Collected Truths

8"x10" 

Mixed Media on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Busy week....lots to say come next week.  Have a great weekend....

New Art Connections............

Love, love, love this tree.  It sits just down the road from my kids old elementary school and everytime I drive by I always wish I'd had my camera.  I've been playing around with ideas for how I'm going to put it into a piece so I think come tomorrow I'll have things cleaned up enough in the studio to begin.


Saturday I was checking out one of my fav sites which is Art Interiors, a gallery in Toronto that I simply love, when I came across an artist's work that really resonated with me.  Found her website and then her blog and dropped her an email.  If I come across an artist's work that I really like I always email them. Maybe I'll get an email back or maybe I won't but that's not the important part..... I personally feel that I want to express my appreciation and enjoyment of their work... just another quirkly little thing with me.  Her name is Rita Vindedzis and she did send me back a great email after reading some of my blog and we couldn't get over how much we have in common....both have teenagers, both in the arts, both are cat people, like Starbucks, live in Toronto (she does, my hometown) and strangely enough...have both had our work on Cityline.  Weird how things sometimes sync up like that.  Check out her blog..it's a good one.

New Work

Higher Ground

12"x16"

Tired But Productive

The Chosen Few

Work in Progress.....

Acrylic on Canvas

The Green Bench

Work in Progress......

Acrylic on Canvas

I'm hoping this post makes sense as I'm tired this a.m. and hopped up on too much caffeine. Woke upat 4:11 in the morning with "art inspirations" and couldn't get back to sleep. Wish those"art inspirations" would come to me when I'm struggling away in the studio and tossing everything I've done in the garbage. I finally drifted off around 5:30 just in time for the alarm to go off at 6:15. My youngest had a babminton tournament today and needed to be at the school for 7:00 a.m. to catch the bus. I am not a good morning person at the best of times and today was just another one of those mornings. Stopped at "Timmy's" on my way home and had a extra large double double which I never do so by the time I got home I was raring to go.

So another days passes and I still don't have my machine back. Probably my fault as I've been meaning to give them a call but they did say at least a week so I'm cutting them some slack. But I've been entertaining myself by painting quiet happily in my studio. Once these two are fnished I may sell them online or take them to a gallery.......not sure yet....... too tired to think it through.

I'm headed for a walk...................have a good one

Up Close & Personal

The Path

Work in Paint & Thread

A few days ago someone I consider to be a good friend and whose judgement I value, suggested that I take a few good closeup shots of my work. She thought it would be helpful for people to really see my stitches up close which would then give them a better understanding of how my art comes together and what it takes to make that happen. She's right of course (thanks Tracy)which then had me helplessly trying to figure out how to take a better photo when I'm much more of a "point and shoot" kinda girl.


Lighting is a key issue in photograpy or so I've heard. The lighting in my bedroom is generally the best especially between 10:00a.m. to noon so I decided to start in there. Not direct sunlight but still nice and bright. So I set up my easel and my artwork and got down to it. The first little while things were rather frustrating but after a bit of time had passed my daughter walked in and clued me into the macro button which is meant to be used for closeups. Duh? Why I didn't read the damn manual when I bought the thing is beyond me. For a split second I considered going to find it but then decided I probably wouldn't undertstand it anyway. Best to take instruction from my fourteen year old who surprisingly enough seems to be smarter than me. So with the clock ticking and more time passing I think I got a few pretty good shots........for a beginner of course. I am and continue to be a work in progress.
So here is a closeup of the piece I posted entitled "The Path". I think it gives you a better understanding of how tiny the stitches are and how many of them it takes to complete a very small area.

Here's the piece Harvest Sky and below are two closeup shots. The ground cover is completed in both wool and silk which gives it a very textured look.

When I did the Purple Hills Tour last weekend I can't tell you how many people thought my work was a painting. It's not until you get up close that you realize the combination of paint and thread. I find the two mediums together quite exciting as texture is what I continue to explore in all of my work. The way in which the two fuse together keeps me in the studio day after day searching for new ways in which to play and to create. My boo hooing days are over and I'm back at work.

New York Bound

Two

Work in Paint & Thread

Well I'm off! The trip I've been enthusiastically planning for the past eight months is about ready to roll. I can't tell you how excited I am. I will take plenty of pictures to share with you when I get home......so much so that after a while you'll be thinking "This trip feels like it went on forever, will she ever shut up?".

Hope all is well in your part of the world............see ya

Looks Like A White Christmas

The weather has been crazy here these last few days. I don't remember seeing this much snow fall consistently in a very long time. Both of my kids have had two snow days in a row.......lucky me. Although my oldest made thimble cookies yesterday so that was a wonderful treat. Today is the first day in which there have been no "weather warnings". The snow is definitely here to stay.

We have a big weekend planned. Friday night our oldest daughter takes part in the school play "High School Musical" at the Orillia Opera House. All of the kids have been working so very hard to make it all come together so we are looking forward to taking in the performance. On Saturday we will be joined by many of our friends on what I am calling "The Hunt for a Great Christmas Tree" (not very original but all that I could come up with this early in the a.m.). We have done this for years with the girls and it has become quite the tradition. Every year we usually head out with another family or two but lately it seems to have grown which is just fine with me. I think we have about twenty this year which includes kids of all ages. We sit on a tractor(it used to be a wagon pulled by horses but I haven't seen a horse around the last few years.....maybe they've retired) filled with hay bales and they proceed to take us out past reindeer and snow covered trees to a spot in which there seem to be thousands of Christmas Trees. It doesn't generally take us long to find a lovely one since they all seem to be perfect but it all comes down to a vote in the end. Everyone will come back here afterward for chili and refreshments. I will find a moment in which to look around the room and really see all the people that I care about.....together......enjoying themselves. Those moments of realization are so important in my life. Material things come and go and what we once thought we couldn't live without we now find at the back of our closet....forgotten...but how empty would our lives be without our friends and family who love us as much as we love them. When I think of it that way the little hairs on my arms stick up and I feel so very blessed.

