We Didn't Start the Fire

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~yeli23/Flash/Fire.html

I have no idea if the link will work, but if it does it's worth a visit!

Finished?

I'm not sure that this piece is finished yet, but it's closer! Practically every fiber was felted onto lutradur. Nope, I don't own an embellisher, just felting needles. Some of the cording has been whipped stitched on.

Later: Now that I've photographed the mandala it's easier to see where some more work needs to be done.

The quote below reminded me of how this year unfolded. I knew going into it that there were going to be lots of bumps along the way, but what I imagined was worse than how things turned out. This year on Oct. 2ND. instead of waiting for a moving van to arrive with all of my possessions I'll be sitting in a chair at the dentist! Not the best way to celebrate!
Quote: I have been through some terrible things in my life--some of which actually happened. Mark Twain.

Happy Fall!

I've been waiting all summer for Fall to start; it's finally here! Not only am I expecting it to be cooler but this week marks our one year anniversary of living here. I hate to admit it, but I finally feel like I'm home. Maybe it takes a year to settle in to new surroundings or perhaps now that most of the work has been done in the yard and house I can relax and enjoy the house. I would however like a screen door for the bedroom door that leads out to the patio. The door requires a custom made screen door; I haven't been able to purchase ready-mades such as window treatments or a front entry gate so why should this door be any different? The temp is supposed to go up into the 90's and maybe hit 100 by Wednesday, but a screen door would have been nice this week. The windows in the bedroom aren't easy to reach being that they're behind furniture so a screen door must be in my future.

There is a palm tree in the yard behind us that I've decided to enjoy, even though I'm not fond of them. I've been waiting for one or two of the fronds to grow high enough to photograph against the sky. Last week it happened! Up until now part of the roof was always visible in any shot I got. Course I could have Photo Shopped it out, but sometimes it's nice not to have to do that.


Quotes:

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. ~Carol Bishop Hipps

Collage

This face is haunting; it reminds me of how I pose for the camera. Blank!

Layers and layers of images with semi opaque edges; I like to know that it's a collage rather than a painting. The first layer is a copy of an acrylic wash in golden yellow and greens. The rest of the layers are photos from my collection.

Quote: We are never too old to be young at heart. Being young at heart means simply to be a beginner. Julia Cameron

Embossed Metal

Oh my gosh! I was able to finally turn off the AC and open the windows! What a treat! I'd forgotten how nice it is to have fresh air. After dinner I was able to sit out on the patio and enjoy the gentle breeze and sound of the water fountain. I kept hearing, "just wait until summer is over and then you'll understand the lure of the desert." I'm starting to understand . . .

I had a scrap of gorgeous distressed fabric left over from the journal cover I made from one of Linda's Experimental Fabric Art Kits. The colors said "ocean" to me. I started playing around with metal and came up with this design. I also hand felted a few fibers onto the fabric in the hopes of suggesting movement . . . Wouldn't Linda's kits make great gifts?
http://www.texturedturtle.blogspot.com/

Texture Plates

Why make my own texture plates? Because I'm looking for a more free-form design than most of the plastic ones provide. And, why not?! This is the site that started it all:
http://tinyurl.com/2fx526 And then I discovered circle pasta at the grocery store. Nope, not make Raviolio's, or whatever that canned pasta dish is.
Example 1: Not sure where I was going with this but it was great fun. I gave it a test run on a rust dyed paper towel using a Shiva Iridescent Red paintstik. A ghost image next to each circle appeared when the paper towel shifted a little; I like it! The bottom examples were done on a paper bag from Trader Joe's. (paper bags used to protect wine bottles. As with most things from Trader Joe's these are special; they have red sides on them!) The center and the one on the right are of the texture plate above; Three different colors were used. With each color change the paper was moved around on the texture plate. The one on the left is from example #3.


Example #2. Pretty much self-explanatory. A rust dyed paper towel was again used for the test run.

Lines! Everything seems to be about lines right now; lately, I seem to be attracted to them. Paper towel on the right, rust dyed muslin on the bottom with Iridescent Blue Shiva paintstik

Lutradur and Lace, revisited

I think that this pic is a little better than the examples below; still out of focus though! The texture is amazing and has proven to be nearly impossible to photograph or scan. I'm considering cutting the 12x14 inch piece for backgrounds.

Quote: "If one advances condidently in the directionof his dreams, and endeavors to live the lifewhich he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." Thoreau

In the Mail

Blogger is driving me nuts!! Lots of white space at the top or bottom of the posts! I used to be able to "edit" that out but for the last few days nothing I've tried has worked. Oh well . . .

