For the first time since Christmas, Mom made it to Valdez for a brief visit. Being in the same state, it seems like we should see her more often, but that 300 mile drive is just too far to drive very often. Happily, we've had reason to be in her neck of the woods a little more often.
Mom, Rowan, and I spent most of the weekend playing in my studio. We didn't do anything with glass, it was just a convenient place to make a mess. Mom had just purchased the winter issue of Simple Quilts and Sewing magazine at the grocery store, so she a Rowan spent most of their time making miniature fabric owls. I made one, too. They're about two inches tall. I had the darndest time getting a clear picture of them. Rowan's is the one being used as a pin cushion, mine has no eyes yet, and Mom's are the two on the right. Aren't they cute?
I spent most of my play time Saturday working on a painting I'd envisioned earlier in the week. I used Golden Medium Matte to adhere white tissue paper on which I'd drawn a flower and a bit of sheet music I'd painted brown to a 12 x 12 canvas. Then I layered blue and purple acrylic paint all over the background. You have to look closely to see the paper I laid down first, but I like the texture it gives the piece. After the background dried, I painted the sunflower and text, and lastly used the matte medium to glue beads on for the flower center. I'm very pleased with the result, and am excited to play with some more pieces. I'll handle the background paper a bit differently next time so that it's more obvious.
It sure felt good to just take a couple of days off and play. I spend far too many of my weekends doing chores. I'm planning on a four-day weekend at the end of this week, and plan to spend most of it creating and writing. Wish me luck!