Work in Progress

Thought I'd post a piece that is almost half completed. There is still much to be done but at the moment this is where I am with it. I think I'll leave the path painted rather than try to embroider it. At times, an overload of thread can cause the entire piece to be just too busy and heavy. I enjoy the contrast between the areas. It is a fine balance.

So for the many of you who have asked about my process, here is a quick run through.

I work from my own photos but do opt for creative license when it comes to moving things around. There is much prelimenary work that needs to be done before I even sit in front of the sewing machine. Colour choices for threads, design options, composition, size of completed work, a rough sketch, etc. This is not an art form for anyone who would like to start and finish a piece within a day.

Once these decisions are all ironed out (pun) I then begin to paint the cotton. With this piece I used a very light gray for the background, almost a wash. I really wanted the green of the trees to pop out against a neutral background. I then loosley painted in where my trees would be positioned as well as my grasses and shrubs. I used a much darker gray for the path and painted it about three times to not only achieve darkness but heaviness as well. Then off I went, the trees were completed in layer upon layer of five different threads. At this point I am following my basic painting of the tree trunks but winging it when it comes to the branches. I do find much of my work has now become spontaneous. Using a variety of browns on the trunks is imperative. Without many thread changes the work will appear flat and lifeless. I have just started on my first green and will probably end up using about eight before I'm done. I think I'll also add flowers to my shrubs to break things up a bit. So, after the work is completed I will then use a piece of quilt batting and loosely quilt it. I really like the added texture the batt brings to the piece and it also just pops everything out adding a three dimensional value to the artwork. Yes, it is an enormous amount of work but I love what I do and couldn't ever imagine doing anything else. I consider it a labour of love and a way to express myself that brings me unbelievable joy.

Till next time,

The Feel of Fall in The Air

I really don't like thinking that we are into August already. Here in Canada the summer is short enough but wow....today I can feel autumn around the corner. This morning as my kids were getting ready for music camp they began talking about back to school shopping and timetables. Kelly and I were just discussing the other day how autumn feels so much more like the new year coming in than January 1st ever did. It seems to signal all kinds of new change. Change isn't something I relish but am wise enough to understand (yes, it does come with getting older) that it is a constant in all our lives.

This small piece was sent off to the framers yesterday. I am quite pleased with it. I used acrylic paint on the sky and thread everywhere else. The flowers in the foreground are lavender as well as queen annes lace, which is growing profusely in my backyard.

Hope your well and not quite ready to let go of summer just yet.

Threadpainting

Today is shaping up to be a great day. My girlfriend Kelly is coming over for lunch and later this afternoon John and I are going to take our oldest daughter canoeing up the Green River. She and John will do some fly fishing while I sketch and take photos. My youngest is due to return from camp tomorrow afternoon. It will be so good to have her home.

This piece that I have posted "Fields of Yellow" just came back from the framers yesterday and they did a fantastic job. I photographed it before it was framed as it is impossible once the glass goes on due to the glare. I chose a wide white matt with a very simple mahogany frame. I am quite pleased. I am headed up the the Silverbridge Gallery next Thursday to drop off the new work.

This piece and "The View From Here", which I will post next, are experiments in threadpainting. "Fields of Yellow" is only about 5"x7" without the frame but it took me days of work to complete it due to how labor intensive it was. The entire artwork is covered in thread and nothing else. Time consuming? Yes, but totally worthwhile. I love being able to present a more realistic piece which is the direction I see my art headed in. This week I have also been working on a piece that will involve acrylic paint and thread. It was inspired by a photo I took the last time I was in Toronto........when it is finished I will post it and you can let me know what you think

As a side note.......from the bottom of my heart I would like to thank everyone who emailed me personally with words of support for the loss of our cat Jamoca. It reminds me of how much love and compassion there really is in the world. It was much appreciated.

Hanging On By A Thread

Yes, this really is the name of this artwork which will be a part of the show I am doing at the Double Doors Studio in June. Actually this piece just about sums up how I've been feeling this last week. Lots of stuff going on with the kids, the husband, the cats........poor Jamoca who is 20 years old is having a hard time of it. I think dementia has set in. She hisses at the wall, the refrigerator, the plant, etc. all the time. Kind of sad but kind of funny too. The girls and I giggle but not when she's around.

I've been particularly busy trying to get finished for the show........always a struggle when your on a deadline. Reminder to self.....more artwork....less housecleaning.

We are putting in hardwood floors this spring so I am debating painting as it is the perfect time to do it. The walls look rather sad and I'm sure would love a fresh coat of paint. We have an interior decorator, Lisa Freeman in town and I have seen some of her work.......outstanding. So she came over yesterday to help me choose a colour. She remarked on one of my pieces of artwork, Cold Wind Blowing (see my first post) and I took her into my studio and lo and behold she loved my work. She will be putting a piece of art and a little blurb about me in her next newsletter. Thanks Lisa

Well, must run.....I have to send off one of my images to the printer for the invite for the show, more laundry needs to be hung on the line, I can hear Jamoca hissing upstairs and tonight I am volunteering to make salad for my youngest daughter's play at school..........oh, and of course the studio is calling. Be well,