Early this afternoon I was about to dig back into the big sewing project I have going.
But a little voice inside said, “Take a break. Do something easy.”
I remembered the black and brown pieces I created last month, which I will sew into an abstract composition for the show my local art group will have in January.
(I created these black and brown pieces through a simple taping-off-a-grid exercise,
explained in my blog In August, HERE)
Those rectangle sections will work well, but not alone. I’ve known I would need to paint some new fabric pieces to hold the composition together.
And, as it happens, I had both a yard or so of muslin handy, as well as lots of yardage from some recycled curtain sheers just gifted to me. “Use those!” the voice suggested.
A simple decision like same-paint-different-fabrics (I painted a washy, all-over burnt sienna on each) will give my final piece both variety and unity. Each fabric takes the paint differently. Those subtle differences will be a characteristic of the final work.
After I painted the base color, I remembered I had a small jar with leftover wheat paste in the refrigerator, waiting to be used for something before going bad. So, I poured the wheat paste into a plastic coffee container lid and grabbed some stamping tools.
From experience, I know this almost-impossibly-simple procedure will yield great results. Stamping simple circles with wheat paste creates a nice organic pattern. And by using two different size circle stamps, I’ll have two pieces of yardage that will not be identical but will speak to each other nicely in the final composition.
Now my fabric stamped with wheat paste is in the studio drying. Tomorrow I’ll overpaint with a deep color that will contrast with the burnt sienna. What I’ll get will be burnt sienna circles on a contrasting background. Here’s a section from a previous work, Seeing Through to the Light, with a pattern made in a similar way.
Sometimes, like a gift, a process will come together as nice as pie.
Today was my day.
For all of us: focus each day on the good
that needs to be done in the world.
Be part of doing it.
Thank you for reading.
I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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