Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Stitches That Bind


Oh my, this was just too much fun to make! I have been itching to do another encaustic / textile mixed media piece. My girls both had the flu this past week and there has been little time to sleep nor play. As soon as fevers subsided and laundry cleaned, I ran to the studio for some art therapy!

This was done on a mounted canvas. I pulled out one of my easels and acrylic paints with glee. I then layered it with the quilting cotton fabric (they are from Blend, Charlotte Lyons line - Walnut Hill Farm) I embroidered on linen the following quote - "Reinforce the stitch that ties us, and I will do the same for you". They were embedded into the canvas with warm, hot beeswax.

I wanted something more.. Something organic. I wanted to have some free motion sketching on the canvas, but I did not want to cover up more of the paint with chunks of fabric. I had an idea!

I knew that you could create free standing lace by stitching soluble stabilizer and tulle. I wondered if I could do that with just free motion sketching and if the hot buttery wax could melt the stabilizer. And it did! Looking back I could have washed off the stabilizer, dried it and then embedded... Oh well, maybe I will try that next week.

This was such a fun treat to make after a week of some ickiness.
I think it is the perfect Valentine art and just placed it on Etsy.. 


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Big Dream List

Last year I found and become obsessed with Create Mixed Media's podcasts. I love hearing from artists: their techniques, their loves and their tips. In one of the podcasts, the artist spoke for several minutes on the importance of creating a "big dream" list. Basically you sit down and meditate over what are the largest goals/dreams that you can imagine for your life. I heard in an interview with Jim Carrey that he did something similar, he wrote himself a check for one million dollars and had a deadline. It's not voodoo or something equally mythical. It's making yourself really question what you want and then holding yourself accountable for achieving those goals in your lifetime.

I am huge on lists. I have a ridiculous amount of notebooks and planners. I have a list for my daily and monthly action items among other extraneous ones. However, I did not have a big dream list. I figured why not, right? Last year I had decided I was not going to be mainstream when it made me uncomfortable, I didn't want to create the same item over and over, I didn't care if my art was sold or accepted. All that freedom left me with lots of free room, but not much direction. Sitting down to create this list was hard!

Actual list created last year!

I want enough money to contribute to our home, I want to inspire, I want some level of acknowledgment and acceptance in my inner circles, and I want a wee bit of fame. I knew this list was supposed to be a BIG dream list, but it had to be true to me too.

Now like I said, it's not magic making them happen. Once the list is completed, you are to write another list. A list of what YOU have to do to make those dreams a realistic goal. For every single one of these goals, the answer was to CREATE MORE. I needed to work more, more authentic, creating those images that have been dancing in my head.

And so I have focused on creating.It's a hard balance with family, as a mother of two young girls and another baby on the way.. they are my first priority. However in the wee hours of the night and naps, I have worked.

This past weekend, I was blessed with this email from Jenny Doh..


I was able to mark my first goal as completed! Later this year I will be a Guest Curator on Crescendoh! I'm beyond excited. I wanted this because Jenny is one of my most favorite role models. I adore everything she creates, she spends her life inspiring others and spotlighting others, she is just amazing in so many ways. And as a Guest Curator, this opportunity is not a hot spotlight on me. I spend the week spotlighting artists I adore! Isn't that awesome? And there is a post about my personal experience with Art Saves.

I hope that you will consider writing a big dream list. And don't hide it away, don't forget about it, don't be embarrassed about it. Honestly I was bit frightened to publish my list on Instagram and now here, it makes my most precious dreams vulnerable to others. 
But dreaming big requires big leaps of faith.
So go do it..


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Poisoned Apple - Completed Piece



I loved this process so much.. I can't wait to get started on another!



Monday, January 21, 2013

Poisoned Apple - WIP


It's no surprise that my girls are huge Disney nuts.. Considering how much my Mum and I love the movies and the park, it was their destiny to be little princesses. And as much as I love Disney, sometimes when Tangled or Snow White seems to play endlessly in our home.. I tend to well, think darker thoughts..

I've wanted to do a poisoned apple clutch for awhile now and finally had some time this weekend to play. There are so many types of pigment on this Kona white cotton. I used my Inktense pencils, silk dye, dye-na-flow, lumiere paint, and good 'ol fabric paint. This picture is before I went free motion crazy on it.

I just couldn't bear to cut it up into a single purse. I wanted to keep it for myself, a number of friends have love for it and I wanted to offer it in the shop. What to do?

I decided to take a number of high resolution pictures of the fabric and I'm going to reprint them at Spoonflower. I have NO idea how I will like the end result..but experimenting can be fun.

As for the original? I've also been wanting to mix fabric art with encaustic techniques.. So that is what I will be working on tonight..


Friday, January 18, 2013

Inktense Fun With Machine Embroidery

Earlier this week I really wanted to play more with the Inktense pencils. And as much I as enjoy free motion sketching, I really wanted to just focus on playing with the pencils and not get caught up in critiquing my  thread sketching. I decided I would use my machine embroidery for a quick and beautiful canvas. This deer head pattern was purchased from Urban Threads.


I originally had intended for this to be a masculine gift item, but after having fun with the Inktense pencils.. I decided to go down a more feminine route. I simply can't get over how the pencils come alive with a bit of liquid. Right now I tend to paint over it with a 1:1 mixture of water and fabric medium -- it gives me great control without any bleeding issues.



I decided to piece it into an tote with an improv quilt style. I really wanted to keep it, but in the end I decided to list it on Etsy. If you are interested it is $35.00 and listed here. I'm not sure how much I'll be making items for the Etsy shop, but by request I am trying to create more artistic works into an item that can be worn or used.

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