Today's visual inspiration . . .

is all about COLOR! I love deep, intense, vibrant color. Stained glass windows can have wonderful and inspiring color, such as these from the Basilica Notre Dame in Montreal:


and this cupcake and ice cream shop, also in Montreal:

Of course, I also have lots of color at home in my fabric stash.

It's been a grey and rainy couple of days, and I guess I just needed a shot of color. We now return to our regular programming . . .

Fiber fantasy scarf

So I finally finished the scarf I started a while ago. I had laid out various yarns and ribbons in a faux-weave pattern on a water soluble stabilizer, stitched them together and then added free-motion embroidery in purple and gold metallic threads. I hadn't liked the way it came out initially -- it was too wide, too short, and not drapey enough. So I put it aside and went on to other things. Then I got the idea that I could cut it apart and put in ribbon inserts to make it longer and drapier. So that's what I did this weekend.

The ribbon inserts and fringe are recycled sari fabric that I knotted to add interest and texture. I also added some more free-motion embroidery.














I quite like it now. Since I cut the initial scarf in half lengthwise, I have another section to play with. I haven't decided if I'll make another scarf like this or use it for something else.







In the meantime, I have all kinds of ideas for variations on this theme, so once I get through a couple of other projects, I plan to make some more scarves with this technique.

Bunny Drama

First, the little bunny comes into the backyard and nibbles the grass and clover.

It catches sight of me, and freezes for a few moments (predator!).

Then it goes back to eating and hops around a bit. But everything itches!

To reach that back area, the bunny does a full-on Exorcist twist.

Then the little bunny suddenly jumps up and runs away. Why? Uh-oh, here comes a bigger bunny!

The big bunny catches sight of me, and stares (predator!).

The big bunny has solo access to the bean patch (absolutely favorite bunny food) for a while. But then, the little bunny approaches, slowly hopping through the carrot tops.

They nibble a bit. The little bunny gets closer and closer to the big bunny. They circle each other.

The big bunny comes up to smell the little bunny. It looks like they might get along.

But no! The big bunny makes a sudden move, and the little bunny becomes a leaping blur as it catapults over the carrot tops.

It looks like the big bunny has won this dominance contest. But here comes the little bunny again. . .

Getting closer and closer . . .

How will this end?

Karmic muffins

Periodically, I give baked goods or other foody gifts to our neighbors. It just seems like a nice thing to do, particularly since we ask them to take in our mail or watch the house while we are away. Last summer, for example, I made tons of blueberry muffins and gave them to all of our (close) neighbors. Yesterday, our neighbor across the street came by with her son to bring us homemade banana muffins (with vanilla frosting and colored sugar, no less!). The bible says “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days” -- a way of saying that good deeds will bring you benefit. Well, I guess I cast my muffins on the waters, and they were returned with frosting!

We ate the karmic muffins, and they were delicious.

Grave statuary

Why is it that so many of the statues in cemeteries depict female figures? From our meanderings in a cemetery in Montreal, we saw a number of beautiful examples of statuary, particularly female figures. We saw this one when we first came into the cemetery, and were struck by its lovely lines and the eloquent way it depicted grief -- "how original!" we thought. Then we saw several others with the same design, and figured there was some mortuary catalogue with this headstone as one of the designs. *Sigh* It lost some of its eloquence after that. But it's still quite pretty.



This one had a bit of added whimsy, since someone replaced her bow with a stuffed animal (honestly, it wasn't me!).

And, of course, angels could be of either sex (or sexless), but seem to be depicted as female or feminine in many cases:


I love the way that metal gains additional texture with age -- she almost seems to be weeping. I'm not sure what the significance of the large feather is, though.

So, why are women keepers of the dead -- why are we charged with grieving and mourning and watching over the graves? Is this found in all cultures?

Giving myself a hand . . .

Well, more like 1100 hands. Illustrations of hands, that is. I scanned in 1166 19th-century illustrations of hands from one of the Dover publications of permission-free images. Now I have lots of handy (pun intended) digital illustrations for use in my artwork. Whee! Here are just a few of the illustrations from the book:



I love illustrations and clip art -- I get all kinds of ideas percolating when I look at them. I wish all the Dover books came with CDs, but at least I can digitize the images myself with the scanner. I have a number of other Dover books that I will scan in (in whole or part) when I have time -- that way I can build up a library of digital images to use when inspiration strikes me.

Today's visual inspiration

From a cemetery in Montreal, Canada. I love the strong vertical lines in this statue, and the swooping curve of the trailing sleeves. There is something very elegant in the clean lines, and her pose is peaceful and meditative, without being too sorrowful. Again, I see the Art Deco influence in these statues.

Today's visual inspiration

Art Deco details from the Hotel Clarendon in Quebec City, Canada. I think these types of designs would look fabulous as surface design elements on a garment -- I'd love to interpret them in gold foil or embroidery on a coat or jacket. I'm not usually drawn to Art Deco, but just look at those luscious spirals and elegant lines -- beautiful.

Pondering the elements of design

I came across three photos I took of this lighthouse on the St. Lawrence river (near Tadoussac in Quebec, Canada), while we were on a whale-watching/fjord boat trip last year. Each one placed the central design element (the lighthouse) differently within the frame:

The lighthouse is centered, small and distant

The lighthouse is centered, larger and closer

The lighthouse is still larger and closer, but now off-center

How do these different types of placement affect the response to the photo? I generally like the main design element to be large, close, and centered (as in the second photo), but in this case, I didn't. The second photo is fine, but looks too much like a stock picture or a postcard. The first photo, while not providing as much visual punch, gives me a sense of the lighthouse being lonely and isolated, which seems appropriate as a theme. In the third photo, I get a sense of movement and energy that I don't get in either of the other two -- I should remember that an off-centered design element can be very engaging. Which one do you like best, and why?
Addendum: I hadn't thought of it, but someone pointed out that the horizon line also differs in these pictures -- the third has horizon line more horizontal and the line of the hills is just below the largest part of the lighthouse, which is part of why it is so pleasing.

Today's visual inspiration

I love the textural quality of this. Can you guess what and where it is?