Virginia A. Spiegel

Mysteries of Horseshoe Rock 2

Since I completed six small Mysteries of Horseshoe Rock, I have been working on additional artwork in this series in a bigger size.  They should finished up to around 36×36″ or a bit bigger. I started with a photo when I did the first six, but now I am working just the way I like to.  I have a specific image in mind, but am more focused on conveying the embedded emotion.  I have four big pieces done, but not stitched and plan on starting the fifth today. I don’t like to stop and stitch when I am on a roll with a series.

Of course the topic occupying my time is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the fun, freedom, and adventure my sister and I experience there twice each summer.

We’re off in June, so as the quartermaster I am trying out new recipes.  Yea on the new granola, the carrot/pineapple bread needs more work, and the purchased chicken dish I tried reminded me why I make all our our food!  Time to also try to whip myself back in Boundary Waters shape after a long winter.

The “Big Pack” photo is back on my fridge as incentive. It’s 50 lb. and I’m usually good to go once we get it up

The other big activity keeping me busy is my gardens. I put down the frame for a 4×8′ raised bed veggie garden this weekend.  I’m hoping I have enough compost to fill it. Gardening on clay makes a raised bed garden a necessity for veggies.

Unfortunately my only sun is in my front yard and I raised plenty of eyebrows with the amount of lawn I have already taken up. Lawn is king in rural suburbia, but I need my own spring peas after buying them for too long at the farmers’ market.

That’s it for this month and don’t forget I try to share a more personal view of my art and life in my free monthly e-newsletter.

It’s always great to wrap up a successful fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  It’s even better to head back in to the studio.

I will be unplugging a bit to really put some time in.  I mean, seriously, Studio B above is just unnaturally clean.

if you want to be sure to find out what’s happening in the studio and in my art life, send a SUBSCRIBE my way and I will add you to the list for my free e-newsletter.  Also I’m going to be going old school and doing some snail mail mailing.  Send your snail mail if you would like to receive an occasional postcard, etc.

1.  This artwork is finished and I need to put it up on my website:

Garbage
Photo by Deidre Adams

The center of the artwork is based on a photo from The Garbage Day Project and is an ironic comment about making beauty from garbage.

2.  Work continues on my Merge and Flow piece for the Surface Design Associate’s member show in 2011.

This is Layer 6, but really more like 6 – 9 as it is layer upon layer of stitching.

This is Layer 8 which is screenprinted and painted tissue paper applied with gel medium.  If you would like to see more photos of Layers 7 and 9, please visit my Facebook Fan Page.  You don’t need to join Facebook to visit the page; I do tend to post their a bit more frequently.

3.  I have started  new artwork for an invitational juried exhibition.  I can’t say too much about it, but I can say that my theme is the difference between life lived online and offline.

I touched this piece of mystery fabric (purchased at the Textile Garage Sale in MN a couple of years ago) and, to be honest, it felt a little bit like skin.  Sort of soft and malleable.  This is just laying down what I call a natural grid.  A grid, but not too rigid or regular.  Next up will be some lettering (the heart of the piece).

This week I’m still enamored of collage and multi-tasking as much as last week.  On deck this week are some collages incorporating paint, paper and wax in two different forms.

First up is a small series, Red Square, which are collages on artist canvas board mounted to a larger canvas board.  I have several mounted on white as shown here

and a few with the backing canvas board painted and waxed.   I like them both – totally different looks.

For requent updates on what I am up to in the studio, LIKE my FB Fan Page.

Remember my The Garbage Day Project?  I have wanted for some time to re-visit the hundreds of photos I have on file from that project.  So when a call went out from SAQA challenging artists “to venture into uncharted territories of creative expression by turning away from the comfort zones of their established body of work,” I knew where I wanted to start.

Above is a very small detail of Garbage, a new work in a new vein.  I’m becoming a little superstitious about showing new work before sending it to its first jury, so I will show the entire piece in the future.

New avenues I’m exploring in this artwork: Bigger use of my own manipulated photos, a pieced background!, a more subtle color palette, and hand-stitching along with extensive machine stitching,
What’s the same: It’s still all about the message as well as layers of texture and meaning.  And I hope I have kept some of the ironic nature of the original Garbage Day Project:  I’m making you look at garbage and think it’s beautiful, but there is nothing more insidious and wasteful in the world.

Just to keep us up to date, here is a garbage photo I took this week.  Our garbage guys are still coming in the dark, but some people are putting their garbage out early the day before.  I can tell you that the waste and quantity hasn’t diminished a bit.

Twisted