Art Show Submissions - Juried Member Show

Today was jury day for our upcoming Juried Member Show at the Art Gallery.

I dropped these three entries this morning and I did not get a phone call to pick up any rejected entries. Very good.

Title: Art Detritus

Size: 10 x10 inches

Frame: Beech Wood Frame

Mat: Single White Mat

Photograph: 5x5 inches matte print

This is a close up photo of pencil sharpener wood shavings.  Typical of working on art projects with drawing pencils, colored pencils, or watercolor pencils.

Title: Bulrushes

Size: 8x10 inches

Frame: Silver Brushed Metal

Mat: Double Black and White Archival Mat

Image: Watercolor with black marker

This is a painting of the bulrushes I see along the lake as I walk in the mornings.  Beautiful green leaves with deep brown seed heads in the middle of summer.  A wonderful blue sky.  An absolute joy to have this nature in our urban setting.

This is a textile entry art quilt which I was not sure would be juried in.

Title: The Solar System

Size: 19 x 19 inches

The sun, planets, orbits, stars, asteroid belt and Kuiper belt are hand stitched unto a printed galaxy cotton fabric. 

The orange frame was machine stitched onto the piece.  I then added a facing which allowed for a dowel to have it hang. 

Ermine Stitch for stars, Seed Stitch on the Sun, Back stitch for the Orbits, French Knots for the tiny stars.  Running Stitch on the planets. Rock like beads in the Asteroid Belt and Blue E-Beads in the Kuiper Belt on the outer edge of the system.

The show will be on display on Tuesday, March 10th and the reception will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2026, 1-3 p.m. at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery in Heavy Metal Place. You are welcome to enjoy over 90 pieces of art submitted by members of the Allied Arts Council.

I did a lot of research and watched a lot of scientific videos to educate myself about our Solar System.  It was very interesting. Some of the information informed my choices for the fabric I chose for the planets.  

Of course, the distances between planets and the their sizes are not accurately represented. I did my best given the size of the fabric I was working with.

I prepared this bit of information and printed it onto fabric and stitched to the back so it would always stay with the art piece.

Drawing - Quick Doodle

A quick doodle with a graphite pencil after a day of packing more of the kitchen.

I used a Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment pen to add more details.

The washes were added with Payne's Grey and Deep Red watercolor pencils by Faber-Castell.  Got deeper color by letting it dry and doing it over again.

Like it!

 

Inktober 2024 - Preparation

I am posting this retroactively after all my pieces are done.

This is what my desk looked like for the whole month of October.  Watercolors on the left with my small ceramic palette. A small light table and a grid sheet I created myself. Sheets and sheets of Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper which worked wonderfully. My dip pen with the red handle and the bottle of Daler Rowney FW Acrylic black ink. Black markers from several brands and in several sizes. The Staedtler Technical pen which I refurbished some time this month. I used a Staedtler 4H pencil for my initial sketching which was easy to erase with my Staedtler eraser. Three different sized watercolor brushes - a wide, #8 round, and a tiny one. Two dishes for water. A ruler or two. Scrap paper for checking color, etc. Rags for drying the brushes and general clean up.

The month has not be all fun and games. I awoke on September 29 with water squishing out from the vinyl planks in the front hall. I had dehumidifiers and fans running 24/7 for 2 weeks. I worked with ear plugs so I could even stand to be in this space. Watched TV with the captions on. Now four weeks in things are moving slowly. Adjusters have been in just about every week. The tear out crew was in October 3rd to pull up the vinyl and 2 feet of drywall. Plans are being made for me to move out while abatement takes place. 

Sewing Project - Pencil Case for Sketch Book

Now that the sketchbook is done What does one need with their sketch book? A pencil and eraser at least.

After researching pencil erasers which I could add to a journaling bookmark, I decided to save the expense. STAEDTLER erasers are readily available and low cost.

I decided my sketchbook needed a pencil case.  I started by finding a short zipper black will do. Then fabric to match the cover. Done!

I created a narrow zipper insert with tabs at both ends. Then I just pressed the seams in on the rust back piece and sewed the 2 side seams.  I then chose black elastic and determined how long it needed to be and stitched the ends into the ends of the pencil case.

It slips over the sketch book cover snugly and holds a pencil and eraser and likely a black marker during Inktober 2024. 

Very happy with that.  It is slap dash job and I may refine the construction at a later date.