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!

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.

Holding Onto Hope

Some days all you just need is a morning with a friend catching up and sorting through fabric. 

I can't transport Jane to your living room....but I can send a quote that caught my attention.

We humans have a lot of work to do while all while holding on to hope....humanity and decency. 

Mandy Ford is the artist/author. 

I found a little joy this afternoon adding a touch of watercolor to my cyanotype. 

Splatter of Gold

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing. 

And I gave it up.

And took my old body and went out in the morning singing. 

Mary Oliver

I came across a snowflake papercut in my stash....and thought it would make an interesting mask for a cyanotype. I've been preparing papers for Kelly...who is going to do cyanotype workshop sometime soon....and I couldn't help but play around a bit myself.

The papercut worked well with my UV lamp and I'm tickled where I ended up with it.

I exposed the prepared watercolor paper to the UV light a little too long so the cyanotype print was really dark blue. I cut off a chunk....and using Connie's rainbow watercolors...I started painting in one corner letting the colors bleed into each other. 

It was a relaxing way to spend an evening and escape in color.

In the end....the very dark blue seemed to soften and be just right against the rainbow colors. It's like a colorful snowfall in the middle of the night.

And it all came together with a splatter of gold. 

Mary Oliver set her worry aside and went out in the morning singing....and I splattered some gold paint.

Butterfly Effect

I couldn't stop thinking about butterflies today. As a response to yesterday's post, Kate...an artist AND a physicist from the UK told me about the Butterfly Effect: the fluttering of their wings can actually cause a typhoon or tornado on the other side of the world. Seemingly insignificant changes in a complex system can lead to massive and unpredictable results. 

It's that micro thinking again!

Kate reminded me it only takes a small action by each one of us to create a tidal wave of change. Paul and I will be joining a peaceful protest this weekend....and I've been emailing my senator almost every day. We can do that small things. 

As I worked on the butterfly puzzle today...it took on a life of its own. It only took three pieces to make the connections from top to bottom...and side to side. And after just two or three sittings throughout the day it was done. I loved every minute of this puzzle....and it has had its own butterfly effect on me.

The butterflies brought the countries together beautifully!

I painted a coat of transparent Golden Zinc White paint over the papers on my recent watercolor. I also added some black doodles and a quote and I'm calling it well done!

Small changes....noticeable results.

The Thing

Do the thing cuz you love doing the thing. Dori Patrick

I've been micro organizing and cleaning in the studio....and finally uncovered my table in front of the window....so it was time to paint. Cuz even though I'm not that great at it...I do love to play with watercolor. 

This is what I did last night....just simple circles and wavy lines in blues and greens with a touch of gold. It was OKish in the light of day...but I thought it needed something more. This whole journal is about experimenting...and I usually go a bit too far.

For better or worse....here's where I ended up today. I wanted to add some other pops of color so I used polka dotted paper to punch circles out of circles to create rings. I didn't want to cover up the gold centers and cutting holes in fabric would have been too hard.  I'm not sure I love it...and I just decided that I will soften the paper pieces tomorrow with some zinc white paint. I do like the left side better...and I'll like even more when I neutralize the paper. I'll let you know how it works out.

If I do this again I'll use fused fabric...it pairs better with the watercolor. But the most important thing is I'm back doing something I love to do.

Mixed and Muddied

A few nights ago I did some random acrylic swirls and squiggles in my watercolor journal because I wanted them good and dry by morning. I should never do things like this too late at night....but sometimes things look better in the light of day. I'm not sure that was the case this time....but a little paint would help.

I decided to do a experiment with the two pages using liquid watercolor. 

I used three colors:

Ultramarine blue

Primary Yellow

Bougainvillea

On the right hand page I used the colors just as they came out of the bottle....saturated and shockingly electric.

I wet washed the whole page and dropped in the colors letting them bleed and mix however they wanted in and around the acrylic paint lines.

On the opposite page I used the same wet wash technique. But this time I put a few drops of the same three colors in the wells of a palette and mixed my own more muted colors adding in a little mud along the way. 

Mud is the mixture of all the colors...and helps tone down and unify them. Once it was dry...I glazed over some of the areas a second time to get some darker values.

There's a time and place for wild saturated colors...maybe. But the mixed and muddied side is more appealing and still reads as bright and vibrant. The colors seem more cohesive because they are blended into each other. I have learned this lesson from several artists I admire...and it was a good exercise to put it into practice once again. Mixed and muddied is the way to go!

