Playtime

Day 247: Foolish

It seems that even when I don’t have a clear idea of what I want to make, I can always find guidance in my materials. The mini canvas is approachable. The watercolors are easygoing. The books and bits of thread lying around my studio in the scattered aftermath of my last creative effort begin to stand out and glow with potential. The words pop out and guide my scissors to other interesting words. My trusty steed, matte medium, keeps the pace on the journey and I always seem to get there in the end.

Today’s piece, “Foolish”, is a mixed media piece on 5×7” canvas with vintage sewing patterns, thread, yarn, a knitting illustration, a bit of blank negative (you know, from back when people used film cameras) and some paint. The tied up negative hangs freely on the thread, but settles near the part of the pattern that reads “Cut 2”. The pattern is from a children’s outfit and below that it says “for play”.

That inspired me to build this piece around the spirit of playing with my materials, but I put the “foolish” bit in there too to color the notion of play with the adult sense of propriety. We grown-ups often feel foolish when we engage in playful activities, which is foolish in and of itself. I hope you’re finding some time to play on this holiday weekend! Thanks to my considerate husband, I’m about to pop open a bottle of Lindeman’s Lambic Framboise! And thanks to the brainwashing powers of the Cooking Channel, I’ll also be trying some deep chocolate LaLoo’s Goat’s Milk Ice Cream! Saturday night partying, married-people-style. Oh yeah. 🙂

"Foolish", mixed media piece on 5x7" canvas

Advertisement