a hello from 1968...

last week the apartments that adjoin our old (c. 1831) town house suffered a devastating fire. fortunately, even though the fire was shooting flames 20 feet into the air just on the other side of the wall from the storage area of my studio, the quick response of the fire department kept our home from going up in flames, too. best of all there was no loss of life, but, sadly 19 folks had to find a new place to live. we had some damage from water, but our insurance company (USAA) has been quick to respond and will have everything back to normal as soon as possible.

to fix the storage area, however, requires me moving everything out - a daunting task since all my fabrics and supplies are there. only the ceiling, the wall, and the insulation above the whole of that space and my studio were impacted, so i've been feeling grateful not to have to deal with wet fabric and supplies. i've also been grateful that temperatures are below freezing; what a mess if it was summer and mold started growing everywhere!

yesterday i decided that even though i had just gone through things several months ago, this was a great time to re-evaluate what i truly need to keep and what i can send on for someone else to use. i'm happy to say that i now have stacks of fabric that the Resource Center at the Mennonite Central Committee in Ephrata has assured me they will be overjoyed to receive! that makes it sooo much easier to decide to part with fabrics i really don't need; especially in light of how my work has been changing the past year.

one of the delights of going through things has been finding old work. i was particularly delighted to find this little lady (13" x 18") that i had stitched on canvas in 1968 (!):

a bit stained, she still makes me smile. i particularly like her little buttons.

: : karen anne

small dyings...

the present year dies in a matter of hours and the new one will begin.

each year, each month, each day, each moment, we experience a dying of sorts as we transition from one to the next; each, i think, a preparation for what will come as we leave this earthly experience and transition to another way of being.

it's reassuring, i think, to be aware of our small dyings...

for me, being aware of them is an act of faith; a confirmation of my confidence in the eternal spirit of my soul.

*   *   *

the end of 2014 finds me embracing quiet spaces - within and without.

no more craving the cacophony of pattern expressed in my last post, no more wanting to chase after whatever it was i thought i should be chasing after; selling my work? seeking recognition? just "more" of all of it?

*   *   *

to be still.

to be aware.

to express myself in a creative way each day; in my work, in my way of dressing, in my keeping of our home, in my cooking that nourishes me and those i love...

these small, sweet moments of just being are what i cherish now.

it feels as if my old ways of being have died their small, necessary deaths and allowed me to move forward into this moment, teetering on the edge of a new year.

it feels like i've been here before; comfortingly familiar.

today, as this year ends and i let myself feel fully the quiet endings of each small dying, i am beginning to recognize myself again.

i'm remembering.

i'm returning.

wishing you the blessings of small dyings, and a year filled with joy.

: : karen anne

the happy pitter-patter of patterns...

okay.

i tried.

i really did.

several months ago i cleared my closet (storing most of it in another closet in another room) and tried to live with a minimum of basic items, all in an easily interchangeable black, white, and beige palette.

after a few weeks i noticed black and white stripes were beginning to creep in...some from the stored items, some new.

i noticed that i was combining stripes with the solids.

than i started combining the stripes with other stripes.

than i happened upon some sale items at tj maxx; glorious prints on floaty, chiffon-y separates...

what was i to do?????

i added the happy pitter-patter of patterns to my closet.

and then i played...

i played with all sorts of print combinations.

here are some of my favorites:

wearing all these patterns together just makes me happy.

it fills me with joy.

it makes me want to dance through the day.

and the black, white, and beige items? 

well, they are the absolute perfect backdrop to the cacophony of colored patterns layered and swirled on top...

: : karen anne

dipping my toes back in...

i'm slowly working my way back into studio mode after having been on a delightful 10 day cruise from NYC to Quebec, and then flying off to Colorado for a short visit to help my youngest daughter choose her wedding gown and to meet her future in-laws. both trips left me happy and relaxed...

maybe a bit too relaxed as i'm just now beginning to dip my toes into studio work. there will be a few more delightful interruptions to my normal studio routine over the course of the next few months, too, but that is what makes my life the joy that it is...

anyway.

i came up today and uploaded the photos i had taken and couldn't resist (always a good sign!) playing with a few of my favorites from the many i shot on the ship. soooo many great lines and shapes and plays of shadow to be found onboard! (note: the titles are just tentative to make things simple; they will probably be changed at some point.)

Shipboard I. manipulated digital photograph. 2014

Shipboard II. manipulated digital photograph. 2014

Shipboard III. manipulated digital photograph. 2014

i can see adding some stitching/embossing/perforations to each of these after i work with then some more, but i'm pleased with them just as they are here, too.

three toe dips... more as i get time and inspiration.

: : karen anne

midtsommer bål...

rather than just cut up the oil canvases and use them just as they are (as i have done in the previous works), i decided it was time to add my own marks; with sanding, nail scratches, and areas of oil pastel:

Midtsommer Bål (Midsummer Bonfire) 

7" x 8" x 1.5". recycled oil canvas collage, oil pastel, MDF. 2014

Midtsommer Bål (Midsummer Bonfire)  detail

i titled this work after the huge bonfires that fascinated me as a child when i lived in Norway.

the bonfires were (and still are) lit each midsummer's eve along the coast of Norway to celebrate the summer solstice.

: : karen anne

red square...

working more with oil canvas collage today, and refining my technique a bit. this is mounted on mdf and then framed with pine lattice strips:

Red Square. 6" x 8" x 1.5".discarded oil on canvas, mdf. 2014.

Red Square (top) and Sunset at Sea (bottom)

they seem happy together, don't they?

: : karen anne

sunset at sea...

cleaning the studio came to a dead stop today because i came across my stash of discarded canvases; throwaways from first year oil painting students at a local college. stripped from their stretchers and piled high under dad's old standing desk on the landing, they called to me to quit cleaning and make a collage. 

a lovely way to exercise compositional skills, and a nice break from cleaning:

Sunset at Sea. 2014. collage of discarded oil canvases. 6" x 6" x 1.5"

this is the first time i've tried using lattice strips to frame a canvas. definitely need a bit more practice. and i glued the collaged pieces over a ready-made 6"square canvas. i think i'll try gluing them onto mdf next time; it will be easier to get the lattice strips flush to the edges without having to deal with where the canvas is folded.

: : karen anne