Windfallen

Wind and Rain....so, I've been walking home with large fistfuls of Torrey pine needles

A few days ago,our old tree lost a huge limb---This is an Irish strawberry tree or Arbutus Unedo, but I think it was very old and in need of the winter rains.

This is what I heard and felt, last night during strong winds and thankfully, rain!

A Tough Framing Job

For some reason, my mat cutter wasn't working and at first just butchered my mat--I managed to cut the same mat board just a little larger--(to save that mat)  I then framed, nailed in the backing, glued on the back paper--put in the hanging hardware--hung it and wasn't satisfied!  Something was missing--I thought, "No--It's sealed and done!", but deep down, I knew I'd be taking it apart... Big gray roses is what it needed.  So then I went a little overboard with my rose stamp, too many! and too dark--oh no!  I rolled out some white ink and just rolled over the roses I wanted to subdue--it worked!  I almost killed the painting and almost killed the mat--so it goes!

Now I'm Done!

I wasn't okay with the lighter back ground, so I started layering colors--I believe it's called glazing--letting each layer dry before adding another--soon it was too dark!  I washed off what I could and painted on a thin layer or two of white acrylic, which I liked for the dance floor, so I teetered on the edge of ruining this painting--perhaps I did, but I won't let myself think so.  Time to move on.

Finished Watercolor

About 14"x 10"  watercolor on 140 lb stretched watercolor paper.  I think I'm done...

Back to Watercolors

Working on another dancer--a special dancer, my granddaughter of course.  I haven't painted with watercolors in a long time--I'm using them in the more traditional way, without all the layers of masking fluid that I had once relied on so heavily.  You can see my process of that layering here.  I just don't feel like doing that right now.

It's kind of fun to see some parts finished and others sketched, although I do intend to finish this.

Tissue Mache Birds

This is my latest art lesson for my granddaughter's 4th grade class.  We made tissue mache birds.  The body is crumpled newspaper, taped, a wire going down through the center has a loop on top for hanging.  Four cut pop sticks are pushed into the body and glued, for the head, tail and two wings.  The heads are foil and cut out pieces of cardboard are the wings and tails.

The underside of the armature, before the tissue mache.

After just one layer of white tissue paper--(applied using a paint brush with wheat paste), the student's were able to put on a layer of color.  I propped them up with tubes, so their wings could dry without bending.

For details we used a black marker, feathers, sequins, and a gold leaf paper.  The white cards are name tags.

This project took four lessons at about an hour each--the birds were a challenge for the student's to put together--I'd rethink the construction part before doing this lesson again, but I really like the results!

Printing

Here's my first attempt at printing a drawing of dancers--I really didn't know how I was going to cut the plate, or the soft cut.  I decided, instead of multiple prints for one image, I'd just keep it simple and use the thin outline for a mono print.  Now I want to use black paper...

This is my favorite print so far.   This is about 9"x 12", printed on Bristol paper

Framed

I used my little rose stamp on the mat and edged it with strips of an old watercolor painting.  I hope the frame isn't too overpowering, but I think it works.

Small Basket with Long Pine Needles

I had wanted to give this small basket to my granddaughter for Christmas--I've just recently picked it up again.  This is the smallest basket I've made.  I'm closing it in while building up the sides, then I'd like to make a tight fitting lid---we'll see!

Another Finished Dancer

This one is about 10"x 16", color pencils, and chalk pastels on Bristol paper.