Jumping back into the water

“Water, Water Everywhere.”

If you look at photos of Biscayne National Park, that’s what you see. Water. Water. Water. In colors that are incredible and filled with both light and depth. Here’s a photo I found from the National Park Service that captures some of that magical color.

I’ll be participating in a group show at the Biscayne National Park later this summer and I want to create new work for it. I have done some works before which depict underwater fish alongside birds in the air and I enjoyed creating them. So I’m anxious to jump in again.

I want to learn from what I enjoyed when creating previous bird-and-fish compositions.

But I want to do some new things to keep it interesting.

I started with a sketch based on reference photos: fish plus pelicans.

I like this composition, but I decided to keep working on it. My concerns were both logistical and artistic. I want to make a pretty big piece that will fill a wall with color. But, creating and shipping a work that’s much over 44”W overwhelms my studio. And, despite all the moving parts, this composition doesn’t really go anywhere.

So, I am going to break it into three panels, dividing up the scene and adding a few more areas for pattern and color.

I think this will have more energy. The movement of the horizon line up and down creates a rhythm. Each panel will be about 22” wide. So the whole presentation when hung will be about 66”. That’s much more like the size I have in mind.

Today was working day 1: time get some color down on the fabric. I’m starting with the underwater, then I’ll print sky and birds next.

I am printing this color as monotypes with acrylics onto satin, so it has a nice intensity and a strong “Pop!”

The intense aqua of the fish from my reference photo is hard to capture without using fluorescent colors, which I don’t want to do.  This lime hue will end up being overprinted with translucent phthalo-blue-based-mixed-teal in masked-out stenciled layers to create the shape of the fish. The green undertone will add richness to the water. I am hoping to create a luminous water effect.

After monotype printing this morning, the rest of my studio day was spent on beginning the construction. I’ll construct three separate panels, each a sandwich of muslin with felt batting between. I started getting those cut and put together so I can begin collaging on the fabric in layers.

In the next few days I’ll be drawing and then cutting out shapes of fish.

I can imagine a scuba diver under the water, surrounded by fish and colors, being surrounded and mesmerized. It would be endlessly interesting to see.

That’s how hours in the studio feel to me … endlessly interesting, with new things to discover on each project.

. . . . . . .

If you also like images of water, birds and fish, here are a few pieces on my website that I created. Each one handles the elements in a very different way.

IMAGINING WHAT’S BENEATH A POND  SURFACE

FISH SWIM BENEATH THE MOON

SONG BIRDS IN A DEEP THICKET

. . . . . . .

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts.You’ll hear from me about once a month. NEWSLETTER

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Variety without Hodge-Podge

I like surface design in my work to have a lot of variety and energy.

But I don’t want it to look like I just threw the fabric and paint down the stairs and I got what I got.

I am more pleased with the final results if I combine the spontaneity of hand printmaking with some attention to connecting the patterns across the work.

For a work in progress, I am getting to ready to build a section that connotes life below the ground. I want to suggest roots and connectedness to the earth.

Here’s where I started this weekend.

When I printed this piece, I had not intended that the “rocks” section and the “roots” section would go together. I was just using up two halves of the fabric. But, once I printed them side by side, I really liked the interaction: completely different patterns, but printed in the same color.

Now my task is to create more pieces that will work with this one.

Let’s walk through some steps:

GETTING READY.

I had the piece of teal fabric already. It’s a little overwhelming for the place I want to use it. So I’m thinking about overprinting a monotype in a mixed red-brown complement to the teal in the same “roots” pattern as in my beginning section. Already, I can see I’ll have both unity and variety: the roots pattern will appear now in two places.

“INKING” the plate with acrylic paint.

GETTING READY TO PRINT

PRESSING THE FABRIC INTO THE IMAGE WITH MY HANDS

REVEALING THE PRINTED PIECE

Now I have some already-printed pieces that I want to relate to this one. The backgrounds are rock shapes as in my original piece, but a smaller size. They are a little flat. Some splashes of the red-brown should add energy, then also relate these two sections to the teal one I just monoprinted.

You’ll notice that the two rock backgrounds are opposites of each other. One was printed from a rock-shaped stencil. (Rock shapes - paint.) The other was printed from the ghost image of that stencil print. (Background around the rocks = paint.) This is another way to connect different fabric sections.

MEANWHILE, BACK TO THE TEAL + RED-BROWN

This fabric is a little bigger than my plate, So, I printed it a second time along the bottom in a less tall strip. Maybe I will cut them apart. Maybe I will keep them together in one big section. I did a relief print of the linear pattern on the less tall strip to connect to the other pieces I had just stamped with those lines.

To these just-printed pieces, I will add others I have collected for this work. Some neutral yellows, a bit of orange. I don’t know yet if I will overlap them as organic forms or square them off into block sections. That exploration is for my next studio session.

. . . . . . . . . .

TA-DAAA! I completed a large two-panel quilt recently: (It is also built from hand-printed fabrics. A richer palette.) Discerning What is Real.  Here is a detail of one half of the finished work.

I had this one in the works for several months. I’m pleased with the results. If you’d like to see the whole work it’s on my website HERE

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating 

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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All about the surface

I like working in a studio where all the stuff of artmaking is out and visible. The “mess-in-progress” inspires me and makes me think of new things that interest me.

Here’s what I saw as I walked into my studio this weekend:

On my easel, side by side, I have pinned up two pieces that need finishing touches to be ready to send off for exhibit. In the back corner I see a completed collage in deep colors. And a few steps and off to the left I see printed sheer fabric. (The next step of the project I wrote about last week.)

So. What’s to see in all of this that’s interesting?

Starting with the two pieces on the easel, I see again how I went about creating the surfaces in completely different ways.

This is a detail of one of the works on the easel, More than Bread.

