Destination Series #11, By Donna Watson
By Laura Lein-Svencner
I write this post with dried white gesso on my finger tips. This week has been life, interrupted. Kurt had a foot surgery (and is doing fine, thank you), which has affected a real change in our routine. Which affects my art creating patterns. Which has been like being in another world – you know the one – ginger ale and ice packs, crutches and needing to watch movies. More than we watch typically by far. The best one to date has been Australia, with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.
So this evening, an unusual time for me to be in the studio, I was able to spend some time in my creative space. I have felt the sense of completion from the Bone Prayers, and was anticipating starting in a slightly different direction. But I have been out of the studio long enough that I have lost my place, so to speak. I know where I intended to go, but I’ve lost my flow.
So to get back into my groove I decided to make myself a painting for our mantel. I’m feeling the need for a change. I love homes that are decorated with great arty objects and arrangements. I looked at one of my decorating books, got some ideas and went for it. I’ll probably finish it tomorrow, and I’ll show it to you.
But it is time to get going with a new series. I have ideas. So I applied gesso to one of the big (for me anyway) panels, the ones that are 36 inches by 36 inches. That is a nice amount of space to work in. And I added a second coat of gesso to some other panels. That isn’t very exciting, but what happens for me when I do the repetitive work of brushing on gesso is that I realize I am in a state of incubation. The ripening kind. I can feel the anticipation as I lay the groundwork, and I think about what is to come.
This week the much anticipated collages from the International Collage Exchange arrived in my mail box. So I’m sharing a couple with you here. They were both a testimony to presentation – finished edges, crisp white paper support and care from the artist. One is by my friend Donna Watson, and one is from a collage artist whose work I enjoy, Laura Lein-Svencner.
So this evening, an unusual time for me to be in the studio, I was able to spend some time in my creative space. I have felt the sense of completion from the Bone Prayers, and was anticipating starting in a slightly different direction. But I have been out of the studio long enough that I have lost my place, so to speak. I know where I intended to go, but I’ve lost my flow.
So to get back into my groove I decided to make myself a painting for our mantel. I’m feeling the need for a change. I love homes that are decorated with great arty objects and arrangements. I looked at one of my decorating books, got some ideas and went for it. I’ll probably finish it tomorrow, and I’ll show it to you.
But it is time to get going with a new series. I have ideas. So I applied gesso to one of the big (for me anyway) panels, the ones that are 36 inches by 36 inches. That is a nice amount of space to work in. And I added a second coat of gesso to some other panels. That isn’t very exciting, but what happens for me when I do the repetitive work of brushing on gesso is that I realize I am in a state of incubation. The ripening kind. I can feel the anticipation as I lay the groundwork, and I think about what is to come.
This week the much anticipated collages from the International Collage Exchange arrived in my mail box. So I’m sharing a couple with you here. They were both a testimony to presentation – finished edges, crisp white paper support and care from the artist. One is by my friend Donna Watson, and one is from a collage artist whose work I enjoy, Laura Lein-Svencner.
