Splendor in the Garden

  

Such a riot of color on this tree that is leaning over our fence. It was really something yesterday, against the brilliant blue sky. Anyone know what it is? And regrettably, these two small works are not new, and in fact, they've probably already appeared here. But they seemed to match the mood of the tree.  :)

Hope the week ahead brings good things your way!                                 

Aquas and Oranges / Relief Print and Rose Hips

 

A lovely weekend so far, shared with extended family, and then briefly with our neighbors as we toured each other's yards and they harvested a little excess from our garden.  I took photos of our compost pile so that I could show you the growing number of earthworms that are busily turning our kitchen produce waste into rich material.  But alas, I really cannot tolerate things in multiplicity, and I could find nothing aesthetically appealing about the closeup photos of earthworms.  So you'll just have to take my word for it.  But the point is, we've only recently begun to add the kitchen waste and we are truly amazed at the "factory" our compost pile has become.  This is a win-win situation all the way around!

I discovered the beautiful light coming through the window of the garden shed and couldn't resist capturing it through the old canning jars. These early rose hips are such show-offs -- I love them now, and again, later in the fall when the birds sit on the rugosa branches and leisurely dine on the seeds within the hips.

 
I used some sort of machined-steel pattern for the above relief print on herringbone wool.   The pattern piece is about 4x4x3/4" and is quite heavy.  Can't remember where I found it, but certainly, nobody else was interested in it!

  

 

Mixed Media

by Catherine Freshley

6" x 6"

And here is a recent gift from our daughter, which seemed to fit with today's palette.  You can find her portraits and landscapes here.   

The list of blogs that I am following is ever-growing.  Please know that I continue to follow your posts, even if I don't comment on each and every one of them!     Have a great week!!

Wonderfully Distracted

Relief print on painted paper

17" x 23"

(The optics of this print really play havoc on one's eyes -- even online. )

I'm distractedly trying to work on my small collages today.   I've read many blogs, emailed an artist, purchased  a moleskin journal with a lovely hand-printed linen cover from Lotta of inleaf, talked on the phone far too long, and googled my own blog -- just because it's a responsible thing to do. :)  I'm glad I did, too, because I discovered  Jane Cabrera's delightful children's illustrations in the process and her flickr site with links to many other wonderful designers and artists' flickr sites. 

 

Relief print on painted paper

17" x 23"

Haven't forgotten about posting about the Portland artist.  Planning to post it very soon.  But now, I simply must go tear some Arches paper for my collage "supports."

Happy Saturday!!!

From the Textile Studio

Relief and screen prints

Well, the weekend's almost over and I have had a wonderful time in my studio "metamorphosizing" the last acrylic painting I posted (I'll show you the new version in a few days) and printing on fabric. Of course, I didn't do everything that's on view here this weekend, (far from it) but I'm starting to get enough of "this, that and the other thing" to group some of those "things" together. Hence, the photos. Actually, in thinking about it, the studio time was a bit frustrating in that I basically ruined a couple of previously printed pieces. However, in the process, I learned some new techniques that I can employ in the future so all was not lost.

The brown, "set" pattern, below, was made with a carved rubber block. I wanted the motif to be spread out and light in feel so I printed it on a hard surface without cushioning so that some of the recessed areas of the block would not make contact with the fabric. If you click on the image, you'll see the irregular lines of the block. The yellow/brown print is a screenprint and the last imprint on that fabric (on the lower right of the photo) also incorporates machine stitching.

The fabrics below represent a combination of handpainted, relief printed and screen printed techniques on cotton, linen and silk. (I thought it was about time to shift into a spring/summer palette!) You'll notice an orange print that features the same block that I used for the brown print, above, only this time I brought the motif in closer and printed it on a cushioned surface in order to pick up more of the line detail.


And on the subject of spring/summer.....tomomorrow, I'm going to post about an artist whose work will give you a major case of spring/summer fever so be sure to check back! Cheers!

