Mixed Media Pie Party
Karelian pies – tears come to my eyes when I remember a childhood memory of my past mother making them. And her story of my grandmother who made a pile of those for her six daughters every Saturday. Just some water, flour, rice and butter was needed. Or well, that’s what I thought before I made some by myself after moving away from home. Patience too, I recognized!
I wanted to experiment with creating something not so serious. So I recreated Karelian pies. These mixed media pies are made of fabric, wool, lace, beads, buttons etc. And they look like baked after I added some fabric dye in the edges.
When making these I remembered the emotional connection I have for the Karelian pies. They represent caring and love for me. In the area where I grew there where no celebration nor funeral where Karelian pies would not be served. The finer the occasion, the smaller the pies – and there were a hundred of them!
I thought I would create a fantasy world with my pies, linens and fancy tea but my thoughts became more real than I had ever suspected. I became to think how important people from the past quietly fade away when the time goes by. And how we can bring them back to our minds. Like inviting them for a cup of tea, even only in our thoughts.
While taking the photos I remembered a small table linen that I had embroidered as a teenager. Back then I dreamt about the future and wanted to make something very traditional Karelian for myself to treasure. I was inspired by the stories of how young women made their linen before they stepped into the marriage. That embroidered piece combined with the Karelian pies really speaks to me.
Art is freedom. Give yourself the freedom to create! You will get something precious in return.
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Pattern Design Simplified
rsvMany artists love painting faces, but I feel drawn to patterns. It must be the little engineer inside me who, after seeing almost anything, needs to know: could this be simplified and repeated?
Don’t get me wrong: I am not a big fan of over simplifying everything. Living in a country of snow and white box like houses with white sofas, I have had more than enough of simple forms. But when simplifying involves some clever thinking, hundreds of ideas have been created instead of one.
Namely, you can tweak and change simple structures almost endlessly.
It is like an engineer has made the skeleton which an artist can decorate.
Designing a Hand-Drawn Pattern
The paper above began when the engineer in me found a scanned image of a handpainted paper. The circle pattern was printed on it. Then it was given to the artistic side of me which went a little crazy.
The pattern that the engineer had created was dull but the artist made it breathe. The result was analyzed carefully and a new surface pattern was born! This design is simple but fun, perfect for the use in collages or even for making cards or gift papers.
Creating Variations
I also made another version of the same design. Creating variations and studying various color combos is so fun! I always decide to make just a simple paper but end up adding smaller and smaller details!
When decorating these papers I never know beforehand whether I will cut them to pieces for collages or frame them as they are. But I always scan them once they are finished so that I can use them again if I want to.
Instructions for the Hand-Drawn Pattern
I have written detailed step by step instructions for the pattern which I call Spring Flowers.
>> Download PDF
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Collage Mittens
I needed new mittens so knitted them using some leftover yarns. But when finished, my knitted mittens looked so plain! Even if I had knitted stripes to make them more interesting. I got an idea: I crocheted embellishments which I sewed on the mittens. Yes, I like them now! Very folk with a modern twist!
The mittens were finished but this story is not over. I began to think how I got the idea about the crocheted embellishments. Well, you know my love for collages. I was thinking about collage mittens! I find these words most inspiring when combined: collage and mittens. I got plenty of ideas how I could take the concept even further and begin combining crochet, knit, quilted fabric, ribbons and so on. Probably I will make those crazy collage mittens next winter.
Remember, if you need new ideas, think about naming your project by thinking how they would call it in another substance area. For example, how would carved mittens look like?
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Bursting Circle – Self-Expression Exercise
Here’s my interpretation of the creative self-expression exercise called Bursting Circle. It might sound too simple or a bit mechanic, but it can be used as a framework for self-expression: how am I today, how am I feeling?
Do the Self-Expression Exercise – Create Your Bursting Circle!
1) Pick a paper or a page of your art journal.
2) Draw freely a circle on a random area of the paper or the page.
3) Fill the circle with whatever you can think of: shapes, colors, anything. You can also use collage pieces.
4) Divide the paper by drawing a horizontal or vertical line.
5) Color each side of the line differently.
6) Imagine that the circle begins to leak or burst – how would you illustrate that?
Analyze After Creating!
Is your circle big or small?
What does it contain?
Is it located left or right?
Is it on the surface or under the surface?
Is it inside or outside?
Is it clearly shaped or is it merging into the background?
Does it burst, spill or radiate?
Is there any movement or does it stay still?
and so on …
Do not analyze the image before you are finished. There’s no one interpretation, but you can consider yourself as a circle and start from there. The part of the exercise is to get in touch with your own thoughts.
My painting tells me this: I feel more exposed than many times before. It is a good thing and it might even be a beginning of a life change. I might not be able to control it, but I feel I have a lot of decisions in my hands. I want to impact others, but I am also impacted at the same time. Maybe there’s a network where I am heading.
What does your picture tell you?
Another Version of Bursting Circle
I made this using watercolors, markers and color pencils. When looking at this, I wonder: Is there too much going on in my life at the moment? Well, it might be so but if I need to choose between too much and too little I always pick too much!
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