I haven’t been around for the past two weeks as I’ve been preparing for and running the third annual Cousins Camp for my grandchildren. It’s fun in the very biggest way as I hold it at our cabin in the country and our days are filled with artwork and field trips and… no toys or electronics are allowed. Next year, our numbers will be increasing by two as the youngest cousins will be turning 4 – the magic age that proclaims you old enough to be a Cousin Camper. That means I’ll need a Camp Counselor and my daughter has been called upon to start getting ready now!

So, early this morning my art studio was calling me and I was up at 4:30 a.m. (NOT my usual hour). I’ve been fortunate to sell quite a few of my artworks the past few weeks leaving the selection lower than I prefer, although still significant. It’s mostly filled with newer works as the older pieces have gradually moved on to their new homes. Production and finalizing pieces I’ve had underway is taking top priority.

Today’s Beginnings article will now run monthly and it will be filled with art in process rather than – you got it – finished work.

No embellishments have been adhered to any of the pieces yet other than the moon and its crown and quote charm. I’m still moving the elements around and adding to get a better idea of where I’m headed. I have most of my elements chosen for the piece featuring the blue heart with figurehead and I’ll just start gluing without planning further since it is a smaller canvas. However, I can’t do that with the larger pieces and I tread carefully as I fashion the focal point on the larger pieces. Then the finish occurs rather quickly.

See that black blob in the upper left – honestly, how can you miss it?! It actually represents a great deal of work to date as I’m layering it and using a few difficult techniques. It’s a work that will be built with black as its bottom layer rather than the traditional white/off white and feature a steampunk theme.

I’m a little concerned about that black canvas now. Its frame has twisted a little and now all four corners don’t touch the table. This is a new problem for me and, honestly, unless I can repair it, I’ll ditch it rather than build the intricate piece I’m planning. I haven’t started researching the cure for the problem (surely there is one?). If any of you know of a fix, could you message me here? I’d be most appreciative!

Here’s to wishing you a great June! I’ll be back later this week.

Vicky