Catching up..

So, yes, I'm embarrassed that I haven't updated this blog in months. No excuses. I haven't thought of anything to say, so I've been working on other things. My priority, once spring arrives, is opening my gardens. And every year I expand them. Now that it's nearly August, I'm in cruise mode as far as that's concerned.

 And we have a new puppy! But puppies are work, especially in the first few weeks, so she's had my full attention. Her name is Ruby.

Not that I've been just sitting around..I've been hard at work in between housebreaking failure clean ups..One project was related to The Sketchbook Project. This time, I participated in The Self-Portrait Project. They mailed me a 4" x 4" canvas to handle any way I wanted. Before I started, two things happened. I discovered a tutorial about needle felting written by Sarah Trumpp on Art Trader Magazine. Then, my sister and I went to Brooklyn to see the opening of the 2012 Sketchbook Project at the Art House Co-op, and we met the founders of the Project live and in person! So I was able to ask if it mattered how far out from the canvas I worked - they said as long as I stayed within the edges so the art wouldn't interfere with the grid display, it was all good. As I like to say, Wahooooo!

I hit Etsy in search of wool roving and felting needles. Then once it arrived, I got busy. Here is the result:

I glued it to the canvas, then reinforced it with the aluminum tape and nails. Hopefully it survives, although it is pretty solid. There is even a broken needle or two stuck in there. My next needle felting project will be much larger. My sister and I will be returning to Brooklyn in a couple of weeks to see the show. I can't wait!

Another project just about completed is the first moleskine journal exchange. The last bit of work I have to do is on my own, which I received almost two weeks ago. Hopefully, once I'm done, I'll post the results. The most interesting thing was how the other artists interpreted my instructions.

One theme that passed through my studio was 'Beautiful Decay'. Here are the four pages I added to that one, an imagined representation of the current state of my former studio in Housatonic, MA.

It was a rocking studio, but heating it was killer. I moved out with the intention of moving to Virginia for a job designing stained glass windows. Plans changed, but I couldn't go back.

And the last moley, themed 'Fairy Tales', was the end of our rounds. My direction for that one was the house of candy from Hansel and Gretel. The hot pink ink I'm currently using does not scan well, for some reason. Therefore, this image isn't quite as bright as it is in actuality, but you get the idea, I hope..