My First Gallery Exhibit!!

I'm so excited! My first Gallery Exhibit!  Five of my pieces from this year are included in the show. (click here - http://www.crossingsatcarnegie.com/page0002.html - to read more about it under the heading Fabrications Nine). Some of you might recognize another name listed in the promotional piece.

While I know most of you won't be able to attend the exhibit, I just wanted to share this with you. But if you COULD attend...do let me know how you like it!!

A New Art Form For Me!!

OK, well not TOTALLY new....  I first tried watercolor over 30 years ago.  Naming the piece (had I kept it) would have been soooo very easy.  Like "Mud Puddle"!!  I actually knew NOTHING about watercolor and it definitely showed.  So terrible that I never even considered watercolors again.

Until.....well I DO use watercolor to create backgrounds for ATCs and my original note cards sometimes. But that is very different from trying to make something that someone else will recognize.  But, a new swap appeared on AFA with the theme "Water Water Everywhere".  What better theme to try out this technique? Seemed appropriate, right? So, I decided to give it a try.  Still knew almost nothing about this medium but I have learned some of what it does and how it acts.  Part of my continuing artistic journey.

Here they are....what do you think? 

A Mirror Lake
At the end of summer a few years ago, we went wilderness camping in Quetico Park in Canada. It is a "no motor" park so the lakes are always clear and peaceful. However, one day we were out in our canoe and I felt like I was in some surreal painting. The lake was perfectly calm and provided a perfect mirror for every bit of nature on shore and island. It was an experience I'll never forget.

An Agate Beach
The Minnesota North Shore of Lake Superior. Many of the serene beaches of the North Shore are scattered with agates. Most of the big ones have been taken out but it is still an enjoyable afternoon to sift through the small rocks that make up the beach....just in case.
 

Frozen Gooseberry Falls
Gooseberry Falls is an amazing place on the Minnesota North Shore of Lake Superior. While it is beautiful in its race to the lake in summer, it is majestic as it is frozen in place - just waiting for spring thaw.

Sunset at Duluth Harbor
Lake Superior is seldom calm but in the evening, when the sun is just above the horizon, it can become less turbulent. This is the time when it is so beautiful and peaceful.

 
I'm thinking I just might keep working on this.....

Faces Art Journal - page 2

My goodness this is fun!  Just completed page 2 in my Faces Art Journal.  Originally I had planned to do page 2 and 3. But I found that I really wanted the third face drawing and the original picture that I was working from on the same page.  So...here it is! 

The quote on the bottom of the page says: "The face is the index of the mind." -- Proverb

Faces Journal - page 2

Faces Journal - page 2 (detail)

Face number 3

OK, here he is....my third attempt at drawing the face depicted by a Roman statue.  He is still not exactly right but I'm happy with him since he is just the third face I've ever drawn....in my whole life!  He's getting closer to the original picture (which I now feel OK posting for comparison).  The shape of the head is not quite right and something else that I can't put my finger on.  The original seems older somehow.  So, I'm just envisioning this Roman as a younger man....yeh....that's it!!!!!  LOL!

Oh well, you can make your own judgement I'm sure.

Roman Statue - Face 3 (left is the original and right is my drawing - as if you couldn't tell the difference!)

You at least have to admit that this one is better than the two posted a month ago on August 18!!  So, now I'm ready to put these pictures in my Faces Journal. Pages 2 and 3 are prepped and after these are in the journal I'll post those two pages.  Have to admit....this is really exciting!

Faces Art Journal - page 1

Well, I finally got to work on my actual journal page today.  It is the first page and the introductory page.  I had a lot of fun just experimenting with the look of this page.  While I THINK I want my journal to all go together, I'm not sure just what will appeal to me on any given day.  We'll just have to see how it all breaks down in the coming months. 

I'm working in 6 page signatures of 140lb. watercolor paper.  I chose this paper because I LOVE to work with wet dyes and paints and watercolors for the backgrounds. Wanted something that could stand up to the moisture and not fall apart.  Plus, I love the slight texture of this paper and the way it deckles (I might have just made a noun into a verb but - hey, it works!)

So, started out with a wash of diluted brown procion dye (leftover from a fabric dyeing session). Then I played with some pastel chalks.  Then I outlined the space for the two first drawings with a gold Shiva stick.  Some more painting with some acrylic and then some distress ink. Adhered the two drawings and then color washed them with the same diluted brown procion dye and added some more distress ink.  It really mutes the drawings -- which is just what I wanted to happen (they aren't very good anyway) but I at least got my first two struggling efforts into the journal.  You can still see them in person but not too well in the photo.  I then adhered two strips of metal painted with alcohol inks from another previous project (see, I try to re-purpose even the scraps!). 

