Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Upcoming Exhibit
I am afraid I have been slacking off in my blogging. I have also been slacking off in my art. It's not slacking off exactly, it's just that there are so many other things that get in the way. It's difficult to make creating a priority with everything else that goes on in our lives, but like everything else, there needs to be time set aside for just that. Tonight my five year old is still asleep with a four hour nap so far, due in large part to his fever and sore throat. I have taken advantage of the down time to spend a couple hours at my sewing machine sewing backs onto my art quilts. In just two short days I will be hanging a solo fibre exhibit at the Amherst Town Hall. Unfortunately I have been leaving all of the little details until the last minute. I have nine new pieces that I plan to show which include felted art quilts, oil painted art quilts, and watercolor crayon art quilts. I'm kind of worried that I might not have enough pieces. I always worry about that before an exhibit. I keep telling myself that it's the quality, not the quantity that counts. I may be able to get a final one finished tomorrow night, but it's the season premiere of The Practice and another new episode of Grey's Anatomy. I know, I know. Stuck to the TV when there are better things to do. My real worry right now is that art sale that I am expected to be in. I am not nearly ready and am worried I may have to bow out at the last minute. I have been having a lot of trouble with my eyesight lately and it affects my ability to work for any length of time that I have to really use my eyes because I get a lot of pain. Anyway, my eyes are starting to bug me now so I guess it's time for a rest. Better luck tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
New Mac and Changes to Web Page
Big day today! After much deliberation I decided two weeks ago to purchase a Mac Laptop. Part of the deliberation involved the cost! I finally gave in to peer pressure and ordered one and voila, it arrived last night. I must say I was more than worried about the steep learning curve, but so far so good. I especially like the built in web cam so I can skype with my son at university. For those of you who don't know what skype is, I get to have face to face chats for free with my son. I think I may be a bit more excited about it than he is. (LOL)! I am enjoying the great graphics, but not enjoying the small screen. To save a few bucks I decided to order the 13inch. I'm finding it a bit small and wish I had gone for the 15 inch. Too late now. I have it sitting on my desk, right beside the PC.
I have also decided to make some changes to my web page that reflect changes I am being forced to make in my life. I have now removed the sections of my gallery that involve pottery and jewellery. Instead I am going to focus on my painting and fibre work. It was all becomming too much , and you know what they say; jack of all trades, master of none. While I still love clay and will continue to teach it in high school, that's about as far as it's going to go. I am also getting up the nerve to put all of my jewellery making tools, silver, etc... on kijiji to sell. I am going to have trouble parting with everything, but it's certainly not doing me any good boxed up in the basement. You can check out my web page at lisadaniellemartin.com.
I have also decided to make some changes to my web page that reflect changes I am being forced to make in my life. I have now removed the sections of my gallery that involve pottery and jewellery. Instead I am going to focus on my painting and fibre work. It was all becomming too much , and you know what they say; jack of all trades, master of none. While I still love clay and will continue to teach it in high school, that's about as far as it's going to go. I am also getting up the nerve to put all of my jewellery making tools, silver, etc... on kijiji to sell. I am going to have trouble parting with everything, but it's certainly not doing me any good boxed up in the basement. You can check out my web page at lisadaniellemartin.com.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Mentality
Mentality is the name of a Magazine published out of Nova Scotia that addresses the issues and needs and opinions of those who live with a mental illness. I had the chance to check it out the other day and was surprised to see a felted self portrait I had done of myself as part of a women and art exhibit last year that was up at the Dalhousie University Women's Centre. The issue I was looking at was spring 2009, and I had no idea that it had been published. Nice surprise for sure, and something more to add to my Curriculum Vitae. It was a partially completed felted image of the upper part of my face. I didn't finish it because I wanted to show that we are all somehow incomplete, always a work in progress. Who we are today will change by the time tomorrow comes. Although I have already shown it in two exhibits I am planning to put it with my exhibit in the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival as a change from all of the nature scenes I have been felting and art quilting. Speaking of which, I finished another art quilt today with my new crayons. This one is from a picture I took while on a hike at the bird sanctuary with my two sons. We had some bird sees, and the chikadees would fly down and eat the seeds out of our hands. I took a picture of one in my son Justin's hand, and this is the image I art quilted. The rest pf my day today is going to be spent reading art history, knitting, and baking some pies (like I need to be eating pies!).
