Art and Sew Forth: Imagining Spring Into Existence: My Process

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Imagining Spring Into Existence: My Process

February is when I start to think about gardening. It’s the time of year when daylight hours are noticeably longer and we start to stir from winter’s hibernation. It’s easier to get up in the morning and easier to drive home at night from work. And didn’t that infamous eternal groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predict an early spring?

The energy the sun exudes cannot be underestimated! It always awakens a fresh hope and anticipation of expectation and I find myself overrun with ideas as the days grow longer.

I recently went out and took some pictures of my property where I intend on doing some landscaping this year. This particular spot is about 10 by 15 feet. I began to imagine myself sitting here in the warmer months and drawing, bird watching, or even napping! I love color and texture and natural fragrances, and pretty soon I was inside a lovely little world of herbs and flowers!

I printed my photo onto a piece of acrylic art paper.

My Connecting Threads ‘junk’ mail had come this week, so I pulled it out and began looking through for colors, shapes, and patterns.

I started tearing and cutting tiny pieces

and randomly placing a few on the photo.

Gluing such teeny tiny scraps is a chore! I added some paint for detail – and of course our fat cat Chubbs had to be there! And then I saw a trellis – reminiscent of the one my son Gabe made for me many years ago – and I wanted that to be my entrance point.

Painted clay pottery adds a lovely artistic flair and can be arranged and rearranged. I imagined several sizes bursting with color and foliage. I envisioned the soil dotted with some ground cover of white allysum and lemon thyme, added some flowers – anemones would be nice – over by the propane tank to hide it a bit, and outlined and shaded here and there.