Playing With Snippets

I spent a few hours with some friends this afternoon....and I was fascinated with the ice formations on Patsy's windows.  

I couldn't help but do something with that little heart from yesterday's post.

And once I came across this watercolor piece....I had an idea.

I did this watercolor project in response to one of my blooming shrubs along the side of the condo....you can read about it here: http://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-underside.html

I started by cutting up the watercolor. It's been sitting around for a while....and I thought it would be more useful in parts.  Then I stitched one of the swatches and the heart together on a shimmery pinky red piece of cardstock and finally stitched it onto a card.

Art doesn't have to be complicated.... sometimes sweet and simple is the way to go.

And the best thing is....I have several more cutout swatches to play with. 

This is going to be my birthday card for my sister Nancy....her birthday is on Valentine's Day! 

And how cute is this!  

I love playing with my snippets!

Maybe you will too!  Stay tuned.

Stuff

My sister Angie was an artist and a crafter. She also was a hard working handywoman, a dedicated volunteer.....and an enthusiastic collector.  She could make anything and collected everything. And she loved her stuff.  

I have memories of her responding sharply to us sisters when we talked about her needing to let things go of some things....."I like my stuff." 

But after she became ill she knew that one day she might have to leave her home....and we all knew it would be difficult. In preparation for that day....she began to go through her stuff as best she could.

When I visited I tried to help. I fetched boxes for her to sort through and toted things to the car for donation or to the backyard burn pile. 

Hardly any words were exchanged....Angie was a woman of few words. I just patiently waited until I was told what to do next....because when I was with Angie....she was in charge.  Even in my own home she was in charge. And she worked miracles.

I have clear memories of her going through a box picking up every single item and assessing its value.  Can I use this?  Could someone else use it?  If it was broken, could it be fixed?  

She would tediously match nuts to bolts, and inspect some mystery contraption checking to see if all the parts were there.  I could clearly see the magnitude of the task ahead of her...and I was beginning to understand the urgency of getting it done. I just wanted to help her move along.

But Angie was in charge.

I've been thinking about Angie recently as we approach the 2nd anniversary of her death. And I have come to recognize that I am like my her in many ways. In NO way do I have her vast talents....but we shared the drive to create, the love of problem solving.....and the joy of collecting.  And just like Angie....I like my stuff.

I don't have nuts and bolts to match up.....my boxes are mostly filled with pretty papers and fabric....snippets and sample projects. My motives might be a bit different....but my task is the same. I'm healthy....so I know I have the gift of time that Angie wasn't blessed with and I won't have to leave my home and studio anytime soon. She needed to get rid of some things....and I want to.

I have some ideas percolating that I'm kind of excited about. And in the meantime I will think of Angie as I tediously and joyfully go through my bins and boxes of things I have collected, snipped or created over time. I shed a few tears today as picked up tiny bits of this or that and ask myself Can I use this?  Could someone else use it? Can this be fixed made into something?

The first photo in this post was this yellow gumball machine filled with 

marbles at Angie's house....and here it is at my house. It is one of my very favorite 

items....from Angie's stuff.

Had It All

I had another one of those moments on our walk this morning when I got a glimpse of scene that made me pause and really look.  Sometimes it's the lines and angles that grab my attention....sometimes it's the colors and textures.  Often it's all of the above.  I think I need a name for these visual moments....because I'm seeing them more and more. Or maybe I'm looking for them more. I'm certainly enjoying them more.

The morning sky was an amber color making a pretty backdrop for the silhouettes of the trees.  I noticed all the roof angles accentuated by the snow, the cupula, the cute flat roofed woodshed with the wreath, and the garden shed with the "P" over the door.  The browns and creams of the siding and shingles contrasted by the red shutters all against the amber sky....it all made me stop in my tracks.  

Yes....this scene had it all.  And the photo doesn't do it justice.

Then there was this scene. I loved the way the stone wall was framed in the snow creating three horizontal layers with the organic shape of the rocks in the middle.  When I studied the photo after I uploaded it....and I loved the contrasting vertical lines of the fence and trees and grass. And the shutter and the red brick house were just a bonus.

