Fully Present

I've been talking about it for several days now....but I'm finally heading out of town this afternoon. I will arrive in Madison, Wisconsin late tonight for a week with family and friends. I'll get to see sweet Max...and his new little brother Miles! And of course...a lot of adults too. 

I always have a little bit of angst when I leave home....it's my happy place. I'm leaving Paul in charge of the gardens and the birds....and he has promised to keep me posted on the baby bluebirds that are most certainly going to fledge while I'm gone. Mom and dad have been busy keeping them fed and we can hear them chirping deep in the house cavity. 

I had time to make the rounds in the gardens this morning...cutting things back and dead heading and I'm excited about the black eyed Susans that are starting to unfurl. This is my NOW! 

I know for a fact that once I get where I'm going I will be fully present. I'll be enjoying other people's gardens...and sharing joys with people I love.

Per usual when I travel my posts will likely be late in the evening when the days have wound down. 

Looking for joy while I am way and sharing it here is grounding for me.

Then:

This is the moment I decided to start adding fused fabric to my watercolors while taking the Watercolor for Relaxation course. It started by covering a mistake...and now I do it intentionally.  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-thing.html

I hope you are fully present wherever you find yourself today!

Pearls

There were some interesting ice dots on the pond this afternoon....or maybe they're pearls! And do you see the heart with that magnificent right edge!

My friend Patsy has always had a String of Pearls plant or two that I've admired...but I've never had one myself. 

This watercolor of String of Pearls caught my eye on Pinterst and I followed the source back to a print sold by Society 6. My first thought was it would make a great watercolor for relaxation design.

I found a page in my watercolor journal where I painted the word CREATE....and the page needed something else. So I started painting tiny meditative dots pearls in between tasks and chores in my studio as I dig out from all the plopping and messes I've made since fall.

I'm using a technique I learned in the Watercolor for Relaxation class. 

Once I painted a dot...I let it sit a minute then with a clean wet brush pull out the paint in the middle or push it to the edges creating a watercolor ring of sorts. It gives some of the pearls some interest and texture....and I'm just doing it on some.

As I go along...I may add more pearls here and there. It's going to take a while...but that's OK with me. Just a few minutes a day every now and then is an enjoyable and relaxing diversion.

Spaciousness

There was something about these bare stubby trees with the sunrise in the background that caught my eye this morning.  We do love the morning light.

Another post on LeeAnn Renninger's Instagram page was about spaciousness. 

We mostly think of spaciousness in reference to a physical space....but she talked about it in relationship to the Japanese practice of Yutori which is a sense of well being that arises by living in spaciousness.  I think it's exactly what I do when I pause to look at something closely....or stop and enjoy the shadows on my dining room wall.  It's giving moments time and space to really appreciate them....and I love thinking about it as spaciousness.

    LeeAnn's shared that spaciousness is

    Taking the time to pause gently during a conversation.

    Arrive early enough somewhere so there is no rush so you can look around and        take things in.

    Being spacious is a very special skill and people immediately know when they are     in the presence of someone who is cultivating it.  

I LOVE the concept....and I'm going to foster it even more in my own life.

Whether it was by accident....or as result of thinking about spaciousness.....I added more alcohol orbs to this page in my watercolor journal....but this time in a physical spacious kind of way.  The page seems to have some breathing room now and I like it.....now is just needs a spacious companion page.

Those larger rings in the bottom right are created by dipping an end of a glue stick into the alcohol and pressing it into the wet watercolor.  More unpredictable magic!

Unpredictable Magic

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." Charles Dickens

Yes....today was one of those March days. The sky was blue and the sun was warm ....but the wind was wicked! 

I thought the sycamore tree in our side yard was especially striking today as it stood still bare from the winter but it also seemed to be soaking in the warmth of the sun on this beautiful...but blustery March day.

I continue to do some painting for the Watercolor for Relaxation class. The class is winding down in a week or so....but my exploration and play is only just beginning.  

One of the most recent lessons was about using various ingredients and methods to give our flat wash watercolor more texture.....and I've been playing with alcohol.  

I know I've used salt and saran wrap to create texture....but I'm not sure I've ever used alcohol.  It's kind of magical.

As I was playing around the drops of alcohol seemed to behave differently every time.....

...and I'm trying to figure out what the right formula is to have it bloom so beautifully sometimes.

But then again....maybe the the joy is found in the unpredictable magic of the mystery. I'm just going to keep playing and fill the page and let the mystery be.

Vision

Jim, our handman stopped by yesterday with something he built for me.  He primed it...and I put a finish coat of paint on today...and I'm pretty excited about installing it.  It's something I've been thinking about since we bought the condo 6 1/2 years ago....and I can't wait to see if it matches the vision in my head.

It's clearly a ladder type thing....but do you have any idea what I'm going to use it for?  Here are a few hints:

1. It was inspired by my sister Angie.

2. It will solve a problem because of a decision I made in this condo.

3. It will allow me to display a colorful collection of things I love.

I also worked on my doodle glazing piece today.  It may be done...but the more layers of glaze here and there...the more depth it will have.

