American Beautyberry

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Sometimes I find inspiration in the strangest places. While my art is based on painting and printing, I like to watch and listen to artists who work in other media. This week the following ideas have been swirling around in my brain.

Bright spots in the green August garden:

• Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry) has red-purple berries that ripen in August
  
• Clematis terniflora (Sweet autumn clematis) is a vine with fragrant white flowers that blooms in August. This plant used to be a favorite “pass-along” plant. Now it’s classified as an invasive vine that should be eradicated. Isn’t it interesting how perspective changes?
  

Podcasts

• A discussion of color trends for quilters on Quilting Arts podcast. (Hint: Keep your eye on chartreuse.) https://www.quiltingdaily.com/color-confidential-quilting-arts-podcast-episode-5/
  
• The challenges of making abstract art “My Kid Could Do That!” on The Messy Studio with Rebecca Crowell. https://messystudio.fireside.fm/138 . This podcast is an ongoing discussion between an experienced artist and her son. He provides an entrepreneurial perspective. 
  

Tidying

I learned more about my personal color preferences as I sorted gelli prints into stacks:

• Neutrals — black, white, brown, gray, and ochre inspired by tree bark and rocks
• Warm colors — magenta, red, pink, and orange from azaleas, coneflowers, and autumn leaves 
  
• Cool colors — chartreuse, green, and blue reflecting leaves, water, and sky
  
• Everything else – The largest stack has muddy colors, and prints that aren’t great on their own. These prints will be cutup or printed with more layers. 
  

As I thought of salvaging a few good bits from the “everything else” pile, q quilt came to mind. The beautyberries and clematis suggested a complementary color scheme of green and magenta.

I found a simple diamond shape pattern that related to the shape of the leaves. I cut up the pieces into diamond shapes and glued them together in a quilt pattern collage. 

Summer Garden #8 (Beautyberry) is an abstraction of the luscious colors and tangled abundance of the late summer garden.