Here we go...

So...I am feeling pretty good. I took the blue tree that I did in the art class and put it in the printer and made copies...the copies deleted part of it because it is bigger than the screen. Anyway, I glued the xerox (black & white) onto a canvas and then I fooled around with some of the stuff I have cut out...found a few things that worked and copied them, cut them out and put them on the xerox of the tree in collage form. I like the monochromatic look of it. It was 2:00 AM by the time I finished that part. This morning @ 6:30AM I put a coat of varnish on it and also a last coat of varnish on my last collage. Now it's protected and I can paint into it. I may not get to it today because of errands and bids...stuff. I feel that I am really feeling my way into this piece...it became, of course, about Original Sin because after all, when you're working with a tree---the next thing that comes to you is an apple and once the apple is there, well, it's just original sin all over again. Probably wasn't even an apple in Eden..maybe it was an orange or a kiwi or a cherry or whatever. Anyway, the apple thing is stuck in my head and at this age.....So, I am excited about painting into these images and also a little scared it will wreck it because I DO like the black and white...maybe I'll make 2. Is that cheating? Bye for now.

Here we go...

So...I am feeling pretty good. I took the blue tree that I did in the art class and put it in the printer and made copies...the copies deleted part of it because it is bigger than the screen. Anyway, I glued the xerox (black & white) onto a canvas and then I fooled around with some of the stuff I have cut out...found a few things that worked and copied them, cut them out and put them on the xerox of the tree in collage form. I like the monochromatic look of it. It was 2:00 AM by the time I finished that part. This morning @ 6:30AM I put a coat of varnish on it and also a last coat of varnish on my last collage. Now it's protected and I can paint into it. I may not get to it today because of errands and bids...stuff. I feel that I am really feeling my way into this piece...it became, of course, about Original Sin because after all, when you're working with a tree---the next thing that comes to you is an apple and once the apple is there, well, it's just original sin all over again. Probably wasn't even an apple in Eden..maybe it was an orange or a kiwi or a cherry or whatever. Anyway, the apple thing is stuck in my head and at this age.....So, I am excited about painting into these images and also a little scared it will wreck it because I DO like the black and white...maybe I'll make 2. Is that cheating? Bye for now.

New week, new post

So, Today I went to a new class thru the Emeritus (senior) College. The exercise was to work with blue, white and black and first create colors in piles, then create a sky, then go outside and paint a tree. She suggested painting or drawing with paint instead of pencil. So, I came up with a fair tree and sky and the experience was good for me. I had forgotten that I can actually draw. Maybe because my critic has so much to say about the quality of my drawings, or maybe just fear or maybe just lazy. I really want to get away from the analysis of my work, my thoughts on my work and especially on myself. It really doesn't matter why or how I do stuff, only that I keep trying and doing. The more I analyze the more mired I become in the old crapola. So, what I'm trying to say is that it was good to paint a tree. I didn't think so before I started, but I say so now, IT WAS GOOD TO PAINT A TREE. Everyone said mine was the best and that felt good too, but that wasn't the reason I.......STOP THE ANALYSIS! Thank you. I loved mixing the blues and got lost in the DETAILS (hello, Andrew) of putting in highlights and shadows. Highlights and shadows are the most important part of my collages, as well. I like doing them. That's all, If I say anymore I will ANALYZE I think I spelled Analyze wrong but what the fuck.

New Work

I was able to get here because I just learned that it makes a difference if I use Andrew's attachment or put the address in myself at the top. The access is different on each. Anyway, I am working on 3 collages...very time consuming, because there is lots of layering and shadowing with paint and highlighting, etc to get them the way I want them. Did not work with the cutouts , but I will. The 3 collages are very much self-portraits...but inside jobs. More about me, my life and feelings and thoughts than a visual record of me on the outside. I once made an inside/outside box..where the outside of the box was what I believed that people saw me as...how I was percieved and the inside was more of the truth about me, about my thoughts and my own perception of myself. Anyway, the collages are like the inside box. Maybe I'm going somewhere.

