Monday, April 11, 2011

Journal Pages and Something in Progress

We've had some much cooler weather this past week, and some days have been pretty windy but the sun is still shining!  We've made some progress on getting our double-paned windows ready to install, and nearly all the frames are now stained and ready.  At the cabin, the wildflowers are rioting, the creek is rushing by, and we've gotten the first bank of upper cabinets installed and the convection/microwave wrestled into place.  In the midst of all that, I've done a few small projects to post here.




The travertine tiles are destined to become coasters, and I'll need to give them a finish and a backing.  This particular travertine was full of little holes, which was something of a challenge, yet offered something to work the designs around.  I think I'll redefine a couple of these before finishing them, to brighten them up.

 The turnips were one thing that survived the winter in the garden.  They were pretty mild, but VERY crunchy after being sliced, put in a little water, and cooked in the oven for an hour.  Maybe the cooking method wasn't the best?


I also want to post this watercolor that I'm in the middle of, to motivate myself to work on it some more.  I'm fearful that I'll mess up the next part, plus I have to get everything out and create a new mess in the kitchen where I paint, so I've been reluctant to get started.  By putting it up on the blog, I'm hoping to hold myself accountable : ) 

11 comments:

Ginny said...

I am so impressed with all that you are accomplishing. The cabin sounds lovely. It must be a beautiful place to create your art.

Melisa said...

Don't worry about messing up the table! I always have a small pile of stuff that is shoved down to one end of ours so we can eat. I put it away and it finds it's way right back. I love the table to be clean, but that doens't make me happy the way art does, and only one can be the reality right now. What kind of sealer do you have to put on the tiles to be able to use them for coasters? They're looking great!

Anonymous said...

You have been a busy bee! Love that blue vase in the final pic - go for it. Can't wait to see the finished piece.
Sue

gatheringwonder said...

wow - fantastic post - really great style here

Anonymous said...

You have been busy! I love your coasters, each one is a super work of art!

Cathy Holtom said...

I love the tiles, I like the idea of working around the holes!

B @ Sweet Limes said...

Oh those are going to make the best coasters ever!

Barbara B said...

Melisa, I'm trying an acrylic spray. Don't know how it will work, but it's easy!

Alex said...

The coasters are so cool! And your sketches, they are amazing =) I sometimes forgot how awesome you are in sketching stuff since you love doing other 'artsy' stuff ^^

Barbara B said...

The acrylic spray was a sad experiment. It causes the ink to run. Back to the drawing board, ha ha!

Robin M. said...

That blue vase is amazing. Some day, I am going to take a class in watercolors. But maybe first in drawing...