Tuesday, April 17, 2018

patronizings countervailing bowers

Looks like Sand Rat is back at it!  
Thanks for checking in now that Im not a 'regular' anymore.


“Age gives you the freedom to do some things you’ve never done before. Great work can come at any stage of your life.” (Will Barnet

now, let's find a squirrel:

these look a bit like skunks, don't you think?

I have been spending time at the studio in between guests these past few weeks, and finally managed to get a few pieces made for my on-line collage group.  This is my third year doing it, and probably the last because I am finding I don't get to my own work when these are hanging over my head.  I know, poor excuse, but I really don't need these prompts but I sure enjoy this years theme, 'Destruction'!  For 8 pieces I have used just one collage-  this one which is a combination of my own lino prints and commercial papers more or less imitating the view from our former house:


OK, got that?  Here's what has happened to it~





I still have a few to finish up from this old collage, but the other one I have mailed out is from a different collage from a long time ago, called 'Blueberries' because it's about Maine and blueberry bushes and black bears.
It was a standard Bears Paw block from some junk shop, so I reversed it to the wrong side to see the hand-piecing, and used a pretty sketchy bear photograph. The blueberry fabric was a donation from a member of my old and best crit group.  This wasn't destroyed very much this time around, but from it's start it was about destruction so qualifies.  

And all these are now out of my house, studio, car, and mind and on the way to their new owners.

In Other Areas,  I have finished two shawls, the first one is ombre from black to white and in luscious alpaca.  It's so soft, but when finished it was (yawn) pretty boring.  I wanted to stick a yellow and black border on the edge to jazz it up but  my stitch group whined me out of it.  Instead I had some black and white printed yarn so used that as it's edging.  I was gonna make a mile of iCord but instead just stuck a crochet row around it.  But for now, it's enough.  But I'm not gonna say I won't add that yellow to it some day when my uber conservative advice team isn't looking.



I am STILL working on the two b&w Marimekko fabric quilties, they don't need much more at this point.  The 'Shiver of Sharks' has hunks of lace around the base of all the shark fins poking out of their sea(ms)to look like a little wake, the 'Murmuration' is still thoughts in process.  I am leaning to making several prints of different size starlings so I can layer them together to simulate the way they fold in on each other, spread out, and recombine.  I'm tell you, watching them is so much easier than trying to actually DO them.  But both are somewhat close to being done, just not quite yet.

Then of course, there is the little problem of WHAT to do with my future.  I absolutely need to be messing about with art supplies, but I think perhaps the fabric part is waning.  Sure, I love working out fabrics in a collage, but the tedious steps that follow- the piecing/applique/ stitchery/quilting just doesn't grab me the way it used to.  I do want to do more encaustics but my studio doesn't have an exhaust fan and working with the garage door open only brings in critters and dust.  My 2 windows are fixed so cannot be opened.  I am also at the point that I would love to move some of my bases of operation into the house again, but that does away with a  guest room- not practical for living where everybody wants to visit all winter.  I'll figure it out, either that or it will be too damn late to make a move.  Whatever... something will be done.


This is what I am doing this week.  Being at the pool today was a semi-pleasant break from being in the kitchen.  But never fear-  they were raring to go when I made them get out of the water-  they wanted me back in the kitchen!

Bet you are hoping for a bit of an ARTY PARTY, aren't you?  Let's see what I can find:








For the last twenty years Australia-based artist Shona Wilson has intimately collaborated with nature by building sculptural assemblages that incorporate a myriad of found organic specimens. In her 2016 body of work, Offering, she formed mandala-like pieces from objects such as seedpods, twigs, and bones that were intended as gestures of gratitude to her practice’s source—nature.




                                                                                                                                 aka Sand Rat

3 comments :

Cara Membuat Pupuk Organik Cair said...

it's really pretty

virginiaggg said...

No posts for over a month. Hope all is OK with you.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sandy, missing you, best wishes, cheers Jan