Throwback Thursday: rocks

In April 2017 our rock painting hobby started. I read about “Kindness Rocks” a national movement to leave messages of hope and art for people to find and keep, if they wanted, or hide for someone else to find. The movement has since gone global, and although our painting isn’t as frequent now, we still do paint and hide and I still find other’s painted rocks around town.

Photo description: nine painted rocks with art or inspirational sayings painted in acrylics

Since the start I have learned that sealing the rocks with a clear coat of UV protectant helps them last a little longer outside. The thicker the coat of paint, the more likely it is to crack and peel with the freeze thaw cycles. The rocks that keep their messages the longest have only the message or drawing, not an undercoat.

Photo description: rocks in my garden that have weathered several winters, many have lost their message because the undercoat flaked away

Throwback Thursday: air brush

In February 2017 I was experimenting with my new air brush. I tried a design out on paper, then did it on a plank of wood.

Photo description: airbrushed painting on paper of a sandy beach with waves and the quote “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.” -Isak Dineson

For the words I used a stencil, then airbrushed in shadows.

Photo description: same theme airbrush painting on a live edge plank of pine

This was a gift for a friend. I did enjoy the airbrush, but set up and clean up is an involved process, so I don’t use it often.

I colored

I sat and colored with my kid while we were on a call. I nearly didn’t finish because the call ended but the page still needed coloring. It takes a long time to fill in, even when the sections are tiny and there is abundant white space! But I knew if I stopped, I’d never return to it.

Photo description: spiral of botanicals colored with marker

I’m glad everyone is different. My youngest loves to sit and color for hours. It is not my zen.

I missed my anniversary

Photo description: number 7 in yellow wool on a background of green dyed wool

Happy 7th anniversary to my blog, a couple days late. One of the traditional gifts for a 7th anniversary is wool, so I grabbed some off my counter (yes, really) and staged a photo. I also realized that I have four in-process spinning projects at the moment. Hm. I’m not going to count the number of other works in process, let’s just say that it is over three.

Throwback Thursday: silhouettes

In April of 2016 I took pictures of my kids against the strong light of a window to get an image of their silhouettes. I then digitized the outlines and used my Cricut cutter to cut colored cardstock. My favorite result was where I layered the two cut outs on some beautiful hand marbled paper my sister gave me.

Photo description: silhouettes in dark green and light green on a marbled green background in a brass picture frame

I really admire the people with the skills to cut out silhouettes free hand. I leaned heavily on technology for this setup.