I woke up this morning and thought, "everything is even more green..."
While there are still blossoms on the cherry, it's as much leaf as flower now.
I was home for the day and it mostly rained so it was a house cleaning, puttering around kind of day.
A thinking about possibilities kind of day.
There was also a bit of mending on peace and plenty...
Today's marks, inspired by the neighbor's porch light and tree branches.
Made with oak gall and iron ink which is an ink that is pretty much permanent and has a long history of use. Using it is a connection to tradition.
Turmeric ink which isn't light fast and will fade eventually.
The top image was made with layering the page three times digitally; the center a cropped section of the page.
This is the original page.
I also copied the page and then used the copy to make the two painted butterflies. I added more turmeric ink and indigo ink to these.
I made some notes today...thoughts about the last 100 days. Still processing really.
A list of words: time, location, story, ephemeral, permanent, sky, layers, filters, flowers, birds, the ocean, boats, rocks, dots, lines, wet, dry, found, organic, digital, connections, relationships, unpredictable, and resist.
I've played with a variety of ways of making marks, a variety of papers.
And this too, layered images as another way of telling a story. A liminal space between digital and handmade.
There are still so many things to explore...
It's amazing what a difference a little extra time to make dinner makes.
Mac and cheese (I love orecchiette shaped pasta the very best.)
and kale rabe.
The rabe was blanched in the pasta cooking water and then added to onions that I had cooked in olive oil. I also used some of the pasta water to soak some dried peppers and added that to the mix too.
Yum.
One of my experiments today.
Then it became this.
And then this.
Listening to Wendell Berry's The Unsettling of America. Thinking about specialization and the effect it has had our society.
Tonight's dinner: broth (store), potstickers (store), spinach, dehydrated carrots/celery/tomatoes, a splash of tamari sauce, a few pieces of dehydrated tomato sauce.
Perfect for a chilly day. There is a chance of snow in the forecast!
A perfect project for this afternoon...a few rows on the wool blanket.
A little help from Gibson.
I listened to Rumble Strip while I knitted.
The question discussed was "What class are you?" What a complicated question...what an important question.
For me it's not just about income or education but also...how vulnerable are you?
Today's mark making: A layered image that I did several years ago printed out. And then I dropped rose hip ink over the top.
Thinking about the capacity to imagine, the capacity to absorb;
first we have to imagine that it is possible.
This one is ink layered with stitching:
I made six or seven figures today...this was my favorite.
It's layered with another day's mark making.
Thinking about the need to stretch.
Stretch as in grow.
Stretch as in stay flexible.
This one started as random marks but I saw the flower pretty quickly and went with that.
I tried making a second one so that I would remember how I made it but it didn't turn out as well.
Number 2 still taught me something about the making...about timing of layering the ink and how the ink reacts to different papers.
I will try again tomorrow.
I found the flower between the pages of a book and decided it needed a home.
This one is layered & altered
and "bettyandisabel come dancing." e.e. cummings
The ink making has given me an appreciation for coffee rings and random drips...
One a doodle of ink and pencil.
Another layered images.
And not coffee related but something to share,
this celebration
Crocus that are spreading through the garden.
Last night's swirls inspired this morning's marks:
Which were layered with other marks made last night for this:
And after that I had a hard time stopping with the layering of images.
I started this one yesterday. The tree has three layers of ink and a bit of pencil.
After looking at something else (playing with the idea of stars and clouds), I saw a bird beak.
It needed more color so I added two other layers and a filter to blend the colors more.
Also...a layer of books:
Thinking about layers in the garden.
It's cold today and the snow is low on the hills but there are more signs of spring everyday...