Ahhhhhhhhh.....Spring!

The first signs of spring seem to be unfurling everywhere, from the blossoming cherry trees to daffodils, to sunshine and blue skies.  Winter seems to have left silently making way for gardening and enjoying the outdoors here in Portland.  With spring comes magnificent bursts of color, a topic which I have been thinking quite a bit about lately.  I love color, and it is always a challenge for me in my work to juxtapose colors in different and unexpected ways, and I love the vividness of both cool and warm colors when they are at their deepest and brightest.  But, I also love muted palettes with little or no color. I love pastels.  I love brown, and all its various shades of beige, sand, stone, and gray in all its wonderful tones. I really love all color palettes I can think of.   So, I have been thinking about experimenting with pale or muted tones in my next creative endeavor.  I am also longing to experiment with more of a variety of mixed media, and not limiting myself to the medium of mosaics.  While I love mosaics, it can be very limiting in a way; you need an appropriate waterproof substrate, glue or and/or thinset or some other affixing medium, and you need glass, stones, or some other appropriate material that can be cut or broken.  There are always considerations such as appropriate substrate and glue for interior or exterior, and the process is very labor intensive, one piece can takes many weeks to complete.  So, as spring is a season of rebirth and blossoming, I am thinking of that metaphor for my work.....