#29 of 52 projects

(click on photo to enlarge)
Being that I veered off track with #27 and #28 I took a break to see if I could get back on course. I think that I have. The two lutradur pieces didn't exactly follow the guidelines I gave myself. During the last 6 weeks I've been dyeing fabric along with creating oodles of screen prints. I've learned a lot including that I take lousy notes! The rush is on to get as much done in the garage studio as I can before the nights stay as hot as the days are, 102 degrees today, because then I won't be able to work in the garage. When it cools down at night the portable AC unit works. Today the AC unit was stuck at 92 degrees, which seems unbearable, but the air blasting out of it aimed directly at me is doable.

Components: Rust dyed fabric that was over-dyed with turquoise dye. Bits and pieces of scraps including threads were needle punched onto the muslin. A purple painted strip of lutradur was sliced down the middle leaving about an inch at the heat. The strip was heat distressed and machine sewn onto the 4x6 inch piece.

Notes: muslin doesn't hold up when needle punches excessively in on area. To trap the scraps I placed a piece of netting over the entire surface but the needles kept pulling up the scraps anyway so I ended up needle punching the backside.

Quote: She would be half a planet away, floating in a turquoise sea, dancing by moonlight to flamenco guitar. Janet Fitch - White Oleander

Disintegration - moving on

This papers looked untouched, but they were out in the elements since Feb. I made three bundles of them and pulled away some debris in the compost bin and in they went. What am I expecting? Worms to gnaw on the paper, stains from garden clippings and/or vegetable waste from the kitchen. Time frame: July 1, or later. I need enough time to create a piece. I'm moving on to more fabric dyeing and returning to the 52 projects.

Quote: Moving on is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard. Dave Mustaine
Sometimes the cards we are dealt are not always fair. However we must keeping smiling and moving on. Tom Jackson.

More Disintegration

The photos that I posted about earlier today needed to dry before I could scan them. This is one that started to transfer onto a piece of paper. Great possibilities for photos that refuse to print properly. Another reason to "save everything!"

More photos can be seen here:

Disintegration Project unveiling

A cloud covering here in the desert isn't typical, but it's lovely for the unveiling of the bundles; the lighting is soft, perfect for photographing. I tied my bundles to the pergola post where grape vines are doing their Jack-in-the-beanstalk thing. My bundles have been out in the elements since Feb. 14 and can be seen here.

This bundle slid down the post last month during a monsoonal storm. Underneath of the bundle mold started to develop, see the last photo.

Epson DuraBrite printed photographs. So much for being smudge, water and fade resistant! They did what I wanted them to do! A few of the images even transferred to the backs of scrapbook paper as shown in the middle of this example. Eureka!

An interesting design started developing on the copper, another example of a photo, and the corrugated cardboard that will now go into another bundle that I'm considering popping into the compost pile for awhile. The cardboard didn't do much.

One sheet of paper to be saved for later use. The rest will be bundled up again.

Some mold action. I'll probably seal it with a spray coat of clear something. I had hoped that the twine would decay some, it has before when we've used it to stake plants; I'll most likely use it to tie the bundles with again.

I'm definitely fascinated by intentional disintegration and plan to do more of it. Thanks Seth!

Quote: Disintegration -- I'm taking it in stride. Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho)

Celebrating Earth Day

Screen print.

Celebrate Earth day:

Quotes: Every day is earth day. Anonymous

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. Native American Proverb

I'm not an environmentalist. I'm an Earth Warrior. Darryl Cherney - Smithsonion, April 1990

Published!

I was visiting this blog (check out the barbed wire stitch tutorial) when I saw that a book that two friends and I had sent some work to for consideration will be out June 1. Being very curious I went to Amazon and checked out the index, yep, Circles Journal. Put my name in "search" and hit the mother lode! Starting on page 56 are a couple of pages of our collaborative. Seeing how we never heard, even after numerous emails, anything about our submission we're all thrilled. It was Darlene's initiative that landed us in the book.

The upper right spread is the one that seems to have published in LK Ludwig's newest book. Good thing seeing how the top left is bloody awful. What was I thinking?

Last night while mixing up dye I decided to move from using hearts in my work to circles, oddly enough. So, last year a quilt was in a traveling QA exhibit and so far this year published. Not bad for someone who isn't overly productive.

Quote: A circle is the reflection of eternity. It has no beginning and it has no end - and if you put several circles over each other, then you get a spiral. Maynard James Keenan

To brighten a day

This should make any ones day a little brighter. Turn your speakers on.

