Today I’ve made nine A5 collages, using a variety of gelli printed and stenciled deli, tissue, rice and copier papers. The circles were inspired by Froyle, who I’ve started following on YouTube. I love doing small collage, it’s a great way of testing ideas. The ones that are successful are a good price point for selling.
Here’s a sample of today’s work, plus a shot of the chaos while I was creating; I make a point of cleaning up when I’m finished so I don’t feel overwhelmed by the mess when I next sit down to create.
Tony bought me the Klimt inspired masks and stencils designed by Elizabeth St Hilaire from Joggles.com for Christmas. Good shopping Tony! This time I’ve been playing on 6×6 paper, with Reeves paints and Golden metallics. I prepped a heap of dark backgrounds then used layers of mixed colours, and a final layer of metallics. For a few of them I used the one background layering stencil at right angles to itself, and love the grid effect. This is a small sample of about 30 prints I did last night.
It’s 9 weeks on Thursday since my second total knee replacement. This morning my best mate took me for a walk to the Manawapou Viaduct on the old Ingahape Road. It’s a paper road no, but still largely sealed, so a relatively even surface. It’s a 2.5km round trip from the rest area at the side of SH3. The hardest part was climbing the fence at the start; the stile is missing one board at the bottom so it’s quite a step up & down for someone with two new knees 😉
The walk’s meant to take 10 minutes to the viaduct – I did it in 15 which is pretty good considering. By the time we got back to the car I was limping slightly, more from my hip than my knee. My hips have had a difficult time adjusting to my significantly change posture.
I often walk 4km in a day, but that’s bits and pieces, not a sustained effort. I’m so pleased I was able to do this – after 9 years of using mobility aids it feels like a huge achievement. Thanks for helping me accomplish it Sandra; you’ve got a new (sometimes) walking companion!
Me climbing the stile, and Sandra in front of the Viaduct
Cath Sheard 