Inspiration

It was a gorgeous day in the city, so T and I headed out bright and early to check out the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Most of the works are still a little out of our budget, but we were definitely keeping track of the names and cards of artists for potential purchases in the future. We were particularly interested in the photography of Sean M. L. Galbraith and his fascinating, slightly haunting photographs of abandoned industrial sites. Who knows, maybe this time next year we will have a limited edition print of "Light Stripes" hanging in our living room (third photo down).

I also loved the beautiful screen printing work at the Jenna Rose booth and I'm seriously kicking myself for not buying one of her ruby red pillows. Thank goodness for online shops.

Seeing the diversity of work being produced by so many local artists was just the inspiration I needed to keep pressing on with my own creative endeavours. I came home and immediately started printing cards and brainstorming new ways to use my existing stamps, including a bright red version of my rose postcard from yesterday.

I also started playing with my lotus stamp and managed to produce a neat repeating pattern. However, every time I came close to printing a perfect postcard I dropped the stamp and ruined the print! Very frustrating, but at least the concept is there. I'm hoping to invest in some screen printing classes in the near future and maybe then I'll be able to produce a repeating pattern with a little more success.

Not one waste a nearly perfect post card, I've decided to use these little experiments as note cards and thank you notes when packaging my polished cards. And any farm girl can appreciate the subtle charms of a little bailer's twine!