I created this as a whole cloth piece; the backing is a bed sheet. The only collaged section is the golden yellow sunshine in the window. Everything else gets most of its definition by stitch. The random arcs in the yellow sun. The patterned table and wall. And the stitch-as-drawing that I used to define the figure. I loved creating this work and making the surface come alive with stitching.

Here’s a closeup of the other piece on the easel, But in the Silence Between.

It’s quite different from the Bread quilt. To me, this work is a hybrid between an acrylic painting/collage and an art quilt. I created layers of paint and texture by collaging onto a gesso-prepared piece of muslin. I like the translucent watercolor-like quality of the images.

It is also stitched over the whole surface. But the stitching functions differently than in the Bread piece. It is primarily functional – to hold all the parts and to prevent wrinkles and puckers. The visual texture is from the images.

Here's a detail of Then The Edge of Dusk, the piece that’s hanging on the wall in the corner.

This work is collaged onto a wood panel and framed from the back. The process of collaging onto a flat panel, instead of a fabric surface is just a different experience and creates different visual textures. And, of course, if a portion has stitching, it has to be stitched before it goes on the wood backing. This work also has some painting-like qualities.

Finally, the loosely printed fabric waiting to be made into into artwork.

The fabrics I showed in last week’s post were printed as monotypes using tree stencils. This portion is same-but-different. I am still creating the feel of wind, but not with tree forms. I used random placements of string on my monotype plate to get these shapes. I want them to seem random and chaotic compared to the trees.

This quilt will have a collaged composition, and lots and lots of stitching to enhance the feel of wind. (I’m still prepping the backing layers to be ready to compose. I’m anxious! I can collage maybe tomorrow.)

I worked in other mediums before discovering textile artwork. It seems the perfect fit for me. Lots interesting things to see and discover. Varied finished products possible. Always challenging!

And here’s one more detail from the studio:

One more little detail to share: for artmakers who enter your work into exhibits. Here is one way to do the label. I type the information I want and print on my home laser printer. I use a generous coat of gel medium on the top of the label to seal and protect it, and more on the back to collage it to a piece of muslin. Once it is dry, I will stitch it by machine to the quilt backing before I apply the backing to the quilt. (I generally back with grey eco-felt, gluing to cover the quilt back. Then I flip the edge binding and hand stitch that to the eco felt.)

If you would like to see more of the completed works in this post, you can find them on my website:

MORE THAN BREAD

BUT IN THE SILENCE BETWEEN

THEN THE EDGE OF DUSK

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating 

Thank you for reading.
I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

 How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Simple Methods – Interesting Images

I began a new project this morning that will require at least one new stencil to add to my image vocabulary.

I will be featuring trees in motion. So, I am cutting a windswept tree shape.

I use stencils a lot – both for fabric surface design and for paper mixed media collages. They are a staple in my image toolbox. It pleases me to be able to create varied and interesting images with very simple methods.

Starting at the beginning today gave me a chance to talk some more about using stencils.

Step One -  Cut the stencil. (Actually, this is step two. Step one was figuring out what image I wanted and what size. Then I drew it on cards stock: several manila folders taped together.) If I am creating a stencil I think I can use multiple times, I invest the time into making it strong. Here I am coating the card stock with matte medium. Do both sides. You could also use gel medium. This creates an acrylic surface to the card stock so it won’t fall apart when you use it.

There are other material options:

Tyvek. I cut up tyvek envelopes. (VERY strong. Very thin – good for not leaving a paint drip edge when painting. But very flimsy. No good for all shapes.)

Freezer paper – can be ironed onto the fabric and stays well. You can’t use  one of these forever, but you can probably iron it down a few times. Also flimsy. Not good for complex shapes.

Plastic – Strong. No need to coat them. But some plastics are hard to cut. Washable.

Commercial Stencils – There are a lot of tempting stencils available at various art supply outlets. I choose to use only original images that I draw and cut myself. But you might enjoy using ones already made.

Step Two – Cutting Interior Spaces and creating positive-negative

Most stencils that you cut actually create two pieces to work with: one is the positive. One is the negative. In this case, the actual tree I’ve created is the positive. When I lay it on fabric or paper, it will block out the background and I will print around its shape. When I use the negative (the hole in the card stock is the shape of the tree) it will be a way to print the shape of the tree itself.

Interior Spaces (Donut Holes)

A complex shape like a tree will have interior pieces that fall out when you cut away the parts around it. To make the negative shape usable, you’ll need to put these back into place a build little bridges to hold them there. I use thin strips of masking tape, adhered on both sides of the stencil.

Here are the pieces I created Saturday morning. on the left is the negative, with the donut holes in place and reinforcing bridges applied. On the right is the positive shape of the tree.

PRINTING WITH STENCILS

I pulled some tree shapes I already had to print background shapes of tree forms. These will be the background layer, as I build more color and texture in subsequent layers.

FAMILIES OF SHAPES

As you begin to collect a repertoire of shapes you like to use, you will probably see patterns emerging. I use a lot of background patterns that are based on circles. These can look like bubbles, or rocks, or honeycomb, or just geometric shapes depending on color and context.

Here is a closeup of a quilt-in progress that incorporates a window shape in two sizes. The smaller size was used as part of the surface design in the fabric background. I laid down the positive shape of the window then loosely painted the teal over it. The background gold tones showed through to depict the window. For the big window. I used a large version of the window to make a cutting template. This dark blue window is cut out of painted sheer fabric, collaged into place, then stitched.

The secret to creating images that please you and that you find interesting is to spend time experimenting. There are lots of variables in the materials you choose, the colors, and how you apply the paint. The joy of discovery is in the practicing!

The galleries on my website have many artwork samples that were created with stencils (in addition to other methods.). I invite you to take a leisurely stroll. GALLERIES

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

 Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

Sun – Porch – Sketchbook

This porch called to me.

How could I resist a yellow rocking chair in the sun?

This is the porch on my daughter’s house, where I have visited this week to meet my new grandson. (Yup. He’s pretty adorable.)

