Staying cool

The temperatures are in the 100's this week, so I am staying inside and doing quiet projects!

Here are some more sketchbook pieces influence by Rebecca Blair. There is so much much to learn in these exercises, balance, design, techniques and color.

The mandala for this month was done with markers and colored pencil.

A Study of Figures

Until May 10th, there is a figure drawing show at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center. 

Here are two pieces that I submitted.

This was thread drawn on fabric. I'm happy to be moving in this direction. Trying something new!

Using the same image, I did a fabric collage figure. I was going to use the same method on the background, but realized that I had this glorious cotton fabric that I had dyed. Each piece is 11 x 14".

Tonight I was trying to be motivated to draw and realized that my husband was sleeping in his chair and was, therefore, a perfect model. Golly, he even recognized himself after his nap!

A sketch and a collage

A friend has a '56 Chevy so we went to a small gathering of classic car buffs at a local eating spot. I sat in front of this truck that was completely build by the owner. Such a labor of love! There was wood on the sides of the truck bed that had precise cut out letters. Very impressive.

My art quilt group issued a challenge for this month, to create a paper collage that is approximately 8 1/2 by 11". I had so much fun this this project.

There is a new website that I'd love to share. It's Wild Sage Art that Mabel Dean has started. Her work is soooo interesting and creative (which is the key word as you'll discover on her site). Hope that you can take a moment to check out her varied work.

A True Mixed Bag

This post is truly a mixed bag. I did purchase some paper that is recommended for pastel, as I decided not to wait until September. (Why did I think that I had to wait?) The piece is a 40 minute figure drawing that I did in Friday's class.



Onward to a quilt block. I have wanted to do a kaleidoscope piece for a long time and finally found the courage as I have a art quilt that I'm making. This idea comes from Paula Nadelstern's fantastic pieces which are highlighted in two books that I have by her: Kaleidoscope Quilts and Kaleidoscope Quilts The Workbook. While reading her text, she is generous about not perfect seams, they may come with practice. After I finished this piece, I realized that it's to big for the specific project that I'm working on. Yes, it will be used in another quilt.



Last is a real off the wall piece. One day when we were golfing with our friends, I picked up a broken tee and said that there must be an art piece waiting to happen. We have a larger piece in mind, but I had to see how it would work. I first painted the 6x6" canvas with acrylic paint (several layers, of course) and then glued the tees. When I was finished I coated the tees with a medium gloss as an extra coat of glue. This piece was finished inside my cool house, as it was 105 degrees yesterday.



Oh gee! there are so many more projects to try!!