Carrie Bertschy
Stories (12/0)
The Beginning of My Love for Track and Field
Running is a sport that you can try at any age. You could start at kindergarten or be a first time runner at the age of 25. It can be done - it is just a matter of how much you love it and are motivated to continue the sport. At what age do you become a runner? For myself, I decided to try it at a young age and it became my best sport. I began my days in Hershey Track in the 4th grade. The first year I was on my own because my sister and brother did not seem interested. Being the oldest in my family, I tried a season of track in the summer of 1986. It is not easy to remember it, but there are some parts I can remember. It was the beginning of my love for running that would follow me for many years.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Unbalanced
Soccer can bring happiness to anyone
I believe soccer is a sport for all ages. Why do I believe this statement? I started at an early age and worked my way to older adulthood. Soccer became a passion of mine from the beginning. I have played soccer for over 12 years and it has lasted me to this present day. That is why I feel that I am very passionate about this sport. Soccer is an easy sport to understand and I enjoyed my first season in the spring. I had some great coaches over the years and I had a great time. You can tell by all the times I have smiled in my soccer pictures for the seasons. I would like to share my story about how I began and how I came to love the game of soccer.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Motivation
My passion for art is my escape to a better world
My passion for art, has been with me, since I was 7 years old. I loved to draw when I was younger with my brother and sister , in the basement, during the 80s decade. We would play this game called , " Pick to Draw" and practice drawing for fun. It would be a contest to see whose drawing came looking out the best. We would each take scrap pieces of paper, write a person, place, or thing on the paper, fold it, place it in a canvas bag, and vote to whose turned out the best. We would shake it up and each pick a paper out of the bag. I remember I picked a piece that said to draw a "humpback whale". Anything goes, is what the drawings were about and it gave us practice for art class as kids. It was fun at the same time. If we did not feel like playing board games, we felt like playing "Pick to Draw". It was very similar to the game of Pictionary, only it was a contest, instead of a guessing what the picture was on the paper with teams.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Motivation
Celebrating Father's Day
When you were growing up, who was the first parent you would tell about something being wrong? With myself, it was my dad. I have been close to my dad because he took care of the three of us while our mother worked as the breadwinner. He was Mr. Mom. My parents had to switch roles while my sister, brother, and I were growing up together. The times with my dad were both good and bad. More of them were good. I just feel that I was lucky to have him growing up. That is why I am sharing some memories of my father for this Father's Day.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Families
Bourbon Collage at Its Best
People who love to drink bourbon whiskey might like the idea of this collage. For myself, I don't mind occasionally having an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan. I have been bartending, as a side job, for weddings, banquets, or special events. Working as a side bartender, you could come up with some ideas to use as a mixed media artist. I came up with the idea of this bourbon collage that I titled "Bourbon at Its Best". This bourbon collage was put together with canvas board, decoupage, glue gun, fiskars scissors, acrylic paints, paper images, and red beads. It was an idea that came during the pandemic while I was not bartending due to lockdown. It is not a difficult project and the idea made me think back to some of my family members who like to drink bourbon whiskey on occasion.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Proof
Putting together "In and Out of the Ordinary" for The 2021 Sketchbook Project
From 2002-2008, I worked in a public library as a shelver and enjoyed the people, the environment, and my job. A library is a favorite place of mine because I love books, magazines, computers, research, and being alone in a quiet space. It is usually a peaceful and calming environment. When I heard there was a program called The Sketchbook Project at the Brooklyn Art Library on Facebook, I was curious about how the project worked out. For the project, you basically go online to their website- www.brooklynartlibrary.org, buy some sketchbooks (5 books in a set), put your own together, register it, and send it back completed. It will go on the bookmobile and afterwards into the library. I wanted to be a part of it because I love libraries and art- it was the perfect project for an artist and library lover. I received the 5 sketchbooks in the mail and it took me a month to finish it. I wanted to include my son Wesly in the project as one of the participants in our family. While I was putting it together, I needed a few extra items- fiskars scissors, stickers, Elmer's glue, copied images, and a computer/printer for the words on each page.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Humans
"Recycle for Life" Project inspired by a visit to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens
When you go with your family to the zoo, what is the first animal you would like to see? Pandas, zebras, lions, hippos, ostriches, elephants, flamingos, or maybe alligators? The Cincinnati Zoo is one of my favorite places to visit during the summer. It has been named the greeniest zoo in the nation and they are coming up with more ideas for protecting our environment. "Recycle for Life" was inspired by the idea of the zoo caring so much for our environment and also thinking of new ways to save it. When I put together a painting/collage for this inspiration, I came up with using: fiskars scissors, a 16 X 20 canvas, wooden circle coasters, newspaper, glue gun, black chalk coasters, acrylic paints, wooden letters and shapes, mod podge, a brush, and tissue paper. This project takes a longer amount of time only because it is on a larger canvas. In this painting/collage, I put a lot of time and effort because I believed in what they were doing at the zoo. I felt I expressed my feelings about how I was impressed about the zoo and its involvement in caring for the environment.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Earth
Making a Homemade Bird Feeder for Outdoor Enjoyment
Being inventive, I enjoy putting ideas together and creating something you do not see everyday. I believe coming up with inventive ideas has always been an adventurous way of thinking. I created this bird feeder through many items I found in a craft box, a few items I bought at Old Time Pottery, and a ceramic piece that I made in my class. In order to put the bird feeder together, you will need a basket, a plastic plate, some stones from the craft store, scissors, artificial flowers, glue gun, Gorilla glue, and some miniature craft pieces you could add to it. The hardest part of putting the bird feeder together, is making sure everything is glued on securely so the items may not be removed by the birds or possibly squirrels. It can be done, you just have to make it strong and secure all around.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Lifehack
Creating a Lost and Found Treasure Collage
As a mixed media artist, you tend to use a lot of different media in order to create your artworks. I was inspired to create a lost treasure collage that involved an interest I have had since my childhood. It was put together using many different types of media- wooden letters, leftover foreign coins, denim, a miniature vase, fiskars scissors, vinyl gloves, stain paint, glue gun, a metal stick on, a ship tile, a metal canvas, and paper images. It was an art project close to the heart. I discovered the items around my apartment and a few at the thrift store. The only two items, from the thrift store, were the denim and the vase. The rest of the items were found around the apartment and had not been used in a long time. It was a challenging project and it turned out better than I expected.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Motivation
"Collages of the Coronavirus Pandemic" inspired by being in lockdown
When the Coronavirus Pandemic started in March of 2020, I felt like I needed to express how this event was affecting our social world. Covid 19 was the beginning of limitations for everyone and society was going from socializing in the public to being isolated in lockdown. Since society was isolated in the lockdown, I decided to take advantage of the time by creating an art collection that I titled, "Collages of the Coronavirus Pandemic". I came up with 10 different ideas to express through my art collages. I started with the closings of restaurants and finished with what society could be like again after the pandemic. It was important to me, as an artist, to put my feelings into art because my social life was affected as much as everyone else in the world. I could not shake a person's hand or even meet a friend for lunch on my day off. Many social lives were damaged due to the limitations that Covid 19 created during this difficult time.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Motivation
Putting together a Poppy Flowered Centerpiece
This is a craft project I wanted to share with others about how to make a candle centerpiece. I really enjoyed putting this together and it involved a lot of different items. The centerpiece is very bright and colorful. It has some nice colors such as red, blue, yellow, and green. I used 5 different items- a ceramic tile, a wooden circle, twine rope, candle holders, and acrylic paints. The theme of this centerpiece is poppy flowers and it involves four steps in putting it together. I will start with the ceramic tile and work my way to the candle holders.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Families
"Collages of the Coronavirus Pandemic" inspired during the isolated lockdown
When the Coronavirus Pandemic started in March of 2020, I felt like I needed to express how this event was affecting our social world. Covid 19 was the beginning of limitations for everyone and society was going from socializing in the public to being isolated in lockdown. Since society was isolated in the lockdown, I decided to take advantage of the time by creating an art collection that I titled, "Collages of the Coronavirus Pandemic". I came up with 10 different ideas to express through my art collages. I started with the closings of restaurants and finished with what society could be like again after the pandemic. It was important to me, as an artist, to put my feelings into art because my social life was affected as much as everyone else in the world. I could not shake a person's hand or even meet a friend for lunch on my day off. Many social lives were damaged due to the limitations that Covid 19 created during this difficult time.
By Carrie Bertschy3 years ago in Humans