Squirrel!

Squirrel happens so often in the studio that I should really do a piece of artwork about it, except I keep getting distracted.  I used the large Branches mask by The Crafters Workshop on top of a Gelli print that had been created using one of my foam templates, and then....

I loved the effect, and decided to do another, but the unprepossessing template (photo below) caught my eye.  It obviously needed something more, so I spent an hour or so adding texture to it - rather challenging given it was already heavily painted.

I noticed, too, that the mask was badly in need of a cleaning, since many of those delightful little brach spaces had accumulated sneaky layers of paint...I could blame it on my students, couldn't I?  Oops, there went another hour.

Finishing the new texture necessitated another Gelli printing session, of course.  Don't you wonder why, in a studio the size I work in those prints and foam plates are all on the floor?

Perhaps it's because every surface in the studio is covered with in-progress projects!  I can see I've got some cleaning to do before my next guests and students arrive.

With mask taped in place over one of the prints, I was ready to roll with layer number two.

And of course, the mask got dirty once again, which meant another cleaning session.  At least this time it didn't take so long to get it clean.  It's amazing how much easier wet paint is to remove compared to dry.

Just because I'm on a roll with this mask and these textured prints, I might do another . . . what colour combo do you want to see?  And naturally, there are more layers to come on the ones I've already done - when I get back to them!

I hope you're as squirrelly as am I in the studio...it's certainly well worth it for entertainment value.

 

Bet you can't guess...

what my word for 2018 will be.  Ha!  How did you know?

With major upheaval coming in our lives over the first few months of the year, it's a good thing to be expectant of the best.  So I've spent a morning this week putting together some simple reminders to place strategically throughout the house.

As you can see, my usual subtlety is in full force.  While last year's reminders sported feathers to remind me to open with lightness and ease, I noticed when I was done these that bling is obviously going to punctuate the year.

Nearly every card is emphasized with some sort of sparkly object, most often the dot in the pronoia  'I'.  I hope this is not indicative of a personal requirement for bling - it's really not my style. 

If you've been in an exchange with me over 2017, you'll undoubtedly notice some familiar bits of paper - LOVE exchanges for this reason.

Gelli prints come into play a great deal with this type of fun...and it's hard to choose from the amazing array of colours and patterns.

 I love the coffee filter background on this particular one...juicy, yummy colour!

 Float like a butterfly...

I'm not sure van Gogh would be pleased with the addition of sticker blossoms to his beautiful tree, but I just HAD to do it.

 You can tell from this one that I'm really excited about the whole concept.  2018?  Bring it on!

May you and yours have a truly wonderful Christmas holiday until 2018 arrives and may this season bring you everything you wish.

When this group plays...

...they play hard, and with spectacular results!  The TAPS workshop ended last week, and there were some crazily creative quilted collages completed (say that ten times fast).

Just take a look at these works of art!

Don't these pears pack a punch?

This apple was clearly grafted!

Such a serene landscape.

Hard at work!

Applicious!

These pears look fabulous floating over the Himalayas.

Pears POW!

Now there's a dream landscape!

Is that a pink worm?  I think so!  :D

Apple haven.

I'll take a bite out of that!

Check out that dragon!!!

I was amazed at the variety of colour and vivacity in these pieces - no two alike, and some amazing takes on our valley!  What a wonderful group of people here - they were a delight to play with each week, and I was so impressed at the engagement of the participants.  Helping each other, chatting, exchanging news and ideas, and generally keeping a sense of community is often challenging for seniors living on their own, but this program does it all.  Kudos to the organizers for ensuring there is a space in which seniors can remain so engrossed and absorbed in daily life.

Are you wondering . . .

. . . about that red cow?  I suspect you're not alone because I've had a few emails and messages about it.

In my initial post about quilted collage, I mentioned a failure (well, there were many more than one as I test drove the process of  'quilting' with Gelli prints).  I mentioned then I should add some red cows to it.

The initial collage of the local Skimmerhorn mountains, annotated in jest, looked like this;

did you note the two pieces sliced on the end of the above photo?  Well, I sliced to my heart's content, and rearranged the pieces like this:

 and this,

 and this.

Once I determined I liked the lines in the second version best, I glued the pieces to some cardstock and added a red cow.  The landscape is much happier now, and I had a great deal of fun with it.  I'm kind of hoping that we have some art 'fails' in the TAPS group so we can play with them there, too.

Now I'm wondering what you do with your art 'fails'.  I'm so experimental that I have a ton of them, and I'm always looking for more ways reinvent pieces.  What's your favourite technique?  Share them in the comments below and I'll do a draw on September 30 - you might win a fail of mine.

Fun to the max...

...and some great results are the two labels I'd put on last weekend's Gelli playshop.

These ladies really know how to party with paint!  Being such a colour nerd I was beyond impressed that Becca managed to not only colour-coordinate her shirt and scarf with the tablecloth, but then did a print to match!

Mel and Britney look totally engrossed as they wield their weapons.

Linda and Carol are equally intent, and you can tell by the array of prints surrounding them that they have been very busy!

I wonder what Gay is contemplating here - throwing paint at Becca, perhaps?

Britney is justifiably proud of this beauty!

Prints on paper, prints on fabric, prints on aprons and prints on hands!  It truly was kids' day at Fly in the Fibre!

The prints were amazing - so much lusciousness!  I'm going to zip it until the end so you can enjoy the variety, texture and pattern.

Whenever I do a class, my texture templates change colour, and I just had to show you this mouth-watering drywall compound template after Saturday's playshop - gorgeous, no?  It's absolutely frameable!

Thanks again to all you  adventurous women - you made my day!  Thanks, too, to Fly in the Fibre for such an awesome space!  We're quite likely to be reconnecting there in the fall, so keep your eyes open for playshop dates.