Winter On Its Way

Nothing like a little seasonable chill in the air and frost on the ground to get you mentally ready for winter.  I'll admit, I was a bit shocked when the temperatures began to drop.  At 71 degrees just the other day, I was beginning to think I was back in Florida...but now, alas, as it is nearly mid-November, having nightime temperatures below freezing should be quite acceptable!  One thing it does do, is get me in the holiday spirit, thinking of that beautiful snow falling outside, clinging to tree branches and the mornings of waking up to hoarfrost...glorious!  Clearly, it was time and so I found myself making the first piece for winter in the Season Cycles series.  Hope your week is going well...enjoy!

Winter No. 1, acrylic, ink and embroidery on handmade paper

Summer no.1 (Season Cycles Series)

It's the first piece in honor of summer in the Season Cycles series.  Like the others in the series, a petite 5 x 5" and mixed media on handmade paper...painting, drawing, collage and embroidery...my favorite combination!  I am experimenting in a new format with the little 1 1/2" square in the middle.  It may prove to be too limiting, but we'll just have to see!  Love to hear comments!

Spring Into Summer

I posted this piece, Spring no. 24, from the Season Cycles series today in my Etsy shop...the last one for spring as we move into summer.  Doesn't quite feel like summer here in South Dakota.  Nights are still cool, as are the mornings and we've had so many violent storms, like many other places in the midwest.  This bunch of daisies is a delightful reminder of the garden and the cheeriness brought by all those flowering gems out there.  I suppose I know it's summer because the weeds are gaining a foothold and the daisies need to be cut back, but I'm happy to report all the varieties of day lilies have begun to bloom!  Perhaps they'll be featured in the first piece in honor of summer!

Season Cycles/Spring no. 23

I posted this piece, Season Cycles/Spring no. 23, in my shop this morning! This is all about the wind, which once again, has stirred up and rustles the cottonwood trees noticeably. The wind is a fact of life on the Plains, but seems like this spring has been more-than-the-usual windy! Plants are blown in one direction hour after hour and the next morning, when the calm returns, they stand upright none the worse for wear...except for the daisies, that is.  Those little flower beads on this piece are about to get blown off the little piece of paper!

Had a productive day in the studio today.  Don't think I've mentioned it here, but I went ahead and quit my day job, which was only 1/2 time anyway, so that I could be in my studio full-time.  I am so much happier and hope that my creative life will also bring some financial stability--that would be even better!

Here's to all the artists and craftsperson creating something out of nothing--bravo to you all!

Rereading Pilgrim At Tinker Creek

Season Cycles/Spring no. 22 posted this morning in my Etsy shop, MissouriBendStudio.  Am working on a series of new pieces that will happen alongside the Season Series.  I guess you'd say I'm in the research and development phase...testing, testing, working out the details.  Although I have a fair idea by now, it's still a bit nervewracking, but fun, to see exactly what will develop out of this work!

Meanwhile I've started to reread Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard...I read it decades ago, as a much younger person and loved it then.  Now, a bit older, perhaps a tiny bit wiser, or at least with more experience of life, I find the book astonishing.  I loved and cherished my reading of it then, but now...well, every page is a piece of magic.  I want to write some passages down in my commonplace book, but I wouldn't know where to start and where to end...it's seemless and every moment of reading is  perfect.  I can't recommend it highly enough, especially if you are an artist or are interested in seeing and experiencing life beyond the ordinary...or perhaps I should say THROUGH the ordinary and the every day.

Cheers!

The Beginning of May

Season Cycles/Spring no. 20 was posted the other day at MissouriBendStudio on Etsy.  There are still a couple more in the works in the spring series, but am planning to switch things up a bit and begin some watercolors.  I'm not bored with the Season Cycles, but think that the watercolors might help me be more spontaneous...besides I want to do it all!  Took the weekend off from the studio, working the yard, etc. and today was my husband's birthday, so we had a fun day.  I have two more weeks at my part-time library job and then I will leave to be in the studio full-time...can't wait!  More time to focus and create!
It's May and I am expecting the return of the Baltimore Orioles any day...with great anticipation, as they are great fun to watch!

Season Cycles no.18

I finished up a couple new pieces in the Season Cycles series last night, no.17 and no.18.  They're both now posted in my shop at etsy.com.  Pictured above is no.18, a whimsical piece that has a column of beads strung in rows, like an abacus...fun to move and play with!  Somehow it's hard to get the color to translate on the computer -- the actual piece is so much more vibrant and lively in person.

Season Cycles no.16

A couple of new postings in my shop this morning...featured here is Season Cycles/Spring no.16.  Can you tell I love sewing on paper?

Cool with a gentle rain today...the plants are thirsty and are soaking it up.  Getting the herb garden underway, but hard to tear away from the studio these days.  The days are longer, but still only 24 hours!

Please visit my other blog where I post a daily found text poem: www.missouribendpaperworks.blogspot.com

Color on Color

Pictured here is one of the latest postings in my shop at www.etsy.com/shop/missouribendstudio.  From the Season Cycles series, this is Spring no.13 and it's loaded with tiny random stitches in the cloud and the bush.  One of the delights of my art making practice is seeing the way bits of color interact and work next to and top of each each other.  But I always wonder when it's enough...when are there enough stitches.  I guess that moment comes when my finger is too sore to poke the needle through the heavily stitched paper even one more time!

Sewn Paper

Just finished up Season Cycles/Spring no. 13 and no. 14 and added to MissouriBendStudio on etsy.com.  In my last post I showed this piece (Spring no. 14) before any of the embroidery and beads were added.  Here it is in its finished state, many hours later!  It's fun to watch what happens as each stitch is added...a very slow and meditative way of drawing!

Day by Day

What a difference in the color of the landscape day by day.  The unfolding of green seems to be accelerating at a pace I can't quite remember from years before.  A nice rain last night and this morning has given the plants a nice long drink!  Posted a couple of pieces in my etsy.com shop today and am busy working on a several others, which I hope I can post over the weekend.  We'll see...one can't quite control the creative process.

Season Cycles/Early Spring no.11 is pictured above.  Visit my shop for others in the Season Cycles series, all with detail views.

View of the Missouri River from MissouriBendStudio

Worked happily in the studio all day and finished up another small group of work for the Season Cycles, which I'll photograph and post on the Etsy shop in the morning.  Evenings are chilly lately, but the light is wonderful and the river looks especially beautiful in the morning.  Trees are showing signs of leafing out and plants are working their way back up through the ground--it's glorious!