Joy in Creating

Its been quite a while since my last post, but I've been busy trying different ways to use fabric, trims and embroidery. At one point, I was creating textile backgrounds with lace and embroidery and then adding lace and ribbon embroidered flowers on top. I think this creates a pretty effect and it's enjoyable to just create backgrounds and then later decide what to put on them.

This girl with her red cap and ceramic brooch was a long project which I enjoyed. It involved a lot of embroidery with simple stitches and the brooch was an earring  I purchased in Ireland many years ago. After I lost its mate, I could never bear to throw it out, so I was happy to find a serendipitous use for it!

I really do love to draw and stitch faces and hope to do more.

And, of course, I've made more little landscapes, mostly for cards I've been sending out. I don't think I'll ever stop making landscapes - I have a large stash of "landscape fabrics" - but I want to create some more complex compositions and include houses and maybe people. I'm not great at planning things out ahead of time. I usually just gather fabrics and place them down and cut out hills and flowers. However I had to laugh at myself recently when I realized I was repeating the same boring hills and one tree over and over on several cards. Next time I'll try drawing out a design and adding a house and a path, at least!

 

Something I'd like to get into this year is experimenting with collage, with fabric, paper and paint. I guess you would say mixed media! I am entering into this unexplored territory with a great deal of uncertainty, but I did a tiny bit of it with this star which I made at the beginning of the year.  

               

I've grown used to posting my artistic efforts, both good and bad, on Instagram (@judyhartman_artandstitch) in the last few years. But I really miss the 'good old days' of blogging! It requires more effort to blog, but I made some wonderful friends through my blog over the years, beginning in 2006. Lately I've been enjoying a wonderful blog called  Joyful Puttering  (joyfulputtering.blogspot.com) which is updated frequently and always features subjects I enjoy. Mary Ann Shupe shares a very positive and practical view of creativity and has inspired me to blog more often. So, thank you, Mary Ann! I hope I can follow through and become a regular blogger again!