Finding Your Voice - Part II

Hi again,

Just a bit ago … I talked about finding your voice and introduced you to a dear friend of mine, Sandy Simmelink, who  gave a workshop to our group on "Finding Your Voice" …

One thing that I have remembered from the workshop and wanted to add is her advice on practicing your technique always and everyday if possible, and then working in series when ever you get a chance.

Working in series lets you practice your techniques and then find whatever it is that makes your voice unique … it pushes us to revisit our favourite subject matter until we have explored it to its fullest.

I have include a couple of images to demonstrate working in series … all of these pieces are of the same size and general working materials.

Your series could be anything from subject matter, size, colour or working materials … what ever connects the pieces together as a unified body. This will help as time goes on to let people know that this is your work.

Exploring your subject matter to this degree will help in your efforts towards finding your own unique artistic voice.

Very many best wishes,
Barbara

Culture Days

In our town, in late September - we have something called Culture Days.
All art forms of the arts are celebrated …
The fibre arts group that I belong to in Oakville were invited to participate and here are some photographs that I have just come across while sorting things!
Enjoy … this includes work from a number of quilt and fibre artists that had their work available for Culture Days.

Many best wishes,
Barbara

Pictures from "Fibre Content"

Finally - the show was two weeks ago and I am just getting the photos up now - but I did want to share them as the show was wonderful.
We had a great turnout and so many people worked so hard, organizing, hanging, taking down - the list is endless.

So here is how it looked - even though we didn't have a great weekend weather wise!

Enjoy, it was a great weekend!
Very best wishes ~

Culture Days in Oakville

So, once again, I am fortunate enough to belong to a group of fabulous fibre artists that also belong to the Oakville Arts Council.
And I proud to say, that I will be part of Culture Days in Oakville at the new Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre on Saturday, September 29th.

There will be music and performances, as well as visual artists of all kinds - I will be volunteering at the event at the SAQA tables. We have a great display of work as well as information about the various groups in our area as well as upcoming shows!

The Oakville Fibre Arts group will have the studio up and running and open for visitors as well!

So, if you are in area of Bronte in Oakville, please drop by QE Park on Bridge Road and take it all in.

A few pieces that will be in the show!

Very best wishes for a great week,
Barbara

The Sedum Series

This is the second in the series ... of sedum heads from last fall. I hope you like the colours and the stitches, and the bits and pieces of stitch left behind. The second piece seemed softer that the first ... maybe not so controlled or anticipated.

This is watercolour on muslin, with rovings and handstitch.

Thanks so much ...

First, thank you for the comments, emails and help that came from my last request. My work is small, so many things can work! Finding something that for me is easy, not overly time-consuming (as my work is) and then looks good has been a challenge.
I especially want to say thank you to Judy at http://judysfiberart.blogspot.com/ ... she posted a tutorial on her blog based on mine and others requests for help ~ you can find the tutorial on her blog under "Gallery Hanging Tutorial". So, if anyone else out there is looking for ideas ... visit Judy's blog for beautiful work and lots of insight.
I find that even though I am new to this blogging ... I have met and received emails from so many wonderful artists (even those of you who don't think of yourselves as artists but you are)
... I am amazed at the wonderful, warm souls that participate in this platform.

Very best wishes, Barbara

Looking for suggestions !

I am wondering if anyone has some suggestions or ideas to help me out? I am adrift and stuggling with the framing/presentation of my work. I have been doing OK but the framing/mounting is just not what I am happy with. My work is on the smaller side 18" x 18" or less ... I find that doesn't take well to being hung on a rod of sorts as it doesn't have the weight to keep it down well. Currently, I have been mounting the pieces on stretched canvas (either painted or not) and then using a gallery frame to sit the canvas in.

It is fine but not great ... I am not sure if I should fancy up the frame at all or use straight black on the frame. Whatever I am doing wrong has me stumped ... I would be so happy for suggestions, thoughts, ideas ~ under glass vs not under glass ~ open for anything. Or if you know of books or website, or any other resource ~ I would be so very thankful!

Have a great weekend!

Sedum heads I ~ first of two

This was inspired by a huge bed of sedum that I found last fall ... the colours were stunning in that light.

So, I had started this series over the winter and then put them aside to work on a couple of other pieces that had become important. While digging through my colour searches, I came across the little water colour I used to determine my colour palette for the work. The goal at the time was to only set the pigments that I was looking for in the finished piece.

