Bathroom concrete floor staining...in doorway

I had to come up with a way to end the staining in the bathroom
since I got way carried away...
which is what happens to me when I don't have a plan.

 I couldn't bring myself to end it with a straight line as a closed door would command....

so, I'm still at it...water inside.....rocks on the outside...

besides I'll figure out something that the rocks can turn into

once I get in the mood for working on the floor

THIS side of the door.

why doesn't concrete doesn't absorb color at cuts

I believe I got a good answer to this problem....

and also believe I might have a solution for it

if I were to run into it again....

the jury is still out...and I"m still open for other possibilities.

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I need to know why the concrete is not absorbing the color at the cuts.

All  floors were first cleaned and washed before being carefully washed with CHO,

I used a scrub brush, neutralized with BakingSoda...

nothing dried, and then rinsed twice with clean water...all wet was vaccuumed up.

My cleaning methods are the same for each floor.

I've one that had NO problems at all.

The Bathroom floor had only slight issues.

I have been working from the west end of the building to the east end,

and am watching the concrete resistance to the colors at the cuts increasing.

The concrete resists as though oil was involved.

I was not present when they cut the floors..

so I don't know what was necessary to keep the blades going.

I have never added any water resistant product to the floors.

The cut lines above with the bee hive were not bad....

but the mechanical room at the east end of the house as seen below

shows this problem the most.

It was not given the respect of the other rooms,

so solder, flux and other drips and drops have been spilled...

I don't care about that...

I DO care about WHY this is happening around these cuts. 

It LOOKS like the cuts were wet...but they were not.

With the heat IN the floor, warm concrete doesn't tend to stay wet.

I've purposely WET sections of another floor to get a delicate wash,

and was able to work other colors into it.

The areas around these cuts will not accept color anywhere near as readily as the rest of the floor....

and that's what I want to understand.

I really need to find out what's going on...

so I've posted these pics here with the hope of making it easy for those really experienced in this floor staining can tell me what I'm trying to deal with here.

I'm using Butterfield Color's Elements waterbased stains....

on concrete that is just waiting for me.

Thanks for looking.

Concrete floor staining nearing completion

Sidetracked by life complexities, I'm now back to completing the bathroom concrete floor staining. 

I wondered what the flexibilities were of making changes, additions....

and not being able to leave well enough alone...I tried it.....I could always cover up problems with a rug.

HA! I'm not going to need a rug!!

$30.00 paintings

i was told my two paintings got "snapped up"  yesterday at the SGAAC fund raiser.

I did not go due to icy weather.

I heard it was a packed, lively and wild event....

sorry I missed it.

I will post about this again next year,

when you will once again

have the opportunity

to get one of the $30 paintings.

You can also follow them on FaceBook.

Oil Paintings of Korback Road

I was not going to be happy with my selected Fall Art Tour images being only
chasing/repousse and wood prints.
I wanted more and I wanted new...really new....
so, I set up an easle,
which I've not had room to do in too long,
and proceeded to paint what was out the window.

Korback Road....8" x 8" oil painting on canvas

 8" x 8", oil on canvas, will be part of the SGAAC's Art Out of the Closet event...details are HERE.

......and then I painted another....

Seven Sunflowers in January...8" x 8" oil painting on canvas

Spring Green Charter School, Queen Elizabeth I

These portraits of Queen Elizabeth the First
by MY Charter School Class
came about
because one of my students was interested in history,
and another got to talking about what sugar does.
I had just read the following passage about the Queen.
I brought the book to class on our last day
and had them draw what they "saw" when I read the following passage to them:

It has been common knowledge for thousands of years

that sweet foods encourage tooth decay.

In the Greek book of PROBLEMS attributed to Aristotle, the question is asked,

"Why do figs, which are soft and sweet, destroy the teeth?"

Nearly 2,000 years later,

as Sugar Cane was being established in the West Indies,

a German visitor to the English court

named Paul Hentzner described Queen Elizabeth I as she appeared in 1598:

Next came the queen, in the Sixty-fifth Year of her age, as we were told, Very majestic,

 her Face oblong, fair, but wrinkled;

her Eyes small, yet black and pleasant;

her Nose a little hooked;

her Lips narrow,

and her Teeth BLACK;

(a defect the English seem subject to, from their TOO great use of Sugar).