A porch can be a wonderful source of patterns and shadows.

I had with me a small sketchbook I use mostly when I travel. And so it is a record of ideas and sketches from specific times and places. This visit to this porch brought me memories of other visits to other porches.

This little sketch is from 2010, made during a visit to a long-time friend in Belfast, Maine. This is looking over the railing to her neighbor. I liked the way the architecture of the porch where I was sitting provided a frame for the house next door.

These little sketches are of the porch itself. And some rocks.

My friend, Charlotte, and her family collected rocks from their vacations. They would enjoy silly ceremonies of placing the new rocks on the pile or in the garden next to previously gathered rocks. Building stories.

That trip inspired me to create one of my first art quilts, created around 2010 when I returned from that trip. This is Memory Rocks.

This little quilt is about 20.5” square. I enjoyed looking at it again today when I photographed it. I can see a lot of ideas I was working out and developing.

So I had some very nice connections this week on that sunny porch rocker.

I remembered how a place can inspire a story.

I discovered again the beauty of interesting patterns and shadows that can be captured in very simple spaces.

I connected again to another porch through the record of my sketchbook. (I am a strong advocate of keeping a sketchbook, or several, and referring back to them periodically. Put a date next to what you write or sketch. A lot of what you thought and sketched will have changed and might not mean anything to you at all. Some of what you thought and recorded will resonate with you again, perhaps in a new way.)

I will enjoy pulling out the sketches I made, some evening in a leisurely way on another favorite spot: my front porch at home.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Depth Beyond the Trees

Here is what awaits me – on the easel — in my studio.

At the time this blog posts, I will be visiting my daughter and her husband and my brand new 7-day old grandson, Simon. (Can’t wait!)

So, I have about a week of no studio time, concentrating on other sources of contentment. While I’m there, I suspect that on the back burner I will continue to cook up some ideas for what interests me to work on next.

I have several projects that involve trees and layers in nature.

I am going to address birds in flight and fish underwater again.

I am working through ways to look at landscapes as an opening to wonder and meaning. How to stir memory and dreams with stories that are not actually stories, that do not have characters.
I’m not sure of the answers to that yet. But it sounds worth pursuing.

The quilt shown above on my easel is almost done. It is constructed in two panels, each about 35” wide. So, the whole piece will be about 70” wide. Already it has been a good challenge to work on the two panels side by side to make the halves feel connected and to function as one piece of artwork.

The tree landscape on my easel is one that I wrote about in early February when it was in its very early stages. If you’d like to go back and read about it at that point, it’s on my blog here:

https://www.bobbibaughstudio.com/blog/2022/2/13/beginnings

Meanwhile, I just completed a new quilt that also features trees, as well as suggestions of memory and dream. This is Speaking the Memory.

SPEAKING THE MEMORY ART QUILT 2022

SPEAKING THE MEMORY Detail

If you would like to learn more about Speaking the Memory, it’s on my website HERE
I look forward to letting you know how the new piece evolves to completion.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

 How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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The Safe Harbor of Strong Women

We journey.

We take one step at a time.

We make stupid mistakes.

We get lost along the way.

We need to start over.

All of this is easier with help.

I have made a number of quilts that explore the journey of a girl or young woman. It’s been part of telling my story.

But, until this work, I have not focused on the important role that strong women play in the lives of other women. (I know how important it has been to me to have strong women to lean on at the times I needed them. I am forever grateful.)

Inspired by a group of women who are in my life now, my weekly writing group, I created Writing the Next Word to honor women who provide safe landing places for their friends.

I created this to enter in the SAQA Global Exhibit, “Haven.” It was accepted; it will premiere at the Houston Quilt Festival in October then travel to other venues for approximately two years.

I am so happy that a work that’s meaningful to me will be seen, and also pleased that now I can write about it.

The focus of the quilt is the seated woman. I photographed Joan one week in writing group, then created a drawing from the photo.

The figure was built by layers of fabric cut and collaged into place. I used several scraps of recycled denim for her jeans and monoprinted sheer polyester for her skin tones. I also did some drawing, and additionally used machine stitching for texture and further mark making.

One of the things I like about creating with fabric is the hands-on, tactile involvement in the subject matter as it evolves. As I glued and stitched the character, I felt like I was getting in touch with who she is.

To me, the essence of beauty in older women is confidence. I enjoy seeing women who are comfortable in their own skin and their own body.  And a face that shows experience and wisdom. For this portrait, I worked to create just a hint of expression on the face while keeping her depicted without a detailed, specific face. This work is inspired by a particular person, but I want it to be experienced in a more universal way.

Because the exhibit theme is “Haven,” I wanted to suggest a journey. A safe harbor occurs in the context of a journey. It is when we are traveling through experiences that we really need a safe place to land.

The left part of the quilt is the journey.

It began with printed and painted surface design. Then I worked to push back the image and incorporate it into the right half.

I used the border pattern across the bottom to depict change from harsh journey to arriving at an oasis: the pattern is constant across the bottom, but the color changes.

What do I hope a viewer will think or experience when looking at this work?

Each one will, of course, bring their own experiences, and those experiences will blend with the image in the quilt to create a personal meaning.

For those who have been fortunate to benefit from the counsel of wise women, I hope they will remember. For those who have been the wise counsel-givers, I hope they will realize how important they are.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Creating parts with a voice

Compare and contrast.

Same, but different.

Light and dark.

Parts that will speak to each other.

These are some of the concepts I consider as I am creating a composition. As much as possible, I try to think through these ideas in the design and sketching phase so I know where it’s going. But, if the plan isn’t working along the way, I’ll adjust and try something new.

I had a chance (through the wonderful surprise of being on the cover of SAQA Journal) to look again at my quilt, Seeing Through to the Light. I think the composition works, and I think the contrasts are at the heart of it.

LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT The top section is dominated by a photo transfer of an image I have used in several quilts: a picture I took looking through the windows of an abandoned house. The overgrown vines were flooded with sunlight, creating intricate, delicate patterns.

Then I also created some hand-printed fabric to square off this section, which is so similar in character to the photo that it blends in as part of it.

It was here that I also introduced the yellow lines indicating light.

DARK DARK DARK The bottom section is the opposite of the top. Almost no pattern. Very dark values. Although there is actually a good deal of surface pattern in this section, it is so subtle it’s only visible right up next to the quilt. From across the room this looks solid black.

Then, in what is actually the point of the quilt, a few shafts of light dissect the dark. The light penetrates, breaking through.

DIFFERENT DIFFERENT DIFFERENT As a transition between these two sections, I created the vibrant orange circles, resist-printed. The round shapes are not found in the patterns of the other sections. The color “pops” They provide the entry point for orange as a design element, which I then pick up in two other splashes.

 As I compose, I like to think of ways for the various parts of a quilt to speak to each other. To do that, each section needs o have its own defined voice. I was absolutely transfixed by the image I took of the light and vines through the window. Its voice is strong, and offered me subject matter to use as a beginning point.

Assembling the photo transfer

Seeing Through to the Light is part of the SAQA Global Exhibition “Light the World. “ (That is how it came to be featured on the cover of SAQA Journal; inside this issue is an article about that traveling exhibit.) Seeing my quilt again helped me to remember making it, and what I was thinking about during the process. This week, in other projects in the studio, I have tried to incorporate some of what I thought worked in that creation.

Compare and contrast.

Same, but different.

Light and dark.

Parts that will speak to each other.

. . . . . . . . . .

If you would enjoy looking at other quilts based on landscape and natural elements, I invite you to visit the Layered Nature Gallery on my website, HERE.

. . . . . . . . . .

You are invited:
Art in the Garden… This Weekend!

Saturday, March 26, from 9-3 PM at Select Growers Nursery on HWY 11 just North of DeLand. This one-day outdoor event is from 9 am -3 pm, and features displays by local artists plus food and beverages all in a beautiful shaded pavilion in the middle of a spectacular plant nursery. You can browse, shop for art and shop for plants all at once. I’ll be exhibiting. If you are near the DeLand area, I hope to see you there.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

 Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Sand and Water and Memories

What are your feelings about sand, salt, hot sun, cool water and cawing seagulls?

I love them all. I have always felt completely at home on the beach. Childhood beaches in New Jersey. Adult beaches in Florida. I love them all.

I created two beach memory works over a year ago for entry in a regional art quilt exhibit, “Floridian Flavors.’ I just got my quilts back from the final exhibiting venue. I unpacked them and put them on the storage shelf. But, first, I took some time to look at them again, to see what I could see.

Each of these quilts depicts a beach scene, but they are actually depictions of memory.

Two Orange Creamsicles, Please is an image of nostalgia. To reach the memory, we look off into the distance.

Though it is rendered in a representational way, it is not “real” in the way a photograph is real. I simplified the scene, leaving out elements that would actually have been there. I intensified the colors of the truck shadow. I intensified the sky.

The focal point is the large truck in the foreground..

The truck as it appears in the finished work

The truck-in-progress in my studio

But the work is actually about the two women walking away from us, towards the sky while – we presume – they are eating ice cream bars. The intimacy of their stroll together suggests to me that they are old friends, perhaps sisters. 

I used a loose gestural drawing of these figures to give them life.

I liked creating this composition with the strong horizon line. Of course, that’s a strong visual characteristic of being at the beach. But, here in the visual plane, it offers a chance for me to have an element very clearly in the closest part of the foreground while the characters in the story moving up and away from that place.

Classic is also a beach scene, and a memory, but a completely different method of involving the viewer in the scene. The memory is right up at the front of the picture plane.

The main character is depicted in a close-up. This image was based on a picture from a family scrapbook. I love the confidence of the woman in her bathing suit. I love the ease of just enjoying that coke straight from the bottle. (I think I am drawn to these details because the women on my side of the family were not like that at all. Rarely comfortable in their own bodies at the beach. Never drank soda from a bottle.)

I wanted the fact that this is a memory from a scrapbook to be an obvious part of the composition. I used the photo frame as a frame for the woman.

But then – to play a bit with the realities being depicted, I have allowed her to extend outside of the photo. Her legs have made it into the actual ocean foam. Her head extends beyond the photo frame.

So she is both in the photo and at the actual beach. The actual beach is in the background, but has entered into the photo.

Unlike the loose drawing of the two women in Creamsicles, this one is more detailed. I muted the color in the character, to suggest an old black and white photo. All the deep color is in the depiction of the beach elements.

Now, this memory cycle is complete. I drew from real beach memories to create. I re-experienced the scenes as I was working on them. Now, looking at the process of creating several years after the actual quilt creation, I remember the artmaking of it.

My hope will be for these works to find a home (perhaps a wall in a beach home?) where they can also conjure memories of sand and salt and sky in those who look on the scenes.

If you are interested in learning more about these works, they are on my website HERE:
Two Orange Creamsicles, Please
Classic

Finally, just a note for all of t hose who have been nice enough to ask: The studio tour last weekend was fabulous. HUNDREDS of visitors. Wonderful art conversations. Good sales. I was so happy that people were interested in being out and about on an art adventure. To readers who showed up… THANK YOU!

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Studio Tour Take-Aways

I began Saturday morning driving around to the appropriate intersections to place signs that would lead visitors to my studio for the tour.

What a fabulous really-and-truly small independent business tradition. You just pound into the ground a sign with an arrow.  Another woman from my neighborhood was stopping at all the same intersections as I was. She was having a garage sale, about a block down the street from my home. We laughed together. I said I’d send people to her garage sale if she’d send them to my studio tour. Deal. Done.

