time for a change

after 5 years...and over 700 posts...its time for a change...

I've taken on an entire website...blogging but so much more...I have outgrown this platform...so I hope you will join me at my new site

www.studiofourcorners.com

in addition to my blog, there is a gallery of my work and a calendar of events and workshops.

This site will remain since there's lots of links to it for the tutorials I've authored in the past...but it won't be updated...

Hop on over...check it out...

Sunday musings

its been a tough week here in the states...
     so much conflict, confusion and chaos...
          how can we turn the tide...

Sunday musings

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

Sunday musings

Yesterday I was able to spend most of the day working in my studio...I was so happy...a place to call my own, where I could work in peace and be surrounded with the supplies/tools/objects that inspire me.  
Virginia Woolf had it right...a woman needs a room of one's own...

In another life of mine...many years ago...this would not have happened...I wouldn't have a room of my own...I put my key in someone else's pocket...luckily that was not for long...

I hope you have your key and hold on to it tight... 

Sunday musings

a gray quiet day after a sunny week devoted to much gardening...
not my favorite activity but I do enjoy the end results...
plenty of new art projects underway, plenty to keep me busy...

Remembering Mom

As the calendar page turns to May, one cannot help but be reminded of Mother's Day...
          and to think about Mom...

My mom passed away 8 years ago but still holds a strong influence in my life...
she taught me a love of sewing and a desire to create...
           to make do with what one had at hand and to take the initiative to figure out problems...
           to try new things and not give up when the going got tough...


In my bout of purging earlier in the year, I unearthed a box of clippings, photos and mementos...I came across a photo of my mom and dad in the early years of their marriage...and decided to play around with it...
and I'm thinking about having it printed up so I can hang it in my studio...SocialPrintStudio has some great metal prints...perfect for my metal mania...

I like this photo mostly for the expression and attitude of my mom...young, fresh, full of anticipation. My parents settled in a small Wisconsin town and that's where I spent my childhood...and throughout the years, my mom continued to have a healthy dose of anticipation for what was up ahead...whether it was raising 6 kids in a small house, moving across the country to Oregon when my dad lost his job, rebuilding her life in a new town after my dad died and finally coming to live with me in her final years.  She wasn't one content to sit by and let things be...

Unfortunately, I don't have many photos of her...I guess we were always so busy that one didn't think about stopping a minute, reflecting on the moment, and taking a photograph to capture the day...

So to honor her memory, I'll take the time this weekend to stop and reflect...shoot a few photos...
and be filled with anticipation of all that still lies ahead...

Sunday musings

the tools of the trade might be paper, paint and scissors...
but without direction and decision, the path is obscured...

Spring studio sale

You are invited to our Spring Studio Sale on Saturday, April 30th from 10am - 4 pm
gift ideas for mom, grads...even a little something for yourself...

Jody Cain of Latitude Studios and Christine Stoll of Christine Stoll Jewelry will be joining me...
vintage treasures, upcycled jewelry, collage prints and paintings are just some of the items 
we'll have to entice you...mark it on your calendar...

spring awakening

the lilacs are blooming...

Sunday musings

the first light of morning...the quiet hush of the house...the warmth of my coffee cup...
this is the simplicity of stillness...

Sunday musings

I seem to have a pattern here...been posting a creative art photo on Sunday for the last couple of weeks...
I guess I should make this a regular feature...so here is today's posting...

Cold, rain and gray today...but I am hopeful that spring will come...

Spring is in the air!

the buds are pushing through the soil...the birds sing happily...the sun lingers a little longer...its almost spring...

A time to clean out the cobwebs and freshen up a bit...and the perfect chance to get a little inspiration at the Spring Market vintage show this coming Saturday...

I'll be a vendor at this event...with a curated selection of vintage sewing paraphernalia and some lovely ironstone dishes...along with original art and a new series of greeting cards...I hope you'll stop by and see me...

because...

because I enjoy telling stories with pictures...because it's good to be reminded...

a thought to consider...

whatever it might be, wherever it may lead...however long you can...

Love to you...

Happy Valentine's Day! 
Thank you for the love you show my blog by stopping by...hoping you receive some love your way today...

hope...

a brave little crocus popped in the garden this week...hopeful that it will soon be joined by others...

a thought for today...

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...

Spool Valentines Art Party

take a vintage wooden thread spool...

        



















add a strip of patterned paper...a button or two...or maybe a bit of ribbon or twine...
              write your own secret message, rolled around the spool...

                     and you have a spool valentine.

Join me at this February Art Party where I'll show you how to make these tiny treasures...I'll supply everything from the old spools to a plethora of paper, buttons and ribbons...along with a dose of creative camaraderie and light refreshments...You don't have to bring anything but enthusiasm...

Registration is limited; the workshop will take place at my home in Everett.  Once you have paid your registration, I'll send out a confirmation email with all the details.

Spool Valentines
Saturday, February 6, 2016
1 - 4 pm
Everett, WA

$45 registration fee

Any questions? - feel free to email me at amy_duncan@yahoo.com
Don't delay...registration is limited...hope to see you in February!

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...