Week 11 - in the Studio

 More steps forward and a couple of surprises! I had a bit of a "little plan making" as one of the challenges is having too many projects on the go at any time and going down some rabbit holes any time they appear!

So I've made a list of "Focus on Four"....I am limiting myself to a total of four projects at any one time. Once I finish one, I can move onto another - but no more than four....let's see how it goes!

Project One Update:

I am quilting the most recent Industrial Shoreline piece, it's not my favourite part of the process, so taking it in small chunks...but I had a little mishap along the way - did you ever see a needle bend this this? No injuries were inflicted...

Project Two:

I'm continuing to work carefully and thoughtfully on my vintage paper pieces...in January I bought a Brother Scan n Cut and it stayed in the box until last week. I finally figured out some images I wanted to design and cut - 

Do I have enough? I had one particular design that I felt worked well on the paper pieces, nothing is glued down yet as I audition placement and repetition.

This will continue to evolve as I work on placement, additions and subtractions....and then learning how best to frame and display.

Project Three:

I admit to a bit of a sideways movement in my focus (but it counts as 1/4)  I pulled out some black paper and interference paints - making some marks and then monoprinting with the papers... loved the sheen of the colours and after taking pictures I set them up in an app. It was a fun distraction....

Isn't this cool?

These are the paints I used.

Project Four:

Not so much a project as a way to develop/discover/create an image to use in my vintage paper series...its about hand and brain connection and practising a movement to use. A simple "swoop" doesn't just happen - so heres a video showing the marks I made in the sketchbook to get to that point. Just click on the link below....

Trying for a Simple Mark

Not a Project - just a cool photo of a rock formation:

So that was my week - how about yours?

Week 10 - in the Studio

I was dragging my butt to get several totes and sketchbooks finished to send to my retailers - I need quite a few and it seemed like I was climbing up a long, tall mountain. But I got them all done and my, they do look nice! I'll be making more for my Etsy Shop and finally figured out how to dye a good range of colours for the linings....

I spent a few hours working on the publicity for Gathering the Threads Conference, an SDA-Vancouver Island/BC+Yukon event planned for the Cowichan Valley, June 15-18th, 2022. You can find more information here: https://gatheringthethreads.ecwid.com

We're still clearing out boxes of old photos and documents - I bought some decorative totes for each of our kids and they'll get everything from school records and their baby books - no more room in our house! 

And I discovered some luscious old vintage pages from a scrapbook, a soft velvety feel to them and I love how the edges are slightly browned. I've started making some marks on them, I have one page set aside as the "test" page to trial ideas...these are so precious! BUT, I am determined to use them, not saving them for some unknown day in the future...that will probably never come!

My "test" piece with white acrylic paint and indigo acrylic ink

I love the rich yellows in the paper...

I mixed the paint and ink together - love the blues

Still lots to do on each page but I'm working carefully and slowly, planning each step....an unusual process for me. I often rush through and then the results are haphazard. This time I will go forward with more planning and purpose....I wonder if it will work?

And I had a studio visitor this week, she didn't hang around very long!

Week 8 1/2 in the Studio

 Well, those days just whizzed right on by! A couple trips into the city took up the better part of a couple days....even if its just there and back, it still takes several hours. 

But I was able to spend a good chunk of time in the studio and was so pleased to finish up the top of my latest Industrial Shoreline piece. It's smaller than some of my more recent ones and went together in a well behaved fashion! There's still lots of work but I need to get into the city(again) to get the batting, though Ive just finished dyeing the backing. Once its sandwiched then I'll add more details with stitch and couched lines.

Here it is and the photo that inspired it, taken at Port McNeill, in the northern part of Vancouver Island:

I spent a day filming a new segment for my Cloth to Codex Workshop, the lesson was focused on "vessels and structures" such a difference working in 3D! I made several different prototypes, trying different shapes and cuts to see how units might fit together. My plan is to develop another workshop that focuses on just this topic, there's so many possibilities to explore! But the number #1 rule it to always create a prototype to see how it can work (ask me about all the paper failures on the floor!)

I'm also working on a group of bowls/plates/vessels to submit to a local exhibition. The theme is Food and I'm creating three that will be Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner with collage, painted papers and text.

First one is Breakfast and will be bright and sunny with eggs scattered over the surface....here are the first steps...

Painted tissue paper, cut out and ready...

The circles are glued to painted watercolour paper...

I've also made a stack of sketchbooks, ready for my Etsy Shop and local vendors....

So that was fun!