The Third Act

More experiments...

...prints on goyu paper, dipped in encaustic medium.  I'm really loving this method. Some research is needed to understand the best way to mat/frame/present these.  I like the idea of having them under glass, but because of the wax/resin coating, it might be better to have some space between the print and the glass.  Then again, perhaps glass isn't necessary, but that itself brings up other questions.  Definitely something to ponder as I make more of these.

I've pretty much used up my current supply of goyu and am waiting for more that's on backorder.  In the mean time, another set of large pieces of water color paper sensitized today for cyanotypes!  This week should be clear and sunny so that'll be the focus (in addition, most probably, to the garden).

Other than that, still finding my bearings after a couple busy weeks.  Happy to be seeing my counselor tomorrow, as there's some underlying anxiety making me feel...unsettled?  Maybe it's just hard living alone (um, yes!).  Oh, such an enigma am I...valuing my solitary pursuits, yet desiring an in house support and share system!  Oh, and I miss love too (and of course Avery counts, but it's not the same as a mate).

 

 

 

experiment in wax

I've been struggling with my photo encaustic technique.  Some of the pieces I made months ago are showing signs of small air pockets.  In light of this, I've been on the hunt for different methods to attach the prints to the cradled board base.  I decided to print on a thinner paper, goyu, and embed it right in the wax, putting down four layers of medium before adding the photo.  Well, I didn't get the results I wanted.  The paper has too much texture and substance, even though it gives the appearance of thinness.  I peeled the print off the little board (having actually had the foresight to make this a test and work small, at 5 x 5).  Looking at the print I wondered how it would be to simply dip the whole thing in the melted medium.  This is the result...which, with this paper, I actually really like.  Not sure where I will take this from here (if anyway) but I'm rather enjoying this as is.

 

Currently out of the "office"

I'm entertaining family this week here in RVA.  Consequently, I'll be more delinquent than ever writing and posting substantive content here.  In the meantime...enjoy this Holgarama from my trip to Seattle last month!

 

Summer time...

It's been hot...and humid....typical for summer in Virginia, I suppose.  The garden keeps evolving.  Some plants bloom out and need to be cut back.  Some plants get attacked by...well, you name it...and need to be removed.  New plants take up empty spaces.  Seeds struggle to germinate in the heat but once conditions shift will be little surprises popping up here and there.

Black eyed Susans and zinnias seem to love this weather.  The cucumbers have really taken off and it's hard to keep up with them (one jar of brined pickles made and I keep thinking I need to find a recipe for bread and butter pickles).  As it turns out, Avery enjoys cooked yellow squash, so that's been an addition to her kibble and a place for some of that abundance to be used.  Oh, and apparently deer like to munch on fig leaves!

If nothing else, the garden is a perfect example of impermanence.  Flora and fauna come and go.  The cycle goes on, never remaining static for very long.  It's taken me a while to develop an attitude of acceptance with the fluctuations of gardening.  I used to get very upset when something died or was eaten...or was taken out by a crazy hailstorm.  Now, I just move on and open to something new.  This isn't a perfected skill, but continues to build on experience.  There is a daily opportunity for gratitude and I've learned to not take any of this beauty and abundance for granted.

 

 

Expanding the series...

New cyanotype in the Baba Yaga's Garden series.  I'm going to get my head together and write about this body of work some time, but I need to give it some thought.  Anyway, this is 18 x 24 inches...the largest size I've printed cyanotypes.  It took a couple goes and finagling the negative, but I'm satisfied with this result.  The future holds variations on this particular idea...seasonal maybe?  Not sure yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pinholes...

It makes me happy to make pinhole photographs.  I always seem to connect with the notion that the images represent something deeper than the obvious truth of a situation.  The pictures represent a spirit, a dream, the whimsical (and not so whimsical) idea that our existence is mere energy, solidified yet moving.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvesting...

While there has been a good supply of flowers to cut and bring into the house (including the sunflower plant that bent in half, offering a dozen lovely blooms), and enough botanicals to reactivate the cyanotype series, it's only been since yesterday that there were enough veggies to contribute significantly to dinner!  The half dozen basil plants are loving the sunnier location this year, providing a healthy amount of leaves for pesto (half of which went into the freezer).  There has been okra, summer squash, cucumbers and Japanese eggplant to pick as well.  Oh, and some lovely roma type tomatoes are ripening quickly now.  The pole beans haven't as yet flowered, but the vines look robust.

Picking vegetables (and fruit...but the plants I'm tending here aren't bearing yet) from a home garden is one of my greater sources of satisfaction in life.  While I don't believe I'll ever be entirely self sufficient in providing all the food I eat, whatever I can provide from my own hands and in cooperation with the earth is a delight!  It's an endeavor and experience of connection, to have a garden, particularly one that gives food and medicine.  Truly, it touches all aspects of my life...body, mind and spirit!