I just did a little Google search to try and get some ideas for what to name this kind of scenes. It's amazing what comes up when you ask Google a question. I was lead to vocabulary.com and to the word picturesque.  That word wasn't quite right....but one of the definitions of picturesque was "Strikingly Pleasing."  That's it....that's what I'm going to call these scenes from now on....and I will celebrate them every time!

I found this on our way home.  It's a perfect match to both these strikingly pleasing scenes.

I love posts like this.

The World Through His Eyes

 "To understand the present, we have to understand how we got here." Heather Cox Richardson

Every morning I read a newsletter by Heather Cox Richardson called Letters From an American.  Heather is a history professor and an accomplished author....and she continues to "believe in American democracy despite its frequent failures."  Her newsletter connects current events to an historical context...and she helps me better understand the complicated and sometimes grim world of politics and world news.  

This morning Heather offered very few words to help us understand the horrific story being uncovered about the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee. Instead she linked to his photography website....deciding to "stand aside and let Mr. Nichols represent himself." 

I'm following her lead.  So just in case you haven't see it....I encourage you to take a look and see The World Through His Eyes.  

Tyre Nichols Photography Website

"WELCOME TO THE WORLD THROUGH MY EYES"

"My name is Tyre D. Nichols. I am an aspiring photographer. Well mostly I do this stuff for fun but I enjoy it very much. Photography helps me to look at the world in a more creative way. It expresses me in ways I cannot write down for people. I take different types of photography, anywhere from action sports to rural photos, to bodies of water and my favorite, landscape photography. My vision is to bring my viewers deep into what I am seeing through my eye and out through my lens. People have a story to tell why not capture it instead of doing the "norm" and writing it down or speaking it. I hope to one day let people see what I see and to hopefully admire my work based on the quality and ideals of my work. So on that note enjoy my page and let me know what you think."

A Thing For Boxes

I admit it....I have a thing for boxes.

I love all kinds and all sizes....because you never know when you'll need a good box ....especially a good box top.

But before I launch into my box story.....here a few joy nuggets from the day.

The snow in the backyard got packed down in the rain and melting....and in the late afternoon light it glistened like meringue. 

And during my sorting I found these two projects....a pretty little watercolor in blues and greens....and a collage mastersheet where I played around with free motion stitching on one end.  Both...have potential....both found in a box.

And my sister-in-law Liz shared some photos of the snow sculptures from a trip to Breckenridge, Colorado today.....pretty incredible! 

Now....back to boxes for those who have the patience for my stories.

As I s-l-o-w-l-y work on my studio project....I'm coming to terms with the fact that my obsession passion for boxes and box tops may be just a bit out of control.  

These are just the ones I have emptied and/or consolidated. There are more that I haven't gone through yet.

I use box tops as trays for pieces and parts of projects....or storage for snippets and offcuts and precious scraps.  And my go to method for cleaning off a work space has been to put everything in a box.

I'm always on the lookout for a good box...or a sturdy box top I can use as a tray. And I get especially excited when they're colorful and pretty.

I got this beautiful box top back in 2016.  It covered a box of pears I got from Connie....I wrote about it here.  (I probably have the bottom too.)  Right now it's holding all the fabrics I painted for Stitch Club.  I love this box top.

Here's another pretty box top with pink stripes holding watercolor scraps.

Not all my box tops are pretty....like this one that holds an odd assortment of stuff. There are cut-outs and snippets.....projects and paintings....and fabulous fodder. I'm overrun with boxes....and all these precious things in them......and it's time to do something about it.

So I've got a few ideas....ways to reduce the number of boxes....and ways to let go of these precious bits of color. It's going to take some time....I'll keep you posted.  

The Begets....

 .....and the serendipitous journey of finding a little joy.

It was forecasted to rain all day today....a little worrisome after 15 inches of snow.  It did rain overnight....but not today...and it was quite mild with this mix of bright blue sky and thick white clouds.  It was lovely!

Notice how the sycamore seed pods pop against the sky backdrop.

I was a little out of sorts yesterday....for reasons not important to anyone but me.....and I let it consume a good part of my day. Not until this morning when I read a wonderful comment from Roseanne on yesterday's post did I realize what actually happened yesterday.  

