Playing with Gelli printing

I've been wanting to take a morning to do some mono printing on fabric and decided  today was the day. I started by gathering supplies:

white cotton sateen
fabric paints,
the Gelli
Baby wipes
water
rags
foam brushes
lots of previously dried and pressed plant material
brayer

It's like being a kid again, rolling out and dabbing paints on the Gelli plate, laying on various plant materials, and taking the plunge by placing the piece of plain white fabric on top of it all, and rubbing well.

Pulling off the fabric and finding the print is so fun!

I think those were bits of Queen Anne's lace.

The one above had a spot where the paint wasn't transferring so I dampened the fabric slightly and rubbed it. I like the effect.

The one above was printed twice. I think the flowers in pink are astilbe.

I had a hard time to stop myself for lunch.

After I cleaned up a bit,( at least the brushes and paint stuff) I grabbed a quick lunch with leftover salad fixings --greens, Vietnamese pickled beans, tuna salad, sliced turkey. Then, I sat long enough to have a cup of tea while I had the hot bag on my back. I actually debated sitting with my knitting for a while but I really wanted to get the rest of the background painted on the birch trees and I knew it would only take a half hour.

Also, I needed to get the zucchini for the supper frittata grated to sit and drain a bit this afternoon.

This piece was done as a demo so I hadn't finished all the way across the scene.

The trees on the right are not in their permanent position. I laid them out to add the shading and grey areas to them.

I've accomplished what I wanted to today. I'm taking a break and getting ready for my little bike ride with my friend Alma. I'll have a glass of tomato juice my new go to snack.

If hubby wants to kayak to-night, I may be too tired, lol! It's beautiful out. Maybe he'll decide to go to the golf course. e do want to pick up our kayaks from the beach so we can have them here to go to Mt Carlton-- a beautiful wilderness park in central NB--for the day on the weekend.

Do you feel  there just aren't enough hours in the day, nor enough energy to do everything you want? I feel it, all the while keeping my 2015 word, focus, in mind. It's hard to reign in my creative mind sometimes. I try to jot things down which will allow me to continue on with what I'm doing in a more focused way. I often need to rest and I think it's good to sit quietly for part of the day, often with knitting in hands.

Exercise is important too. I've signed up to start a yoga class in two weeks. Now, I'm going to have my tomato juice with a few almonds and get ready to bicycle around the neighborhood.

Sketching and Painting on Paper and Fabric

You know I really do go through my day lost in my thoughts and musing about my fiber art pieces and how I might proceed. Since my word for the year is 'focus', sometimes it seems I'm not doing a great job. I have been trying to focus on being present when I'm eating, doing yoga, and exercising at least. The rest of the time I dream away.

Like many Atlantic coasters, we had a big storm yesterday; the wind and the drifting have continued today, and so, many things including highways are closed. I ventured out for a while this morning to clear the front walk and the bird feeder on the back deck. No sooner did I close the door, the birds swarmed in. While making my lunch, I got caught up in the antics.

This goldfinch was sitting on the clothes line right in front of the window and seemed to be watching me

I really felt the curious stare of this pine siskin.

My kitchen window is such a bright sunny place and I've often dreamed of having a small bay window filled with plants. While this isn't affordable at the moment, some pictures on Pinterest inspired me to add some greenery around the area.

I dragged out a macrame hanger that I made some 30 years ago! I've seen a comeback of them on the net. My husband put a hook into the ceiling and I put it up this morning.

He's also going to replace the pine shelves with wider and longer boards so I'll have more plant space.

I want to add another small shelf on the lower right and then I'll have lots of green space.

I often don't know just what I'll pick up to work on when I walk into my studio.

My intention today, was to add more thread painting to my current fiber art, but upon entering  the studio, I got distracted by my open sketchbook with the sketch that I did of more shanties yesterday.

Some white cotton fabric was still resting near my iron ready to be drawn upon. What could I do? I quickly traced a few lines onto the cotton and then used my Inktense pencils, The Neocolor II crayons and my water-brush to add some washes.

The photo above is still wet; there is some bleeding (it's a challenge to know just how much water to use on the cotton) and the colors will fade some as they dry. I never know if it will work, but often once it is dried and heat proofed, the stitching will add definition..

Happy Monday! I hope you're having a good one, maybe with a bit of creativity-- even it's hanging a plant or making dinner-- wherever you live. I'd love to know what you're up to.

Settled and content

We awakened to -28C temperatures this morning with beautiful crisp wintry blue skies. It has been one of those wondrous winter days with the temperatures gradually warming to -11C this afternoon.
Oh, over the last couple of weeks, how I've discovered that an aging menopausal woman does not do well with disruptions and change, albeit small ones such as we've had.
At yoga this morning, I finally felt a sense of peace, breathing deeply and stretching.
when I returned and entered the front door, the warmth of my living room with the focus wall (there's my word of the year again)and its new paint color and the recycled furniture from the rec room is now finally welcoming to me.

It'll be even better once Ive put up some of my artwork.

The green and the taupe/plum color sing to me.

Yesterday, at my sewing day, I finished the two little zippered pouches. The pattern is Bridgets's Bagetttes by Atkinson Designs.

I forgot to take a picture of the first one which I gave to a friend as a birthday gift at lunch today.
The inside. One of my prints.

After lunch, the trail was calling to me, but so was my current fiber art piece. I took the time to paint some of the background for my rocks.

I'm not completely satisfied with it; however,  I'm still happy. I think I'll do another one and leave more sky showing through. I'm happy because it was a fun process and I know how I want it to be.

A perfect end to my afternoon-- getting out on the trail. They are quite well trodden and with poles for support, fairly good under foot. So many things to be happy about today.

a satisfying yoga class
a birthday lunch with a friend
painting again
the aura of winter sunlight emanating from my studio this morning
the crisp but slowly warming winter air
the long shadows of a winter afternoon

 blue sky

Linking to

the glow of the birch tree stand

is it any wonder that I'm continually captivated by birch trees?

I take the time to breathe deeply, taking into my lungs and body, the frosty air, the blue sky, the sparkling snow

I leaned a little heavily on the poles to get home. I will need an ice pack later. A fair trade for a lovely day.

I'm linking to the  Needle and Thread Network.