I've been working on a kot of grid paintings in my journal. Now, I am working on 4" x 4" tiles that are the same as grids but can be rotated and moved around a lot to different compositions. I really like this way of creating grids. Here is my first one. It's pretty busy so I don't know where my eye is going. Maybe to just give me a headache! But it shows the power of black & white.
1 Comment
I took a free online class from Jessica Ybarra . It made me interested in weaving. I have lots of yarns and roving from other experiements I have done in fiber art and the loom was pretty inexpensive so I thought I would give it a try.
I like how it sits on the loom so I'm unsure of what to do next. If I leave it on the loom, as kind of a frame, I can't make any more unless I buy another loom! My brother is a wood worker so maybe he can make me a few similar looms. I don't mind paying since this is like paying for framing of some of my mixed media works. I also think I will add more weavings to cover more of the white string (warp?) at the top. I can say this is very zen. No pressure. No pattern. No idea how it will look in the end. Just my kind of art-making! I love making paper. Sometimes, I make it from pulp and sometimes, I just print, stamp, paint on watercolor or mixed media paper. But now, I have a LOT of papers!
So how to use all this paper? I've started to collage these papers into new compositions. Here's one I did recently. I machine stitched around the edges to give it a mixed media feel. Not sure I liked that but will continue to experiment as I continue to collage my papers in the future. If you would come to my studio, you would see lots of notebooks, filled with my efforts to mix colors together to make new colors. I usually do this using "tags" so I can re-arrange a color palette and know what it might look like.
For this exercise, I wanted to know how my colors would contrast with black, since black has always been a color I have struggled with but always liked in the end. It was also fun to see more colors on the page together in a group. I tend to sort my paints along the colors of the color wheel because I know that analogous colors always work. I have to say, after years of making these "swatches" I rarely go back and visit them but the process, in itself, is training my mind in a way I never imagined. This process is developing my "intuition" and I think that's what is the underpinning of the advent of AI these days. If you train your mind (or computer) on lots of information from a variety of sources, then your mind begins to see the world through a different lens. Hmmm. Getting too psychological for this Saturday night! Mindful Stitching is a movement that uses hand stitching to quiet the mind. At least, that's how I understand it.
I've never been into meditation so I'm sure there is more to this movement but I decided to use a running stitch with 4 different variegated threads to cover a piece of mud cloth. Of course, I broke all the rules by listening to the radio while I was working instead of stitching in silence. I've never been a fan of "getting in touch with your inner self" but will confess to having my palm read a couple of times. I have no idea what I will do with this cloth but I can tell you, the process was fun and fulfilling, and I'm all about process! (AND, I love hand stitching!) Before all the leaves fall from the trees, I decided to collect some and try to preserve them for creating art. In order to do this, I coat them with gel medium and this seems to work to preserve them for using them as resists or stamps.
One of the things I've learned over the years is when a painting is horrible, keep working on it. Sometimes, your idea and palette doesn't mesh right away. But instead of giving up and throwing the panels out the window, there are several ways you can rescue it.
First of all, stop working on it for a day or two or even a week. Things look different when taking a break. Secondly, you can always start from scratch and paint over the whole piece with white acrylic or gesso. Thirdly, (which I used in this case) keep adding more paint and layers. I worked on this piece for days and finally came out with something I loved. Whew! Every year on the first Tuesday of September, artists all over the world participate in "Art Drop Day". I've been doing this for several years and this year, I will be "dropping" some artist books in Denver at cheesman Park and the Botanic gardens.
So matter where you live, keep your eye out for surprises along your walking route. I hope you all find some free art that brightens your day! I'm really having fun doing these black & white studies. After a few pages in my sketchbook, I've come up with a process.
I start by using an "ink blot" technique to provide the first layer. (This is where you squirt black acrylic ink onto one side of the page and then close the book to repeat a reverse image on the next side of the page, creating a spread). Then, I'm using stencils with black ink. Then I add collage. It's amazing how adding each step in the process informs the next step. Very freeing and fun! |
Carol Ann WaughI am a mixed media artist and love color and texture! Archive
March 2024
Categories |