Recent creations

Here are a couple of my recent creations! The first is a card I made for my mother-in-law, whose birthday is this week. I wanted to try the technique Kelly Rae Roberts uses a lot in her art, and it was a lot of fun: collaging decorative papers, painting a layer of medium over the top to protect the papers, and then painting acrylics over that and rubbing off where I wanted the under layer to show. I was inspired by Amb, too, who's been making some neat pieces that have circles in them.


Below is a piece I made last month, for my stepmom. She has a little corner in her room that has this wonderful orange chair, for which she spent hours perusing fabric samples for the exact right upholstery. The chair hides behind a screen she and my dad made of wood and fabric. And with the chair, there is a sense of peace and calmness in the corner. It is clearly a place of respite. I've wanted to contribute something to that space since it was created, and so I made this. The first image is the final piece, mounted, and the second image is the scanned piece, so you can see the detail more clearly. Remember to click on the image if you want to see close up.

I would make a few changes if I were to do this over again, but instead of pointing out what I see as amateur errors, I'll tell you what I love. I love the purple/green/tan background, the texture of the carpet, the little words, the places where "you" has been rubbed free of paint so that you can see the original collage piece that forms part of the base, and the postage stamp edges that add texture (under the chair).

Nancy loved it! She wrote this in reply: "I always loved your 'old style' of line drawings, they were the best. To combine a more mature version of that with your 'evolved style' of collage and painting turned out a great piece. Thanks so much. It evokes in me the same coziness that the physical place does. I call that little corner of my space my sanctuary."

Goals for today: an apron, another birthday card, further work on a piece-in-progress, and a letter to my grandma. Plus our new house inspection at 3:00 and a visit to the chiropractor.