Flitting Away

Thanks to Google Images

 

Tomorrow we'll be flying out west.  Hopefully our transportation will turn out to be more substantial than this one appears to be.

As it happens we'll be visiting Taos, New Mexico where Kit Carson once had a home and then move on to Nevada where we'll again encounter Kit Carson, this time in statue form dedicated to his presence in that area.  That guy really got around!

See you in a little while...

"I have seized the light.  I have arrested its flight." - Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre

Here we go again...

 

I find myself at a crossroads right now – you know the kind where a directional sign all of a sudden appears to beckon me.  I’ve been here before – many times. Through book arts and beading, punchneedle and embroidered stitcheries and of course in between here and there, doll making in one form or another.

So what direction are the signs showing?  Punchneedle is dominating them – not the traditional designs mind you – but experimentation - finding out the possibilities of adding fabric or paper  or even metal to the design - thinking about adding natural objects and found objects to a piece or two.

I think there is something within me that yearns to go back to the kind of work that is a bit more portable.  It can be stopped and started with little conflict.  It can be worked on in little bits of time or longer time spans.  Perhaps it’s the time of the year – that time when I long to be outside on the screened in porch, or sitting at the desk in my studio that looks out upon the side garden and its small pond and beautiful plantings.  I want the flexibility of movement, the freedom to stop and start as life presents me with the perfect day to be out and about.

 Are you in for another journey with me?  We’ll see where this particular path takes me at this particular time.

"The good life is a process, not a state of being.  It is a direction not a destination." - Carl Rogers

"Design Seeds"

 

Have you met Jessica Colaluca?  If not, you must do so...

I call her a color collector as she graciously shares with us color combinations along with lovely pictures.

I can't tell you how much I enjoy viewing this site - filled with nature, color and shade combinations I might never have thought of myself.

I've been trying to work with some new colors in my own life and Design Seeds  has given me a whole new world to discover.

Wander over to Jessica's site - I promise you'll be amazed.

"Color does not add a pleasant quality to design - it reinforces it." - Pierre Bonnard

Snails pace?

spring fever, a listless, lazy feeling felt by some people at the beginning of spring weather.

 

Is this what I have?  Moving ever so slowly and not really getting anywhere.  For several weeks now - as the sun has finally come out and the weather warms - I am having a very hard time getting back to doll work.  What is the matter with me?  I have a list of themes, I have heads all ready for attaching and yet I can't even begin to think about sitting down at my table and actually making more progress than that.

I think I am adrift in a sea of possibilities. The strangest thing is that I'm perfectly willing to plow in and clean the screened porch top to bottom; clean closets and wash everything in sight; actually do a weekly cleaning of the house (now I know there's something wrong).

Mr. Finch's snails

I seem to have gotten off my creative path.  I'm trying to be patient with my snail's pace, hoping the 'zest' will pop up one day and my hands will be flying again. 

In a little over a week we'll be traveling out west -- I hope during that time I will become so homesick for my studio that when I get back my mind will be focused and my hands will be busy.  For now though, I guess I'll just enjoy the welcome spring weather and let time be my friend.

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us." - Henry David Thoreau

Who do you know who...

...wakes up in the middle of the night to realize she forgot to put the ears on the newly sculptured heads that she'd made the day before?

...searches the 'kitchen' stores for funnels, tea strainers and little espresso machine thingee's - all with the idea that they might make good hats?

...has enough colored paper napkins to serve tea to the Queen every day for a year?

Guess what -- you know me!

"Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy." - Sigmund Freud

Here comes the sun...

 

The other day I looked down at my feet to see sunshine, yes actual sunshine covering part of the wood floor beneath me.

I looked at my studio window to see the sun coming in, lighting my way.

I walked down to our small pond and found sun on the water...

...and sun shining on the base of a tall, old tree.

Spring has come and with it the sunshine I've craved for months.

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

(thank you to the Beatles)

A Clean Work Table

How long do you think this will last?  For weeks I've worked in a small space of this table. While all manner of paint and paper, glue and clay filled the rest of the space.  I doubt if this order and emptiness will last long -- but then I don't want it to -- mess is the small price I pay to do what I love.

"To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now." - Samuel Beckett 

"Harbinger"

Harbinger n. one who goes before and makes known the approach of another.

This gentle figure has been very patient with me.  As I worked on him - using the newspaper armature process - then covering all with paper clay - he sat there quietly.  As his body developed a bit off center, he made not a sound of complaint. 

Toward the end of the process -- when a head piece was needed -- I decided that at the very least he deserved a crown.

He also deserved, and got, a colorful set of clothes with a button that looks like it was made specifically for him.  I'm looking forward to having him watch over me as a whole new series based on his model come to life.  Hopefully each of them will be as patient as he has been.

"Find patience in the breath of life." - Ryunosuke Satoro

Its Getting Crowded Around Here

 

Its getting a bit crowded in my little area of the world.  Time to think about wishing good travels to some of my friends.  To this end I've begun a new blog -- devoted to sending these 'little people' on their way.  This blog will be somewhat erratic - as I'll only be posting as I have new pieces to add.

If you have a chance, please stop over at  Penny's People  and see who's hanging around.

"Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door." - Emily Dickinson