Three Diamonds . . . . Small Print

 

Monoprint

4" x 4"

Just a quick drop in.

Still working with my small monoprints.

Two small collages on the table, each with shots of lemon/mustard and turquoise.

Eager to pick up a paint brush.

Soon.

Have you seen these recent lush colorworks by:

Annamaria Potamiti

Kristen Donegan

Shu-Ju Wang

Hope your week is going well.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Cheers!

Finally. . . Off the Table

 

Mixed media collage 

4 1/2" x 6 3/4"

 Here

  

Mixed media collage

4 1/2" x 6 3/4"

Here

I think I'm "back in the groove." My gluing "production" area has been moved to a new location and after finishing these two pieces, it stands ready and waiting for me whenever I get an hour or so.  It had been so long since I used my drafting table, triangle, architectural scale, glue, etc., that I sort of had to re-train, if you know what I mean.  (Does this happen to you?)  Like, it was only after I glued my first piece down, with sticky fingers, that the little voice in my head kicked in with, "Oh . . . remember, you need to get an art "rag" and dampen a portion of it so that you can use it to clean your hands periodically while gluing, and can also use it to dab up any glue that gets on the face of your collage."  And, "Okay, use your parallel bar and your triangle to mark off where on the support paper your print should go. But remember, make the marks on a blotter paper -- not directly on the support paper.  And, by the way, use a Micron pen instead of a graphite pencil so you don't get graphite on the support paper or your work." :)  

But the retraining was no big deal, and now I'm ready to roll.  

Thanks very much for visiting!
Hope you have a wonderful week.

Making Time for New Work

  

Acrylic relief print and painting on reused papers

4" x 5"

 

Acrylic relief print and gold gouache on paper

7" x 9"

It seems like I've been "clearing my very full plate" forever so that I can get back to making art.  Meanwhile, I've been without a camera for over a month.  All of this by way of saying: Forgive me for the lengthy hiatus from here; I hope to not be away so long again.

Finally,  I found some time this past weekend to ease back into creating while visiting my daughter.  I took a small sketchbook to her home and proceeded to make some simple potato prints while she worked on a painting, knowing that I would at least be able to fit the prints on my scanner.  Nothing too demanding on my end, and certainly no high expectations.  Still, the fact is that creating even the simplest works of art or craft  requires thoughtful decisions throughout the process, and those who don't participate in the artistic creative process often don't appreciate that fact.  And actually, it's that problem-solving process that makes the act of creation so stimulating and engaging.  Well, at least that's my take on it.  :)

Cheers!

Printing and Stitching

 

Lots of things on my plate right now so I'm still a ways out from having any real blocks of extended time to devote to artistic pursuits.  But I am managing to find an hour here or there to devote to experimenting with small printed or painted samplers on fabrics that I've made over the last couple of years.

The above pieces include a screen print on twill (on the left), and relief prints done on upcycled linen with a found object and a vintage wood block from India. I painted the red, silk-covered, found button and placed it on the screen print to cover a printing blooper. (ha!)   The fading on that piece occurred during the machine washing, even though I had heat-set the piece with a hot iron.   Unfortunately, I did a series of this print during the last half-hour of a studio session late at night at Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC).  I realized after I finished printing that there was a good chance that I had not used the right type of ink.  But actually, I do not mind the mottled effect at all. :)  I added machine-stitching to both of the above pieces.

By the way, something seems to be amiss with the OCAC website.  I hope you will be able to view it because the college's programs and facility are wonderful!

It's been a very busy week and I have thoroughly enjoyed my slow start to the weekend, although a significant amount of work lies ahead.  Hope your weekend is going well. . .

Cheers. . . and thanks for visiting!

Limping Along in Bloggerland

Mixed-media

4x6

here

Hi there.  Is anyone else limping around in Bloggerland due to the gwt.xmlmodule snafu? (Whatever in the world that is. . .)  More importantly, does anyone know how to fix it?  So far, I'm striking out. . . . My entire dashboard is invisible to me and I consider myself quite lucky to have figured out how to do this minimalistic post. [Update:  I think I fixed it!  When I use Firefox for my brouser, I can see everything!]

