TISSUE PAPER TEXTURE

Yesterday I spent the day making covers for the journals I hope to use this year. I used covers from old books that were falling apart instead of going to buy new book board. I used tissue paper that I painted with acrylic paints a few years ago. The blending of colors and the crinkle of the tissue  creates great TEXTURE. On to filling them with paper and adding the binding.

WHY I DO WHAT I DO

I found this video on another blog. It states exquisitely why I do what I do. She seems to be a spinner/weaver/knitter, but I think it applies to all the fiber arts and to anyone who works with their hands. Enjoy.

Tuesday Texture

When I took the Cloth to Cloth workshop with Jude Hill (http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/), I got turned onto Glennis Dolce's beautiful fabrics. She uses a variety of wovens that are rich in TEXTURE by themselves, but the addition of the indigo dye seems to bring that texture to life even more. Love, Love, Love these fabrics. See more at http://www.shiborigirlstudios.com/.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here's my favorite Christmas quote of all time:  "If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things; if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary? For each one of us, there is a desert to travel. A star to discover. And a being within ourselves to bring to life.--author unknown

WINTER SOLSTICE FULL MOON

                                           photo taken in the foothills of Pikes Peak

I can't believe it has been well over a month since my last post. Life has been very FULL lately. During this past month I have traveled with my son and husband to the Seattle region to look at colleges. Came home to celebrate Thanksgiving and then head out again to New Orleans to help care for my mom. Came home from that and was thrust into Christmas planning and the return of my daughter from Italy and her study abroad adventure. Luckily she got home hours before the horrible weather broke loose in Europe. So thankful to have her home and to have a FULL nest again. Needless to say I have done very little art and it is making me restless and anxious and with little direction on where I want to go with my art next. So I'm taking advantage of these dark days to ponder my path. And I am hoping for some light to illuminate the way.

WORK IN PROGRESS AND LEARNING TO EDIT DETAILS

During the summer my brother sent me a copy of a photograph he took several years ago while visiting me in Colorado. He asked me If I could needle felt this landscape for him. "Sure" I said, no problem. Being the detail perfectionist that I am, the more and more I looked at the photo, the more anxious I became. Why didn't he just ask me to paint a picture? I could have done that and captured many of the details. But needle felting is different. Capturing all those trees and rocks, etc, etc. is not easy with roving and a barbed needle. And I had to make it more difficult because I HAD TO CAPTURE ALL THE DETAILS OR IT WOULDN'T BE GOOD ENOUGH! So the photograph has sat on my worktable for months until a few weeks ago it dawned on my poor perfectionist self that I didn't have to capture ALL the details. I could EDIT out some things and still stay true to the beauty of the scene. This is such a hard concept for me to wrap my head around. Instead of recognizing the limitations of the medium, I would rather get down on myself and think that if I was a better needle felter I would be able to make a perfect replica of the photo. Not a good way to think. Only hurts myself and keeps me from moving forward.

 But I told myself that I should just try. Play with it. If it didn't work, I could always make up some story about why it couldn't be done. I could also, do a sample, see how it went, maybe do another and another. Just play and see what happens. And slowly but surely, I began to edit out unnecessary parts and came up with this.

 Here's a closeup.

I'm happy with it so far. I am resisting going back and adding more details. Keep telling myself to just let it be what it is.
Moral of this story:  IN LIFE AND IN ART, EDIT OUT UNNECESSARY DETAILS AND FOCUS ON WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

TUESDAY TEXTURE SHOT--JENNY FIELDS FIBERS

One of my latest Etsy shop finds is Jenny Fields Fibers. This photograph is of a luscious art batt I recently purchased. The colors and variety of fibers makes for  great TEXTURE. It reminds me of the canyon walls around my home. Can't wait to use it in a felted landscape. Jenny's shop address is http://jenny13.etsy.com/ . Have fun looking through her shop.