I spray painted this old door to create a quirky sign - letting visitors know they’d found the right spot.

Take-Away #1: The Learning Component
I rediscovered that people LIKE to learn about art. Not all people are prospective buyers. They may not have wall space. They may not have the budget required. All fine. People are respectful of the work required, plus the individual spark required, for one to be an artmaker. They appreciate knowing how things are made.

(Note to artmakers: Don’t be shy about telling your story: How did you become interested in your chosen artmaking method? How many hours do you spend? What comes hardest to you? What do you like the most? Patrons and just regular folks enjoy learning this. Offer the information. Sometimes people are afraid to ask.)

“The Lord Giveth and the Interstate Taketh Away.” Displayed outdoors with good light. Lots of people asked about the story behind it. We had some great conversations.

Take-Away #2: The planning Component

Our Studio Tour is put together by a very small committee (actually one person) who handles: registering artists, collecting funds, contracting with web provider, planning the paid advertising, whipping into shape the participating artists to encourage personal social media and other advertising. In this event, as in almost any successful community event, volunteers ROCK!

Take-Away #3: Energy! (And sore Feet)

It’s hard work to be “on “ for a solid stretch from 10am – 5pm. I am grateful that I hardly had 15 minutes without visitors to look at art, shop for art, and talk about how things are made. The time passed quickly. But I’m pooped. (And my feet are tired too from standing all day. I’ll need to switch shoes tomorrow.)

Inside the studio I had set up both finished work and work-in-progress. More opportunities for conversation.

Take-Away #4: Living the Life!

Like many women aged 60+, I worked through a lot of other life experiences to get here. I feel alive and energized and grateful to have a life as a full-time artmaker at this point in my journey. It is good!

To everybody who visited today - showed interest in artwork - purchased some to take home with you - thank you! I’m writing this Saturday evening. I’m looking forward to another interesting day on Sunday.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

 Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts.You’ll hear from me about once a month.NEWSLETTER

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Cleaning. And other artful projects.

One of the good things about having guests is that it forces you to clean up in advance.

I am not a fan of cleaning. Actually, there is almost no activity I dislike as much as vacuuming. (Just when you think you are done with a room, you pull a little more and yank the dumb plug out of the wall. Ugh! And the incessant whine of the vacuum noise. Also ugh.)

But… this week I will be cleaning and preparing my studio for the studio tour this coming weekend.

I’m looking forward to it. (Both the cleaning and the tour.) As I was doing some sewing this afternoon I looked around my sewing desk and realized that these spools of thread have gotten out of control.

And I have a few baskets of scraps I intended to do things with that have taken on a mind of their own.

It’s time for some good sorting – discarding – wiping away dust – rearranging – and (yes) vacuuming. I suspect I may even discover some stencils I had forgotten I had.

Meanwhile, I am putting together parts on a new quilt that explores patterns of trees and their reflections in water. I have done the photo transfers and created a lot of fabrics that I want to use as elements to give voice to the patterns I see. Here they are laid out on my work table.

I had to photograph them in place - to remember what I had done - because my next step was to take them all apart so I could begin stitching and quilting in sections. (Having only small machines to work with, I quilts as I go, then combine sections.)

I also just finished a new body of collaged paper works, many featuring trees and arch-shaped portals. I enjoyed exploring these elements in a number of different palettes.

If you would enjoy looking at these new paper works, you can find them on my website here COLLAGED ARTWORK

 Finally, one more time, please accept this invitation to the DeLand-Area Off the Beaten Path Artist Studio Tour March 5-6.  I will have done the cleaning and vacuuming… now I just need visitors!

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Orange Power

Saturday I was up bright and early to join my Rotary club in planting saplings. (Actually, at this point they were more like twigs. We work with our City tree nursery to pot 2500 baby trees so that two years from now they will be ready to give away to folks in our community.)

As I was inserting slender future trees into their pots of warm compost/potting mixture, I was struck by the intense colors of some of the roots.

Right above the fibrous root ball. Right where that portion joined the main trunk. Oh my goodness! Incredible burnt sienna into red, and in some cases a wonderful bright orange.

Work was done mid-morning (2500 trees potted. Yayyy!) and I was home in my studio. And now I’m thinking about orange.

I looked around to see if I had samples in projects working. Well look at this!

This one is quite subtle. The background, which looks orange, is actually raw Sienna. The reddish-brown overprint with sponge paint helps the surface parts unify. It softens things up so the black screen printed tree forms don’t make it look like a Halloween Illustration.

In this detail of some recently printed/painted fabrics, the orange hue is also raw sienna. It pops so nicely in this little section because of its proximity and contrast with the teal blue that I used. (A color I love and create a lot.)

Now we’re talkin’ orange! A true orange-orange painted piece of fabric had glue resist circles printed on, with overpaint in a darker orange-red. A little of this goes a long way. But I think it will be a terrific splash.

All of these pieces are in the pile for a new work-in-progress. I have been inspired by reflections of tall pines in a small stream near my house. There are good hints of brown-orange in the photos I transferred. I am hoping the fabrics I am creating to go with the photo gives voice to the intricate variety I see in the trees and pines.

That makes a good conclusion to my Saturday: beginning and ending thinking about both beautiful color and wonderful trees.

. . . . . . . .

I only have a few more chances to promote the West Volusia Studio Tour. It’s COMING SOON! Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6, 10am – 5pm.   I love being on this tour and welcoming folks to my studio. If you are in driving distance of DeLand, please take the day and come do the tour. (Stops in downtown DeLand before or after are fun too.)

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Beginnings

I enjoy the beginning stages of artmaking.

For paper collages, the very beginning is ripping rice paper from its full size sheets to the working size I’ll use on my monotype printing plate. This is a surprisingly pleasing and soothing task. I enjoy the process of tearing against my metal ripping bar. I like stacking up the sheets, ready for creating images.

For fabric artwork, the beginning stages generally involves some background painting.

