Organizing Space

There are still a few elements to go...

 

The long and short of it

 

Back in the saddle

 

The Way Back Machine

      Ive been going through sketchbooks and files to get myself kickstarted for the summer's art making. I've been away from it so long, it often feels like there is a parallel being in my studio who does things exactly as I like them done and has left me with all kinds of tools and images that will help me right now. I'm very grateful to her.

    This plate was one of my finds. It comes from my very first printmaking course with the awesome Scott Evans at Idaho State University, around 1991. At that time, it was printed as an embossment, on pure white paper and no ink. Time and poor storage added some interesting oxidation patterns to the surface, so I was curious to see if they would print if I inked it up, and they did! 

    Next, there are a couple of areas I'd like to smooth out with a file, and then, I think I'm going to play with those negative spaces with colors and maybe some sgrafitto. 

     What a nice way to get back into the swing of things.

 

Blooming

As I mentioned before, snake plants produce blooms like this when they are slightly stressed". These little flowers open at night and close in the daytime. Their scent is filling the air in my room right now. If only all tension could be relieved so sweetly.

 

Shower Flowers

Once I figured these out, they were fun to make. They took some time, but it was really satisfying to see them come together. I've been accumulating different papers for years, and my stash came in handy for this project. The green was leftover from my Mrs.Swift and Dreamer paper quilt projects from grad school, and the white is Japanese rice paper that I sometimes use for ink or printmaking. The only new paper is the rose colored one. It has the Hand of Fatima embossed in gold on the surface. Very pretty, and now I have a sheet of that left over for my collection :)

 

The Hold Up

Well, it's lovely to be done with school, even though I'll probably be puttering about there now and then all summer. It was a challenging year. The image I have of it is driving a car really fast, with my hair straight out behind me for nine months straight. It'll be really good to slow down.

    I'm looking forward to getting back to my own artwork. I walked by the plant painting yesterday, and I see some things to fix. And I see what should come next. I have a few other things I'm thinking about, too. Plus the traditional cleaning of the studio. And there is a mold making project at Ferris I've agreed to help with. But, I hope, all at a slow pace. Slow enough so my hair can be vertical again.

    First up, though, are these paper flowers for my niece's wedding shower. Twenty of them, coming up.

     

 

Ruh roh

   Well, this appeared a few days ago, and according to the plant books, it is a sign that the plant is experiencing mild stress. Admittedly, I let it get too dry, so that could be it. It is finals time, though. I wonder if plants are affected by my season? Stress or no, it's really pretty. What a lovely way to express it.

    I reckon I'll have to try to get this into the plant painting. Which, in a few days, I can get back to.