Is It Spring Yet?

The winter storm ten days ago not only caught the humans off-guard but also seemed to have confused the birds and the plants. Though the days are sunny and bright there is still snow on the ground. The birds are quiet and the early spring flowers are dormant. Everything seems to be in a holding pattern.The sketch above and the painting below were inspired by the uncertainty in the air.

In other news, I got me a new sewing machine Ever Sewn Sparrow 25. Using the new machine, I made two pairs of draperies for the bedroom. There was a little bit of learning curve especially in the threading of the bobbin. But once that was overcome, it was a smooth sailing. 

Thastnks for visiting. Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eve and Kristin for hosting.

Sundial

It was intended to be a simple project: alter a large plain canvas into something that could be hanged over the fireplace. My original plan was to apply a background paint in pink and then cover the entire canvas with doodles using a white puffy paint. In my mind's eye, I had imagined white doodles standing out  brightly against the pink background. Alas, it did not turn out that way. It actually looked depressingly vapid!

So, I glazed the whole painting with a wash of blue. 

It was an improvement from the previous one but still not satisfactory. Then I decided that if I am in for a penny, I might as well be in for a pound. So more layers of doodles and more layers of glazing followed

. 

After all that,  it still looked like a nicely layered background lacking a focal point. I was reluctant to make it into a collage project since it was a large canvas (36"x 24") and would involve days of work. The idea of adding embroidery (or more like string art) came to me in sleep. The next morning, I started on it as soon as I got up.

After a couple of hours it looked like this. 

It finally felt complete and ready to take its place above the mantelpiece. 

It wasn't a complicated project involving complex techniques. What it needed was lots of creative thinking to bring it together.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eva and Kristen for hosting.

I is for Image

An image consecrated and enshrined inside a temple is divine and therefore cannot be photographed or videographed. The same image desacralized and placed inside a glass case in a museum building is a temporal object of interest to be gazed and endlessly captured on film.

Linked to Image-in-ing and ABC Wednesday.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2017

My original plan for the Great Backyard Bird Count which was held from Feb 17 to Feb 20 was to both count the birds that visited my backyard during this period and to paint as many of the birds that visit my backyard throughout the year. The plan started well. On the first day, I counted three dark-eyed juncos and one robin. I did a watercolor of a tufted titmouse (which I had seen the day before the count began). The next day, my husband and I decided on a spur-of-the moment visit to the Hindu Temple at Pittsburgh, which is about 5 1/2 hours drive from where we live. The backyard bird count went by the wayside. I managed to sketch two more birds at the hotel but did not do any watercolor. Coming home I got the flu and that pretty much ended my plan for the GBBC. Now that I am recovered I am hoping to create a few more watercolor birds. 

In other news, the March-April issue of Cloth Paper Scissors has featured two of my art projects: the wall mural I had done in my living room and a submission to the mixed-media studio accessory. Doing a happy dance!

Thanks for visiting.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eva and Kristen for hosting.

Linked to Art Journal Journey 'Out and About'.