Little Miracles

I had a lovely conversation with Margie this morning and one of the things we talked about was the little miracles that happen every day. They don't have to be grand....just simple things like connections and conversations, accepting things that we don't have control over, and finding beauty in unexpected places. These little things can give us a new perspective and a renewed sense of gratitude and appreciation.

I described the sedum blossom I generally disregard. They turn from pink to brown pretty quickly and seem to look messy so I often clip them off before they've had a chance to shine. When I took the time to really look the other day I saw all the tiny little blossoms that make up the whole.....nothing short of a miracle.

I hope you noticed a little miracle today because if there's one thing I'm certain of is that there was one.

A Connection To The Connection

This past week I've been celebrating the art connection I've made with Lynne from North Carolina. We have decided to continue our creative trades whenever something inspires us.....no timeline, no rules, no expectations....we'll just let "inspiration be our calendar" as she put it. Works for me!

I have one more layer to this connection story...it's actually a connection to the connection.

Lynne and her friend Anna have a shared love for art and often get together to create. Lynne introduced Anna to my blog and I'm thrilled that she also finds bits of inspiration there.  Anna contacted me after I posted about giving away my Folt Bolt pieces asking me how I was going to decide where they go. I really hadn't thought about it but realized what was most important to me was that they go to people who love them.  She loves the April blue hydrangea inspired piece....so it's on it's way to North Carolina.  I hope you enjoy it Anna!

Worth The Wait

Remember this assortment of fruit and seeds from a walk a few weeks ago?

I've been watching them for several weeks on my kitchen island at the Condo. They've been drying and slowly changing all along....but when I came back to Maine yesterday I was so excited to see the green fruit had turned incredible shades of red and purple. Well worth the wait!

I'm so grateful Philippa Stanton got me started embracing the art of wabi-sabi during the Consciously Creative class.  It's such simple way to add a little joy to my day.

When I went to Philippa's website to get her link....I was greeted by this delightful simple image on her table. Pure and simple joy!

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!

Connecting

The joy of collecting, creating, and connecting.....that's what this blog is about.

I have been exchanging e-mails with Lynne from North Carolina for several months.  She found her way to my blog and has cheered me on, offered tips and advise, and shared photos of some her amazing creations. She is a talented quilter and artist and there is much I can learn from her.  I've enjoyed our art connection and truly believe that friendships come in all shapes and sizes....sometimes it's just about art.

This amazing 4' by 12' piece is a Pentecost banner for her church and was a collaborative effort with her grandson and a friend. Collaged squares are mounted on wide ribbon and suspended on the rod.  I think it's brilliant and beautiful and I'm going to keep it in mind for future projects.

Lynne recently told me about a product she uses as a foundation for her collaging and wanted to share some with me. We decided to exchange inspiration supplies and a small project that was a combination of fabric and paper...I love shared art.  There will be more about the supply exchange in the next few days....today I'm following up on my birch tree project. 

I do have to add one more layer to the story today...so bear with me. Lynne expressed interest in my birch moon pieces from my last show if there were any left.  They all sold....but I hadn't forgotten. Why not create a small 5 x 5 birch moon paper/fabric piece as part of our exchange. 

The collaged birch branches I shared yesterday are mounted on a background of indigo blues...a mixture of fabric and papers. I created a layered landscape of sorts and like the way the torn paper gives a nod to wispy clouds.

I outlined the trunks with a slight blanket stitch and added a fabric moon.



Note to self....no machine stitching without my glasses. The black line of the blanket stitch was hard to see on the dark indigo background....so it's a little off and a little wonky. Adds character? charm? a homemade quality?....I'm going with all three.

The piece fits into a 5 x 5 matte...but I mailed it to her unframed/matted so she could do whatever works for her.  More about Lynne's project and our supply exchange tomorrow....and believe it or not there's another connection to the connection story also coming soon.

Birch Trees

While Becky was making bird parts a few days ago I was collaging birch bark using a variety of neutral ephemera papers like music, book pages, security envelopes and tissue. 

I glued torn strips and small pieces of the papers onto a piece of card stock...then cut out the trunks. I'm going to try it again sometime using a little different approach on the same theme. I think it has potential.

I had to chuckle when I saw this photo because I didn't pay any attention to the the book pages I was tearing up.  Right in the middle is information about intestinal colic and lead poisoning....yikes!  Maybe the "BEAUTIFUL" balances it out a little.

I'll share the finished project tomorrow....and the creative connection that inspired it.

Friendship

Celebrating 54 years of friendship....it's been a wonderful week. Safe travels my friend!

I've decided to give away all my little Folt Bolt projects from 2017.  They didn't fit into this last art show and have been sitting in a bin all this time. I've been waiting for Becky's visit because I wanted her to have first choice. 

