Moving Along

My walking buddy is back in Maine with her Florida sunshine tan. She looks great! We bundled up and walked this morning (24 degrees). It is SO much nicer to walk with someone! As to the art above. You've seen this before but now with some leaves. Salvaged pieces from when I "altered" my favorite sweatshirts to fit the "new me". I added three blue buttons.

Another piece we have seen before but with an added strip torn off of something green wrapped around the fringed piece of red satin. It needed some relief from all the red. I may add some buttons to this as well to repeat the dots in the fabrics.

I used one of the prepared Pamela Allen workshop backgrounds for this and just built it up with whatever prepared and unused bits I had on the work surface as I had only a few moments to work. This is progressing but needs a "punch". I think something stronger for the leaves which are darker in real life, but I can see that the contrast is not enough.

I am finding that I enjoy the adding of unmatched scraps to a piece. Not thinking too much. Just trying things repeatedly and finding the solution to be surprising and not what I would have thought. Taking a chance. I just need a few hours to load some threads in the machine and topstitch and quilt these to actually get a feel for the surface.

The last and most successful in my humble opinion. The piece was made horizontal but I kind of think it should be vertical with the "kite" (from my favorite red sweatshirt). The additions of green scraps to the left is very exciting and because they are batiks and velvets, there is a nice tactile thing going on. With some stitching I think I can see what happens to the surface. When this is horizontal the little peaked shapes looked like houses. They still could be houses as my viewpoint could be from the sky looking down.

I don't think I would have made anything like these four if I had lots of time in the work room. The ones above are legal pad size. I'm finding I like smaller work. I have a pile of different fabrics to make into leaves for a larger piece. Corduroy pants, velveteen, batik and if time allows today, I plan to paint some of my own fabric for the leaves also. Some color and texture I can't find in my fabrics or in my clothes.

I went to the library yesterday to find some reference materials for my Expressive Books challenge. I don't think I will be going in the direction of the research but it was good for the brain cells to contemplate the subject matter. And it is amazing where one "thought thread" will lead. I may just make a series of separate pages in fabric, paint and paper and then lay them out and see what fits and what is needed. I think a subject or theme will come out of the work rather than trying to get the work to co-operate with a set idea.

I'm interested in painted fabric, textural surprises, transfered images and the use of recycled fabrics (waste). I'm also increasingly drawn to large, graphic images. Perhaps lino or wood cuts printed on fabric. The Japanese books from the library are making me want to cut into some lino or speedball sheets.

Time to start a fire in the wood stove. Pizza for dinner tonight with pepperoni, mushrooms and pineapple. Whole wheat crust for me and regular for G. A new brand of prepared dough balls at the grocery store today which looks much better than the store brand. The wheat looked "wheaty". Turkey is thawing in fridge and all the sides are ready to be prepped. I even remembered pie ingredients and whipping cream. I didn't get dinner rolls.