By now I think that everyone knows about Susan Boyle. Her story seems to be stirring up a lot of conversations about aspirations and broken dreams. What a gift she has! Success is often all about timing, I hope this is her time.

Graffiti Hearts

Hearts, hearts, and hearts.

Rust dyed fabric base. Red fabric heart, patina copper heart, stamped hearts, fabric fragments, acrylic paint, coffee dyed, machine stitched, thread tails. 10x10 inches. (click to enlarge)

Quote: Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Week #28

It seems that I should be on week #30. I simply haven't been up to dealing with the unfriendly computer that doesn't seem to "recognize" me! Confirm this, wrong password that, slllllooow downloads and uploads so much so that I want to toss the tired thing out the into the desert. Lately, I haven't to be in the mood to deal with all of the idiosyncrasies that the internet and or computer software is tossing my way. Nope, I'd rather be creating!

Learned: hand made paper can be fused to lutradur. I used stitch witchery that I purchase by the bolt. Easy light-weight fusible.

Components: handmade paper, patina laden copper, heat distressed painted lutradur not yet attached to black backing. I can't decide how much black border to leave around the piece. Not enough of a border and I wouldn't be able to frame this 5x7 inch piece.

Quote: You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. Franklin P. Jones (substitute computer for children!!)

Color on Fabric

A deconstructed screen print from a series of four. This one is the second in the series and started with purple dye on the screen, dried and printed with ochre. I wish I had taken better notes but, I'm pretty sure that the design is rubber bands. The process is messy and time consuming so I'm not sure if this is something I will do very often.

I have no idea why this pic looks like there is a swirly design running through it, there isn't. I'm still in love with Dye-na-flow paint for a quick way to get color onto fabric. This piece is muslin that was fan folded and painted with blue, dried, re-folded and painted with yellow. Interesting, I seem to be using a lot of yellow lately.

I ran across a link to this site and am seriously considering ordering some gel medium and colorants. Input is appreciated. The idea of earth friendly products appeals to me.

Quote: Faith is a bird that feels dawn breaking and sings while it is still dark. Scandinavian

Saying

Week #27

I feel a lot better about this one. #26 still bothers me.

Components: Hand-made paper casting, painted and heat distressed lutradur, junk jewelry (broken) with black fabric backing. The paper fragment was stitched onto the painted lutradur. The lutradur was stitched to the black fabric backing that has been glued to mat board.

Size: 5x7 inches

The jewelry piece was way to shiny for this piece so I knocked it down with black paint. The earring, that I can't imagine wearing, is a broken one that was included in an ebay purchase.

All 27 of the projects can be view on Picture Trail here:

Quote: No matter how long winter is, spring is sure to follow. Proverb (Happy Spring!)

Tagged!

Darlene tagged me and I decided to take the challenge, after all it involves photos. I posted the challenge photo along with others on my G-photos blog. (March 18)

After some PSE filtering this image turned out to be my favorite. This lighthouse photo was shot during a trip to Cape Cod in 2005.

Quote: Anythin' for a quiet life, as the man said when he took the situation at the lighthouse. Charles Dickens

Circles

Just a little one, 4x6 inches that I started many months ago. I realized yesterday, St. Patrick's Day, that I rarely use green in my work. Even with the tangle of circles and flow of blues this pieces is soothing, at least it is for me.

Components: gesso and fluid acrylics.

Quote: Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it you need to start young. Fred Astaire

Cirque re-visited

Not sure about this one yet, but it's getting closer. I posted a version of this one last year; it was on view for awhile then I put it away when I couldn't figure out how to improve it. I've added 3 paper cast swirls but that's the problem, they look added on! I like the swirl on the left, but the right side is just bloody awful! Maybe if I tone it down some . . .

I should have posted something green in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

Quote: It is not the years in your life, but the life in your years that counts. Adlai Stevenson

#26 of 52 projects

I wish that this painted wonder-under was the half-way point of the 52 projects! At least it's colorful and abstract enough to please me.

But it's this one that ended up being week #26. Components: embossed copper with 2 pieces of junk jewelry (the scallop/flower shape in the middle and the lower right wire shape) that was hand-stitched with copper thread onto a distressed needle punched piece. The blue and red sheer fabrics needle punched onto black felt created a nice background, but when I started to edge-stitch the piece I remembered how wonky felt gets. It buckles, stretches and refuses to behave itself; I wonder when I'll remember to use black fabric and not felt for small pieces, or, simply not edge stitch them??? This tiny piece started out as a 4x6 inch one and is now 3.5x5.5 inches with not enough space around the copper to allow it to breathe, except on the right side. The more I cut off the unruly edges the worse the piece looked. I tried to put it onto a larger background, ugh! Sometimes it's just best to let go and move on.

