Blots, Drips, and Splots

I've just read Margaret Peot's Inkblot.  She states that we can stimulate our creativity through "cultivating playfulness" on a regular basis.  This "training" will help us to use both our right brain (intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective) and  our left brain (logical, analytical, and objective) together. She suggests that using randomly made folded ink spots, blown ink, and poured ink, we can train ourselves to analyze and see creatively.  Margaret recommends that a person make many ink spots, look at them, and draw what you see.
The process is not as easy as I thought. I need to practice.  I, also, used too much ink to begin with - I think slightly diluted ink would work better for me. Here's the first one:

India ink blot, March 2014

Strathmore sketch paper, Prismacolor colored pencil,  6" x 9"

.....and another:

Blown colored ink blot, March 2014

Strathmore sketch paper, Prismacolor colored pencil, 7 1/2" x 8"

Margaret tells about "the master of blown-ink technique", Stefan G. Bucher, and I love his creatures in the book 100 Days of Monsters which I will be reading.  Going to check out 344 Questions, too. His website is Daily Monster.  

Let's see if I can stre-e-e-e-e-t-c-h my imagination........

Wool Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree, March 2014

Wool, cloth coated floral wire, floral tape, 1/4" dowel, wood block, 16"

The trees branches are made of floral wire wrapped with strips of wool.  The wool strips are 1 1/4" wide with 1" fringe cut into them.  The branches are attached to the dowel with floral tape and the dowel is mounted in a painted block of wood.  The base is decorated with inchies painted on mat board and inchie ornaments hang from the branches.

Inchie Mat

Inchie Mat, March 2014

Wool strips on linen, 14" x 14"

This mat design was created with worms from my stash on a one inch grid.  

New Rug

This is the color plan for a new 2' x 3' abstract rug ( haven't named it yet).  Very bright! We'll see how it goes.........

Use What's Available

Lighthouse, March 2014

Stamped image on acrylic paper, 4 1/4" x 4 1/4"

Sometimes I like to use what's available to make a piece. This scene is made with a stamp called "Lighthouse" (#80158) by Stamps Happen, Inc.. I added the color with Prismacolor water color pencils, cut the picture into 1 inch squares, used Distress Stain (Vintage Photo) on the edges, and mounted it on 2 pieces of cardstock. It's a simple way to make an illustration to use on a card, for example. Not as nice as an original work, but fun. Having fun is important. I think we miss some of the fun if we are very strict with our art. I'm thankful for each day I get to wake up and enjoy the day.

Leaf Mosaic, March 2014

Cotton fabric, 9" x 12"

This piece, too, is made by using what's available. The leaf design is from Laundry Basket Quilts (Silhouettes).  It's a laser cut, fusible shape for appliqué (6 batik leaves of various sizes in the envelope). I ironed the leaf to a piece of batik, cut it into 1 inch squares (what else...?) and appliquéd the piece to a brown cotton fabric with my sewing machine. I added buttons from "the jars".  The piece is backed with the same gold toned batik cotton.

Bird Puzzle Appliqué

Bird Puzzle, March 2014

Wool appliqué on muslin, backed and edged with cotton fabric, 13" x 15"

This pattern is by Karen Fahel and appeared in Felt and Wool for All Seasons from Better Homes and Gardens. Each square is 1" x 1" felted wool and is attached to a piece of muslin with a blanket stitch in 2 strands of Weeks Dye Works floss in charcoal color. The colors were gathered from my stash. The backing is a piece of cotton fabric cut 4 inches wider and longer than the appliqué and folded to the front for a self binding.  The eye is a button from "the jars".

Seaside Inchies

Seaside Inchies, March 2014

These beach finds were mounted (hot glued) onto 1" x 1" pieces of mat board covered in Tyvek. The inchies are mounted on mat board with foam dots and placed in a shadow box frame.
Tyvek is a material made by DuPont of high-density polyethylene fibers and is used in construction, envelopes, packaging, etc..  It doesn't tear, but it can be easily cut. The Tyvek was painted with Fantastix mint green all purpose fabric ink then ironed between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Tyvek reacts to heat and causes the material to "bubble".  You have convex shapes on one side and concave shapes on the other side.  If you apply too much heat, it will melt (but this might also be interesting in an art piece, too).

This is a piece of Tyvek that I painted with Lumiere Paint before ironing.  A video demonstrating the entire process can be found on Joggles.com.

Artist Trading Cards

Artist trading cards are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" and are made of any media.

Artist Trading Cards, March 2014

These cards are on a card stock base. The first card is made with card stock flower shapes drawn with marker, cut out, and attached with foam glue dots. The second is layered tissue and thread with the face drawn in black Micron ink pen. The third is made with dried hydrangea blossoms under tissue paper with the drawing in micron and watercolor pencil. The fourth is tissue covered music sheet with the drawing in Micron pen. The last is used tea bags (with tea) with the drawing in Micron pen, colored pencil, and painted with Lumiere paint.  

Little Things

In the continuation of "little things"........

Shore Light, March 2014

Acrylic on canvas, 2" x 2"

(a Twinchie)

Evening in Wellfleet Harbor, March 2014

Acrylic on canvas, 2" x 4"

More

Inchie Gift Card & Tag

March 2014

I used some of the "completely natural inchies" to decorate this gift tag and card.

Inchies

Inchie Art

March 2014

An inchie is any piece of art that is 1" by 1", and it can be made in any media. (There are also "Rinchies"- round inchies, "Inchies + - those over an inch, and "Twinchies" - those measuring 2" x 2".)  There are many sites online where you can get "how to" instructions and sites where Inchies can be traded as you would Artist Trading Cards.  

 Often artists create their pieces around a theme, red inchies, seasonal designs, holiday designs, etc.. In the book Inchies, Create Miniature Works of Art Using Textiles and Mixed Media Techniques edited by Peggy Donda-Kobert, the first theme is "completely natural".  This is my version:

I also have some inchies made with fiber:

These are done in wool, thread, and fabric with bead, button, and paint embellishments. ( Until I decide how I'll use these inchies, they are pinned to a piece of foam core.)