Pursuit of Color

I mentioned that I was consciously trying to use more color in my art making.
I am your basic neutral color gal - white is a wonderful color- as is cream, gray and black.
And rust.
Love the color that rust gives up.

I talked about the colorful monoprints that I made in this post.

Here is another colorful  monoprint posting.

I love to see artists use bold color and I almost envy their command of it.
But I have never really used a lot in my own artwork.
So I have set out to do a few small pieces doing just that.

Here's the beginning of the first one.

lovely sheers atop handpainted cottons

vintage purple sheer (not a lace or a sheer but...an open fabric.
I guess.

thermofax print

running stitch over screen print with reverse applique

yummmmm

More color to come!

Sketchbook Color, Mojo and Young Women

As I said in an earlier post, I've been playing around with texture and color, both on paper and fabric.

I've really enjoyed the mindlessness of it all since I can't seem to find my mojo since that dental surgery...oh and the bout of  bronchitis to go along with it.

I suppose that I could excuse it away by saying that just one of those two could zap my energy but add them together and whammo.

Anyway -  playing around in the studio is the only way that I can get back  in the swing of things after a few days away.

Or a good looming deadline. I work much better under a little pressure.

I guess that is why I functioned so well as a nurse in an intensive care unit for almost two decades...

But, believe you me, I'll take an art deadline any day over a 12 hour NICU (Neonatal) shift...

Any.

Day.

Well, I got off subject there, didn't I? 

Which is not unusual for me now is it?

 I did sell one of my prints in the most gratifying manner.

Last year, I participated in the West Greenville Arts Festival.

I had a lot of traffic through my booth but one young lady in particular stands out.

She was middle school age, there with her mom and sister.

She loved two of my mixed media tree paintings and the handmade books that I had out.

I told her that I taught classes on making the books and she said that she would love to take one of them.

I got her mom's email address and gave them my card and promised to email when I had local classes coming up.

Well, time went on.

One day, out of the blue, I got an email from this young lady's mom.

She (the young girl) had mentioned my artwork several times since the show and her mom wanted to buy a print to surprise her with.

Now just how cool was that?!

What a cool mom!

And what a cool young girl that would want artwork - not teen posters- for her room!

So, her mom and I met last week. She will be surprising her daughter with a framed print for her room on Valentine's Day.

Two things that I love about this story.

1. This young girl is already honoring her style, her love of art.

2. Her mom is honoring and encouraging her daughter's individuality.

and ,okay a third thing I love about it -

3. Mom kept my business card and followed up with me. I really was so taken with her support of her daughter. What an awesome mom!

I will definitely work towards getting a local book class for this young girl.

So, you just never know who your art work will touch.

Please share it with others, show the world what you love to do.

Texture

A friend of mine (Hey Patsy!) loaned me her (poor lonely) Embellisher machine to try out.
Can you say "Hooked"?
Some of you that read my blog may not know exactly what an embellisher machine is.
I'll give you a quick run down.
It's set up almost exactly like a sewing machine except there is no thread and no bobbin.
What ?! you say.
The needles (this one has 5 needles where a regular sewing machine only has one - ok, they can have a double needle but..jeez..just stay with me here).
The needles have little bards on the ends of them that, when you run two (or more) pieces of fiber under the machine, pull at the fibers of fiber (especially wool) and mesh them together.
It felts the fibers together.
One thing that you will see a lot in fiber art (or any art FTM) is to work with a photograph of an object.
I love working with a photo of something that has a lot of texture.
Like this rusted plate.
Or the weathered door it's attached to. Or the highly textured surfaces of this topiary that I am working on.
Wow. Look at the texture on this bark.
When I printed the photo out, I could really see all the shades of blue on this tree.
Can you see that when you enlarge the photo?
Nice green color also.

Yesterday I started working in my sketchbook, drawing out the bark.

Today I'll make a study of the colors and begin to add them to my drawing.

I am planning on making a study of bark texture on the embellisher.

In fiber- with a little of this

and a little of that.

Gotta love The Mad Scientist form of creating mixed media fiber art.