Saturday, October 8, 2011

Okay, Break Time's Up

April 1st?? Really??

Apparently I am the intermittent blogger as I am the intermittent "something" in a lot of other ways. So what's been up in the mean time?

Quilting: still haven't quite finished the Big Pink Happiness quilt but I have finished the quilting of four (count them 4!!) other quilts. One mandatory waiting in the sewing room and Margaret working on the final two of the seven quilts total.

Arting: here's where a lot more of my time has been going. I'm overcoming the fear of the acrylics and I'm enjoying the playtime here.  I've tried out bunches of techniques with water media, love the waterbrushes and love the Pentel Brush Pen (if that's it's real name), almost the same as a water brush but filled with ink, sepia for now. Cutting and tearing paper, sketching here and there, and completely in love with Inktense pencils.

The difficulty now is finding my own imagery, what speaks for me on the page, and does it communicate anything? Technique is one thing, learning all about various options in media, but technique can only take you so far.  There is something within me that is so loud these days, I'm amazed other people don't hear my brain screaming out loud as I walk by.  CREATE, DAMMIT!!

Also finding the value in my lifelong habit of cleaning up before you begin which I had to break myself of initially because you can't be so hardfast about it that you end up never starting on the art until the whole house is spic and span, which, for me, never happens all at one time.  But small steps, clearing and organizing the materials needed, make me aware of where everything is, what still needs to find a home, and lead to beginning with a cleared work area, a fresh space outside and within.  I don't know how this habit began.  I do know that I kept my toys straightened up as a child with a very satisfied feeling about it.  Who cares? Anyhow, it serves me better now that I have eased up with it.

So. Today I will clean some, sew some, paint or draw some and revel in all of it. Question is, how do I give a face, a body, a form to the reveller ? Remains to be seen.  Journey's on!

My Blog List