Jack of all...

I love mixed media for the opportunity to work with  many different mediums and utilize my 'jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none' approach.  I can incorporate hand sewing, beading, stamping, paper-making, origami and even painting!

Gifts from Gaia started with a magazine photo in a range of blues and greens.  The addition of gel medium (in waves counter to the water flow in the photo), glass beads, paper, metal and feathers speaks to me of the countless ways the planet cares for us.

Gifts from Gaia   4 x 4   Mixed Media by Win Dinn

Joy Rising was done for the sheer pleasure of working with texture and colour.  Using flexible modelling paste applied directly to a canvas support meant I could texture to my heart's content, and then glaze colours in many layers to build up the subtle colour range.

Joy Rising  12 x 12  Mixed Media by Win Dinn

Both of these pieces are currently showing at the Key City Theatre Gallery in Cranbrook, BC until March 19.

Mixing it up...

 I LOVE the mixed media workshops.  They're exciting, filled with energy and creativity, and they make me work like a fiend to stay ahead of the participants!

We started our first day yesterday with one of my favourite mediums, flexible modelling paste.  A thin layer of paste on a matboard, stamping with various texture tools, and we each had a piece drying in no time.  While they dry overnight, they show lovely cracks and crannies, even without colour!

Each of the participants received a law book to use as a palette, and were encouraged to go at them throughout the day.  Here are a couple of the resulting page spreads!

We did 10 different 'starter' layers,

 added many more layers, and embellishments.

I can hardly wait to see what these wild women will do next week!

To journal...

What could be a better use for out-of-date law books than covering them with layers of lovely colour?  That's what I've been doing for the past few years since a retired lawyer brought some books into the gallery for altered book use.

I often use an open book instead of palette paper so the legal jargon becomes covered or part of a new start...

I add some photos or I cover the pages with hand-painted papers and/or poetry,

and then add embellishments ...

These pages serve me in several ways - they're a fine testing ground for techniques I've read or heard about and want to try, they're a way to test designs in a small scale to see whether they 'read' properly, and they fulfil my passion for colour in more ways than I can count.

The book the above photos are from is filled with mouth-watering, colourful and playful pages, in a variety of styles and artistic meanderings.  I'd be hard-pressed to think of a better way to spend some creative time.

Precious time

One of the best things about painting full time is that I actually get time to paint - that's a concept that has been pretty rare in a life filled with children, volunteering, full time employment and/or building a business.  I love having the time to think about the world around me and then translate my thoughts through paint (and whatever collage fodder comes to hand).  So when I heard a child serenely state to a companion that 'Sticks and stones....', this small piece sprung to mind.  From the mouths of babes (and their very intelligent parents, no doubt).

Sticks & Stones  4 x 4  Mixed Media by Win Dinn

This next piece arose from my musings that most of the women I know can see things from many angles.  We have an ability to mentally stand in each degree of a circle and recognize the validity of every viewpoint.  Sometimes, I think this may be to our detriment -  I  wonder whether this keeps us from standing up for things that are important to us?  It made me laugh when I realized upon completion of the piece that it was tough for me to decide which way was up!

Challenging Neutrality  10 x 8  Mixed Media by Win Dinn

Both these pieces, and seven others, will be on display at the Key City Theatre Gallery in Cranbrook, BC, for the next month, so stop in and say hello to them if you're in the area.

More flight...

I just have to post the balance of the Artist Flag pieces!

Andrea's flag has me thinking spring, and what better thought is there?

Andrea Revoy's ceramic flag

 I love the flagpole on Laura's flag!

Watercolour flag by Laura Leeder

Mixed  media flag by Win Dinn
Pennant shape after Joyce Marquess Carey quilt entitled Ribbon

The variety in visions is what jazzes me about this challenge - each artist takes the theme to a different place, and they're all delightful.

Thank you for participating and for flying your flag!