Laid Low by a Cough

The day after my last post, I came down with a 102-degree fever that lasted only about 12 hours, but I was left with a debilitating cough. I finally went to the doctor a couple of days ago and got loaded down with medicines (he proposed I might have a mild case of whooping cough!), and things are finally improving. It's been tough, though, as I haven't had the mental energy to do anything over these last couple of weeks. Also it was the beginning of summer, and it's very challenging to do anything when both kids are home. One, yes, but not two.

Anyway, tonight I finally started the final gluing stages for my truth project. It's definitely labor-intensive, and next time I'd use slide mounts for something like this, but there is something to be said for having done everything by hand. I didn't realize what I was going to do until I was in too deep to pull back and go an easier route. I do think it will look neat when done. My quotations are already selected, and I'm going to write them on onionskin to be seen on one side, and back them with vellums for the other side. Then I will add color accents to the black-and-white paper that I'm covering all 26 frames with, and finally I will figure out how I'm going to attach them. I would still like to figure out how to do it so that it will fold up into a book, since that was my original intention, but I can't see how to do that until I have them finished in front of me ready to go. Since I got so slowed down by this illness, I won't be able to complete it before leaving for my parents' house in Kansas, which is disappointing and frustrating, but ah well.

I have also nearly finished the first project in Kelly Rae Roberts' Taking Flight book, and I'm very pleased with it. All I need are fibers for the binding, and I can't find mine in the garage (all my stuff is in boxes as our house is on the market). I may have to give in and buy more, because I want it to be done! It was hugely fun playing with oil paints (although they took nearly a week to dry in our humid climate, and I may have layered them on too thick also), and it was very rewarding to draw something for the first time. I didn't think it turned out half bad.

Questions from Pam Carriker's blog, 14 May 2009

I love this lady's blog and her artwork and have really enjoyed reading her thoughts and musings. It has opened up new pathways for me and encouraged me to think about things in ways that I'm not sure would have ever occurred to me if left on my own.

In her 14 May 2009 blog entry, she lists these questions and challenges her readers to answer them for themselves (which is why I feel it's okay to list the questions and post my answers in this blog). Here goes!

Developing Your Own Voice

What are your 3 favorite colors?
Blue. Purple. Green.

What kind of architecture do you like?
This is tough--much easier to say what I don't like, which is the classic Greek style with the symmetry. Ugh. But otherwise I like everything from English cottages with thatched roofs to urban brownstones to ranch-style houses to castles. I also don't care much for things that look too modern in terms of building materials; I like the houses with limestone exteriors, an organic warm feeling. I very much like buildings that let in lots of natural light.

What 3 words describe your personality?
Self-restricted. Nurturing. Accommodating.

What is your favorite animal?
Cat.

What do you collect?
Blank books. Kitchen items, especially serving. Miniatures. Books with nice covers.

What is your favorite season?
This one is also unanswerable. I like them all. Over the last few years I have come to really like winter because it's fun to wear warm clothes and snuggle up with blankets (I live in Central Texas, so this is a novelty). But I also love spring when everything leafs out, I love those fresh crisp breezes in the fall after the six-month-long baking summer here, and I love the summer and the sound of the crickets/locusts in the trees in the blazing afternoon heat--everything lazy, languid, and laid-back.

Name your favorite icons.
Now I know I've answered this, probably about a month ago. It will be fun to compare my answers later . . . I don't really have any icons.

What are your favorite mediums?
I am not sure I'm experienced enough to have an answer for this yet. Right now I'm at the point where I recognize that different mediums do different things, so I guess my favorite is whatever works for what I want to accomplish!

Having a Great Time

In my last post, I promised myself to do something creative every day, even if it just took five minutes. That has been a great thing to do! More time in my day has been spent thinking about what I'm going to do, and it is so rewarding and nourishing to grab the time to do it, whatever it is on a particular day. And on the crazy days leading up to the end of school for my son when I barely had time to breathe and remind myself of my name, let alone spend even a second not thinking about that day's task at hand, that was okay because I thought about the things I was working on and advanced them in my head. I am so glad that I have this wonderful outlet, and frankly I just feel like a kid in a candy store with wonderment at all I can do. Doesn't seem real . . .

More Introspection

I feel I'm embarking upon a journey--again. These last few months have been so frustrating with everything that has gone on to get the house ready to put on the market and keep it ready to show. I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to do some experimenting that I wouldn't otherwise do, but instead it feels like I packed up my creativity along with all my supplies in the cardboard boxes that are sitting out in the garage. Turns out, I guess, that I'm one of those people who has to immerse oneself, surround myself, with items, supplies, pictures, to begin. Part of what I have been thinking about the last few weeks is being okay with that. It is simply the way I am--I need to physically see the things around me. Okay.

