Lotería Collage Project
18 El Violoncello (the cello)
My project got slightly derailed by a weekend away and an overload at work, but I'm getting back on track now. Next week I hope to start the matting and framing of some of the pieces, after a trip to Ikea. They have a marvelous 10" square frame that will be perfect.
Lotería Collage Project
16 La Bandera (the flag)
The weather is not cooperating with this project. It's too cold in my studio to work most evenings. Not fun on so many levels, at home and at the store. The pipes froze at the shop on Saturday and burst in two places (it was minus 15 without a windchill in the morning). Plumbers are in short supply because everyone's having the same problem.
I'm very wearily starting a countdown - 61 days until Spring.
Lotería Collage Project
12 El Valiente (the hero)
Not sure what he's warding off, and look, he dropped his hat!
Lotería Collage Project
10 El Arbol (the tree)
The fact that it's been less than 50 degrees in my studio when I get home from work at night is wreaking havoc with my best-laid plans to post a new piece every day. I probably should have started this when the weather was warmer, but there's something so symmetrical about starting a new project on the first of the year. Tonight I sewed with a parka, scarf and hat on and baby, that machine was COLD to the touch. Brrrr. (Couldn't sew with my mittens on, though I tried.)
Lotería Collage Project
06 La Sirena (the mermaid)
Oooo, I was doing so well and then last night when I got home from work it was 47 degrees in my studio. And the power's been going on and off all day today from the ice storm. Good thing I committed to Nearly Every Day.
I love New Year's Day - the whole bright, shiny new year is stretched out ahead of me. It holds only possibility and potential in it - no mistakes, no problems, no disappoint, no disillusion. This is going to be a good year, a year full of hope and of change. My only resolution is to make time to create more art. I do have a formidable list of goals and will be working hard to realize them.
Last year I started off with the best of intentions to create one small piece of art each week. I got waylaid in the early part of the year when deadlines, working full time, business trips and life in general got in the way and I missed a number of weeks. This year I will continue that project (6" square work mounted on canvas using the prompts from Illustration Friday) and strive to do better. I really enjoy the format of IF and love the community.
I also decided the new year needed a new project and I cast about for inspiration in early December. I remembered that I had bought a few packs of Lotería cards from Judy Gula in Houston this year and thought they would made a good basis for a journaling project. The Lotería cards are used to play a game like Bingo and each of the 54 have different pictures and labels on them. I'm going to make 5" square fabric collages with them, using either the card itself or something about the card as inspiration. The iconic Mexican nature of the images and their overall kitschiness appeal to me.
The first card is El Gallo (the rooster). I have trouble with the Every Day thing, so I'm shooting for Nearly Every Day. I also need rules (well, self-imposed rules anyway, -- outside rules, not so much) so each piece will start with a square of wool felt and have some hand stitching on it.
So, who else is journaling on a regular or semi-regular basis in 2009?
A loyal and dedicated merry band of art quilters meets at The Country Quilter on the first Thursday of every month and last night's meeting was rousing and inspiring. Our professional topic of conversation was visual journaling. Several members have been journaling this past year and they've inspired the rest of us to give it a go for next year. It's a good time to start planning a long range art project with January fast approaching.
Now that the Journal Quilt Project is officially over it seemed like a good time to launch our own initiative. Some of us are planning to create something once a week, and some once or twice a month. We discussed the advantages of creating a set of self-imposed "rules" or a framework to lend structure to your results. Rules can be things like a theme, a common size or orientation, a medium, a color palette or a combination of things. And since they're self-imposed, you can change what doesn't work if you need to. I've decided on a common size and base - a 6" x 6" x 1.5" pre-stretched canvas is my starting point for every piece - and I plan to mix media at whim. I ordered and received a big box of the canvases so I'm ready to go.
For the meeting I researched artists who journal and post their results on their sites or blogs. Some ambitious souls journal every day!
Jeanne Williamson is an art quilter who has been journaling since 1999.
Randel Plowman creates a 4" x 4" collage every day and offers it for sale on his blog.
Teesha Moore offers a wonderful peek into her process with a look at her journal pages. She also includes a link to an article about journaling and techniques.
Noah Scalin is making a skull image every day for a year!
I also compiled a list of sites that offer challenges and prompts to get you started.
Think Monday, Think ATC presents theme ideas once a week for atcs.
Monthly Postcards and Fluffy Fatbottom's Twisted Tuesday are two challenge sites for those who love making fiber postcards.
Theme Thursday is a paper art challenge site.
For the photography enthusiasts, here are two sites, Moody Monday and See it Sunday.
Mixed Media Monday is just what it sounds like. 4x4 Fridays and Skinny Saturday are both size-restricted challenges.
And finally, Inspire Me Thursday and Illustration Friday offer prompts that you can interpret in any medium you wish.
Most of these sites encourage you to upload your results to a blog or photo-sharing site and post a link for viewers. The feedback and comments can be helpful and validating, and the connections built between artists can be enriching.
