As we await...

...the arrival of 2017 it's a time of quiet reflection, and what better colour to accompany that than the peaceful ease of the colour blue.

From journal pages

 to Gelli prints,

blue peeks out everywhere in the studio.

 I've turned hand-painted papers into blue flowers,

 and created Wingdings with it.

 It shows up in heavily textured pieces

 and in those that are quietly behaving themselves.

 Blue philosophizes

 and plays well with green and a host of other colours.

What a perfect colour with which to end a chaotic year, don't you think?

Here's hoping that all your wishes for 2017 come true, in a big way.  xo

This month has been...

...one of changes, introspection and delightful happenings, to say nothing of celebrations of the season.

With my favourite daughter moving back to town along with her two travelling companions, our house is full of laughter, howls (mostly from the dogs) and fun.

I've been following a number of blogs this year, and this past month has been one of  'words to live by' for the upcoming year on many of the posts.  I've been unable to choose one word that sums up my feelings, but with reference to my last post, this is my aim for 2016.

I plan to do what I can, from where I am in my own community to create a better world.  And truly, isn't that all one can do?

I'm wishing you a year of all that you could possibly desire.

It's tiny...

...but lovely, our tree.  And with my fascination for shadows, I can't help but think how it's a metaphor for the world in which we live.  It is glorious, it sparkles, it dances with joy, and yet there is a shadow behind it all.

This Christmas, the shadows are hatred, bigotry, wars and terrorism, just to name a few.

With all our consumerism and penchant for believing things matter more than life, perhaps it's time to throw some light on the shadows.

This Christmas, and in 2016, I'll be spending a little more time reflecting on ways in which I might do so, just a little, from where I am right now.

I hope you'll do the same.  In the meantime, I'm wishing you and yours the best of the season as you experience the serenity of time with your family and friends.  Merry Christmas.

I'm in here...

...somewhere, although it's hard to find anything (or anyone) in the studio right now.  How did it get so messy?

From completed journal pages (Gelli prints used to the max),

to some that are barely started (that's a fabulous card I received from Laura Leeder there on the right),

to journals being made from Gelli prints,

miniature bottles being crackled,

and bottles and glasses getting their first coat of colour, it's riotous inside.

I've been experimenting with printing on Gelli prints and I like this reminder about how to keep centered. Perhaps it will even work if I take the advice.

I'm in the throes of creating a new colouring book for adults, so there are mandala designs everywhere.  I can't quite figure out where the 3,000 copies of the first book went - did you take them?!

By now you've probably got the picture, and if not, here's the definitive one.  Has anything changed since the last time you saw a full studio shot from here?  Don't you think it's a good thing that I rarely teach in my home studio any more?  Fitting four students in here without using a crowbar would be a miracle.

Why not send me a link in the comments below so I can see your studio madness?  I'd love to know I'm not alone.

You already know...

...that I'm a paper addict.  Sometimes I'm so addicted to making paper (it's all that glorious colour!) that I completely forget my other projects as they sit in stacks on my work table, chairs and sill.  But in my defense, paper making is so much fun and you know I'm all about the play.  Whether gesso paper, painted papers or crystalline,

it's incredibly hard to stop.

In an on-going attempt to bring my tutorial page  up to date with videos, I've been paper-making like crazy.  This week it was a tutorial on crystalline paper, one of my favourites:

I love this paper so much because it is transparent or translucent (depending on how much paint one uses), so it varies according to what is underneath.  The same paper can result in different looks entirely.

Green tone crystalline paper over white bond

Green crystalline paper over pastel green bond

Burnt scarlet paper over bright yellow bond

Burnt scarlet paper over white bond

Blue/green paper over white bond

Blue/green paper over yellow bond

I've made cards, boxes,

That's actually a pretty bilious green, isn't it?

bags, flowers,

 and incorporated it into collages and paintings.  It looks happy everywhere.

And again, this technique is thanks to Nita Leland and Virginia Lee Williams from their book 'Creative Collage Techniques'.

If you've enjoyed the video, I'd appreciate it if you'd subscribe to my You Tube channel...it encourages me to make more of them, which gives me fodder for creating, which leads to more blog posts, which . . . well, you get the picture.  Thanks for your comments and support - you're the ones who help feed the flames.

A Blog Hop Around the World?

Why not!?  I was invited by my online friend, Vicki Ross at Axully to participate in this round robin. The basis for her blog is solid (knowledge), useful (things to read) and beautiful (gallery), and it's all of that, and more.  Do check it out - you'll be glad you did.

'White Rose' © Vicki Ross

You'll find more of her work on this page.

