Sunday musings

the noise of public discourse has become loud and destructive...
the sound of silence can speak volumes...

Discoveries

I've been on a massive purge of my studio...and it's amazing what I have unearthed...

For those of you familiar with me and my home, you know I have a massive stack of suitcases...
I discovered that I have a fetish for metal boxes since I've gathered together quite a collection while cleaning up...

They certainly take up less room than suitcases...

my word for the year

Throughout the holiday season, I was constantly at work on projects...on my dining room table.  Whenever we wanted to eat at the table (thanksgiving dinner for example) I needed to clear everything off...only to resume my work a day or so later...thank god the Southern Man is understanding...

For those of you who have no other area for creativity, this is likely a common scenario...but for me...I have three other areas designated as work areas...my office with a small table, my workshop studio where I hold classes and my basement studio space.  Other than the fact that my workshop studio has no heat (and thus a little chilly during the winter) I really have no excuse to be commandeering the dining room table for my projects.

I seem to be in a perpetual state of cleaning up my spaces...but never seem to make much progress...this time I decided to dig in deep and vowed that I will get my basement studio space into a manageable condition...

I've started with the west wall of the studio, lined with shelves...I pulled out everything and cast a critical eye...

I'm assuming that I had some project in mind...but really...this many vintage graters...

You know I have a soft spot for well loved metal...but its time to let it go...the flat graters have been slated for a future art party project (and put into a bin designated appropriately), the others into the box for giveaway.

More scrounging abounds...I find a horde of drawing circle compasses...yes, one is insignificant, more than one makes a statement...but this many is overkill...and this doesn't include the three I found after I took this photo...

True, one of these would be a lovely addition to a future mixed media collage...a couple of them are rather unique...but its exactly that kind of rationalization that has led to this overpopulation.

Which leads me to my word for the year...rather than a list of resolutions, I have found it helpful to have a word on which to focus...to guide my actions throughout the year...some years, its been difficult for me to pinpoint the exact word to describe what I want to achieve...this year, it hit me square in the face about a month ago...

I am overwhelmed...not just with a physical amount of extraneous stuff...but also with overly involved art techniques...and for that matter, complicated procedures in many areas of my life...

I want to take this tangled mess of materials, methods and madness and pare it down...

Now, believe me, this doesn't mean that I'll be living in a naked house with white walls decorated with one single feather...but I'm hoping...no, I am confident...that by the end of the year (if not sooner) I'll be able to work peacefully on my art...and eat at my dining room table any time I want...

Do you have a word for the year? I'd love to hear what it is...
and if you have a compelling story behind your word, maybe I'll send you one of my compasses...

Portland...here we come!

In less than one month, I'll be in Portland...hosting ArtPartyPortland and having an inspiring wild time with 14 other creatives...

And though this event is sold out, there's still an opportunity to get in on a part of the fun...












As part of ArtPartyPortland, we are spending Friday at Junk Bonanza...one of the country's premier vintage/antique/artisan shows is coming to Portland for its inaugural launch in the Pacific Northwest.

I can't wait...as you likely know, I love Junk...in all its forms...and it doesn't even have to be something I buy (though I'm sure there will be some money exchanged!) but the eye-candy...the inspiring vignettes...the overflow of creative ideas...the plethora of photo opps...I'm sure I will be on junk overload!

But wait...you could join us at the show...Junk Bonanza is sponsoring two free General Admission tickets that I'm giving away here on the blog...good for any day of the show (October 9-11)   And if you decide to visit the show on Friday morning, October 9 (when I will be there with my Art Party group), I'll be happy to meet up with you...and give you a big junker's hug...and an autographed copy of the Oct/Nov issue of Cottages & Bungalows magazine that features my junk-inspired home.

OK - ready...here's the deal...

1. Visit Junk Bonanza's Facebook page and like it.

2. Leave me a comment letting me know that you want in on the drawing - remember to either have your email active on your blogger profile or leave your email in your comment so I have a way to contact you if you are the winner. 

3. Want to enter more than once?  Follow both Junk Bonanza and me, four corners design on Instagram...let me know on an IG post that you're a new follower...

4. The winner will be announced here on the blog on September 16...so you have until midnight on September 15 to get in on this junking fun.

Its going to be a grand adventure...I hope to see you at the show!

