Ocean, plankton, kelp, waves, bubbles, currents, sunlight, depth, upwelling, holdfast, learning: favorite things

This piece started out last year as a foray into something else entirely, and sat in limbo a liminal state for months.

It became a deep blue-green painted background for an exploration of printed and cut papers in bubble patterns.

I worked mindfully, attentively, listening, conjuring beginner’s mind, getting discouraged. Small amoeba shapes — a recurring interest for me — were cut and added, to no avail. The piece and I were lost. It sat on the easel, sometimes covered by other projects, and became studio background. I studied, read a lot of art books, went to the Museum. And then, one day it occurred to me to add large lumpy amoeba shapes cut from thin tissue. I liked it! Then I saw they needed white dotted patches, and dot dot dot, a background was complete.

Ideas came regularly after that, and we were ON. The seaweed fronds and more bubbles! were cut from sheets of stamped, printed and painted tissue papers I keep readymade in stock. It was all cut, paste, consider, a bubble here, a bubble there, from there on.

I’ve learned so much from this piece — mostly what-not-to-do’s — and I’m satisfied to call it done. I can even look at it and smile, and feel like I’m another step along the way to competence. SO good.