Coronavirus Found time?

When everything was closed and all appointments and meetings were canceled

I thought that I had found some time and how could I put it to use.

Of course, I was going to draw and exercise every day, 

clean out cupboards and shelves, organize my studio and read more.

How have I done these past two weeks? 

My plan did not work as I had expected

This is as far as my drawing has gone, just a start.

I wanted to draw some colorful zinnias

 I did finish one piece for the New Image Artists' upcoming exhibit.

This is a detail of an artwork I titled IMPERFECT INTENTION.

Last month I had started to unravel a sweater and 

used some of the yarn to cover part of another large scissor(s).

Having more birthdays approaching there was a need for more cards.

I am always looking for ways to use bits and pieces of unfinished or experimental work.

Years ago I had tucked striped fabrics just to see what would happen when it was ironed.

These two cards with their embroidered butterflies illustrate one result.

 I remembered spending a lot of time working with cardboard slide frames.

AWAKENING THE OBSOLETE is complete with ten 12 by 12-inch panels.

 Painting some of the frames with stripes and filling other with striped fabric, 

 and, filling frames with tiny drawings or paintings 

were more ways I used the obsolete slide frames.

 I had wanted to develop a new format for notecards. 

Starting with some 8 by 11-inch stationery I added slide frames. 

When folded this card just fit in a standard business envelope.

So a new format for notecards that include tiny bits of art in each frame

In between long bouts on the computer, 

I have been walking in our neighborhood. 

 MacArthur Blvd. with lots of white blossoms

 A small white tree at the corner.

And one yard had many colors along their retaining wall.

Now, the big question, will I get back to drawing?

Will I come up with some more use for 

unfinished and experimental work?

Will I clean a closet?

I do not want to waste this 'found' time.

July 4th, Before and After

This past month I have been working with paper mâché 

creating rocks for the New Image installation, maybe.

I say 'maybe' as our plans are not finalized and I am thinking ahead.

 These are painted a dark color because I want the crevices and holes

 to show up after I add a couple of dry brush lighter colors.

I hope, then, they will appear as rocks.

 And, I have been creating flower branches or stems

for fictitious blooms. Most of the paper I tried was too weak,

 tearing when I tried to manipulate it. 

A good friend gave me a lot of foreign money that is very strong 

and impossible to tear. This was a perfect paper.

I began matching colors for each branch. 

There are 4 or 5 blossoms on each stem.

I have plans for more creative uses for this money.

 On July 4th I went to the Palisades Parade on MacArthur Blvd. in DC. 

I walked from the beginning to almost the end taking pictures 

on this extremely hot and humid day.

 This is really a neighborhood parade and has grown 

over the years, now about 2 hours long.....

 ending at the Palisade Rec Center where 

hotdogs and watermelon and punch is for everyone, 

but also the fire department has their fire hoses running to cool everyone.

 Besides bands loud music, dancers, bag pipes and 

assorted decorated bicycles, cars, trucks and horses.....

 There are a lot of political groups with signs.

 Lots of police cars blocking all the streets....

 Some groups tossed out wrapped candies

 And the lots of colorful dancers and marchers.

 I did not see the end of the parade and I did not photograph everything, 

but with this small showing I felt everyone could enjoy our parade.

Now on to creative work.

A small gift

During a day at the National Gallery of Art I was enjoying 

seeing many  trees like this surrounding 

the center fountain in the rotunda.

 Seeing all the decorations there and then 

at our daughter and son-in-law's (Vicky and Alan Fogg) home,

I found an acrylic painting I had created,

 probably 50 years ago.

 That made me think of the many gifts I used to make

when our children and their cousins were small.

Thinking of the three tiny great-grandchildren we now have 

there is one great granddaughter, now two years old.

 So, I thought she might be the one I could make something simple for.

Found this small soft knit dress that was cotton 

but it needed a bit of decorating. 

 These fictional butterflies have been machine embroidered 

and are pinned on styrofoam and drying. 

(I always boil away the stabilizer I use 

when embroidering on the sewing machine)

 Sewing them on to a knit fabric is not an easy trick. 

I did not want to put a stiff non-woven fabric on the inside 

of the dress so used lots of paper, inside, during the sewing of the butterflies. 

This then took tweezers to pull out all the bits of paper. 

No child wants bits of paper inside their clothing 

and their Mother does not want bits of paper in the laundry.

So I hope it works, fits, and wears well.

This tree with gifts was at the Fogg's home 

where we spent the day having lots of fun, much gift opening,

 and wonderful holiday meals. 

Their home has festive (not Festivus) decorations in every room.

To end the year in humor or humour since this

Aphorism came from a grand daughter (Hayley Adams) 

who had found a box of these aphorisms in London.

From Anton Chekov (1860 - 1904)

"Any idiot can face a crisis.

It is this day-to-day living that wears you out."

Have a creative 2019

Cheers

Heavenly Bodies at the Metropolitan Museum, NY

My trip to NY as always was full of art in the several museums we visited.

The exhibit HEAVENLY BODIES: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

was so large and so beautiful plus,

shown in 3 places, it took up much of our time in NY.

This exhibit features the work of designers whose imaginations 

were shaped and developed from their Catholic backgrounds. 

I tried to catch the reference of the fashion in these 

Medieval art galleries and occasionally did.

 The designers imaginations seemed to have been influenced 

by religious artworks in the Met collections as well as 

fashions in the 20th and 21st centuries.

 We were viewing this show on the first public day 

it was open so you know how very crowded it was.

There was so much that was beautiful but because 

of the crowds, I and the camera missed a lot.

Above a wedding gown with wings.

 I took many pictures and read a lot about each work but did 

not write anything down so it is hard to remember each designer.

And high above our heads there was so much. 

I was sorry I cut off her head as 

that head piece was halo-like, glittery and beautiful

 There is no way for the camera to pick up the glitter, 

precious stones, gold embroidery, and sparkle everywhere.

 These fashions were high above our heads and 

lined up in several hallways in 

the Byzantine and medieval galleries.

 All glitter and embroidery.

 Seeing one hallway from the model's backs.

 Alexander McQueen in the 70's used paper for this outfit

 His winged outfit from the back. Note the bell bottoms.

 Some of the fashions were wearable

yet easy to see the influence.

 Another outstanding wedding dress.

 From the back you can see this pieces was entirely gold embroidery.

Sometimes my images were blurred and 

I have had to cut out a lot of what I took so no front of this, sorry.

 Another winged wedding dress. 

Many of these head pieces were gold and 

like jewels or jewelry and always sparkling.

 Dior with rose taffeta-like satin, probably silk.

Dior had a similar one in red silk velvet at the Cloisters.

So many trains, too. 

 Gold and more jewel-like glitter and embroidery?

 I don't have enough superlatives.

These crowns held sculptural scenes in gold.

 A leather jacket we all would wear with gorgeous beaded embroidery

 I did not date everything but some were suggestive 

of the hippy years, 60's and 70's.

 As I left the upstairs galleries I had to add this connection.

 Downstairs in the Anna Winter Costume center I was blown away 

by 4 garments is glass cases. 

They appear to be painted but reading the information 

it said all were embroidered. I believed the gold border was, 

but the center section I knew was painted. 

So getting out my glasses and kneeling down in front 

of the case so I was about 4 inches away 

I could see satin stitched silk thread....incredible.

So I took a quick picture, planning to take all 

four of these as we were allowed to take pictures of anything. 

Quickly a guard stopped me after these two.

These pieces were from a private collection and no photos allowed.

So I stopped there as that was a days viewing and so much to absorb.

The next day we went to the Cloisters to see 

the continuation of this exhibit.

I will add those pictures on my next blog. 

To be continued.......