Gonna Give it a Go

In two more weeks, I'll be participating in a 2 day workshop out at Wanuskewin.  WooO!!  It's run by local artist Bobbi Clackson-Walker.  I'm nervous but really looking forward to this.  I'm thinking Ill be the only non painting fibre artist there, but I'm looking forward to building my skills. 

As you know, I go out to sites collecting photos for future reference with my work.  As a fibre artist, I can't really do en plein air with a sewing machine and several trunk fulls of thread.  I want to use the skills that I hope to gain for my fibre art.  I do sketching from photos to art as a way of deciding how to execute particular parts of a scene with thread.  Sketching helps me chose the appropriate stitches.  It also help when I want to rearrange or change the composition. 

sketch to plan a threadpainting from Waneskewin a few years back

However, when it comes to on-site captures with art supplies - that I have never done.  I watched my mother work like this all my life since as far back as I can remember.  She would sit outside with a big coloured paper taped to a board.  Her chalks would fly as she quickly worked out the view before the light and colours changed.  I remember the dust up my nose.  She used soft pastel and worked quite large, rubbing and blending with her fingers and the palm of her hand.  Often she'd take her pieces inside and finish details later in the day.

I don't really know what I'm doing.  I have no particular expectations for outcomes when it comes to finished product, but I plan to bring lots of sketch books for ink and pastel.  We'll see what happens.  I think it will be exciting to capture scenes without my camera.  I'll bring black pens, pencils, and my big tool kit full of pan pastels.  I love my pan pastels.  I've used them a fair bit for sky studies en plein air, but that's as far as I've got.

Gonna give it a go!  I signed up in the spring but the class had already filled so I was waitlisted.  I'm really excited to be trying this out.  I'll blog all about it when the time comes.  ; )

Have a great weekend,