Fun!!

We had a great day. Six hours of creativity. We did nothing but create fabric paper, but, of course, it took a trip to the dollar store to get the supplies necessry to make the fabric paper. I came home with five pieces, but I think that only four of them will be usable. One piece just isn't good enough. However, I can cut it up and use it as the base for the creation of the next layer within the collage. Before I left it was obvious that we're apporaching the next layer ( the one that shows) quite differently. I'm always amazed at how different we are in approach even when we are basically using similar techniques and sharing supplies. So, over all a great day and not at all what I expected.

Studio Day-Anticipation

Yes, I have a studio day with a friend planned for today! DH plans to go along and, after dropping me off, he is going to our DD's new house to paint. I'm all "a twitter" trying to figure out what to take with me to work on. My friend doesn't know it, but we're going to spend some time going through her stash looking for stuff that could be used in a collage. Now, given the size of my friend's stash, that could take all week, but we'll try to control ourselves. So I decided to try my hand at thread painting. I have a sun print of lizards that I'm going to "tart up". I have the most recent issue of Quilting Arts Magazine that has an article on a less dense type of thread painting that just might work with the lizards. We may even tryo our hands at makign fabric paper. All of this means that I'm going to have to pack up everything but the kitchen sink! Better get busy.

Here is collage number two. I had more luck with this one as I was able to correct the mistakes I made in no 1. I really have to say that they look much, much better when you can see the real thing. Both of them have a very strong golden impact that just doesn't come up in the pictures.

first collage

Here is my first collage. I wish you could get a better view of it, but I figure I'm lucky to have got it posted in the first place, so I'm not going to mess with it. Now that I take a good look, I realize that I didn't take a very good picture. I'll have to try again.

Plumbers and rain

Yes--we've had more than enough of both. Yesterday, we were up by 5:30, and down to the lake to meet a plumber by 9:00. (a longer trip because, of course, we had to stop at Tim Horton's for take away breakfast and then Wal-mMart to by candies for sustenance on the road) Then family has agreed to put out money to pay someone to come in and sort out our water supply down there. We are getting a little desperate. There is a huge crack ( hole??) in the tank of the toilet. My neice tells us that she and her children run the pump long enough to fill a 5 gallon pail that they keep in the shower ( because we can't run enough water to ever have a shower). When they need to flush the toilet they transfer water from the pail into the toilet bowl for the flush. Now--I personally prefer to use the little house up the path. It would also be nice to have running water-even cold water- in the summer kitchen. However, the pipes from the pump are held together with duct tape,and we are afraid to put any pressure on them for fear that the whole thing explodes and the house is washed away down the hill.

The plumber's estimate was over $6000. And it's still raining--has been for a week and the forecast is for more.

Then I spent the afternoon waiting to see a doctor in Urgent care because of a dislocated finger. After 5 1/2 hours he told me that the xrays were fine. I hate being treated like an ignorant fool. The darn thing is still quite swollen and the whole hand ached. Then it was off to a friend's surprise 60th birthday party. DH brought clothes when he came to pick me up at the hospital. I changed in the washroom, and because of time constaints, and the price of gas, he drove me over, then parked just around the block while I went to the party. So, of course, once th surprize was over, I felt too guilty to stay( and the hand is still throbbing). Last evening I had strong drink before bed.

But on Wednesday and Thursday I put together five sunprinted wall hanging tops. I have them spray basted and now just have to do the quilting and bind them. Two of them are at the binding stage. I'm pleased with this bunch. However, now we're off to grocery shop (in the rain).

Yes, Yes, Yes...

I've almost finished the second collage and it's just as pleasing as the first one. I'll be able to incorporate a hanging mechanism into this one. However, reality intrudes and now I have to get back to more serious work. I've realized that I can't ignore my deadlines any more. The next step is --pictures!! My nemesis! Can't be avoided. My Snowdrifts hanging needs to get off to BC for the show in Seattle in August. So I have to compete the customs declarations and that means that I have to get a picture to attach to each and every copy. I'm also at the picture stage with my class proposal for Regina. I'll maybe try to get pictures of my collages as well.

Still Vegging?

Maybe not--I don't know. Spent yesterday morning sitting in a coffee shop with a very dear friend. We have known each other for over 30 years. There have been times when we didn't see each other for a few years at a stretch, but then when we got together, it was like we had never been apart. She retired at the end of May, and has found the transition difficult. I tried to point out that she is probably going through a grieving process, and that this will take time. But it sounds as though her DH has made the transition a little quicker, and that this has put them at odds. Then I had a studio visitor in the afternoon. She didn't stay long, just came to pick up something, but it was a bit of a break anyway. Then supper. Well, I haven't had to think about planning and preparing an evening meal for over a week. And for me, this is a habit that has proven easy to break. ( Don't I wish they were all that easy to break!)

I finished the first collage that was inspired by the Beryl Taylor book. I'me very, very pleased but have yet to figure out how to hang it. I had thought about mounting it on a stretched canvas, but it's an odd size. so that would mean having a canvas custom made for it. I haven't a clue how expensive that might be. At this point I'm just going to put a couple of curtain rings on the back..just to use while I figure out something else. So--nothing on tv--I started a second one. I had the pieces layed out, before I went to bed, and, of course, my brain was in gear all night, and I'm having second thoughts. The book was all about layering and miniscule details, and I had started to simplify, in my planning. So I'll take another look this morning. The third one I had planned is taking off in a completely different direction--it may well end up as a thread painting instead of a collage. Of course, then I would have to learn to thread paint!