Makes Me Happy Monday : Paper

I see so many art spaces and studios online that are just amazing.
They look like they were designed from the bottom up in one fell swoop.
This is not the story of my art space.
I LOVE my space … but it has been put together hodge-podge over the years. My desk is a piece of plywood on top of two wide-but-short chests of drawers. It has stacked on top a wide, hutch-style organizational piece that I bought at a yard sale. The walls are lined with secondhand bookcases and around a dozen crates that found decades ago in a recycling area on one of the bases where we were stationed. There are all sizes, shapes and types of wooden boxes that organize thread, punches and zippers. And there is the recent edition of a small curio cabinet that houses some of my ribbon.

While I love paint, working with wood and fabric, I have had a paper fetish for years and years. I love scrapbooking and creating cards, in part, because they work with paper.  And, oh-how-I-love a collage. *swoons*

Recently I finished a creation of four 12 x 12 panels (my favorite size canvas to work with right now!). I painted each panel  with earth tones and then created a single, layered square crafted from patterned paper for each of the four panels. Then I cut each one those panels into four squares and mixed up all the pieces amongst the four 12 x 12 canvases.

 

The panels are not attached to each other … so they can be displayed side by side as a 1′ x 4′ rectangle,  blocked as a 2′ x 2′ square, or hung on a wall at different heights. I love the group!

 

This project is much like a quilt … but created with paper.
And it reminds me a bit of my painted concentric circles ….
but it is made from paper rather than paint.
It has layers upon layers of personality … which I find SO very appealing ….
much like people, ya know? None of us is as simple as one single pattern
or one flat plane of design!! We are all beautiful and ever-so-intricate,
with layers of history, motivation, creativity, knowledge and character!

I’m always amazed at how small things ….
like the interesting shadows,   candy corn, or a display of color 
can brighten a day.

What brings you joy today? What simple thing in your immediate surrounding
looks insignificant to others
but makes your heart skip a beat
or your step a little lighter?
Looks for those little joys and you will find them.

Yes, my friend, what makes YOU happy this marvelous Monday morning?