Monday, August 12, 2013

30 day painting: days 6 & 7

Here are days 6 and 7... reminiscent of the shadowy pink of a beach at dusk, each with a little snippet of one of my favorite e.e. cummings poems.


I love being able to incorporate stitching into these pieces to give them an extra layer of texture, which is something I can't do on my regular stretched canvases because of the wood bars (or if I do, I do it by hand with a giant sewing needle and a hammer to get through the 5+ layers of paper, glue, paint etc. on every painting.)

My new (to me) sewing machine, a 1968 Bernina Minimatic, is thanks to my mom, who used it for 45 years before sending it my way. Despite some hard times and a stubborn teenage attitude, she's showered me with every art supply I asked for over 25 years and last month shipped this 20 pound vintage machine from Seattle to Boston to ensure I didn't end up with "that new plastic crap." And this thing is solid.


 Luckily I'm okay at sewing thanks to a few years as costume director and stage manager and other awesomely nerdly things in my high school drama club so it hasn't been too figure out how to stitch plastic and paper.

I'm slowly catching up on my 30 day painting challenge... if you'd like to see them right when they're finished, you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram. (Don't follow me on Twitter because all I do is gush about Boston's food trucks.)
at 11:15 AM

7 comments:

  1. UnknownMonday, August 12, 2013 1:46:00 PM

    Lucky you! I would love to have the old non-plastic crap sewing machine :)

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    1. Mae ChevretteTuesday, August 13, 2013 4:19:00 PM

      Sometimes you can get lucky at estate sales or consignment shops - people make the mistake in thinking that because the metal ones are old and not computerized that they are not worth much :)

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  2. CoralTuesday, August 13, 2013 3:54:00 PM

    Loving your 30:30 project, Mae. So interesting to see your artwork in the smaller format.

    Bit jealous of your sewing on your artwork. I bought a sewing machine. We didn't see eye to eye after she tore up a tag so she has been relegated to the art room floor. May just have to bring her out of hibernation and try a few different tricks to see if we can kiss and make up :) The sewing just looks gorgeous on your smaller pieces.

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    1. Mae ChevretteTuesday, August 13, 2013 4:18:00 PM

      Thanks Coral :) I like working in this small format too... easier to bring an idea to completion and the pressure to not mess up is definitely a lot less. The sewing is fun too; sort of a nice precursor to signing my name on them as its the last step after all the paint is dry. Good luck with yours :)

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  3. ChandraTuesday, August 27, 2013 2:27:00 AM

    Great!

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  4. Proud MommaFriday, January 22, 2016 4:46:00 PM

    I realize this is a very old post but wanted to comment on the sewing... With a stretched canvas - I sew whatever random thing Im doing and then add the papers onto the canvas with mod podge or drywall mud (depending on what look Im going for). just thought Id mention ;-)

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  5. Irish Coffee RecipesFriday, May 26, 2023 4:16:00 PM

    I enjoyed reading your postt

    ReplyDelete

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