Things change

So, today I had to click on a different thing than last time to get here, and just when I thought I had it down. Oh well, Things Change. The big lesson is to keep riding the waves to shore in spite of it. So anyway, I am still working with my little figures. Today I went to the book store to exchange a book and I got Altered Art which is of great interest to me. While I was there, I thumbed through Somerset Magazine which I no longer subscribe to and there was a formula in there for a resist using non fat milk. I didn't buy the Mag because I am cutting down on stuff that I am not so in love with. The formula is just to use nonfat milk with a pen like ink or a brush to write or draw images and then to either hit it with a heat gun or just let it sit overnight to imbed the paper. Maybe the heat gun is important, I'll have to try it. Or, an alternative ink can be a mix of nonfat milk and sweetened condensed milk. Anyway, you can wash it with inks, etc and it will act as a resist, leaving a creamy white image instead of stark white paper. I think that I read that it washes off the surface when heated. Maybe I'll have to read the article again. Page 70 of the new Somerset. Should have taken notes...just did. I promised Joyce that I would have the kitchen all done before we got together again. Thank God she went to Baja. She wants me to go in Jan or Feb. I guess I might do it. Also, MaryEllen called and she wants to go to Las Vegas soon to visit her brother so We can go together and I can see Janet and Ro. MaryEllen and I can talk while we drive. Who knew I would want to make trips? Every time I see something new I think about how I can make Art about or with it. THAT makes me feel happy. Now, let me see if I can post this sucker.

Third Post WHEW!

Tried and tried to post to my blog, and lacked the skill/knowledge to set it up to post...previous efforts happened without my learning anything about how to do it. Anyway, I know now to go to the top line and hit createpost. My God..each piece of info is really hard won. Anyway, I am working still with paper and collage and after thinking about the last piece, I decided to return to the source...the source within myself. So, I drew on scratch paper some lady figure that I have always drawn. I gave her some slight differences and then cut them all out and began to arrange them. I like the arranging part, so I copied all 5 of them so I could have more without more drawing. Haven't cut them out yet. My plan is the make them a little thicker by painting them and then arrange them on a surface. Then, I will gold leaf over all of them and glaze the leaf to pick up the edges of the figures. Then, I will age the leaf with vinegar and salt, bleach, etc. Probably paint into it (maybe) Because I now own copies of the figures, I can make multiples and really push the surface stuff into a mess if I want to. Of course, I could always draw more, but I am more interested in the surface and what I can do with it so I want to spend my time with that. Faux never dies! You can take the painter out of the faux but you can't take the faux out of the painter. Any other euphamisms also apply here. Well, more later because now I know I can.

Another day

So, I finally figured out how to post a second day on this blog. I am teaching myself with Andrew's help how do use the computer. Luckily, I can type. I have been working on collage over the weekend, I struggled with the concept of my collage which began with the idea of original sin and what I found, after time, much time, was that I do better without pre-conceived ideas of what I'm supposed to be doing. The collages that I just did, because I liked a color or one picture turned into messages from me to me all by themselves. This one, that I had decided to dedicate to the idea of original sin was a major struggle. I got all caught up in the message instead of following my intuition. I think I got hung up on original sin in order to show off. You know, being with a bunch of Artists or other people and being asked about my work and feeling kind of lame just saying "I just like to cut and paste stuff". So, it seemed more artistic to have a theme...especially original sin. Now, I do have a problem with the idea of being to blame for stuff just because I am female. And, I've long had a huffy feeling about the word Pudendum meaning shame. I am not a feminist, in fact, I'm old enough to know that we lost a really good deal when every one became equal. Of course, I was trained to "work the system" and it was a shock to have to change methods in mid-stream. I digress. Anyway, the big deal is that I don't want to work with a pre-conceived idea anymore. It inhibits me. This creativity stuff is kind of tricky for me. I think too much...at least that's what I think today. Tomorrow?????? that's all for now.