Twisted Textiles

I’ve been practicing free-motion quilting. Mainly I’ve been practicing forcing my machine to do it’s free-motion-thing for me…But when it’s cooperating, the sun shines through and all is wonderful and right with the world.

(Doesn’t it seem that way with every machine, no matter how shiny and new? There always seems to be a fickle, impudent little beast hiding inside it somewhere…I swear it’s not only me…)

These little watercolor-like sketches—about 8 inches square—are a small start to something big, I just know it! I’m envisioning these on a huge scale.

I’ve painted these with heat-settable fabric paint, treating the paints like I would watercolors. It’s a bit unpredictable, but a lot of fun I’ve also done trapunto in some areas, so photographic experimentation will be required to discover the best way to “capture” them. The flat-bed scanner doesn’t really cut it for me.

When making this particular artwork (which can be displayed as a triptych or as separate pieces), I was a bit influenced by my 10 year old step-son…

We had just purchased several musical instruments for our household, and he spent a great deal of time composing his own “song” on the guitar. I particularly liked the title that he gave to his song, which also seemed to be a very good reflection of the artwork that I was making. So I was granted permission to name this piece Beast in the Box in tribute to his melody of the same title.

This triptych is an experiment in using scraps of fabric (leftovers from previous clothing projects) to mimic the color effects of conventionally painted layers. The first and third panels are oil paintings, and the middle panel is made from the various fabrics (machine-quilted). The three panels can be displayed together or separate, in any desired combination, to fit any type of space–heck, you could even turn them sideways and I wouldn’t be too offended!

Beast in the Box takes on a more traditional, two-dimensional form than my other recent works. It is also rare for the subject of my paintings to be abstract. I have finally discovered that what draws me in to my projects is the problem-solving aspect…every piece of scrap or garbage presents a unique problem to be worked out during its transformation from useless junk to beautiful curio.

I usually do not like to give away too much about my interpretation of my artworks, but I will say this: Don’t we all, at sometime or other, feel like we’re a “beast in a box,” constantly getting our tentacles stuck in the cardboard lid?

I feel like I’m in a different world…hot pink is very unusual for me! Although I might be going through a phase, because there’s also a pink hibiscus flower painting that’s waiting for me to finish it! But this oil painting of the little pink Tonka truck is special for a few reasons.

It’s a hefty little metal truck, with lovingly-applied scratches and rust. I wonder, was the person who owned this truck male or female? I would like to think it was a little girl, but my instincts aren’t always correct. I’m a little bit interested in why Tonka decided to make it hot pink…maybe they were trying to attract a female audience, or maybe they were trying to expand their color-palette?

Nevertheless, I’m glad that it’s flaming pink. It incites questions about how and why toy companies go about genderizing their products.

I’m not sure how long this lil’ beauty has been in my possession. I’m pretty sure that I found it abandoned in a tool shed, possibly the same time as the fishing lures from “Lazy Ike“. I have since tried to researched the history of these Tonka trucks, but only found out that in the early 1970’s Tonka manufactured a pick-up version of this truck (without the topper). I don’t know if the camper-top version of this truck was made around the same time, but I assume so. (I once found another one of these camper-top models for sale on eBay, but it was in terrible condition, and they didn’t have any information about it listed in the auction.)

If you happen to be an aficionado of toy cars, or happen to know anything else about this particular model, I’d love to hear about it. As for this truck, I can only speculate about how it spent it’s younger years…

These are overdue, but as of now they’re finally here!
Last month during the Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival in Midway, I did these two paintings…It took most of two afternoons and lots of SPF30 sunblock to complete both of them.

The first is oil on textured board. I was sitting looking down the sidewalk toward the “other end of town” (see my blog post about the festival for more info). I really enjoyed using lots of warm tones—browns, yellows, and reds. The painting is small enough that I was able to scan it on a flatbed scanner when it was dry. The paint has a bit of height/thickness in some areas, which really showed up on the scan, along with the incredible texture of the painting surface! It’s available for purchase through Damselfly Gallery (which has relocated to a new building across the street! But don’t worry-the phone number is still the same).

The second is watercolor, with very simple cool tones. It also has a tiny bit of iridescent paint in some areas, which you can see if you view it more from the side. I titled it Paseo which means “a slow, easy stroll or walk outdoors”—or it can mean the actual street on which such a walk would occur. I also played with the perspective a bit, which creates some visual tension/interest, especially because the sidewalk is really a large curve instead of a corner. Plus, it looks fantastic in the frame that I chose, but it didn’t photograph well with the glass. (The shop that framed it for me also did a wonderful job of picking out the colors for the double-mat, so I’ll definitely be taking some more work back there!) It’s also available at the Damselfly, for those of you who just can’t live without it now that you’ve seen it

I’ve got another day left to work on this bathroom, but it’s nearly finished…
There are several areas to this mural, each featuring different herbs and a few types of mushrooms. I’m using acrylic paints with some gel mediums and will seal it when I’m finished. If you can believe it, the tile in here was black before—it feels so much larger now! I have one more area to finish above the tub tomorrow, which will have a cluster of mushrooms and a little toad.

As always, please click on the images to enlarge them. The “before” photos (and more “all done!” photos) will be available on The Big Finish a few days from now.

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