Creating with Tea Bags. . . . . Again

As many of you probably know

I love creating with tea bags.

But... it seems like it has been a while since I have created with them. 

So I started off by adding a few of my photographs to tea bags 

thinking I would have time to make a whole stack. 

.... and here is the ONE I managed to finish!

It started with this photo

and then I added some collage bits, paint, wax and pen marks.  

I am not sure when I will get time to create with the rest of them.... but I am hoping that it is soon!

Although I love blogging it doesn't seem like I get to it as often as I would like, 

and therefore have started posting on Instagram.  

Feel free to follow along with my creations there if you would like. (click the link below!)

KimHenkelCreations on Instagram

A Stack of Bowls

And so my stack of paper pulp & tea bag bowls has grown. 

This one is thick and chunky and 

I decorated it with a copy of a drawing I did a few years ago. 

I loved the look of the layer or overlapping tea bags in this one,

so I chose not to cover it up with paint. 

This bowl has a number of layers of paint on 

and I really like the texture on the outside of the bowl.

And this final little bowl is decorated with trees from 

a photograph I took a few years ago.  

I love when I can use my drawings or photographs in new creations. 

These bowls have a final layer of wax that seals and protects them. 

They are great for holding collections of stones and sticks

..... not so good for holding soup!

Christmas Decorations

I made these Christmas decorations just in time for 

the local Christmas sale a couple of weeks ago. 

They sold out very quickly, 

and I have been trying to find some time to make some more.

They have many layers, including paper pulp, tea bags, gesso and paint, 

and then images or stamps, some ink and collage bits 

before adding a final layer of paste wax. 

Maybe tomorrow I will have some time to play with some more of these

..... although I do have some snow shoveling to do!

Prayer Flags on Earth Day

It is Earth Day today. 

I try to connect with nature daily. 

I know I need this to feel whole. 

What I create often has a connection to nature 

and it made me happy when prayer flags also showed up on this piece. 

My Prayer Flag creation was made by collaging bits of decorated paper, 

adding bits of my photographs 

and adding layers of paint, pen, ink, pastel, graphite 

and whatever else was close by. 

The image below is a computer manipulated version of the original creation. 

 "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

                                                                            - Aristotle

Season of Hope

Another piece I made for the 

'I Too Will Something Make'  exhibition. 

It is called 

'Season of Hope'

and is a combination of collage, ink, paint. pastels and wax medium.

It changed so many times during its making

and buried into one layer is an image of an old cabin.

It landed here - and I said done.

I Too Will Something Make

11 members of our local art guild are presently showing a collection of our creations

in a gallery in Whitehorse (100 miles away).

All of our creations are influenced by the beautiful natural world 

that is all around us.

 Unfortunately the lighting the day I took these images was not good

But I needed to pack up my pieces and get them to the gallery,

and I didn't want this piece to leave without having a few pictures of it. 

 

The title of the exhibition

"I Too Will Something Make" 

(from a poem by Robert Bridges)

 was about the joy that creating brings to all of us. 

Close to Home

Lately I seem to struggle with words,

and giving this creation a title was difficult.

And I almost didn't title it.

But it is heading to an exhibition, 

and therefore it was said a title was needed. 

So I sat quietly with my creation. 

It's story buried within.

I knew it was about being rooted

I knew it was about the depth and strength of self 

But then I learned that self was also home - 

my body being home for the me within.

The story continued and told the tale of taking opportunities that are all around us.

Of  reaching to places that are not so comfortable -  be they near or far,

while still staying true to self,

or as the title says -  'Close to Home'.

Coming Into Rhythm

There has been a big change in the rhythm of my life.

Work has shifted into the busyness that summer brings with staff and visitors

Home's rhythm has changed to include the busyness of the daughters returned from their winter at school

Forest fire season has begun, which changes the rhythm of the times I spend with the fire fighting hubby.

 I hope that I am beginning to find the rhythm of the season

in order that I find some time to create.

For create I must, or else I am not the whole that I am meant to be.

The whole that keeps me happy. 

I found some time to paint this week.

And I will continue to work towards 

coming into a comfortable rhythm.

An Unexpected Quiet

I have been working about 70 hours per week for the past month, 

and have missed having time and energy to create. 

Today I didn't work, and I have been busy creating. 

Paint, pastels, and ink meet up on these tea bags,

creating a piece that I am donating for a 

fund raiser for our local ski club. 

The frame the ski club provided me is a deep frame,

so I decided I needed to add some natural elements that have some depth.

So a couple of rocks and a beach stick were added.

And it is now headed to the fundraiser that is taking place in a couple of days. 

I called it 'An Unexpected Quiet'

Perhaps that is because that is what it gave me as I worked on it

or perhaps because that is what the place that the image depicts gives to me. 

Either way I have enjoyed An Unexpected Quiet today.