Blues to Purples

Positive people are not ignoring the darkness of this world, they have dragged themselves into the light and are sharing it with you. Donna Ashworth

I'm moving from the blues to the purples in my minerals puzzle....I do a little bit every day. 

The same is true with my rainbow stencil doodle concertina.....I'm moving from the blues to the purples. This has been a fun project for little bursts of time here and there.

Here are a few closeups.....I'm totally enjoying the mixed media approach.

Finding Delight

We've had a couple of rainy days....and I found delight in the way the water beaded up on the patio doors.  I've never minded a rainy day.

I also found delight in the fact that when I isolated a few square inches of a piece of art that got a little out of control....it instantly became something better.

I'm trying to slowly clean and organize my studio tackling one little corner, one, shelf....one bin at a time. I usually have to stop and do a little something creative in between spurts...mostly because I'm easily distracted....but it also seems like a little colorful reward.

So the second I got my table cleaned off enough to paint I started this wild mixture of watercolor, paint pens, markers, and fluid acrylic paints in my fineline applicators. 

I had no goal other than to use a somewhat limited color palette and to just play.....I knew I would probably just cut it up. The vibrant colors were such a stark contrast to what I was seeing outside....and I found delight in both.

Mix It Up

This was a mix it up kind of day....a little of this and a little of that both inside and out.  I connected with my extended family via Zoom....and had a delightful evening visit with my next door neighbor.  I like days like this!

I'm happy to see that the bees like the seven-sons flower blossoms....

...and I can see hours of simple entertainment to come watching the rest of the tree bloom and turn from white to pink. Needless to say.....I'm pretty excited.

It's hard to believe these sweet little blooms are going to turn pink.

Do you see her?  The little hummingbird likes the tree too.

I spent some time in the studio working on an experiment I started a few days ago.  I had stitched and painted a wonky little log cabin quilt block...but the colors were flat and I was uninspired. But today I went over it with metallic paints in some fall colors and added fused striped batik fabric all the way around.  This was the only photo I took along the way.

I squared it up with another round of stitching and painted one last round using watercolors that were a little more blended.

I've turned it into a mixed media card and will finish it up and send it on its way after the holiday. Life is good when you mix it up.

 

Fuzzy Socks and Beach Sheds

It's been an unusual spring....and "unusual" seems to be the norm these day when talking about the weather in any season. We had rain most of the day...but it dried off enough to enjoy the patio. It felt like an old fashioned Maine evening where you need a sweater and fuzzy socks in the evening....just the way I like it...actually. 

We've have this condo for 2 years now and I just recently noticed there was a hook in one of the trees...so I added a little birdhouse I brought from Lexington.  It's a little late for nesting possibilities this year but it adds interest to our view.  And the birdbath sits waiting for the birds...there's only been a few....but I remain hopeful.



Number 14 of my 100 day index card project was inspired by the beach sheds in Brighton England.

I didn't look at the actual picture while I was making it or I might have stitched the city roof lines more flat than pointy and shed roofs a little less pointy....but you get the idea.

Mary Jean, a friend of Connie's, gave me a whole bunch of art books after her husband died....and tucked inside were all these old stamps. I thought I won the lottery!  I've thought about using them for little houses....so this was the perfect opportunity to play with it a bit. It's time to use the stamps!

This is one of the last scraps from a sheet of wrapping paper I bought years ago.  I love the little silver accents...they gave the shed roofs a whimsical touch.

At this point I thought the city buildings needed more definition....so I outlined them in black stitching.

All in all a fun quick little project for day 14....a day of fuzzy socks and beach sheds.

Sandwich Wrap?

Lynne does a lot of her paper collaging on sandwich wrap....yes sandwich wrap....and her offering to share some with me is what got our conversation going about a trade.

She sent me this photo of an art quilt made from a combination of fabric and collaged paper. Using her homemade glue of 2/3 Elmers and 1/3 water she collaged bits of magazines onto the sandwich wrap and used it for the star centers and points. The backgrounds are fabric and the whole piece is actually seamed and pressed.

Her package of goodies included a pile of sandwich wrap and several samples of ways she uses it.  The possibilities are endless and I'm looking forward to experimenting with it.

The piece on the left is collaged between two pieces of wrap...and the piece on right is stamped.  I quite like the translucent quality.                                                                 

She also sent this collaged piece.

Her paper/fabric project came as a postcard.  The exchange was fun...and I'm looking forward to playing with the sandwich wrap.

Thanks Lynne!

Half Way

I'm half way done with my Folt Bolt color scheme series.  My garden is growing!

June Color Scheme

I've been at the "nearly done" stage with this project for a week or more...and I set it aside. But I just realized that June is almost over so I took a few minutes this afternoon to finish it up.  Here's the June Folt Bolt color scheme art quilt....once again....just in time.

Rainy Day Dots

I got the rainy day I asked for in yesterday's post....but I actually had to be home to get chores and craft projects done.  I did sneak a few hours in the middle of the day between events, appointments, and class to work on my May color scheme project. Notice I chose crafting over chores.  Thank goodness I'm not obsessed with a tidy house.

One of my goals with this year long project is to try different techniques and media each month. This time I'm using needle punch...more on that soon. It may end up being a little goofy....but I think that's OK with a rainbow scheme.



This is where I left it at the beginning of the month....an idea in the middle of the night and little tufts of needle punch.

And this is what was in my head....a flower with the tuft as the center.


I cut out a tuft leaving a little of the background fabric. Next I fused layers of fabric around it creating a flower.

I collaged and stitched a neutral background and made a fun polka dotted vase. 

I thought this striped foreground fabric worked well with the dots.

This piece is going to be 5 x 7....or maybe 6 x 8 depending on the border.

I played around a little more with the tufts....but I need to mull it over for a few days. These are not attached to the tufts or the background yet....I'm just auditioning.

Do I keep them more simple like this....with a little stitching?  Do I use the more complex flower from above? Should they all be different?

A fresh look another day will help.  But it is May 22nd....and I do want to get this done by the end of the month.  I need another rainy day...and a housekeeper!

Posies

I'm playing catch up with Folt Bolt's January color scheme.

I've always been drawn to these tight bouquets in simple vases....I used the same idea with the hydrangea. This piece is completely inspired by and designed around those original 2 circles I made back in January. I've since made a few more and am putting together a bouquet of felt, wool, and button posies.

I played around with fabrics for the background....and in the end decided to keep it simple...I wanted the attention to be on the posies.  I'm not sure if I'll wrap the fabric around the paint panel...or attach the finished piece to the top.  I'll make that decision later on when the hand work is done.

I backed the fabric with fusible and I cut away parts that wouldn't show.  You know I don't like to waste fused fabric. Below is what the back looks like...just like the front with just a little overlap for fusing.

 

I attached a piece batting the size of my canvas before I began my stitching. This will give it a little loft and hide the bumps of threads...a lesson I learned with the green scheme.

Then I started topstitching.  I chose a chevron pattern for the vase...I wanted to create simple texture. 

Now its time to settle in and hand stitch. There will be lots of stitching, beads, and buttons.