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Biology 101 1-4 12" x 12" image, 16" x 16" matted     It has taken me awhile to get these edited and posted and then to work up enough energy to write a post!
The four collages above remind me somehow of the subject of Biology, hence the title of the pieces. Mostly I imagine things that can be seen under a microscope-cells, organisms wiggling about, that sort of stuff. And I think to add to that I always have an idea about old fashioned, old school sort of textbooks. I can't say these are direct translations but just what I am thinking about. The big news though with these collages is the addition of home made stamps. (No pictures-that would be extra work!) I love looking at children's crafts and craft projects. Kids just make the best stuff seemingly without the angst an adult might have. I have been making stamps with cardboard and string. To begin, several pieces of cardboard are glued together. You can then wrap it with string, apply acrylic paint to it and then stamp away. You can also punch holes in the cardboard and create a pattern with string using the holes. Same deal. Apply acrylic paint and stamp away. Think of that as embroidery stitches in a way since that is where some inspiration came from. A good example is in the second row above, left side. The brown piece with light blue stitching is one of the "embroidered" stamps. Same thing in the piece next to that with the brown piece with white printing. I have also stamped with ric-rac, toilet paper rolls, cardboard that has been rolled up, and the bases of many bottles and other objects. Even three pencils rubber banded together! It's a big experiment of course because the acrylic paint behaves differently on different surfaces. I don't know how things will turn out. It isn't really the method here but it is more of whether or not the prints have enough variety when compared with one another. I grapple with repetition and variation constantly: line thinness or thickness, size of each shape, placement, direction, color, and scale. And as I mentioned, you don't really know until you start comparing. You may have a bunch of great ideas but when the prints are done, they may all look similar. So, you really want to think in advance about things. For me, enough variety of variables is important. The pieces aren't perfect but I am happy looking at them and feel I am learning. These days I work on my art more sporadically than I would like. I question each day what I am paying attention to and why I may not be getting done the things that I would like to do. Part of the issue now is that I added strength training and balance exercises to my daily routine. With anything new, I tend to go all in and sometimes do this to the exclusion of my primary goals (art, cat, husband, etc.). I feel more settled about things now and think I have a better schedule for exercising that will still be as effective. I should qualify this issue with the fact that I had that bike accident in April, recovered, and was then diagnosed with severe osteoporosis (nothing to do with the accident). The new exercises (since July) are meant to help my new situation. So, they need to get done but done in a realistic way. It's a long winded paragraph about why my concentration on art gets derailed. Hey, how about some books? Once I put down my Kindle and phone, I have managed to read some books. Here they are: The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl: This is a lovely but bittersweet book, wistful and sad in many spots. Hopeful too though. The author is 10 years older than me, so close to home. She chronicles the life coming and going in her suburban backyard through the seasons. It's really a call to pay attention to the wonders right outside your door, perhaps before they are gone. The Songs of Trees and The Forest Unseen, two separate books by David George Haskell: I recommend both these books. This guy has got to be the most sensitive biologist ever! Very eloquent and beautifully crafted language. The first book talks about the connections among living organisms, trees in particular, and how humans are connected to every living thing. I sat up dumbfounded when I realized that the so called "walls of nature" are a figment of our imagination and much more permeable than we imagine them to be. The second book is great too. The author spends a year observing a one meter patch of Tennessee forest. Again, deep sensitivity. Close To Home: The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door by Thor Hanson: This author has a different, more lively and I-am-just-talking-and-educating kind of style. This book is about him being a citizen scientist in his own backyard and how you can do the very same thing. The urge from the author is to pay attention and see things in a new way. We get tunnel vision with our yards and spaces and forget to look. There may be a theme with these books...! I love nature writing I am coming to find and turn to it almost every time now for a good, solid read. Honestly, I did put my Kindle and phone down at the table and it has helped enormously. I read books now while I eat. Time is moving faster now for me it seems. I want to be judicious about where I put my attention. Alright! If anyone got this far, thanks, you are a peach! Merry Christmas to those celebrating. Be safe and pay attention! Libby [email protected] Comments are closed.
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December 2025
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