oil pastels, acrylic paint, colored pencils, and watercolors on muslin ~ buster feels that bones really should rise
materials same as above ~ my name is leroy and i know the way
eunice seeks direction
acrylic, oil pastels, colored pencils, and inktense pencils on plaster cloth ~ carlos considers a trip to mexico
lynne walking in the woods... ha! just kidding! on plaster cloth if it's not obvious...still wandering in the woods, still stitching, still painting! i haven't taken many pics when i'm out; i either forget my camera or the memory card.
i had it this day, though, and snapped the arrow that i made to tell me where i needed to turn on my way home. all i could think was that nothing human-made could match the beauty of this wood and these rocks...
the same day i finally settled here... this juniper is very, very old - in the thousand year range. last week i counted the rings of a dead pine that the forest service had just cut down. i got to 289 before i stopped, and i still had 8" to go. that tree was there in the 1600s. mindblowing... to think that this juniper was here in 1010 AD is even more mindblowing.
this guy was so big and beautiful, and made sure that no nap taking occurred! instead i took about 20 pics of him!
back home... what i'm doing here is soaking mother of pearl buttons in rusty salt water (i just added the salt for the heck of it. it seemed like it'd be helpful). i bought some new buttons from this seller on etsy, and compared to my box of antique ones, they look so, well, new. i decided i'd try to age-i-fy them...
it worked! these soaked for about a day and a half, and they look much 'softer' - some have more color than others, but they all look better. i've got another batch soaking now - i added some walnut ink crystals to the salt water this time. i'm going to leave them in longer and see what happens.
this has nothing to do with rusty buttons, i'm just showing you the back of the piece...
i snapped this the same day that i took the pic of the fly... the main thing that i want to show you is the scissors on my very small swiss army knife. they snip thread better than my fiskar's thread snippers! and they fit in my tiny, portable sewing kit!
i got serious about fixing up my kit when i realized my 'new' sewing scissors would fit in it. : )
i'm going to ashland this weekend to take a class on making nichos with cathy dorris. i'll report back...
* * *
I don’t understand when people says they are “full time artists”. Is there any other way to be an artist?
~ Caio Fern, Mein Welt
XO
Full time - perhaps engaged in some other task, but always an artist! Here there is a very old cedar tree. I call her "grandmother". I often wonder what stories she could tell, if she told stories.
ReplyDeleteI just love everything in this post - from gigantic aged trees to miniscule sewing kits. As for being a 'full-time' artist, I believe that artistry lies in one's soul, or not at all, so it must be full-time even when one is, as Lesley says, engaged elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteHi Lynne,
ReplyDeleteCarlos makes me laugh a lot. Cute guy.
And I like your new stitching a lot - both sides.
As I life in the city it's always a pleasure to go back to natuer on your Blog.
I wish you a lot of fun on your trip. :-)
with greetings
Nicole
I LOVE this post. So good to see your shrine tree again. I think Carlos, and Lynne walking through the woods are beautiful. Never thought of dyeing pearl buttons. Have tried dyeing hand made wooden buttons in fruit tea before. That works quite nicely.
ReplyDeleteYour stitching is beautiful.
Made me smile to see Caio quoted at the end there. I'm sure it will make him smile too. That post caused a little controversy.
Its always a pleasure to visit you here xxJ
Hmm, I will picture myself sitting beneath a tree that thas been on this Earth for so very long with you, my friend. We could talk to him/her about history and nature and art...what a perfect afternoon...
ReplyDeleteLove the peeps, the trail art and also that wonderful quote. Here's to looking at the world with our artist eyes.
Big Love !
ooh please email me when you get back about the nicho class, I have been wanting to teach my class, and I would be interested to hear how similar or different it is... adore your bone kite!! and that tiny sew kit can get up and go!! been forgetting my camera too... too excited to get out THERE!! your tree is swoon worthy..xox
ReplyDeleteLynne ,
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful post....
every single detail of every single post .
the works are great , i live your colors and textures .
thank you for quoting , it is very kind of you .
