new worktable

Since the beginning of the year I have been using my dining room table for both sewing and collage-paint-ink experiments, as well as for eating meals. It finally became obvious that it wasn't a good situation. The table would become cluttered with all my art supplies and boxes of clippings and I would have to clear away everything so I could spread out my sewing things. Then I would have to clear away the sewing things before I ate. So that was one thing.

The other thing was that working on my sewing projects was taking a toll on my back. I would spend hours bending over a too-low table and have to suffer with a painfully stiff back for several days before I could get back to work. Then it was a vicious cycle of more bending, more stiffness, more delay.

I had seen some folks online who had made workspaces with some 36 inch tall cubicle storage units and that seemed like something I could put together quickly. I still had two old 24x80" doors I removed from a closet and I thought they might make a good table top. The doors are temporarily held in place with a couple of clamps, but I'll screw them to the storage units once I figure out the table's permanent location.

still plugging away

A few daffodils and jonquils in my backyard bloomed this week. I felt spring had arrived and smiled all day. I got a few collages done.

A day or two later more cold weather, wind and rain arrived. I had no ideas for collages so I occupied myself with ink experiments. 

Cards #47-53. I seem to be working in small batches every few days now instead of the daily sessions I did at the beginning of January.

Me at the beginning of the week

Me a few days later

This collage started as one thing, became something else, and finally became covered with black paint when I didn't like any of the results. I got some practice lettering with my new nib.

My version of color swatching.

LEFT:
Red & Bright Red
Yellow & Golden Yellow
Blue






BELOW:
Blue, Turquoise, Grass Green
Red & Yellow

LEFT:
Red & Grass Green

Red lines were made with Speedball nib dipped in Red.

I drew over the outer lines with a Black Pitt pen.

ketchup time

It wasn't the best week for collage.

I've been recycling bits of junk mail and other cardboard all week. A salon advert, a page of stickers and a seed catalog produced the "40%" background, some garishly bright woven squares, and the quilt-like design at the bottom.

My favorite this week is to the right, somewhat minimal with spots of purple, blue and yellow. I may try this color combo again sometime. It's not one I would usually think about.

week 5-6

Medusa Goes Vegan

Today I'm posting Collage numbers 33-40, which will bring me up to date for tomorrow.

I got a few more colors of Dr Martin's india ink, so a few collages are me testing different brushes and dilutions. I also gave up the search for my pen nibs and bought two new ones, which meant I had to practice with them, too. I'm still hoping my old nibs will turn up.

I've also been making progress on my quilt project. This is my 2nd quilt. It will be about 68x68 inches square when finished, so it's quite a big larger than the crib-sized quilt I made for my first project. I thought I should make a traditional kind of quilt to start with and after getting this far I find I'm not in love with the process. I'm going to try a more modern method for my next project and see if I like it better.

Quilt blocks ready to assemble

So I've been thinking about wonky log cabin quilt blocks, and some of the other non-traditional methods of assembling modern quilts, and a bit of that thinking carried over to a few of my collages. Or maybe it's the other way around.

 

 

week 4.5

It's only the last day of January and I have spring fever. When the sun shines as it has the last few days, and the morning gets warm I want to be outside. I fell behind on my 365 Project but managed  to catch up. These are Cards 26-31.

I'm going through glue sticks like nobody's business. Back-to-school sale, where are you when I need you?

I don't know what kind of ink my bottle of Aladinne blue is, but it doesn't play nice with Dr Ph Martin's inks. It's a little less permanent & sort of mixed with Dr Martin's yellow, making a muddy blotch behind Carmen Miranda. One of those "happy accidents" Bob Ross used to mention. Happy no doubt, but it convinced me I needed to get some blue ink that would play more nicely.

GOT NIGHTMARES?

If I could remember my dreams and write them down I'd have a sci-fi best seller.

week 4

It's been a good week for art although some days it's a struggle to come up with an idea I like. My black Pitt pens arrived and so did my Dr Ph Martin's Bombay Ink, so I have new toys to play with.

#20 Savoir Faire

Acrylic paint & collage on cardboard that didn't take kindly to water.

#21 Lithium City

Blue Aladine ink on a shipping label with acrylic & collage. The ink washed nicely with some interesting patterns along the wrinkled paper.

#22 Red & Blue Geometry

#23 Attending the Phone

#24 ink test

Bombay inks: Bright Red, Golden Yellow and Grass Green. I will be getting more of these inks!

#25 mauled

Imitating John Evans and learning to draw again.

#26 magic coffee

Aladine blue ink over Hansa Yellow acrylic paint and found art. I was surprised the ink turned to green when it was diluted. Did it mix with the acrylic somehow or is it really still blue and creating an optical illusion?

week 3

Week three of 365 Somethings has gone pretty well, and I've made five more collages. I've been able to mostly do one every day, although once again I had to catch up and do two collages after another busy day.

I find I quite enjoy making time each day for a little creative project. I have no particular time set for art although it's usually an afternoon activity. Sometimes I am taking a break from something else, but I make sure to concentrate on what I'm doing and not to think about other stuff.

If things continue this way, I will soon have an art habit. It supposedly takes about 21 days to create a habit, so I'm only two days away.

Here are the latest five:

#15 - Accidents Will Happen

I liked the subdued green and tan palette I used last week and wanted to try it with red. It didn't turn out as well as I hoped. Tried to unify elements with crayon scrawls.

#16 - Chicken Feed

Back to green & tan. I once had some fluid acrylic in Jenkins Green, but I must have used it up. I am still finding art supplies here and there and wondering where my wooden burnisher has got to.

#17 - Rethink Again. Technology is a Crap Shoot.

The painted background was one I did way back with Jenkins Green over Hansa Yellow on a Kraft envelope. It's almost the last piece of that batch of experiments.

#18 - Get In Trouble

Playing with red & yellow just for fun. Title from a book of short stories by Kelly Link that I read. Funny, weird, scary stuff. What imagination!

#19 - Navigating the Road of Life

Kiddos and their little red wagons. No clue where they're going. It's a good thing too.