Spring Update

It’s been much too long! But I have been making art, so here’s what I’ve accomplished since my last post.

I’m repurposing an old journal, which I posted on my other blog (wigginswordsandimages.wordpress.com). I’m creating palette cards that comprise the pages of the book.

Read more: Spring Update

See note * below.

Untitled palette card with Buddha (collage)

In anticipation of the spring ihanna postcard swap, I have made five cards. (The swap is usually in May, but I’m having hip replacement in April.)

British Library (collage)

Feathers and Fins (collage) (my favorite part is the fisheye on the lower right, below the boat)

Food, Wine, Butterfly, Boat (mixed media–background done on gelli plate)

Balcony Birds (collage)

River Rental (collage) (I didn’t notice until after this was done that the branches form a heart above the kayakers. Aren’t these little surprises wonderful?)

Finally, meditation stitching:

Someone gave away a stack of handkerchiefs. I couldn’t bear to cut this one so it’s all there.

The “Jaws” logo was on one of my husband’s ties. I think he’d get a kick out of its reuse.

I think this is my favorite. When I went to the craft store looking for trims, the clerk said she didn’t think they had anything turquoise. I showed her!

This is one way I display the stitchery. It brightens up the kitchen and gives me something to enjoy looking at while I’m cooking.

The purple knitting project is progressing–it’s going to be a very long scarf. The intended recipient’s birthday is in July, so I should have it finished in plenty of time. I’ll post it when it’s finished.

* Note: in the past I’ve included links to other posts and websites, but WordPress likes to jack with people, and I can’t get that function any more. Just a “read more” that doesn’t even go where I want it to. I curse WordPress every time, which is why I don’t post very often.

New Year: Cards, Stitching, Keeping Warm

The ihanna postcard fall swap once again yielded some very nice postcards, all from the U.S. Since I received only nine, I’m hoping #10 is stuck somewhere enroute from Fiji or New Zealand.

These last three are my favorites

Knitting: the purple ombre stole is like Penelope’s shroud. I get to a certain length, notice an unfixable mistake, frog it (i.e. “ripit, ripit”), and start again. At least it’s pretty yarn and I like the pattern. I’m knitting hats again this winter. A friend greets incoming migrants in San Antonio every week and provides them with supplies. Many people go north, and she told me hats are always appreciated. Knitting hats in the round is so easy and mindless it’s great for watching TV or movies. (Have you seen Oppenheimer? Maestro? I’m working my way through the presumed Oscar contenders, plus Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. The first Chicken Run is my #1 all-time favorite movie, and the trailer for the new one has already cracked me up. I’m joining some friends for a watch party tomorrow.)

Finally, stitching:

Stitched meditation: fabric, stitching, beads, buttons and sari silk

Stitched meditation: fabric, stitching, ribbon, beads and a feather

Finally, my magnum opus, and still it can’t compare to the beauty of the real thing in nature.

Widow skimmer dragonfly. Fabric, metallic thread, wooden stick, cotton eyes, and paint.

Fall postcard swap and new stitchery

Now that I’m really prioritizing art (“arting,” as I said in my last post), it’s amazing how much I get done. Some days are still full of appointments and errands, but many days, like today, I do just what I feel like doing. It’s a beautiful, sunny, crisp fall day after some heavy (much needed) rain, so first I took the dog to the dog park. Now I’ll have fun sharing what I’ve been up to.

Meditation cards and meditation stitching are two of my favorite activities.

Faces in the window (5×7 inch meditaiton card, collage)

Medititation stitching. I think the last one is my favorite so far.

Finally, all 10 postcards are ready for the fall ihanna international swap. This is my 10th year of doing this swap, and I enjoy making, sending and receiving cards to and from all over the world. Except for the watercolor and the stitched cards, they are all collage and/or mixed media, and all are 4×6 inches.

Moon & Jupiter/Pearl & Diamond (watercolor and drops of Gorilla glue)

Gold stitched pansies. It was fun merging meditation stitching into a postcard.

Soft Landing in the Grand Canal

Gang Aft Agley (Robert Burns) (with ColorAid paper)

Hawk and blue Magritte bowler

Sterling Pen Nib (mixed media)

Isles of Sky (mixed media)

River Ness Monster

Faces in Windows (inspired by the “Faces in the Window” meditation card

“Huge pink Mardi Gras squid lands on a cruise ship, which tries to escape on the bicycle, but it’s blocked by the rocks and giant alien beets from outer space. The flowers are just for decoration.” (Needless to say, I had a lot of fun naming this piece)

With the holidays coming up, I probably won’t be this productive, but I do an original Christmas card every year, and I always have projects going–knitting, stitching…the list never ends, for which I am grateful, and never bored.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

Elephants

As promised in my last post, the story of the elephant day planner.