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Crayons Continued.....
Two blogs in one day. Whew! I was so excited about my new crayons that I had to try them right away, and they worked like a charm! My only complaint is that the crayons break really easily, but they last far longer than oil sticks or regular pastels. After applying a watercolor wash to them I simply hung it out to dry for about 30 minutes, and it was ready to stitch! Naturally I couldn't wait to do that either, so I ran out and bought more thread and voila! Done! I think I have about 30 spools of thread and growing at this point. Stay tuned for more art quilts.
Crayons, not just for kindergarten anymore
Well, I have a new best friend in the textile world, and their name is Caran D'Ache Neocolor II watersoluable wax pastels, i.e. crayons. They even look like crayons. My biggest compaint was that they arrived from the states with 5 broken tips, and a $40 shipping fee!! So not cool. Naturally I have now found a canadian supplier, the same place where I order materials for my art class at school. A pack of 30 crayons was $45. A friend expressed real horror at the cost of these crayons, asking if there wasn't something a lot cheaper. For those of us into creating, we know that we get what we pay for. These crayons are truly amazing and perfect for the art quilter or textile artist. You basically color your image onto pre-washed fabric (cotton or muslin), then take a wet watercolor brush and brush water over your image. The next thing you know, you are looking at a fabulously blended watercolor painting! After it dries you can quilt and stitch paint to your hearts content. Just remember however that because it is water soluable you can't wash it afterwards, so it's not suitable for a bed quilt or a wearable item. I can't wait to give it a try, and I think today is the day. I'll post an image when the work is completed and stitched. I know I need to be cleaning my house, and I've started back to work, but a girl has to have her art time.
p.s. the cotton sweater I knit looks awful on me. I hate it when that happens!
p.s. the cotton sweater I knit looks awful on me. I hate it when that happens!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Back in the Saddle
Well, I am now back at my teaching job, teaching high school visual arts and graphic design. I just finished putting in a large supply order. It's always like Christmas when all of those art supplies arrive, I can hardly wait to tear open the boxes. This year I ordered some basics for screen printing on fabric. I have no idea how to screen print on fabric, but I guess I am going to learn. It looks like I will be looking to you tube for guidance. It's actually a great resource. I have learned many pottery techniques on you tube, watched videos of various artists, enjoyed the art of van Gogh, and now I will observe screen printing. I usually try to get all of the mistakes out of the way on my own work before I let the students loose. I am thinking this is going to be a short project for my grade 12's to break up the large projects that they do. I am sure it's going to be a lot of fun, for them and for me. I don't like to teach things that aren't at least a bit fun for all of us. After all, if you want your students to be engaged it has to be interesting.
On the home front, I have just finished knitting a cotton sweater. I started to put it together last night and I am highly suspicious that something has gone awry. Tonight I will be trying it on, and I am thinking that some ripping out of seams and re-knitting of the neck line may be on the horizon. Crossing my fingers I don't have to do this, but not overly hopeful.
On a very personal note, my oldest son moved to university today, and my youngest son starts grade primary tomorrow. I am feeling that empty nest feeling, and I don't like it. Expect a lot of depressing artwork in the near future. :)
On the home front, I have just finished knitting a cotton sweater. I started to put it together last night and I am highly suspicious that something has gone awry. Tonight I will be trying it on, and I am thinking that some ripping out of seams and re-knitting of the neck line may be on the horizon. Crossing my fingers I don't have to do this, but not overly hopeful.
On a very personal note, my oldest son moved to university today, and my youngest son starts grade primary tomorrow. I am feeling that empty nest feeling, and I don't like it. Expect a lot of depressing artwork in the near future. :)
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