Finished!

Self-criticism is probably not the healthiest thing, so I'm going to try to limit myself.  I finished my three canvases.  The 3rd is my least favourite, but it's finished!  Painting on canvas is just not my forte.  I really like doing it, but not for display beyond my living room.  Because these will be in public, I'm a little nervous.  Because they'll be on display on the opposite coast, I'm a little less nervous :-)

The first one, "Pinky" was hard in terms of coming up with the plan.  Once I had the epiphany and started rolling, it was really fun to finish.

The second one, "Atmosphere," was more of a challenge.  I knew what I wanted to do, but struggled with the execution.  I wanted to include a photographic image in a transparent envelope and attach that to the canvas.  I ended up removing all of the staples and taking the painted canvas off of its frame, creating an envelope with paper that was designed for scrap booking and stitched it on the canvas using my sewing machine.  Putting the canvas back on the frame was easier than I'd expected.

The third canvas, "Contain," was tough.  I immediately thought of how I feel so stuck in the solitude of the house now that I'm in a studio versus a hospital-based office.  What a different and lonely world (which I'm working on).  I do chores and see activity going on outside - the neighbors with their little girls on one side, people walking their dogs out the front, neighbors across the gully who frequently throw large parties and have GREAT bands - and I feel so confined.  I wanted to create an image that reflected that emotion - feeling contained indoors while seeing the world outdoors going on without me.

While the artist was encouraged to use any medium, my lack of skill in other areas that could be applied to a canvas are lacking even more, so paint was going to be it for me.  I like it OK.  I'm not Picasso, but I still feel pretty good about it.

The last decision I have to make before these hit the mailbox Tuesday is whether I've got the courage to put a price on them or just include the post-paid envelope to have them returned after the show.

How brave do I feel today????  Hmmmmm.

Trying to finish projects

What a frustrating day! I decided that I really should try to finish half-completed (or less) projects before starting a lot more, though I can't really stand the thought of just doing one project at a time. So I'll start one new project (a "strips and curves" quilt) and complete one old project (a long past due unfinished quilt) for now. Of course, I'm still sneaking a little time in the studio to work on the Monday project.

Today's mission was to select a new focus fabric for the new quilt I'm starting. The one I had chosen before just wouldn't work. I drove forever to what USED to be a fantastic shop loaded with a zillion fabric choices. I was stunned to walk in and find row after row of scrapbooking materials, but a gigantic empty wall where the fabric used to be! I stopped in my tracks and asked what happened. They looked at me like I was from Mars and asked what I meant. It's a little hard to miss an entire wall of empty cubbies that used to hold fabric, so I pointed it out to the goobers. They said that because of the economy, they were cutting back on inventory. I pointed out that there was a total of a mile of aisle of scrapbooking stuff, but not many people can make much with fat quarters of fabric (just about all they had). I tried really hard to find something, anything, I could use, but left with my lower lip extended a little. I ended up at (choke, gag) Jo-Ann Fabrics. Yuck. Their inventory consists of the same fabric (and I swear even the same bolts) they had last year and the year before. After 3.5 hours out and about, I came home with a measly three bits of fabric and a pinch of thread. Ugh.

On a positive note, I'll be at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach next week and know I'll be able to buy fabric. Even though it can be a little crampbed and disoragnized, it's so much fun to be surrounded with thousands of people that enjoy creating as much as I do. Woohoo! I can't wait.