Cracks and Crevices

I enjoy this simple painting technique....and have used it several times over the years.

I painted white acrylic swirls with a fine line applicator. After it was dry I added the watercolor. It's easy to paint inside the spaces because the paint acts as a resist.

I love the way the watercolor stains the paint here and there and settles into the little cracks and crevices created by the paint application.  

It's quite a satisfying process.

For Better or Worse!

Evening watercolor doodle.

Morning addition of fused fabric scraps.

I painted the companion page this past summer...

and some fabric scrap dots tumbled across to the companion page.

Makes for a cheery watercolor doodle spread in my journal....

but I felt like it needed something.

So for better or worse I loosely outline the leaves and dots. 

Playing around and experimenting with ideas is good for the soul.

Pretty Little Spread

I took a break from the grunge in the garage and the disheartening news...and I did a little painting in my watercolor journal last evening. 

I'm feeling very disconnected from my art supplies...but that's what happens in the summer and early fall. Studio days are coming. 

I was out of practice....so painting soft circles was a good place to start. I love to let the colors bleed and play with each other.....and I'm quite fond of this soft palette. 

I used the extra paint on my palette to paint swatches 

on the opposite page....all ready for doodling.

And today...on this summery fall day...I doodled and painted a little more on the patio. My doodles were inspired by Karen Elaine.

I still had paint on the pallet so I did a little glazing on top of some of the leaves...and a little more doodling.

It looked pretty good at this point...just a few more lines but per usual....it's hard for me to know when to stop.

I went a little too far....It's a little busy.

However....I do think it's a pretty little spread...and it was 

an absolute delight to paint and doodle on the patio today.

Nod to Fall

I was looking through my watercolor journal today....and this is the spread that caught my attention. It feels a bit like summer...but also has a nod to fall.....and I'm quite fond of the unexpected combination of fabric and watercolor.

And my little gourd caught my eye as I headed out for my after dinner walk.

Still a lot of summer going on....with a little nod to fall. 

Joy is not a denial of our circumstances or the hard things we are facing; it is a strategic response that gives us the power to keep going through them. 

D. Michele Perry

(I have corrected the misspelling of Michele's name in yesterday's post.)

Sumac #2

It's not the weight you carry 
but how you carry it -
books, bricks, grief -
it's all in the way you embrace it, balance it, carry it 
when you cannot, and would not put it down. 

Advice from Mary Oliver's friend Daniel from her poem Heavy.

How lucky am I to get these beautiful watercolor poppies in the mail from Roseanne! 

Aren't those speckles just the right finishing touch. Thanks Roseanne! 

I finished sumac painting #2.

Just this morning I saw this branch...another inspiration for watercolor! Are the stems always red? Or is this part of the fall change? 

My painting started with this cyanotype print from a few days ago....and it ended up as a card for a friend.

I just looked back at some of my photos on the blog...and lo and behold the sumac stems are sometimes red! Not always...but sometimes.

I love noticing something new! And as I was looking back I came across this photo from a few years ago of a stunning sumac leaf! Maybe it will be the inspiration for sumac #3.

Painted Sumac

Another tiny corner of my day yesterday was a mixed media art project inspired by the hints of fall in the branches of the neighborhood sumac trees. 

I gathered a few small branches...including this larger one for color inspiration...and brought them home for some layered cyanotype/sunprints. 

This was my favorite print...with three very distinct layers. I like it just the way it is.

But these two were destined for some hints of fall watercolor. 

I started with the one on the right....a total sunprint flop. But there was just enough distinction between the two branches for it to become a painting project.

The cyanotype print wasn't on the best watercolor paper...so that makes a difference for the painting. (an excuse?) And....I was a little rusty....but it was good practice. I think the dark blue cyanotype background really sets it off.

For better or worse...I added a little loose penwork giving a the leaves just a bit of definition. Could have done better...but I'm happy enough with it.

I enjoyed this tiny corner of my day yesterday.

And revisiting yesterday's corner...a big thank you to Paul for delivering the buttons to Marita's door knob on his bike ride. She was so appreciative. 

And you know how I love sharing your art. Lynne sent me this photo of her "leave no scrap behind" art moment above her sewing machine. It features buttons, bobbins, and 1 inch fabric scraps. Well done Lynne! Button button...she's got the button!