This collage book was my way of repurposing a 2020 day planner that was elephant-themed. I put it aside in March of that year, when evereything shut down, with the idea of some day repurposing it. This was a fun learning experience, and I’ll use the mistakes and lessons learned in future collage books. These images are just a sample of the 12 months.

“Soulful”

“Friendly”

And many more pages… but you get the idea. It’s a very fat book!

Roses, mice, turtles and elephants

While trying to prioritize art, I still find there are never enough hours in the day. Recent works has included some meditation cards (all collages, 5×7 inches):

For the birthday of my dear friend Carolyn, who is a Bright Red Mimi.

I was still into roses and red things (note the dew drops, created by dripping clear Gorilla glue)

Mice and beans, except it’s only one mouse, which was created by the late, wonderful artist Nat Quintos Uhing, of the blog The Smallest Forest.

This may be my favorite card. Note the turtle is wearing a jeweled necklace and has a surfer on its back.

The enhanced stitching project I was working on last time is finished. I like the tomato in a tutu.

In my last post I shared a photo of an asymmetrical triangular shawl I was knitting.

Before the axe fell…

And now. I was not happy with it despite its being nearly finished, and it was very satisfying ripping it out. I’m ready to start a again, with a different pattern that will make better use of the beautiful purples (I hope).

The elephant: It’s so extensive I’m going to give it its own post, which I will link to. Watch for it soon.

Art is a Verb

Now that I am able to (somewhat) prioritize art, I recently told someone, when I was frustrated with annoying household and homeowner chores, that was tired of “adulting” and wanted to “art” instead.

So now when I need to get to work on a new collage or stitchery piece, or go to my art group, I’ve decied that I’m arting.

I recently read a book, “Your Brain on Art,” which explores the many neurological, pscyhological and physiological benefits of art. One term I like is “flow.” There is nothing more satisfying than getting so deep into a project that you lose track of time. Being someone who is usually trying to Get Things Done, getting in a flow state while painting, stitching or collaging gives me great peace and joy.

There are still dozens of distractions and responsibilties, but I’m happiest when I’m arting. Here are some of my recent projects:

Meditation cards:

I call this “Eight-legged camel.” I thought it was one camel until somone pointed out the extra legs.

It’s so hot I put penguins in a banana boat.

A Summer Dessert

Pelican. (I enjoy putting animals in odd places.) The teeth on the lower right are Terry Bradshaw’s.

Stitching:

Meditation squares for the first anniversary of my husband’s death. He looked so good in red and black.

Works in progress:

Stitching is so relaxing and I can do it while watching TV or listening to podcasts. Eventually the veggies will have decorative stitching, maybe beads and/or ribbons.

Knitting:

An asymmetrical variegated shawl, with one more ball of purple to go.

I bought myself some sari ribbon. It’s made from scraps left over from making silk saris. I can’t wait to use it in my stitching, but in the meantime it decorates a door!

Finally, granddaughter and I are staying out of the heat and having an art afternoon.

Coincidentally, we’re both working on books, mine a repurposed 2020 day planner (which of course became useless in mid-March) and hers something beautiful and leather-bound. She likes the contrast of her young hands and my old hands. I just love arting with her.

A Bit of Everything

Now that my life is settling down after years of moving, ice storms, moving again, my husband’s illness and death, taking care of a household and a dog, volunteer work (church, singing in a choral group), I am at a point that I can prioritize my own art. Partly by nature and partly from the kinds of work I’ve done, I do better working on multiple projects rather than focusing for hours on one.

The spring ihanna swap is finished, and I sent my 10 cards. These are the final three. (The rest are on a previous post.)

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Can you tell I really love Scotland? Especially Inverness and Loch Ness.

I actually received 10 cards this time (which is not always the case–sometimes eight or nine is a good haul). Here are the cards I received, coming from all over the U.S. and as far away as Canada, the Netherlands and Australia.

My granddaughter loves fairies, so she snagged this one.

Now for some recent meditation cards:

I’m into animals poking their heads out of windows.

I’ve been stitching:

Made from silk material that once was a dress that didn’t fit.

I call this one “Celebrating Pride Month,” or “Let’s Piss Off Ron DeSantis.”

Finally, knitting, which I do while watching HGTV or, lately, binge watching “The Good Place,” which I enjoy so much I’ve gone back to the beginning to catch episodes I missed.

The community center where my art group meets often gets donated craft supplies, so I’ve been making scarves to give as gifts or donate.

I’m also communications chair for my church, so I’m helping with design and updating publications and the website. I’ve been reading quite a lot: two books by Alice Steinbach, Without Reservations, and Educating Alice, both fascinating travel memoirs. (I am presenting a memoir writing workshop at a conference this summer, so I need all the references I can find!)

