Sometimes I love to get off the computer and have fun drawing and collaging with magazines, ink, and marker pens.
When cutting out images from magazines you can get some very interesting reveals. I enjoy the beauty of randomness, fragments & imperfection.
Ellen, I enjoyed meeting you recently and appreciate the work you do for the earth and our community as well as your creative talents. I am moved by the artworks here to add one word: “Mola”. This as you may know is a form of indigenous appliqué work mastered by the Kuna people in Panama. They originally painted their bodies with very complex geometric patterns. When the missionaries arrived, they were forced to wear European cotton clothing, so began to create mola-work– the nuns also brought cotton yard-goods, scissors, pins, needles and thread. Molas, sometimes called “reverse applique”, are actually more true appliqué. A sandwich of 4 – 8 cotton layers, all in differing colors, usually topped with black or orange, is basted together. Then the artist slices down, carving down into the fabric “sandwich” to reveal underlying layers of colors. Geometric repeats, like glyphs and borders, are the most traditional, but now we see all sorts of imaginative representational images. (“Mola” means blouse, btw– the mola is frequently worn as a sort of huipil-like shirt by women.)The effects are dazzling. Kuna (Cuna) artists say they are inspired by the knife-like shadows of leaves. Your mention of cutting out snippets from magazines and noticing what lies beneath triggers this memory for me. The Hmong people of Vietnam Cambodia and other parts of SE Asia also do similar fine needlecraft with appliqué.
Ellen: It was a pleasure meeting with you today, and thank you for sharing your art and website with me. Additionally, I appreciate you sharing the holistic chamber of commerce with me.
Hope to see you again soon.
Sincerely,
Cacilie
I really love your drawings. the use of bold patches of color. the lines within the flower vases picture: simple, easy and because of those precise reasons, the picture is enjoyable. Feels within reach yet it is able to be labeled “art”. your work feels accessible, like I could do it, so it’s encouraging, yet i know it wouldn’t turn out like yours, I may not have the enjoyment in observing mine (as yours) but it allows me to see it could be possible.
Thank you for your very thoughtful, heartfelt comments, Kimberly. I appreciate it. You have great insight into yourself and others. Best, Ellen