Happy 2013

Robyn of Art Propelled posted a Neil Gaiman quote that I just can't resist sharing as well.

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
― Neil Gaiman

Wishing you a year of taking chances and making mistakes!

Looking at 2012

I've just been oohing and aahing over Susan's and Fiona's posts in which they look back at what they accomplished in this year. Their work is magnificent and so inspiring that I would be content to sit in front of my computer all day, surf their blogs and continue to drool all over my keyboard in total awe.

Instead, I'm going to take cue from them and repost some of my favorite photos from the year. Enjoy!

light and shadows in the studio.

 Ann Coddington Rast, sisters, detail 2 during FiberPhiladelphia

Marilyn Richeda, 80 Unusual Stories at Silvermine Arts Guild

 shopping cart detail for Roy G Biv

 my tea bags

 marks on a wooden fence in Norwalk

 raindrops on day lily fronds in the front yard

unrolling a rusty bundle

 light and shadows at Pam's - her work on the table, mine on the wall

 100+ rusty square edges

 Pam's water

 

 a sunny day in London

 rust at AllSaints Spitalfields in London

 fence in Boston

 Martin Creed's Half the air in any given space at The Cleveland Museum of Art

 India Flint's hands

 Christine Mauersberger's stitching

tea reflection on table

rusty can + thread in snow

Getting rusty

An old rusty can relaxing by the side of the road caught my eye the other day.  It practically begged me to stop and take it home. Being that the road is a rather busy one, it took a few more days before the perfect opportunity to safely stop and retrieve it was available.

The minute I saw the can with all that glorious rust, I knew just what to do.

So after shaking the dirt out of it

and taking a few photos, 

 I selected a spool of thread given to me by Joan earlier in the year

 and wrapped

 and wrapped until the whole spool had been used and only tiny sections of the can were still visible. Then I sprayed the thread with vinegar, put can et al in a bag and gave the vinegar time to work its magic.

 

  Not too bad, huh? With that thread drying and snow falling, well...

I decided it was time to let Mother Nature have a bit of fun too.

Pondering the new year

It's that time when thoughts turn to the coming year and what it will hold. For me, it's time to organize the studio, unearth my worktable, mull over a few old ideas and ponder a few new ones.

 The indigos are calling

 as are the story tiles.

  My Morning Tea

for the Sketchbook Project needs a short note and to be mailed.

 I'd like to experiment with rust and paper more.

Do a bit more stitching as well.

 Continue to search for Roy G Biv.

And set a few challenges for myself. 

More on those later.

What would you like to do in 2013?

In the studio

Where? Oh where did my work table go?

Where? Oh where can it be?

With it's clean white top and it's cutting board too,

Where? Oh where can it be?

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a magical Christmas filled with love, laughter, peace and joy.

The mysterious whites

I've been teasing you a bit lately,

 posting black and white abstracts

 along side stitching and strings

and rusty circles.

Several of you guessed at what was making the abstracts.

Lisa of Arzigogolare was the closest...

only the exact brand of paper was elusive.

Still...has anyone truly guessed what was afoot in the studio?

 Tis this season, afterall.

Ah...you've got it now!

Finally found a use for those papers I eco dyed and rusted earlier in the year.

The cards are finally on their way to family and friends, as they should have been a week or so ago.

I must admit that it was difficult to send them out...those shadows from the afternoon sun were just so much fun to watch and photograph. And I took tons of photos! There's an idea for a series floating around my mind...it whispers...it teases...it flits out of view. Perhaps it's waiting for the new year...

Searching for Roy G Biv - White - updated

White.

 From frost on my windshield 

 to the froth on my cappuccino

 or the arrows found on a NYC building,

 white symbolizes light,

 purity and cleanliness.

 It reminds one of home and

 that magic exists.

White can be hard 

 or soft

and every now and then

just a bit mysterious.

What does white remind you of?

Liz Davidson has snowy whites on a blue day.

Mary Jane has a celestial body of white.

Fiona has the white of peace.

Julie, like me, has a variety of whites.

Ersi has a state of white.
Lisa has mise en place whites.
India has roving whites.
Barry has silvery healing whites.
Christine has playful salty whites.
Elizabeth has brilliant snowy whites.
Karen forecasts snowy whites.
Shipbuilding has wrapped whites.
Velma has snowy whites.

Do you have white?