They climb their way up
And over
Unsure of where they’re headed
But happy to be moving
The clouds show a crack in their armor
As sky breaks through
And reeds below have a taste of the sun

I came across a piece of paper that I had stained with tea years ago. It was a soft brown with a tiny area of darker pigment that I wanted to emphasize. Tracing around one edge of the area and then drawing outward, I built an abstracted mountain range. A touch of watercolor was all it needed to feel complete.
A few posts back I lied. I said I was done with my mask, but the more I looked at the thing, the less I liked it. So I pulled it from the board it was on, added a tiny bit of blue, got rid of a bunch of the circles and am now much more pleased. I can finally deliver this thing! Phew. I thought I might never be done with it.
In arting up the mask I was given by FCMOA, I considered a person’s life experiences. Each individual act or event is represented by a pierced paper circle. The circles coalesce at the face and begin to drift out, telling the story of one’s life.
If you recall, about a month back I mentioned how proud of myself I was for beginning to make Christmas-themed art stuff for a sale I have coming up December 7th and 8th. The results of my attempts were less than phenomenal, but I assured myself I would feel the holiday spirit in me as the date got closer. Who was I kidding?
I have always stuck to my guns in believing one does not gear up for the Santa Claus holiday until the Turkey holiday has passed. My Christmas inspiration has been nowhere to be found. I’ve decided to work on things that would make great art gifts instead. These tiles (which will become trivets) are the result. I painted the elephant for a friend and it may or may not be finished – I haven’t decided if color should be added or not. Thoughts anyone?

For those of you who think painting tiles or ceramics of any sort sounds like fun, these are the paints I use.