Art Trade

I admired a table runner my friend Penny had made and asked if I could commission one from her. We decided to do an art trade instead. She quilted a beautiful table runner with six matching napkins for me and I made her an abstract collage that looks a bit like a quilt. I used leftover pieces from previous collages and handmade art papers to build the composition.
Here's a link to Penny's quilting blog:
Studio Notes

Commission complete

My friend, Linda, asked me to make a collage for her to give her parents for Christmas. Her mother is from Finland, honeymooned in Parvoo, Finland, and went back to visit this year with her husband and Linda's family. Linda and I looked through photos from that trip and decided this scene of colorful buildings in the old section of Parvoo would be the best choice. Measuring 18"H x 24"W, we think it will look great in her parent's condo with their bold-color decor.

Gallery Trip

We drove over to Cedar Rapids last Friday and delivered 4 pieces of art to Campbell Steele Gallery in adjacent Marion, Iowa, including this new 10"x10" barn piece. We had dinner and then came back to the gallery for blues music. You can see in this photo (when you click to enlarge it) that the back half of the main floor of the gallery has tables and chairs, lighting and a stage for music performances. The place was full and fun!! Nice to hear music while surrounded by art on all the walls.  :-)

Further experiments

I posted the finished barn piece on my Facebook page and got a lot of feedback there. Most liked the new effect, one wondered if it wasn't too bright white at the edge. I, too, had that feeling, so I did a wash of acrylic over the barn to tone it down a bit and give it an antique feel. I made another rural landscape collage on canvas and its colors seem to work better with the white edge.

Experiment

I have a number of 1-inch-deep canvases in my art cabinet and wondered if there was a way to use them with my new method of working. (I've been using cradled panels since I moved into using strips of imagery as it is easier to work on a solid surface when trying to keep the lines straight.) I roughed up the edges of the three filtrations and then staggered the trim of the strips so the edges are uneven. I might try doing this with a painted canvas, too. Let me know what you think of this method.

Revisiting the Farm

I did a post on August 20th of artwork I made of the farm where my grandmother grew up. That scene was the farm in summer and this one is showing it in autumn. I'm planning to take photos of the farm in winter and spring, too, as the landscape changes so dramatically with the seasons on the midwestern farm.

Paradise

This is a 12" x 12" pieced together memory of a wonderful morning. We were staying with a friend in Paradise Valley, Montana, and a rain storm pelted the windows in the night. When we stepped out onto the porch the next morning, the air smelled like sage and the mountain ranges surrounding us had a dusting of snow shining on their peaks. It was such a magical morning! Now I know why they call it Paradise!