That's Gneiss! #165 ~ Christmas comedown, New Year's build up

Plus: no excuse not to make art!

Hello friends,

I’m feeling pretty blah today, I think it’s the comedown from Christmas. We had a good day, really not much different than a regular holiday for us. I talked to everyone on the phone, puttered around, walked the dog a couple of times, and we ate a really tasty dinner of lamb shanks. Mine even had a funny potato face! The dark item at the bottom of the plate is sautéed portabella mushrooms - our shopper brought extra this week. We wanted two mushrooms, not two pounds! That’s a mistake that never goes to waste. Who buys portabellas by the pound, anyways?

This week I work just two days, then have another five off. I’m looking forward to more reading and art-making during this time.

Speaking of art, I suppose I can tell you about my sort of secret art project. I made holiday cards - Happy New Year, because I don’t try to fool myself that I’ll get them out before Christmas. One more batch is heading out in the mail tomorrow!

I carved a 4”x6” stamp, the largest I’ve ever done. I painted on postcards that I though were the same size, but not quite (the watercolor postcards were a bit smaller). Some had acrylic backgrounds, and some had watercolors. This was also the first time I’ve done anything that was something like a production line. I spend a lot of evenings painting, then stamping the cards. I really enjoyed it, from beginning to end! I’m also very happy with the results. I was unsure of some of the painted backgrounds, but once the stamp was added they really worked.

I was especially excited to mix the different types of art I’ve been doing with stamping, both the watercolors and acrylics. I’ve got just a few more lessons left in the Big Art class, and then I’m going to spend some time improving my stamp carving. I wasn’t up for the daily #carvedecember run this year, but I’ve missed it! I am considering a daily making attempt in 2021.

Why not, eh?

It’s hard to believe we’re in the last few days of this dumpster fire year. Things don’t magically get better on January 1st, not by any means. We’re still stuck here at home for a few more months, until we can get the vaccine.

I know we need to hang in here a little longer. Focusing on more art-making seems like the best way for me to help the time pass.

The next time I write it will be the new year! I hope you all have a safe celebration while slamming the door in the face of 2020.

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Holiday Decor Report - Grand Finale

We never made it out in the car to look at the holiday decorations outside of our immediate neighborhood. It turns out that when you hardly go out in the car, it’s not worth the bother just to look at lights. We did walk a couple of different streets last night and saw some fun new things.

This house was pretty spectacular, though on the other side they had a few too many inflatables for my taste. I really like that border of trees.

We also found the Christmas rave house!

This one was gif-worthy, with the swirling projection and flashing porch light. The only thing missing was the dance music!

Half of my lights keep shorting out due to the damp. I tried to dry them and wrapped the connections with cling wrap, but as soon as it started raining off they went again. At least some of them still work!

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Tidbits

• tree.fm - listen to recordings of forests from around the world

• Running Loop - very much like my life right now, walking the same loops but (almost) always something new to see

• Reading: I moved on from serial killers to British crime novels this week. I raced through The Long Call by Ann Cleaves, and quite enjoyed it. It was a good yarn, as Michael likes to say! My library will be hosting Cleeves on February 9th for a virtual author visit - all are welcome!

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Art Zone

There are no excuses not to make art, if you are so inclined (I’m telling myself that as much as anyone else, by the way). You don’t need fancy supplies - you can paint or draw on anything. Your work might look like crap when you start - you are your own worst critic! Time and practice will help you see yourself as an artist. Today’s featured artist shows that even the smallest bits of paper or plant parts can be your canvas. We are surrounded by surfaces just waiting for our art.

Ruby Silvious

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Ruby Silvious is internationally recognized for her miniature paintings and collages on the used tea bag. On January 3, 2015, she started a project called 363 Days of Tea, a visual daily record of her impression of the moment, using the emptied-out tea bag as her canvas, and altering it to create a new work of art every day for 363 days. She draws, paints, prints and collages moody, evocative and sometimes whimsical art on used teabag paper. 

Source

Ruby doesn’t stop with tea bags and other scraps of paper for her work. She also paints on pistachio shells and Gingko leaves.

Alternative canvases work well when you have limited access to art supplies. #getcrackin (Source)

You may never look at teabags the same again. She even uses them for printmaking!

silvirub

A post shared by Ruby Silvious (@silvirub)

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Video of the Week

A friend of Michael’s made this funny Xmas greeting film I wonder what Santa really got up to?

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