Then I made a pocket with a wallpaper sample from a hardware store(also painted with a color wash which dried in an interesting pattern) and attached it to the page with eyelets.  Inside is a card which reads:  "In the beginning…I’ve never drawn a face before. Now is the time to challenge and stretch. So, here goes! These first two I drew on regular paper with a #2 pencil. Not easy to work with. But I felt I should include them anyway. I have a picture I’m working from but I don’t want to reveal it until I get closer to what I’m trying to accomplish. Where this will take me, I have no idea. I’m just planning to enjoy the journey!"  That card can be pulled out by the special ribbon I attached to the tag at the top of the card.

Is this exactly what I wanted?  Well, not quite but making an art journal is also a work in progress and I hope to learn a lot along the way. Without learning new things...I think life would be unbearably boring!!  So, now, as in the agreement with my friend Wil, I have one more page to get done by the end of September.  We are striving for 2 pages per month.  Today, however, is drawing to a close for me so this is it for now. But tomorrow is STUDIO  DAY!!  So be prepared for more to come!

Nuturing Creativity - Week 37

It's been so hectic these past few weeks that it was difficult to keep up the posts about nurturing creativity.  And here we are already in week 37!  Time is just zipping by!  The days here are feeling more and more like fall.  There's just something in the air....that and the geese honking overhead as they marshal their forces to head south.  That is one of my favorite sounds because I know the crisp fall days and cool nights are just around the corner.  And since the forecast for the end of the week is highs in the low 60's (F), it seems it will be turning that corner rather rapidly. And I say, "Bring it on!!"  Fall is such a beautiful season here.  I'm picturing many "photo safaris" in the near future as we roam the countryside looking for that elusive single flaming red maple in the midst of the yellows and browns of the other trees.  I saw that once and never forgot it. What I DID forget is where the heck I saw it!!  Oh well, the thrill is in the hunt after all.

And here is the card for this week:

Stretch Yourself

Maybe not what you might have thought.  I know the title suggested something else to me....like exploring some new technique or materials.  But no, it is really talking about physically stretching.  Good advice really....and advice I seldom remember to take as I'm in the middle of a project or as recently, an ATC marathon (tomorrow is the last of the marathon ATC posts! -- or later today perhaps).  I get all stiff and creaky by the end of a session.  And I'm choosing to believe it is from not stopping to move around and stretch for a minute or two.  It is CERTAINLY  NOT  my age!!!  (Don't think I didn't hear some of you say that!!)  LOL!!  So, my challenge as I head into another intense project (the canal houses) is to remember to take breaks so I don't break!! At least the canal house project is so big I have to often get up and at least walk back and forth, to and from my design wall!  Does that count do you think???  hmmmmmmm  Where is Jack LaLane when you really need him???  oops...showed my age again!!

So, happy stretching and moving to all of you this week.  I'm going to try to keep up my discipline in that area.  We'll see how it turns out.

Fabric for Water

Is that kinda like "Water for Chocolate"? Nevermind..........

Anyway, I have been known on occasion to "forget" that I had fabric in Soda Ash to soak in preparation for dyeing. Sometimes for longer periods of time that I care to admit. One time, I decided that since they WERE soaked in soda ash after all............why rewash them only to soak them again. It was one of those "I wonder what would happen if..." moments. So, I just squirted on some dyes in the colors I was working with at the moment and let it batch overnight, rinsed it out the next day, washed....you know...all that stuff. Then I ironed it.....AMAZING RESULTS. Well, at least I love it!

I found a piece like that in my bucket just the other day. Hmmmm I had some dye mixed...why not do it again! I used some Mixing Blue and Marigold. And I gotta tell you...I LOVE this piece of fabric! AND I have an immediate use for it! You know those houses we are making in the DAG group???? Well...........this would make awesome water!! Don't you agree???

The whole piece is 18" X 44". These are pictures of different sections of it.

Nurturing Creativity (wk 12) and A New Addiction

Yeh, like I really NEED a new addiction, right??? Well, I've got one anyway.........

But first, my Nurturing Creativity pick for the week --

Nurture Others

Kinda self explanatory really. And this is one I hope I do all the time.....not just for this week. I have received so much encouragement in my artistic journey that I love to pass it along to others. And the group of art friends I have?......it's not trouble really to be encouraging. They are all so talented!!! I just make honest comments!

As for last week's success.......I actually tried several new things and could possibly (probably?) do them wrong on purpose because I had no idea what I was doing. But I just plowed through and "did it my way!" (passing homage to Frankie!) Here are some of the results:

My New Addiction -- Zendoodles and/or Zentangles. I had to look it up to see what on earth it even was. Oh my goodness... Way cool stuff. HAD to try it. Here are my first attempts. These were all done for an ATC trade so the size is 2.5" X 3.5".

The great thing about these little fun projects.....they don't take up studio time. I have a stack of blanks and my pens where I watch TV. GREAT way to survive during the seemingly endless barrage of commercials!! More of these to come, I'm sure.

