India Flints book came!!!

.. i did something that I rarely do ...I bought something that I really wanted. Yeah it was India Flints book Eco Colour. As soon as I went to the post office to pick it up I ripped open the box and sat there in the car, heater blowing keeping me warm and read flipped through the pages. Wow ..couldn't help but read a little of each section to see what I could start on when I got home ..... and gradually what I'm discovering is that I'm going to have to have more patience. haha... cause all her really beautiful things take time. I am hoping to start with some of her methods of dyeing soon so that I can have a bunch of bundles going. I have some milk and water outside in a bucket to mordant some white cotton just to see what happens after I've done that. The weather here is so cold though that the milk water concoction will probably freeze tonight. Now I'm thinking I really have to learn about the plants that typically grow here. So I'm going to the library to see what I can find about native plants to here. In the mean time .. I have more tree paintings and some owls.

Saturday Sayings, Stitches and Sketches

 Ok here is my attempt at slow stitches. Here are a variety of fabric pieces. An embroidered napkin that was dyed with blue dye and folded so that the edges would be on one side and both seen so it wasn't folded evenly on purpose and then there is two pieces of discharged black fabric, I like these because the discharged images remind me of fire. So I'm kind of thinking this has an earth, wind and fire feeling to it. The center is a scrap of blue denim that is discharged and behind that is a wool sweater that had pearls stitched to it and behind that is a piece of beige that was dyed in walnut ink. To the right of the beige is a weave of threads that took a while but I enjoyed the way that it worked. I just had to try it. Then there are some eyes below that that I just tried so .. not sure it works but it is what it is. There are also a few beads I stitched in also. Kind of feels like my life today for I am feeling a slight bit busy but thats just in my head not reality. I have a mood of sadness today and find that I am not doing the things I need to do for myself. The cold is all around me just as the blue surrounds the black in these stitches. I think some days that I have what it takes to just get by and make art. I have a belief that if I just go after the things that I dream then all that I need will find me but that seems like a dreamer mentality and then doubts creep in and the reality of no way to pay the bills just seems rather overwhelming. So .. I then just become less movable. I feel stuck in my misery and all I can do that is consistent is paint pictures of trees and stitch here and there and look for more ways to just put the feelings into drawings and paintings. Then I want to find bigger paper to paint bigger ideas ... and i don't want to leave but I'm freezing. I hate the cold. I hate that I don't have the basic necessities of life during the winter. So I just want time to pass ... or I chide myself for trying to stay doing what I want instead of what I need. Which is more important? Its just a cycle of emotion weaving my brain and thoughts into knots. And thank God I have the trees to paint and then to see .. and i write words that I think the world needs to know. Love yourself .. love you and you will have love to give, love others and you will have more love. Maybe I need to love others more. Maybe that's a piece I'm missing. Hard to love others in a room typing or making art in isolation. Who knows. ? Just a saturday of sadness and ranting..

 I love the purple and blue of these trees and there is something that makes me want to keep looking. The above tree is walnut ink and gesso on a page of book text and glued to a book cover. Something satisfying about it. Alone it stands .. kind of lonely feeling. Maybe thats why I'm so drawn to the naked trees because I identify with the feeling of being so exposed. Sometimes my writing makes me feel exposed. I have been thinking about listing the trees on my etsy shop just as they are and see what happens. I guess if I don't try I'll never know.
Too much thinking for now .. I will eat and see if I can think clearer. Anyway .. .. I hope you enjoy the peek into my insanity. haha. and maybe the trees.

Wednesday Wading past the midnight hour

Well I am thinking of this as Wednesday still even though technically it's Thursday. I just haven't gone to bed yet so I'm still on Wednesday. For some reason I just seem to fight going to bed. It seems that some days I just don't want to miss anything. I know that I need to stop and give my body a rest but for whatever reason I think I need to be painting or stitching or creating all the time. Now mind you I do spend too much time some days just perusing peoples blogs and often an amazing amount of time can be sucked away. Today I spent the most of the day stitching some beautiful discharged fabric onto another cloth because I felt like I needed to do it. Hopefully tomorrow I will finish it. And take photos of it. I even stitched beads and a piece of old sweater that had pearls on it. I love the combination of walnut ink stained fabrics and indigo fabrics. it's the brown and blue that is so nice .. I've done some weaving of old coffee filters.

