donderdag 17 januari 2008

TIF and Fifi

painting canvas
earth colours

Fifi on the left, she looks so big here, you can't believe she is only three years old. The flower crown is made of felt
Deze week heb ik vooral veel gelezen over Anselm Kiefer en zijn werken bestudeert. Zijn kleurgebruik is over het algemeen vrij sober. Hij werkt net als ik in aardetinten of veel met grijs. Voor mij ideale kleuren om mee te werken, dit zal vermoedelijk ook wel een van de redenen zijn dat zijn werk me ook aanspreekt. Ik ben bezig geweest met een aantal vellen canvas te schilderen, kijken of ik de goede kleur te pakken krijg. Verder ben ik nog niet echt gekomen, ik ben wel volop aan het denken hoe ik het verder ga aanpakken en heb ook wel wat ideeën maar wil daar verder nog niets over kwijt.


Gisteravond ben ik op een heel andere manier creatief geweest. Mijn nichtje Evi had nog iets van me tegoed omdat ze me vorige keer geholpen had met het trekken van namen. Ze heeft op de crèche binnenkort een carnavalsfeest dus moest er een Fifi kostuum komen. (Voor diegene die dit niet weten, daar val ik zelf ook onder, Fifi is een tekenfilm figuurtje) Het ging vooral om het bloemenkroontje en de applicatie. Dat was meteen ook het lastigste. In ieder geval wilde ze heel graag er mee poseren samen met haar vriendjes.

This week I spend a lot of time reading about Anselm Kiefer and studying his work. His use of colour is very simple. He uses, just like me, earth colours and a lot of grey. For me are these colours perfect to work with. This is probably one of the reasons that I like his work so much. I painted some sheets of canvas, to see if I can find the right colour. I didn’t get much further, but I am thinking about it a lot. How do I’m gonna do this? I’ve got lots of ideas but don’t wanna tell yet, till I no for sure which direction I am gonna take.


Yesterday evening I’ve been busy in a very different way. I own my niece Evi a favour because she helped me to draw names for me the last time. She has a carnival party on her school. Over here they always go dressed up, so she wanted to go as Fifi (for those who don’t know it, including me, Fifi is a cartoon figure) It was especially the flower crown and the flower application. That was also the hardest part. Anyway, she likes to pose for you all very much, together with her friends.

3 opmerkingen:

Purple Missus zei

Evie is a beautiful little girl -she looks so happy in this photo.
The earth colours are gorgeous.

Susan Lenz zei

Hi!
The new ATCs are very, very interesting. I like the textures so much and your choice of colors is always perfect. I find it difficult to photograph metallics too, but you seem to have captured them very well.

The other day you wrote about giving a demonstration. Like you, I find there is generally one person in every group that stays apart and seems a bit lost or in need of extra attention. It is difficult to tell whether this person is simply uncomfortable by being in a crowd or whether this person really wants additional help.

I always try to find a balance between the time I talk and the time I don't speak. When I've given the group several minutes to work or explore things, I try to sneak over to the person alone and see if I can help.

Sometimes, this lonely person is just uncomfortable working while others can watch. Giving this person extra attention sometimes causes them more problems. There was a lady once that sent me an email and a photo of the piece she made...after the workshop. It was wonderful, truly inspired. Yet, in the workshop, she did almost nothing and seemed totally lost and didn't really want extra attention. Her email message was so complimentary. She loved the workshop. She thought I was a great instructor...everything. I would have never known if she hadn't written. I was so worried about her.

Others, just need more help. Sometimes there is a person in a workshop that just can't grasp the idea that paint can go on fabric or that edges don't have to be firmly turned under and stitched. These people are honestly such traditional stitchers that they feel utterly lost. I use a lot of humor. Usually, this relaxes these people enough to try new things and they're instantly happy.

I don't usually give many workshops. There really isn't much of an interest in artistic fibers in my area. Most groups want a workshop but don't want to pay for it. I can't afford that much time for no money at all. I like demonstrating though. Many of the art guilds have asked me to demonstrate. Most can't pay but it only takes a single evening, about an hour plus set up and clean up. I think demonstrating helps spread awareness.
Susan

sharon young zei

Evie you look wonderful in your flower crown, I hope you had a good party! Your auntie is very clever!