A Work in Progress

Through no one's fault but my own,  I lost myself for a while.  For several months I spent all my time cooking,  cleaning, redecorating - all good things to do; but, also all things that can never be completely done... And so, each day I would think I could finish my "to do" list, only to find that I had added even more to the list.
Finally, Sunday morning I woke up refreshed after the Sabbath day's rest, quickly got as many chores done as I could, and got my paints out.  I hadn't painted in so long that it took me a lot of time to find all the supplies I needed.  There were a few moments of frustration when I wanted to forget the idea and go back to the laundry, the dishes, the dusting...  But, no!  I persevered, and, with great encouragement from my Hubby,  got all my watercolor paraphernalia together on the big dining room table. (Covered, of course, with waterproof pads!)
I worked on four projects simultaneously, which is my usual habit. With watercolors, one has to wait for layers of paint to dry, etc., and it makes no sense to sit around waiting.  So, I work on at least two projects, alternating time between them to get the most out of the chunk of time I've allotted myself.

Project #1: My favorite flowers are daisies.  I decided to paint daisies kind of free form, with the background defining the flower shapes more than the subtle painting of the petals.  As usual, my impression/expression of white is that white isn't white! So, the "white" daisy petals are various shades of blue, teal, lavender and yellow. I poured the dark greens and browns to give the impression of stems and leaves, allowing the paint and water to  create the organic shapes through gravity and the chemical reactions of the paints with each other.  I added a bit of "lace" to one side for textural interest. I temporarily have this painting in a black matte, but think it would look better in a brown or green one... will experiment with that today or tomorrow...

Project #2: I made a collage of several paintings, chopped and rearranged until I felt they were pleasing to the eye.  I titled this one "Dreams of Summer Recitals".   It took me back to when I lived in my big ol' house and taught piano and singing lessons to a handful of boys and girls.  The two main paintings are impressions of my old living room with the baby grand piano, where many a recital was held.  I added other dreamlike shapes and forms - a big open Hibiscus to represent Summer in the South,  pieces of architectural columns to commemorate the old house.  I don't know if anybody else does watercolor collage, but I enjoy it.  If a painting sits around long enough, it becomes fodder for "the chop shop".  The first time some of my former art students saw me chopping up paintings, they were mortified,  AND, piecing things together "just right" takes a lot more time and patience than one might think, but the results are pretty cool.

Project #3:  Another chop shop project.  I love chopping up old paintings into squares, then putting the squares together in and interesting and balanced manner.  Again, this takes a lot more time than you would expect.  It's like finding just exactly the right puzzle pieces to fit together, but the puzzle doesn't have "edges" and doesn't form any certain image. It's all about balance.  In this case, a completely different background made this piece very exciting to me.

Project #4:  This is a little painting in progress.  I decided to show something incomplete in this posting, to show the steps of working on a painting.  First, I took the photo; then cropped it and sketched it on the watercolor paper.  I wanted the painting to look cold and Wintery... haven't decided yet whether or not I've accomplished this, but, hey, it's not completed!   So far this painting has a couple coats of paint, with a salting of the water in the stream between coats.  Salt on watercolors created certain textures, depending on which paint the salt is sprinkled on. Watercolor painting is really chemistry and physics as much as it is having an eye for color, balance, and composition... perfect for me with my medical background.


Hope y'all enjoyed this glimpse into my viewpoint on creating art.  Some time soon I will be creating yet another blog - focusing solely on my art. (Or, should I say "soul-ly" on my art?)  A psychologist I  once knew said that the only difference between pain and paint is one letter... He was right.  Looking at that blank white sheet of paper is always painful. At first.  But, then... ohhhhh.. the escape into creativity.