I like this stage too. I begin to envision the layers that will come after the initial layer. I begin to get a sense of the palette.

I have a new art quilt in progress - in its very earliest stages. It will be based on images from a photo shoot I did on New Year’s Day. A small drainage stream near my home had some wonderful images of reflected trees. The picture above shows the paper color copies on my easel, along with a few other images I might like to incorporate. These pieces are ready to be transferred to muslin. Hanging them up helps me to begin to see patterns and consider compositions.

I have set aside fabrics that I think might become a part of this quilt. I’ll hang them up on my easel too, to begin to see how the parts might fit together. I’ll see the missing parts too, to determine what else I need to print.

This is a different quilt – one I just completed. I was further along on this one. Fabrics printed and selected, and photo transfers done. Now I’m seeing how it all fits together.

In all kinds of artmaking, there are parts of the process that are especially pleasing and inspiring, and parts that are more difficult. (And sometimes a piece reaches a point where it’s just a slog to get through it!)

Capturing the pleasure of the parts you most enjoy can help you stay on course when you reach the harder parts.

. . . . .

Coming Event: Studio Tour. My studio will be part of the “Off The Beaten Path” Studio Tour in West Volusia (the DeLand area,)  Florida. March 5-6. 10 am – 5 pm. If you are in central Florida I hope you will come visit. There are 11 studios to visit in the DeLand area. It’s free. You plan your own tour, going to what interests you. In my studio I’ll show where and how I work, and also have one-of-a-kind work available for purchase. (Including some super bargains.)

Coming Event: Shopping Opportunity  Several times a year I release a new series of matted paper collage artworks. The next new release date will be Wednesday, February 23.  I will send out a reminder e-mail, then send pictures of all the works the night before the sale goes LIVE on my website, then the work will actually be available on Wednesday evening. I have been so grateful in the past to the great response. (It gets pretty fast and furious!) If you are interested in receiving this information, you’ll need to be a subscriber to my monthly newsletter. You can subscribe HERE

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

BLOG POSTS  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

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TEXT as an artwork element

“In the beginning was the Word.”

It’s so interesting that across traditions of all kinds there is great attention given to the importance of words.  Words communicate important truths. And, as humans have developed methods of writing to capture those words, writing itself has become a powerful communicator. In many traditions, the written words and the surface they are on are also considered sacred.

Once you learn to read, you really can’t see text and not read it. It may flash by quickly as on a sign, or it may be text on a page. Either way your brain responds to it. We are drawn to text. We want to know what else it says.

For artmakers, we can add to this inherent interest in text its quality of being linear. Handwriting is made up of interesting lines. There are patterns and rhythms in the letters that follow one another on the baseline.

Sometimes, a bit of text is an interesting addition to a composition.

I was working on this small paper collage this week and was looking for just a little something that was linear and had some energy. Text just fit the need. I did not write gibberish – these are actual words inspired by the other elements of the collage. But I have intentionally written in a loose style with all the letters running together. I don’t so much want the viewer to read the words as to notice that there are words there.

To balance that section, I cut two squares out of scraps from a quilt-in-progress. Now the rhythm of the letters becomes a kind of movement across the whole picture plane; one section speaks to another section.

The quilt-in-progress has words written in the background, with lots of other elements in layers before it. The text peeks through.

Another quilt I completed this past year actually began with the text. I stretched out a large piece of fabric on my worktable and I wrote and wrote. I covered it n words. This became the background of the sky and also the girl. It is a personal artwork, one that digs into family history and memories. The text is not the most obvious of the composition. But I know it’s in there.

Detail Caving Away Beneath Us. Again.

Cavine Away Beneath Us. Again will be exhibiting as part of Art Quilt Elements at Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA March 27 - April 30, 2022.

Like any other technique, inserting text into artwork should not be a gimmick. But, used thoughtfully, text of all kinds can add a dimension to artmaking.

. . . . . . . . .

UPCOMING ART EVENTS - For those in driving distance of DeLand, Florida

STUDIO TOUR: I am so pleased that the “Off the Beaten Path” tour will return to the DeLand area this year.  There will be twelve artists to visit. It’s FREE. It’s self-guided. It’s fun. And I will welcome all visitors to my studio.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
MARCH 5 – 6   10AM – 5PM
to find map and information visit    www.ArtsTours.Org

ARTISTS IN THE GARDEN: A small art show sponsored by the Guild of the Museum of Art, DeLand. It’s held at Select Growers, a beautiful plant nursery on US 11 just North of DeLand. Displays are grouped under a pavilion, and there’s food and drinks available. It’s a great outing. I’ll be exhibiting artwork there.

Saturday, March 26, 2022    9 am - 3 pm
The Garden Shop at Select Growers
4391 Highway 11 North, De Leon Springs

. . . . . . . .

 For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Art. Power. Practice.

This week I have worked on all kinds of projects-in-progress that interest me. I could write about any of them.

But.

I just want to stop for a moment and talk about A R T. The power of it. The wonder of it.

Friday night we went to an over-the-top inspiring piano concert at Stetson University’s School of Music. (Stetson is here in DeLand. I’m a Stetson alum.)

I heard people leaving who were, simply, stunned, saying: “Wow.’  There was Beethoven. Rachmaninoff. Chopin etudes. All played masterfully.

And, as I have remembered the playing since then, I have tried to draw out important lessons.

First … Great art in person isn’t anything like great art not in person. Live music is completely different from recorded music. Seeing an art exhibit in person is completely different from seeing it online or in print. Our souls need all of these.

Second …  it takes time – and sometimes effort – to learn to appreciate an art form that’s not the one you are most familiar with. I did not grow up listening to Classical music. Even now, my repertoire of known composers and performers is way smaller than I would like. But I am learning. And grateful to have world-class performances nearby.

