This is a tool I made for fabric painting. I discovered these 7 circular pieces in a bag of thrift shop treasure. The texture and uneven thickness of each disc makes me think they were cut from a gourd. A hole had been drilled in the middle of each one. I threaded them on the handle of a paint brush putting a little masking tape in between each to keep them apart. The uneven shape lets them wobble a bit as the paint loaded tool is rolled across a surface. I have loved this for fabric painting with results pictured below.

I've wished I could paint on canvas with the same reckless abandon! So, what would happen if...
I used a brush to start these paintings with some basic color blocks as under painting and then just rolled and rolled until  they seemed finished, or at least at a stopping point. They almost look like paintings of fabric or possibly landscape. I'd like to work with this process a bit more, possibly creating some new tools.

By the way, doll making continues. I hope to be ready to share some new work very soon!

This is a little project from the summer and/or fall of 2018. I enjoyed it again when I sorted through a box of collage stuff recently.  I worked on this over a period of a week while we were traveling in our RV. Before we left home I had made a "book" using the backs of recycled note cards. I glued strips of fabric to hinge the pages in an accordion-fold style. I had also gathered bits of collage papers to take along and then collected a few things as we traveled. I just painted and colored for a little while each day, working on  both sides of each double page. You can flip pages and keep looking without coming to the end.  I would love to do this again sometime soon!

My husband has a way of finding the perfect book for any gift giving occasion. My recent birthday was no exception. I was thrilled to receive a copy of Historic American Indian Dolls, by Forrest Fenn. He was listening to me chatter about my "Apache Medicine Bag" doll idea! I will enjoy absorbing the stories about these dolls and their children.

I realize that it would be impossible for me to make an American Indian doll, and  probably inappropriate to even try. That is not my plan. But, this book is full of inspiration about textures and details that I can incorporate into my work. For example, I noticed that most of the dolls have shoulders and arms that curve around the figure instead of sticking straight out to the sides, as in my current design.

In the process of working through this idea I discovered that the arms on my figure were a bit short. I've been back to the drawing board on this so many times now, why not make another trip? The new arms are more complicated to construct, but make a more graceful figure. 

I have admired encaustic paintings for some time. The deep glow of the wax surface is hard to resist.
​I finally found an interesting opportunity to take a short workshop last fall at the Encaustic Art Institute here in Santa Fe. I loved it!  I invested in some very simple tools and supplies so that I could give a try at home.

" What stinks? It's giving me a headache!" were the comments my efforts prompted. And, truth be told, I had a headache, too, and my eyes were irritated.  More ventilation needed! So, fast forward to this fall. I set up everything in the garage, opening the double door and using a large box fan. Ventilation still seemed to be a problem so I finally moved the whole operation to the back porch on a few fine fall afternoons. 

It is pretty easy to see that I don't know what I'm doing here, and have almost no control over anything. That is part of the charm!  There is a lot to learn on this, but it is all on hold again until a warm spring day.