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Today I’m working on adding one more journal to my collection. This time it will be a watercolor journal, something that’s easier for me to use since it’s all about mixed media! As I’ve blogged before, a journal isn’t ready to go unless it has some clothes and jewelry on! By this I mean, I […]
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Sunday was a relaxing day spent with my friend Barbara while my husband was at home watching football, and our dogs were playing in her garden. Barbara has a huge yard with an organic vegetable garden, and orchard full of fruit trees, a magic waterfall complete with Koi pond, a sunken garden, a garden down […]
As many of you know, I’ve been working on a weaving with pods I scavenged from my friend Barbara’s garden. This has definitely challenged me, since everything I thought I world do, hasn’t worked out quite like planned! Photos of the project here and there along the way seem to help just so I could see what it looked like from a different perspective, and how much progress is being made. When I see a picture of something I’m working on, it’s like looking at it through someone elses eyes, and many times it becomes much clearer as to what needs to be done. This has worked favorably for me in the past, and hopefully it did again!
Maybe it was the colors chosen, maybe the textiles, maybe even the pesky pods, but it’s been really difficult getting into this project. It’s a challenge that is much-needed for me to grow, and I won’t let it go! What I’ve learned from past projects is this; it’s usually the colors that aren’t speaking to me! I’m really a warm color person, and many of my creations are with rusts, yellows, gold, and then I splash some cool color into the project just to give it life, and interest. This time it’s the opposite, because I’ve used all cool colors, and they are having trouble getting their point across. It’s similar to when the cat sits and Meows at you, and you have no idea what the “bleep” he could possibly want!
The better part of Saturday was spent playing with textures, colors, yarns, ribbon, foil, and anything else I could think of. At some point I have to wonder if another artist is needed just to stop the insanity! After so many layers of really just about everything, finally it started to pull together, and I think, no I know I’m definitely I’m finished!
Have you ever started a project that was a huge challenge, and you almost wished you hadn’t started it? Did you keep on going! Or, did you toss in the towel, and decide your time was better spent on something really enjoyable? There isn’t any right or wrong way to handle this, we each reach our finish lines in our own way! I personally really dislike it when something I start is getting the better of me, and sometimes, but rarely do I allow it to win! Those times when I won’t let it go, are the times I sleep less, lay awake more, wake up exhausted, and dig in once again. This kind of thing could go on for way too long, and it’s every mans guess who will win!
All in all, I did have fun playing with it, but I don’t think I’ll be working with pods anytime soon!
How could any artist do without help of some kind? If we had to pick up our own “stuff,” or do all the gardening, or wash our own cars, it either wouldn’t get done, or we wouldn’t have time to paint, and create! I’m so grateful to have Ariceli here to clean our bathroom, kitchen, to scrub floors, and chase the herds of dust bunnies that have taken up residence on the slate floor, and under the furniture! The dust bunnies have become more elusive since we’ve had Daisy, our dog. They duck, and dart in, and out of sight, leaving me wondering if I’m seeing things! Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I was seeing things, they are called “Dust Bunnies!”
Sometimes when we are quietly enthralled in a movie, paying absolutely no attention to anything around us, out of the corner of my eye I think I see something roll by. Subconsciously it doesn’t even register until a couple of minutes later when, it dawns on me, ” What was that, a heard of mice, or dust bunnies? ” Rarely, if ever, in my life have I seen a herd of mice running through the house! So out of process of elimination, it must be a heard of “Dust Bunnies!”
Ariceli’s job has increased a little since we now have a dog, and a cat! It was bad enough to have Kramer in the house, he drags toys around, and shreds our books if we don’t put them away. We now are careful to hide reading material out of sight leaving me to wonder if Kramer is on the take, you know extorting money from Ariceli for getting us to clean up some of our own mess!
Today is the day we get help, and yes we do a little pick up prior to her arriving. Somehow, the few days before she comes, we get a bit messy, and leave things here and there. Our home is really small, and this doesn’t help, but still we continue to be messy!
After she has cleaned all the nooks, and crannies, steamed the floors, and herded all the Dust Bunnies, we always walk into the rooms with a huge sigh of satisfaction. I dread taking time to slow down while Ariceli cleans, but I love the times when we walk into our rooms and can’t see any shredded ropes, squeaky toys, leaves, or other stuff lying around. The house is fit for company, but we aren’t having any, so we’ll just sit here and enjoy the quiet, cool, of a clean house just the two of us! Ariceli is truly a “House Whisperer!”
In my post last Thursday, I spoke about how if a project isn’t flowing like I expected, I’d make a Sharp Left Turn, and keep going! I don’t believe in mistakes, only opportunities to be more creative! But every once in a while something happens and, the project makes me wonder if it’s worth the effort or the agony…
I’ve worked with these darn pods for over four days now, and after getting more of the green pods, I decided to soak them in water, an attempt to keep them soft! Good idea or not, here’s what happened…..
These “green” pods that caught my eye last week sat in water, and hardened. Can you believe it? Instead of getting pruny like I would if I were left in water for a day and a half, they called my bluff, and started to get tough and dried out feeling. I have been working with them to see if in an attempt to prevent them from getting the better of me, I could do something with them. I’m determined to win this game! It just occurred to me I might just as well use green beans, even the tough, old beans are more flexible than the green pods. I wonder what the green beans would look like dried, or if they would draw ants? Would they resist being used in an art project, or would they rise to the occasion, and become elegant, royal looking green beans worthy of an art project such as this?
Finally my thought process was; if I put the pods on a canvas, cover it with burlap, maybe it would give them the message that they were not going to escape being the object of an art weaving, and maybe it would help me see where I need go with this! The other day, I purchased three colors of burlap thinking, “Organic.” I bought dark brown, light green, and a wheat colored neutral. All beautiful, but I had thought the green would be perfect, and it turned out there wasn’t enough contrast! Remember, “It’s the journey!” I’m now leaning to the dark brown for contrast. What do you think?
Originally, I thought of just weaving the pods all alone by themselves, but as I worked with them, I’m realizeding they needed to be beaten into submission if I wanted to use them at all! Next, I thought of using wool roving and dry felting them so they would stay in place, but after running the needles through my finger, I’m not so sure! Then maybe using other fabrics such as yarn, or gauze? I’m going back and forth on this, all the time wondering if it’s worth the effort? Again it occurred to me that, “It’s the journey!” I’m thinking this only applies if the journey is going well! You can see why I’m wondering if it’s worth it!
By nature I rarely let things get the better of me, whether it’s figuring out the use of electronics, creating art, or reading a book that isn’t holding my interest. I usually finish what I start! Problems simmer in the back of my mind until around three in the morning, when an idea or solution awakens me, and won’t allow me to return to sleep! This hasn’t happened as yet with the pods, I’m trying to conquer them before they conquer me!
Have any of you worked with pods in this way? I’m finding them not as easy as I thought originally, these are actually kind of a pain! But I love pods, and pick them up regularly! Read the rest of this entry
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ointed, a little! Can I help it? No! Can I come up with something else? You bet! As I was thinking of what other project I could do that could be woven, I decided to use an abstract acrylic painting I did of tr Many times when planning a project something happens, it doesn’t work […]
Old as Dirt and Proud of it! 
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