Stability

 I know this blog seems dead and gone but it isn't. I have been traveling...moving...for a year now. Actually more than a year. I started packing my house back in Jan 2022. Since then I have been moving from place to place, often with only two suitcases. Most of my things are scattered in three different countries. Some I will probably never see again.

Just this last month I moved into an apartment I hope to be in for the next year. I spent the last few weeks getting my area set up to create, and I started making things again this last week. I hope to have my shop up and running soon, within the next few weeks if possible.

I have been playing a lot with my acrylic drops as you can see from this photo. I love these little swirls of color and I have trays of them all around me to pick and choose from as I create. I invested in some nice jewelry trays back in France and made sure they were one of the things I packed to bring with me. I am not sure if I will be able to find replacements when they run out so these may be a limited item. I love how good my drops look in these.

I have also been experimenting with my resin wings, using different methods to make a variety of styles. Each time I make a new set of wings I feel I get closer to perfecting the process. I now feel very confident I can make good, solid pieces that are worthy to put into my shop. When I first made my wings for my flight-of-dreams collection I made so many duds I had a whole box full of them. Now I rarely make a mistake. 

I hope to write a post on the making of my wings soon. And I am not only making wings, I am also going to add other whimsical items.

Stay tuned!

Weekend Drafting

This weekend I got to do something a little different. Something I used to love doing and just realized...I still love it...

We had to submit some blueprints and facade drawings for a small addition we are planning and so I pulled out my pencils and sketched away. I am way too rusty but I enjoyed the challenge!

I told you all I would post some pics of my trip to Scotland  and I certainly took my time getting back here to do it. Since my last post I've left again, this time for Paris and I had a wonderful time there. September was a fun filled month and I was very fortunate to get to visit two very beauiful places. Both inspiring in their own ways. I can't even tell you how many amazing Impressionist paintings I got to view at teh Musee D'Orsay. I still get choked up thinking about it. It was that good.
Since coming home I have discovered that my allergy symptoms have almost completely disappeared. I have been out of my studio for a bit over a month now with the door shut tightly. I am finding myself more and more reluctant to open that door and go back in even though it is preventing me from doing any but the smallest jobs. I so fear the return of the crushing headaches. The other symptoms were aggravating but tolerable. Headaches so bad I can't think though...those are not.  It seems lately that I have had one thing after another barring my way and I feel frustrated by it all. I am an artist though and even though I have created little these last months it is still screaming to get out so soon I will steel myself and enter into that room again. If I find the allergy comes from my dyes then I will move on and find another outlet. I have so many things I love to do in that room that dont involve the dye.
I did do a small study in pencil this last week. I plan on refining it and I did enjoy getting the pencils out again. I am not sure where this is going but here it is:

And here are a few shots of Scotland. I hope you enjoy them :)

Project Updates

Thought I should do a catch up post since it's been awhile since I have updated the blog. I have managed to pack away most of the studio, after going through all of the material and tossing several garbage bags full of stuff. It was a good feeling knowing I will be moving with a lighter load. I still have the other five rooms to go through but they aren't quite the challenge my studio was. It is now a room full of boxes with one corner still reserved for any dyeing I have to do. I will pack that at the very end.

In the meantime I have found time to do a bit of stitching and planning although the jacobean bunny project ground to a halt. With the sewing machine not being set up anymore I will probably not work on it until we are moved. I did change my mind on the material I want to use with it. My wild sense of color took over with the embroidery and the piece I had intended to use just didn't seem suitable anymore. I chose this piece instead. It looks like I made it for it I think!

I finished up the blackwork cuffs and collar and think they turned out very well even though I didn't like that silk thread. I have since dyed some new thread to use with my new project. I hope the new doesn't want to snag like the other. I had to use shorter piece and change frequently to keep this piece looking good.

I worked for several evenings on this flower study, sketching pieces from the painting that I mentioned previously. I wanted to get the feel of the style. I found it very fantastical and that pleased me much. It was much looser and more free form than I expected and so I started my new piece with excitement.

My new design is very much based on period motifs. Although the placement and overall design is mine I made sure every form and shape is used in this period as well as the overall feel is in keeping with this period. I just didn't want to copy some piece from a museum or from a painting. After all I am sure people from that period didn't want the same thing as their neighbor either. They all wanted something new and different. I wanted to keep with the feel and look yet make it different enough that it could be considered an original piece.

Now I just need to get started on it. I have dyed two different weights of silk for it. I plan on doing the stems and outline of the flowers in the heavier silk and then do fill in black work patterns with the lighter thread. I don't want to venture into gold work or spangles yet. I want to get the techniques down with these two and then I will investigate what I need to do more elaborate work. My next piece after this will probably involve gradient colors which were often used in the 16th century also.

So that's what I have been up too besides looking at apartments non-stop. It looks like we should be able to find a decent place without too much effort. The prices seem reasonable there and lots of nice big places. Now just to hope I can find a place with a bathtub, a dishwasher connection AND nice big balcony or garden. *fingers crossed*