Maybe for you it’s abstract art that’s foreign. Or non-representational color field work. Or outsider art. Or folk art. It is good to give all of these some time. Let them soak into your understanding.

Third …There’s an actual difference between masters and pretty-good artists. (Duh!) Saturday night we also attended a performance of piano at Stetson, this time performed by students who are piano majors. Obviously, they all played piano quite well. But they are not yet where they will be.

For those of us who are artmakers, this is both humbling and hopeful. We only get to Carnegie Hall in the way described in the well-known joke: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice. Practice. Practice.

I spend hours in my studio each week because I love what I do, and because I believe it is worth it.

Art makes life better.

. . . . .

Along that thought, I’m happy this week to share a bit of art joy. My quilt, “More Than Bread,” was accepted into the SAQA Global exhibit, Gastronomy. It will premiere next October at the Houston Quilt Festival then travel for approximately two years. The jurors selected 40 works to show from over 100 entered.

For my artist statement I wrote:

She kneads the dough to make bread. But more than bread. Much more. Through her arms and hands, she leans into the work. She pours herself into the process. She connects the dough to her traditions, her memories, her culture. Sifted into the ingredients are her beliefs and dreams for those for whom she bakes. Come, eat.

Hmmm. Kind of like making great art.

REMINDER: COMING SOON: Mark your calendars!

I will open my studio doors March 5-6 and welcome guests on this self-guided studio tour. Twelve artists in the DeLand area are participating. You drive from studio-to-studio, visiting all or just the ones that interest you, at your own pace, for FREE! I hope if you are near Central Florida you will plan a day to visit DeLand and my studio. Find out more about the artists on the tour and see the map, here:

https://artstours.org/west-volusia-tour/

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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My Studio Choices

This week I taught a workshop (via zoom) to a creative, energetic group of textile artists.

As part of the class, I shared my personal studio choices.

Every artist has to make lots of choices – subject matter, medium, and method of presentation

The choices you make will determine a lot about your work.

I came to these decisions sometimes by coming in through the back door; I was working in certain ways and then realized what those practices had become.

Now, however, these are conscious decisions that guide my practice. I’ve thought about them. I’ve written them down. It is possible I may change some of them, but for now here they are.

1.   I want to make work that is ABOUT something. I am amazed, looking back at nearly a lifetime of artmaking, how late in my life I made that decision. I’d been drawing and painting still life and landscapes and designs in various methods for a long time. But I had not decided – or even realized - that my artwork could be a way to communicate my ideas. Now that’s a very conscious part of the process.

Small Expectations was one of the first works I created in my series about the journey of young girls. It was a new experience to create work ABOUT something. (On my website HERE)

1.   I only want to use only fabrics that I create myself. I buy blank fabrics and create the color and pattern through a number of surface design methods.

In my studio - creating some original fabric.

1.   I only want to use acrylic paints in my artmaking. There are other methods of creating beautiful and creative fabrics that many textile artists use: dyeing, discharging, digital printing, for example. I admire the work of many artists who use these methods. But, in my small space that easily accommodates a single kind of chemistry, I have chosen to limit my work to paints only.

(Fortunately, I have discovered that acrylic paints can create an almost limitless variety of effects and patterns.)

Just a few of the varied effects that can be created with acrylics on fabric

1.   I want to limit my methods and materials. I enjoy simple, low-tech methods of artmaking. I use hand-cut stencils and mark-making devices; I use resists and monotype printing; I have added some screen-printed patterns. It gives me pleasure to create interesting, layered surfaces without seeking out new methods.

I do design and experiment on my computer with PhotoShop Elements and I do incorporate those photo images into my work. I do this with a gel medium transfer – a very tactile and hands-on process.

This is the Way to Get In. This art quilt is very complex - both its content and the images. But I created it with very simple methods. ( On my website HERE)

For artmakers … A new year is a good time to think about your studio practices. What do you like? What would you like to do differently? Your choices may be quite different from mine. I hope you make choices that are pleasing and interesting to you.

 For art appreciators … You can develop a deeper appreciation of artists whose work you admire by learning abut their studio practice and artmaking choices. What thought and methods went into the creation of the work you admire?

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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I wonder if I could do it again?

This is what got me inspired this weekend.

This is a detail of a paper collage in progress. I just like this section a lot.

I like the un-defined, intriguing shape that’s behind the orange-red overlay. And Iike the way that semi-transparent layer created a deep, interesting color.

So I wanted to see if I could reproduce the effect.

Sometimes in creating hand-printed papers the effects are intentional.

Sometimes I get what I get and I am surprised. (My hope is that most of the surprises are good ones.)

I like the improvisational nature of hand printing. I don’t want it to become rote, where I just crank out the same thing in each printing session.

Still, this pattern interests me enough to want to play with it some more.

I know I created the shape the first time with a hand-cut stencils. I decided to add a few more to my vocabulary. I cut these from manila file folders.

Ready to rock n roll.

I started out printing very muted colors. I think the intensity should be added after I print and collage, with vibrant transparent overlay of acrylic. That’s why these prints look a little flat.

After a few hours I have a nice assortment of patterns and colors.

I’m looking forward to taking these printed pieces and using them to create new collaged original artworks..

. . . . . . . . . .

I enjoy studio visits. There’s a great opportunity coming soon: Mark your calendars!

I will open my studio doors March 5-6 and welcome guests on this self-guided studio tour. Twelve artists in the DeLand area are participating. You drive from studio-to-studio, visiting all or just the ones that interest you, at your own pace, for FREE!. I hope if you are near Central Florida you will plan a day to visit DeLand and my studio. Find out more about the artists on the tour and see the map, here:

https://artstours.org/west-volusia-tour/

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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The tangible. And what stirs the pot.

I awoke this morning from a strange dream. (I am writing shortly after waking. I may still be a bit under its spell.)

It was not frightening or troubling – just odd. A mix of places and events I don’t at the moment understand. It’s what I think of as a pot-stirrrer: a dream that digs into various images and places, stirs them all up, and leaves me to wonder, “What was THAT all about?”