September 16 follow-up...
Congrats Mindy!  You are the winner of the two Junk Bonanza tickets - Enjoy!

For the price of a story

Last Friday I spent the day with one of my oldest friends, Sue...celebrating her birthday, we went exploring...right in our own backyard...

We drove up to Anacortes, a small town on Puget Sound that is surrounded by water and forests...

After scoping out the northern park for future hikes and camping locations, we enjoyed walking main street, poking around the shops and eating lunch. One last stop before we left town was the local marine and hardware store...Anacortes has an active marine industry - both fishing and boat building/repair...the store was in an old wooden building, close to the pier and filled with modern gear as well as old relics...it was the old relics that drew my attention...












The striped straps immediately caught my eye...with those corroded metal shanks, I just had to have them...
I picked up a blue stripe and a green stripe one...they may show up as straps on an artist smock...

There were boxes of cotton boot socks...essentially light cotton footies that I assume would protect your foot before you put on heavier socks and then your boots...?  One of the boxes was empty...except for pieces of string and the labels that had been on the boot socks - it seemed that the labels had been loosely tied on and eventually lost from the original socks. Being a sucker for typography and ephemera, I loved these labels...especially with the red number indicating the size...I grabbed up a handful along with my striped straps...

The weathered men at the front counter look like they had just come in from a morning of fishing...but were pleasant to the two of us who obviously had no boat for which we needed supplies.  As I laid down my wares, I figured that they would laugh at me for wanting the discarded labels and include them for free with the price of the straps...but the one gentleman called over the owner to ask for a price...

I learned that the Oswego Company was a local institution that manufactured these socks, Oswego once being a prominent family in town.  As the socks were packaged up for shipment, a couple of the workers, who were women, included hand written notes with each order. Through the years they heard back from some of the men - one was in a prison in California, another a fisherman in Alaska...I could see that I had ignited a spark...and could easily have received an earful of local history...but in the end, was charged a little over a dollar for a dozen labels which I cheerfully paid.  As we walked down the street, back to the car and the trip home, my friend expressed surprise that I was charged anything at all...and I explained, that I paid for the pleasure of the story...willingly...

Art Parties for Fall 2014

I invite you to join me at an Art Party this fall...the new schedule is posted and there's plenty of creative inspiration...here's the details...

What is an Art Party?  

Its a creative opportunity to join with like-minded souls...to be inspired to cut, twist, paste, design, laugh, kvetch, paint, eat & drink, relax...while constructing a one of a kind project...with no worry of what supplies to bring nor any concern about clean-up...

Each art party will feature a different creative project as described below and will be held at my workshop art studio in Everett, WA. Seats are limited so early registration is encouraged.

Registered attendees will receive additional workshop information and directions to my studio with the email supplied by attendee via PayPal purchase. 

Credit card payments accepted and all payments are made through PayPal. Registration sales are final and non-refundable; however a registration may be transferable.




Have a question or special request?  Want your own private art party?  With a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8, you and your friends can celebrate a birthday, enjoy a girl's day out or just have a ton of creative fun!  Feel free to email me at amy_duncan@yahoo.com



FALL 2014 WORKSHOPS

Rendezvous with Resin
Been curious about working with epoxy resin but a little hesitant to give it a try? Come and join the group while constructing mini 3-D collages, captured forever in a layer of resin.  We'll use bottle caps, jar lids, tart tins and tin can tops to make ornaments, magnets and decorative pins...adding in buttons, postage stamps, clock gears, ribbons...
the options are limitless...  

Date: Saturday September 20
Time: 1-4 pm
Workshop Fee: $45

Corrugated Cardboard Journals
Using the common material of corrugated cardboard, you'll create a one of a kind journal.  Peeling apart the layers of the cardboard or carving out an inset design will lend a textured effect to the personal story you tell within its pages. Collage designs crafted from magazine ads and junk mail will inspire you to see the potential in any sort of leftover paper scrap and set you loose on a whirlwind recycled tizzy!

Date: Saturday September 27
Time: 1-4 pm
Workshop Fee: $40

Altered Tins
Metal madness reigns in this workshop!  Starting with a simple tin box, you'll fashion your own miniature shrine or create a special memento for a friend. We'll cover transfer tape techniques that can be used to layer images for a collage effect.  There will be plenty of vintage photos so you can embellish your own "instant relatives" as part of your design...add a wire hanger and it can even be a holiday ornament...

