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Finally, I'm back to making art on a semi-regular basis. So far no long sessions in the studio, but I'm getting there. It's a good thing.
This is a piece I painted a while back that I'm playing with now. The black is two of the stamps I carved a while back. Being of the impatient ilk, I used a pigment ink pad that was sitting in the same bin as my stamps--not really caring about permanance. So today when I got around to ironing it, I decided to see if the ink was permanent--it's not so much. But I got some cool effects by spritzing it with water and ironing. It's not like it's ever going to get washed...
But this is what I need to get back in the swing--the chance to play with stuff, not caring about the outcome, flexing my artistic muscles. I have been keeping an artistic journal most of this year (with major gaps during moving), where I do a small piece every day and fuse it into the book. I was looking back through it today (one of the main reasons that I continue to journal both this way and in writing--love to look back at what I was thinking), and there's some promising compositions in there...so maybe my next step should be to make art starting with those pages...
Art has begun again in my studio. I finally have it set up--not that it won't be changing in the next few months as I figure out the space. I started making art there again today, in between other chores.
The space will work out ok. My only concern about it now is that it is below ground, and what if the sump pump fails? But where I was before, I worried about another tornado blowing the roof off, along with all my stuff on the top floor. Such is life, I guess, always a worry.
Which working on art helps to alleviate. That's why it's a comfort to be back in a space that's my own, with all my stuff about. Of course, now there are no excuses left...
Here's a peek at the new space:
I hope that you can see from this photo that some progress has been made in unpacking my studio. I now know generally where things will be, but have come to the conclusion that what I need to do is just put everything away with the idea that I will move it around later as I figure out the space.
There is no 'hidden storage' in this space, unlike my last studio. I keep thinking about Norm Abram on his old PBS show about furniture making. He would always say 'celebrate the joint' as opposed to working away trying to hide the joint between two pieces of wood--when in all likelihood it would show anyway. So the fact that everything in my basement is hodge-podge and out in the open--that's intentional.
One driving force is money. But another, about as strong, is the desire to tread lightly on the earth--use what I have, repurpose it where necessary, make do.
One of my goals when I do start to make art again is to use what I have, to minimize any purchases. In this economy, with the price of gas high, that only seems like the right thing to do.
I had no idea it had been over a month since my last post...what have I done with the time besides moving 250 miles and getting cataract surgery in both eyes? Not much.
But progress is being made. All of my studio stuff is under one roof, the rest of the house is coming together, and soon I will be able to make art again.
I have a large space available, but with less storage already in place. So I've been making some decisions about that. I thought about neat and orderly, all alike cabinetry. But it wasn't just the money that stopped me. I kind of like the mismash of things I have, the controlled chaos of it. I'm not sure how easy it would be to create in a neat (sterile, even) space. So I'm sticking with the hodge podge, the in your face boxes and tubs and such. It's a space for me, that I need to be comfortable in (note the beach chair already in place)...besides, it's more 'green' to make do with what I have.
On another note, Strata 3 (not yet on my website) was accepted into the SAQA IL/WI regional show, Prime, Primary, Primordial. The show debuted last weekend at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, and travels next to the World Quilt and Textile show in Manchester, NH (Sept. 18-21). My art gets out and about more than I do.
Remember the blue cross on the tree from this post? Here is the same tree today:
Quite a change, huh?
If you look closely (at the tree, maybe not in the picture), you can still the vestige of the blue cross.
I wonder if the chain saw art world has the same struggles we in the art quilt world do? Wanting acceptance by the 'art world'. Finding like minded individuals. Fighting the chain art police rules? We get so wrapped up in our own struggles that we forget that others have similar struggles, and somewhere this weekend there's a big chain saw art convention....
For another object of art, here's a picture I took this morning near my house:
This is the fallen blossom of a mimosa tree--a very cool looking tree that was quite popular when I was young. I took pictures of this one because I don't know if they grow around my new home in Batavia, and my grandmother had one. They don't look real somehow, more like a Chinese painting come to life.
So while I continue to not make art, I continue to think about making art. That's worth something, right?
Progress is being made. As long as nothing bad happens, our house is sold and we've bought a new one in Batavia, Illinois. We'll be moving the end of August. This space will be my new studio:
OK, you have to use some imagination. As far as I know, the drum kit isn't staying. And it will be the biggest space I've ever had, steps away from the laundry area. It should work out well.
In between now and then, I'm having my eyes fixed up--cataracts have been making it difficult for me to read. So posts on this blog may be a little slow, but I'll post when I can, and once I start making art again in September, I'll have things to say.
I've finally started getting ready for the Midsummer Arts Faire in Quincy, Illinois the last weekend in June( the 27-29)--after all, I have 10 whole days left. The big stuff is done, now I'm just getting the small stuff ready for the booth.
One of the things I'll be selling is hand dyed silk scarves. Lately I've been playing with pour dyeing--I hang the cloth on a clothesline (outside) and pour dye on it. I go up and down the line, adding bits of different colors. The fact that the silk sticks to itself helps produce great 'happy accidents.' These scarves, which no longer look just orange, are now batching in the laundry room.
I also played with some of the stamps I have carved, dabbing fabric paint on them and stamping them on various pieces that needed something more. (thanks to Kathy Sands for advice). I like the results and will probably do more of this:
So if you're in the area, stop by my booth. I'll be the one right next to my friend, Ann Titus--it'll be a high fiber area.
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