collage on soft papers

hand stitch, cloth, paper and collage

collage and hand stitch.....surface design

design sheet, with added embroidered cloth

creative options, Sunday

wall·​flow·​er ˈwȯl-ˌflau̇(-ə)r 

1a: any of several Old World perennial herbs (genus Cheiranthus) of the mustard family

especially: a hardy erect herb (C. cheiri) widely cultivated for its showy fragrant flowers

b: any of a related genus (Erysimum) of herbs with showy flowers

2a: a person who from shyness or unpopularity remains on the sidelines of a social activity (such as a dance)

b: a shy or reserved person (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wallflower)

Am I the only one who sees a contradiction in the above definitions? Showy yet on the sidelines? But that contradiction applies ...

I finished my last 100 day project collage on June 2 and am now pondering exactly what to do with a plastic bag full of 4 by 4 inch collages. Almost all are abstract compositions, though some could be considered impressionistic landscapes and a few have recognizable images.

My original parameters were to glue painted, printed and magazine photo scraps onto squares of card stock, and add a stamped image to them. I had a plastic tub full of scraps left from previous projects that I augmented with magazine photo strips about halfway through. I tried to use the scraps ...

extending design sampling for embroidery

design sheets in progress, paint and stitch

colage and embroidery, surface design

collage and embroidery, surface design

collage and embroidery, surface design

When I am given interesting materials I like to play and see what I can do with them. Recently in my volunteer work I came across the first of five volumes of a Braille book. No one knew what happened to the other four, so I got to take that volume home.

The Braille printed pages look like code, with raised dots on both sides of each page. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, “Braille symbols are formed within units of space known as braille cells. A full braille cell consists of six ...

collage and embroidery, sampling, surface design

playing with collage and stitch

simple collage and a little doodling

As of yesterday I have made 50 4 by 4 inch collages in my effort to complete the 100 day project. I wrote about the beginning of my effort here, and am pretty darn proud to have made it halfway.

Here are the collages I’ve made since the first 16. They’ve continued in an abstract landscape vein; and mostly contain some stamping, stenciling, or printing.

You logical types will have noticed there are actually 36 collages shown. One is for today, and the other is because I numbered two collages as 38. Since I don’t much like ...

This past Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I participated in a Zoom workshop on Textural Style with Natalya Khorover. We had a two hour Zoom session each day and then homework to do for the next day’s class. The class focused on using scraps of any type to create small machine and hand sewn collages. Natalya stresses materials reuse, especially plastics, in her work and teaching, though this workshop used fabrics more than plastics.

By Friday afternoon my studio looked like a fabric scrap cannon had been fired off, I had started four pieces, and my brain was exhausted. So ...

Finally, this year I’m doing the 100 day project. What’s that? You choose a creative project, do it every single day for 100 days, and share your process on social media. The organizers define creative widely, but I chose to make 4 by 4 inch collages from my paper scraps and stamps. Why? I already had all the materials needed, the size makes it doable, and it’s a chance for more composition practice.

Since February 22, the official start date, I have made 16 small collages. Sometimes I made two in a day as I had all ...

Not every piece of art has to be a blockbuster. Sometimes doing little projects can be satisfying, too. Over the past week I have been inspired to create mini bits by what turned up when I went hunting for a missing quilt. I am ashamed to say there’s no method to my quilt storage system other than compatibility between quilt size and storage container. A quilt may be rolled up, under my bed, in a tote, or in a big black trunk. So I looked through a lot of stuff before I found what I sought. Along the way ...