Getting back to art

Whether painting or doing fiber art, one often reaches an ugly stage. In order to be successful, one must learn to push past that stage, often ending with a satisfying piece. Last spring and this summer I’ve been a bit lost, becoming dissatisfied and indecisive and giving up rather  than moving forward. It takes some courage and confidence to continue on and I think I may have lost some of that. 

I’ve had a busy summer with a lot of family gatherings, some travel and some ups and downs in health that certainly played a part. Studio times were shorter and so I worked on smaller fun pieces with Gelli prints and zippered pouches.

I have a busy schedule going to the gym 3 times a week, walking and occasionally fishing, something I’m learning to do. I go once a week to a knitting group. These things are necessary for a healthy body and mind. 

These are the socks I’m making. I’m using a hand dyed merino mix.

I’m determined to get back to a regularly schedule of studio time. One piece that I started and abandoned last year is the surfer. It was and still may be in that unsatisfactory stage. I’ve done a wee bit of picking and I added some fusible pieces.

I’m ready to finish the free motion work. We’ll see how it goes. I feel it’s important to keep going if only it’s a learning experience.

I’ve also been thinking about what I’d like to do next, wondering if I might change my way of working. I wanted to experiment with some images form our Nfld trip but thought it might be better to try some small pieces first. While away, I saw some very expressive paintings at one of the shops and really liked them. For that reason, I’m taking an on line course from Rebecca Sower who is a mixed media artist who uses a lot of expressive color and lines in her work.

I penciled in the quick outline onto 8” by 10” cotton fabric and started laying on some color with Inktense pencils and crayons.

Once dry and heat set, I’ll back it with stabilizer and  add some thread-work. I’m really hoping I can keep it loose and the lines to a minimum. We will see.