It’s a New Year, and with it I am still grappling with another version of the virus which puts me in a state of slowing down and being contemplative both spiritually and creatively. It is also winter, and in the Midwest that mean that nature has gone into a deep sleep, and all I can see is a landscape of muted yellows, browns, greens and sometimes white which at times are not very inspiring when it comes to creating the colorful art that I love.

Expressing myself in art is a passion, but just like nature, I need a winter of rest to get re-inspired creatively. Winter affords me a time of internal exploration in my life and in my art. As an artist I find it important to be introspective, and ask questions about my processes, on how I can evolve as an artist, and what I am I try to communicate with my art. All profound questions that only can be answered as I explore myself and continue to explore the art of creating.
So how do I explore the art of creating? It starts with a part of my art that barely gets noticed “the background.” I have to stitched on a background that allows the stitching to be the star of the art piece, but today I want to make them the central focus, and give them the attention they deserve. Without the background the stitching would still look nice, but it would lose the setting.
To give an example of what I mean, have you ever watched a movie without the music, or action shots just on a green screen. You know something is missing. The lack of a background makes the action unexciting. The backgrounds in my art are as important as the stitching, without them, the art would look uninteresting. The three pictures above are a prime example of how I can make a drab winter scene come alive with color just by making the backgrounds interesting.