The week ends with clear eyes -- mine. The allergy has lifted even though the weather is iffy (allergy-making). Call me grateful!

This weeks stitching

With open arms

Woman with bluebird

Both are available for purchase in my etsy shop.


Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 What more can I say?

 


Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

August is the height of summer.

From today until the last day of August, I'm offering a 10% off everything coupon in my Etsy shop. It's filled with variety, big and small, and inbetween.

Just enter the code SPECIAL2014 when you check out.

 Thank you!




Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

'The eyes of my eyes are opened" -- e.e.cummings

When I saw U.K. artist Emma Parker stitching over photos, it hit me like a ton of bricks... love! I normally stitch around the photo and would never have thought of stitching over it.
I can only hope to return the inspiration that I get from Emma and many others.
May our discoveries be endless.

Oh, Frida

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Sometimes nothing escapes the needle, the sewing needle that is.

 And sometimes, a beautiful big button needs to be the star.

 Happy Friday.



Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 In another life, I would be heading for St. Tropez for the summer, or maybe Rimini, whose beaches I fondly remember. But in this life, as I paint, I look over the tree tops and into the ravine, and thanking the cool breeze which will let me hike without getting hot and uncomfortable.

New work in my Etsy shop

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

High Summer

The figs have arrived. The thinner the skin, the sweeter and riper the fruit.

 

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Leaving well enough alone.
Usually my eye tells me when to stop.
For me, this was finished.
But then a thought crawled into my mind.
What if no one likes this? Should I add some more elements?
I could. I might even like it. (Be true to yourself, but don't be stubborn.)
But right now, I like it the way it is.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

As my de-cluttering progresses, at a snail's pace, I'm finding things forgotten in boxes, the back of a shelf, and so on. Today, I found a package of Sculpey. I tested it to see if it was still workable, and it was.

I manipulated the Sculpey into a rectangle, not a perfect one by choice, pressed in the key, baked it, then painted it.


The result of the test

 Have a lovely day!


Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Friday painting.
Spreading paint
seeing what emerges
making marks

 Enjoy the weekend.

 



Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Summer
On my balcony
sweet strawberries
organic
homegrown

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

So my eyes cleared somewhat thanks to drier weather, so I don't know if the prescription eye drops helped. Perhaps they did.Today, one eye is good, the other not so much. But I am complying so we'll see (ha!) what happens in the long run. I'm told this is a very bad year for allergies, and from your nice comments in the previous post, I'm obviously not alone. May it all end soon!

I spent a little time making cards. Sometimes I'm too restless so all I can do is fiddle. So now that I've fiddled with paint and pencils, it's time to take a walk and get rid of some restless energy.

Have a peaceful day!




 
Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Lately I've been bedevilled by an allergy, mostly affecting my eyes. Over-the-counter medications and allergy eye drops proved useless (and a colossal waste of money), so I consulted my doctor. She confirmed the allergy and gave me a prescription for eye drops. She also told me that what the pharmacist had recommended was a prophylactic, useless if the allergy is already in full bloom. I passed that information along to the pharmacist (gently) and handed him the Rx. Naturally he didn't have it available until tomorrow morning. All I can hope for now is that the Rx will work.

Meanwhile, bleary-eyed or not, I continue adding to my collage postcard series. The original series will be in Somerset Studio, Nov. issue. These two are in my Etsy shop.

Happy quatorze juillet to my French friends and family!



Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

He's been in one of my folders for years. I've always thought of him as "Hombre" -- the first word (turned into a name) that came to mind when I saw the photo. He is the masculine foil to the feminine antique lace. So as not to completely overwhelm him, I added a [masculine] stick pin. Balance restored.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 The mess is still there. If anything, it's worse. But one assignment is almost done. I can't show you much, but it will see the light of day in the Somerset Studio issue of Nov/Dec. It's easily one of my favourite projects.

Here's a clue.

 And now, back to work.
Have a happy day.



Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

No de-cluttering today because I'm working on a couple of assignments. In other words, creating more clutter.

