Found Objects

While Paul was officiating a wedding rehearsal at Old South Church in Boston I roamed around Copley Square where there just happened to be a farmers market.  

I enjoy being in the city and it was such a beautiful evening for dinner and a walk after the rehearsal. There's so much to share but this post is about unexpected found objects. 

I thought of Tracie from yesterday's post when she happened to look up and found a bit of beautiful sky through the trees. I happened to look up and found fuzzy yarn pom poms dotted high in a tree. They were hard to photograph....but such a delight in person. You just never know what you might find when you look up!  Right Tracie?

Found Moment

I've heard it said than an obstacle can actually be a bridge. 

Lots of obstacles bridges being built today....it was just one of those days.

Tracie's found moment.

But what a delight when Tracie messaged me describing a moment she looked up and noticed the beauty and wonder of a small patch of bright blue sky and just a touch backlit green contrasted against the rest of the scene.  She likened it to the found objects I get such delight in. 

"Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it."  Mary Oliver

Thank you Tracie...telling me about your found moment was a little bridge for me today.

Tickled Pink!

Could I be more tickled?  I think not!

I got an e-mail from Lynne today titled "MaryAnn the Muse" with a few photos from her art group called The Mixed Masters.  How great of a name is that!

They used the birch moon collage I sent Lynne as inspiration for their project. Can you see it sitting there on the table? It tickles me right down to my toes! 

Lynne and Evelyn's versions are beautiful!  Such soft and lovely color palettes....and the backgrounds are moody and artsy!  I'm loving collaged birch trees more and more!  Now I'm inspired! 

Flea made this whimsical collage inspired by a flamingo.  Love just the hint of the bird....and the textures and colors are fabulous!

Well done ladies! I'm ticked pink...flamingo pink!

What You Know

"Work on what you know and what you know for sure you love."

Lynne sent me this quote on a sweet handmade tag....it helps cheer her on when she needs a jump start. I took it literally today.

After auditioning the tissue collage with my folded paper piece I realized it wasn't the texture I needed.  The catalog pages are matte and even though I used matte medium for the collage they don't seem like a right fit.

I will certainly use it...but for now I set it aside and worked with what I know I love...the catalog pages.  And I used a technique that I also know and love....fusing!

I ironed fusible webbing onto the back of a few colorful pages from the Gundrun's World catalogs.  I chose to fuse because I didn't want to overcoat or have any issues with glue...I wanted a clean, matte finish. I discovered that the fusible pages could be punched so for the first round I fused squares onto a stabilizer.  I started with a row on the diagonal...then built from there. Because the squares had fusible on the back...all I had to do was lightly press with an iron. I used a pressing cloth at the end to give it a good final press.

I like it....but it wasn't quite right either. It was a little too orderly and reminded me of the paper chains we used to make with gum wrappers growing up. I think I might have liked it better if I had fused the squares straight.

Next I fused some wonky strips together making a striped band....I can work with this! The vertical lines will be a nice contrast to the horizontal ones in the folded layer.

I will use it as a narrow insert between other art papers as part of the totem.

I'm still auditioning art papers...and may manipulate some a bit. But for now this stack is being set aside because it needs time and space....and a little mulling. I know it has potential. Onto more things I know I love....and maybe even a little cleaning.

Hints of Fall

I am not wishing away the days....but I do love these lovely little hints of fall. It is my favorite season. I'm back in Maine for a few days so I got to check out the tissue paper I collaged onto the sandwich wrap from Lynne....isn't it lovely next to the leaf? 

Now that it's good and dry it has great texture and is quite flexible so I can see all the uses. I hope to play around with it a bit tomorrow....the studio is calling! 

Good Reminder

Thanks Becky!

Tissue to Texture

Although I'm pretty excited about the next fabric pieces....I paused to mull over the paper piece while I was in Maine.

I have some beautiful art papers that will work well as some of the solid layers but I decided I needed to figure out a few more textural layers.


This morning I found a couple of different striped tissue papers in my stash that had similar vibrant colors as the folded catalog pages. It was the perfect time to try out Lynne's sandwich wrap as the base for collaging.  I started with something familiar...turning stripes into a pattern by cutting and shifting strips as I glued them down onto the wrap.

This was my first attempt. The sandwich wrap is fun because it's translucent and I like the wonky texture and shading from the overlapping parts. 

This was the second round....the tissue I stared with is on the left.  I did the same thing...overlapped the strips as I glued.

This is what it looked like on the work table while it was still wet...  

....and this is what it looks like held to the light....again, I love the texture.

I'm anxious to see how they'll look and feel when they're completely dry...but that will have to wait.  We're back in Lexington now but I'm going back on Monday for a few days. We'll see.

Passenger's Seat

I just reached the 60,000 mark for visits to my blog....kind of blows my mind! Thank you for taking an interest in my stories and joyful puttering.

Paul and I have been on different schedules so we often had to take two cars to Maine and overlap as often as we can. But yesterday afternoon we were finally able to ride together....I'm much happier in the passenger seat because I get to to make stars and take naps.

I keep my Bob Dylan travel box filled with strips ready for car rides. And...every time I make stars I think of and quietly thank Adam for teaching me how.

I got a little pile of tiny ones folded before I closed my eyes.

I love these cute little candy jars....when I fill one up I give it away and start over filling another one. I've got a good start....thanks Paul for driving.

Coming Along

I wrote about porcelain berries three years ago so if you want the back story you can read that post here.

Anita and I visited the familiar tangled patch all along this walkway this morning to see if they had started changing color.  Sure enough....they're coming along. Most of them are still green but we found a few splashes of color and we're looking forward to keeping an eye on them to watch the transformation.

I continue to be amazed at the intensity and variety of color.

Mushrooms

Lots of rain, high humidity, and a woodsy setting are helping make it the year of the mushroom at the condo in Portland. They kind of creep me out...but I'm trying to embrace them and celebrate their uniqueness. 

They almost have personalities.  I'm grateful to Joyce for sharing her story with me a while back about her new appreciation for mushrooms.                                                   

This patch in the woods looks like a little family. I love the way that little one on the left is leaning into the mom.

  

The little ones on the right look like they have a dollop of lemon curd plopped on top.

Paul found this patch on a walk. Like I said...creepy.....unique.

A few more colorful ones Paul found on his walk in the woods.

Comfort Zones

I had to smile when I saw this quote on my Instagram feed from paperedthoughts.  

So often we hear how great things happen "outside our comfort zones"....but inside can be pretty awesome too!

The pink background is the perfect segue to these lovely hydrangeas from our morning walk. I'm not exactly sure...but they could be the variety called Pinky Winky.  How fun is that name!

Paper Stack

I have an idea for the rainbow catalog strips I folded last month.  

I realized it was very similar to the fused fabric layer in the stacked totem piece I finished recently. I like that piece and I've gotten good feedback.

So I'm going to make a similar piece using just paper and this folded rainbow spectrum will will be one of the layers of the stack.

My next step was to stitch the paper strips onto a piece of interfacing covering up the stitching line as I put down the next layer. I still can add decorative stitching that will show...but I'll make that decision later.

    

I used a piece of paper with a tick mark as a guide as I placed each row to try and keep things fairly lined up. I do have a tendency to veer off the straight and narrow path....so to speak.  Now I'm auditioning papers and brainstorming what the other layers might be. I'm going to take inspiration from the fabric piece and be sure to keep some layers more solid and textural. I have an unusual but appropriate canvas in mind for this one.  More soon.