Well I fell asleep before I could finish this so I put it away and now it's Thursday but I'm going to leave the title as it is. I had a dream last night of a baby that was just born .. can't remember if it was mine or someone elses but the baby was at the hospital and i was waiting somewhere near by while someone else was tending to it and then suddenly there was a lot of commotion and people were running and then I go to look and the baby is being hurridly taken away and I am clearly upset about this and I don't remember what I said or anyone else for that matter just that ... i am very sad and worried that the baby is in great danger. I kind of look at babies in dreams as new beginnings and wonder if my dream of something new is about to die? I suppose I'll mull it over in my brain for the day and get on with my day. Things are about to change for me just not sure how.So for your viewing I am posting a few pictures.


This is just a beginning collage. Sometimes I buy books specifically for the titles or the words that are in them. Most times they don't mean anything. I am always surprised how others that are viewing my work are really drawn to text whether it is hand written or typed or from a book. I take that as people wanting to see the deeper meaning to things. Or trying to know what is going on with the artist. They usually ask if I specifically chose the words that they see. So sometimes it's yes and sometimes it's no. So not sure what or if I will add anything to this .. design wise I like how it feels .. sometimes fear keeps me from going any further. 

I'm often drawn to roots and rocks. I like the exposure of things that wouldn't normally be seen. I like the edges of things. And for some reason a lot of shapes are repeated in my work. Perhaps its the subconscious trying to make itself known. Definately some things I can be rather obsessive about creating.  Like working with my newest obsession with Walnut ink. Below is a piece of pinkish/coralish silk with walnut stains. Love it. Not sure what I will do with this yet.

Tuesday Rainy Day Stories

Ok lets see .. sometimes I see stories on other blogs and it makes me think of my own. I was looking over at Jude Hills blog and her beast cloths and recent post about a raccoon named rocky. One morning long ago when I was taking care of some rental property for my parents there was a phone call from the tenant rather frantic that he had a raccoon problem. When we inquired he mentioned that he'd noticed that the sofa in his living room was often found leaving a trail of stuffing coming from it. He thought perhaps there were rats in the house but he could never see or know how that could be. It was something of a mystery and then that morning he took his dog out for a walk and came into the kitchen to get a dog treat from the cupboard over the refrigerator and was quite alarmed to find a fat sassy raccoon enjoying the dog treats. They both sort of froze and then the man quickly closed the cupboard and found a broom to put between the handles so the raccoon couldn't get into the house, this is why we received his call. Needless to say the raccoon needed a new home haha. After a safe trapping he was relocated to a less desirable place and way to find a daily meal. Oh and the sofa didn't lose anymore stuffing after that.

Steamy Trees (above photo) This afternoon when I was taking my two faithful pets outdoors while the rain seemed to have subsided, I was amazed at the temperature outside. They said there is a burst of warm air proceeding the cold front that is on it's way here. It was alarmingly warm actually. I wondered why all the windows were fogged up but that explains it.. It's actually now colder inside than it is outside. Thats right .. because of not having adequate heat most of my house was less than 40 degree inside and now it's like 60 degrees outside. Strange phenomena. None the less I am headed out .. guess I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for tornadoes. I did manage to create some new works. Started some coffee staining on some cotton pieces and a piece of silk. Now I'm just waiting to see how they turn out.. I'm going to give it a day or two. Here are some recent works that I haven't posted. The image below is on a record album cover that I thrifted and added a center tree on a book page and then all painted over with delectable walnut ink.

The image on the left is a discharged tshirt that I did and it has such a photographic feel to it that I may just have to use in another way other than wearing. It's such a eerie kind of branch scene. But I was excited with this result.