I find the process of colour searching so very helpful ~ the pieces started up again and with

this little watercolour to drive me on ~ the second is almost completed.

This is watercolour on muslin, rovings and hand-stitch

The Changing Landscape ~ juried in!

I can't tell you how pleased I was to learn last night that I piece that I had been working on most recently has been juried into a multi-disciplinary show at the Burlington Arts Centre in Burlington, Ontario.

This piece is called the Changing Landscape and has been inspired by both a beautiful piece of landscape pottery but most important the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It represents the oil and water mixing and swirling ~ habitats in crisis and lives and livelihoods devistated by this event. I came to realize how deeply disturbed I was by this huge mess that seemingly has no easy solution for anyone involved. I hope and I wish that anyone viewing the piece will understand how fragile our enviroment is and how somehow not enough thought is ever given as to how much harm can come to it. The scope of this is way, way, way beyond me but even if a few more people that might view the show ~ give our enviroment a bit more consideration then hopefully the statement wasn't a loss.

This is acrylic on muslin, rovings, hand-stitched, mounted and framed for the show

Passing Storm ~ all together ~

Here are the three ~ finished and put together, once again, photographing my work may not be my strong point. I think I am done with threes for a while ~ the thinking is sometimes the hard part about that.

I hope they connect for you ...

acrylic on muslin, rovings, hand stich

Passing Storm ~ third of three ~

The third of my set finished ~ hopefully I will have them set on a canvas shortly. Seeing them together ~ you can look from one to the other ~ maybe there is a beginning, a middle and an end or maybe not ~ sometimes I will take up the same subject matter another time.

I find that there are things I that I keep coming back to over time and somethings I don't ~ but by keeping only a gentle grasp on the ideas maybe there will be another set of three. I like twos as well, but usually they are larger and the singles are even bigger again.

I am working on a single and also a set of two right now.

Interestingly enough, the subject can sometimes tell you what to do or where to go ... often, a storm has a beginning, a middle and an end ...

i wish you a great weekend

Passing Storm ~ second of three~

So, here is the second of this set, in the middle piece ~ I wished to catch the rolling and turning back of the wind on itself with the ever so golden glow in the background. There are lots of indigo fluid acrylics under those rovings.

this is acrylic on muslin, with rovings, and hand-stitch

Passing Storm ~ first of three ~

This is another small set of three that I have started ~ inspired by a passing storm and the beautiful light that followed the dark clouds. I hope that you can feel the wind and fast movement of the clouds. I sometimes enjoy a good storm as long as it passes quickly and is off at a distance ...

~ acrylic on muslin, wool rovings and hand stitch ~

best wishes

Red Threads

Another small weekend piece, taking a little break from the larger bits but still working on them non-the-less. I enjoyed the stray red threads and bit of wool that almost turned themselves into a heart (or a juggler with very long arms).

This is water colour on muslin woven strips, wool, threads and ribbon trapped beneath a layer of sheer (also water coloured) and then all stitched by hand.

Sunspot

This is a small piece from the weekend ~ sometimes a take a little break from the bigger pieces with the rovings and lots of stitch. I named it sunspot because it makes me think of what a sunspot would be like ~ if I could indeed see one ...

watercolour on both muslin and sheer nylon fabric with stray wool and threads trapped beneath ~ hand-stitched with french knots for fun

Felt for stitch (detail)

a close up of a wet-felted piece which is ready for stitch ~ creamy white and pink rovings, a bit of watercolour, a few stray threads, wool and angelina fibres ~ about 14"x 12"

starry nights together

here are the three together ~ and mostly i am thinking i didn't do a great job of photographing them. (the individual posts have the better light)

the finished peice is roughly 20" x 10" ~ i enjoyed the really dark parts and the really light parts.

acrylic on muslin, merino rovings and hand-stitch

My Starry Night, three

i have finished the third of this series and will post them all together soon, in this piece i was looking for the swirls of people passing by, coming and going. hope you like it!

acrylic on muslin, rovings, thread and stitch

My starry night, two

this is the second of this series, i was looking for the light and the swirls and the dark patches that i love about the painting. these squares are small but when finished and mounted together the finished piece will be about 20" w x 10" h.
the muslin is painted and then a thin layer of roving is laid down to add texture, the stitch adds movement and direction.

My starry night, one

this is a second set of three that i have begun ~ i was reading about Van Gogh a few weeks ago and when this started to come together, the colours began to remind me of one of my most beloved paintings ~ and so it goes