BSOS

OK....one more rainbow. For now anyway.

Paul came across this fence on his early morning bike ride....and how can I not share it here! You gotta love their enthusiasm. 

We're in a full on hot and humid summer stretch here in Maine and I treat these days like snow days. Other than early morning swims and taking care of the birds....I stay inside where it's cool. Thank goodness I have a few hobbies....ha ha. 

I've mentioned the Bright Shiny Object Syndrome (BSOS)  before....when your trying to do one thing and are distracted by somethings else.

Do you remember this watercolor I found in my stash....then doodled? 

It's been floating around around the studio since then...and today it became the bright shiny object that I couldn't look away from.

I wanted to be picking up the studio and making space for what ever is next....but this bright shiny object kept calling me.

So I cut it up.

I shifted the strips and did a decorative machine stitch in the ditch....then painted the little leaves white. I wish I would have done the leaves a little wonky with free motion....but I did what I did.

It is better? I'm not sure...but it's still bright and shiny and it won't be distracting me anymore. There's nothing more that I can do except send it to someone. I actually think this may become the graduation card for my nephew Charles! He deserves something bright and shiny.

She's Not Wrong!

Because I knew more blooms were coming...I picked the stem with my single Bowman's root bloom yesterday and made a few sun prints. Today I added watercolor. 

I think this may be one of my favorites.  I love the shades of layered blues....the light and airy plant with its single whimsical bloom...and the touch of watercolor. 

I think it captures the magic of this very handsome plant.

More of these to come! 

I texted these two photos to Alison this morning as part of our daily photo exchange and my caption read: Playing with my Bowman's root. Her response made me laugh out loud and had me chuckling all day:Sounds like the name of a botany inspired porno flick! 

She's not wrong!

I actually pressed a stem a few weeks ago when the buds were just forming and used it for my cyanotype session yesterday. The leaves were large....so the the white spaces were big and blocky. 

I paused on the patio this afternoon and did a little experiment using watercolor pencils this time to create today's rainbow. 

I use fairly inexpensive watercolor paper for my cyanotypes so it couldn't really take all the shading from the pencil's.  

The minute I started adding water to blend the colors I could tell I couldn't do too much or I would gum up the paper. The gold speckles seemed to help soften it a bit. 

So from now on....I'll stick with regular watercolor. I can't afford to use good paper. 

It's always a good day when there's time to pause and play a little on the patio.

Found Project

I found this stitched/painted/doodled eucalyptus project from a while back and it reminded me what fun things are possible with free motion stitching. I love the wonky and wonderful shapes. 

I'm actually quite fond of it...so I'll add it to my list of things to try again. That list is getting pretty long. 

Somebody somewhere said: 

Grateful for where I'm at....excited about where I'm going.

Yup!

Speaking of cyanotype...I have 10 cards ready to go for the garden store and a few more in progress. Some are painted...some have just gold splatters....some have both...and a few are just simple prints.

Just a touch of gold on this one letting the vinegar blobs shine.

Just Enough

It rained all night and most of this morning....just enough to be extremely beneficial.

I'm pretty tickled with this cyanotype card featuring my meadow rue. There's just enough green watercolor...and a touch of blue to tie it into the print. I'm also quite fond of the blurred meadow rue and the vinegar spots in the background. Just enough!

And the gold speckles seem just right too. I can honestly say that I love it! 

"The flower doesn't dream of the bee...it blossoms and the bee comes." Mark Nepo

I tried to get a photo of the shimmer. You can't see it very well...but it's there!

After the rain....I explored the raindrops that pooled on the leaves. 

Here they are on the meadow rue...kind of a nod to my gold splatters.

My day was fabulous...just enough of everything!

Kitchen Studio

It's was chilly and rainy today....a perfect day to turn my kitchen into a cyanotype studio using my UV lamp.  I'm going to make some cards for the Winslow Farm garden store again this year using all my part of the proceeds to buy things for Maine Needs.

This time I dotted vinegar here and there before I placed the plants down. I do like the effect. I might do a bit of little accent watercolor....but maybe not.

This one had some large vinegar blobs...I'm quite fond of it.

My UV lamp is pretty handy when the sun isn't available. And this is one of those times a glass top stove comes in handy as an extra surface. I took over the WHOLE kitchen all morning.

I stitched up four cards this afternoon.There is something about the simplicity of just the blue and white that makes me happy. But I do want to paint a few.

I especially love the way the vinegar interacted with the blades of grass....leaving a light blue polka dot! I had fun in my kitchen studio today!  

Lighten the Load

Like many of you...I'm guessing....I've been struggling with the blatant and undeniable corruption on full display in our government right now. It's unconscionable what the President is able to get away with and it's hard to understand and accept the abuse of power. The news is horrific and heavy.....so it's even more important to set it aside and find some joy each day. I still dare to hope that the arc of the moral universe will eventually bend toward justice.

I just finished this fantastic puzzle with all of its colorful and tiny details. 
I loved every minute of it....and it helped lighten the heavy load.

 I'm going the opposite of tiny on the next one...large blocks of bold beautiful color. 
Having some peaceful puzzle time every day brings me joy.

Here's another wonky fabric flower experiment....I mostly like it...but there's room for improvement. I will always enjoy stitching on paper....but too much stitching causes the paper to rip so this time I used fabric for the background. I am at peace when I am playing with bold colors at my sewing machine.

Stitching!

I've said it before....and I'll say it again: stitching changes everything! 

This version with the stitched  bloom is so much more appealing! 

Bloom!

I hate when people accuse me of lollygagging when I'm quite clearly dilly-dallying. 

