paint chips illustrations

We are in the process of renovating our kitchen. I carry the burden and pleasure of having to make lots of functional and design decisions in the process. It is interesting how some decisions come easy and others are harder to make. It is mostly when I don't have a specific idea about how I want things to look, that it is more challenging for me to make the decision.

Part of the kitchen remodel was finding a wall color to match the newly created space. Standing in the paint store, I was overwhelmed by the amount of magnificent colors and equally tantalizing names accompanying them. I walked out of the store with lots of paint chips but not a better idea of how my walls were supposed to look. Inspired by artist Geninne Zlatkis (www.geninne.com) who has used paint chips to create her illustrations, this line of postcards came into being. They are bright and vibrant and whimsical at the same time!

318/365, hand-delivered in Seattle

319/365, sent to Redmond, WA

320/365, sent to Hamburg, Germany

321/365, sent to Jerusalem, Israel

322/365, sent to Jerusalem, Israel

323/365, sent to Berlin, Germany

fall leaves

I took a walk in my neighborhood this morning. The rain had just stopped and the birds were chirping excitedly.  The sky was hovering in multiple shades of gray over the houses. When I glanced at the 20 feet tall cedar trees lining the streets, I could almost envision a time of this Pacific Northwest landscape before urbanisation. Thick luscious woods with generous rain forest type vegetation and tall cedars creaking in the wind.
The next five postcards are close-ups of leaves inspired by the fall colors of this year's beautiful fall season.

 

313/365, sent to Bellevue, WA

 

 

 

314/365, sent to Seattle

315/365, sent to Seattle

316/365, sent to Bellevue, WA

317/365, sent to Garberonnes, Botswana

fancy paper collage

Sometimes the most useful items to one person are the rejects of another. The other day, I was at Kinko's to copy a project and I reached into the recycle bin to grab a scrap paper to write on. Out came these beautiful sheets of paper that were part of someones craft project - I am sure. The person had discarded lots of strips of gorgeously patterned card stock. To me, these scraps screamed opportunity for collage. The five next postcards are the product of my recycling efforts.

308/365, sent to Seattle

309/365, sent to Sammamish

310/365, sent to Seattle

311/365, hand-delivered in Seattle

312/365, sent to Lynnwood, WA

journey into the unknown

These funny creatures are once again inspired by Carla Sonheim's new book Imaginary Animals.  They are made out of the interior of old envelopes and the pages of an antique German kids book.  Varnish is painted over the collage and the animals are drawn in pencil.
This set of postcards was sent to friends I have long lost touch with.  I am not sure if the cards will make it to their destination - most likely they will not, since the addresses in my address book were outdated.  I sent these cards on to a journey into the unknown - hoping that somehow the cards will make it to their destination - or else that somebody on route might enjoy them.

303/365, sent to Bern, Switzerland

304/365, sent to Brooklyn, NY

305/365, sent to Hamburg, Germany

306/365, hand delivered in Seattle

307/365, sent to Seattle, WA

blog audience

Blogspot has this great feature where you can check the statistics of your blog. I enjoy looking to see how many times my blog has been clicked a day.  But more interesting than that is the feature which analyzes my audience.  I can find out where in the entire world mazecard is being visited.  While most clicks are made in the US and Germany, there are also lots of followers in other countries:  Russia, Canada, France, Switzerland to name a few and places as exotic as South Korea and Singapore.   I am wondering to myself how people get to this site and what they think of it.  Was it just a happenstance or do people follow the project on a regular basis?  An invitation once again, to all of you out there reading this blog, I'd love to send you a card if you leave me your name and address in the comment box.

298/365, sent to Kassel, Germany

299/365, sent to Owings Mills, MD

300/365, sent to New York, NY

301/365, sent to Seattle, WA

302/365, have not yet found adressee's address

origami creations

I had fun learning about Origami and making these small creatures out of decorative paper. It came in handy one day at school when a student didn't behave in art class and just needed an extra project to be engaged. I pulled out my elephant and had him create one as well. His little hands moved so fast and his bad attitude just evaporated. It was a moment of magic for me to see that busying yourself with your hands has truly healing powers. I find that is true for myself as well. When I make it a point to sit down in the morning to do art, I feel more grounded throughout the day. Give it a try!

293/365, hand-delivered in Seattle

294/365, sent to Seattle, WA

295/365, sent to Seattle, WA

296/365, sent to Philadelphia, PA

297/365, sent to Munich, Germany

unlikely friends: thread and watercolor

I love to sew and haven't had much time since the beginning of the year - my creativity spent on a daily postcard. Only this week have I had extra time on hand which I spent creating these gift items from recycled and felted wool:  Framed pictures of cute mice, sweet finger puppets and a pillow for the toothfairy.  I find the process of hand stitching utterly calming and satisfying.  These creatures were inspired by a gifted crafter up in Port Townsend, Kata Golda, who makes everything from wool and wrote beautiful DIY books about her craft.  If you want to look up Kata Golda, here is her website http://www.katagolda.com/

These postcards below have been created by thread, a sewing machine and water color. I first sewed the line across the paper - leaving an interesting pattern also on the back of the card. Then I embellished the emptiness of the white card with watercolor.  I love the multi-media feel of these cards.

288/365, sent to Burlington, VT

289/365, sent to Giessen, Germany

290/365, sent to Washington, DC

291/365, sent to New Rochelle, NY

292/365, sent to Berlin, Germany