bodner015

Each day Mannie works a little on some new work of art, or fixes another or prepares one for display.  Presently she has yet another item to work upon in the family room, while she watches tv.  Me I can't do that  -I need to work in the studio and thus I don't accomplish as much. One secret to progressing in your work is to do something on your art works each day.  I will need to set aside the time -no matter what. Here is yet another of Mannie's works in progress as she works in the family room.

This week has been a time of gathering up art work from one venue and putting work into others.  Co-ordinating the changes is interesting -but do it we must.  These are the activities of artists that no one sees.  Our work just appears somewhere and a price affixed.  (We do have to pay for gas to move our work around and to participate in receptions, etc -all busy-ness.) The works in the Grand Valley Public Library will be taken out and a new venue found.   The works and our names will thus keep circulating -and that is a good thing. Mannie has now set up this cabinet in the Grand Valley Public Library for the next two months. Just as we are doing this, we removed works from the Orangeville Mill St. Public Library.    Now we are off to put a display of our work into the Main St. window space in Grand Valley.  Busy-ness, Busy-ness, Busy-ness!

I began adding oil pastel to one of the little bird drawings.  I could not get things to work.  For me it was a mess. So, I opened some tubes of water soluble oil paints and began to paint.  Things worked better.  I gave up oil paints a long time ago.  I got headaches from the solvents and even the oil binder in the oil paint tubes.  So far, these water soluble oil paints did the job.  However, I don't like the continual wet on wet.  With acrylics I can work quickly with no undetermined blending as happens when I apply another oil paint colour over or near another. I don't like the mooshy edges. Anyway, here goes...

While waiting to get some more pastels to finish up some work I found some small canvasses (5" x 7") and thought about doing some of the birds that come to our feeders. So I drew some little fellows and transferred them to the canvases.  These birds sit in the lilac trees just outside our kitchen window. American Gold Finch in winter dress A cheeky Chik-a-dee. A sulky Sparrow. A jaunty Junco. I have joined a birdwatching organization and send in data about birds and their numbers that visit our backyard feeders.  Our property is surrounded by high cedar trees.  When the sun shines on the back deck where all the feeders are the difference in temperature from the deck area compared to outside the property can be 7 degrees celsius.  As well we have 2 nyger seed feeders, 5 regular feeders, an open feeder fro sunflower seeds and 4 suet holders.  Thus, we can get up to 30 sparrow, 20 Juncos etc.  3 pairs of cardinals live in the trees and 6 Blue Jays.  We even have a hawk that swee

I applied some of my oil pastels to the picture of the rabbit under the forsythia bush. A New Picture from the Old -a Fierce Lapin I laid down the base colours with a harder oil pastel that blends well.  I will add the softer oil pastels later. But I have run out of white oil pastel and will need to go out and buy some more before I add the final layers of oil paste finish it.  As well, I like to see the picture up on the website in order to note how work is progressing.  I can see the need for some further shading in some places and greater highlights in others.   I can also see that the lines for my work are becoming simpler and yet portraying that image I want to achieve. Until I get more pastels, I will be doing some more drawings in preparation for painting with the oil pastels.

Manne got out her gutta and French dyes for the first time in quite a while.  After working on these magnolias she noted an issue with the gutta. So... she cut out the magnolia pieces and will use them in a future work.  Me, I don't see the issue, but its her image. These magnolias are cut out and are lying on another cloth for background.

The clamps for the Quilting/Embroidery frame that I had first used kept falling off as Mannie moved the unit around to work on it.  And so the search began to find a way to secure the frame and leg together so that Mannie could work on it and move it about as she worked.  We used c clamps with not much better results.  What to do?  What to do?  Then I received a flyer from Busy Bee Tools and lo and behold I saw an Angle Clamp Bessey. I could drill a hole into the legs I had built, insert the clamp, add the frame and tighten down.  When we got them home Mannie wanted to use the bar part to go on top of her frame and work, and screw the tightener from below.  We tried that and it worked.  The clamps did not come off and Mannie could move her frame around at will.  Ahhh... Now, before these clamps went on, Mannie had tried velcro to attach the legs.  The velcro did not hold when Mannie moved the unit around.  But, we kept it on to decrease any movement of the wood frame and the legs when

Sometimes you get those moments of lucidity that defy reason.  I awoke with the need to change one of the awakening picture's picture.  The bird had been giving me fits although the Gold Finch in the forsythia bush was an actual happening  -interestingly so was the new idea. In our yard we have had fights between the Ridge Rabbits and the Gazebo Bunnies (there's a story in there somewhere).  They meet in our yard and often end up jumping into the air and flicking their hind feet at each other -even on the deck where they come to eat the seeds that the birds throw everywhere.  Last spring as the ice began to melt I had gone to add dye onto the ice that would eventually go into the pond when melted.  Across the pond, under the forsythia bush rested one of the Ridge Rabbits.  I noticed him and he noticed me.  He (an assumption) scrunched up a little more and dropped down his head -giving me that fierce rabbit (rabid) look. I did not disturb him. Now that is the image I awoke with

Getting down to work seems to be a problem -but I did it today. I picked up one of my drawings for the Awakening Series and began to apply the oil pastel colours. The background had yellow, orange, brown blended.  The pussy-willow stems were red, brown, orange and blue blended.  The Chick-a-dee and pussy willows were orange, white grey, black, blue and red -blended. This oil pastel painting is complete at this stage and is awaiting the pyrographic burning of the image and any touch ups necessary. And this is a closeup of the Chickadee portion of the painting.  I may need to adjust somethings on viewing it here. Tomorrow I burn the image.  Then the Sennelier touches.

Mannie has yet done another of her whimsical fabric art pieces.  As usual se has used dyed material, dyed antique lace,hand made thread fabric, embroidery stitches  and found objects (hardware items form Home Depot).  I'm never sure what she is thinking when she does her work; the images just appear as she works on the canvas.

Mannie is busy, busy, busy -all the time.  And then she takes time to do her art work. In this picture, French dyes are used in the background, then embellished with dyed lace, hand made thread fabric, French knotted embroidery stitches amongst others, Czech glass beads, pearls, etc. 9" x 7"