I've always wanted to make prints but didn't want to ivest in a printing press.  Also, being precise is not exactly my strength.

I have tried many substrates to "etch" marks into a plate but recently, found one I really liked. — Tetra Pak.  This is packaging material that is commonly found in grocery stores.  I found it by looking at the bottom of the chicken broth container I had in my fridge.  But I think you can also find it containing other fluids like milk, cream, etc.  

After rinsing out the container, I cut it into pieces (easy!) and used this as my "plate".  You can draw directly on the Tetra Pak or use tracing paper to transfer a design.  Then you use a sharp tool (I used an awl) to "etch" the lines onto the plate.  I used Speedball paints to fill in the indentations, wiped off all the ink from the plate and then printed onto a piece of paper using a brayer.  The image on the left is the print and the image on the right is the plate.  

I'm going to make a few of these so I can experiment with adding color to the image with watercolor or acrylic.  Should keep me busy for a couple of days!

Every year, The Book Arts Group in Boulder CO hosts an Ephemera Exchange.  I participated in this exchange last year and it was really fun so I did it again this year.

I bound together blank playing cards with some paper tape into an accordion book format and then went to town, painting, stamping, stenciling, and scribbling on all the pages.  I then closed the book with a belly band.

The group asks that you make 30 of the same thing and mail it by the end of January.  In March, I will recieve a complete set from the participating artists.  Can't wait to see everyone's creativity starting  2024 in a good way!

I'm still obsessed with grid paintings.

This is the first one I've made with watercolor.  I'm usually making these with liquid acrylics.  I like the effect of watercolor aas the colors meld into one anotheer, creating additional colors.  The black is Hi-Flow acrylic from Golden.  A Little goes a long way and I think it's the blackest paint I've ever used.  The contrast is wonderful and it looks totally matte with no brush strokes.

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I'm dealing with a lot of stress in my life right now and trying to find 1-2 hours to spend in my studio.
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But it's hard to "create" when your mind is consumed with other things.  So today, I decided to work on something that I already know how to do rather than exploring new ideas, materials and methods.  This kind of art-making gives me peace.  Something I know knitters also like.  A I finished this painting, it reminded me of Native American Art.  I am not a Native American but have always admired their craftsmanship and colorful ceremonial outfits. 

 I don't know what these leaves are pointing to — perhaps the unknown.  But the colorful background hopefully points to a joyous future ahead.  We'll see!

This is my last post for 2023.

It's also a time that we all think of giving to charity.  Mostly because this is the time when non-profits kick up their solicitations.  

One of my favorite charities is the Morgan Adams Foundation.  This is a charity that raises money to support childhood cancer research.  The hold an event every other year and 2024 is the next one.  They ask Artists to donate a piece of art for their auction.  This is my donation for next year.  It is one of my Artist Rolodex Books containing 100 unique mixed media pages.

Last time, I donated a piece of fabric art (hand dyed and stitched) and it won an award that gave me the opportunity to have an exhibit at Space Gallery here in Denver.  The piece also sold for $500.  They treat artists well, telling us who bought our piece and for what amount.  they also give us 2 free tickets to the event.  I skipped the last one (due to Covid) but plan to attend the next one.

This is a great cause so if you have a piece of art you would like to donate, here's the website.

​Happy New Year everyone!

Lately, I've been having fun making some Japanese Rice Bags.  These bags ere used to take rice to the temples during holidays.

Also, I'm drawn to hand stitching these days.  So making these bags couples my love of embroidery and machine stitching.  

I think it's interesting how my artistic life goes through stages.  I try something new and if I liked the process, I'll do it for weeks until something else captures my attention and I repeat the process.  To me, being an artist is all about letting my mind wander and my hands learning new skills.  Eventually, it all comes together and I wonder "Why haven't I done this for years?"

And so it is with embroidery.  I loved doing this when I was making Stupendous Stitching pieces but stoppd for more than 5 years.  Now that I'm doing it again (in a different way) I remembered why hand stitching was so satisfying.  

​My current dilemma is finding the perfect needle that is sharp enough to sew through batiks and btting  like butter and has an eye large enough to handle pearl cotton thread and 5 strand embroidery floss.  Any ideas will be much appreciated!

I have lots of acrylic paints in my stash but never know how they all interact.

So I like to paint different swatches.  Here's what I painted today  Sure, I know about the color wheel and what colors are supposed to work with other colors but that seems to proscribed to me. 

I think artists need to discover their own color voice and that's why I just wing it and see what appeals to me.

I encourage you to do this too!  Ignore the rules and just paint!
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I haven't made a traditional quilt in many years but when my niece had a baby boy, I needed to make one.

Of course, I didn't want to make a pattern so I designed my own.  My sister-in-law told me that babies can only see black & white in their early months so I chose that as my color palette.  I hand cut all the letters and did some blanket stitching to attach them to some white fabric.  

I loved this photo that my niece sent me after she received my gift.  

My sister-in-law sent me an art piece she created by being inspired by "The Creative Cove" on YouTube.  I loved it and went to her channel to see what she was doing,  And I got hooked.

Her techniques (watercolor, black & white markers, and lines and circles creating patterns around leaves and other nature images) while not original but how she combined them was.
At least to me.

So now, I've spent the last few days creating my own pieces with these techniques and loving how the addition of large black sections, softened by white dots, make the work so interesting!  

​This piece is the second one I made and I'm just having a good time.