Good grief! Twenty-six weeks until the BIG-O birthday. I'm not only surprised to find that I'm on the threshold of another decade in the aging process but half-way through the 52 projects. As of today I'm caught up.

Quote: Wrinkles merely indicate where smiles have been. Following the Equator.

Week #25

I have no idea what this is! It started out as a tree shape but now it seems to have taken on the look of cacti. Organic?

Components; Painted lutradur, first with red iron oxide then once the plant shape was stenciled greens were used. Machine feather stitching inside of the plant shape, barely visible. Shapes were melted with a heat tool followed by gold highlights. The piece is backed with black felt and is 4x6 inches.

Lutradur is full of possibilities such as painting and distressing with heat.


Quotes: Here one is in later in life, and it's perfectly pleasant really, not for a moment that garden of cactus and sour grapes I'd always imagined it must be. James Ingram Merrill

Copper

My love of metal continues! Three copper hearts with instant patina and an embossed piece that also has a bit of patina on it. Two jewelry scraps were worked into the embossed piece and the embossed hearts were highlighted with red.

I've been collecting junk jewelry for years that I've mostly purchased from Thrift stores but sadly practically everything has suddenly gone missing. I hate to think that anyone would be so daring as to walk off with so much of the fun stuff, but after four complete searches that is the only conclusion. Sad. I will leave a note for the cleaning people in the hopes that nothing else goes missing. After days of bidding on ebay it looks like I'll end up with more items than I owned; I will take pictures and put the new collection away so as to not tempt anyone. Some pieces have been missing for months; I had hoped that I had simply misplaced the items, but the only piece I ever found from the entire purchase was a pin with my name on it. Some of the pieces I had hoped to make molds of and incorporate other fragments into my work. I was picky when I bought them, but one can't be choosy when buying lots on ebay. I might list pieces that I don't feel I can use. At least the few expensive pieces of jewelry are accounted for!

Quote: No legacy is so rich as honesty. William Shakespeare

Rust dyed fabric

Some time back I rust dyed a leaf print that has spent considerable time on my sewing desk. Last night I cut out a tree shape and fused it onto dye-na-flow painted pellon. Boring! The depth, dark areas, came about while coffee dyeing some handmade paper; I can't stand to toss leftovers. What would happen if I lightly added some coffee? Much improved. The 4x6 inch piece is now waiting for further inspiration.

The example is the rust dyed leaf pattern and beneath it is a pre-dyed piece of fabric.

Quote: The day, sun, moon, night - I do not have to purchase these things with money. Plautus.

#24 of 52 projects

Barely in under the wire, but, I did get week #24 done on time.

Components: Background is rust dyed heart printed fabric, gold Shiva paint stik heart on black fabric, handmade paper heart, and 3 heart brads. The paper heart is outlined with 3-D paint and the 4x6 inch piece is edge stitched with variegated thread.

Quote: Aim for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars. Les Brown

More handmade paper

These two were failures from last spring, or at least they were boring. The circle one has a new layer of pulp added on top near the bottom and the lines were re-rusted.

The other small 4x6 inch piece has quite a bit of layering added to it, more collage-like, plus a heart.

Rather than clog up this blog with photos, after all I already chat too much on it, I started one specifically for photos. I'm currently taking an online class, details of which are on the new blog, but don't ask for details about how the photos are done. Instead, sign up for a class. The blog is here: I studied fine art photography for years, not that it shows!, so snapshots are difficult for me to do. It's an entirely different mind-set.

Quote: Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I have never heard of one who suffered from insomnia. Joseph Wood Krutch

Energy Deficit

I'm battling fatigue which tends to make me cranky, enough so that when the seven month old Janome Platinum Jem refused to sew I seriously thought about tossing it into the trash can. The Redlands Sewing Center is about
1.5 hours from here and that of course made the situation even larger than it needed to be. In the yellow pages I discovered only two repair shops in the entire area, one of them isn't in the most desirable of locations. Happily, the second one isn't too far away and I was informed that if I got the machine in on Wednesday the repair guy was in their shop on Thursday so I could probably have my machine back on Friday. "I'll bet," I thought. Often I'm surprised when things turn out; the machine is back home after being reset to factory settings. I'm terrified to try it, what if it doesn't work? In the mood I'm in I wouldn't be able to handle it. Energy deficit due to insomnia, enough said.