Nurturing Creativity - Week 9

OK, they say confession is good for the soul, right???? Let's see if it is true............

I don't think I did more than ONE thing last week to further clear out my studio. Why??? Well, you will know if you read the posts from this week. I've been abstracted!!!

(Oh yes....I feel MUCH better now!!) LOL!!

Now to see what the coming week holds.

oh oh....this one could be a REEAAALLLL challenge for me. Why?? The challenge is.....

Be Really Silly!!!

This one is a big stretch!! How will I ever manage to accomplish this????? Honestly...I feel like I already did this one. I found working in abstracts a bit out of my comfort zone and really a lot of fun just to play with. But hey, I'm game to give it another week...THEN I'll get really serious again. I wonder though if being silly could be addicting and become a way of life??!! How horrible!! The idea on the card is to do something in a different medium - not trying to make a masterpiece -- just PLAY!! I COULD try snow sculpting!!!! We still have plenty of the white stuff around.

So, those of you who don't like to be silly need not check back in this week at all.....(somehow I doubt many "non-silly" people even read this blog....................... )

If you want to be silly this week... GO FOR IT!! Then drop back in and share your silliness. I hear it is contagious............

Life Upside Down

Well, here it is!!..............all done!!!!

Life Upside Down (& slightly off-kilter) is the full title of this piece.

The challenge title is ADAPTATION. I didn't have to think very hard about what that has meant in my life for the past 9 months! Nine months ago our son and his family moved in with us "temporarily". They have three babies all under 3 years old and because it is a blended family, on weekends we have all the kids. This makes 7 kids in all and 4 adults. It has been a major adaptation for me. I was used to having my days all to myself. I could be in my studio and skip lunch or whatever I wanted to do. I was responsible to or for no one but me during the day. Now we have a house full of people all the time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE having the babies here especially. They are a constant source of entertainment and love and hugs. They are wonderful. It's just that it is so different and therefore required much adapting. That is where this art quilt comes from.

This situation has turned my Life Upside Down and thrown so much slightly off-kilter. The number cascading off the clock are symbolic of the fact that I no longer have a schedule I can count on. Many many times, my plans go out the window due to other things that come up. The flower upside down on the slanted shelf though is significant of my flourishing in the midst of all the chaos. The four front petals are my 4 grandchildren that make it all worthwhile and the three smaller petals are the 3 additional kids we inherited to be kind of like grandparents to them. The big comfy chair and the rug are similar to the ones in my studio. My studio is one of the main things that help me stay grounded and sane (or at least in my life what passes for sane!!) The window is my sometimes slanted view these days....yet the view is pretty and wonderful.

It was a long process and I'm so glad the deadline for this piece was pushed back from earlier in the year to the end of January. It has been a labor of love and a journey of understanding all at the same time.

Playing with Wil - the final chapter

OK, the final chapter for this visit anyway. Just returned from dropping her off at the airport. But yesterday, after coffee, shopping, shopping, shopping and lunch -- we came to the studio to play some more with the gelatin. This time we took it out of the container and broke it into pieces which we laid on a drop cloth. Then we dabbed paint onto the broken up gelatin pieces and pressed the fabric onto the painted pieces. Another look completely. I especially like the areas where holes had formed in the gelatin.

Here are the three I did:

Now I have to play all alone for a while. (sniff sniff). Hopefully I'll find SOMETHING to do....lol!!

Playing with Wil - Part 2

We had so much fun with discharge yesterday we decided to do some more today (after all, we found some new and different clothes pins that were crying out for some experimenting!!) Below is the fan folded Black Kona with the bleach starting to act on it.
This is the completed piece!!

Then I got out all my Twixits and we did some clipping with those and then discharged it.

I liked my knotted piece so much yesterday that I wanted to do a bunch more (I obviously forgot how difficult it was to untie the wet knots!!!) Same bleach, same Kona black and yet SOOOOOOOOO different that the strip I got yesterday. There was something going on that caused us to ask several questions and later today we did a test. I'll let Wil tell you all about that on her blog. Probably tomorrow check it out. Right now we are dead on our feet!!! She has already gone over to the house to take a break before dinner! But here are my strips from today!! Needless to say.....they will be put together in some form to make a quilt!!!

That's it for today, I'm beat and hopefully my husband will remember to bring home dinner!!

FULL TIME ARTIST!!!

Well, for better or worse..... I'm now a full time artist! Not even sure just what that will look like but I do know I'm excited about it. It is something I have wanted to do for at least a year and now have a chance to see where it will take me! (does this sound like it would fit in with the latest card in MY CREATIVE JOURNEY or what?????)

I'm dedicating the rest of this week to straightening up and reorganizing parts of my studio. It feels so for real now!

So, wish me luck, here I go!!!!!