collages 76-85

Collage #84 - "Red No. 4"

A couple of rainy days this week meant I had extra time to spend indoors working on collages. I'm only a few days behind schedule now.

Springtime visitors

Hyles lineata

Warm weather is bringing out lots of wildlife! Thursday I spotted a hummingbird, so I made a sugar-water mixture and hung the feeder up. At least one hummer has been back to feed from it.

About a year and a half back (September 2016) I found a Rustic Sphinx moth resting on the brick exterior of my house. Yesterday I found a different large moth - a White-lined Sphinx. It wasn't as large as the Rustic sphinx, but was still pretty impressive.




Tonight I captured a Carolina Wolf Spider that had got in the house. I released it into the back yard; there's probably more food available for it outside.

collage 67-75

It's Day 83 of 2018, so technically I'm a week behind schedule. I feel pretty good about it though, because yesterday I was two weeks behind.

There has been enough sun and rain lately to cause most outdoor plants to turn green and everything's hurtling forward like the "Summer" movement of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons". I can't pull weeds fast enough to keep up with the new ones popping up every day. I've been having a good time listening to cardinals, grackles, woodpeckers, and my favorite mockingbird singing while I work.

Today's posting is three different batches of work.  They look decidedly different to me, but I don't know that anyone else would notice.

The first two were made while I was still on schedule and was just beginning to spend more time outdoors. 

I had the worst time with these three. They were a real struggle, but I began to get more comfortable by #4. I think it may have been because I finally heeded my own advice and stopped putting so much pressure on myself to catch up. I was just desperately throwing stuff together and wasn't all that happy about the work.

Finally I started having a bit of fun with some crayons and lots of small paper scraps and ended the evening on a positive note.





















I was in the same groove this morning and fueled it with some good coffee and great music from Radio KCSN.

collage 61-66

I didn't notice that I'd accidentally made a leg wearing a shoe until after this piece was done.

I'm only 2 days behind schedule, although it feels like more. We've had some warm and pretty days and I've been spending some time outdoors, tidying up old leaves and new weeds. I've also been working on some lined pinch pleat drapes to go in the window of the dining area, my first attempt at such a large project. If all goes well I'll make a 2nd set for the living room. My new worktable is a major asset to the project.                                  

I've  been playing with dark tones and neutrals, mainly because I had a new pile of clippings from a couple of old magazines I decluttered. I mostly like the results.

cards 54-60

Funnel Cloud #1

It's not getting easier to come up with ideas for collages. This week was a struggle.  I did have some fun playing with ink.

It's getting to be tornado season, and both these ink splotches reminded me of funnel clouds.

Funnel Cloud #2