Crossing Boundaries

Busy times! Keeping me off the streets. Keeping me out of trouble. I had to edit my enthusiasm a lot, and still I found thirty-two photos of artwork to show you. Just artwork; no cute kitties or handsome husband enjoying front porch wine while the sun sets. (Weather has been a bit problematic for that, but soon, I implore, soon!)
No, the late arrival of spring has mostly kept me inside and focused. As has my loyalty to my class assignments, and the momentum that "The Year of the Giraffe" is bringing. I often stop in the afternoons for a bit of unbridled motion with my Zumba DVDs, and lust after the bods I will never again own, but generally I am grateful for my fitness and good health, and truly thankful for my daily dose of art.
Although I haven't had the time to do as much as I'd hoped so far, I did toy some more with the Sketch Club program for my iPad during the mixed media giraffe month of February, producing a digitally altered image of two of my conte crayon sketches from January/draw. I know I will eventually love having this medium in my arsenal, but right now I am back to mostly old school.

On March 1, Strathmore Artist Papers started their series of online month long workshops with something really new to me and appealing, lessons with Robert Joyner on "Abstract Fine Art Painting". Unfortunately, after the first week, and the purchase of a beautiful wood easel, I ran out of time and energy to keep up. I WILL be going back to these lessons soon. (Remind me I said this. I should say that the easel, taking up good space and sitting by my elbow as I type, keeps reminding me.) 

Week 1: Getting to know the materials

About the same time, my creative arts ringleader, Carla Sonheim, foolishly waved at me the chance to repeat some of her classes I had taken previously (and loved) for FREE! It felt like an opportunity that could not be missed because I was a bit needy for concrete direction, even though I like to go my own way within the guidelines. Good chance to start to weave my arts into one big theme: "giraffe world." From now on I was going to find a way to connect things, to cross boundaries and find my themes, my symbols, my inspiration. Trying to move from technical learning to ART. It's a process, but I'm feeling progress. First off, "Faces 101".

I made eight of these and, like a mother, I love every one.

Meanwhile, month three in Year of the Giraffe was all about sewing. For many classmates, this was a completely new challenge. For me the challenge was letting go of perfection, trying to design as I went and accept what happened. I still managed to make a character who is neat and precise and sturdy, but she is a character and I was very pleased with the results. (Maybe someday I will learn to make a "rag" doll, but  it so goes against the grain for me to sew sloppy when I've had a lifetime of learning perfection.)

We received suggestions, but mainly we designed our own patterns.

I had to learn how to make a mostly flat figure 3D by adding a gusset.

Meet my darling Stasha!

She has nose-trals and a tongue and she's somewhat flat so she only has one ossicone.

Here she poses in front of a garden painted armoire.

The second of the repeat classes was "Flower Crazy." Because Carla has the class research flower-like shapes both in nature and man-made objects to use for inspiration, I figured there was nothing more perfect than giraffe parts to fit the bill.

Spots, ossicones, and ears...

eyes and tails (in a field of bubbles).

Working on some gesso-first textural pieces inspired by my journal sketches of parts.

A swirl of leaves in the shape of giraffe eyes with long lashes.

Less obvious influence, but still more stylized than last year's .

In week three we did our painting on birch plywood and I took a break from animal parts to look for traditional floral inspiration. This change in style coincided with the beginning of the "What If? Diaries" on Jude Hill's private blog and class, where we are contemplating "white" as a design and materials source. The progression of paintings I did that week took me to a less colorful finish as I thought about the mysterious nature of white and led to a painting chosen for Flickr Explore that I am getting prepared to add to a white "What If?" art cloth.

Inspired by an antique tin ceiling tile.

The riot of watercolor is hidden under the gesso texture.

The final painting is a bit more neutral, dark and moody than most of my work, but it feels clean and exciting to me.

In week four, collage served as the basis for finding our flowers, and yet I was able to see a giraffe in the first one and some eyelash and ossicone inspired plant shapes in the second.