Then below is a purse that I painted on. It's difficult to tell but there is one strip of hair there that has silver leaf on it ... I have tried selling some similar purses on my etsy site but I haven't had any luck selling one yet. Although I did do a commissioned purse for someone. I was grateful for the sale. I am always just trying to think outside the box and do something different. The image
on the
right is a
piece of
aluminum
foil tape
that I did
a drawing
on with an
embossing
tool and then went back and filled in with red paint and then the spaces in between are painted in white acrylic. This photo doesn't do it justice. I like the way the white paint looks in the negative spaces. Well I'm off to go to town .. and hopefully won't have to dodge any tornadoes.

Monday Matins

Like the branches of a naked tree my soul feels so exposed.
Just love me.

Work in process

I like M words and so this morning to look for a new M word I looked in one of several dictionaries that I repurpose and immediately found the word above... Matins. This old dictionary give the definition as; Morning Prayers, prayers for the morning, said at midnight. Interesting no? Either way Monday mornings are always kind of difficult for me .. I guess it's because I think of it as a beginning which is a good thing but also that another whole week is gone. I want to work for me now ..(I make this my morning prayer) but I keep dragging my feet on posting everything that I could possibly sell because I need too. Sometimes I just feel like I waste my talent. I wonder sometimes just about giving away the art. Maybe there is someone that would get some great pleasure at having my work. I do give alot away to friends. I remember seeing somewhere .. where people were making some small piece of art and then leaving it in places where someone would find it and then there would be a note attached that said .. something like I"m so glad you found me .. I hope you enjoy this piece of art. I would love to see what that would be like.... I imagine myself finding something like that and it makes me happy. Maybe because I have written it here I will just post my art on my etsy shop .. yes I have one but I haven't ever really posted the link here in an official way because I'm embarassed that I haven't improved it or added things to it. .. and it's strictly for handbags. well i do have shirts there too. I have done so many discharged tshirts its crazy. I must have something like 70 or 80 .. I even have a dress form that I made myself on my own body that was made with duct tape and then I took it a bit further and stuck a lamp pole in it and then used old book pages and decoupaged or paper mache'd it. Then one day when I was out at a thrift store I found a plaster outdoor umbrella base that was broken on the top. The hole that was in the 

Walnut stained napkin, photo taken indoor at night.

One of my discharged shirts on my dress form

center was larger then it should be due to breaking. So I figured for the $5 dollars that they were charging for it I could make it work. I put the dress form stand into this new stand and put things around that would hold it upright and then took a can of Great Stuff (that stuff is great!! ) haha .. and almost filled the base. I knew that it would expand as it dried and that it would be very stiff yet light weight once it dried and I was right!!! I love it. I was going to cover the hole but haven't done that yet. I'm thinking maybe I can take some gauze material and cover the hole. I guess I could post some photos of it. I think it turned out pretty nice. Here is a blog that has recently inspired me to post more because she is quite talented and productive. I know she can't leave a comment here so Arlee, thanks for stopping by to see what I'm up too!!  Check out her great work here: http://albedoarlee.wordpress.com/. I'm thinking I won't wait to have a comment before I post more work. I'm thinking its good for me to be able to see what I'm doing, how I'm doing, and mostly that I AM doing the things that give me the most happiness every single day. Maybe I just have to prove it to myself? Who knows. 

Saturday Sniffles and Stuff

Well it's been a while so I'm posting some new and some old things. I've been sick with a cold for the past several days. I don't like being sick because I don't feel like doing much while I'm sneezing and coughing. Today I had enough energy to make some home made fresh chicken soup. I did this with the help of my pressure cooker which I so love to use!!  Once all the dicing and cutting is done .. and the heat is up enough the time it takes to cook up is just 12 minutes!  I added a crusty piece of toasted bread and it was yummy!  And this I think does work miracles on my nose and head .. and it's great on a cold cold night like we are having here tonight!!  Brrrrrr-r-r.

Below is a work done in charcoal some years ago and it was a wood shelf with wood blocks on it. It makes me want to do more with charcoal. Next is a photograph of some roots and rocks on a nearby road.

To the right is a photo of my most current tree painting. This is done on watercolor paper and is painted with a layer of turquoise acrylic paint then the tree is painted with walnut ink and then filled in with white acrylic paint in lines and dots. this photo doesn't do the original justice.











