Back to the board!

Many of you might know that I mount all of my Stupendous Stitching pieces onto wooden panels.  My Stitch & Slash pieces hang freely or are made into totes or pillows.  My Conversation series also hang freely since they are too large to be mounted on boards.

So, I had several panels left over this year and decided to see what I could do with them.

I started watching some YouTube videos made by Tom Quigley.  I fell in love with his friendly and easy-to-listen-to instructions (not so true with other YouTube instructors!).  This video was one of my favorites (since I love TEXTURE!)

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGhn6oWirNQ

I had a lot of fun combining all his techniques into one piece of art.  Of course, I knew of some of these techniques before (like using coffee as a paint) but learned some new things like creating a crackle effect with shipping tape.  

Watching artists work is one of my favorite pastimes.  I always learn something new and am always inspired by hearing what is going on in their head while they are creating.

While viewing several videos during a week can make you feel a little disoriented (what to do???), my advice is not to follow someone step-by-step but to view the video as giving you some new ways to approach your next artwork or to pick up a new tip.  You always need to create your own work, not by copying someone else (although this alone can hone your skills) but accumulating enough information in your brain so that when you ask "what's missing?" or "why do I like this part?", the answer comes naturally.

Am I making sense?