Whew. To (ironically) quote Calvin and Hobbes:

Spring is here and so am I

It’s hard to believe my last post on this blog was in November. So much water has gone over the dam (or under the bridge) since then. I will just say that despite events big and small, I am still making art and finding solace in the process. My Thursday morning art group is going strong, and I love those people from whom I learn and who support each other.

Since it’s hard to catch up with everything, here is a random sample of what I’ve been doing:

This is my only current knitting project. I’ve done a bunch of hats to give to migrants (one of my friends greets them at the airport every week and provides them with necessities), but I never remember to take pictures.

After I started making small meditation squares, I decided to put nine squares together into a hanging. The color inspiration was the chicken feather in the center. It came from one of my daughter’s hens, which also provides us with delicious eggs. The red and purple piece was done as part of a one-week online stitch camp. The fabric is painted and cut up, then stitched back together with the addition of ribbons, beads and so forth.

When the burlap hanging got too full, I decided to use a fishnet one of my artist friends gave me. This is what I see when I stand working at the kitchen counter. It’s so much fun, and I can switch things around, add and take off pieces, any time.

I still have a few postcards to make for the spring ihanna swap, but these are ready to go:

Adventure Kitty (collage)

This was intended for the swap, but when I took it to my art group, someone asked if she could buy it from me, so of course I gave it to her.

Treehouse (collage)

This is a real place, part of the Laurel Tree restaurant in Utopia, Texas. Several years ago we were in Utopia with friends, and we lucked into a tour of the restaurant. While we were there, a woman from the Treehouse TV show was with the owner to plan the building of the tree houses. Unfortunately, the pandemic got in a way of us returning with our friends to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2021.

Blue Chair in the Sabinal, Lost Maples State Park (collage)

The background is a photo of the river bed of the Sabinal River in Lost Maples State Park, Texas. Coincidentally, that photo was taken on the same trip with friends we were with at the Laurel Tree.

Spa Bath (collage)

Heart Night Sky (collage) The lettering is in Hebrew, from a photo of a synagogue

Horse and Clown (collage)

Rose, British Library (collage)

The background is a page from the visitor map/guide to the British Library.

Several of my art friends have piqued my interest in using a gelli plate, so that may be among my next projects. Right now I am enjoying stitching, knitting, collage and making postcards for the upcoming ihanna spring swap, all of which feeds my soul.

Postcards, stitching and painting

Now that autumn is setting in with cool weather with much-needed rain for my new xeriscaped yard (with native plants that need watering until they’re established), I am finding more time for my various artistic pursuits.

First, the rest of the postcards for the ihanna fall swap, which just began. (Some were previously posted.)

Autumn cat (collage)

I love lilacs (collage with Color Aid paper and washi tape)

Lilacs (collage with Color Aid paper and washi tape)

Clear Springs (collage with washi tape)

Save the Rain Forest (collage with wrapping from Who Gives a Crap? tp)

Scraps and Sunflowers (collage with Color Aid paper)

Scraps: red, yellow, green (collage with Color Aid paper and washi tape)

Scraps with bee (collage)

Now for meditation squares:

(rose petals from the flower arrangement at my late husband’s memorial service)

Finally, a couple of paintings:

“Dumpster Fire” (acrylic), painted on a really bad day.

Untitled, but not a dumpster fire, painted on a better day. (acrylic)

Still Here

Although I haven’t posted art for quite a while, I am actually making art! I have completed my postcards for the fall iHanna swap, which I will share after they are sent out next month.

In the meantime, my art group keeps me inspired, and I continue to do meditation stitching. My dear friend Helen, who taught me about this practice, coaxed me into going to a retreat where we did a workshop that was well received.

Helen displayed hers on a reversed Japanese screen. I used a piece of burlap attached on a dowel.

This one, done today, is a bit Halloween-ish, using random items from my stash of trinkets and trims.

Craving yellow. I have found some of my decorative items in boxes of my late husband’s stuff. He and one of his friends used to trade dinosaur gifts at Christmas, so I suspect that’s where the stegosaurus pin came from.

I am also cutting up some of his old ties, and I let myself get a little messier than usual on this one.

More items from the boxes found in the garage.

I did this one at the retreat, and the button and silk material were from Helen’s stash.

Nests.

Feathers as especially evocative.

A more raggedy one, with remnants of a scarf that was chewed up by the vacuum cleaner.

Mermaid

I found the star on the ground while walking the dog outside the facility where my art group meets. It was quite hidden in grass and dirt, and the sun caught only a tiny bit of sparkle that was left on it.

Precious items found in the boxes in the garage: Gary’s fraternity pin and badge.

Junior helping me display the squares I’ve done so far. Since the burlap hanging is getting full, I have another idea to display them that should be fun. Stay tuned!