Date: Sunday October 19
Time: 1-4 pm
Workshop Fee: $45

Can't leave well enough alone...

Recently I visited my sister for the weekend...like me, she is de-cluttering...getting rid of stuff...paring down...

She had this box of metal parts...a mixture of all sorts of do-dads...I told her that I would be happy to add it to my stash that I'm taking to the Artist Garage Sale on June 7 (link here...if you are anywhere in the Seattle area, you need to be at this sale!)

But of course...since it was metal...and calling my name...I just had to have a look...and pull out a few pieces...and before you know it...metal addiction is hard to break...

What drew my interest were the threaded rods she had...leftover from the garden goddesses we made years ago...

Threaded rod comes from either taking apart an old lamp...or old sport trophies...its the center piece that holds everything together...and since old trophies multiply at the thrift stores...and are usually available for cheap, its a good source for this prized possession...











I pawed through the box...
a few lamp bases, a couple of washers & nuts and assorted odd pieces later, I created two display stands...

I added the curtain rings when I returned home...they were a tad shiny...
but nothing that a coat of aged bronzed spray paint couldn't diminish...

It was a matter of simple assembly for each of them...the bases are from old lamps...the top of the one is a lamp shade skeleton and the other is some sort of flat metal disk...
Having the right size washers and nuts are key...if you buy an old trophy to take apart, save the washers and nuts to use in your re-creation...

for the base assembly...

and the top assembly...

There's no end to what these two stands could be used for ...let your imagination roam...family photos at home, birthday cards from a celebration, menu selections on a buffet table for the clip ring stand...a bouquet of posies, a single elegant dessert cake or a decorative bird nest on the flat pedestal stand...

and speaking of bird nests...talk about recycling...those coconut fiber liners that you use in hanging baskets...at the end of the season...after you take them out of the basket because they are decomposing...dry them out...pull them apart...they make luscious nests...




linking up with kim klassen's texture tuesday...
and Knick of Time Vintage Inspiration Party...
join in...find a dream...be inspired...
make something out of nothing...

edited with kk texture rainy day soft light at 60%
and kk texture dream at darken 61%
french kiss postage brush

Not the usual suspects

Since my schedule is not totally crazed at the moment, I actually had time to plan ahead...more than usual...

I even had the forethought to check what the theme would be for Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday link-up...rather than discovering the theme just as I write my post and then have to figure out if there is some way to shoehorn the image I have to fit the parameters...it doesn't always work out!

So when I checked and read that the theme would be "yellow", my mind started racing...

Given that its spring and there are plenty of blooms...buttercups, tulips, daisies or dandelions seemed to be obvious yellow candidates...but I thought...surely there are other yellow subjects to consider...it became my challenge...with one simple set-up, how many different yellow compositions could I create...using just what I could find in the house...

I went to work and concocted ten different vignettes...

Some were more whimsical than others...

others more arty...

and some were just everyday practical...

I didn't spend tons of time on photo editing...all of the above images were edited with kk texture dollard or urban...both textures have a yellow tone to bring out the colors and lighten the image since getting inspired at 3 in the afternoon is not the most conducive natural light situation.  Instead of focusing on photo editing, I wanted to take the time to consider what I could compose that would break conventional ideas of yellow...

It turned into a fun exercise...even got the Southern Man searching around for different types of yellow things...

edited with kk texture 2203 - hue at 75%

and of course in the end...I just had to include a few buttercups...

A shot of creativity

Last Saturday was my Recycled Book Journal Art Party...

Seven inspired souls joined together to learn how to turn an old book into a upcycled journal...

After explaining the construction process, everyone was set free in the workshop studio...
to gather supplies, unearth treasures, edit their selections and finally compose their creation...

pondering options...

such diligent thought at work...

a tad retro...

a bit of wanderlust...

What I love about hosting workshops is two fold...

1 - given access to the same set of supplies, it is always amazing to me how completely different each creation is...and the combination of thoughts and ideas that are revealed in each completed project is such a revelation to me...

2 - two of the participants expressed to me how much they needed this day...an opportunity to create in an open format... I'm happy that I'm in a time and place that I'm able to provide such a respite...and that fills my creative soul...
















An inspiration to behold...