So much fun for baby.

A friend with a new baby boy came to town, so I made up some little onesies for them. These have some little knit pants in mottled navy to go with them. I hope Tennessee Luke enjoys them. I'm lucky to have friends who let me give away my hobbies.

I'll have more musings to post, after reflecting on Baodad's comment. I've learned a lot and I'll share what I'm thinking.
Dye in Peace.
xoxo

Getting Unstuck

(Free association: Kurt Vonnegut's most famous first line...."Billy Pilgrim was unstuck in time."
I went to see the Time Traveler's Wife the other night, and it was all about Eric Bana being unstuck in time. This post is not about time traveling.)

I get paralyzed often when I sit down to work on my art. I'm not entirely sure why I sit down, get up, move supplies, rearrange, begin to clean up, sit down, get up, wander around, go away, come back, sit down, rearrange..... you get the picture. In my past lives (this lifetime, many years ago) I accomplished a lot, fearlessly. There was nothing I wouldn't tackle. Now that I have time, there is a fear of.....something....what? stopping me almost before I start. Yesterday, I just decided to do what my mother ALWAYS admonished: "Don't just sit there, DO something."
So, I tried a negative zentangle. Instead of being black ink on white, I reversed it. Remember, a zentangle is only 3 or 4 inches square. This one is 3, so the resolution is a bit vague.
I had some hand dyed fabric I love, got out the acrylic paints, took a deep breath, reminded myself "I am a good person", and went to work. Here are the results, and if I ever find out what I'm going to do with it, I'll post it. Perhaps that is why I get paralyzed....I just don't know what to do with it.


Remember the gelatin monoprinting? I still had the gelatin block (getting pretty dried up), so I spread some paint on with a brayer, and lifted the print with some muslin. What you can't see is the Jacquard Lumiere effects, which add sparkle and glitter, like a metallic sheen. A few of them turned out quite interestingly, although once again, what do I do with it?

I'm experimenting with a lot of techniques, and I guess I must exercise faith that something will come of it. Hope, hope, hope.
If you have any ideas on how to deal with paralysis, please let me know. It's a real time waster.
In the meantime, you can check out the real artists on my blog list.
Go with a happy 'art.

Zentangles for fun

(There are still so many things to learn!! I finally got the scanner hooked up and these images are my first to test out for a blog. Each zentangle above is about 3 inches square. )

So, next month I'm going to Whitinsville, Massachusetts to do the Zentangle workshop. You might be wondering why anyone would need a workshop to learn to doodle. It's a Zentangle Teacher Certification program, but the main reason I'm going is because I needed a mini retreat. I have a friend in Boston I hope to see (Trish, are you reading this?), one of my online teachers (Sue Bleiweiss) is there, and I'd love to meet her and see her work at the Danforth Museum. Also, my very favorite book arts teacher (Barbara Mauriello) is doing a weekend workshop at the Garage Annex School, so I have multiple reasons to go.
Interestingly enough, I had decided to post my zentangles, when I looked at Terri Stegmiller's blog, and she had put one up which included calligraphy, and that addition to the idea pool is terrific. Terri and Sue introduced me to another online workshop called Calligra-Fun, taught by Martha Lever. We worked with Zig Brushable markers and played with easy, free letters.
Here is one of my practice pages.
Most people put perfection on their blogs, but I'm just learning, and I need to document the progress, so I'm putting practice pages here.
The zentangles at the top are my first three attempts at a new meditation form. My intent in doing them was to try each suggested doodle in the very sparse instruction manual (also 3" square). You'll notice Terri's work is much more professional, and she's incorporated many of her own designs. The lettering she has added is from the brushable workshop. You'll notice she's a professional artist.
One of the quotes I practiced is, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE GREAT TO START, BUT YOU HAVE TO START TO BE GREAT." So, I'm starting my art journey. I hope you'll come along with me. It's much more fun with friends.
xoxoxo