nanke's stuff

Tuesdays are always full days for me.  It's the day I volunteer all day at our county health department, then get home, have dinner & do the clean-up, etc.  Then since Wednesday is recycle day, I finish bagging all the recyclables and load them into the car and take the dog for her last walk (at least I hope it's her last one ... if not, I'll be getting up at about 1:00 to take her out again) before getting ready for bed.  Somewhere in there is reading and responding to my email, which usually takes me quite awhile.  Anyhow, all of this is to excuse me from not adding to my Rafael drawing.

Instead, I'm posting the last 3 spreads in my round robin book.  The first one is by Tanya Peacock, and it's full of wonderful textures which, sadly, don't show up in the scan.  It even has a bit of braille on it - how cool is that?  The second one is by Pam Hartman.  What I love about this one is the fabric butterfly - it's very delicate, and the piece of lace.  It has interesting text relating to sewing, pattern pieces, and of course, the adorable ATC sized card on the right side.  And, last but certainly not least, is the spread by Candace Wareham.  Each book she worked in had small, hand made little fabric quilt block, embellished with the most wonderful things.  Mine has buttons, beads, charms, lace, beautiful fabrics and beautiful stitching.  It's simply exquisite.  What can I say?  I feel very blessed to have this special book and am so appreciative of all the effort each participant put in. 

I've been pretty busy the last few days and haven't done much with art except look thru some of my new books to decide on a new "masters"  project.  I've narrowed it down, but no decision, yet.  So, I thought I would share a couple of watercolors I did some time ago.  I took reference photos in a local greenhouse, then painted them in the studio.   They were hung in a solo exhibit I had a few years ago, and I sold both of them.  I have a hard time letting go of my paintings sometimes, and yet, I also have a nice feeling knowing they are "living" someplace where they are appreciated.  We are complicated little beings, aren't we? 

In Sept. 2008 I was invited to participate in a round robin based on the book True Colors.  There were 9 of us, and we each chose a color, made a book, did the first spread (with an explanation as to why we chose the colors we did), and sent it off to the next person on the list.  Well, after all this time, it's winding down.  I spent the day today finishing the last spread in the last book I have to work in, and I have mine back!  I thought I'd  show you the cover of the book I made, the explanation of my color choice, and the spread I did in it.  If you'd like, over time I'll post pictures of the other spreads in my book.  They're all wonderful, and I just love my book.  The long wait was definitely worth it!

Long about September, 2008 a small group of artists decided  to do a round robin based on the book True Colors, A Palette of Collaborative Art Journals published by Somerset Studio.  Each of the participants (there were 9 of us) made a book, chose a color, did the first spread, and then sent it on to the next person on the list.  The round robin still isn't finished!  I have been a part of this sort of round robin in the past, but I must say, this one has taken the longest of any other.  The group was hand picked by someone who had experience with each of us in other trades and swaps, and she was certain that we would follow through.  Sometimes life throws us curve balls and we can find ourselves mired in situations we never could have anticipated.  Such was the case here.  But, the good news is that things seem to be moving along once again, and I think I'm very close to getting my book back.  I can hardly wait!

I have just one more book to work on, and I haven't received it yet.  However, I know that the person who sends the books to me has both mine and the one I have left to do.  The end is definitely in sight!  Today I finished working in the second -to-the-last book I'm doing.  The book is lovely, and I'm sure when it gets home, the owner will love it.  All of the entries in it are wonderful - poetic and beautiful.  I decided that I would balance some of that with something a bit edgy.  I don't usually do edgy, but I thought it would be fun to give it a go.  So, here it is! 

I hope she likes it!