Four!

I just learned that an amaryllis stem can have either three or four flowers based on the size of the bulb. And most bulbs produce two stems. I can see now that my first stem is going to have four blooms! I was tempted to just sit and watch it all day....but I had a little chore list...including getting ready for a family dinner tonight celebrating Nate's birthday. I have a son that is going to be 39 years old! How did that happen?

I think this first one will be fully open tomorrow! 

And a quick report on what's on my puzzle table....I hope you don't mind.

I did this small wooden peacock puzzle....and am enjoying the burst of color while I  finish sorting pieces into my boxes for the next one. 

And speaking of puzzles....I got wonderful surprise in the mail today all the way from England. This was a sample puzzle Philippa had made of one of her table arrangements...but never pursued ordering more. So I think that means it's one of a kind. 

She sent this to me as a thank you for my support over the years. It brought tears of joy.

And what a fun it's going to be!

But I already have one sorted...so it will have to wait.

Progress

My amaryllis is making progress. Yesterday it was still one bundle of buds with just one edge unfurling.

Today there is clear separation between what I think are three flowers.  

Speaking of progress....even though I haven't mentioned it in a while...I'm still slowly working on my studio project. Shiny objects and various chores and activities are drawing my attention...but that's just life. But I do try and do a little something almost every day to further the cause.

I'm finding little boxes and trays of snippets in just about every corner of the room...and I'm dumping them into one big bin. 

There are so many uses for these little bits of this and that. 

Here's a  little birthday snippet roll I made for Alyson.

I wrote about it here: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2024/03/one-day-at-time.html

I'm always happy to share my snippets.

Hidden Joy

A few days ago I made a little fiber bowl for Dotty....similar to the very first bowl I made years ago.

They're not the most useful bowls....but they can hold a little joy.

And this particular little bowl....has a little hidden joy....and here's how I made it:

1. I arranged a few fibers on a piece of water soluble fabric.

2. I covered it with another piece of fabric and stretched it in a hoop.

3. I stitched a little JOY in the center because I knew Dotty would appreciate the hidden message.

4. I free motion stitched swirls over the whole thing making sure the lines interconnected to hold everything together. I wanted a wispy irregular edge so I stitched some random pointy lines going off the edge. 

5. I cut off the extra fabric...and held it up to the light just for fun....this is an important step. 😉

6. I dissolved the soluble fabric in warm water....but didn't rinse it completely so it could be shaped and become stiff when dry.

It sat in the sun for most of a day drying over a small bowl. I kept moving it around the condo...following the direct sunlight all day long. 

Following the light was a bonus!

Resistance

Thank you Tracie for sending me this quote. 

It seems strange that love, faith, education, community, and joy would be acts of resistance. But during this time when hate, fear, misinformation, and poor leadership are looming over us...we must resist.

And if JOY is an act of resistance...let's do that!

I savored every minute of this beautiful puzzle... 

...and I will do it again and again over the years.

 

And just like that...it's done. It's such a wonderful burst of joy.

And just like that it's undone and I'm ready for the next one. (I am getting other things done....just not ready to write about them yet.)

Mary shared her amaryllis story in a comment a few days ago....her's is tall like mine. And I just learned that one of the reasons stems grow so tall is because they get too much water. Oops! Once they start to sprout...they need little if any water at all. And that's probably why the wax casings versions bloom shorter.

We don't know until we know.

Eighth Day

I look for an opportunity now and then to post this comic my son Sam sent me a while back. He knows me well.

I declared today the eighth day of the week...and just puttered around the house. 

We had a 3.8 earthquake in Maine today. I felt it...and my neighbor Dan felt it because we met in the street after to see what the heck was going on out there. It doesn't happen that often in Maine...so it was a little disconcerting.

And it was one day after this Anne sent me a poem that actually mentions an earthquake. And just because you know how I like a good connection.....Dan is Anne's brother-in-law. 

Yes

William Stafford

It could happen any time, tornado,

earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.

Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could, you know. That's why we wake

and look out - no guarantees

in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,

like right now, like noon,

like evening.

 I love this poem! Thanks Anne!

YES! The evening sky was lovely.

Stubby Stems

Whatever's good for your soul...do that!

I collaged the stubby stems and marbles magazine image I plunked into my art journal. I'm not sure it's done...but it's done for now.

Using a pre existing image as an underpainting of sorts...was a fun way to collage. I could have never pulled this off without the guidelines of the image.

Here's what it looked like before. And now I see that more white on the marbles would be helpful. 

I think the swirl could use more depth of color now so it would flow with the marbles....but that will have to be another day. 