The screens are in the windows....I moved a few perennials around....and the rain lilies are repotted. It was a good morning for fresh air chores. I guess that's actually the opposite of dilly-dallying.

And....the crabapples are starting to bloom in the neighborhood!

These pretty pink blooms are such a delight this time of year!

I'm also still celebrating tulips...this time using fused fabric. 

I'm going to try it again...and stitch the word Bloom!

A Bit Wonky

Happy Mother's Day! I've been lucky enough to be a mother for 40 years....one year longer than my mother had the chance to be. She died when I was just 29.

And Happy Mothers' Day!  Heather Cox Richardson's newsletter described how the first Mothers' Day (mother in the plural sense rather than the singular) was started in the 1870's by Julian Ward Howe as  part of the women's suffrage moment pushing back against a society dominated by men. So I'm going with that this year...celebrating the plural version....all women who mother and care for so many of us.

Before Sam and Kelly arrived....I had time to finish another free motion floral experiment I started last night.

This time I used a piece of bold floral upholstery fabric for the vessel with a few stitched doodle flowers. I need to remember to do odd numbers!

I remembered how much I enjoy stitching around the designs of printed fabric from the free motion class. I especially love when it gets extra wonky like with the little squiggles. The wonkier the better.

I'm going to keep playing with doodle flowers....love them too.

This piece was a little oversized to stitch onto one of my premade cards...so I stitched it onto folded a piece of cardstock. Afterward I trimmed it too narrow on the right side as compared to the folded edge on the left so I compensated with extra row stitching. If I didn't point it out....one might think I planned it! Sometimes a bit wonky works out OK! This card is going to my Aunt Beverly...who is one of my many other mothers. I'm also thinking about Margie, my mother-in-law....who was a very special other mother.

Yellow

We're still in daffodil season....but we've also moved onto forsythia. Yellow...is the color of late April in Maine.

By the time most of you read this I will be on a plane to Minneapolis. I will spend a few days with my sister Nancy then we will drive to southern Iowa and meet up with Marilyn and LaVonn....my other two sisters where we will visit our Aunt Beverly....my mother's only sister. My mother would have been 100 this month....and her sister Beverly is 90.  

So...that means I will focus on family and be fully present with all that will be going on. I hope to post some sort of a joy nugget every day but my postings will likely be late in the evening...or early in the morning. But if I do miss a day here and there....you'll know why.

I love being home. But I also love spending time with friends and family. I hate to miss one minute of spring in my yard and neighborhood...but I will get to celebrate it in other people's yards and neighborhoods...and that's exciting.

I'm also leaving behind this fabulous Craft Cupboard puzzle...but it will be here when I get back. There's a lot going on....so it's a bit tedious....but it's quite fun.

I put together a little hostess gift....and I had just the right card.

I think the final line of stitching changed everything!

I'll see you in Minneapolis!

A Day Like This

It seemed especially important to be downtown at the protest on a day like this when our out of control President has gotten us into a war without the consent of Congress or support from the American people.

Everyday...America seems to get deeper and deeper in crisis....and these upside down flags were a clear reminder of that. She almost blew away.

So on a day like this it's nice when I can celebrate some unexpected joy. Linda D. sent me an envelope full of stamps from her childhood collection because she thought they might be useful in my joy journal project....and I think they will be. 

I don't know what was more fun...the pile of stamps on the table....or the lineup of stamps on Linda's envelope.

A few stood out right away....on a day like this.

The butterfly effect

Peace dove

CARE: An organization that has been around for 80 years helping families in times of crisis.  

And just look at this lovely handmade card from Roseanne!

We all need a little joy on a day like this! 

Thank you Linda and Roseanne!

Resist

We had a fabulous evening last night with the boys and Kelly. There was good food....engaging conversation and lots of belly laughs. Sam brought packs of vintage 1990 Topps baseball cards for everyone. A highlight of the evening was when everyone tried to stump Paul with his vintage baseball knowledge....and he nailed almost every question. He even got guessed a player's daughter's name right.

I've got something else fun to report....but it has to wait because it deserves a post all its own.

Linda D. sent me this photo a week or so ago....and it made me chuckle.

I thought it spot on....but it's also the perfect segue into into the theme of this post. 

Yes...we have to continue the RESISTance to save democracy...but this post is about another kind of resist.

Did you know that you can use anything with foil accents as a stencil on the gelli plate? The foil acts as a resist....and I'll explain how it's done.

Kelly and Sam gave us an Aura digital photo frame...and it was wrapped in this gorgeous foiled snowflake paper. The frame is fun...and we've already loaded a bunch of family photos. 

I carefully unwrapped the box because I wanted to save every inch of the paper...and I used a piece of it to make this print.

For the first print I rolled aqua blue on the plate. Then I placed the paper with the foil side down and pressed it into the plate pretty well.

You can see that the wrapping paper is covered with the blue paint...but the foil resisted some of the paint leaving an imprint on the plate.

Once the blue snowflakes were dry...I rolled white paint on the plate. The fresh wet paint will pick up the dried paint.

 I pressed a piece of copy paper down ...and let it sit about 30 seconds then pulled the print.

It turned out pretty well.

I wanted to see if I could use the same piece foil paper a second print...and yes I could. This time I rolled white paint on the plate first to make the imprint.

You can see that the foiled paper is now completely covered up with paint...so a third print was not possible. I know because I tried.

  

Once the white snowflakes were dry...I rolled bright blue paint on the plate and pulled the print. I love this one even more.

I sacrificed on small swatch of the paper and got two pretty prints. 

 

I'm certainly going to try this resist technique with other foiled papers. 

I used part of the prints to make a thank you card and envelope liner!

Making art...is an act of resistance.