winter in april

This is the newest collage for my monthly series. It's called Royal Perch and will be for December. I had colors coming together that were feeling wintery- the brighter, lighter, early winter colors of December rather than the dark, sometimes bleak and cruel tones of later January and February. (Wow- now that I say that, I realize my challenge for those months will be to combat some pretty strong negatives!)

At any rate, I was brainstorming about December and remembered taking a little drive along a wooded road with my son, and finding an amazing owl perched on a post- just blending into the beautiful snowy landscape not more than 5 yards from our car. We stopped and watched it for a good 15 minutes. It was so still and quiet, staring right back at us looking completely regal. So here's this quiet owl in his wintery environs.

Happily, since he ended up in a golden halo of sorts (it's hard to see in the photo, but I used gold leaf around him), I realized I finished him just in time for Cathy Nichols' Golden themed Found Art Friday for April. I wasn't sure I'd have anything for this month, so am doubly pleased. Hop over to her site to see what else people submitted.

And this brings us to the end of April...can you believe it? Thanks for stopping...come back next week:  I'll post another piece that I just finished.  I'm also taking a book-making class, so I'll show you what I've been learning. But after that I'll be elbow deep in fresh dirt, worm castings and heirloom seeds for a while. My very first ever big, family garden!

creative question marks

I am not at all sure where this one is heading...I'm sorting through ideas of multi-pieced compositions- and a sense of a game board, or pieces that fit together but aren't assembled yet. I've got celebratory bunting and circus-themes on my mind, bright colors and springtime fun- but am not clear on how to bring them all together.  I'm trying to work in a lighter style- maybe not as much buildup of paint- but I'm still a girl who loves to layer, so I've got washes of paint with lots of overlaying colored pencil and oil pastel for texture. Part of me wonders if this could be framed up in a shadow-box and called finished, or if it's basically a study for something that will keep developing. Well, actually- if it were done, I'd know it was done. So I guess it's not.

I guess I'm just letting myself experiment....I feel a new body of work coming on, and am curious to see what it will be. I've decided that I basically have enough pieces ready for my show in June- so the pressure's off there. Summer vacation is right around the corner, and since my June show hangs until September, I'm going to give myself a kind of break in the studio. I'll see if I can just let creativity flow, without a goal or a deadline to shoot for. My next commitment is a small booth in a weekend show in October. For that I think I'm going to focus on figuring out how to get prints made of some of the collage pieces I've already finished, and get some product ready for a second project that I'll tell you more about later.

So I'm predicting more posts about sketches and explorations, instead of finished pieces. Comments from you always make my day, but feedback on any of these creative question marks will be especially appreciated!

this post never got a title

Hello! Sorry for the long break between posts...I feel like I've been really struggling in the studio lately- so I haven't been sure what to put here. I think everyone goes through this- but I seem to be 'stuck' right now. I have some goals and deadlines I'm working toward, and I've become so fixated on the need for an end result, that just can't make things loosen up enough to flow.

So I decided to not think about all of that for a bit, and I ended up making the above piece before I even realized what was happening. I think it's called Home...though I wish I were more clever with titles. I was thinking about that comfortable, gauzy feeling you get when you realize you're really home, and you're truly safe and well. I'm lucky enough to have that feeling quite often, and this is how it looks to me.

The work I'm stuck on is the next piece of my set of twelve little pieces representing each month of the year. In the meantime, here's the beginning of what I was working on for September, which I was also hoping might end up being appropriate for Cathy Nichols' April Found Art Friday challenge (a doubling up of expectations! No wonder I'm stuck!). If anyone has any idea what belongs in that blue field, I'd love to hear it- because that's the exact piece of the puzzle that's been evading me...

Well, it'll all work out. I'm happy to note that the longer I keep my work a regular part of my life, the more I see a pattern of finding myself somehow over these seemingly insurmountable hurdles and on to a new body of work. It's comforting to know that, while my current struggle is frustrating, I know I'll come out of it with something new to show. And when I do, I'll get it up here right away!

spring sparkle

Happy belated Easter. I love this holiday for the way it helps us focus on new life, spring beauty and the next turn on the wheel of life. And for the decorating of cookies and eating of jellybeans. I hope you had a lovely weekend, and that signs of spring are taking hold in your neck of the wood like they are around here. It's spring break, and I have high hopes of laid back hikes and poking around in the garden. Maybe a little studio time, but if not I'll be re-charged and ready to work when the kids get back to school next week.