Old and New...

Making a move forces you to leave the old 'things' behind. Old unused stuff, old routines, and familiar faces, and unfortunately old friends. But the good thing today is, those old friends are just a phone call or text away! Sometimes it seems like your old friend is just a few blocks away!

“It takes a long time to grow an old friend.”

"Old Friends"
Made by me for my old friend Teresa.

We have been in our new home for 6 weeks now. We still have a few random boxes and a few stacks of things that have not found a place to go yet, but overall, we are mostly settled in.  I have some art that still hasn't been hung on the wall yet. I'm trying to imagine where those pieces will look the best. I don't want to put too many holes in the walls, so I'm taking that slow.

My studio is mostly organized and ready for me to work.  I have started working on both drawings and clay pieces...mostly custom work.  I have to catch up after being in the moving phase of life for two months. I am certainly glad that is over! Not being able to go into the studio and just think and create is very difficult for this 'introvert'.  That is my peaceful, relaxing time that I look forward to every day.  I get a little down when I have to be away from home/studio for anything....even if it is a fun outing.  But since we moved to a new part of the state, I want to make the effort to get out and meet people and do things that are unique to this part of Arkansas.  I have to get out of my comfort zone to do this.

So, moving also forces you to make new friends and routines. I have been able to re-connect with some old friends and connect with new friends!  Both are nice to have, since I did have to leave some longtime friends behind.  So, I look forward to doing things with my old and new friends here and creating new routines.

We ran into someone from Blytheville Saturday! We stopped to get some sandwiches to take home for lunch and across the room was one of my former students/co-workers from BHS!  (Yes, he was one of my OLD students in the 7th grade AND I worked with him at BHS too. )  It was nice to run into a familiar face for a change. That was a normal thing back in Blytheville, but that does not happen much when you are new to a much larger community.

“Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.”          ~Francesco Guicciardini

Beth♥

More experiments with textures

Just thought I would show an experiment before I show current projects. Currently I'm working on some custom clay tiles that aren't finished, then I have some
pen and ink custom home portraits.  So for now I will show a project that I worked on a few months ago.  Along with my students, I have been experimenting with mixed media paintings.  I tend to be very detailed with colored pencils and pen and ink, so I love the looseness of working with torn papers and modeling paste for textures and layering the variety of media allowing for previous layers to show through in places.  Here is a piece that I experimented with, although I still feel like its not quite finished.  The roof of the house needs another section on the right side. Although I was going for whimsical, it looks a little off balanced, so I am going to add a little more to it.

Some of the layers include: paint, then torn papers with architectural details and musical notes, tissue paper (crinkled up), black pastel for sketch, more paint, more layers, more paint. I didn't take photos as I went. I really need to start taking photos along the way. But here are some close ups so you can see the layers and the textures.

  

Enjoy the process!

Beth♥

One more week...

...and I will have more time to sleep, play with clay, draw, paint, and maybe even take some time to clean the house and paint my studio! I've been avoiding that last one for a long time now. If you knew how much stuff is in my studio, you would understand! If you are an artist, you understand! It is definitely due for a good clearing out of things that I don't use anymore, but that takes time to go through and decide what to do with those things that are perfectly good art supplies!

Mixed Media Collage
Acrylics, paper, and feathers

So for now, I will just share a couple of photos of projects that I have been working on at school with my students.  The Altered Book project is a work in progress. And the Mixed Media Project might be finished. You never know when I may decide that it needs something else.
Have a great weekend!
Beth♥ 

Altered Book pages
Some progress...but not complete