I returned north, from Seattle to Vancouver, and made it to both of the shows that I have small pieces in!

Viewing

My first viewing opportunity was close by, in Seattle. I stopped in to see Andrea Lewicki putting the final touches on the opening of Collage-o-Rama, then returned late Friday afternoon to see it in full swing.

Wow. Just wow! There were so many collages to see, some quite small, all worth a look. I picked up a few more people to follow, got to say hi to some people I’d only met online, and marvelled at the scope of thinking that went into this event.

Then, off to Vancouver! I got to Atelier 8.18 by mid-afternoon, with the usual warm welcome from Kyla Bourgh. More marvelling at collages, saying hi, meeting new people, and getting to see my work on the wall — so great!

Meetings & Making

Before I left Seattle, I got more time to play some more with the encylopedia, also known as ready printing paper. I’m saving the pages with diagrams for collages, of course, but a big page of just text? Why it needs some ink, I say!

I was also able to stop by the Arizona Collage Collective call, to make another spelling book spread. One of the call regulars, Michael Toti (cuttearscream on Instagram), made some of my fave pieces at Collage-o-Rama, and another regular, Andy Pletz, was at the event in person — but I didn’t connect the dots in time!

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to include embroidery thread in my work. I found a pile of skeins from some forgotten previous project, snagged a couple of lovely needles on Granville Island, and I have a bunch of watercolour tests from my class. Let’s put that together, shall we?

As I tried a few, tentative stitches here, I really liked how the thread added line. I wanted to try the threads as collagraphs: inking up the whole piece to take an impression. But I kind of like this just as it is… Luckily I have more starts to experiement with.

During my regular studio and art calls this week, I reviewed my Aerials pieces. I did make several updates, but they are so miniscule I can hardly spot the differences. I’m still looking for an overall fit for the series, so I scan the pieces I like, see if I like them more, or less, than before, change their ratings to match, then peer at the group as a whole, again. It’s a long process!

Sometimes work in progress is very small steps. I certainly prefer those large leaps of inspiration, but the only way I know how to create them is to take all these small steps in between. Have you found that in your endeavours?

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