The rest of their arting can be seen in the very next post.

Spring Green Charter School

I was fortunate to teach one of the art classes for 9 of the Spring Green Charter School 3rd-4th graders.

Our  focus began with pinecones which grew into heads of what they felt like that first day, to portraits of Queen Elizabeth the 1st, (which I'll post when I get photos of them) ending with 5 page books.

Here they are! A.C., A.D., N.Z., O.I., B.L., E.A., L.H., C.Y., & R.O..... My class!

  

Woodblock print set that tell story

This is a set of prints that tell a story.


A TRUE STORY! My dog Booger went missing for 40 days and 40 nights. These prints are all true, supposed events, worries and happenings, except those that are very real, that I was consumed with while he was gone...and were so vivid in my head after he returned that I had to cut them into woodblocks.
(Also, I couldn't pass up the religious ticklings of the 40 days and 40 nights....really, it was 40 days and 40 nights.)

I'm very proud of these.

These are easily frameable fine art prints, which are as interesting to grown-ups as they are to kids.

They have been purchased by schools, libraries, pediatricians, home schoolers...for framing and to be laminated so kids can color them in and tell their own stories.

I believe picture books should be just that, with minimal words. My minimal words are include here as guidance.

Each print is packed with story telling material....
as I tend to entertain myself with visuals while I cut the wood...so there is way more than is really necessary in each print.

These prints are smaller than the originals, and are perfectly sized to pop into frames.  I do have the original full sized prints...which I'll get posted once I fine time to photograph them.
These are the remaining sets....which I sell through my Etsy shop, or in person should I run into you.

PINECONE Fish

It's not just Sardines and RedHerrings I play with,

but also.....

PINECONE Fish!

I've come across a box of fish I never finished,

so, as I DO finish then, I'll be posting them here and adding them to my Etsy Shop.

Pinecone Owl #3

Pinecone Owl #3 is now present in my Etsy shop.

Pinecone Owl #3

This and the rest of my pinecones are made with

real Wisconsin pinecones!

LindaKelenArtings now on ETSY!

I am officially beginning to arm my Etsy Shop.
I will attempt to add one new thing every other day.....or so.
Due to the holidays I thought I would begin with some of my pinecones.

Pinecone Owl #1

Pinecone Owl #2

I've made fish, all sorts of farm animals, other kinds of birds.

The oldest are 31 years old, never put away...

but are collected from their household positions to reside, temporarily, near, on, or above the holiday festivities.

I wish I numbered them all.

I would love to know how many I've made to date.

I have to make more Sardine Tins!

I have just sold SardineTin #23....and two more are being pondered by a Fall Art Tour visitor.
I've gotten accustomed to them being around, more like friends..
and the empty hooks just look empty.
I'm going to have to get onto making more.
These are the tins that are left....
(I just quick snapped these...but, will get better fronts and backs up soon)

Dog Story.... "Strong, Brave and Handsome"

 

This is page 1....the introduction.

 

Due to so many requests for a smaller, complete set of these,

I now have available the entire set of prints telling the tale

of  Booger's 40 Day & 40 Night disappearance...

complete WITH the words.

They are a bit smaller than the originals,

printed on acid free paper at a very frameable 8.75" wide by 17.75" high (9x18).

Simple frames are easiliy found at DickBlick or Googling.

Yes, I still have the full size original prints that I printed myself.

Now it's possible to frame the whole set for your kids, or for your classes.

A few teachers have actually laminated them so their students can pass them around to tell their own stories.

You can purchase them through LittleCreekPress
or from me.

New studio...new noise...new arting!

Alright!

At long last, I once again have an internet connection

which seems ROCKET FAST after years of a land-line dial-up.

I'm still unpacking, still working on the concrete floor staining

which is holding up the moving in of the rest of the studio.



