Diamonds & Rust

Early this summer I tried a little experiment…

It was fun and pretty much all turned out to be a mess. Oh well, maybe someday deep in the future something will come of it!

The experiment grew out of interest in an artist named Marla Stoddard Hayes. I saw her beautiful art on a gallery website years ago. I was lucky to find her sharing her latest art practice with natural inks from plants and metals on instagram. It’s messy and fascinating! I love the elementalness of it…yes, I just made that word up;) I’m always curious about playing with metal in art making. Someday I hope to learn to weld…but that will be a post for another summer day!

This wasn’t all new to me. I once made stain with steel wool & vinegar. *It’s really easy…just pour some vinegar over steel wool in a glass jar and wait. You’ll get brownish/grey stain that makes wood look aged. Anyways…I’ve always wanted to try doing it with copper. It’s supposed to produce a beautiful blue/green.

I’d been on the lookout for some left over copper scraps for an experiment. I thought I was good to go after spying copper staples on card board boxes. I spent more time than I want to admit pulling them out with a screw driver till I had a nice little pile. Honestly, along the way I started to be suspicious they were only “copper” coated but sometimes “wishful thinking” can just make you believe! So…I poured on the vinegar and forged ahead;)

Obviously…from the photo below I didn’t get any beautiful blues.

Ah! Life!

I almost sure it’s Iron oxide.

This creative tangent with scraps of old watercolors lead to an intense amber “trash pile” of blotchy paper. It took on a sort of rusty leatheriness that I actually think could be interesting. I tried lots of techniques from scraping and scoring the paper to wrapping it in thread, wire and netting. I also snipped a few garden cuttings to press into the rusty concoction. Just to see what would happen!

And…there are always diamonds to be found even in experiments gone awry!

Like the interesting markings left behind from netting and the ghosts of plant patterns. I’m especially interested in the way the color pops over the black paint. And, there is the potential to someday combine this in some way with my “pintalism” experiments.

Nothing is ever really wasted.

I’ll file this all away under “hmm.”

And…I’m still on the lookout for copper scraps temping me with ever elusive blues;)

“They bring diamonds and rust.”

— Joan Baez

Eden Vibes

Sharing some snaps from the very mud like beginnings of 4 new pieces. I started these in early spring. They are in one of my favorite formats…tall and narrow at 12” x 48”

It’s been a lot of pouring on paint like stain and pulling in pretty pinks. Letting them shift and change at will. I paused in the midst of my usual “intuitive flow” to take a little excursion into experimenting with incorporating flower shapes. I always get a little obsessed with flowers in the spring;)

I’ll be curious to see if these flowers remain or disappear into the layers in the months ahead. Either way, I suspect these pieces will always have something of a flowing out of Eden vibe.

Eden myths amuse and intrigue me.

I like to imagine…Eve giving an epic eye roll while slamming the gate. Calling out behind her “I can’t do a damn thing with perfection anyway!” Marching away with her Maternal Mitochondrial DNA and tracking mud from Eden all over the place. Sure she made a bit of a mess but honestly nothing would have changed without her. Thank God for Eve. Wink!

Till next time…Be Well!

“At its essence art is an alchemical process. Alchemy is a process of transformation.”

— Julia Cameron

“It doesn’t disappear just because you say it isn’t there, so
When they ask why’d she go you can say ‘cause
Life in Eden...Life in Eden changed”

— Sara Bareilles & Matthew Hales

ps…pretty sure I’ve shared this quote before but it’s just too good not to share again!

“After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her.”

— Mark Twain, Diaries of Adam & Eve

Poppy Magic

On an icy day last February, I stood shivering in my garden scattering the tiniest black seeds over the snow. Then, because it was February, I ran back inside and dreamed of the thaw. 

For years now this has been my little ritual to beat the winter blues. It helps me to imagine all those seeds cracking open. Slowly mixing their thin roots with mud and light till they transform into blooms.

When June comes, I go out as the sun is just coming up and watch them break free from their shells. I’m astonished for days by the crepe petals that flutter in the breeze like fairy gowns. 

I sip my coffee and just stare and stare at them. The light. The shadow. The colors. The crown like centers. The magic of butterflies that come to feed. The whisper of danger from their opium histories. It’s like I just want something of their allure to seep in and become part of me.

They barley last a day then decide to go nude and drop all their petals. Leaving behind sculptural pods that dry into rattles filled with next years seeds. And, so it goes…

I often get asked where I get my inspiration for art. I’m never exactly sure what to say because the whole of it is a mysterious thing! I know that it’s some sort of swirl of emotion and energy…And, it’s from here in my “Little Eden” where seeds make magic.

Want more poppy inspiration? Check out last year’s poppy post>> here

“You have to keep breaking your heart till it opens”

— Rumi

“I’ve always loved the definition for contemplation: “a long, loving look.” And when you take a long, loving look anywhere, you feel more bonded with whatever you’ve looked at. ”

— Naomi Shihab Nye

Talisman Minis

Now is the time for some good luck!

This is the The Talisman mini series. The blue-green swirls have a touch of metallic along with optimistic yellow. The tiny details made me think of untangling a cosmic knot or necklace. That’s where the idea came to call this mini series The Talismans.

I used a technique that I love but haven’t used in several years. It’s a process I call “pulling strings.”

It involves prepping the boards for painting with gesso and then dipping thread in gesso. I then let it fall or wrap it onto the surface. It’s a little like trippy 60’s string art and wonderfully messy!

After it all dries…I pull the thread off. It makes a slightly incised surface with very thin lines. It creates a certain amount of randomness…that makes things interesting.

There is short video up on Youtube to give you a better idea click to watch