Making Marks

Evidence of Spring

Over the last few weeks I've tried to capture a quintessential image of spring, but I had to settle for a group. The early spring flowers are in bloom and most trees are now sporting their spring foliage. There was a time when I thought flowering trees such as dogwood were too showy, but now I will find a parking space near one to take a look or even a photo. I've truly enjoyed the little digital camera I take along in my purse. It seems like I'm looking at things differently as I try to capture delights with the lens. Next I'm looking forward to the iris blooming. Cooley's Gardens purports to be the world's largest iris grower and is located in Silverton. I love seeing the rows and rows of iris along the road. (And then I search for my antihistamine!)

Mirrors project

Here's a photo of a recent project that I thought would just be a couple of days. . . it turned into one of those almost-never-ending sagas.

All but the largest mirror have backgrounds that were hand made. The rust and light green mirrors backgrounds are imported paper that is stamped with my original hand carved designs. (I just started carving stamps, and it's a lot of fun.) The two blue and yellow mirrors have fabric on the background which was hand dyed and then also stamped with an original, hand carved design. The large green mirror is covered in embossed paper that I accented with bronze and white metallic rubbing to bring out the pretty design. I'm really happy with these.

I had trouble during several of the steps, but the biggest one was getting the mirrors cut. I went to a glass shop and asked for 4, 3" x 5" pieces (the size of the small mirrors) and they wanted to charge me $64! They looked at my horrified expression and suggested I go to the local hardware store, buy a glass cutter and mirror tiles and cut my own. I tried, but my efforts were pathetic. As I was destroying the mirror, I thought about who could help me. The light went on, and I took the mirror down to Silverton Art and Frame where the owners are so cheerful, helpful and will give you the scoop on everything in town. They came through again and cut my mirror. Not only that, they gave me a lesson on how to do it! So, when I found that the largest mirror had a scratch, I bought a glass cutter and cut my own replacement. I enjoy learning new skills, so that felt like a real accomplishment

I got blue - you might be green

For the most part, I try to avoid surfing blogs. First, it takes so much time that I could be using to create or clean my studio. Second, I usually get a bad case of the "I wants". But a couple of weeks ago I succumbed to the lure of clicking from one list to another and I ended up on Jennifer's blog, Scissors Paper Glue.(Who could resist a blog with three favorite things in the title?). She wrote about a swap on Marta's blog, called mellow + yellow. This sounded too good to pass up because the theme has another favorite element, color. So I joined, and my partner, Crystal, sent the lovely goodies in the picture. (No, I really didn't open the chocolates before taking the photo. . .The package opened en route.) Her package was full of goodness! Joining swaps is always a gamble, and this time I won the blue chip. The rest of you might be green with envy. Thank you, Crystal!

Magic Acrylic Paints

The  cover of the The New Acrylics drew me in. This texture is rich, lush and inviting, and by reading the book, I saw how to create this effect and so much more. I have never taken a painting class, and the book opened up a new world for me.

Reading The New Acrylics inspired me to start a project focusing on acrylic paint and the different techniques that can be accomplished with all of the "new mediums" (such as tar gel) and paints (such as iridescent colors). I have a show in September and I decided to focus on acrylic painting for the new work. (I can't resist adding other elements, so the pieces will technically be mixed media.) The focus is on paint and experimenting with different applications. My goal is to complete a painting a week and have at least 40 small paintings (mostly 6" x 6") to show. I started in January.

My first round of painting/experiments were playing with the liquid acrylics (by Golden) versus the heavy-bodied paint. In the past, I had mostly played with the liquid acrylics and during the experiments I quickly learned the difference between watered down heavy bodied acrylic and the liquids.

Next I made some attempts at adding lines with thick gel, but the results weren't what I wanted. I may come back to that later. Now I'm experimenting with palette knives and really having fun scraping.

Books and classes can be a waste of time, overwhelm me with information or spark the creativity. The New Acrylics accomplished the latter for me. If you are looking for some inspiration, you might find it here.

Color spotting

One of my current goals is to get the camera out and take more pictures, such as this one. This house caught my eye as I was walking into the dentist's office. Since color compositions I see in daily life influence the colors I use in art, I decided it would be fun to document some of them.

I love the cobalt and red color combination, but I never would have thought to put it on my house! (Our house is painted a darkish green to blend in with the surrounding trees.) This photo reminds me of Melissa's trip to Florida and the jelly bean colored architecture she took pictures of.

Speaking of color, I listened to a podcast yesterday in which Alison Lee and her guest, Jennifer Perkins (of DIY Craft Lab), were talking about colors people wear in different cities. Next time I travel, I'll definitely pay attention to the new color combinations I see walking down the street.