End of Summer

This little watercolor (postcard size) just looks like summer to me...the coolness of the blue chair, the water in the background, the bag on the ground. I had a busy summer--didn't spend much time just sitting in a chair looking at the view. Instead I traveled up and down the state of California, indeed, into OREGON.

So now it's time for me to sit back, and get back to my creative muse. Time to do more watercolors, and start a new art quilt. I have some ideas.

Promises, promises

In May I posted a photo of a watercolor collage that I had done, and said I planned to use it as inspiration for a small art quilt. Well, I did it. This small wall quilt is 19"x32". For the background, I cut up a silk charmeuse scarf that I hand dyed. The koi and the greenery are hand-dyed cottons. Some parts are fused on, and all the stitching was done by machine. I'm quite happy with it, and have named it "Koi Dance".

No excuses

So, okay, I haven't been posting, but I have been creating some. During July I did a house sit for friends, took their chocolate lab for walks every day, enjoyed their air-conditioned home during a real HOT spell here. My 13-year-old granddaughter stayed with me most of the time, and we had a good time. To escape the heat, we went to a nearby lake with inexpensive air mattresses, and laughed and laughed, playing a game I think should be called "Dunk the Grandma", which she did many times. Then we both laughed until we nearly cried, while I tried to get back ONTO the air mattress. It's a challenge in deeper water, nothing to brace against. I had so much practice that I figured out how to remount the inflatable. I certainly slept well at night!

The other game we played is cribbage, which she had just learned how to play. Her novice status didn't stop her from skunking me a couple of times.... Fun fun fun.

And I can't believe it, but community college classes begin the week of August 17. The summer has flown.

Take a deep breath...

Finally, the semester is over. I enrolled in too many classes, in that I only had one day a week that was totally free. Not enough for this retired soul. The classes were all wonderful--Modern Dance, Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, Textile History, Fabric Printing and Dyeing, and Beyond Traditional Watercolor. Speaking of which, I am posting herewith one of the projects from that class. Take an old painting that is unsatisfactory in one way or another, cut it up, and combine it with another old painting or a new background... So I cut up my koi painting. I liked the fish, so I cut them out first, then chopped the poured and swirled background into strips and wove them togther. Pasted it all onto another practice piece, and voila! Something I like!

In fact, I'm thinking of using this design as the basis for a small art quilt, and I can hardly wait to get started. So I'm taking a deep breath, and getting to work on the things I've been neglecting while dancing and dyeing.... More to come, I promise.

Neglect

My apologies to anyone who actually reads/follows this blog. I keep not posting anything, because I want to include artwork, and I haven't scanned anything new in ages. Until today, that is. The highlighted artwork is from the Beyond Traditional Watercolor class that I've been taking. I blocked out the white swashes with homemade masking fluid (Mold Builder, diluted with water, applied with a rough "brush" made from the end of a rope). The color is all poured on watercolor; first I applied the warm yellows and red, then when that was DRY, added the blues, and more red, to make purple-y violets. I think I am finished with it. I'm working on two or three other pieces using similar techniques, but they were too large to scan. I'll get my camera out in the next few days and have a photo session, see if anything looks worth posting.

Grey skies

Several years ago, I finally got my act together and planted lots of daffodil bulbs in November, and each Spring they bloom, lighting up my front yard. I think of them as my gift to the neighborhood, and very seldom cut any, preferring to leave them there for everyone to enjoy. Imagine my distress this morning when I looked out the window and saw only 3 tired blooms left. I hope the person who HAD to have them is at least sharing them with someone else. I just want to cry; it's going to take a lot of effort to put this behind me. They're only flowers, I know. But it cuts me to the heart.

Daffodils

My first thought with this blog was to post recently completed artwork, but last week these gorgeous daffodils with the sun shining through them caught my eye, my attention, and my digital camera. I've done lots of little watercolors of daffodils, but none recently. They are just too good not to share. And one does not often see them from the back like this.

These gorgeous Spring days in Northern California are one of the reasons I love living here. The world is fresh and new, even though we have not lived through snow and ice. The air is like a tonic, an elixir; I can't breathe it in deeply enough. And these daffodils are symbolic of that freshness. Enjoy.