I've invited my good friends Alice Saltiel to join this hop,

'Midnight Magic' 12 x 9 © by Alice Saltiel

along with Eileen Gidman,

'Autumn Waters of Kootenay Lake'  Mug rug (or wine mat? :D) © Eileen Gidman

and you'll find the answers to the same questions on their blog posts next Monday, November 17.  However, you won't want  to wait until then to check out their blogs - there's so much to see!

The premise of this world-wide blog hop is to answer four questions (thank goodness it wasn't more - this took a LOT of thought!  If you're not into answers, just skip to the end for some more colour!

1.  What am I working on?  Right now I`m working on about twenty projects, including mixed media paintings, altered childrens' board books, folded books, enhanced Gelli plate monoprints and creation of new playshops.

2.  How does my work differ from others of its genre?  Because I tend to approach everything in my studio from a point of view of play, I feel like I am open and receptive to the unexpected.  Process driven, I am constantly making stamps, stencils and prints that are uniquely created from my play-brain.  Like a child, I allow my curiosity about methods and materials to have free rein, following the 'what if' question constantly.

3.  Why do I create what I do?  I believe that as children we are highly creative, imaginative creatures. Yet it is a rare thing to find those traits carrying into the adult phase of our lives.  However, a sense of playfulness is what feeds a living connection between the physical body and its soul, rather like the umbilical cord feeds a baby in uterus.  My studio time and the playshops I share with adults are both designed to foster that re-creation of childlike curiosity and creativity.  I love paper, books, texture, and any and all variations of colour, so I'll follow them anywhere.

4.  How does my creative process work?  My play-brain is wide ranging, and I follow where it leads.  'What if' I take this material (house wrap, for example) and use it for something else entirely (like burning it as a stencil)?  'What if' I use drywall compound to create a texture plate?  'What if' I recycle dryer sheets?  'What if', what if, what if?  I'm up for some crazy challenges, like creating a spotted pony with my husband John for a silent auction (Horsefeathers), doing a head piece, curling papers until my hands fall off and anything else that makes me wonder what would happen if...  I want to know how new products work, although not always do I care what they are supposed to do.  I'm more interested in what I can do with them, regardless of the original intention.  I had alcohol inks for over a year before I actually tried them on metal, which is what they're really designed to do.

This has been more verbose than my usual post, so I'll end with some more colour just to brighten it up a bit!

À Case for Gardening` altered book   © Win Dinn

`The Eye of Ra` © Win Dinn

`Wingding` © Win Dinn

`Wingding` © Win Dinn

`Alien Portal` mixed media on mat board  © Win Dinn

Tell me, what drives you and your creativity?

Wingdings

I've been remiss in posting these last couple of weeks, since I've been without a camera.  Mine keeled over while I was in Claresholm for the last workshop there, and I've been limping along without one since early November.

The arrival yesterday of a camera-on-loan from my daughter, Rochelle, will have me snapping photos until the one I ordered this past week arrives in the post.  In the meantime, I realized I could share some small paintings/wordings I call Wingdings.

These snippets are so named because my children started calling me that years ago when I married my husband John.  They thought my new name of Win Dinn was hilarious, and the occasional nickname stuck like glue.

For some reason, they thought the new moniker was very apt.

Because a sense of play is important to me, I did too.

Although these Wingdings are not playful in sentiment, they certainly are so from the studio aspect, because there's nothing I love better than playing in the studio (unless it's teaching what I've learned!).  My passion for colour and play cannot help but come through in some way, even in these.  You can see more of these on my Wingding page, as well as on my Win Dinn, Artist Facebook page.

If you're interested in learning how these backgrounds were created, check out the upcoming Mixed Media workshop in Kimberley and plan to join us.  I guarantee you'll have more fun than is strictly legal and with any luck you'll garner a wacky nickname in the process.

A new year

Like many people I start each new year with resolve, and as I look toward to the far end of 2013 the one thing I want for myself and others is to feed the passion in life.

I'd love to see everyone find the things that make their hearts shout with joy, that makes them jump out of bed in the morning with enthusiasm and excitement for the day ahead.

I believe that when we follow such a path with zeal and fervour we find riches untold, so if I have any wish for you in the new year it would be that you:

A different view

This past week has been a difficult one in the United States and around the world.  It is not my intent to address any of the issues that surround this, but merely to leave you with a hope for the days to come.

I wish you a surfeit of camaraderie, more laughter than you can easily handle, at least one dinner shared with others in an atmosphere geared to excess, and a sense that all is truly right with the world.

And if you're looking for something to aim for in 2013, perhaps you'll consider this.

Too much love
Mixed media on paper
8" x 11"     2012
© Win Dinn