In April, our giraffe art has turned to writing, actually storytelling, in the form of   four one week assignments that for now are including drawings. Week 1: "Giraffe Invention" is detailed in two journal pages, then illustrated below. the crossover this time is a big one. I have just joined an eight week class with Jane Davenport and Teesha Moore called "Mermaid Circus". The story below has me taking my Stasha and some beloved hippos (a lifelong muse) to join the circus. And even though the class begins with the premise of mermaids, there will be giraffes and there will be hippos in my art!

My wonderful group of textile design companions, Designing Women, took on the project last meeting to work from a favorite print fabric and "ghost" the design outward in paint and stitch. Since I wasn't totally into this concept but wanted to work on something similar that could be applied to the White concept class, I chose to explore a personal symbol of sunrise/sunset in small pieces of hand painted (with procion dye) charmeuse, and create a series of three "poems". I am excited beyond all expectation with how they are coming along, ghosting the lines from the inspiration pieces, and yet moving on to something much more complete and yet abstract. They are speaking to me and yet they are not literal, and this is something I have been trying hard to learn. I believe it is that crossing over of boundaries. Pulling ideas from everywhere that help me find what I want to say and how to say it.

The backround fabric is from a silk broadcloth shirt, the assorted other pieces and bits from a session with rust and one with flour paste resist.

In this piece and the next I am using some procion dye drawn linework from a challenge project with Melly Testa.

And finally, the "Mermaid Circus" has begun. We have had a spellbinding first week of art and friendship and stirring the pot to mix and match and look for our own inspiration. You know what mine will be, but neither of us knows where the alchemy will take it. Come back soon to see my first painted books as they progress. I promise there will be magic!

Running to Keep Up

Plans were made. They had been in the works forever, an "epic" trip overseas, (only my second, ever) was finally coming to fruition. The trip was starting on labor day weekend, marking the divide between the seasons of play and responsibility. I had already signed in to two new classes which would begin while I was on the road. The responsibilities would start to pile up, I would be "behind" from the start. I am perpetually over-committed and behind schedule. I cannot bear to miss out on opportunities that excite my creativity, that feel like something brand new.

I had planned to write a new blog post before leaving home, I had begun planning and writing, in fact. It was to be titled "Summer Steps Up". It swirled and whirled in my brain during those last two crazy-busy weeks of shopping and organizing piles, dreaming of the grand experience ahead. And then there was no more time and I was leaving for the airport.

While I was gone, my life back home was in suspended animation behind closed doors. I was fully where I was: no Internet, no TV, no smart phone, simply no checking in. In fact, the trip was so intensely planned and layered, I was running to keep up. My camera's memory card became a substitute for my own at times, as places, colors, and textures so intense whirled by in a blur, and I couldn't believe there was so little time allotted to just stop and be with them. I could have spent hours, days, just staring, photographing details, and drawing if I were able. But on a guided trip you look, snap and move on. You keep your camera at the ready and don't ever think you will have a second opportunity to return to a scene. And yet, on our own, the sights would never have been seen and the 2000 photos not taken, the new circle of friends not encountered and enjoyed. I can complain, but I won't. It was all a glorious privilege.

But being a methodical person, I need to find closure on my summer before I take time to savor and share the trip. So I will give you the condensed and amended version of my August, just because it now feels orphaned, unfinished, abandoned. In truth, it was a wonderful time of its own.

Two new friends joined me in August: "Flash" the hippo, and ActiveLink, my constant companion, recording every move I make, reminding me to burn, burn, burn those calories.

(Summer Steps Up, an excerpt)

August has become that golden fruit I wait patiently for every year. The air is soft and sweet again and I am in heaven, sitting and gazing out from the gazebo in my wildly matured garden. During the long days of heat and humidity, of storms and the chaos of wind, I remained true to my summer goals of health and stitching. I am happy to see that my diligence has paid off. My slimmer profile welcomes the new garments and I eagerly look forward to enjoying their sass and comfort.

