Before the Snow and Ice

...there was a chilly, but glorious Friday!  It was the perfect wrap up to a busy and creative week - not to mention, an artful outing I had been looking forward to since last year.  *granted, 'last year' wasn't all that long ago - but it adequately expresses my excitement!*  The Quilting and Fiber Art Marketplace show returned to Sanford, NC on Friday and Saturday (January 7 - 8), last weekend; and "kids in the candy store" hardly describes how my artsy buds and I felt about attending the show!  The sheer profundity of creative tools and treats was enough to boggle the mind (in addition to wrecking havoc on the wallet)!  Obviously, last years inaugural show was a successful one; because this years line up of vendors extended all the way into the lobby of the Dennis A Wicker Civic Center!  It was quite a sight, indeed...  Everything from a rainbow of delectable fabrics and vintage buttons to patterns, kits, and eye candy galore - there was much goodness to behold.  The folks who put on this show do a fabulous job! The 'sister' show takes place in Statesville, NC at the end of this month (details available at the above link).

My own Floral Fragment

As if all of that were not enough...  There was also an evening of mini-workshops with Jane Powell and Louise McClure of Random Arts in Saluda, NC!  A group of Guild buddies and I were ready and willing students as we enjoyed both Louise's Floral Fragments and Jane's Tattered Mosaic classes. 

In Floral Fragments, we transformed Lutradur with a heat gun; after adding elements of text/pattern with Staz-On ink(s), and colors with water soluble mediums (water color paint, inks, pastels).  I decided to try my Graphtint pencils, and was very pleased with the outcome -- as I normally prefer more muted/earthy colors.  It looks much brighter in the photo, but just as lovely ;-)  This piece (a pin) is anchored with a floral button that started out plain, white.  After a little shmooshing of alcohol ink, it married perfectly to my delicately colored petals!  The applications for this technique are endless!  I can see these lovelies on special greeting cards, adorning a book cover, or tucked into the corner of a shadow box -- and that's just for starters...  Needless to say:  yep, I bought some Lutradur at the show!

My own Tattered Mosaic

In the Tattered Mosaic class, we blocked off our substrates with a simple bird shape (or shapes - we had pairs as well as birds with biddies among our 'flock'), and then created torn paper landscapes.  With an eye toward contrast, and using the torn elements to add visual depth, we finished the background before turning our attention to the feathered friends.  Most of Jane's samples looked much more 'painterly' than my first attempt; but I am fairly pleased with how my little tweeters turned out.  I can see where I could have improved it, right out of the gate, had I arranged my paper tesserae more carefully.  I am most pleased with the background; but my birds seem a bit 'flat,' to me...  Interestingly, the technique for week 2 in the Visual Journal Online Workshop (VJOW) may be just what I need to get this where I want it to be (?)  We shall see...  This is another technique that has multiple applications *in my labyrinthian, Swiss cheese mind*; and I look forward to playing around with it, some more.

Speaking of the VJOW, my happy little birds will be making an appearance as late additions to my workshop journal *sweet!*  I had this piece (12 x 12 in.) hopping about on the scanner, last night; and was able to capture some bits that I think will lend themselves nicely to the project!  *bonus!*  It will also put me more 'in line' with the task at hand, er, rather the class as described, as I will actually be reworking my own work. 

As noted in the wintry wording of this post's title, all of this fabulous, friend-filled fun took place before my little corner of the sweet, sunny south got socked by the second winter storm of the season!  There were snow flurries on my way home from Sanford on Saturday; but the big event was Monday!  We were graced with between 6 and 7 inches of snow over the course of Sunday night through Monday evening...  This, after a late Christmas dusting of closer to 10 inches!  Late last night tho', things turned ugly -- with sleet and freezing rain for a few hours, along with temperatures in the mid 20s *brrrrrrr*  SO...  now we have the scary, lingering, daytime slush, nighttime ice slicks to deal with; and the temperatures are not supposed to go above 40 until the end of the week. *ugh!*  The Man has already got cabin fever!  Here's a little peek at how things looked, yesterday around 10:15am -- enjoy ;-)  *note:  I did okay pointing out the driveway; but lost my coordination when it came to the road beyond - my finger is actually pointing beyond the road beyond, and into Henry's field - lol!*

Onward & Upward!
 - pla

Words of wisdom for today:

"You cannot use up creativity.

The more you use,

the more you have."

                     - Maya Angelou

Photo Notes:  

   Taken using Panasonic Lumix (DMC-ZS1) - set to natural light, slow sync/red eye flash

   Video:  RCA Small Wonder (EZ1000R) - set to WebQ