Practical Art

I'm not a "clutter" kind of chick. The bobble heads my husband loves are junk to me. I rarely buy things that don't have a purpose. I don't have magazines on my coffee table (I don't have magazines at all, they're ephemera which is just another word for "trash" in my mind), I don't save the junk mail, I don't have a junk drawer. So, doing art for the sake of doing art hasn't been easy for me. I mean - $6 for an ounce of paint that I'm just using to paint the pages of my journals is crazy. But I LOVE the idea of practical stuff being turned into art. Not like a clarinet into a lamp - then you've just got a clarinet you can't use. But check out these folders:

They're just plain old school folders with the pockets on the inside. And they're WHITE! And matte, so you can totally draw on them if you want to. I painted mine:

I drew the face on a full sheet white label and shaded her face with my prismacolors. Then I painted the rest of her and cut her out and stuck her on. I integrated her a little with some paint and ink, and I think she's finished. I think this is a total win. 

Also, I'm sort of careful about not letting people in my "real" life know that I'm an artist. None of my school mates know anything about me other than I have a kid and don't have a car. Maybe I'll let these folders be my beacon. I'm going to try ALL kinds of mediums and even use some of them like journal pages! I want to live an artful life and I feel like things like this are steps in the right direction!