Clean (or not no clean) Slate

The commission is complete. The check has been received and I have danced my jig. I will post a photo of the complete wallhanging when the family photographer gets a chance to take a photo.

This means I am now free to do whatever I want. I am in the middle of nothing (except cleaning up the studio). Where to begin? It is just a bit overwhelming. Kind of like going through the front gate turnstile at Disney World. I really to need to finish cleaning to get that clean slate feeling. However, there is so much cleaning to be done. It will just get dirty again. I think I will put away a couple of things, vacuum and then consolidate piles.

I felt the best place to begin was to do some blog surfing. A few days ago, I came across Elin Waterston's Blog. Elin is one of the authors of the Art Quilt Workbook. I must have been really affected by this book, as I have mentioned it twice this week. Elin has been doing a hand-carved stamp a day. Say, that is what I do sometimes when I am stuck. Well, not one a day, but I'll take a couple of hours, research some ideas and carve 2-3 simple stamps. That usually gets me in the mood to carve even more stamps, and before you know it, I've got ideas for several pieces or series stacked up in my head. One of my new stamps is shown above.

I have always loved colors and designs that are associated with Africa. Six weeks ago, when my family and I were in New York, my daughter and husband went to see The Lion King on Broadway. I did not go. I am an idiot. I will go the next time I am in New York. Anyway, for my husband and daughter, it was a positive life-changing experience. I love those kinds of experiences. My daughter asked for the book about the Broadway show for Christmas. The book goes into great detail about the entire production, including sketches for the costumes. So now, it is a life changing experience for me. I can't imagine what seeing the show in person will do to me.

Anyway, my next step is to carve more stamps. See where that takes me. I see a great deal of orange and red in my future. And to think that I used to hate orange. Don't say hate and never say never. Since the commission, I have purchased at least 18 new orange fabrics. I think a couple more have been ordered and are on their way.