The Canvas Project

So where’s the art? you may ask. While I do love collecting (and organizing what I collect), I also love being creative. However, sometimes I let my collecting and organizing get in the way, or just the things I do on a daily basis. That is why after I attended Sitka with Vicki back at the end of May/first of June, we made a commitment to each other that we would begin a daily art practice, what we dubbed “The Canvas Project,” or “CP” for brevity. The idea came from the March 2008 issue of Teesha Moore’s zine, Art and Life. Teesha featured Heather Muenstermann from Chicago and her plan to add something to a 2 x 4 canvas every day. I liked the idea and so did Vicki, thinking the project would nudge us into our studios at least once a day. So on June 2, 2008, we began our own Canvas Project. For our canvas, we both used a 2-1/2 x 2-1/2 foot canvas left over from a Sitka class we took in July, 2007. It was a sand-painting class ("Painting with Natural Forces: Sand, Sun, and the Tides!") taught by Judy Vogland, so our canvases had sand embedded on them, which added to the challenge since we weren’t starting with a clean, smooth canvas.

Here is what my initial canvas looked like, June 2, 2008:



Then I began to add bits and pieces of patterns and paper:



and even a paper doll dress:



While I was in Portland for almost a month in June and July, I made 30 “Inchies,” little pieces of art. When I returned home, I adhered the 30 small bits, 15 on each side of the canvas.



A shot of my canvas at the 60-day mark, on July 31, 2008:



Stay tuned for periodic updates and photos showing that I do get to my studio and create. At least once a day.