Onward

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Double-Couched Pulp Paintings

"Lilies of the Valley of the Shadow 3" is the third in a series of double-couched pulp paintings with dried pressed flowers from the garden and pigment. Life has a way of making sure we all go through difficult times of anxiety and loss, but as a person of faith, I believe we don't have to go through it alone. I based this series on two verses from the Bible:
"Consider how the lilies grow.... Yet I tell you not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." Luke 12:27
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." Psalm 23:4

"Heron Pond" pulp paintings

"Heron Pond 1" was in a gallery and an art show, then found its home with a new owner. "Heron Pond 2" is now framed before the Christmas Art Sale/Show at The Center on Sunday, Nov. 19, in the hope that the person who requested it will arrive and find it waiting. This heron seemed to be at every pond and nature setting I was at 2 years ago, probably following me. So it just seemed right to make a pulp painting series of my friend. 

But Wait, There's More

Still preparing for Beverly Art Walk on Saturday, October 7. Gathering work I've held onto to show, and making new works for the event. I took out the box of flowers I pressed from Betsy's garden before she moved and made some new botanical pieces to quilt. I finished this one before my sewing machine went on strike. "Quilted Botanic Papers: Betsy's Garden 4" is mounted on 9x12 paper background.

One More Girlfriend Card

Guess what I found hiding in the corner of the envelope - one more little pansy face to join some leaves on a fourth girlfriends card. Since my pulp was thick, it's a sturdy card, and the botanicals got a bit burried. I wiped some of the pulp off the flower and leaves, left the rest to keep it firmly embedded in the paper. I just added a green graphite line to highlight the stem. These cards will be for sale in my card display at Beverly Art Walk on October 7; we'll be at Beverly Bakery again.

Girlfriends

My dear friend Rosie loves garage sales. She found a book titled "Girlfriends," and when she opened it she found these flowers pressed between the pages. She sent them to me with the instructions to pay it forward, so I got recycled pulps out of the cooler, a few pressed leaves from my supplies, and made these notecards. I dried them on window glass so the inside surface is perfectly smooth to write on.

Wear Your Art

What a great opportunity coming up: Wednesdays June 14 and 21, 6:30-8:30pm, you can attend a 2 week workshop to make handmade paper that we will make into beads. The following week we will make jewelry to wear proudly and beautifully. A great way to express your creativity, even if you've never done this before. Call The Center at 708.361.3650.

A Weekend to Create While Not Saying Goodbye

Last week a dear friend moved to another state, and while I know it's a wonderful decision and she and her husband will have a great retirement, we did NOT want to say good bye. So we celebrated their retirement with breakfast at Blueberry Hill, then relaxed in her garden until it was time to fill a bag with clippings to press and add to my handmade papers. This past weekend was my time to create with botanicals from her garden. Above, all but the top left are gifts from her garden. This is how they looked before I put them in the press. I am now adding pencil lines for definition.
Other gifts from her garden included the flash of reflected sunlight as the fish swan in the coy pond, the sound of the waterfall and neighborhood birds singing, the scent of lilacs and the colors of the blossoms and leaves.
I suspect we may be able to stretch this not saying goodbye thing out for quite a while yet. I'm in no hurry.

Making Stationery

On Wednesday, April 26, 6:30-8:30 pm, I will be leading a papermaking workshop at The Center for making stationery. Cards are only one of the options. The beauty of this experience is that I will bring windows for the paper to dry on, making a smooth surface to write on. It would be such a shame if snail mail was left only to junk mail. Call 708.361.3650 to sign up. And remember all the extras you get for the evening - working in the log cabin with a fireplace in the beauty of the nature center.

February Surprises

This little primrose plant has been the best forty-nine cents investment I've made so far this year. I provide water, indirect sun and pruning (I deadhead the old flowers), and it just keeps blooming its little heart out. So far there has been no end to the new flowers to take the place of the spent ones.

The old ones? I dried them and dropped them into a vat of recycled paper to make into pulp later today. I'll see what surprises I find when I make new handmade paper from what it has given to me. February has had no end of surprises in weather this year. Tune in to see what it has to offer in this department.

Snowflake Workshop

I am looking forward to a "Snowflake Workshop" later this month. We'll recycle white paper and add a pinch of glitter because we love the way snow glistens in the light. Next we'll pour the pulp into shapes we place in the deckle boxes, then we'll press the new sheets of paper into clay moulds to impress textured designs on the surface.
Later we can add a nylon thread or ribbon for hanging. They turn a Christmas tree into a winter wonderland, or they can hang in a window. Some may tuck them into cards as gifts, others may tie them onto gifts.
These hand-made paper snowflakes are such a fun time to make. You can call The Center now to sign up for the class on Wednesday, November 16, 6:30-8:30 pm in Log Cabin 1. The Center is at 12700 Southwest Hwy., Palos Park, IL. Phone: 708.361.3650.
When December rolls around, you'll be so glad you did this!

Glimpse 8

Continuing my "Glimpse" series, "Glimpse 8 - one of these things..." studies open and closed spaces, light and shadow, and celebrates variety in color, shape, texture and kind. The title invites the viewer to keep it simple by remembering a song from early Sesame Street days.

Stay tuned, there will be more.