Mar_22 Discovering and Using New Material . . .

For many months I have been using the same mixed media materials and feeling very comfortable with employing them. These include bleeding and regular tissue paper, threads, acrylic paint, papers of various sorts, a variety of glitter, and ink-covered mylar. I’ve also been delighted with the results and didn’t feel that I was in a rut and/or needing to expand my "material" horizons.

But just recently, I was creating a painting and found myself reaching for a new item. I decided to add a portion of an old silk scarf that I’ve had with me for years. It had some holes and stains and wasn’t really appropriate for wearing anymore. But I couldn’t bear to part with it because it’s so beautiful.

"Potential" completed in February – first painting using the silk scarf

I have a collection of scarves that hang in the bedroom and they’ve basically become a decoration, rather than a collection of accessories that I use regularly.

One of the reasons for this is that since I started wearing hearing aids, I’m less interested in having jewelry or scarves or other clothing accessories that come close to my ears . . . it just keeps things simpler! I’m less likely to jostle them and potentially dislodge and lose them.

So, reaching for the scarves to re-purpose them is a delightful outlet for my love of these scarves. I realize that there is a great deal of potential for me to integrate more scarves into my paintings. So I will ask that if any of you have silk (preferably) scarves that you’re not using and would like to donate them to this artistic endeavour, I’d be delighted to receive them and add them to future works of art.