Monday, May 11, 2009

Delicate Illusions




Delicate Illusions - 24" x 10" triptych on canvas, 2009
Available for purchase at http://www.jessicatorrant.etsy.com/


In this piece, I experimented with layering in embroidery floss. It has an interesting look on the surface. In this painting it serves as an accent, in the future I'd like to play around with covering the whole surface with swirling threads.


I'd like to say a belated Happy Mother's Day to all of you hard working mamas! I hope your families spoiled you rotten and showered you with love and thanks. Rob and I had a great day, first visiting my parents then going to a cookout at his parent's house with his siblings and our niece and nephew. They are SO much fun to play with and I wish I could bottle their energy! I am so incredibly thankful to have my mother in my life. We're planning a mother daughter get away soon which I'm really looking forward to. I love my mom so so so much. Thank you God for her continued health and spirit of optimism and faith.


Today is the last day I'll be 31 and I feel a little... off. I am not sad or anything to be turning 32, just sort of contemplative I guess. Life really does fly by. Whenever you hit a milestone it's only natural to look at your life and ask what have I accomplished? What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? I don't know why today is any different than tomorrow or the next day and there's no reason to feel like I should be on top of the world by age X, you know? But still, it's in there. High expectations of yourself can drive you to be the best you can be, it can also overwhelm you and get the better of you. I've got to let those feelings pass right on by and welcome in the spirit of gratitude my mother has taught me so much about. I'm here. I have love, I have family, I have dear friendships. There is so much to be thankful for, and I am. I really am.

UPDATE: Ok, a mood adjustment was in order so I went to my cousin's house to get out of my head. What a relief! I helped him work on his gardens, gathered a few plants to take home to my own garden, laid in the grass, watched a hawk swirl over me, and took in a gorgeous sunset. Nothing like digging in the dirt to get you out of a funk. My momentary funk is now officially over. Let good things grow!

5 comments:

Maria-Thérèse ~ www.afiori.com said...

Sounds to me like you're doing everything right... I'm in a little bit of an age crisis myself since sometimes time first JUMPS then FLIES and my beloved relatives are getting older... my mum is much younger than her siblings.

The triptych looks great. Do you sometimes use... hm, what do you call it - super thin paper, silk paper? to create structure? I've been thinking of trying that myself.

See - that's how I stop worrying for a bit, I just keep on creating...

Unknown said...

Hello my dear. Yes indeed time flies and hurtles forward, taking us all along for the ride. Usually I will turn to creating as a great escape and meditation but today I only managed to get about a half an hour in of painting before I realized I just couldn't get in that mode. When that fails me, doing something engaging outdoors is the cure-all and it sure helped me out today!

I'm glad you like the triptych. I have done a lot of work with craft tissue paper - it creates a wonderful texture (I think that's what you meant by silk paper?). Gel medium or even Mod Podge works well to adhere it. Also if you're working with different colors, try layering them over each other to get interesting, semi translucent layers. Give it a try, I'm sure you'll have fun playing around with techniques.

Sylvie Van Hulle said...

This triptych is wonderful!!!!
I love the colors and the texture. Excellent work!!!

Martha Marshall said...

Jessica, I love what you did with the embroidery floss. It's an elegant triptych!

May I possibly put things in perspective for you? My youngest son is your age. From my vantage point, it all goes by so incredibly fast! So the bottom line is to have as many days as possible, just like you did, connecting with nature and the earth. And doing as much art as possible!

Maria-Thérèse ~ www.afiori.com said...

a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! see - time flew again! :-)

I had to cure my own blues / stress by having coffee with bestfriend and hold a baby.

Yes - tissue paper is what I meant! :-)