I have come to respect the work of dreams. Our brains are hard at work, looking at things and sorting through them in ways different from our conscious thinking. The content may stay underneath, operating on another level, or may at some point merge with my conscious understanding.

I know that – today – I am in a place of wanting to do tangible, definable activities in the surroundings I understand.

Yesterday we got our Christmas things up in the attic and our tree out by the curb for pickup. That feels good.

This morning I have a stack of thin printed papers I am interested in arranging and collaging, waiting for me in the studio. That feels good.

I am working on completing the binding on the large quilt that’s been my project for the past month or so. That feels good.

Yesterday I had a great fabric-prep session creating wheat paste patterns; That feels good.

And today, as tangible indication that the artmaking process does sometimes lead to final results that are pleasing, I have a few upcoming events to share about opportunities to show my work.

OPENING THIS WEEKEND: In Stuart, Florida. I have two pieces in the “Floridian Flavors” exhibition, a collection of work by Florida SAQA members interpreting Florida in fabric. There’s lots of color and interesting viewpoints.

The opening in Stuart is Friday, January 14, 5:30 - 7pm at the Courthouse Cultural Center and Gallery., Martin County.  The show runs January 11 – February 26.

My quilts in Floridian Flavors: Classic and Two Orange Creamcicles, Please

 OPENING February 4, in Sanibel, Florida  I just received notice that my quilt, Under the Sea, Under The Moon, will be exhibiting in a group show at BIG ARTS in Sanibel, Florida.

The opening in Sanibel is scheduled for Friday, February 4amd the exhibit will be up through March 13, 2022

COMING SOON: Mark your calendars!

I will open my studio doors March 5-6 and welcome guests on this self-guided studio tour. Twelve artists in the DeLand area are participating. You drive from studio-to-studio, visiting all or just the ones that interest you, at your own pace, for FREE!. I hope if you are near Central Florida you will plan a day to visit DeLand and my studio. Find out more about the artists on the tour and see the map, here:

https://artstours.org/west-volusia-tour/

I feel more awake and rooted in the tangible world now. Perhaps it’s time to go see what’s perking in the studio!

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

---

Exploring Layers and Depth

For a 2-D artist, the working surface is flat.

But, generally, we don’t want the images we create to be flat.

I don’t want work that’s emotionally flat. Or visually flat.

I work hard to create multiple ways to draw people into a picture – both emotionally and visually.

So this weekend I’ve been cutting out leaves.

All by themselves, these will not create depth. But they will – I hope – contribute to the whole composition. (My plan is to collage these into my current work-in-progress.)

Even in this simple pile of fabric leaves on my worktable, there are some things to see about depth.

To create a layer, put one thing on top of another thing.

To create depth, have some things opaque and some things transparent or semi-transparent.

To create a sense of in-front-of and behind, have varying intensities in color.

To create an entry into a story, try a portal or framing device with something behind it.

I am thinking about flatness and depth for the piece I am working on now and as I am beginning to form ideas of what I want to focus on in the next few months of in work. Sometimes it helps me to look back at previous work that I felt got some things right.

This is “Growing Unseen.” I spent some time looking at in again this evening

I really like this quilt. I felt like I captured an emotion. It has a lot going on, but the parts seem to speak to each other.

And, I did a number of things to keep it from being flat. There are areas of overlap. There is varied color intensity. There are portals into deeper layers. There is a mix of opaque and transparent.

Looking at it again, I remember how I felt when I created this work. It speaks very personally to me. I remember being a little girl like the one depicted, feeling invisible. I was right there in the picture, but did not feel like I was an important character in the story.

That’s a lot of complex memory and emotion to put into a two-dimensional work. What I’ve discovered that I really like about quiltmaking is that fabric and collage provide me with tactile, hands-on ways to address ideas like that, to build up layers that are both pleasing to me and interesting. Not flat.

(If you would like to learn more about “Growing Unseen,” it is on my website HERE.)

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It’s a new year. May it be one in which we can create, enjoy art, and live deeply.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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Here we are. A time in-between.

Here we are. A time in-between.

Many woke up this morning, I believe, saying. “I made it.”

For those for whom the holidays were every bit the big to-do and celebration made famous in carols and Hallmark movies, complete with cooking and guests and families and music and children and huge piles of boxes and paper and things that sparkle throughout. Phew. You made it.

For those for whom it was a quieter event, as it has always been or perhaps in a new way in your life: you made it.

All of us experience build-up to events.

And then the events happen.

And then there is the time after the events. To process.

For the artist, experiencing the patterns and repetitions of life are fuel for thoughtfulness, for inspiration, and for artmaking. Eventually.

Today I walked into my studio and realized that I’m just not there yet. I spent an hour or so re-sizing a T-shirt style pajama top. (I hate it when the arms are too tight!)

Later I’ll take a bike ride or go to the gym. My very quiet Christmas felt just right and I am grateful for the experience.

The wheels of inspiration and new ideas will begin to turn soon. For today, I’m experiencing being here, being where I am supposed to be and knowing I made it.

The next day I post to this blog will be 2022.  I send my sincere hope for creativity, fullness and peace to you and yours in this new year.

Here a few images and a poem for you – here in this time in-between.

“Becoming the Song” Fabric/Paper Collage

My Sister Sends a Text Message

 It is morning after Thanksgiving

For breakfast she is eating pie.

I see her at her kitchen counter

Her plate. Her book. Her mug.

(She used to drink tea.

Now it is coffee.)

A simple pleasure.

Embrace it. Add whipped cream.

Forbidden foods at

Forbidden times —

Acceptance.

“The Peace of Life Chosen” Fabric/Paper Collage

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

 How I keep in touch:

BLOG POSTS  - once a week:  Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here:  I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL

NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month.  NEWSLETTER

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