Here are my answers to the questions on page 18 of Taking Flight, by Kelly Rae Roberts. She definitely says things in this book that I need to hear right now, and I am grateful to her for the effort that went into the creation of it.

In the depths of my heart, creative dreams are calling me to take notice. They are:
Bookmaking. I always said that all the cards I made in the year 2007 were like a workshop, gathering techniques and trying stuff out, but I was never interested in cardmaking for its own sake--I wanted the techniques to use in other things, like book covers. My imagination has grown a bit since then, but I would still like to make some books. Even just blank books for others to use would be just fine with me.

Very interested in continuing to explore the 3D mixed media world. Not sure what it holds for me, but I'm curious. I like making things that people can touch, examine closely, hold up to the light and see what reveals itself. Also want to pursue more things made on glass--that has a strong pull for me.

The one thing I never thought I could do is:
This is very easy--anything at all artistic. Never ever ever.

Here's how I can make a plan to do it:
Pledge to myself to write something or draw something every day. Doesn't have to be original--might be taking ten minutes to trace a calligraphy alphabet to help my hand get accustomed to the movements. But something, anything.

Who in my life has passion? What questions could I ask her/him about her/his story?
I could ask my friend A. more than I have about how she thinks about what she does and why she does it. I know why she does arty things rather than writing, but that's a different question than why she does arty things, period.

Could ask a family friend who is a painter. What would I ask? I guess all my questions seem to come back to how did she, or anyone, have the courage to do it and put it out there. But I think I already know the answer there. You just do it.

I feel most inspired when:
I am surrounded by images or objects that speak to me. I need that physical presence to envelop me and support me. It also helps, of course, to not have a deadline looming (must leave to pick up kids from school) or other obligations that come before this wonderful indulgence. Yes, it is apparently a need, but I do know it's an indulgence. Plenty of women do not have the luxury of time to play or even think about this stuff, nor do they have the financial ability to gather supplies. I am lucky.

A Quiz, Somerset Studio May/June 2009, p. 75

What are your three favorite colors?
Blue.
Red.
Green (learned to like this because so many of my aunts like it, and I make things for them).
Fourth would be purple.

What kind of architecture do you like?
I like a lot of things. The English half-timbered look with leaded glass panes is a favorite, as is the English cottage. I like the Spanish villa style and love the look of the French Quarter and the Garden District in New Orleans (pre-Katrina).

I do not like the rows of terraced Victorian houses, nor do I particularly like modern unless it's done very, very well. I don't care much for Greek or symmetry in my buildings. What I do like is warm, inviting, welcoming, cozy (of residential). I like a lot of light. I like natural materials rather than synthetic.

What are the three words that describe your personality?
Unassuming.
Listening.
Undemanding.

What is your favorite animal?
Cat.

What do you collect?
It used to be books. Sometimes I would buy a book just because I liked the cover. I also buy blank books and never write in them. Also I love to get small unique serving pieces to use for company--or just myself! Another thing I have always liked are vintage labels. It's really only recently I've given this any thought--I don't think I've ever given myself permission to collect anything before (and am not sure I have yet).

What is your favorite season?
I like them all. Each has different things to recommend it. Spring is lovely because it transforms the landscape, summer is nice because it's so relaxed, fall is great (probably my favorite, I guess) because the coolness is such a welcome relief after the heat of the five-month-long summer here in Central Texas, and the winter is fun because I like snuggling up with throw blankets and hot water bottles (remember, Central Texas, this is a novelty and doesn't last long).

Name your favorite icons.
Not even sure what is meant here. I'll substitute "images" for "icons" and answer it that way. Strong, confident women--goddess, archetype images. Images with that secret air of knowing about a mystery that no one else does. The Serena image that Stampsmith sells--something about the look on her face. I like water images--Japanese waves, still oceans, waterfalls, all of it.

General Musings

Haven't done anything more on "truth" lately.

I'm still trying to finish my "time" piece; I was unhappy with the background (too much One Step Crackle in a particular spot looked milky and didn't fit in with the rest), so I sanded it down and am trying again with different media. This time I painted it with a coffee bean acrylic undercoat, then a mixture of Golden Crackle Paste tinted with Jacquard metallic pewter. It's been curing for the requisite three days (worked out perfectly since I came down with a head cold two days ago), so tomorrow I'll take a look at it and see if that will work.

Truth still seems to me like something I'd like to have that is seen differently from different angles. Question is how best to achieve it? Put something in a box and have each box decorated differently--stained with alcohol inks, tissue paper, mesh, etc.? Should one be able to lift the box or top off to see what is really inside? I think the answer to that is yes. Now, what should I have in the box??

Oooh, wouldn't it be neat to have something in the box that even when the walls are lifted away and the thing is revealed, you still can't be sure exactly what it is? Now what could I come up with for that? Perhaps that's something for another day when I have more expertise.