I did however whip up two more batches of paper pulp with an additive that is supposed to help the paper become acid free. I forgot to mention that before. Two examples of some of the fragments and small sheets of paper that I made are below. The scans seem to make the paper look like one sheet rather than a small embossed fragment on top of a sheet of paper. I haven't adhered them together yet simply because I'm still wondering if I like them well enough. To achieve the blue tone on second one I used chalk pastels. I don't make delicate paper to write on, why bother when one can purchase beautiful papers. The paper I make is often chunky, highly textured, or chock full of things that appeal to me like herbs, dried flowers or whatever is on my work bench such as onion skins on their way to the compost pile. I think that the paper made better use of them.


The other thing that I tried was to use hand sanitizer, Purell, to transfer a photo I shot in Arles, France in 1997. This particular print was too dark. The details of the house in the background weren't evident. I do like the sunflowers so I tried the transfer on a sheet of handmade paper
I made years ago. Failed paper, failed print, what did I have to lose? I have a feeling that this process invented by Glenda Bailey is something I will continue to play with. I'm impressed with how easy it is to do. (Note: Glenda continues to add new information about the technique so scroll through her blog to the first entry.)


Quote: Insomnia is a gross feeder. It will nourish itself on any kind of thinking, including thinking about not thinking. Clifton Fadimen

Disintegrating.

Rain! The bundle I put outdoors on Sat. is receiving a nice soaking. I wondered what would happen to some of the photos I included and if the one in this photo is any indication there might not be any images left on May. 1. No wonder photo transfers sometimes work with just water! I tossed some some text pages from the French book onto the rusted cookie sheet and then placed a jar on them to flatten them. Love the circle imprint.

I was able to get out into the garage again today even though it was freezing! Where did this cold weather come from? A couple more batches of pulp including some for some paper casting I'm trying using molds I made yesterday when I glued some elements on mat board. So far I'm not impressed.

Quote: Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers

In the Studio

It was a productive day, that is after I cleared some of the pile off of the work table in the garage. The blender is leaking sodium alginate that ended up clogging the motor. I couldn't find a used blender at any of the 4 thrift stores I tried last month so I ended up purchasing a new one for $12.95. Planning ahead is always a good thing; the urge to make paper struck late last night so today the new blender was finally released from the box and put to use. I have my own way of making paper that includes a handmade mold with built-in deckle. Velcro holds the window screen and plastic canvas in place and I pour pulp onto the mold. Lots of blotting with a sponge and kunin felt to remove as much water as I can, then the paper is left on felt to dry. (google "paper making" for the right way to make paper.)

I'm still creating art pieces with hearts in them. I found a set of cookie cutters at Target last week that I knew instantly would be make perfect molds for paper pulp. In the photo, pulp has been poured into the cookie cutters that were placed on a screen stapled to a frame. They were left to drain before removing the cutters and pressing between kunin felt to compress the pulp together. My pulp recipe? About 3 cups of water and a handful of paper blended until I like the looks of it. Today I used some brown paper bags from the grocery store and added some plastic coated paper along with a spicy salt that I tried on some chicken a couple of months ago. Yikes!! I thought that maybe the combination of herbs might add something to the paper. I also tried a batch of brown paper with some onion skins. A third batch of pulp was a combination of paper from the paper shredder, brown paper that I didn't clean out of the blender, and some onion skins. I placed some rusty washers on a few pieces.

The photo with the paper casting sitting on top of a painted paper towel was taken early this morning in the bathroom. The counter, covered with freezer paper, is the perfect place to paint when it's freezing or boiling in the garage, or in this case, when it's after midnight. I painted lutradur. Tip: because the lutradur is fibrous I like to put a paper towel, or another piece of lutradur, or fabric under the piece that is being painted. Otherwise, the paint ends up on the freezer paper. Often whatever is placed under the lutradur ends up being more interesting such as the paper towel in the photo. The casting was made using one sheet of paper towel.

When I made the bundles yesterday for the disintegration project I missed a page torn from a French book. I tossed it on a wet rusty cookie sheet and put a metal heart on it. The heart isn't as evident as I hoped it would be, but I love how the rust from the cookie sheet created an interesting design. (click on images to enlarge)

Quote: Art is when you do something just cockeyed from what is the right way to do it, then it's art. Will Rogers

Disintegration Project

Disintegration Project - another one of Seth's brilliant ideas. Check out his blog for details. I'm a little late getting started but the unveiling of the bundles isn't until May 1 so hopefully be then nature will have helped the papers to disintegrate.

