Going Three-D

I am on a roll with this SEWN class! I made some paper houses for an upcoming show I want to submit to called Structure. Here's one of them:

That got me thinking about using the SEWN paper to go three-D somehow. I had some waxed 8x8s from an array I did for a show in May 2012 called ***love***desire***relationship***. They were just sitting all hooked together in a drawer.

They tell the story of Ursula, who repurposes junk from dumpsters in SF into art, then gives it away. She is saved from her potential homelessness by being made Executive Director of a huge foundation to give away art called the Art for Everyone Project.

Anywhooo, the panels from this piece caught my eye and I figured I could use them in this SEWN art. I incorporated one yesterday in a flat collage:

Then, I though I could make some cubes out of the panels with the SEWN paper. I sewed most of it together on the machine, then finished what wouldn't fit by hand. Then, a light coat of beeswax (encaustic). This helps stiffen and protect it. It is quite durable, as long as you don't put it in a window where it gets super hot, or the car!

Collages for SEWN

A bit on fire today enjoying trying all these different things with the SEWN painted paper strips.

I'm liking having a central image - plenty of these to pull from my stash - and then surrounding them with the painted paper in various forms.

I have another idea for these that I'll execute tomorrow!

A SEWN Creation

I went to a lecture last night at the San Francisco Center for Book Art. The lectures were a bit ***yawn*** - how to tell if a book was made at a particular English abbey in the 1600s...but the examples of various books they make in summer classes was inspiring.

This project in NO WAY matches the beauty and craft that SFCBA achieves, but it is my way of combining the papers I sewed together today (yes - I sewed all of the strips!) into a new project. 

My strips made into bigger pieces.

I made a book cover to go over my little notebooks I make. The front is adorned with my favorite thing in the world - a vintage button.

I have enough papers to make LOTS of little booklets.

Front:

Back:

One More...

Okay, this is the last thing I'll create today...maybe. I'm going to an event later this afternoon, so no more time to sew.

This is another piece where I feature something I painted in the center of the reworked pattern strips that were sewn together. Boy, I am sure loving this class SEWN.

Papers before I re-jumbled them:


Final piece:

Transitioning

I was at the hospital from last Friday to Tuesday, sitting beside my step-mom's bed, watching as the palliative care did its gentle job of helping Flora transition from here to there, wherever there is.

Her family (5 kids, plus spouses, grandchildren) filled the room day in and day out with their stories of their mom, laughter, kids playing games on iPads oblivious to the miracle about to take place, food, coffee, lots of trips to the cafe and to take my dad for walks around the hospital grounds.

In between, my sister and I were playing with watercolors on small scraps of leftover paper from around my failed monotypes. The paper is luscious and accepts watercolors and paint nicely. I told my sister and others who asked that I was taking this class SEWN. One of Flora's daughters-in-law knew of Mary Ann Moss, so that was a nice point of connection. My dad married Flora when they were both 70, so I don't know Flora's family all that well.

I watched a video this morning that Mary Ann posted about the pattern-maker sisters in London, Collier Campbell. Their work is beautiful and somewhere in there, Mary Ann's video challenged us to do something different and post it, so here is mine.

I stitched together several of the little watercolors done by my sister or me, with a stack of the strips I organized last night in that same color family of blues and greens.

I am calling this piece Transitioning because it captures the time we spent with Flora in her last days, gently holding a circle of light and love around her, telling her it was okay to go.

My favorite part of this piece is the translucent white paper with the circles in it. The light comes through, like our light in life and beyond. The piece is a bit wonky and imperfect, like our lives. Stitches show through, threads not quite perfectly cut off, and little tears and gaps here and there.

I miss you Flora. You were a beautiful, loving, creative light in my life. You taught me a lot about doing my art. Thank you. May you rest in peace.

Catching Up

I'm a little behind on my assignments for SEWN due to a family emergency that had me out the better part of a week.

My fingers were itching to cut up and sew the papers I'd made last week, but I was not at home and nowhere near a sewing machine. Today I cut up the papers and scrounged through my stash of non-painted papers to see if I could add to the colors I had.

