Here are 4 5 X 7's that I completed yesterday. I went downstairs to clean up the basement, as I have some friends coming over today to do some art, and I rediscovered my gazillions of papers that I made in Laura's class last fall. They were calling to me, so I got to work. Everything was all ready; all I had to do was tear, rip, collage, and iron. This one is my favorite.
This one uses a photo I took of some recycled letters I made for my daughter's bulletin board; she teaches 8th grade science. I think they work nicely here--you have to look at the piece for awhile before you discover the word, which is intended.
This piece is more purply, which is a color I don't often use in my art. The pieces that have the white textured circles are from a photo I took at the Chicago Garden show several years back. It adds a lot to this abstract piece, which has a mystical quality to it, I think.
And this one reminds me of a couple of days ago, when my granddaughter Addison, age 3, and I blew bubbles on the back porch. It was a sunny day, and the sound of her giggles plus the sun (which has been missing for weeks) just made for a memorable moment. These "bubbles" are a photo of a planter, which is one the porch, and is filled with small glass ornaments to resemble bubbles. I varnished all these pieces with high-gloss, which added to the depth quite a bit.
Feels so good to get back into the creativity mode.

Stories

Here's what I created today! I've had this collection of wine corks for years, always thinking I'd do something with them, and never knowing what. I wanted to make ART, not a corkboard or trivet or whatever. I had bought this printer's drawer last Spring when we were in Door County, and today when I went into my studio, it called to me. I decided to try an assemblage of some sort, and when I went searching through my stash I ran across a few random corks and thought they might work as part of the assemblage.
Then after rummaging through my corks, I fell in love with them all over again. Each one has its own unique pattern and markings and holes. Each one came from a bottle that was used in a celebratory way--even if it was just a TGIF. So each cork has its own story. I decided to use only corks at that point.
And of course, I couldn't just leave them naked; I played with a few fibers first, and then ran across some beads on a thin wire, and decided to use a few charms also. They attached easily with a straight pin, curled on the end so the charm remains in place. My husband says it's an extravaganza of texture.
I can't decide if I like it better horizontally or vertically. Either way seems to work. I'm very pleased with my day's work. And it felt great to be back in the creativity groove.

Why do I always feel I need a visual with my blog? Guess that's the artist side of me. But today I need to just write, so am not taking the time to use a photo. The big Duff Christmas party is now over, and I feel the need to create. Seems that my studio has taken a back seat to holiday preparations, and it really wants to be in the driver's seat today. So I am headed there for sure. Don't even know what I'm going to do, but I trust that once I enter, I will know.

I also sense that I need to return to my morning pages. They keep my day in balance, and I know they are essential to me. Why do I avoid them? hmmmm--a subject for my morning pages, for sure!

And now, on to a day of creativity--with a few breaks for cleaning up after yesterday's party. See--I WAS planning the opposite (breaks for creativity). NOW I see it needs to be reversed.

Winter's Early Arrival

Someone forgot to inform Winter that she wasn't due for another couple of weeks! Here's a photo I took yesterday of our back porch door. The chickadee stickers are all over the windows; they help keep the birdies from flying into them.

I'm finally getting over my cold and feeling more energy. Just in time for holiday preparations. How I long to just spend a day in my studio--even cleaning and organizing would be fine, as long as I can be in there! But I'm afraid that will have to wait until next year. I just have to remember that I'm still being creative--planning, decorating, cooking requires creativity also.

Perhaps between Christmas and New Year's, I'll give myself the gift of studio time.

completed Claybord pieces

I finally was able to complete my claybord pieces from MaryBeth Shaw's class this fall. I added the collage elements and varnished them. It's an abstract landscape of the Valley Ridge farm. These two are 8 X 10's.
This detail photo went sideways on me, but you get the idea. The colorscheme is more monochromatic, and therefore quite different for me, who likes lots of vivid colors. This was a challenge to use texture more than color.
Another sideways detail. We carved into the claybord, and then I added more texture on top of that to the "ground" area. I learned so much in this class! MaryBeth is teaching again there next year, one class of color theory and another with painting on various hard surfaces. Looking forward to taking both these classes.
And these are the original 4 claybord pieces I did, 4 X 6's. I love the look and feel of these. They are hanging on my wall. I plan to do more "claybording" after the holidays.