Pitching in and a summer project

Part 1

Post in two parts this week cos I'm back in the office full time again and all of a sudden it's Wednesday and I have nothing pre prepared! Been a rush of things to do this last week. I have a new art project to do for the family I rent my room from and the Corner Gallery has its new premises. The owner, Jackie, was in need of an extra pair of hands to do some of the painting. She has hands full with her various strands of businesses and is juggling it all with family and fixing up the gallery for its official opening. I was more than happy to do a bit to help out and like nothing more than making something old and tired look fresh and new.

I went round on Saturday and put a coat of paint on the outdoor toilet before the plumber came in to install a sink. I was also eyeing up the overgrown back yard's potential and since it's a shared place for access but owned by the couple who live in the main house part, Jackie had a chat with the couple who were too busy to have tackled the yard since moving in and were happy to let me have at it. I got the okay on Sunday to clear the million bells that was invading all the wall edges, drain pipes and steps - finally using some of the small and pointy wax sculpting tools I've had since starting polymer clay sculpting. I really only use the same one for everything. They were ideal for getting in the cracks of tiles and stones and into wall spaces so I attacked that. and next week it's big, thorny weed clearing time. After that, we should have a nice little spot for the small opening gathering.

Oh, and my three mixed media pieces are now being tried out in the gallery along with the dancing embers gal (the one with the orange swirl on the home page). That one's had some nice responses so we'll see if I get any feedback or even a sale. I'm just dead pleased Jackie likes them enough to put them on her displays! Here's the Spirit of the Heavens, now completed.

Okay, gotta leave for work! Back this evening to add to the info and put an image on. And fix the grammar howlers (it's/its).

Part 2

Okay, back home and scarfing down some tea (dinner, if you're a Southerner) before working on The Project. The daughter of the house is getting married with a garden ceremony, so two large hearts in pastel colours and the initials of the bride n groom have been requested to go on the wall by the house as the couple walk in.

Got some huge pieces of cardboard to work with and I had to go online and find out how to make a perfect heart shape. I now have a huge one marked out in pastel. Did an acrylic colour swatch with some options for the pastel palette and a selection of fancy letters to choose from.

Since the cardboard will buckle if I paint directly on it, the usual suggestion is to give it a couple of layers of gesso. Which I have (kinda thin and cheap stuff though). In a box. Somewhere. I'm leaning towards pasting on some mixed media paper instead and using that as the substrate with extra textured paper to add interest. I don't really know how I'm going to do it yet but I have sort of ideas turning around in my head. They tend to start up when I go to bed which isn't much good for trying to get a decent night's sleep. Once I start painting things in my mind's eye it can keep my brain awake for quite a while.

That's the thing with creativity. Whether you're writing, inventing or 'painting', the ideas come when your mind is at rest rather than when feverishly thinking what to do. Well, that bit comes first, then you have to allow down time for all the puzzling and thinking to combine,ferment and throw out the real inspiration. Ask anyone who does cryptic crosswords. You tie yourself in knots with a clue then wake up the next morning with a word in your head, and though you can't remember specifically which clue it relates to, you know it's the right answer!

The whole experience of creativity is a mystery. I have a collected trove of stories and experiences of creative people getting their ideas. It's a curious phenomenon with descriptions being puzzling, fascinating, many people using the same language and metaphors and at other times, with positively otherworldly tales to tell. I have a book part drafted on this subject and when I have some kind of hypothesis about it all, maybe it'll get finished!