When Life Gives You Lemons....

Back in March, I posted photos of some abstract designs on cloth, made from a process that I promised to share with you. Well, at last, here it is! I had found an article in the Summer 2014 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine called "Stained & Scorched: Transform Fabric with Lemon Juice and Heat" by Victoria Gertenbach. It looked easy and quick...and it was!

You simply paint on fabric with reconstituted lemon juice, let it dry a bit, press it with a hot iron repeatedly, and voila! A design magically appears! Add more paint strokes and do it again for layered designs.

I shared the technique with my #FiberArts Group at our monthly meeting this past Monday, and they had a blast!

For those of us who have little time to be creative, this is a great technique for instant gratification and surprising results!

Sources of #Motivation...and the Urge to Purge!

For the past few months I have been working my way through Jane Dunnewold's Creative Strength Training and Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Both of those workbooks have helped tremendously with unblocking my creativity, although I'm still feeling a little lost in my direction. But I'm working on it, and making progress.

      

Then I heard about another book entitled The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. This being Spring, and myself being a product of the generation that did semi-annual housecleaning, I had already begun the tedious process of organizing and purging. I also happened to be in the throes of moving out of my rented studio space and back into my home studio, so purging is a must since my home studio spaces are already full. Thank goodness I found this book! For anyone who has tried to tidy, only to find you've just moved things from one place to another, this book is for you. I cannot believe how many carloads of "stuff" I have given away, things I thought were so important and so useful, but were in fact stifling my creative life. Give it a try...you have nothing to lose but a lot of useless clutter!

This past week I came across a wonderful website: TextileArtist.org. This site is filled with high-quality articles and links to amazing artists, whom I have found inspiring and motivating. The articles are equally as motivating, and often have links to videos and free eBooks. I especially enjoyed the article entitled "Are You a Textile Technique Addict?" The video described a short exercise to help you decide which techniques in your collection are worth keeping and focusing on, and which ones to perhaps let go...very helpful as I continue to clear out the clutter in my creative life.

I'm looking forward to a renewed energy this Spring. How about you? Have you felt the "urge to purge" yet? I'd love to hear your comments!