In the Works -- Relief and Screen Prints on Fabric

Mixed media on fabric

4" x 6"

The above is something I did a few years back. I painted the placket of a chef's coat (reclaimed from a barrel of scraps destined for the dump at a local industrial rag manufacturer), printed it with a paper stencil, added small fabric scraps and bits of paper I had previously painted and printed, and machine stitched it with gold thread.

Below, are a couple of textiles in the works. The first one was screen printed on wonderfully deep green linen purchased at a garage sale, using a paper stencil. (Trust me, the scanner did not do it justice!) I've begun to add a red running stitch to it which is barely visible, but if you click on the image, you can see the stitches and also get a sense of the structure of the fabric which includes a black warp thread and alternating dark green and natural linen weft threads. The central image is approximately 6" x 6" and the surrounding square is about 8" x 8" (too large for the scanner).

The second one was block printed on inexpensive muslin. I used this same block in some of the prints on paper that I posted a few weeks ago.

Oh -- a question: I've been using the older version of the editing program and just recently discovered a newer version exists. Has anyone had experience switching from the old to the new? I'm a bit reluctant to make the switch fearing it will get the best of me and my blog!

Sunspots, Swiss Cheese Planets and Leaves

"Sunspots"

5" x 7"

Mixed Media

Here is an image that evokes the glorious day we are having in Portland. (Ah, the ease of stepping outside without a jacket!) It was painted and printed on a very fibrous, soft paper with acrylics and inks. The spots across the sun were done with a gold ink which, of course, is very nice on the original piece. Likewise, the painting below, done on mat board, incorporates metallic gold acryllic paint that appears as a flat color when scanned.

Cropped from 8" x 10" painting

4" x 4"
Relief printing and acrylic paint on re-purposed paper

By the way, I apologize if you happened to go looking for my earlier post today. It somehow got away from me and published itself. Fact is, I wasn't very happy with the photo of the painting so I deleted the post. :)

Relief Prints in Adobe

Well, I haven't had any time to spend in the studio this weekend but I did manage to spend an hour scanning some of my recent monoprints. I was curious to see what kind of patterns I could come up with in Adobe Illustrator and I thought you might like to see the results.

I think these first two have the feel of textiles from Hawaii or other Pacific Islands.

This last one feels more Oriental to me. Your thoughts? I've enjoyed working in this palette, but I'm thinking it's time to move away from it now. So before I print again, I will have to get some white ink so that I can create some spring pastels. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has been working on; whether it be new art, or simply a new post, it's all very motivating to me!

Discovering La Bella Casa in McMinnville

I've always been enamored with all things metal: Heavy or light guage; aluminum, iron, tin, or steel; smooth or with most any kind of pattern (be it perforated, embossed or woven). Drains, manhole covers, gasoline tank covers and other mundane objects offer some examples of very good design. I found the above drain cover on a recent trip to McMinnville, which by the way, was charming. It's definitely becoming a destination spot for tourists coming to visit Oregon's wine country. Within a few blocks--which, basically, comprise the town--there were several eateries and boutiques, as well as the wonderful stationery, gifts and accessories store, La Bella Casa. I like what McMinnville is becoming, but I especially like that it's still a farm town that caters to the hardworking folks that grow our food.

Small prints from a rainy day.

Another beautiful weekend at the 'ville.

Had some fun with relief prints this weekend and, as always, was amazed by the beauty of our natural world.

Croppings of works on paper from Oysterville

What was intended to be merely a warm-up for working on my canvases in Oysterville turned into a two-day struggle on paper. The white "flower", below, is cropped from a larger painting on paper that went through numerous iterations and ended up with a pale background. The turquoise and orange, also cropped, was completed in one evening. They both became more exciting with a little help from Photoshop (above).

Relief prints compliments of yesteryear.

This weekend, a brief stop in an antiques store yielded a couple of interesting kitchen items from the '30s or '40s and set me off in an entirely different direction than planned in my "studio." Here are a few of the prints in progress.