Patchwork pillow case

I have done it! I sewed this pillow learning about quilting. I modified a design from Kaffe Fassett's book: Glorious Patchwork: More then 25 glorious quilt designs. I had so much fun putting it together. I like how it turned out and I am ready to make a mate to this one, similar, but different.

Monochromatic collages

Here are two collages for the class I am taking online: Unlocking the secrets of color with Jane Davies. I used colored papers. These were copy papers, tissue and Kozo rice paper. Monochromatic themes were explored.

On the right is another theme, this time red. The purpose was to see the various shades of red and arrange them in a composition.

I actually had a lot of fun with this. Collages are not what I am familiar with and so the novelty excites me. Using painted tissue paper also allows me to layer colors.

Looking at you

This morning, as I sat in front of my little square, I thought of BJ and her wonderful experience of online class with Jane Davies: Selfportraits. And so I took a brush and ink and drew a face from memory. Then I used watercolors and colored pencils. I did have fun doing this. I will look for this class in the future....

Daily mandala: Dwell-ing

I have engaged in a practice of painting a small piece daily, using watercolors, pens, colored pencils for couple of years. They are 3'' x 3''. These are quick. I usually select few colors and play with their effects. Here, I explored Scarlet lake(Winsor and Newton), Peacock blue (Holbein)and Lamp Black (Daniel Smith). I love how lamp black granulates.

We are snowed in. Hopefully, this will begin to melt soon.

And here is our dwelling. Cozy on the inside, monochromatic on the outside. It took couple of days for the Nature to create this scene. I am glad that daily routine is not her habit.

Mother tree

I live in the woods. I am surrounded by these beautiful life givers, the trees. I breathe the oxygen filled air and am thankful for the miracle of photosynthesis. It is so easy to forget the dependence that exists between trees and ability to breathe and live. Humanity has complex relationship to the tree. We take; and what do we give in return? What is my awareness of the beautiful interrelationship that exists in life? This is another recent watercolor from November 2011. The Mother tree continues to gift and bless, nurturing us all.

Growth in all directions

This is one of my new watercolors, completed in October 2011. I experimented with pouring watercolor in couple of layers and then bombay ink, which I let dry under saran wrap. After a good drying period, I started to focus on to the image. I used Prismacolor colored pencils and gouache to detail the image. It reminded me of flowers and of growth in general continually recycling itself. I call this painting "Growth in all directions."

Life is a lovemaking between Heaven and Earth

I painted this watercolor in 2008. At that time, I had been contemplating the nature of life. Through the process of painting this, the answer emerged: Life is a lovemaking between Heaven and Earth. And that became the title of this painting.

I started the painting by pouring watercolors onto a wet paper, letting it take its basic shapes and repeating the transparent pours couple of times, after each layer was dried. Then I began to lay washes with a brush to flesh out the shapes. When the "story" of this painting began to emerge, I switched to gouaches and began the detailing of the image with dots and lines. I love the meditative aspect of detailing.