Framed!

Bald Head Island collages now complete and ready for delivery next weekend.

Also got back to visit this amazing sculpture at high tide...

Making, Mindfulness, Pizza and Frames

Today I co-led two workshops for early childhood teachers on collage.  It was fun to see people enjoy playing with materials and trying different approaches to collage.  At the end of the afternoon workshop, one person told me she doesn't really do meditation but for her this creates her space.  It is lovely to see this theme emerge again and again in working with people.

Tonight I made pizza - a different kind of making but they are pretty.  AND it was a good reminder to myself to take this making commitment lightly.  A full day of presenting and being "on" doesn't leave a whole lot left for creating new work of my own.  Cooking is self nurturance as well as nurturing my family.

This evening I completed two more frames so I can finish and frame my series of collages of Bald Head Island.  I look forward to seeing them complete but it's a little bitter-sweet, as I wonder what art project will be my next thing...

Salt Marsh Collage

Feeling complete...now I can begin to focus more attention on framing.

Transfers and tweaking...

Scrubbed the transfer off this collage today - think this is the 5th or 6th layer on the water in the foreground - still some paper to remove and will add a bit more color back in but getting close. A good reminder too that it's about the time practicing more than the results so there isn't always a dramatic change to show.

Catching up and new space to work...

We had planned to be away this weekend and plans changed so we find ourselves at home.  It's good time for catching up on projects and process toward creating better spaces for working.

Here are a new batch of labyrinth touchstones for Art-o-mat...

Some new frames - the large one was completed today and the smaller ones were cut a while ago and assembled today.

Here is my new workbench space in the carport, complete with a new miter saw for frames.

And the latest layer of photo transfer on this collage - trying to be patient and wait til morning to peel it back so that the glue fully dries and I get the best transfer.

Water collages...

Playing with the color in the water in the foreground in this collage and adding new texture with the white paper that represents a new photo transfer...

Also created some new collages in my water and stones series for Art-o-Mat...

Focusing in...

On certain areas of collage...

Layers

Alternating between color and new photo imagery...here's the addition of photo transfer today...

New layers...

Completion...

I'm muddling through a lingering headache today but found a focus in adding finishing touches to these two collages...one more to complete and then on to framing...

I returned to my weekly practice of walking at Huntley Meadows this morning. Fun to notice how much the landscape is already beginning to change toward fall.

Subtle changes

Not much to show today - I continue to work on my collages, adding a bit here and there and seeing how things dry.

Getting close to completion - doing more standing back to look and see how it's all coming together...

Showing up...

Today was largely about continuing to show up to these current collages.  I procrastinated a lot in the morning just not sure what was next.

In the afternoon I set aside the last half hour before going to pick up kids and decided I would just add something and see where it went.  Once I began, there was lots to do.

Here are the latest versions of the collages from today...

This one is still wet from scrubbing a new layer of photo transfer...

Time and slowness...

Working on my Bald Head Island collages today.

I added some new layers of color to this one...

This second one is almost entirely redone with a new layer of collage over the entire surface.  The photo transfer came out much too dark in the first try.  I've reprinted a lighter image and will try again tomorrow.  Last week I worked quickly - just needing to begin and get things going.  This week I'm trying to slow down and pay attention to lessons learned in my process last week.  As much as I'm eager to see the new transfer, I'm going to wait until tomorrow to be sure this layer is really dry.  

Oh, and an update on Java's portrait...he liked it so much he wanted to sign it - see lower right corner.

Different kinds of making...

Today I joined a group of teachers in exploring design with loose parts.
On the way home I stopped along the GW parkway to photograph these beautiful yellow flowers along the Potomac River...

Tonight I made cookies and ended the evening with this small watercolor - once again inspired by the salt marsh at Bald Head Island...

Bald Head Island photo transfers...

So these photo transfers are interesting - some work better than others.  It is definitely a more rigorous physical process to rub the paper off a larger surface.  Here they are still damp after some scrubbing this evening...

The lighthouse makes me happiest right now - particularly because this last minute experiment last night worked...

...I put the collage color right on the photo with acrylic and it still transferred.

Bald Head Island...

I set aside the morning just to work on my images of Bald Head Island.

Here are the resulting new collages...

...and one that received new layers...

This evening I set up my new laser printer and printed the photos for the transfer.  Each was printed in two parts on legal size paper and then the halves pieced together to cover the foot square surface.  They will dry overnight and I get to see how they look tomorrow.