Do you see the touch of gold? (I had to take the photo at an angle to turn the light on.)

And that odd shape at the bottom is a cutout covering up a big misstep. Shhhh.

I don't know what happened at the end of February....but I completely forgot about Becky's March calendar page.  She's been traveling....and gets home today...so maybe she'll barely notice that it's late.

Continuing my theme of whatever is on my table...I scrambled to get something in the mail yesterday.  

I had one last piece of a woody pencils/gelli print sitting right there....along with my page of fusible joy tags.  So simple and sweet.....March is on the way!

Welcome home Becky and David!

I'm going to sift through the other things on my table and start working on April's!  

Glazing

One of the many topics covered in this week's Watercolor for Relaxation lessons was glazing!  I've done it before....but I didn't know that's what it was called. It's basically just over painting with thin layers of wash...and I think it might be one of my favorite techniques.

And now that I've watched Wendy's videos and seen some of her samples I know so much more....and have lots of ideas for patterns and ways to to play with the technique.  

It was a busy and focused kind of day....but every so often I would find myself pausing at my table working on this Wendy inspired glazing doodle exercise in my watercolor journal. 

I have a ways to go....but the repetitive doodle patterns and fussy painting was really quite fun. It was hard to stop!

I actually did some glazing on this spread a while back....

I just didn't know that's what I was doing.  I just thought of is as a wash upon a wash upon a wash.

At some point I'll finish the right hand spread....

and there will most certainly be more glazing!

What If?

There were two words that Wendy Solganik mentioned several times in the introductory lessons of her Watercolor for Relaxation class that have resonated with me:  What if

What if I really do add a little mud to all my colors?

What if I lean into stencils as a starting off point for design as Wendy suggested?

What if I resize the stencils?

What if I introduce fused fabric into my pieces?

Acrylic paint is permanent. You can paint over it and collage onto it it with no worry about smearing.  But that's not true for watercolor.  I've played around with fusing fabric onto watercolor....but what if  I wanted to collage some gelli print papers on my watercolor? Other than a glue stick....how could I easily adhere fragile papers to the piece without smearing the paint? 

Fusible webbing...that's how! 

I'm calling this lesson #5 for this fusing 101 series....motifs are going to have to wait.  Today it's about fusing paper.  I've done it before...but it just dawned on me I should do it again. 

This how a page in my watercolor journal ended up today. 

I already can see how I could improve on this mixture of watercolor and a gelli print.  ButI think as far as an experiment goes...it was farily successful.

.

It started with a tracing of a stencil that I watercolored with blues and greens. It was a late night watercolor job...and not all that great.

I spread the stencil design out because I knew I wanted things in between so I needed to leave room.

I tucked in a few more columns of the stencil design here and there and filled them in with a very light value wash.  

I forgot to take a photo of that stage....but I did take this one showing the stencil I used.

Next I ironed fusible webbing on the back of a gelli print where I had used the same stencil. It worked like a dream. 

When the fusible was cool...I took the release paper off and cut out some of the columns and ironed them onto the piece.  Easy peasy!

The gelli print is actually on tissue....

so you can barely feel the transition from the watercolor paper.  It's almost like it's painted on. WAY easier than a glue stick!

This particular what if journey is going to have a few more chapters....

I'm quite smitten

Fusing 101

I absolutely love a dramatic late afternoon sky through the bare winter trees!  

It's so easy to see and appreciate the complexity of the trees in the winter!  This is the time of year the branches are the star!

Remember my blue denim circles?  

I cut them into two pieces...and mounted them on a piece of 4 x 4 watercolor paper so will fit nicely into a little black frame.

I think I love the precious little scraps as much as the bigger pieces.

I'll figure out something to do with these.

Here is one of the current watercolor projects I'm working on as I continue practicing blooms and bleeds. I used the same floral stencil from before but I sized it down. I painted a very light value background with the plan to overlay fused fabric stems and flowers on top...letting them be the star.

But I found that I didn't leave enough white space...so it was going to be too busy go use my initial plan. I'm going to have to be very strategic about how and where I place just a few fabric flowers....o far there are two. Stay tuned.

Because my recent Your Joyful Puttering offering is An Ounce of Fusing Fun....I thought I would do a series of posts on the very basics of fusing.  I will tuck these little lessons at the end of my posts for a few days and will label them "fusing 101" so they can easily be referenced from the label menu along the side of my blog. 

Fusing lesson #1...for those who are interested:

For all of my fusing projects I use Pellon 805 Wonder-Under....it's available at any fabric store or online. It comes in a small roll or by the bolt. I use it for art...on quilts and paper....so the end result doesn't go in the wash.  If you are going to wash something I would reinforce it with stitching.  Even with that...you might get some fraying....which could be desirable.

There is fusible webbing (the glue) on one side of the Wonder-Under...and release paper on the other.

With a hot dry iron I iron the webbing onto the fabric with the GLUE SIDE DOWN!  The heat activates the glue and transfers it to the fabric.  I iron it from both sides...for 10 to 15 seconds.  If its doesn't stick...you can iron it again.  