Shalom  Y'all - Twyla

Allow the Master Potter to Mold You

     "But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter, so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make."    Jeremiah 18:4

     Since I collect pretty teacups, I like this parable by an unknown author.  The story begins in an antique shop full on wonderful, colorful things from the past,  each item with a story, if only it could talk... A man and woman are shopping there for a special gift for their granddaughter's birthday.  They look through old figurines, dolls, and toys; but, none of them seems to be just right. Then, the grandmother sees something in a corner cabinet - and, somehow, she realizes that this is the perfect gift.
     "Ohm honey, look!", she exclaims, pointing at the item.  Carefully he reaches over, picks up a beautiful teacup, and looks at its painted patterns and designs. "Oh, isn't it pretty?" the grandmother says.  He nods. "I  think it's about the best-looking cup I've ever seen." And, as they stand together looking at the teacup, something amazing happens!  With a clear, sweet voice, the teacup begins to talk!!  "Thank you for the compliment, " the cup begins, "but I wasn't always like this, you know."
  

  Well, the grandfather, a little lit shook up from being talked to by a teacup, puts the cup back on the shelf and starts to walk away. But, his wife, who is more accustomed to odd things happening in antique shops, asks the teacup, "What are you talking about?  What happened?"  "Well, says the teacup, "I wasn't always beautiful.  In fact, I started out as an ugly, soggy lump of clay.  But one day a man with dirty, wet hands started slinging me around, pounding me on the worktable, knocking the breath  out of me.  I didn't like it one bit!  It hurt and it made me angry." " 'Stop!' I cried. But the man with the wet hands simply said, 'Not yet.'  Finally the pounding ended and I breathed a sigh of relief.  I thought my ordeal was over.  But it was just beginning..."
      "The next thing I knew I was being stuffed into a mold - packed so tightly I couldn't see straight. 'Stop! Stop!'  I cried, until I was squeezed too tight to utter another sound.  Parts of me oozed out of the mold, but he scraped those away.  The man seemed to know what I was thinking.  He just looked at me with a patient expression on his face.  And he said, 'Not yet' ".

    
  "Finally the pressing and scraping stopped.  But the next experience was even worse!  I was put into the
dark.  Then the temperature began to rise.  The air got hotter and hotter.  I was in agony.  I still couldn't talk, but within myself i was yelling, 'Get me out of here!'  And, strangely enough, through those thick furnace walls, I seemed to hear his voice say, 'Not yet'.  Just when I was sure I would be burned to ashes, the oven began to cool. Eventually  the man took me out of the furnace and released me from the confining mold. I relaxed.  I looked around and realized that I liked myself better now.  I was firmer.  I had shape and form.  This was better!"
    

"But then along came a short lady in an apron.  She pulled out her tiny brushes and started to paint all over me.  The brushes tickled and the fumes made me feel sick.  'I don't like that', I cried. 'I've had enough... Please stop.'  'Not Yet', said the short lady.  Finally she finished. She picked up her brushes and moved on. But, just when I thought I was really free, the man picked me up again and put me back into that awful oven.  This time was even worse because I wasn't protected by the mold!  Again and again I screamed, 'Stop!'  And each time the man answered through the furnace door, 'Not yet.' "
  

 "Finally the oven cooled and the man came to open the door. By that time I was almost done in.  I barely noticed when I was picked up, put back down, packed into a box, and jostled around... When I came to, a pretty lady was picking me up out of my box and placing me on this shelf next to a mirror.  And, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I was amazed.  No longer was I ugly, soggy, and dirty.  I was shiny and clean. And I was beautiful.  Could this really be me?"
     "It was then", said the teacup, "that I realized there was a purpose in all that pain.  You see, it took all that suffering to make me truly beautiful."

  



 God doesn't want to throw anyone away. Not even if you feel ugly, soggy, or dirty.  He didn't create us to throw us in the corner.  He didn't empty Himself into Christ Jesus and go to the cross for that: Our Lord didn't suffer for that:  He didn't rise from the dead for that.  God does not want broken pots. His will is that we remain open to His work in our lives.
     Respond to God and allow the Master Potter to do the beautiful work that He desires to do in you.

    




Shalom  Y'all - 


      Twyla