Week 16, 17 & 18 - in the Studio

 Time got away from me, as it often does, some good weather prompted me outside and into the garden...

But studio time has been a bit weird...I am moving forward into unknown territory and that can be frightening - in an art-kind-of-way! My series, the Industrial Shoreline, is evolving and I am on my (possibly last) piece of textile wall art. I enjoy creating these but they have become an easy place to be...pick a photo, change it around a bit, make the work. Interesting and appealing but not mind blowing, exciting stuff. 

I have some ideas for new ways forward with 3D work, collage and some smaller mixed media but the next steps are experimenting, trialing and foundational work - stuff that seems if it fails - then I fail. Realistically I know thats not true, but it's hard to push on through into new work - what if it falls flat and is terrible? At least I know I'm not alone - and I've been in a safe place too long.

So here's a bit of a start on that last piece, the long strips will be cut up as sky:

Speaking of sky...I just posted a YouTube video "Paint the Sky" on how I create the sky pieces...dyeing and painting a variety of fabrics: https://youtu.be/eIK3_fniC7I

So I mentioned some more collage pieces that I'm working on, using elements that I created in my Scan n Cut. I painted soft greys and blues on water colour paper and am auditioning different ideas that I could incorporate into the work. Still very much exploration and play - something I need to remind myself over and over again...it doesn't have to be "finished" - it's about the journey, not the destination...yada, yada, yada!

On a totally unrelated note, some of our family gathered for Easter and we had a Lego contest. We made up bags of random Lego bits and had to create something using every piece! It was a fun activity!

Be Creative, everyone!

Week 13 - in the Studio

I was thankful to get more time in the studio this week....I always feel that creative time lets me think life through in ways that I cannot in my home....some big thoughts, some little thoughts, some important and some not-so-much!

There was more gel printing - some landscape ideas that will need more work, or perhaps tearing them in strips for collage...hmmm. I've been watching some Youtube videos creating landscapes with gel printing - HERE 

But I did build a registration plate for printing which gives me a "fence" to lay my papers down for a more precise placement, the ones to buy are so pricey....do you think the grandkids will notice some of their Lego missing?

I was asked for a photo of me, making art for the 2022 Sea & Cedar Virtual Art Exhibition through the Vancouver Island Regional Libraries. You can see some of the exhibition here: https://my.nicheacademy.com/virl/course/31655

So sitting in my studio, I gave the phone to DH and he clicked away for me...I think its time to get some new headshots!

I'm finally finishing some of the works on vintage paper that I've shown before....still haven't come up with a name for the series but very happy with them. I wonder if I am moving to the dark side - paper only? Yikes! I'm taking a couple into town this week to see about framing...

These ones don't have all the pieces fastened down yet, but I love the shapes and movement that is happening...plus the indigo ink on some of them is right up my alley!

I spent a few hours in our local gallery and painted on some book pages, adding asemic text and a bit of colour - so enjoyable! I'll add a bit of collage and maybe some stitch - these are small and rather sweet!

In the midst of this, I finished a 3D group of vessels for "Food is Everything" a themed show at the Gallery. My work is three pieces titled "Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner" with paper collage, text, stenciling and button fasteners. Breakfast is yellow, with eggs as its focus, the text has every way that eggs can be prepared. Lunch is salad and is green with lots of "lettuce" words and then the large piece is Dinner with spaghetti words...

It was a fun experiment, but I am feeling its a bit too literal and not as refined as I had hoped. While I would like to explore the concept of "vessels" more fully and in far more depth, I wonder if this study is taking me further away from the focus in my art that I am striving for....I have a major solo exhibition this fall and I really need to work on more pieces for that (there is a part of the exhibition where I think vessels might play a minor role) so this experiment might (will) be shelved for the time being.

Thanks for being part of my creative journey...til next time!

New Work - The Magic of Blue

 Lately, I've been leaning towards more mixed media work, incorporating/combining both paper and fabric together and using mark making with collage for a series of work that focuses on the beauty of indigo. I have found an ink that is very close in hue to natural indigo and love using it with black and white mono printing as well as text.

I have built a webpage that is dedicated to small, new works for sale and I hope to rotate small collections through the page with a reasonable price point. This first exploration I am titling The Magic of Blue!

Enjoy these few and then have a look further here: https://www.susanpm.com/the-magic-of-blue-collectors-sale/

Two Roads Diverged....

 My last blog post was about "call and response" ....mostly about seeing an opportunity for exploring further in an unexpected way....

I was painting some vintage fabric squares for a new piece I'm working on - the sky needs to have a very subtle, monochromatic with little contrast, so I was using a sponge roller with white paint.

For some reason I had black paper underneath and when I lifted the fabric square I was totally entranced with the remaining images on the paper.

Tons of texture and beautiful marks left behind...

I thought if I used the white paint on white paper and then added a wash of India ink when it was dry, that might prove interesting....not so much!

The painted squares are waiting patiently and drying, I'm excited to get sewing with these for a new Industrial Shoreline piece. 

In the meantime I started playing with the painted papers....first I trimmed the papers into 6" squares (thinking like a quilter)... and placed them on a white background separated by a narrow 'border"...

It's okay but not exciting....

So then I look closely at one square and found the texture so entrancing....

And then, along with some other painted papers I experimented with some collage...much better and perhaps worth pursuing... it's put into my sketchbook and I think I'll come back to it at some point!

In the meantime, I have a stack of painted fabrics to work with...

...and how is your art coming along?