gardens and lace

I thought I’d share how my postcards evolve within a two week period.

It’s nice out, and so I load up a bunch of supplies one Saturday and head out to the backyard where I start cutting up photos from garden magazines and the like and mixing them with tissue paper.

 

Somewhere along the way, I bought a lace curtain at a thrift store and began cutting it up:

A Gee’s Bend quilt by Annie Mae Young was also a loose influence on the last four.

After receiving a Gee’s Bend postage stamp from Jill French which I added to postcard/collage #3 in this grouping, I was so inspired that I also bought a book of postcards. I love the simplicity of the Gee’s Bend quilts. I might explore their designs more through my collages.

OK. I’m off to fiddle some more with paint, postage stamps, lace and collage!

Ciao,

MM

swoon

My short and shy partner who looks barely twenty is leaning against some sort of elevated counter element with her black James Dean inspired non-leather jacket waiting for me to appear out of a small crowd of people coming out of an auditorium. She is barely a foot away from the artist presenter and star of the evening. I come up, lean down towards her, put my arms widely around her, and kiss her. As we look up, we see Swoon and she is smiling at us.

This is a conclusion to a one hour presentation that I have been talking about for weeks. At this point in my life, I find that it takes a bit of effort to leave the comfort of my home. But when I heard that Swoon was coming to town and was speaking, I had to go.

It was nice to hear her speak about her work and the values behind it. I can appreciate her love of creating ephemeral work and her commitment to social justice. In case you are unfamiliar with her work, here are a few of my favorites:

If you want to learn more about Swoon and her work, the Wikipedia entry is here.

text and image

I had written that I would share some of my creations from my Text and Image class. I still have two lessons to do. I was having a hard time keeping up with the lessons. It was just too nice outside and I got more weeding done than I have ever gotten done before. Anyway, these are what I came up with:

I’m not in love with any of them. I often had this weird feeling in my chest when I was working on them. I enjoyed the class, but found that the instructor, Jane Davies, and I disagreed on which were my strongest pieces. Despite this, I may decide to take her color class in a couple of weeks. I’ll think about it.

That’s it for now.

stuff from others

Spring is here!

This means that I’m a bit distracted with weeding and enjoying the sun. Weeding, what fun. I’ve been also taking a class offered by Jane Davies, entitled Text and Image. I may share some more images from my class at a future date. At this point, I am rather behind. And yes, I owe many a large load of mail art. So that you know, it doesn’t leave my “Need to return mail” pile until I send something back; even if it takes a year or more.

Here are just a few of the many gifts that I have received in my mailbox:

From Fi Webster;

and Angie;

Ingrid, a new mail art friend:

Tallie, a fellow Washington State-onian.

Cernjul Viviana from Argentina;

Do more of what makes you happy: MAIL ART.

Why does “do more of what makes you happy” seem so strange a concept? I am struggling with that combo right now: work that I am so, so about, clients and coworkers that I care deeply about. I would rather make art over anything right now.

I have also been corresponding with Vikki. I really like her style.

Jill has sent me some beauties as well. I really love the colors in this.

This is just a small sampling of some of the creativity that I have received recently. I’ll try to post more at a later date. I just have not been a great blogger lately.

Enjoy the weather,

mm

ending up somewhere

After awhile it comes down to a question
of life choices not a choice between you/or her
this sea town/or that bruising city
but about putting one foot in front of the other
and ending up somewhere
that looks like home.
-Cherrie Moraga

This is one of my favorite quotes. It helps me understand why, after all of my wandering, I’ve finally begun creating some roots.

Why do I live in such a cold climate? Obviously, I feel much more connected to extremely warm ones. A trip to Vashon Island and kayaking around seals was part of the decision; amongst others, including the knowledge that a friend that I care deeply for only lives five hours away, not to mention the fact that I have finally found a place where people wear the same shoes as me.

I found my balance. I live in the progressive state of Washington, in a small poor district that votes for Democrats, in a part of the state that predominately votes Republican. After my time in places like Texas, go figure!

Enough with politics. This is the real reason. Who could not bow down to the omnipresence of such sights as this?

I never saw such peaks until my late thirties. The ones in these photos are not even that impressive. I don’t have any high quality hiking gear and cannot withstand long hikes. And so, these are not REI catalog quality photos. And yet, look. This is what is within a drive if not closer. For me, who has grown up around sunshine, beaches, heat, and large expanses of water, I am impressed.

May nature always guide us,

mm

experimenting with paint

I’m a bit behind in returning mail. Big surprise. Life often supersedes postcard making. Well, postcard sending at least. I still make as often as I can. It centers me after a day of crisis calls at work.

Right now, I am taking an online class with Jane Davies on text and image in collage. It’s been fun to have the structure of the exercises to follow and to get me out of my comfort zone. I’ve also been trying to play with paint more; as paint is something that I have never been comfortable with.

Here are some of my experiments:

Obviously, I’m still thinking about my trip back to New Orleans that I referenced in the harmony and inspiration from one of my favorite cities in the world posts. I really love that place.

Here are some that I made before the class began, but that I really love. I just sent them off to two of my cousins. I hope they like them!

And in case you are wondering, those hanging things are banana blossoms. They bring back so many memories from New Orleans, Guatemala, South Texas,… I used to make paper out of banana tree bark. Ah nostalgia, now that I am in the cold yet geologically and ecologically awe inspiring Inland and Pacific Northwest!

Peace,

mm

harmony

Here are a few inspired by my short trip to New Orleans: