Taking a mental break with a blog meme

I just read a post on Patricia's blog, My Quilting Adventure!, and she posed these 5 questions she had seen on someone else's blog and well you know how it goes...right?  Here goes (and feel free to do your own either in the comments here or on your own blog)

1. I am.......
2. I wish.....
3. My friends think I'm......
4. Books are......
5. Top or near the top of my Bucket List.......

My anwsers...

I am slow and steady.
I wish I owned a home in the country but just outside the city.
My friends think I'm insightful (ssshhhhh, lets not blow my cover, okay?)
Books are people.  (hey! why not?)
Top or near the top of my Bucket List is to return to the Crow Barn next year for another workshop with Claire and Leslie.

We didn't get to see Beast of the Southern Wild last night due to a storm that wiped out the lights on Bardstown Road (major street) where the theatre is located...I was back in my studio when it moved through only to emerge into a hard rain...became drenched going to the car but not as drenched as I could have been thanks to Jamie who gave me a ride back to the back 40 acres where I was parked.  Mary and I sat and had coffee at Vint (lemon poppy seed muffins are delisimo!)  til around midnight.

Profane or Holy? It depends....

For those of you who do solo shows more than every other year, I toast you with a glass of champagne! Yes, I do!  I'm not even preparing for a solo show but one shared with Ronald Upfromsumdirt Davis, my brother, and preparing work is serious SERIOUS bid-ness (business).  After about 4 hours I begin to get cross-eyed and tonight I was only able to work 2.5 hours before eyestrain set in.  I got a feeling I'll be schizoid between counting my blessings and cussing up a storm during the month of August...hopefully if you run into me it will be while counting blessings and if not, remind me to.

Tonight I went back in on the washed out piece I showed in the post below.  What you see is the before, the after, and the do-over on the bottom half.  Looking at it here I think the shadowing on the left is too stark but it is a lesson for next time.  I didn't re-apply the no flow, just went back in using brushes and Dye-na-flow.  After it dried, or somewhat damp dry, I ironed the phuck out of it! using dry heat and kept the iron moving.

I prepared a sample for rinsing tomorrow or Saturday to see what will happen...of course the sample might be fine but the actual piece might loose color again.  That will be another cussing moment.

This piece is also under the needle...

Karoda's hieroglyphs inspired by various African writing systems.

Well it is late, I'm tired, and tomorrow I'm going to go see Beast of the Southern Wild and it is also Frankfort Ave. Trolley Hop so I'll be hanging out at Mellwood in my studio or someone else's.  Peace.

Hard lesson learned #7450

Just look at the wash out here! I used Jacquard's No-Flow and Dye-Na-Flow.

The instructions call for rinsing the No-Flow out after the paint as been set. I rinsed under cold running water and the paints air dried and were heat set first.  So what the hell is up?

I'm thinking of re-doing the No-Flow/Dye-Na-Flow over this...maybe I applied the No-Flow too heavy.  Maybe I'll give Jacquard a call on Monday.  I really really loved it...still do, but I am pissed over the amount of color loss.

And finally, I'm quilting the first Oliver Lewis piece.  I decided to start with the spires to warm me up.  I'll be back at it tomorrow. 

And another FINALLY....I received my last box of colored pencils giving me a grand total of 500 PENCILS!  (How you like me now Beverly?  That would be Ms Karoda to you!)

What a relief!

The conversation across the nation is about weather in some form or another.  After a 10 day run of temps in the high 90s and over 100, it rapidly dropped along with the humidity causing scattered rain storms, but what a relief, I tell ya!

My hours in the studio are awkward. Today's hours were from 6:30pm-11:00pm.  I could have stayed longer but I had reached a point that I needed to rest and think about the 2 pieces I worked on this evening. When I push myself to go forward at the point of uncertainty, I usually flub it up.  These 2 pieces couldn't be any more different...

The top one being an abstract landscape. It is heavily layered with mixed materials and is evolving intuitively.  The bottom piece is Oliver Lewis, the first Kentucky Derby winning jockey in 1875.  I keep drawing him over and over in different ways using different media. (you can google him to see the reference photo I'm using)  With this piece I'm more conscientious by being more deliberate, moving with a slow hand, and thinking more about value, light and shadows.  When I ask myself which one is most representative of my spirit, I answer the top one...but as for the processes both are very representational of why I enjoy doing what I do.  And the transition from one piece to the other was a smooth one.

I love to see that ol' evenin' sun go down...

It wasn't until 8:30 when the sun was going down that I even dared to venture outside.  It has been holding over 100 for most of the day and our outdoor thermostat read 108 for a good while.  It was my intentions to get myself to the studio so much earlier than I did but nevertheless, I arrived at 9pm and left at 11:30pm.  In 2.5 hours I made 4 ATCs that are overdue to the recipient.  

The good thing about going in late is the ability to stay parked in the loading zone which is closer to the entrance...shhh, lets just keep this between you and me, okay?