Category: Art

Art, Poetry, Poetry and Photography

Reflections on Poetry and Art

Guila Greer
Two things came up today that led me to thinking about the why and the how of what I do. I started posting some poetry to an art group called Mind’s Eye and a comment prompted me to dig in and think about why I write – especially because poetry isn’t my primary identification as an artist.  The comment mentioned how “to the point” the piece was and how most people could identify with it.  Here’s what I wrote:
…I write (as a lot of us do), to help clarify my thoughts and feelings and with the expectation that if can get the feelings translated into words that they (the feelings) will be somewhat mitigated.  While writing I create my own form as I go.  I’m not familiar enough with contemporary poetry to know what the “established” or common styles are or if I come close to any of them.  I really don’t care.  I do care that people will be able to relate to what I have written.  If an obscure reference happens to be perfect to include in my narrative then I will include it.  But not if it creates a roadblock for most readers. It is important to me that my work be to the point and accessible…

A friend asked me to approximate how much time I spend in a week on working on my art.  This is a little different twist on the question:  how long did that take you?  It was a question that I was very interested in answering and did it ever open my eyes!!

Hard to say….. I spend many hours day, evening, night working on things related to my art: working on websites, adding items to Etsy, photographing what I see around me for inspiration, photographing quilts and items for website etc., reading about new techniques, looking at other artists’ work for inspiration, writing my poetry (that often leads to an art piece), shopping for supplies, writing in my journal (really unleashes the creativity), selecting fabric and supplies for a new project, daydreaming about the new project, sketching it out, cutting, painting, drawing, fusing, stitching, solving problems, quilting, adding hanging sleeves, hand stitching bindings, hand applying beads, hand embroidery. And so on. You get the picture!!

So, especially you my poet and artist friends – what would you add to this list?

Do you think that it is important or even desirable to stick to acknowledged forms in poetry or other art? 

I’m very interested in your comments.

Art, Art Quilts, Fiber Art, Mixed Media, Quilts

In Her Element

Guila Greer

This was such a fun quilt to make. It contains so many different techniques and required so many design decisions that I thought it would be a good one to blog on.

I started this quilt in a workshop about using Lutradur. We did several kinds of painting on Lutradur and incorporated some stamping. I had a piece that I painted in shades of blue Lumiere – thinking ahead to using the finished product in an art quilt with an underwater theme.

I was in MY element being able to conjure up a variety of embellishments to use on this piece.

My favorite is the kelp. I used a pipe cleaner (aka fuzzy wuzzy wire) as the base and wound some yarn from my knitting leftover bag around it. Then I was able to bend the piece the way I wanted it and couched it to the background.

The dark purple fish was made ‘offline’ with some underfabric, netting and a lot of thread painting, then attached to give a slightly 3D look.

The coral was a lot of fun to make. First I painted some lutradur and created the coral shapes with a heat tool. I just burned away to get the shapes that I wanted then stitched them down.

A variety of threads were used in the quilting including my favorite bling thread – #30 Madeira .

 

 

 

 

All the beading was done by hand.

I finished the quilt with a traditional hand stitched binding.

Art, Art Journal, Haiku, Poetry, Poetry and Photography

Journey – August Haiku Art

Guila Greer

I had been thinking about the change that I made a couple of months ago to working full time on developing my art and wondering if this was something I should have done years ago.  Since making this decision I have been so energized.  Not only is creating art something that I WANT to do but I feel that it’s something that I HAVE to do. I feel that I’m really in my element now.

Should I have done this i.e. made the switch – years ago?  I could write pages about why not but the short answer is – No.  Do I regret all the years spent doing other things?  Was the time wasted?  Absolutely not.

And here’s where the August prompt word makes its appearance in such a timely fashion.  The word is “Journey”.  I thought of Life’s Journey.   About how EVERYTHING that we do has an impact on us.  How everyone we meet leaves their mark.  How we may look at some events as distractions or detours from our chosen path but that ultimately all these experiences (positive or negative) contribute to who we are.  And often they equip us with the emotional skills that we need to forge ahead.  I have confidence now that I didn’t have 20 years ago; I have certain practical skills to handle the business side of art; I have a sack full of life experiences to draw upon and I have gained perspective and understanding about what is important to me – especially at this time.

Journey

 

detours? distractions?
unplanned stops, uneven road
part of the journey

 

 
 Techniques for “Journey”
  • color wash
  • random stamping using household utensils and distress ink 
  • road map collaged on
  • manila tag painted and overpainted with distress inks
  • attached to page with ribbon and brad
  • messages in ink on art paper applied randomly to tag and page.