Autumn Inspiration

October is my favorite month, and this one was spectacular.  I did very little artwork, but I absorbed all sorts of new inspiration.  Don't know if any of it will ever appear in my work, but my senses are filled.

I went on a cruise with my mom through New England up to Nova Scotia and Quebec.  I had been to Quebec 30 years ago, but I forgot how beautiful it is.  And how very European.

The countryside around Quebec is equally stunning and colorful.  This was one of my favorite buildings.

We visited the site for Anne of Green Gables while on Prince Edward Island.  I enjoyed those books many years ago with my boys and recently enjoyed Anne With an E on Netflix.  It was exciting to walk down Lovers' Lane or the Haunted Woods from the stories, and a beautiful setting overall.

I was really attracted to the simple house shapes in the fishing villages.  These are from Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia.

I thought I'd get burned out on lighthouses, but we didn't really see that many, and those that we did see were picture perfect.

 And then there were the lobster rolls!  I had 4 of them!

 

Ever since I saw these great pillows in Halifax, I've been obsessed with rug hooking, at least learning about it.  Wish I got the artist's name.

So lots of beautiful sights throughout the trip, but one of the main reasons we went at this time of year was for the fall color.  There were plenty of golds and oranges, but there has been no frost to turn the maples deep red.  Ironically, I had to come home to Portland to get a good dose of color.  We took a trip up to the Japanese Gardens which are spectacular right now.

Another bit of inspiration came from an artist talk/demo I went to at Multnomah Arts Center.  Elise Wagner is known for her encaustic work.  She has developed a method of printmaking using encaustic collograph plates.

Here is the print she made in the demo along side the ghost print.

And one of the plates she uses.  She etches into acrylic plates, adds encaustic wax, textures into that, then prints.

This is the second of the printmaker demos Multnomah Arts Center has done.  I am fascinated by the process, but also quite certain that printmaking is not for me. In fact, I heard the phrase "don't print like a painter" meaning don't make a big mess when you print.  I know exactly what camp I am in and will stick to my paint covered hands and messy edges.  It is fun to learn about new techniques though.

The Thrill of Natural History

Nothing inspires me more than the treasures from Africa, South America and the Pacific Islands. Some of these were from sections of the Met, others from The Natural History Museum in NYC.

I always collect interesting faces and figures:

And my heart skips every time I see intricate detail work as on this neckpiece.

Or this cording:

I also visited the Natural History Museum at Harvard. Lots of great patterns:

And I love this fringe treatment:

And wonderfully intricate molas:

I filled up my journal on my trip, but most pages are quicky collage bits of things I want to remember.

Only had time for the occasional quick sketch:

Thanks to a three hour delay in Chicago, I was able to finish all the little pillows I took along for stitching on the plane. They will probably be turned into wall hangings like these. These little pillows are the perfect traveling project because they are all self-contained, no little stray bits of fabric to deal with-- a needle, thread, scissors and I'm ready to go.

That's the end of my travels for now. Time to get back to work.

Inspiration

I'm a big admirer of Heike's work over at Gerdiary. I love her restraint with color and her subtle shifts of texture. Her work always seems to have a calming effect to it. So I was very happy when this little piece arrived in the mail for a touch of calm inspiration for my studio wall. Her gentle touch is even better in person.

I've also been finding this book very inspirational. It has many artists whom I've never seen before. And an added bonus is Heike's work is included here too.

Hard to read on that yellow background, but it's 1000 Artisan Textiles by Sandra Salamony and Gina M. Brown.