Once it has cooled, I trim the extra fabric off on three of the edges before I take the paper off. Once I peel the paper off...I trim that 4th edge.  It's just easier to grab the corner of paper this way.

  

Why trim? because I want to be sure there is fusible in every inch and every edge of the fabric. I keep this pre-fused fabric separate from my other fabric.

Why take the paper off?  The fabric is easier to store, and you can always fuse the paper back on if you want to draw a design...more on that later.  And the larger pieces of release paper come in handy for so many things.  I save EVERY SINGLE PIECE of release paper because it's so useful for creating motifs, as a pressing cloth, and for protecting surfaces.  Stay tuned for lesson #2.

Patience

"Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you're waiting."  Joyce Meyer

I mixed up a denim blue color I liked....and painted circles until the paint was gone.  I was trying to practice the kissing technique where one shape bleeds into the next. 

I think I had too much water and not enough pigment in my wash so there wasn't a lot of kissing going on. Even the value differences were not as pronounced once it dried.    

I'll keep practicing....next time with a few different colors. I find painting circles and patterns quite relaxing. 

And even though it didn't dry like I had hoped... I might have saved it by adding fabric.

I auditioned several contrasting colors....but the tone on tone denim blue was the winner for this one! And maybe....this is better than too much kissing! 

I think this is my version of acting in a positive way while practicing patience with painting skills.

I think I'll be playing with the mix of watercolor and fabric for a while....it's still most definitely a thing! And I actually see one pretty juicy kiss there near the bottom!

Imagine

I fell in love with this little guy along our walking route.

I could just imagine the little boy or girl rolling the snowballs and stacking them up in delight.  Then hunting for just the right sticks for arms and maybe a few rocks for eyes. 

It's been a couple weeks since our last snowstorm....but he's still standing even though the temperatures has been up and down.  He's looking a little slim....but he's strong and happy....and I'm going to keep an eye on him.

It's not quite what I imagined in my head...but this is how I chose to start practicing bleeds and blooms for the Watercolor for Relaxation course. 

It was so pretty when it was wet.....but many areas just evened out as they dried. 

This is where I left it last night.

And this is where I ended up today. The idea of of adding the batik floral stem came in the middle of the night...and I think it's interesting! I think I'll cover the two leaves on the lower left with the same fabric...they're a little out of step with the rest.

  I still like this painting....and other versions of it are running through my head.

I'm often busy working on something while I'm watching/listening to art video lessons for the first time.  Then I go back and look at pieces and parts a little closer. 

Late this afternoon I did just that and I realized now how I could have gotten better results. So I think I'll go back and actually do the lesson as suggested so I can get a better handle on blooms and bleeds. 

I had a wonderful Zoom chat this morning with Susan, an artist friend from Scotland.  

We met because of a connection with Izzy Moore's classes and Susan now keeps track of me through this blog and I keep track of her through Instagram.  She has become quite a master at making handmade books and her recent Fodder School affirmation cards are wonderful! https://www.instagram.com/susan.masson/

We talked about all things art....and joy....and it was a delight!

More on our backstory and connections here in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2022/03/connected-by-cake.html

Play

"Play expands our minds in ways that allow us to explore; to germinate new ideas or see old ones in a new light." Greg McKeown

Everything about this quote is true for me as I play with watercolors in a focused and deliberate way! 

I was totally absorbed as I completed a value exercise for the Watercolor for Relaxation class. I'm enjoying using stencils for some of these exercises because they give me interesting shapes to paint without too much thought...and I can just focus on the process.  And Wendy's process for practicing value was very helpful.

I'm making slow progress on the houses in the puzzle....they're proving to be more challenging than I thought.

As of late I've only sat here at the puzzle table for a few minutes here and there each day because  I'm playing with so many other things!   

I'm tempted to add something to these pages....but then again...I think I'll leave them just way they are.  Sometimes less is enough. Time to play with another lesson.

It's Eliza's birthday today...she's 8 years old! And she's just as colorful and joy-filled as ever!

I made her an Art Heart card out of some of her art and some of mine...and sent her a kit to make her own if she wants.  

And among a few other things I sent her and her little brother one of my favorite twirly toys. 

I keep mine on my studio table...and play with it from time to time. I posted a video on Instagram years ago.....you're never too old to play!  

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdvP3MHBf8b/

Happy Birthday Eliza!

For those of you who don't know...Eliza and I have been arting together for years.  If you put her name in the search box in the upper left hand corner of the blog, you can scroll through dozens of posts of our shared art!

A Thing

I've been getting into the "flow" as I practice flat washes and play with color mixing for Wendy's Watercolor for Relaxation class. 

I started this page with simple flat wash circles....but it needed more.  So I layered on a few more washes. It's not perfect...but it's perfectly imperfect.

I covered up an unsightly blob with a pop of batik fabric...and I think it's going to become a thing. 

I'm starting small and subtle...but I have a feeling the fabric/watercolor combo may become more of a thing as the class goes on. 

There's now a little fabric swatch on this page....

...and this one...because it's a joyful puttering thing now!