I called this post Stubby Stems....partly because of the stems in the image...but mostly because of the stubby stems of Dotty's amaryllis. 

Her bulb is encased in a wax form and needs NO water. She told me it has all the water it needs right in the bulb. Who knew! A neighbor has one in a wax mold too...and hers is also stubby. Maybe that's a thing.

Roseanne's amaryllis is tall like mine and has had several blooms...and I think it might be the same color as mine is going to be.

I wonder how many other amaryllis blooms are out there right now....with either stubby stems or tall ones. 

Mine has opened up a bit more and is showing a little color.

Distractions

The problem is.....I keep finding things to distract me....so my studio project is going very slowly. 

This was the end result of one of my distractions today. It turned out much better than I thought it would.

This gelli print is from last summer when I was experimenting with layering techniques from Diana Garrison. 

It was fine at this stage where I simply outlined some of the layers in white. 

Then I added a little black and it was OKish.....a nice contrast.

But at the time I added a little more loose black outlines and thought I ruined it...so set it aside. 

But it just appeared again....and I thought it would be a good practice piece for another technique  I saw online...I can't remember where. I sliced the sides of one of the leaves and inserted a bird behind. I knocked down the glossy image with a tiny bit of zinc white paint and glued it under and over with matte medium.

I found this little plant cutout in my bird stash...and attached that too. I do like the mix of found....painted....and doodled images.

I found a little spot in my art journal....but it almost blends in a little too much...and maybe should have been featured all on it's own. This leaf print is on simple copy paper...and I glued it in with a light coat of YES Paste and there were absolutely NO wrinkling! Yes to YES Paste....as Dotty commented YESterday!

I love the concept...so I'm certainly going to try this technique again!  

The other side of this little page can be seen here.

I took a trip to the indoor Portland Farmers' Market as another distraction. I was completely smitten with these watermelon radishes I brought home.

 

The second one was more interesting that the first. 

I sliced some up for my pickled vegetables....and am looking forward to eating some tomorrow.

I was also a little distracted today by this fabulous wooden puzzle designed by Jennifer McGee, the owner of Swallowfield. I wrote about it here last year. 

It's such a pleasure to work on a quality wooden puzzle...and it's hard to leave it alone....even for me.

There were more distractions...and none of them were really a problem at all.

You Don't Know....

 ...until you know. And once I know something.... I enjoy sharing it with you.

I am slowly going through supplies in my studio. I'm tossing....donating...and keeping things I might use. Or at least I'm trying....it's tough! 

Years and years ago I bought this YES Paste. It was probably a recommendation in a class from an artist I admire....but I only used a little of it and haven't opened it since because I moved on to other adhesives. I absolutely hate to waste anything so was worried it was all dried up at this point. 

But it wasn't. It was hard to open...and it was an ugly brown...but it was thick...but still soft.

I remembered a video I watched a while back of an artist using it...and I remember hers was brown too. I remembered she transferred a little bit at a time to a smaller container so the big container didn't have to be opened so much causing it to dry out faster. She loved YES Paste.

So I did the same thing....and used a slice of a credit-type card like she did as a spreader...and gave it a try. It worked perfectly! 

YES Paste is a keeper...and I LOVE this little spreader that you can just wipe off with a cloth.

The marble image was already in my art journal...and the plan is to do something creative with it. But it needed a companion. 

I found this swirl a few days ago and thought it went well with the marbles. I glued it in with the YES paste and it grabbed quickly.

I'll have fun embellishing the spread later.

And the checkerboard was another found object. It was heavily collaged and stitched....but the YES paste held it down flat.

I will do more on this spread...but I think the flow is nice from the previous page. 

You don't know until you know...and now I know that this YES paste is a useful...even when it's brown. I think it will be especially good for heavy and stubborn attachments for a quick grab. It is just a glue...not also a topcoat like matte medium. Matte medium will still be my go to for most of my collage.

I moved my amaryllis to get some direct afternoon sun by the patio door. 

That tiny split from yesterday has grown...and there most certainly is a flower getting ready to unfurl! I'm enjoying the process! 

Very Vintage Scraps

There's a tiny split at the top of my amaryllis bud......and I'm hoping that means it's thinking about opening! 

And....I  was excited to see new growth on my mouse tail cactus as I was watering it. 

Yesterday's post reminded me of this little piece I stitched together last April with water soluble fabric and very vintage quilt scraps.

I wrote about the process here. 

It landed in my art journal and I like the juxtaposition of the vintage fabrics next to the modern watercolor dots. But both have tiny little patterns and a similar color scheme...so I think they make good companions.

It's quite a chunky journal....

and there are still pages here and there to fill.