I received this gorgeous mosaic button/pendant from Linda. It's not nearly as purple as the pic looks. The camera decided to highlight the color; always interesting when that happens! The piece has a filigree edge and is beautifully crafted. KUDOS! It's presently sitting on my computer desk while I consider just the appropriate use for it. Any ideas? In case you're wondering how you can own one check out Linda's work at http://texturedturtle.blogspot.com/

Lutradur, lace, and Cheesecloth

There is something seductive about lutradur and when a new idea comes along using this fabulous material I feel compelled to meet the challenge.In the premiere issue of Fibre and Stitch is an article by Carol McFee titled Lutradur and Lace. I suddenly knew what to do with some lace I had purchased about 2 years ago at a Thrift Shop. I'm not fond of the lace pattern, too frilly for me, but when I started cutting it apart to glue onto the lutradur the reason I had purchased the lace became clear; texture! The idea of this technique is to layer lace and cheesecloth onto lutradur to create textural designs or a pattern or . . . And then paint the surface.Once the lace, cheesecloth (and paper strips) were loosely adhered I turned the lutradur over and painted it with crimson fluid acrylic. An exciting thing happened. The crimson paint that flowed into the lutradur didn't completely saturate the strips of lace and cheesecloth on the front side but it did create a layer of color behind them; the cheesecloth and lace remained mostly white. (I wish that the camera had been able to discern some of the details) I didn't have a plan in mind when I created the vertical lines with the lace, etc, but once the crimson paint dried a plan started to develop; one I wouldn't normally have gone in. I've never used this palette of crimson, gold, burnt umber, and green before. At this point I'm considering a few possibilities for further work on it. In person this piece looks like vintage fabric

Gifts from Nature!

Have you ever gotten something that you didn't know you wanted or needed until it was in the right place? Something was needed for the spot at the corner of the house where plants haven't survived the heat of the summer or the harsh winds in the spring, but what? One of the pots we purchased at Rustic Pots (see my other blog) turned out to be the perfect fit! We had absolutely no idea where this particular one would go but we had to have it. Some elevation was needed; bricks to the rescue! And then it needed something dramatic in it. A mile from the house mixed in with tumbleweeds were a few tall dried weeds just begging to be brought home. Of course now we need new plants and pots on either side of the vase.

Quote: a flower lives to be beautiful, this is true. But what is truly beautiful also lives in you. Sally Huss

Sunday musings

I've been working on this 5x7 inch piece off-and-on for months. I'm finally happy with the textures and color palette. The starting point for most of my current pieces is text torn from books that I glue vertically onto a surface; I have a lutradur, lace, and cheesecloth piece in the works that also has the addition of text. During a recent culling of magazine clippings I noticed my fascination with vertical lines - what's with that? Why not explore it? The difficulty with this piece was figuring how to apply paint in vertical lines without hard edges. I wanted the result to look like paint had been dripped on without actually dripping the paint; why do answers appear at 3am?

The second goal for this piece was incorporating the cast clay face into the piece rather than "on" the piece.

Linda's latest!

I've been fortunate enough to add so many talented artists to my circle of cyber-friends and even though we've never met in person I feel close to many of them. Linda is one of those people! Over the weekend she created an angel and when I saw the pic I asked Linda if I could post it on my blog. The angel is loaded with a variety of fabrics and fibers; the close-up of her skirt doesn't begin to show the marvelous detail.

Linda has recently announced a Fiber Art Experimentation Challenge on etsy. Check it out.

http://www.texturedturtle.etsy.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/texturedturtle/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lthemer/
http://texturedturtle.blogspot.com/












Quote: Be brave enough to live life creatively . . . what you discover will be yourself. Alan Alda

Tangle of Palms

An interesting way to grow palms, don't you think? I've never seen this remarkable specimen in the desert; there seems to be more than 250 varieties of palm trees that grow on this wondrous planet. This tangle was photographed at Balboa Park in San Diego.

The sweltering 112-118 heat continues. Thunderstorms have provided glorious sunsets, tho, it's difficult to tolerate the heat long enough to venture outdoors to watch them. Watching the plants turn to toast isn't what I had in mind for the garden. I'm thinking rocks, boulders, and sculpture might be the way to go! I know, this is after all the desert, but if there are many lusciously planted city gardens so I was hopeful!