Get Out Your Saw, Part II

Measuring the wood strip to cut for framing the sides of the
canvas.

In my previous post, I showed you part 1 of my framing experiment. This time, I want to show you how I finished framing the piece. Top and bottom, the wood framing strips were cut and attached. To do the sides, I measured the length needed by laying the canvas on top of the wood strip and marking it. I'm going to cut two pieces that same length, one for each side, measured as shown in the picture to the left and below.

Lay the canvas on top of the length of wood. Measure, marks and cut with your saw.

I used very small nails to attach the strips of wood. Even then, I found it easiest to make a starting hole with an awl to get the nail started. At first I did only top and bottom, but the canvas wasn't completely square, so I added a nail in the middle to eliminate any gaps.

When you cut the side pieces, top and bottom or side and side, remember to cut them the same size. Measure twice, cut once, but make them the same. Lightly sand the cut edges, mark your nail holes, and hammer the wood strips in place. Make sure you are hammering the nails into the wood edge of the canvas. I may use a drill and even smaller nails next time, as I did end up cracking the on one end of the framing strip as I hammered it into the adjacent piece.

After all the wood framing pieces were nailed in place, I painted them with transparent acrylic airbrush paint. It's very thin, so it's easy to paint on in layers to achieve the color you want. I used a golden yellow color to match the artwork without distracting from it. After the paint dried, I wired the canvas for hanging.

Hurrah, May Queen is ready to show!

May Queen by Gayle Pritchard. The frame is attached
and ready to paint to match. The last step will be
wiring the canvas for hanging. 

Wired to hang

May Queen by Gayle Pritchard
Notice how the painted color of the frame doesn't
detract from the artwork. 

Bluebell: First Prize

Bluebell: First Prize; collage by Gayle Pritchard

I grew up in a small town in the Midwest during the 1960s. Like most kids who grew up then, I had the freedom to roam. The post-World War II neighborhoods were designed for kids and stay-at-home moms, and featured large picture windows in both the front and the back of the house. So, even though my mom worked full time, there were other moms in houses up and down the street watching through wide windows as the pack of neighborhood kids roamed from one unfenced yard to another all day long and well into the long summer nights.

There were a ton of kids to play with. I had many siblings, walked to the local school, received a great education, had a fantastic and progressive art teacher, and a high school guidance counselor who saved my life.

Detail of Pink House, an assemblage by Gayle Pritchard

The imagery from that time period still figures prominently in my artwork. Because my work arises from personal musings, that's no surprise. You can see and read more about that on my website.

I think part of the pull for me is also my interest in family history. My parents died when I and they were relatively young. Feeling orphaned, even in my thirties, diving into genealogy research helped me to feel connected to the greater history of my family. I felt part of something larger. It was comforting. It still is. Decades ago, I wrote this poem, Voices From the Past about that feeling:











                                              Voices from the past call out to me;

They are my roots and my beginning,

but they are gone.

I see them in misty vapors,

in clouds which I cannot touch;

deep inside, I feel them.

Their voices echo in the woods,

Calling out from distant places,

yet they are near, within.

Faded smiles in aged photographs whisper;

Glinting eyes, which hold secrets not revealed,

will not be silent.

Our voices join in the chorus of remembrance,

together harmonizing in the deep unknown

before stillness falls.

Pink House, assemblage by Gayle Pritchard

Art in Cleveland = Article Gallery

Hope you can join us at the opening or the closing!

Once again, my art group pals and I are having an exhibition. Curator Mary Urbas and Article Gallery director Louis Ross invited us to exhibit there during Women's History Month. So exciting!

I have so enjoyed creating a great deal of new work for this show: fiber art mixed media quilts and hangings, stitched mixed media collages, and 3-D work. I'll show you more over the coming weeks. Here are a few detail glimpses:

Embellishments being added to Travel Ban.

Adding stitching, both hand and machine, to my collage, Lost Angels.

Jill Milenski, Gail Crum and I will also be giving a gallery talk at the closing in April. We hope to see you!

Inspirations

I saw a terrific exhibition at Cleveland's treasure of an Art Museum: Basquiat's Notebooks. I absolutely loved the show, and saw it twice. This box is one of my favorite pieces:

Seeing how he used his notebooks to create his artwork was inspiring. I use my journals and sketchbooks all the time, and am always in motion, creating marks or writing words as often as possible. It was really fascinating to have a glimpse into someone else's process.

New collage in progress by Gayle Pritchard, 2017

Now that our Memories Evoked: Circling Back Home exhibition is over, I am back at work on some new pieces. They are a bit different for me. This is the beginning of a new one, collage and oil pastel markings over painted marks. The antique handkerchief was selected for the color, but also because I knew how cool it would look made transparent with matte medium. I placed the found paper alphabet circle underneath it before gluing it in place, but after I made my marks on top of the paint. I like layers, and hiding some of my marks.

The next step was to add other collage elements, which I will show you next time. After those had dried, I began stitching the edges of the fabric with embroidery floss. I then ran everything that would fit through my sewing machine.

New collage in progress by Gayle Pritchard, 2017. This piece is enhanced by both hand
and machine stitching.

Because the paper is thick, I couldn't roll all of it to fit under the sewing machine foot. That forced me to choose which areas I wanted to emphasize. I can't wait to get it finished!

Spirit of Summer's End

Turtle Spirit by Gayle Pritchard
A Commissioned Quilt for a Wedding

Today is my sister's birthday, which means August is right around the corner, which means, in my mind, that summer's end is beginning. Have you noticed that the days are becoming gradually shorter, that the flowers in bloom have changed, that the gardening season is slowly winding down? For me, this is the spirit of summer's end.

As summer winds down, the still-flickering childhood memories of relishing the remaining month of summer, and of preparing for going back to school in the fall remain impressed in my psyche. While I strive to live "in the moment" each day, the busyness of fall looms, as the events and deadlines on my ever-present calendar remind me to get ready.

I am working on a new piece, a companion piece to the one shown here, Turtle Spirit. The artwork at left was commissioned for a couple's wedding, and I have always loved it. The companion piece will be larger, but still focused on the turtle in the central panel.



Turtle,  a native american animal symbol

is the central focus of the piece.

In Native American symbolism, which is where this turtle symbol comes from, turtle is sacred, and contains fetish properties. Among other things, turtle is a symbol for fertility, truth, and long life. It seemed the perfect wish for a couple entering into a marriage.

Meanwhile, I have been invited to create some new work for a wearable art exhibition at the Valley Art Center. Art Strikes a Pose opens September 10 and runs through October 13, 2011.

Turtle Spirit II by Gayle Pritchard, in progress: