Background Stories #AtoZChallenge

Pictures of our art is an important part of sharing what we love to make.  Enter the roll of the background. Everyday items you find around the house can work wonders.

 Guess what this is.

It's one of my favorites. An old, well used cookie sheet. 

When you zoom in you see this great texture.

Next, a black background. 

Left over vinyl upholstery fabric I stole from the man cave.

 Hang it vertically and I have an instant large backdrop. It's fun to play with the light.

 

 A friend gave me this big piece of cut up lace. I use it often.

 

Pegboard & cardboard play a role as well. 

Add some bead board and you have an all white background.

Aprons I Fancy #AtoZChallenge

 A is for Apron. A humble place to start the A to Z challenge. 

But a gal has to keep herself tidy while slinging paint in the studio.

 

As soon as I saw one of these aprons at a calligraphy conference I knew I had to have one.

 Truth is I love it so much I've avoided using it while painting. Love the big pockets.

 

Back view of the cross over. No ties to deal with.

            

 From Purl Soho a knitting site I follow. A free pattern for a cross over apron. 

My intention is to make one I feel comfortable getting paint all over.

 Haven't owned a pair of bib overalls for a few decades. A trip to Goodwill may be in order.

This is pattern I have saved from a free eBook from Cloth Paper Scissors.  

You can still download the instructions. 

 

A post of my thoughts on this free apron I inherited from my Dad that I altered 

to cover the awful graphics. Scroll down to see the stencil.

 To be honest this is my go to cover up. 

A sweatshirt from beloved Beaver Island that I've cut down, 

stitched up, & make a mess of regularly. 

See you tomorrow for B. Would love to see your comments as we go along.

April is A to Z Challenge Time

Here we go again. I've committed to the month long A to Z blog challenge for the 3rd year in a row.

Art is my passion & that is the category my posts fall into. My theme, in a nutshell, is anything that inspires my creative process, nature being the biggest contributor. Other artists I admire will play a big part this year. I hope you will follow along on this journey with me.

 A peek into what I've been up to in the studio & way beyond lately.

Found items I thought were lost. Love these old chess pieces from my childhood. 

Great prop fodder for photography

More paint, stencils, storage boxes. I still think the corners are important. These are sizes I can use in my studio, but will be for sale at shows I'm  in as well as on Etsy. 

Got a spot you need a artful container for? Just tell me your dimensions & colors.

 

March is an ATC month. Popped these in the mail yesterday.

 

A friend needs purple items for a gift. It's been great fun color mixing to get what I want.

               Took a trip far far away. French Polynesia. Our first cruise. More on that later...

Thanks for your interest! Stay tuned for daily posts in April. Love to get your comments.