Tea work continues

Blogging seems to have gone off my radar, but I am still working.  I have two long-term rather slow pieces that have been in progress over a month now.  The first is quite simple, small sacks sewn out of two teabags placed across one another:

I have almost 100 made now and plan to keep going....I'm not sure yet how they will be displayed, but I know that I will need many of them to make any kind of impact:

The other project is a kind of hanging curtain where each teabag is reinforced with cut-off toothpicks on each end and threaded together.  I'm imagining something about 6 by 8 feet when completed.  I brought a good supply of bags with me, but without my usual volunteer contributions I am quickly running out of material.

I'm also playing around with small sculptures of various kinds of containers, but don't know if this will lead anywhere.  This bowl is all held together with hand stitching:

Next post I'll talk about the latest work I am doing which uses Chinese joss paper.  I'm just in the beginning stages with this material, but i'm enjoying the change.

La Vida - line drawing

This is the line drawing to a painting I have in mind which, hopefully, will be part of a series called Guardians.  You will notice that the perspective is deliberately askew.  Her "envelope", meant to suggest a bud or cocoon, goes underwater on one side and over land on the other.  Arms crossed, envelope crossed.  Every class of creature is represented:  bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, plant, insect.... 

Marigolds for Chocolate

I was approached by a woman in Oregon who manufactures chocolate and wanted me to cut her a custom kirigami mandala with a marigold design in the center.  This design will go on the chocolate labels.  Here is what I cut for her. Which orientation do you like the best?

I can't wait to see the labels (and taste the chocolate!)

Art That Celebrates Winter

Snow is falling outside my studio window right now, and the media is calling this the Blizzard of 2013.  Having experienced the Blizzard of '78 while living in Massachusetts--four feet of snow and a week of "vacation" afterwards--so far this is disappointing!  Hopefully, before it is over we will have at least the expected 8" to 14" on the ground.

Speaking of snow, yesterday, I completed a painting for the Norman Williams Public Library's next exhibit entitled, "Art That Celebrates Winter".  It is an area group show which will be hung later this week in the Mezzanine Gallery.  The posted land that inspired this painting is on Advent Hill Road in Hartland.  Very seldom have I painted winter landscapes and this was a treat...

"Posted"

acrylic painting - 16" x 20"

  The Opening Reception for "Art That Celebrates Winter" is to be next Saturday from 5:30 to 7 on the mezzanine at the library.  If you're in the neighborhood, please come by!

Message from Down Under

It seems like such a long time since I blogged.....I have gotten out of the habit but hope to remedy that! Now I am settled in Australia, have passed through the holidays and am ready to report on recent work that I've been doing.

Before I left I made a pair of boots out of round tea bags.  For the first time I used an iridescent medium on the bags to give it a bit of silvery shine.  For the form I paper mache seemed the best option and after some experimentation it worked well:

I also worked on a sculpture made of wooden rods, tea sacks, beeswax and red thread.  The rods are flexible so move easily:

Finally I constructed a box made of rolled and waxed tea sacks and the red thread again:

Now that I'm working in my studio here, it will be mostly small pieces.  I brought a great supply of materials along.  More later.

After the Exhibit

Once again, it seems a long time since I've written.  My show, The Art of Tea II, at AVA Gallery in Lebanon, NH, has finished.  After all the work that went into putting it together, it feels good now to be back in my studio, working on some new pieces.

I reflect back on the highlights of that venture.  It was very satisfying to work with AVA staff to hang the exhibition.  The pieces chosen very well fit in that lovely venue and I was pleased with how it showcased a variety of work created over the past three years.  I also found that giving a gallery talk was an excellent experience.  With Carol's help I learned to use Keynote to prepare a slide show that highlighted the influences in my work, my process of learning to use tea stained paper, and what I have learned.  It was very gratifying to experience the appreciation of many who viewed the show.

Above are a few photos from the exhibition.

"New England Landscapes" at Norman Williams Public Library

My current exhibit, "New England Landscapes" is now showing at the Norman Williams Public Library.  It will hang until December 6th.

Please come to the Opening Reception

this Saturday,

November 10th at 5 pm

The Mezzanine Gallery holds seventeen paintings done in Massachusetts and Vermont.  Several of them are plein aire paintings in oil, some are studio works and there are also two watercolors of barns, one in Rochester and one in Randolph.

I hope that if you can't make it to the Opening on Saturday you can stop by to visit during open library hours: 

Monday through Friday 10 to 6

Saturday 10 to 5