Becky has been one of my main cheerleaders throughout my life no matter what I'm doing. She's the one who planted the seed for me to do start this blog 3 1/2 years ago because she believed that I had something to share. 

I am blessed to have many wonderful friends...but this one is pretty special. Thanks Becky!

Becky chose the December Folt Bolt project...one of my favorites.

Making Art

We took Andy Warhol's advise from yesterday's post and spent a good chunk of today making art...or at least pieces and parts of art. It's the first time I've had someone working with me in the studio and it was kind of fun. I have a lot going on in there right now but I cleared a little corner of the table by the window for her....she was a good sport.

I was working with neutral recycled collage papers and indigo blues....and Becky was making bird parts. 

Using an image from one of my Geninne Zlatkis calendars Becky made a pattern by cutting apart one of the birds. Next she traced and cut out the different parts from a variety of papers. The pattern bird is on the left.

When she gets home she's going to create some sort of a background and has enough parts to assemble several different birds. I think they're fun!

I'll share my project sometime soon.

Art In the Park

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." Any Warhol

Becky and I had a delightful time checking out Art in the Park in South Portland.  A beautiful setting for art and inspiration. 

Today's Colors

Becky and I are doing all kinds of fun things.....here are a few color highlights of the day. 

A trip to Folly 101....I spy aqua matches.

Tonight's dinner.

Beach Day

It's always a good day when you get to Jane's beach....Ocean Park Maine.

Just enough shade for the three of us.

Bright umbrellas and a beautiful sky.....I love the colors at the beach.
 

The closer you get to the Old Orchard end of the beach the more people...and umbrellas.

Lunch

No explanation needed.

Another creative exchange Becky and I shared was a 6 word story project....you can read about it here. 

Generous Mother Duck

I was quite moved when I read this article in the New York Times a few weeks ago about a mother duck who adopted 76 babies.  The photo was taken by Brent Cizek and has been making its way around social media.  Wouldn't it be nice if we all could be so generous?

I don't think I could take care of 76 babies...but I do pretty well with one houseguest. My childhood friend Becky arrived this afternoon from Wisconsin and will spend this next week with me...mostly in Maine. Our first day was spent settling in and catching up and tomorrow we'll head out to some of my favorite coastal spots. 

Becky has been been my friend for 54 years! I've talked about her a lot here on the blog....our outings and adventures....our shared past....and our creative exchanges and projects.  One of my favorites was our shared journaling....you can read about that here.

Happy Purple

I planted a 6 pack of purple verbena along the patio in Maine.  Even with all the rain they've done pretty well giving me a steady supply of blooms all summer long. I've been vigilant about keeping them pinched back so they don't get leggy and dead headed to promote more buds. Before I left for Lexington on Saturday I deadheaded every single soggy bloom leaving just leaves and buds. Since then we had a couple of hot sunny days and this is what I came back to this afternoon....a sea of happy purple! They just exploded! Yay!

And speaking of purple....this afternoon I mounted the other stack piece I'd been working on.  I'm fairly pleased....the only thing I would have done differently is orient it just a little higher.

The focal stripe stack sits just a bit lower than I would like but it was already glued on the canvas before I realized so it was too late.  Live and learn....I'll certainly pay more attention to that next time.  I do like the simple design honoring Vicki's beautiful hand dyed fabric called Abundance. More variations of this to come!

"Abundance" might be a good name for this one...if it's OK with Vicki.

 

Orchids....

...ice cream and a Sunday afternoon date. It started with a book about orchids and ended with ice cream in Watertown MA.

Paul recently read Orchid Fever: A Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy  about the crazy world of orchids and the passionate people who collect and protect them. He learned that orchids have been used in ice cream for years....creating a bit of a love potion.

Then just yesterday there was an article in the Boston Globe about a Dizin FruttiBerri in Watertown featuring Persian Ice-Cream and Frozen yogurt....made with orchids.

The owner was just delightful and told us eating his ice cream was like kissing your first love.






I chose Parsley, Rosewater and Zafran, and Pomegranate....all made with orchids.

Thanks Paul!

Stacked Totem

I finally mounted my first stacked piece which measures 6 by 24 and I'm very pleased. 

I'm quite inspired by art "totems" and now that it's mounted that's what it feels like. I love the way the design wraps around the canvas...it feels crisp and artful.  Yay!...or maybe I should say Phew!

I glued down the top surface that was reinforced with interfacing using medium and let it dry under heavy books. After clipping the corners I wrapped and fused the edges to the board using a hot iron and a pressing cloth.  It was a little fiddly...and I needed both hands and both knees....but it went pretty well.



I'm looking forward to playing with more of these and coming up with interesting patterns and schemes. I'm also wanting to incorporate mixed media...maybe fibers, beads and/or papers. I'll have to practice restraint because I'm going to avoid buttons this time around...trying to be less "crafty" and more arty with this series.

Here's a larger image where you can see the details.