I think about sharing the riches, inviting friends to sit with me, but I have the need to breath and stitch in perfect quiet meditation. Instead I am listening to the chatter of crows and jays, the splash of the fountain, the muffled distant mechanical tunes of trucks and blowers and human productivity about the community. There are planes flying overhead to distant adventures and I will be on one soon. But for now, I sit and stitch, no talk, (selfishly maybe), my mind all to itself, all connecting to my here and now.

Especially when life is crazy busy, it is necessary to take time to be zany...

...to let the wind blow in your hair...

...to walk on the sand, to become part of the bigger picture of life.

In mid August, I took time to join in to a bit of "summer camp" with one of my favorite drawing teachers, Carla Sonheim. She was offering two new classes: "Watercolor Transfer Painting," and "Cereal Box Paper Dolls." I did most of my lessons for the first intensive session, but barely began the second. I will return to both as soon as possible, but have a number of interesting things to share from the first week.

I have taken a number of classes now in which Carla has taught her own techniques for the use of watercolor, often with gesso, and other simple media such as vine charcoal and graphite pencil. This time she has developed ways of working them on t-shirt transfer papers, so that the impermanent or easily smeared media can be made stable, trapped in a layer of plastic film.

three quick, impressionistic landscapes in watercolor and pastel 

This five minute beach scape was ironed to an old t-shirt to create a completely personalized update.

This mixed media "landscape" was basically doodled as a first step for later collage work.

A half of the sheet was cut to bits with no purposeful intention, then used to create three different collaged beings, two sea creatures and "Some Guy Who Stopped By". All three could be used "as is" but will probably benefit from some additional media development.

In this technique we did a sort of faux encaustic, by creating layers of an image independently, then ironing them over each other to create a thicker, complex, waxy image.

The initial three layers of ink, watercolor and pastel, ironed to watercolor paper...

...then color enhanced with a fourth layer of watercolors.

And, of course, it wouldn't be a Carla class without something just for fun. Here we find the story in the photo of a sidewalk crack. She flirts with him: "I Like Your Boot!"

My monthly play date with "Designing Women" involved trying out a simple(ish) technique for making batik-like designs on fabric using flour and water to make a paste, coating the fabric and scratching or pressing in designs. Once dry, the top surface is painted to allow the color to adhere to the fabric where the marks were cut through the paste. After a period of curing the paint, the whole piece is soaked and washed to leave behind organic markings. Enjoyable but messy, and requiring a bit of practice to achieve specific results.

My pile of fabric chips, curing. At this point they were very interesting to look at, but quite useless.

After processing, subtle and pleasant, but not nearly as exciting.

My first set of Alabama Chanin designed projects were successfully completed in time for my vacation trip. New colors of the organic cotton jersey have been purchased and many stencils made, so that fall and winter will see further wardrobe additions.

This is the tie wrap, a simple rectangle of fabric that ties behind the back, to hang on the shoulders more like a loose jacket.

The reverse applique swing skirt and fitted top were a huge success, shown here at El Castell de Cuitat, La Seu d'Urgell, Spain.

My final Starbucks Saturday doodle before heading off to take my coffee breaks at sidewalk cafes and hotel lounges of Northern Spain and Western Portugal. Can't wait to share the excitement!

Transitioning

It's the time of year. It's the time of my life. I am on the move. There is a restlessness and yet always a flow. Weather flows, seasons flow, talents and interest flow. After a long and productive winter that saw a determined and contented purposefulness of awesome intensity, I am ready for a break. And yet never from new learning and experience. Already there a stack of projects that belong to spring and will be completed enough to show you next time. But something about this winter was like a final exam, or better yet, an entrance exam. And I have passed with flying colors. Two years ago I decided to attend the art school of life, and now it has become a reality. I am on that path for the long haul, and yet there is nothing about it that feels burdensome. I feel a true transition from "wanna be" to "am".

Every season has its red thing: a bike, a blower, a gas can, a snow shovel.

The artist I used to want to be was concerned with a career and success, but the artist I am becoming just wants to make art. So in the most essential way, I have made my blog title come true: I am at home and it is the place I want most to be.

