21 April, and it’s snowing. Hard. Doesn’t look like it’s sticking to the ground, but it’s still eliciting a groan or two around here, for sure. Reminds me a little of the rare snowstorms in Arizona, when there would be a drapery of white on the cacti.
Me? I’m snug as the proverbial bug in a rug. Nowhere I have to go, and some exciting new projects in the hopper, on both the art and the writing fronts.
RE: art, I’ve been experimenting with gel transfers–essentially, one prints out an image (I have a sizable collection, mostly purchased on Etsy) on matte photo paper, and brushes on at least two layers of gel medium. I used Liquitex super-heavy, and got the best results I’ve had so far. The layers need to dry thoroughly, and even though I am the queen of impatience, I left them alone overnight. This morning, I soaked them in water for ten minutes, then rubbed away the paper on the back. The image clings to the gel medium, and you get this lovely transparent picture, design, whatever. I have several in the works.
RE: writing. Are any of you aspiring writers? I think so. Check out the book, “Accidental Genius”, by Mark Levy. Even this old dog is learning new tricks, thanks to his simple techniques.
Lastly, on a whole other subject, I was in a favorite retail store yesterday, and I admired this little dust-catcher that made up the word ‘America’, in appropriate reds, whites and blues. It was a sort of figurine, I guess, in the shape of letters. I was charmed. Then I looked at the bottom. “Made in China.”
Huh? Well, there was just WAY too much symbolism there for me. A bit shaken, I put it back on the shelf. Not that I have anything against the Chinese, because of course I don’t–they are an ingenious and admirable people. But in a time when so many Americans are out of work, or underemployed, I’m looking for these words on the things I buy:
“Made in the USA”.
And that’s the news from my cozy kitchen in Spokane, Washington.
