Ode to the Circle

Lately, I've fallen in love with circles.There's something soothing about the repetition of that shape. I suppose that's why children love to blow bubbles. That's why they love balloons. 

I suppose that's why people can't resist skipping stones (that circular weight in the palm is so satisfying before its released). I suppose that's why a circular pizza seems more appetizing than "artisan" rectangular ones. It's probably why that dopey yellow smiley face is the mascot for the "Have a Nice Day" campaign.

Of course, the shape is feminine. It speaks of cycles: beginnings and endings--coming full circle. It's non-threatening with no hard edges. It's cellular and of the body. It's full moons, candy wafers, the ends of thread spools, clocks, and blood.

Well-Seasoned Art

Salt and pepper are necessities at the dinner table, and one of those seasonings works well in art applications. Adding salt to a wet watercolor results in some striking patterns. Each color reacts to the salt differently. Other variables affect the end result too: amount of salt applied, what kind of salt, wetness of the watercolor, color of watercolor, and even brand of the watercolor.

 I was most pleased with these QCR watercolors. They are the most vivid, and as a result, the salt technique seems to "pop" more.

I was pleased with the unexpected color combo of the mustard-y yellow and the deep purple.

 Obviously I began to love the purple/yellow color scheme and added some hot pink and orange as well.

This final effect is much softer. You can't see where individual salt crystals were. The effect reminds me of the few times my clumsiness has resulted in spilling a drink on a shopping list. The ink moves outward, leaving no color in the middle, with the majority of the color creating a ring or stain.

My Blue Valentine

The first year my husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day, I made him an altered book. It was actually before he was my husband--back when we were dating, boyfriend/girlfriend....whatever you call it.

The book contained 26  layouts--one for each letter of the alphabet. I matched each letter with some sort of characteristic I loved about him, or I used the letter as a trigger to write about a memory we had shared.

He went on to use the page layouts in that altered book as inspiration for one of his watercolor shows.

Several Valentine's Days have passed, and for each of those years, I felt a bit of despair that I couldn't replicate that project or go to such great lengths. It just wasn't in me--not because I didn't feel the love. Indeed, every year I have felt more love and adoration. It's just that the project sort of set the bar high and created a creative block.

Fast forward to this year. We dated for one year before he proposed to me. It was another year until we got married. And now we have been married one year and four months.

Tobe lavished Valentine's Day celebration on me the moment I got home Thursday night. He presented me with flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries. Last night, he took me out to dinner at Wild Sage.

I decided to create a card that would hold gift cards for things my husband enjoys. The card idea quickly became a super-sized accordion-fold album with a carrying case. 

My intent was to create a found poem that talked about the evolution of how we came to be--who we are as a couple so far.

I set a few ground rules for myself: no hearts, no typical valentine colors, and no store-bought items--only papers I'd painted or made via some technique.

 ...and immediately I broke the rule, since there's a heart on that hand, and that woman's face comes from a vintage piece of scrapbook paper...

 Very quickly the poem started to come together. This first part reflects who I was and how I felt before Tobe.

 I had to include a vintage image from an old art textbook. I actually think this is supposed to be a dude...but let's pretend it's me ;)

 I also tried to include lots of geometric shapes, particularly circles, since Tobe's own art has been characterized lately by circle love.

 I found myself making reference to a river, which seems apt, considering that Tobe loves to fish, and we spend as many days as we can during the summer fishing.

 I suppose I wanted to include a male character within these pages, so I tore this poor fellow in half. He hairline actually is pretty reminiscent of Tobe's.

 I couldn't resist getting a few clocks in...I'm a bit obsessed with them in my own projects.

 At this point, I flipped the book over and continued our story.

 I broke my "no typical Valentine fodder" rule by including a love poem.

 A couple months ago, I made some owl prints. I decided to include one here.

 I tried to make sure that there was continuity in the images and the words of the poem, so it made sense to include this motel name.

 I enjoy re-using and recycling things, so I was pleased I could include an airmail sticker and a side off a spool of ribbon.

 I wanted the poem to address the difference between storybook love and real-life. Thus, I included our animals and the fact that Tobe often sleeps in.

 And I ended the poem with the idea that I am glad these "things"--the dog, the cat, the house, my man are mine. I feel blessed.

Here's a shot of the first half of the story.

Here's a shot of the second half of the story.

 Here's the holder I made for it. I ran ribbon through grommets, and it will tie in a bow. I'm not crazy about this, but I'm unwilling to re-do it.

And finally, I glued some bags, envelopes and library card holders onto the inside. This will hold the 3 gift cards I got him. I got him cards to places that he might like to go without me.  To a stranger, this might sound cold, but it's actually practical. Because my job takes me away from him for half of every week, he's a bit of a bachelor on those days. While I try to make sure I've made some sort of dinner on our last night that will result in leftovers, I thought it would be nice if he was able to go get some beer and wings ;)

In a case of art imitating life (or vice versa), my love is still sleeping. But when he wakes, I'll present him with this gift.

Handmade Fodder?

This is stuff I made for a "handmade fodder" swap. The idea is to make accessories, I guess, suitable for including in art journals, as card fronts--basically on whatever project your partner needs a head-start on.

 This is the selection I mailed to my partner.

 I tried to color coordinate bits and pieces. Many of these feature stamps I've carved or experimentation in stenciling. For instance, I made the large loopy hot pink piece by spraying through the six-pack ring that holds sodas together.

 This set also features experimentation in stenciling. The large circle is made by spraying ink through a large bubble wand (the kind that kids use with soapy solution). Meanwhile, the oval on the bottom row is made by playing around with a potato masher and my Gelli plate.

These are just odds and ends that didn't really suit a color scheme. Aside from the collage ATC, they're exceptionally plain, so I'm assuming my part will sass them up and add focal images or words or something.

When "The Feels" Interfere...

I haven't posted in awhile. There was/is lots going on. As the kids say, "I had some FEELS." I won't go into specifics, but let's just say there have been headaches, heart aches, tears, and lots of worrying. I don't see an immediate resolution on the horizon, but I'm slowly doing things. Instead of just coming home from work and lying down for the rest of the evening, I began last week to put in an hour here and there (sometimes in the wee hours of the morning) towards fulfilling my artsy obligations.

This most recent emotional speed bump is really making it clear how much I need to pull back from signing up for these things. While I love the challenge and also the friendships I've cultivated, this stuff is more stressful than fun. The deadlines stress me out when I'm already stressed out.

In the coming months, my goal is to sign up for fewer swaps. Maybe my energy will return. Maybe it won't. Maybe my drive for creating won't feel so squashed in the future. In the meantime, I have to fulfill obligations and do my best not to leave people hanging.

 These are some Valentine-type ATCs I made for a swap.

 And these are some non-traditional Valentine's tags for a swap.

 Ditto...

  I made this for a HeART swap. Unfortunately, I didn't adhere to the rules, which specified there must be a heart somewhere on the item. The feeling and intent is there...

 This is one of 5 greeting cards I made for a swap...

and another greeting card...

 and another...

 and another...

... and the final greeting card in the series of 5.

 Then there's a black and white postcard swap, for which I made this...

...and this.

 I also signed up for a black and white ATC swap. I can never make just one of a thing, so I ended up with a series:

It's good not to be catatonic. It's good to feel I have control of something, even if it is just colorful little pieces of paper.