Coming to Life...

Marionettes are such an interesting mix of sculpture, fibre, jewelry techniques and the magic of movement to name just a few.
I made three of these marionettes for a call for entries for the Somerset publication "Art Dolls" and it was published in the
premiere edition of this magazine a few years ago. It was a sort of "one of" project but again, I'm drawn to my creative
impulses and am thinking of doing more with improved techniques learned since then. Especially since I tried this little
video and I see them come to life.....

I'm particularly pleased with the modeling of the hands as they are so expressive although with the camera in one hand unsteadied and my right hand manipulating the marionette, this is not so evident here.

Creative Impulses...

I can't help but let other influences sneak into my repertoire. Long ago, B.C. (before children) I was heavily into quilting and textiles. Along came children and I wasn't about to give up what I loved to do but did try and focus. Painting was that focus and still is but along the way I discovered I had to make room for jewelry design. These two pursuits are here to stay and are the very "fibre" (pun intended) of my being. And now, for better or worse, past pursuits are re-surfacing and I am giving them room to grow. Fibre art is an amalgamation of my painting with textiles and that is how I justify it! Texture was becoming more and more
important in my paintings and that would often mean the addition of layers of canvas in collage fashion. It was only natural to add fabric to those layers whether on paper or canvas and before I knew it they had morphed....! So now I let my creative impulses guide me. Here's a little "Fibre Art Quilt" I recently completed using hand painted fabrics and digital prints along with
fused embellishments. The best part is that I have wonderful references in the photos of still life groupings that I intended for painting that translate well into these art quilts so it was really meant to be!

SPRING!!....Blossoms

I've worked on several variations on these blossoms from photos taken last year from these wonderful little trees just outside my favorite local café. Working on them kept me in "flowers" over a very long winter.....and as I put my brushes down to take a break after completing this one today, I stepped outside into 30 degree temperatures!


I thought I'd experiment and see if I could upload my own little videos taken on my Sony Cybershot digital camera....and it works!
This video was taken last summer and features my two little doxies (Maggie and Penny) hanging out at their favorite pond (right outside our back door). Absolutely enthralled with the gold fish that seem to be attracted to Maggie's ears floating on the surface, the fish flock to her which keeps her entertained. I worried about her falling in and drowning only to find out she can
quite comfortably stand on her hind legs so I made some underwater steps to facilitate her walking out on her own.