Working 3D

I am so enjoying spring break!  Yesterday I stayed home all day except for a trip down the long driveway to the mailbox.  I'm doing a new clay project with my 7th graders this quarter and needed to put together a sample. Before you teach something, it is best to do one yourself.  I started a pot on  Monday,  but was far from thrilled with what I was making.  Yesterday,  I had a clearer vision of what I wanted to make. I like working in a variety of  media, paper, ceramics, metal, beads,even though cloth is clearly my favorite. Ideas and techniques used in one media transfer very well into others and allow you to view materials in a new way. Here's some pictures of my slab pots made yesterday.  They need to dry thoroughly, then get fired, glazed and re-fired.

I used branches to texture this rough looking vase.  I might cut off the bottom and make openings in the cylinder so it can be used as a lantern for a candle.  Still not decided on that.

Hummingbirds on the Patio

We bought a hummingbird feeder about a week or so ago.  At first there were a few hummingbirds coming to feed from it, but now, there are so many that we are having to refill it daily.  It's crazy!  There will be six to eight hovering around, buzzing about and one even came inches away from the glass patio door and looked right at us!  Of course, it made me thing of Hitchcock's movie,  "The Birds."

First there was one,

 Then there were two

Then, three.

van Gogh's Birthday

Happy van Gogh's Birthday!  He was born today in 1843.  I'm enjoying my vacation day, planning on not even leaving the house.  I'm working on a new quilt that is just  coming together very quickly for me.  I'm just going for it, not analyzing every last move. Sometimes it goes like that.  Not quite ready to show a picture of it yet.

 

 Had some time to sit outside this afternoon on the patio with the cat in front of some plants and my sunflower door. Hope you had time to create and relax.

Painting Canvas

Last week I showed some cards cut from grid painted papers I made using acrylic paint.  This week I tried the same technique on canvas.  I stretched canvas using T pins onto a padded board.  Next I put blobs of paint which I scraped down the length and width of the fabric with hotel keycards and discarded credit cards. I used Dynaflow, which absorbed too quickly into the canvas and Pebeo setacolor which spread further.  Finally I carefully flicked fuschia and yellow.  Not sure if I want to cut it up or keep it whole, or use it for a purse.

Painting with Cardboard

Last Friday morning, before school, I felt a strong urge to play with a technique that had been rolling around in my head for awhile, painting with cardboard. So  I put blobs (that's a technical term)  of different colors across the top of a 12 x18 sheet of paper and spread the paint down using pieces of cardboard.  I did three of these, scraping the paint around in different directions, overlapping, etc.  I really love the transparency of the paint, which created interesting overlays of colors and patterns.  After the paint dried, I mixed black acrylic with a little bit of water in a squeeze bottle and added the circular black line.

Finally, after they were all dried, I cut them out to use for cards.  I'm going to try this next on fabric. I think they would be great with hand embroidery or couched yarn.

Visit to Santa Barbara

My hubby and I went to Santa Barbara this weekend and caught two great shows at the Santa Barbara Museum, Botticelli, Titian and Beyond and Degas to Chagall.  Here's a couple of favorites from the shows.

There were beautiful Birds of Paradise everywhere and I couldn't resist snapping pics of them.

Hand Embroidering the Quilt

I tried machine quilting this art quilt and did not care for the harsh look of that at all, so am starting hand embroidery in the negative areas, mostly using one of my favorite stitches, the seed stitch.

This is just the beginning, but I'm liking it.  Much more to follow.