Now at least I have something I can go with--can get one of those square display cases at Michael's to use and alter it as necessary. Just have to figure out what to do with the sides and top--that's five things. Perhaps one should be opaque. What if have the top be opaque and the sides done with different palettes of alcohol ink? That's at least a good place to begin.

(Only a Few) Quotes about Truth

This is an interesting one:

Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit. --Edward R. Murrow

That could be quite fun to put into pictorial form, although that's not really how my brain works, but it gives lots of possibilities with the light shining through obscurity. Even go literal and use a woman's full-on nude image, being covered up by things. Go political and make it a burka.

Wow, I'm finding lots of insightful quotes about truth, but nothing that sparks any kind of imagery. Most are all intellectual. I may just go back to the ideas from my last entry and work from there. I did quite like something from Virginia Woolf, who said that "if you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people". That ties in with my mirrors theme that came up last post.

Now this one from Oscar Wilde is interesting: "“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” I like the idea of masks, although of course I don't have any supplies (stamps, molds) to use for it! Of course I'd be attracted by something that requires buying more stuff! But it's also what this blog is about, since no one I know has the URL for it, unlike my family blog or Facebook account. I am truly free to write here without wondering whether someone in my family will think I'm pretentious, deluded, or just egocentric. And that seems to be true for many people on the internet, although not always to their credit.

Now this would be a fun one to do by including these words by Aldous Husley as part of the piece: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad."

Well, harrumph. I guess I'm going to have to muse on what truth means to me, but that will have to be another post.

What is "Truth"?

So, A. has selected "truth" as this month's topic, and I may need to work quickly since we are halfway through April.

How does one illustrate truth? Or make a piece representing it? Could do a mirror with decorative mosaic edge. Ooh, could do a mobile with lots of glass tiles and miniature mirrors, because often truth requires finding little bits of it here and there and then piecing it together. Or along the same lines, do a puzzle (ornamental), perhaps with one piece left to put it. I am liking these ideas . . .

Let's see if I can come up with some that don't involve mirrors. Is truth something that blazes out at you, grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you, saying, "Here I am and you cannot ignore me!"? Or is it something quieter, that steals into your being and makes itself known over a period of time? As always, my question too is this: what color is truth? I don't think it's one of the primary colors--not subtle enough, not enough depth. Perhaps a blue, but why? Because of the blue in the sky, the blue of the water? Definitely not purple. Hmm, and I just contradicted myself, didn't I, since blue is a primary color. I guess I am thinking of a different kind of blue, one with clarity and depth, one with translucence.

Next thing I'll go looking for quotes again. I haven't yet used one, but I enjoy the thinking that comes along with finding them.

End of "Time"

Unfortunately, my group's get-together to show our "time" pieces had to be rescheduled . . . but the plus side of that is that I have a chance to redo what I mounted my piece on. Had a technique glitch with the DecoArt One Step Crackle; I got so frustrated that I wasn't getting the size crackle I wanted, so I poured on a huge lump of it and didn't smooth it down enough. When dry, there was surely a great big crackle in it, but it looked milky and didn't blend in with the rest of the background.

I guess I'm going to have to sand it all off and redo the layers--dark brown acrylic (and I think I'll do two coats this time instead of just one), then Tim Holtz's Brushed Pewter Distress Crackle, then a nice thick layer of the One Step Crackle. Once that's all dry, I'll use the Antiquing Solution. I also think I'll use a tack to mount the faux pendulum rather than a foam dot, which doesn't seem to be holding very well. I *will* get this right!

Finally, Making Something Again!

I have had it with all my stuff being in the garage (our house is on the market for sale). This afternoon I dug around in various boxes and found my toolbox, my Distress Ink pads, my Xmas gifts of some Tim Holtz items (game spinners, sprocket gears), and a few other things. Not too much, just a few things.

Then I made a chipboard clock using some Heidi Swapp items and following the directions on Tim Holtz's blog for the last Xmas tag of 2008 (steps 16-35). It was so much fun! Took about 10 minutes, but the result looked great and I had a neat embellishment for my project. Did I mention that my group's art challenge this month is "time"?

Since I don't have a lot of room or materials available, I am going to try to keep this month's project small. I have inked up a 3x4" canvas with Dried Marigold Distress Ink, then I used one of Tim's new masks and put Vintage Photo DI over the top. Now what I want to do is use some of his new stamps in the sets that have just become available at Michaels, but I can't find my acrylic mounts. Grrr.

It feels so good to be doing something again that is creative, that has a tangible end result--I love it, love it, love it. I feel fully alive again for the first time in two months. Must remember that this is necessary and make sure that it doesn't get shut down like this (of course, we hoped our house would sell faster and our stuff would come back out sooner than it has). But this is a good feeling, a feeling of accomplishment and engagement.