On the left is aged book pages that are glued onto paper and then the drawing is done on the front with walnut ink and then the white acrylic is painted afterwards. It has a wintery feel to it even though there are no snowflakes in front of the big tree branches.

On the right is a tree that is done on paper also with walnut ink stained and then outlined in more walnut ink and white acrylic and white colored pencil and colors of pencil and dots of white and walnut. I like mixing stain with watercolor pencil pigments.









The work below is a collage of paint and different paintings and drawings that have been added at different times. I guess it's kind of an evolving work. There is a poem in this piece also.

Its very hard to see that the image to the right is on a book page of words. I love the color of this but it's not accurate as the photo was taken indoors at night under warm lights. So there is a more yellowish red cast to the lovely walnut ink there. 

Below are a series of images that are something that I like to do sometimes. I find a book that has an interesting title and I just paint on it and make it my book. I try to use it as a sketch book or journal of sorts. I use the words that are already there and use them to make new words or sentences. I remember the first time I tried this it was really difficult to allow myself to repurpose the book. Somehow it felt like it was so wrong that the book God's were going to strike me down like the keys on an old typewriter or something and I would have letters permanently embedded on my skin. I have done this in various books over time and recently I was going through some of my old books and found this one. Thought it would be fun to share here on my blog. Also on that same day of going through books and such I found another one that I did that I had no decoration to the front and completely forgot that I had altered some of the pages inside. It makes me wonder if I had inadvertently put it into the thrift store bin and then someone purchased it there and found my art in it.. would they be mad or excited about it. I think I would be fascinated by that if I found a book like that. Anyway .. it served it's purpose at the time that it was done. The sketches of people in these images below were of my daughter. The thoughts that were provoked in the writings were where I was in my head at that time. I'm grateful that life changes. Even though the future can bring difficulties there can also be acceptance of the difficulties that were or changes to the ones that had been and it feels better for a time until then next challenge arises. I am also so grateful to have an outlet for self creative expression. This will always give me great joy .. no matter what. 

You can click on any of the images to get a larger view of each image. 

The view on the right is a new sentence that says; 

Home is desired by following seven periods of reading following one or more sessions of an approved teacher within weeks of the 37230.

Don't ask me what it means .. i liken it to stream of consciousness writing. 

Below left is

Contents

Freedom

Glorious

Freedom

Freedom

Freedom

Freedom

Free

Freedom

Freedom

Below is my daughter and photocopy of broken glass that has been torn and glued onto the page and then written in between. 

Wednesday in the Wee Hours

Well .. I went out and had a nice visit and drank several cups of coffee so now I am wide awake in the wee hours of this morning. So .. after readin some of the blogs that I'm following I decided to post some old photos of art that I did some years ago .. just for the fun of it. It's not what I'm doing now but I have found that going back and looking at old work inspires me to create something of a similar style. Funny how that works.

 First for Gilly I am posting my self portrait that she saw on my thumbnail when I became a follower on her blog. I did this about five years ago so I have surely changed since this was done. My hair is however, still long haha. I did this for school. Yes I went back to college over 40. So .. there you have it.

It's funny to go back to the old work but also interesting.

The work to the right was pre college days when I was living in another state. I think what I find interesting is what I thought about myself and my ability at the time. Fortunately, I am so much less critical of myself today. It's a much better place to be.
When I was out in my studio going through a pile of work that I have accumulated over the years I found this little weaving of paper. And I couldn't help but get excited about the similarities to the Spirit Cloth weavings that I have seen here Jude's Work. And also the work of some of her followers as seen here; fabric weavings both of these are fantastic works. Love their blogs even. I was just excited that long before I ever happened on their sites I had done this weaving of paper. They were fun and make me want to do more. Its a great way of recycling works that I didnt like. Or felt they were not working for me.

 I am happy to share the work but I'm finding that it's similar to doing a show. It has a tendency to make one feel vulnerable. Ahh well .. I'm putting it out there. Below are also works done several years (5?) ago when I was in school. All figure studies which I really loved doing. There is a great value in studying the human figure. 

 So thanks to all of you who look and leave a word or two. I am doing what I can to move in a forward direction .. this is just a look back. Thanks for indulging me.