snow was coming down . . .

What a whirlwind of snow and fun here at the farm.  Last week I was off three days due to the weather, and then today the old lady upstairs was shaking her fleece out again!  (that is what Macy told me this morning when we were talking about how much snow was coming down.)  It was absolutely beautiful outside today with about a foot of new snow on the ground.  Since we got a fresh blanket covering today, the girls made some chocolate snow ice cream after dinner:)

 

Here is a glimpse of some new art I am making.  These pieces I made for a local art show and themed them around the idea of "interpreting."  I am influenced by the art and the attitudes of the early 1900's and decided to make some work that incorporated messages like the Turn of the Century Posters had.  It was a great period in art. They are wonderfully over sized, and the messages are inspiring.  I took some tips from Rodney White and ran some of the texts off the sides of the canvases.  Each of the canvases were hand built and are gallery wrapped.  (museum wrapped you can see the staples on the side, when the painting goes on the sides as well it is called gallery wrapped).  Instead of purchasing pre-made canvases, and them being expensive, I used lumber to built the frames, and canvas drop cloth to paint on.  What would have cost around $243. for the canvases at an art store, I made all three of them for less than $18.00.  And instead of using acrylic paint for them, I used the latex paint I had left over from painting the rooms in my home. 

And I also have been moving in the direction of functional art as well.  This is my sculptural gun rack that I made for the Ruger 10/22 that I purchased for myself over Christmas break.  I included design elements of joinery on this piece similar to those in 1900's.  I wanted something vertical, close to the wall, and not able to be accidentally bumped out of it's spot.  And most of all . . . it needed to be beautiful.  I used some old barn wood, cut and routed out some sections, and then assembled and stained it.  It is exactly what I envisioned for the gun that is in my room.  Functional, and aesthetic!