paint.

We work well together because

I let him do his thing, and 

he let's me do my thing.

Originally my intention was to have a 

pink stand for the castle. 

When it was time to place it 

on the stand, I happened to have

this brown based stand ready at the

same time. 

The brown based stand ended up being the right fit. 

I made a beaded chain with thin gage wire for the draw bridge. 

Inside on the back wall is a surprise not visible in the pictures.

There's a mini cow skull with a halo of colorful 

cold pressed clay flowers. 

Every surface is decorated so you

can see the folk art design from all angles.

Please excuse the "background noise" in my pictures.

The stand and birdhouse are affixed 

to one another and it's not the easiest piece to move. 

I did use all exterior house paint and

finished it with a marine spar varnish.

It'll be safe in the elements, but for now I keep

it in our spare bedroom until it sells. 

 Thanks for stopping by! 

Terri

Birdy's New Digs

A few months back my husband and I came

across a good deal on some scrap wood

that a neighbor was selling. 

Shortly there after, I hear him out in the backyard 

sawing and hammering away.  

He brought me the cutest bird house ever

and asked me to paint it. 

It was kind of big and got me thinking

that it really needed to be mounted on a 

wooden stand of some kind. 

We came up with a stand design together and he made that too.

(It's so nice having a handy husband). 

Then it was my turn to start painting!

I never really plan out my designs in

the beginning. They sort of form organically,

and start to take on a path of their own. 

You can see that I love folk art

and funky designs. 

I put a flaming "love" heart on the back,

along with some prickly pear and yuccas on the side. 

I love wabi sabi in art~ perfection in the imperfection. 

To me, that's one of the things that make art beautiful.

Thanks for stopping by.

Wishing you peace, love and joy.

Terri