The Dance: December Bricoulage

The final challenge of the year. I think most of mine include a bird somewhere, somehow. I love all the red in the December and challenge kits. So fun to assemble things in an artistic way.

 

The Joy of It All

An artist teacher of mine, Joanne Sharp, sent this today. It speaks to me. This has been a year of surprises and mostly good things. It's about learning to make lemonade from the lemons. And experiencing the Joy of it all!

 

A New Voice: November's Bricolage

I'm a blue and orange kind of girl. I love these moody blues. The tree and face ink drawings are fun to use because of their opacity. And then there are the triangulated circles in differing forms. I love this design.

 

A Whole Lot of Posies

First lesson in an online class with Joanne Sharp. First we draw and then we paint. The drawing is done with a fountain pen and it is really a wonderful tool. This sketchbook is a Moleskine Watercolor 8.25 by 5 inches but when fully opened, it has a 16.5 inch drawing and painting surface. This is a new experiment for me. You gotta keep learning new things.

 

Come With Me

Here is the October challenge. I was ecstatic to see sun yellow and turquoise and green in the challenge papers this month. They make my heart sing. The title was a part of a quote by Mary Oliver but I thought the title was more intriguing than the whole quote. And then, there's the bird... Enjoy!

 

Backtrack Instead

 This is my take on the September challenge. Gotta love those houses and of course I put a bird on it.

Just saying...

But do read the passage, It is so poignant for these times.

 

This is my latest work. It visually portrays the effect of words, whether positive or negative as they ripple through a society, a community, a family. We need to be carful and choose our words wisely.

It is 18 inches wide and 40 inches long. It has been accepted into the SAQA Virtula gallery beginning tomorrow,

A Day to Spare

 

to post the August Bricolage. Yeah!

The quote is ...

This is the first, the wildest, and the wisest thing I know; 

that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness. Mary Oliver

Do you agree or not?

Pay attention to the detail in this art nugget.

Oops...time flies..and I forgot

to post the July bricolage. I love to arrange artistic elements and use all the blending modes in photoshop to entirely change what is visible to the eye. Take a look at this one!

 

Today's Laughline

 We have all been placed on hold to the dreaded...your call is important to us. 

Well here's the rest of that story.

Enjoy!

June Bricolage

The quote in this month's challenge, "There are so many stories, more beautiful than answers" brought to mind this photo taken last year at our Playing in Pink  challenge. The Pink is an annual event that the Pumpkin Ridge women take on each year. It is a fund raiser and the donations are made to OHSU Breast Cancer Research. We have been doing this for more than 20 years. This years Pink took on a COVID related aspect as we played in pink masks. You go GIRLS!

 

Stepping Out

This is my latest canvas work. 

I continue with my work using a circular motif. And, for whatever reason, I love long and skinny and that is what this is. It measures only 7 by 21 inches.  

The canvas is painted and printed and then raw edge pieced.  It is stitched both by hand and machine. 

Many shades of red have been used. You gotta love the color red. 

It's ready for matting and framing. 

Enjoy!

May Bricolage

 This art was built from the quote by Mary Oliver and which I only took the beginnings...

I love the digital art the Jen Maddock's has given us to work with this month. The background paper is simple breathtaking. Photoshop blend modes allow me to change things up and produce something to highlight and frame the words. 

Enjoy!

Book Ends: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

 I just finished Klara and the Sun. I wish I could say I loved it but I thought it was a bit slow moving. If you know me then you know I really like to read novels about artificial intelligence. And, Klara was an artificial friend. 

 

She was selected, much like a new toy, by Josie, a girl who had some health issues. The story is told through the eyes of Klara and is set in a futuristic world. She has great observational qualities and offers insight into human emotion and vulnerabilities, all of which are present today. Klara, is devoted to Josie and thinks she can solve Josie's problem, going to a great extent to do so. But in the end...

Well I will leave that for you to find out.

April Bricolage

 I nearly forgot to post the April entry. Look, I included my latest finished canvas collage. When I saw the scissors element, I knew which direction I would head in. Digital art in Photoshop is so much fun. It is so easy to recolor things. I wish I could do this in the sewing lab. haha

The Path to Glad, Orange You!

 Do you remember the Knock-Knock joke from your youth? 

Knock, knock, whose there? Banana. Then, repeated over and over. Eventually the teller answers Orange. Orange you Glad I didn't say banana. 

The whole time I worked on this piece, that joke popped in. So of course it is the Path to Glad and the subtle reminder of its source--Orange You.

This work involves screen printed and painted canvas, recycled cloth, decomposed screen printing, stenciling, machine stitching and quilting. It makes me glad.

Bricolage in March

 I love what can be accomplished with layers and blend modes in Photoshop. It ceases to amaze me. The lower right effort is stunning. Enjoy!

Bricolage in February

And I quote: Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. Good thoughts indeed from Mary Oliver. I am a golfer and as I play I am in wonder at all the sounds of nature. Birds, insects, breezes, water, just so many and so varied. These always amplify the sound of silence which I find mesmerizing and equally astonishing. So calming.

 

Bricolage in January

Bricolage, what a funny term. It means something constructed or created from a diverse range of available things. One of my favorite digital artists is Jen Maddocks and she offers a bricolage challenge each and every month. She provides three elements and a couple of quotes. These items are to be used in a unique page layout. This is all done in Photoshop, where layering is most wonderful. This one is the January challenge.

So much fun!