Inspiration by Mail

Having just finished my household duties and my lunch, I wondered what to do next.

My last project was completed on Friday afternoon (except for one more coat of varnish).

Imagine my surprise when I went to look at my wee little front porch Halloween display and found a package.

Books!  Books to cut to pieces!!

A lovely book from 1955.

From this book, I can learn to churn butter, shear sheep and visit Peggy and Peter who live on a farm.  I also get to see ladies in furs making their purchases at the market.

Loads of illustrations and lightly aged pages.

This beauty was published in 1949.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the book to stay open to photograph its beautifully colored pages.  Almost every page has a color illustration.  I might just need to read this one before I take the scissors to it.  A peach of a book except for my new knowledge that there were only white people back in the 1940's.
But a pristine vintage book about towns and how they function -- I'm all set for inspiration now!

Here's to sharp scissors and a productive week ahead!!

American Way

The newest piece comes together:

Lots of bits and pieces to choose from.  I seem to be in the mood for red, gold and black.

I've decided to put nine 4-inch boards together to create one piece.

Cut, paint, stamp, glue.  Cut, paint, stamp, glue.

The main layout is done.  Now for the extras!

American Way I, 12 x 12 " collage on board, ©2011 Kim Hambric

I have 3 other collages of collages (I'm not sure what to call these.  Any ideas?) ready to photograph and one ready to be glued together.  I'm loving making these!

This piece is now in my Etsy shop.

Be Here

Be Here, 8 x 8", ©2011 Kim Hambric

Imagine a sunny, autumn day in the city.  You have a map and a plan to see a museum, get a coffee and walk down new streets.  The day is yours.  The city is yours.

This piece is now in my Etsy shop.

Limitations

Discount, 5 x 5", ©2011 Kim Hambric

Yes -- limitations.  We've all got them, right?  And some of us have more than others.

One of my most notable limitations is my inability to draw.  I actually stink at drawing stick figures. I'm in the art business so I can play with colors and textures, since drawing is obviously out.

I've greatly limited myself in how I create and what I create with.  Just a year ago, I was dyeing my own fabric and also using fabric from my stash of 2000+ commercial fabrics to make quilted wallhangings.  While most of my quilts were relatively small, the size of each varied with almost each quilt.  Would this one be square?  And then how large?   A rectangle?  What should the proportions be?  Which of all of these fabrics would I begin with?  Patterns?  Solids?  Hand painted?  Too many choices.  And then, when I decided to add paper to these quilts, even more decisions had to be made.

Once I started playing around with paper, I realized that I was in love with the texture.  So many different papers (oh no! more choices).  But I limited myself to what I had on hand.  What shape?  What size?  I had some illustration board already cut into squares and gessoed and ready to go.  I would limit myself to that.  And paint?  It wasn't in the plan until I saw a painting in a magazine with great swatches of color.   I could do that.  Right?  I tried smearing paint on these little boards with an expired library card.  I could not come close to replicating that painting in the magazine, but I did find a technique that I loved.  I used only the paint colors I had on hand -- the ones I am still using.

So.  Small squares.  Red, blue, ochre, brown, black and white paint (I did purchase an orange).  Papers I could immediately get my hands on (still love those magazine inserts).  I'm still loving working within these limitations.  And yes, I still buy supplies, but the process is very streamlined now.

I feel like I've been set free using these limitations.  Perhaps I have narrowed down my audience while narrowing down my supplies and style.  They did love those pinks, greens and purples I was using 10 years ago.  And may use again.  Much later.

This piece is available in my Etsy shop.

Lost Maps

Lost Maps, 8 x 8" collage on board, ©2011 Kim Hambric

I wouldn't mind some found maps!  Could be time to purchase some old maps and atlases on Etsy.

I think it's finally time to go up into the studio and get to work on something new.  For the past few days, I've been updating my inventory (I've let that slip for about a year) and straightening up my Etsy shop.  I actually had to break through some cobwebs to get up into the studio this morning.

This piece is available in my Etsy shop.