November: Full Moon

At one point I was sure that I was not going to manage to get my November or December blocks done until after the start of 2009 because things were just a bit too busy and hectic but I managed to finish November and do December on a trip to Philly were Wayne was combining a visit with friends and some consulting work.  I had 2 days in their house with no interuptions for several hours plus the time driving and got both finished.  I just didn't manage to get to blogging about them until after the New Year.  

One interesting thing I have noticed is although I haven't decided on what order I am going to work on the blocks that I have been asking Wayne  which block I should work on sometimes giving him a couple to choose from and I have found that his choices seem to have some relivance to where either I am at or where we are at.  So far he has pick which block for every month but the first one.

I am still really enjoying the effect of combining the painting, embroidery and beads on my blocks.  I have been finding it a bit more challenging to figure out where I want the beads each month but it still seems to be flowing really well and the smaller size that have less beading and stitching are faster to work up that my 8 x 10 last year which seems to be a really good thing this time around.  

The moon and sky are painted directly to the fabric.  I made the branches out of painted interfacing and added some background leaves out of painted fusible web.

I used blue metallic thread to stitch texture into the sky.  I did find out that trying to stitch dark blue thread on dark blue background in the car on a rainy day was very challenging so I switched to adding my moon lit leaves and finished the sky later with better lighting.  The next addition was crystal sequin stars and a bit of topography for the moon and viola a beautiful twilight sky with the moon and stars shining bright.

Because these are the first stars to make it onto the piece I will include there meaning here.  I am sure that they will end up on most of the sky blocks and background as well.  Stars represent the spirit or the forces of the spirit, the soul,  guidance (especially spiritual) and hope.  

The moon represents the positive and negative traits of the female.  It represents the accumulation of knowledge.  A symbol of regeneration, it shows that life is full of fresh starts.  The moon also is a symbol of intuition, imagination, reflection, sensitivity and the upward progress of humans.  The full moon symbolizes wholeness and perfection and the ever continuing  process of reaching these goals in our lives.  Many of the symbols of the moon speak to parts of my personality and my quest for knowledge and wholeness in my life.  As I work my way through another year full of personal growth I am amazed closely the objects I have chosen match the process of my growth.  

I will try to get December's block up tomorrow but for those who can't wait I have added new photos to my website and to my web gallery (including all kinds of new photos of my BJP progress) feel free to check them out.  I have also added a photo of my BJP as of the finish of the first quarter so if you want to see it go to my Artistic Kreations and Passions Blog

Connecting To The Earth

November got printed up and the front and back ready to be worked on as were all of the rest of my upcoming pages but after that it sat for a few weeks. Early November found me working on getting my Christmas cards far enough along that I could send them to my parents where I would finish them. I also had to get ready to leave for the holidays. I decided that since Wayne would be gone for the holidays and I have no family in the area that I would go spend the holidays with family. I spent 2 weeks with Wayne's folks and then a month with mine.

Being gone from home that long meant that I had to figure out what all I was going to want to use on my pages for November through Jan. That was very challenging.






I flew to Kentucky the 19th of November and after getting in safe and sound started on my November page. I worked on it around a trip to Chicago and all of the other activities that I did with Wayne's folks. I had a great time with them and since Wayne's Mom Marti is a Quilt Artist she was very helpful with advice and lots of encouragement. She also gave me some supplies that I could use including the metallic ribbons that make up the border of this page.



November I continued using leather and cotton cords couched down for branches, it is actually a trend you will see in the next months as well. November also sees the start of another trend that will continue into the next months and I think into some of my future work and that is including more hand stitching to add texture and details to my pages. It is harder to see from a distance but up close I think it really does add to the piece(s).

When I first start picking out photos for Novembers pages I realized that I had several interesting photos of milk weed pods opening up to disperse their seeds. Immediately the idea of using feathers to portray the fluffy part of the seed came to mind. This provided a challenge in how to do it but I love the way it looks. The seeds had a bit of a do-over because I tried something I ended up not liking so that came out and seed beads, French knots and a bit of other stitches went in.

Even though I didn't start my November page until the 20th I still managed to get it finished before I headed to Iowa on the 3rd of December.

November Preview

It has been kind of an insane month so far and I have done no beading except while I taught 2 classes at Bead Boutique my LBS. I have not been good about my exercise program in the last 2 weeks although I have done some pilates. I will have to see if I can't get better once I get on the road.

Here is the start of my page but nary a bead in sight, actually some of them have been shipped off to my first stop on my trip. It is interesting trying to pick out all of the beads I think I may want for the next couple of months before I have added one bead to the piece. I think it would be even harder if I was doing the intuitive pieces where I just put down one bead and go with the flow. At least I can look at the photos and decide I need this color or might want this bead etc.

I have all of the pages for the rest of the months at this point so if you would like to see them go to the Bead Journal part of my website and check out the photo albums for the upcoming months. It will give you an idea of where my journey is headed. I have updated a few other things on my website as well including adding a section for the collages that I have been making to turn in to greeting cards.

I will try to post updates as I go and will try to include photos if I can. The really good news is that Wayne should be home very soon after I get back from my trip. I expect January to be a wonderful month.