Components: cardboard including one piece that was indented by seltzer water cans, newspaper, ink jet printed script, badly printed photos, text from both a dictionary and a French book, a cardboard tube, and a couple of painted and unpainted pieces of mat board. Along with twine the top bundle is wrapped with both copper and steel wire. The bundles are attached to a bamboo vine support that is presently tied to one of the pergola posts. If the grape vine starts growing I might move the bundles to another area in the garden. (click to enlarge the photo)

Valentine's Day is my parents anniversary, sadly, mom didn't remember that today. Her world is getting smaller all of the time.

Quotes: Without love, what are we worth? Eighty-nine cents! Eighty-nine cents worth of chemicals walking around lonely. M*A*S*H, Hawkeye

Happy Valentine's Day

#23 of 52 projects is a couple of days ahead of schedule. Hearts within hearts.

Components.: Red chiffon needle punched onto black kunin felt with a heart shape cut out of the center; I love the way chiffon ends up being distressed by the embellisher. Commercial fabric flecked with red hearts that was rust dyed with a metal heart. (The metal heart is metal flashing.) Copper wings with a patina, a purchased tin heart, and a tiny copper heart also with a rich turquoise patina. I tried to edge stitch this piece but the sewing machine didn't take kindly to the layers and kept freezing up. Oh well. (click image to enlarge)

Quotes: I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think of romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon. Author Unknown.

I claim there ain't
Another Saint
as Great as Valentine.
Ogden Nash

Who, being loved, is poor? Oscar Wilde

Blog Award

Oh my gosh! I forgot that I received this award from Val. Thank you for honoring me with another award. I'm supposed to list 5 blogs which I'm a bit reluctant to do; the last time I did that no one responded . . . So, these are some favs, in no particular order.

Linda (the beautiful tree in the Jan. 31 post is now in my collection!!!)

Julie

Rayna

Lynda

Marilyn

Abstract painting

I've got to figure out a way to get better photos of my work. A lighting tent perhaps? No place for one though, sadly. I finally started experimenting with different sizes of canvases in the hopes that I'll figure out what size is comfortable to work in. 6x6 inches isn't it! I reworked this one until the only hope for it was to stop and move on. The band of color is copper flashing. Acrylic paints, mostly Golden's fluid.

A close-up of the copper band. So, how did I get this look? Guess.

#22 of 52 projects

This is week #22, so I'm caught up!

Components: more glue resist fabric paint experimenting. This time I didn't wash the glue out; I liked the effect of the paint on the glue. Lots of rambling stitches in purple a long with grid-like work on the left side. I did touch up the areas inside of the circles with ochre, purple and turquoise. Size: 4x6 inches

Woke up late to blustery winter day. Wind and drizzle make for a break from the ever-ending blue sky that one would think couldn't become boring. After years of months upon months of dreary fog that blanket the Monterey Peninsula the wide open blue sky here in the desert dazzled me. When clouds cross the sky I now cheer! Too much of a good thing can become mundane.

Quote: Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. Author unknown

#21 of 52 projects

One more to to then I'll be caught up with the 52 projects.

Components: Heart shaped glue resist. Wash of blue and green fabric paint. Blah! White paint splatters. Still blah. Needle felted heart, black stitching and hand made copper button. Much better.

Learned: basic straight stitching works well for a simple quilted effect. Making copper buttons from copper flashing is well worth the time!

Quote: Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself. Gloria Steinem

#20 of 52 projects

I'm catching up after falling into a dark hole, figuratively speaking. I hate to admit it, but occasionally the health issues that have plagued me since childhood completely take over my life. If I fight against them or ignore them I end up deeper in the hole which is where I've been for nearly two weeks. I can finally see a glimmer of light and hope to be in complete daylight again soon. In meantime I dabbled with a few more glue resist pieces. This time I drew some wavy lines on a stretched screen intended for screen printing with dyes but used fabric paint instead. The first print turned out better than I thought it might. The second print wasn't as bold. Not being in the mood to make another printing I used rubber stamps to fill in some areas which greatly improved the piece. Days later the red lines of satin stitching were added and I'm now happy with it. Both pieces are 4x6 inches on canvas fabric. While the glue washed out of the mesh the paint stained it. Being that I made the screens I can replace the mesh as needed.

Quote: Where does one go from a world of insanity? Somewhere on the other side of despair. T.S. Eliot