Here’s the next step to complete the backgrounds for my book pages. I scraped various colors of paint on with a credit card. Very technical painting here =0)

Here’s a close up after the paint is applied.

Next I covered this with a coat of stain. I was supposed to use walnut ink but didn’t have any so I substituted walnut furniture stain. It worked fine. These are more brown in real life than the photo shows.

The next step was to add creme paint with grids and doilies.

Here’s a closeup of one of the pages at this point. Several more steps to go before the backgrounds are complete. Then I’m going to add photos, words, doodles, and stuff from two old magazines that I bought a couple of weeks ago – one is the Saturday Evening Post from 1950 and the other is a woman’s magazine from the 1930’s.

Just a quick post to show you this sketch I did of my friend’s teapot.

Here is the next step on the pages for my mixed media book. I brushed a light coat of gesso over each page on both sides.

Then I added a wash of burnt umber acrylic.

Then I stamped all the pages with a variety of stamps and colors.

Here’s a closeup of one page. More paint to follow.

Here’s a pencil case that I made to carry with my workbook. I use an elastic hair band to use as a closure.

I made a flap at the top to keep the pencils from falling out if I turn it upside down (something I’m sure to do).

Here’s the inside with my pencils. I forgot to put a place for my erasers. Oh well…

TIF in June has to do with “stories that are and stories that are possible”. Sharon got this idea from thinking about her stash and the possibilities of what stash could become. After thinking about this for a bit, I decided that there are endless possibilities. It really depends on the choices that you make. Those choices direct you along a certain path. In regards to fiber art, those choices do seem to be endless. This got me thinking about last month’s challenge where we were to decide what we called ourselves. I think that what you call yourself, directs your choices and the possibilities. Then I read through this month’s Workshop on the Web. Two articles seemed to come together in my mind. One was about monochromatic landscapes and the other was about hand stitching with the darning stitch. The hand stitching article had samples of weavers “dressed” in darning stitch. So if I combine the monochromatic background with a shadow of a woman this will represent the past or stories that are. Then I will add women in color dressed in a variety of ways i.e. weaver, dyer, felter, embroiderer etc. to represent the stories that are possible. I think I will do a series of 4″x6″ pieces with each fiber art category represented or as many as I can come up with. I hope this makes sense but you’ll see more as I go along.

Here’s a simple landscape that I drew. I think the backgrounds will look similar to this except done in fiber. Now I have to work out how to represent my “women” of the past. I have a fair idea of how to do my contemporary fiber artists.

Here’s the postcard that I received from Susan Lenz of Cyber Fyber
I love the tone on tone look of it and the image.

Here’s the one that I sent in exchange. I hope she likes it.

This is the start of my newest project. It’s going to be a book for Rita, my mother-in-law for her birthday. It has mixed media pages and a felted fabric collage cover. So I started with the pages and covered them with a mix of tissue papers, paper towels, threads and scrim.

Here’s another one. I made 20 in all. They are 9″x12″ but will be folded in half. Now I need to cover the other side since these are dry. Then I’m going to add paint, more images, ink, and whatever else I decide to throw on the page. I think this project is going to take me a while.

Sharon of In a Minute Ago has set another interesting challenge for Take It Further in June. This months idea to think about is stories that are and stories that are possible. Hmmm… I’ve put that in my brain and it is stewing around. Haven’t come up with anything yet but I’ll let you know. Happy June!

For the May TIF challenge, I wrote an artist statement. So my answer to Sharon’s question “What do you call yourself?” is fiber artist. I wanted to upload the whole document so you could see the layout and photos with the statement but I couldn’t figure it out. It seems that you can upload a file from MSWord but you need more computer skills than I possess. So I have just included the written part below. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about this question and writing the statement. I think it was a good exercise as it made me realize what I like doing best and the direction I would like to continue on my fiber journey. Sorry about the lack of photos.

Permutations in Fiber
Ruth Lane

When I discovered felting, I finally found the creative outlet for which I had been searching. As a self taught fiber artist, the versatility of fiber allows me to “play” with a wide variety of materials including wool, silk, fabrics, yarns and threads. Creating one of a kind fiber art pieces to share with the world fulfills my creative passion.

One technique that I especially enjoy is the ancient technique of felt making. Traditionally to make felt, raw or dyed wool was dampened with soapy water and agitated (usually by stomping or rolling) to “felt” the wool. I use this traditional method of wet felting as well as dry felting with needles, either by hand or machine. I then embellish the felt with free motion machine embroidery, hand stitching and other techniques to develop a unique design.

As I continue my journey into fiber art, I am learning to look at the world more closely. I am inspired by the beauty of the natural world, be it an “ordinary” piece of grass, a tiny bit of lichen or the gorgeous Montana landscapes. When you look at my work, I want you to be drawn into the layers and details of the rich, textural surface and to “feel” the joy of its creation.