Print #1 of the Meat Queen...7" x 10.5" WhiteLine wood print



The BIGGEST news is that I am most definately teaching White Line Printmaking at the Peninsula School of Art in 2013. 

I'll post more about this as it develops......
so more later...........it's nice to be able to post again............Linda

After Fall Art Tour update

I just found out 
that I will INDEED be teaching 
WhiteLine Woodblock Printmaking
at the Peninsula School of Art!
I'll make more noise about this
once I have a definate date and more information.

I want to thank ALL of you 
who visited during this past Fall Art Tour.

I WILL be attending the November 3rd opening
at the GardenRoom...
as I have just brought to them
three newly framed prints.............

Garden Room & Anaba Tea Room's 10 Year Retrospective

November 3 - December 30, 2012

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 3rd 5:00-9:00pm

Featuring local musicians: Dick Elliot (5-6:15pm), Don Linke (6:30-7:45pm) & John Stano (8-9pm)!

Enjoy small bites from Anaba's NEW winter menu & Happy Hour Specials! 

*Please note: Anaba will not be serving dinner during this special evening event

In celebration of our 10^th Anniversary, Garden Room & Anaba Tea Room are proud to host an incredible line up of 62 artists, all of whom have exhibited over the past ten years in our unique gallery space. In this invitational retrospective, artists have been asked to create 1 to 3 small works all priced at $200 or less, and will be available for cash and carry purchase. With almost 100 pieces in this exhibition, it’s a perfect way to invest in local talent, support local business and give a great gift for the holidays! This event is FREE & open to the public.

Participating Artists Include: 

Brenda Anguil, Ann Baer, Jamie Bilgo, Carol Chase Bjerke, Jeanne Bjork, Paul Bobrowitz, Mary Boettcher, Carol Brown, Matt Cipov, Jeanne Corrao, Curtis Crain, Joeann Daley, Mary Louise Dean, Sandra DeGeorge, Catherine Kleiman DesRosier, Gregg DesRosier Audrey Dulmes, Kathleen Eggert, Patrick Farrell, Nan Fitzpatrick, Charlotte Fung-Miller, Jane Gregorius, Susan Hale, Roxanne Hanney, Carol Hauer, Heather Hawker, Carolyn Larkin, Bill Lemke, Linda Kelen, Thea Kovac, Valerie Kupczak-Rios, Janice McClellan, Doug McDonald, Ruth Mode, Kathy Morgenroth, Judith Gahn Murphy, Mark Nash, Michael Nolte, John O’Hara, Jeanne Nikolai Olivieri, Johnna Papin, Madhavi Parekh, Sophie Parker, Sandra Peterson, JoAnna Poehlmann, Silas B. Ritchie, Karen Robison, Jeannee Sacken, Debra Salvo, Karin Savage, Jane Schneider, Mona Schudson, Pamela H. Stilp, Linda Streifender, Peter Sutter, Dint Sweitzer, Judy Tolkan, Mary Ullrich, Brynn Unger, Hans Viets, Kathleen Walter, Stacey Williams-Ng

Anaba Tea Room Located in the lower level of Garden Room

2107 East Capitol Drive, Shorewood, WI 53211  ● Open Tues 11-5, Wed-Sat 11-9, Sun 11-3, Closed Mondays

For more   info, please contact:  Jamie Bilgo Bruchman at Garden Room

414-963-1657 Jamie@gardenroomonline.com

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Concrete Staining new studio floor



Cell phone pictures are the best I can do right now.

This is what it all looked like a while back.

Now almost done, I'm looking into sealing information.

Yes, these are a couple sections of my new concrete studio floor.

I'm in the midst of a chaotic transition.

This weekend I'm hoping to move more of the old studio into this new one.

Fall Art Tour visitors will be subjected to however far I have gotten in my moving in attempts.

There will also be a lot of drawings and prints and who knows what else that will be sold

simply to give me more storage room.

Those who have visited in the past know each year is a definate surprize....

and this year will not disappoint any of them.

I also am learning about outside concrete.

Christmas. . . Rooster

My new studio mate.

more about this later.

I just wanted to get this up today.