I found it easier to sort the papers into piles to be sewn by doing it while talking to my daughter on the phone. That took my mind off trying to go crazy in coordinating everything perfectly. I loosened up and just tossed things into piles and when all was said and done I had 12 groups of about 15-20 strips.



Then I followed instructions and sewed the strips together. I decided to use a straight stitch to conserve a bit on thread because my sense was the bobbin had just enough to make it through this piece.

Sure enough, about 6 inches from the end of the last two strips being sewn in, the bobbin ran out! How does it know.......?

I have eleven more piles to finish after this one. I can't wait because the sewing definitely made these into nice pieces.

Glossies for SEWN

I did some patterns for the SEWN class tonight using Acrylic Glossies. These paints are so fun. They leave a bright shiny surface. They are somewhat opaque.

I also used some metallic paints (Golden brand) and experimented more with my calligraphy pen and the Elizabethan collars. Making these help me practice my thin upstroke and wider downstroke.

Pattern Book for SEWN

 

The assignment this week in the SEWN class by Mary Ann Moss is to make a book with a cover of patterns.
I used papers I collect in a box after I do other projects. Tidbits, snippets, things I just can't quite throw away.

I chose a hexagon for the shape, then sewed the pieces I'd adhered to a piece of cardstock lightly with a glue stick.

I added some washi tape to finish the edges inside and out and also adhered a piece of see through paper to the inside just to finish it off. It is some handmade paper with a circular pattern - a bit hard to see, but I like how the sewing shows through but is also covered up a bit.

I put some vintage buttons on the string - some from my collection that I love.

Can't wait to see what is next in the class. Enjoying it a lot.

SEWN for the Fourth of July

I admit that cheated a bit because I watched the intro vid and couldn't help myself - I had to start making some patterns for this online class before midnight last night.

Here are a few. After watching the class instructions I am happy with them - I got them right. I'm going to do some bigger and looser too and find my stash of vintage photos and some vellum to work on.

Can't wait to see what we will do to sew them all together.

SEWN with Mary Ann Moss Starts Soon (1 hour!)

I'm taking an on-line class I found out about from my art friend Laura McHugh in New Jersey.

I'm excited to be combining things I love: painting with watercolors, paper, scraps of paper, and thread/sewing to making some fun things. I'll update on what I'm learning and doing here with a cross posting to Facebook.

In the meantime, here's a cool vid on the class:

SEWN Class - Video by Mary Ann Moss

Good Press in Half Moon Bay Review

Engineer finds grounding in art - Half Moon Bay Review : Arts & Entertainment

Book Finished

The commission I recently completed art for is now in the form of a 12x12 book. The paper they use at Blurb, where I chose to have it printed, really brings out the beauty of the watercolors.

I'm very happy.

Book Commission - Inside Complete

The art for the inside of the book dedicated to Judy Sleeth's vision to create Art in Action 30 years ago is complete.

Tomorrow I will do the cover and stitch it all together and scan it so it is available electronically.

Whew!

Art (Almost) Every Day

When I started this blog in 2008, my plan was to do and post about art almost every day.

Five years later, I would say I'm better at doing something creative almost every day, and more often lately it is in my studio, as opposed to creative cooking, business solutions, etc. Though I don't completely discount those activities, I do find it soothing to make things with my hands and be in the Zen of the making moment.

I did a huge proposal for an art-related thing over the weekend and that was certainly creative, thinking about how to differentiate and offer value in a crowded market. And there are no pictures I can show you from that, though I did spend a little time with a marker and that paper people stick on the walls in business meetings.

Today, it was much simpler: paper flowers. I learned how to make these on Saturday at Anna Corba's workshop. Today, while on a 90 min conference call for work, I kept myself busy AND engaged on the call making these. I did have to put the phone on MUTE while folding. These papers are crinkly and make an unpleasant noise for other participants.

By 2 today, next week's business activities had been discussed and planned, and I have a bouquet to show for my efforts.