Thursday 14 March 2024

Time has gone flashing by...

 ...this week, and precious little has been spent playing in the studio.  I've been scanning reams of photos from decades past, learning more than I ever wanted to know about running a condo assocation (as I've taken on the presidency of same this past week), and only yesterday got a chance to throw some paint.  Given that it was Golden High Flow, though, it was satisfying to the max to see it run, pool and play on the 20 x 16 textured surface I started some weeks back.


The above photo is fun given it shows the paint before it starts drying, and that's one of my favourite parts.  I really must do a slowed-down video of the process so I can go all googly-eyed as I watch it over and over. 



And I managed to get started on a small watercolour using one of my newly-sorted vintage photos.  This one is circa 1947 or so.





You can see with the-speed-of-light-diligent work, I've managed to get it to the truly ugly stage of the process; I can only hope it improves significantly over the coming week.  🤣

How has your week gone?  I'm hoping you managed to use a great deal of your physical or digital stash creating something beautiful.  Let me know in the comments, won't you?

Thursday 7 March 2024

The photo/document sort...

 ...and purge continues.  This week I've been ironing documents (and there's a phrase I never expected to use).  A small suitcase, well over a hundred years old, turned out to be full of scrunched up/rolled up/creased and abused documents from my maternal grandparents, both born in the 1880's.  My grandmother's birth certificate, some of which is written in Gaelic, shows her born October 13, 1886, in Clontonacally, district of Ballylesson, county Down, Ireland.  The document measures 7 1/4" x 16 1/4" in size, a fair bit bigger than the wallet size ones I have.


I was amused to find two copies of my grandfather Anderson's baptism certificate, and I'm sure there's a story behind that.  Did his mother request one that was legible after receiving the first scratched-out one?  I've love to know what happened there. 


I found a photo of my maternal great-grandmother, Eliza Jane Maxwell, and she looks a right matriarch, doesn't she?


It makes me laugh to look at this since I can see a similarity between her and a recent  4 a.m. gag photo I took for my kids (entitled Bedhead with Family).


Can it really be true that the family genetics are that strong??!!

With all the sorting and ironing, I had little time this week for studio play, apart from sporadic working on a piece of scrap that had a watercolour technique start.  Given I know next to nothing about watercolour, that was pretty much a fail, but the followup has been fun.

And surely I'll get back to the creative side of the studio soon...I just have to clear all these pieces of memory first!  Hope your week has been fun-filled and warm with the light of inspiration.

Thursday 29 February 2024

There have been some strange things...

... going on in the studio this past week, and I've twice emptied the recycle bin.  It's a very big one too.


Boxes and boxes of old photos have been disassembled, sorted and earmarked for family, dating back to my grandparents' time (and they were born in the late 1800's).  What a job!

In the process, I found some really pretty folios like this one, among other things.  Now I've got a file of background jpegs that are out of this world (and from a previous one).


If you've got any suggestions as to what to do with some 500+ old and/or vintage photos, I'd love to hear about them.  Ideas that will eliminate, and make useful, all of them at once would be golden!

To counteract all that grey, brown, black and white, I made a little book to house some of my favourite tags.  It was such fun to make and I learned so much that I can see some more appearing faintly on the horizon.


Between the frou-frou hat and the fancy belt, I think she looks pretty swank, don't you?







Here's to a beutifully creative week for you, and if you have an outstanding idea for those photos, I'd love to hear it in the comments.  

Thursday 22 February 2024

Another week...

...and more colour.  Isn't life just grand?!  I've been working sporadically since November on a 20 x 16"  experimentally textured gallery wrap canvas and it's just about as much colour as the eyes can manage.  You can see the start of it here if you'd like to check the beginning; the first photo below is the entirety -  so far.  


There are parts of it that I really love, 



and parts of it that show possibilities.  


Some areas need additional colour variation,


and others have not yet started to sing their song at all.


As always, I'm intrigued by the colour and texture, 


and so much enjoy the transitions from one area to another.


It's going to be a blast (or a fiasco) to finish, regardless. 😉

I hope your studio is filled with as much enjoyment as this one is, and you're playing with all your favourite things.   Happy, happy days ahead!  

Thursday 15 February 2024

Twice is nice....

,,,so we did it again!  Another bookmark making party this past weekend had more fun-lovers in the studio.  Eileen, Laura, Brenda and Maureen joined me for a fast-moving morning, with more fabulous bookmarks made.







The group was so intent on their 'job' (aka play) that the room was surprisingly quiet and these bookmarks came off the line at a great rate!


With nearly 100 bookmarks made in the two separate sessions, the library will have some brisk business in bookmarks in the coming weeks.  Thanks to all the women who made this happen - Carol, Jacqueline, Gwen, Jean, Eileen, Laura, Brenda and Maureen.  You are all creative rockstars!!  And thanks for shrinking my paper stash...I'm so excited to make more!  💗

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...