Triptych Update

I was all set to quit working on this particular piece, the triptych that is, and decided to try backing the panels with canvas in hopes that doing so would make stitching the interfacing easier.  I was correct, it did I have yet to have to clean a goober off of my needle, I'm not sure if it's the coarseness of the canvas or what but WOW what a difference it is making.  I'm hoping to have the core stitching done tonight so I can apply the rest the paint tomorrow.

Bump in the Road

I encountered a bump in the road last night, on my journey to churn out 21 new works for a show we are haning on Sunday.  Last night, while attempting to cook dinner, I managed to get my finger jammed into a drawer, thusly crushing my right index finger tip -  yeah I was in a LOT of pain!

I'm feeling a little better today just not using this finger, which is not only slowing me down but is now causing me to become more inventive, innovative maybe, in finishing my works.  Stitching isn't working out so well today, maybe tomorrow. 

So now I'm "what iffing" what if I try just glueing my fabrics directly to the canvas, w/o stitching, instead of stitching them, applying matte medium and the whole process.  Is the meaning and intent the same?  What does the image say?  Is the story now different somehow, and if so then how?  More tomorrow.

Pushing a Deadline

It would not be natural for me if I wasn't pushing a deadline!  Seems that my ah ha moments are lot richer, and more frequent the closer I approach the deadline, well at first blush this is what it would appear to be.  I think the reality, that is far more likely, is instead of entertaining a multitude of ideas I'm more brutal in my choices, rejecting everything but the strongest of ideas for a piece.

In this current bout of decison making I've decided that stitching fabrics that have been treated with matte medium is far more exciting, and a whole lot easier, than stitching painted interfacing. There's less glue gobbers, from the manufacturing process for making interfacing, to remove from the needle etc.

Change of Color

Was contemplating my new color palette today and was questioning myself as to WHY I'd ever want to go back to working with bold or primary colors.

And then I remembered what my work looked like hanging at the Fisher Art Center last summer, how each piece blended perfectly into the natural red brick wall.  And then it dawned on me subconciously I automatically started working on a bold primary color palette for this new body because the walls at Cafe Diem are also a natural red brick!   There's no sense making 24 new pieces that will simply disappear into the brick wall, or is there?

Will share WIP photos as I work this issue out!

Weight

Trying to figure out why I'm over weight, after watching the Nightline show last night - bashing fat people - I added up what I eat and drink in a day and I'm coming in right at or under 1400 calories. I just looked up on the fat caculator http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm  and it tells me I need to consume around 1984 calories a day to lose weight and 2156 to maintain my current weight. 

So what gives?

Studio Organization!

I'm hoping to have all of my fabric moved out of my closet, where I can no longer get to it, and into the cubbies by next weekend. 

In reality I don't have much in the way of commercial fabrics anymore, since I took up dyeing my own with natural dyes, rust, and compost.  But it would be nice to be able to see, and access maybe, what I do have somewhere in this mess I have the fabric for a quilt for our bed. 

John helping me to set this up today was the best Valentine's gift ever ;-)

She was Third Class Solo Show

She was Third Class Solo Exhibition
Fisher Art Center, Marshalltown, IA
September 1st - September 30th.

Explore Class and Social Status in Fly Over Country with artist Kimberly Baxter Packwood. 

Kimberly's latest body of work encompasses the topic of social strata in rural America using the medium of Encaustic and 3D Mixed Media.