Is this any way to work? Yes and no. I can work up to a point, but then it gets too much and I will either abandon ship and go and do something else, or move some of the mess to another part of the space. Sometimes I dream of just sweeping everything into garbage bags; the only thing stopping me is that the piles of stuff contain things I will need down the road. So I resign myself to the one thing I do not want to do -- sorting through everything first.

You only need a tiny space to paint this, though.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

I'm slowly clearing my work space, determined to have it done by the end of summer. I need space to breathe as I can only work in the midst of chaos for so long. While going through piles of stuff, I can across some old photos of my paintings, taken before my digital era (!). Before I got into collage, textiles, mixed media, etc., I used to paint on canvas. I still do, but it's now only a tiny part of my repertoire. Again, it's a matter of space. Canvasses take space that I don't have (and, unfortunately, they don't pay the bills). At the time, I was with a gallery that liked my work, sold it, and paid me promptly. Then the gallery closed, and I never found a replacement; if anything, I had enough bad experiences with galleries that I gave them up.

 I do better with smaller work now, but I do miss putting a fresh canvas on my easel and slathering it with paint!

Available in my Etsy shop

 

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

  Happy Fourth of July to my American friends and family.


 Collage and stitch for a Friday

SOLD

AVAILABLE IN MY ETSY SHOP

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

And back to the neutrals.

A little stitching here

 

A lot of stitching here; a small tablecloth, although I can see it as a wall hanging too.

 

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Over painting.
When I don't like where it's going, I change direction. It's what happened with this painting. A lot of black covered up the parts I didn't like and, with the addition of some colour, the whole thing changed.
Once in a while, the work turns noir......

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 Happy Canada Day!

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

What I did last night. I have long given up on wondering why the urge inspiration hits around midnight...
 
The Summer Frock

 

Just listed in my Etsy shop

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

I have a finite amount of some beautiful Welsh woollen fabric, as light as a feather, in a creamy tone. I use it sparingly, mostly for small works. Here, I stitched two pieces together to give it some weight, using a vintage thread made in Ireland that was used for.... shoes. It made a nice background for a couple of embroidered words, also stitched with the amazing Irish thread.

 Happy Friday!

 

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

For my sewing room, if I had one, that is...

A little stitchery on a lovely, big, printed vintage Dennison tag from my friend Terri, available from JunqueSeeker , her Etsy shop.

Dennison is a bit of nostalgia for me; I remember their files and fasteners and airmail stickers from way back when. This tag is particularly beautiful, so I didn't want to cover too much of the background.

I found a feather on my walk last week, put it in my jacket pocket and forgot about it. Until today. I added it to a spirit bundle I was making.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 Cleo, the Old English Sheepdog, in her summer haircut (because she lives in Florida with my sister). She is adorable, and my regret is that I only see her once a year.

 On my board, some small pieces. I loved Emma Parker's idea of stitching over a portrait, so I tried it for myself, and added an antique button (what would I do without buttons?).

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

The project that I'm working at the moment on is about word association, so words were on my mind when I took a break and decided to transfer some images I had printed.

I transferred a poem I had composed from found words, added two lines to it, and transferred it to a lovely piece of antique linen, gently laundered, sprayed with lavender water, and ironed. Although the original poem was composed from words cut out of old book pages, I chose to write this version by hand because I wanted it to look like a first draft to suit the antique look of the whole piece.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

 I started early, but the day still slipped by very quickly.
After going to Wholefoods to do some shopping, and running an errand for a friend, I came to my work table and continued a series I'm working on, only to realize that I hadn't eaten for close to 8 hours.
So, a break, some nourishment, and then maybe back to work.
Have a great week!

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice, and National Aboriginal Day in Canada.
Celebrations took place today.

 


Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

This is pretty much how I work.
I get an idea (a shape, a colour, a theme) and mull it over in my mind.
If it grabs me, I go for it.
This one started with two colours, red and pink.

I decided on red and magenta with white for different shades of pink. When I turned the canvas board, I saw two houses.

So I filled in the house shapes.

Given the tropical colours, I added a palm tree.

The tree created a "space" to the left. I remembered the black birds that used to hover over my breakfast in the tropics, and the piece was finished.

 

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown