New Work: 12 x 12 x 12 May 2017

12 x 12 x 12 May 2017 was created with very little time left in May, due to an increasingly busy schedule.

This piece is a collage of scraps of monoprinted and painted construction fence fabrics, with additional paint in a few areas. Just like the past few months, I also layered some scrap white fabric in the "holes" of the fence pattern because I like the semitransparent look of the layers.

I am SO glad my studio is home now because I never would have been able to make this piece if I had to drive to a studio. The convenience of a home studio is the only way I can grab some time to make art. I foresee June also being busy, but I hope to make my monthly piece with more time to spare than this month.

It's almost halfway through my eleventh year of working on my 12 x 12 x 12 series. It has given me time to create one 12" x 12" x 1" piece on board each month, no matter how many other things are going on that month. It's been a wonderful opportunity for me to experiment with an idea or technique or a combination of both. Looking back over what I created over the years, some of the pieces have been really good, and others not so much.

Work in Progress: Dates in a Life Project

It's been a few months since I've posted about my Dates in a Life Project, documenting the expiration and purchase dates of my family's milk purchases in 2017. Above is the piece as it looks today, April 29, 2017.

January 2017

The written dates are the expiration dates of our milk bottles.
The white painted lines in-between the stitching mark how many bottles of milk were purchased that day. If we bought one bottle there's white below the day. If we bought a second bottle, there's white to the left of the day, and if we bought three, there's white to the right of the day. The details above and below hopefully explain everything.

February 2017

March 2017

April 2017

I am thinking about what I want to do inside the empty squares, but I haven't made any decisions yet. I do have some ideas though. Check back for more updates throughout the year.

New Work: 12 x 12 x 12 April 2017

Similarly to last month, 12 x 12 x 12 April 2017 was created with scraps from my Dates in a Life Project that were collaged over monoprinted construction fence fabric. 

And just like last month, I didn't have a plan when I started except that I knew I wanted to use the white fabric with the cut out circles.

I really liked how the different layers of white fabric looked semitransparent when applied over the multicolored fabric in March and I wanted to work on that idea again.

Like February and last month, I decided to use pencil, instead of paint, to highlight shapes. I like how subtle the pencil lines are.

It's really good that my studio is home now! The convenience, along with my hectic schedule, is the only way I can grab some time to make art.

This is my eleventh year of working on my 12 x 12 x 12 series. It has given me time to create one 12" x 12" x 1" piece on board each month, no matter how many other things are going on that month. It's been a wonderful opportunity for me to experiment with an idea or technique or a combination of both. Looking back over what I created in the past ten years, some of the pieces have been really good, and others not so much.

On Exhibit at Meditech, Inc: Fences and Nests

Yesterday, the husband of a friend of my husband's texted him a picture of my work hanging in a conference room at Meditech in Westwood, Massachusetts. Meditech purchased this work quite a few years ago. That led me to realize I didn't have photos of my work hanging there. Now I do, and here they are...

Fences and Nests #9, 5, 12, 6, and 8

New Work: 12 x 12 x 12 March 2017

12 x 12 x 12 March 2017 was created with scraps from my Dates in a Life Project that were collaged over monoprinted construction fence fabric. 

Once again I didn't have a plan when I started except that I wanted to use the fabric with the cut out X's. I wasn't planning on using the triangles and circles too, but I'm glad I did. 

All I knew ahead of time is that I wanted to play with different layers of white fabric to see what would happen when applied over the multicolored fabric. I was happy that the white became semitransparent.

Like last month, I decided to highlight the shapes of the construction fence over the main collaged design, but this month I used pencil instead of paint.

I am so enjoying my home studio! The convenience of it is definitely allowing me more creative time with my hectic schedule.

This is my eleventh year of working on my 12 x 12 x 12 series. It has given me time to create one 12" x 12" x 1" piece on board each month, no matter how many other things are going on that month. It's been a wonderful opportunity for me to experiment with an idea or technique or a combination of both. Looking back over what I created in the past ten years, some of the pieces have been really good, and others not so much. 

Work in Progress: Dates in a Life Project

I did some visual editing on the Dates in a Life Project fabric. I removed the bottom row and added it as a new top row, with the bright side facing out.

I also marked each time we purchased milk. I did it by adding white painted lines in-between the stitching below the date if we bought one bottle, below and to the left of the date if we bought two bottles, and below and to the left and right if we bought three. The detail below hopefully explains it.

I am thinking of what I want to do inside the empty squares, but I might not make any decisions about that until at least mid-year. I want to see how the patterning evolves with our milk purchases and expiration dates for a few more months before I make any decisions.

Check back for more updates throughout the year.

Work in Progress: Dates in a Life Project

I added a few more rows of fabric to the Dates in a Life Project, and I have also collaged the days of all 12 months on it.

Last week I realized I couldn't include all 12 "months" similar to how a printed calendar is laid out on the fabric. It was too short. 

Each time we buy milk I collage the date on the piece. I also have a plan about a way to show the date the milk purchased as it relates to the expiration date.

Check back for more updates throughout the year.