Here is our exchange:

Yes....I was in a bit of a funk yesterday....I admit it. But I also got absorbed in simple doodling project that ended up taking me on a little journey of connections.  Like Roseanne pointed out....one thing led to another....and then yet another....ending in me searching for and celebrating that little ATC collage from a year ago. It could have gone on and on.

I see so clearly now that this was actually serendipitous journey.....taking me down a little path of finding a some joy on a day when I really needed it.

And just now as I'm writing THIS post....I'm reminded of a word used by my friend Joan: "begets"......when one thing leads to another.  It wasn't a familiar word but it was a familiar concept. And ever since I heard it from her....it comes to mind every time it happens. It's such a odd....but awesome little word.

When I looked it up in the dictionary....this is what I found:

Begets: to give rise, to bring about, to produce especially as an effect of outgrowth

And I love the synonyms: bring on, create, effect, generate, make, prompt, do, invoke, inspire, produce, yield, foster, and cause.

After talking about security envelopes yesterday....I got a case of the begets.....especially after Lily commented that she will now be looking at them with a new sense of interest. She recognizes that there is joy in these ordinary things.

I was inspired to pulled out my box of  security envelopes today (yes...there's a box) and I found some pieces and parts that had been doodled on...and made a little assemblage. 

Then I thought...now what can I make out of this?

So one thing led to another....and I cut it up and made a simple little Valentine card. 

So let one thing lead to another....no matter how silly or small. Embrace the "begets" and you very well might find a little joy in the journey. 

Slow Doodling

I moved a little slow all day today.....some days are just like that.  So it was good day for some slow doodling.

I drew another mandala....this time I used some loose elements inspired by Julie Gibbons, the instructor of Mandala Secrets. I like the irregular swirls....and the wavy lines around mesh.

Had it not been for this class....it would have never occured to me to use a square within the circle....but I quite like the jusxtaposition.

It's a game changer to start with these base drawings.....

and the light pencil lines erase so easily at the end.

  

Mostly I used this sharpie pen....

but switched to another pen with a bigger tip to fill in some of the spaces.  But that second pen took a LONG time to dry....so it smeared in a couple places....lesson learned.  

I still may add some color.

The mesh pattern in the mandala reminds me of a security envelope that recently came in the mail.....I'm always looking for new patterns.  Have you looked inside your security envelopes?

The thing that struck me about this is there are intentional flaws....or irregularities in the weave making it so much more interesting.  It looks like a real window screen.

Next time I draw a weave...I'm going to try this irregular pattern!

This pattern was conducive to slow doodling patterns.

And a while back in Fodder School,  Sara Gardner encouraged us to use security envelopes for doodling what she called "micro fodder"....little snippets to use in collage.  

 

I made this little trading card collage after her lesson....and there's actually a tiny bit of security envelope fodder in it.  

Ready To Go!

Patty topped off her patio snow cake with icicles.....

.....a perfect example of how to add a little joy to the the job of shoveling 15 inches of snow.

Thanks for sharing Patti....it made me smile.

Even though I've been slowed down by my thumb.....which is improving every day....I still make big messes in the studio.  And I'm trying to establish new habits of pausing every few days to tidy things up before they get out of control again.  It's mostly working.

I sat down to tidy up my table this morning but quickly got sidetracked. Rather than put away the colored pencils that were strewn about....I used them to make another mandala. This time with color.....and a touch of gold.

Sometimes getting sidetracked with whatever is on the table is just the right thing to do.  I did eventually tidy it up.....and sharing results here is keeping me accountable.

Before.....

.....and after.

Before.....

...and after.  It's nice being all ready to go for the next project!

I'm enjoying the process of drawing these mandalas....

it's very calming. 

https://mandalamagicschool.com/

Another calming activity is getting the next puzzle rolling.  I'm doing the winter stamps one that Margie completed after Christmas.....and I'm going to try and work row by row....starting at the top and pushing it up on my table as I go along.  We'll see how long that lasts....probably as long as my clean craft table lasts.  

Six boxes of pieces at my side.....life is good when you're ready to go!