When I was little, I loved watching the movie “Mary Poppins” starring Julie Andrews. I loved everything about Mary. “Practically perfect in every way,” I would say to myself in the mirror, practicing my best self-satisfied face. I also practiced snapping my fingers, like Mary Poppins and her wards, hoping to magically clean up all my messes.
I never got the hang of finger snapping (or whistling for that matter) and the kid in me is certain that’s why it never brought results. But, my childhood introduction to all things magical still serves me well. Metaphorically, I’m snapping my fingers this very minute. And I am conjuring fun new things.
Paisley Thoughts
An example is the painting above. I purposely chose a medium I could not control easily - fluid inks on Yupo polymer “paper” - to allow for serendipity and perhaps a truer portrayal of my emotional moment. The process starts with pouring on the colored inks, then manipulating them with rubbing alcohol applied to a brush; then a stamper, a sponge, or whatever suggests itself. It’s almost like finger painting. Fun to do. Surprising results.
To continue the theme of kid memories: Ever played the game “Boggle”? Briefly: Lettered die are held captive in a sectioned plastic tray. Pop the lid on, shake like crazy and then let the die settle. All players have a limited time to make as many words as they can from adjacent letters only (diagonal readings accepted). The one with the most words, of course, wins.
Now, swap letters and die for the roles, expectations, rules, and standards I use to define myself and my actions and you now know what I’ve been doing this past winter.
I call it the Winter of Clarity (“Now is the winter of our discontent….”) I’m glad to be on the other side of that. Grateful. Appreciative. And very much happier. Like Boggle, it feels as if all the shook up bits of me have fallen into place and I am now busy constructing new definitions.
One new creative definition is this take on a water lily, a design I’ve carved into mat board with an Xacto knife. In this case, the mat board is used as the focus of interest instead of simply as a framing tool.
As for magic, I know that embracing my life situations with a childlike spirit really works for me. This quality, this way of embracing life, is one I’ve been busy unearthing for some time. So much adult stuff on top of it! What. A. Trip. My recent digging felt like the type of spring cleaning brother Max did one time to our garage. Afterwards, I remember Mom and Dad wondering to each other where had certain things gone? (The garage did look amazing, though.)
Being childlike for me allows more freedom of movement, less structure in form, and sometimes a total disregard for how things are. Here I’ve done this with the background I painted for the water lily on butcher paper using fluid acrylics in a somewhat carefree application. I incorporated soft gel gloss into the paint as well to extend play-around time before the colors could dry which definitely fed my kid.
This shake up time has left me feeling a whole lot lighter, happier, younger. I’m letting myself off the hook more and doing my best to not push myself so hard to get things done. I’m actually enjoying the journey (yikes - sorry to use that phrase but it fits) and especially the time in kid mode. (Interestingly, the stuff that needs to get done, is, and I’m having more fun in the doing.)
This is the complete water lily image with the carved mat board design layered over the painted background. A rewarding creative endeavor with the added benefit of pleasing both the child and adult parts of me.
I’m currently working on a triptych of stylized bamboo which I’ll submit for acceptance into a show later this spring (same carving method but this mat will be painted gold to cover up the rubber watch band markings I didn’t realize I was leaving on the nice white mat board - serendipity, right?)
Here’s another slant on water color painting I’m exploring with childlike eagerness: It’s the batik wax resist method. Again, a layered process that comes with surprises, but this time using paint and hot wax. Draw a design, then lay down hot wax on the areas you want to remain white. Continue alternating layers of paint and hot wax to continue creating the design. Finally, cover the whole painting in wax and allow to dry completely. The final steps are to carefully crumple and then flatten the paper and then iron off the wax. The depth of colors revealed is intriguing to me; it looks exactly how I imagine magic should look. Which makes the kid in me really, really, happy.
Batik Method: Deep Water Dreamtime
Well, that’s all for now kids…hope you’re all having fun, too!