A decorative sun waits to return to the garden.
 Ice skates: never used, canoe cushions: maybe soon.

On a beautiful but still cool early spring afternoon in March, I sat in my garage watching the return of life outside the open door, and looking about at the storage-dusty, debris littered stuff of an outdoor life, and felt a great affection for the color and line of the things we collect that connect us to the seasons. I pulled out the always present camera and began to record details of color and texture, juxtaposition of summer and winter, and thought about how much I was looking forward to my garden, to outdoor exercise, to bringing my indoor art to my outdoor world again.

The late-day-sunny, west facing front deck waits coffee breaks, wine hour, after dinner tea. A place to watch life go by, day turn to night.

Light and shadow, texture and mood. Suddenly I felt hungry to capture it all. There is nothing like seeing the world around you in cropped bits and pieces, snippets of moments, to really open your eyes to the exquisitely intense inspiration of even the most "mundane" bits. Whether it is catching the fleeting colors of the most beautiful of sunsets, or a puddled crack in the garage floor, there is a fascination at every turn. The Advanced Photo Silly class came at just this transitioning moment, and gave me the gift of really seeing my world for two intense weeks.

My best self portrait from Photo Silly class had to tell some of my story.
(I learned to use a tripod, the camera timer, and not blink.)

Learning to make an interesting image through intentional defocus.
My pilates instructor, captured during class, appears to be from another planet.

Another soft image captures the golden sunset and the "First Mow" of spring.

Learning about white balance and the ability of the photographer to intentionally choose an "off" color. "Six Flavors of Cherry"

This assignment involved taking quick snapshots and them restaging them to get a better photo.

"A Touch of Red" taught me how to shoot a protrait of an object floating in space.

"A Red Focus" was my Starbucks Saturday doodle paying tribute to a new red Focus.

At the same time I was completing all the final preparations for another exam of sorts, the wrap up of all my textile arts into one intense weekend of sharing at the String Along Quilt Guild Of Northwest Indiana biennial quilt show. Here I got to share my most recent quilts, sell my one of a kind experiments in attire and other handcrafted gift and jewelry items, be with friends, and best of all this year, have a little corner all to myself to corral visitors to a demo of the many inspirations and colors of my new textile art world.

My jacket, "Spring Weaving", was a big hit and inspired many of those who stopped to visit my demo table to think about trying new techniques with their quilt art.

My section of the guild boutique featured paper art boxes, homemade potpourri sachets, felted hot drink cup sleeves, polymer clay pens, and beaded jewelry.

Always a favorite vendor, Renee Tripp is a local breeder of Suri Alpacas, and brings her beautiful yarns and dyed roving to sell. I bought three skeins of gorgeous lace weight natural black yarn from her boy "Sam Houston." I see some fancy scarf knitting in my future.

Three years in the making, this beautiful group quilt by my pal Dotti Sparks, and the Designing Women, entitled "Where in the World Have the Designing Women Been?" My block in the center bottom features, where else, trips to Oregon.

Another very successful D.W. project was this display of portrait quilts of our respective family members. Mine, on the left, "Too Cool: 4 Daves," was featured on the embroidery blog, "Mr. X Stitch."

Here I am with two of my quilts, a needle felted hippo portrait called "Hitchin" A Ride," and the Judge's Choice Winner of the show (!!!) "Better With Age."

Taking a moment to enjoy all our successes, friends in creativity.

Within days of the show closing, my project-trashed house still somewhat out of order, I was moving on: The Bhavana project flags had arrived, three yards of Alabama Chanin organic cotton jersey waiting, tied with a jersey bow in a stenciled box, the shrine book, completed and waiting only for the polymer clay end caps to be fashioned, and the first lesson of Carla Sonheim's fantasy flower painting class about to begin.


The season outside had changed while I was too busy to really pay attention, but now I am ready to get in step with both the garden and the art. New skills, new colors and textures, new adventures: here I come.