Lynne walking through the woods makes me smile and I LOVE the darker shading and texture in this piece as well as in the Carlos piece.
ReplyDeleteIt is always wonderful to wake up to your new posts and even the old ones! I love your photos! That is an interesting technique for staining buttons I have to try that! Thanks again LH!
ReplyDeleteSo funny!
ReplyDeleteI used to have that same red Swiss army knife. I know where I lost it. On a college campus. There were bog old oak trees there. Some were luscious. They cut a fee down, beautiful old souls, fearing the upper branches might fall and hit a student on the head--
some of them would've woken up! Lol. But it bothered me the trees were cut for insurance reasons.
Hi Lynne! I nearly choked on my mouthful of wine when I saw Buster! Flippin hil-air-e-us!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful arrow...and that tree! Mind boggling.
I enjoyed my visit very much, thank you:)
XoX
i love everything .... but the rust
ReplyDeletepost it too cool.
good luck this weekend .
i can't wait to hear about the class.
xxoo
You always inspire me and make me smile..I think about you and your work when I see a small tree and think I need to bring some faces to these little guys.
ReplyDeleteAlways enjoy.
Katelen
Beautiful post, Lynne- as usual. I am so tired though..I had to re-read when i thought I saw that you were taking a class on making nachos with Cathy Dorris... time for bed I think. :)
ReplyDeleteSo much to love here! I especially love the line "nothing human-made could match the beauty of this wood and these rocks. . ." - so very, very true. That fabulous ancient tree is something you'd never see here in the Midwest. What a place to sit and ponder! And I love the huge fly that stopped by to say hello.
ReplyDeleteAll your people are fabulous, as always. I love that they tell you their names and a little bit about themselves! This time, I have to admit that my favorite is that cheeky little exhibitionist, Eunice.
:0)
Looking forward to hearing all about your class! Enjoy the journey,
xo
I think Eunice is seeking a bra, that poor guy below her is seeking a big bandage, or at least a belt to hold his lower body up.
ReplyDeletetrees are so magical, I think about their ages at times too. I think, this tree was here before columbus! That juniper, it would truly be a crime to cut it down. I shall have to remember your trick of aging buttons. Have fun in Ashland.
Great idea to add the vinegar. Vinegar is a mordant and helps set color so you did a really great thing there, Lynne. Nichos...oohh...wish I was there with you! And that fly! You thrilled me when I blew it up to look at it. Doing that for my job each day (looking at bugs) makes me really appreciate what kind of beauty you can find in a fly. I am always sad that I have to find them dead in traps though. Too sad.
ReplyDeletelovely post. i love your outdoor life especially outdoor sewing..wow..and wouldn't it be good if there were arrows everywhere in life telling us which way to turn!
ReplyDeleteThat was a lovely walk. Let's go again soon, teehee.
ReplyDeletexox
Enjoy the class Lynne. Loved the photo of you walking in the woods - LOL!
ReplyDeletewow, this post overflows with wonder and art.... love those buttons and each piece of art... you are so prolific, I love seeing this. and the cloth art, I am always attracted to your cloth art. wishing you a wonderful workshop.
ReplyDeleteLynne - I laugh! Is you is or is you ain't an artist - there's no part-time about it! Loving your age-if-fication of the buttons, and THE FLY!
ReplyDeleteDear Lynne, all your walks and journeys into the woods, and into your art seem to be just what your soul needs. And I love that you know that! roxanne
ReplyDeleteoooh!! I love the Lynne walking in the woods one! with the feathers!!
ReplyDeleteThat tree is just...wow.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'll be home in a couple of weeks, and could send you some black walnut husks for "ageifying" if you'd like. They're falling right about now...and I'm thankful I'm *not* home, hearing the drop onto the tin roof! (it's amazing how loud they are!)