Footstool Trio

 I was brainstorming with my dear artist friend, Patty, during one of our recent monthly meetings and the idea of footstools for an upcoming Home Show at the Bloomington Art Center came to be.

  

So with a girlfriend, I went footstool hunting last week and scored! Above you can see the treasures found. Perfect in size and variety (not to mention condition of the wood!) these are the perfect foundation  for my fabrics.  I'm quite excited!

 And this one even opens up! I'm thrilled as I'm able to keep the interior material (a beautifully aged black and white pattern on heavy paper) as it is still in good condition and works with the newly chosen exterior fabric.

I do not know how old these footstools are. I do wish they could talk! Wouldn't you love to know their stories? When I dropped off the fabrics and trims yesterday, my favorite upholsters had started taking the old fabric off. The picture below shows the innards, horsehair and all....

Stay tuned for the end result!

Completely erased!

A couple of studio sessions ago I had created an encaustic painting that left me feeling quite unsettled. I had too many ideas crammed into this 4" x 6" canvas that it more resembled a smorgasbord than a composition.

And then I had an idea.... why should I continue to have this in my studio when I didn't love it completely? I know there are some pieces you don't love and you hang onto them and someone will love them and they eventually find a home. But this piece, I know, was not to be one of those.

And so I turned this unloved smorgasbord upside down on my hot plate and melted the layers of wax and images right off! It was so freeing!! I've never done anything like this before with my art - making this choice to not live with something that just doesn't fit, or trying to make it fit would be like jamming a square peg into a round whole - wasting energy all for not. It was just not meant to be and now, through this drastic action of scrapping a completed piece, I now have piece of mind and a canvas ready for a new composition that I know I'll just love.....