Right now, I have fabric scraps on my work table.  Lots of them.  But last night I perused several old sketchbooks and I believe I've settled on a couple of ideas for paintings.  I look forward to beginning.  But first, I have to get my ideas for these fabric scraps out of my system. . . .

I've been hearing birdsong in the early morning hours.  Nothing like what I remember hearing while I was growing up here.  Only a few birds singing.  Still, it is beautiful . . . a lovely harbinger of spring.

Have a wonderful week!

:)

"Place" . . . Recent Paintings by Catherine Freshley

"Willapa Bay Mudflats"

(Washington Coast)

30" x 40"

"Ross Island and Mt. Hood"
(Willamette Valley, Oregon)

36" x 60"

"Butte -- Columbia River Gorge"

24" x 48"

Our daughter, Catherine, has been painting like crazy and seems to have a ready pipeline of folks who would like a painting of a place that is special to them.  Place -- i.e., those places that have shaped who we are and that continue to pull us back to them after we have left -- is a theme that Catherine has explored for several years in her writing and art.   When she moved to Eastern Washington state, someone suggested that she concentrate on painting local landscapes of the Columbia Basin steppe, since the folks in the vicinity would likely be more interested in them than in paintings of the coastal area that has been so important to our family.  Of course, this makes perfect sense from a statistical standpoint.  Yet in the year that she's been there, Catherine has encountered people who have instantly recognized the rather anonymous scenes of her assorted paintings of Willapa Bay, and  have recounted fond memories of having spent a great deal of time in their childhood actively engaged with the endlessly changing coastal estuary that is impacted by the ebb and flow of the tide.  

Isn't it wonderful that mere pigments, when suspended in binders and transferred to a surface via a process of acute observation and carefully considered brush strokes, can instantly bring forth a multitude of memories and an infinite range of emotions?

Have a wonderful week!

Stitching

Relief printing on found wool herringbone.

Lately, I've been taking steps toward creating some finished pieces from fabrics I have either hand printed, upcycled or both. With the printed fabric, above, it was simply a matter of ironing and laundering to make certain the ink was set so that I could move forward with stitching it into something. Other pieces have involved a fair amount of repetitive hand stitching, often in solitude, with no music except the crackling of a low fire. I have found this activity to be extremely enjoyable -- peaceful and meditative, while at the same time, allowing the mind the freedom to roam or to focus on any given topic. 

Screen print with cream-on-cream running stitch. 

Last night, I met up with the small group of women that have continued to get together since we first met in a wallpaper design class at OCAC two years ago. Our ages span four decades and our artistic focus varies, which always makes for interesting conversation.  Our original intent was to continue hand printing wallpaper and fabric, but we've settled into a routine of simply bringing whatever we each want to work on.  Often, I bring a hand stitching project.  Other activities seem to require too much attention on my part and sometimes more space than is available, whereas the stitching is confined to my lap and allows me to focus on the conversation.  I like the fact that we have maintained our commitment to one another, and that we are part of the age old tradition of women "stitching" their lives together as they gather in the evening to discuss family and world matters while they work.

 

Hoping you've had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to a creative week ahead!

:)

Bringing in 2012

The "Talisman"

Truth be told, the arrival of the new year was trumped, in my mind, by the anticipated arrival of our daughter, who has been working her way through Europe for three months via the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program.   We've been tending her orchid next to our kitchen sink, since she's been gone.  It was without flowers when she left, but a bud began to swell on the main stem a couple of months ago.  We urged the bud along as it grew and turned pinkish, but it dropped off the stem before blooming.  And then, the same thing happened a few weeks later.  At that point -- having had no experience with orchids -- I began to wonder if we were over-watering the orchid, or if these buds were in fact precursors to the real deal, and a bloom was yet to come.  Finally, another bud emerged that came on faster than the other two, and surpassed them both in size.  Then we began to speculate about the timing, intrigued by the coincidence of the impending bloom that would surely occur on New Year's Day, or perhaps in time for our daughter's arrival today.  As it turned out, the bloom began to open on New Year's and fully opened this morning -- just in time.  :)

To all who have landed here, I wish you all that is good in 2012.  To those of you who have been following along, I thank you for your friendship, and for your interest and support of my work.  Most importantly, I thank you for sharing your knowledge on your own blogs, and for the wonderful work and the goodwill that you are generating around the world.

Happy New Year!!