driftwood

Painted Driftwood

Painting driftwood is a fun summer project that is easy enough that kids will enjoy it too. There isn’t much to it, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. So, let your creativity run wild with this one. If you feel like you would like some direction in doing this project at home, there are a number of tutorials that can be found on the internet. These are some of my favorite pieces. Maybe they will inspire you like like they have me.
by Jessica Turnbow

original source unknown

on Gracefully Frank

Jessica Turnbow, has a cute shop on Etsy where she sells her painted drift wood.

Driftwood in Fiber Art

There are so many inspired ways to use driftwood in any art form. From sculpture, to painting, to fiber art, the possibilities are endless. Just type “driftwood art” into a google search and look at what comes up. Be warned, however, it is tempting to spend all day looking at what artists are creating with driftwood.
by April Rose

by Susanna Bauer

by Tekky on Craftster

by Carrie Beachey (a sneek peek)

NeSpoon

I first came across this image on the internet a year or more ago. I was instantly inspired by it and used it as a desktop image for a long time. It got my wheels turning, as I thought about ways I could do something similar on our favorite beach.

It only seems fitting that I share some of this artists work with you here as I begin looking at driftwood in the Creating with Nature series.

The artist creating these art installations goes by NeSpoon and is from Warsaw, Poland. Much of her work is street art, but she also enjoys bringing her urban touch to the beach. Her work can be found all over the world. Here is an installation she created in Goa, Indiana.

Mr. Sajid is a homeless man living on the beach in the Sinai. Here, the two of them are working to add some art to his home. More pictures of this installation can be found here.

I am a long time admirer, and avid scouter for street art. I am the only person I know who actually enjoys waiting for a train to cross. When you live in rural America surrounded by small towns, trains are the best place to find awesome street art! Anyway, I am greatly inspired by this artist in her way of combining street art with fiber art.

. . . and this is just awesome. . .

Creating With Nature

Do you have things from nature that you like to collect? Maybe pretty stones, pine cones or seashells? I certainly do. I have so many of these little collections that our nature table no longer holds it all. I have pretty stones, and feathers tucked all over the house. I don’t know what draws me to these things or why I feel that I should hold on to them. However, I do know that these little treasures make me smile & that is reason enough for me.

This summer I want to focus some time on discovering ways to bring natural elements into my artwork. I have decided to make a challenge for myself experimenting with nature in fiber art. I’m really excited and my mind is swimming with ideas. To keep myself organized, I am breaking this challenge down into 5 categories. My first thought was to spend 1 week looking at each of the 5 categories, but upon further thought I decided not to put a time a limit on them. It is summer after all, and I really don’t want to feel pressured to squeeze everything into a week. So I’ll be taking as much, or as little time as I need to explore ways of creating with nature.

I’d love to have you join me!

Beach Stones, Driftwood, Blue Skies

In my studio recently, I have found myself being drawn to raw, natural fibers that are sturdy, strong, and coarse. My hands have been reaching for hemp, silk, and fibrous handmade papers. Inspiration has been drawing from my beach stones, drift wood, and bright blue skies.

It’s April, my children are on Spring Break, and the weather has been warming.

In response to these early stirrings of spring, we packed up for the day and drove to my most favorite place on this Earth – the Lake!

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I love coming to this place anytime of year. The summer, of coarse, is fantastic with the soft, sandy beaches, and cool water. The cooler weather of fall makes hiking the sand dunes MUCH more enjoyable, and in the winter, there are amazing ice flows. Springtime, however, has come to surprise me. In recent years, I have found myself spending more and more time here in the spring. The beaches are,for the most part, empty of human beings. There is sand EVERYWHERE. Every year, I am amazed at the amount of sand that the winter winds bring. If you come early enough in the year, the park is almost unrecognizable and half buried in sand. It is this phenomenon that I can’t get enough of, because along with the sand comes all sorts of treasures. I could spend days combing the beach for colorful stones, driftwood, beach glass, and bones.

As I walk the shores, my mind just swims with ideas of things to make. “This could be an awesome necklace”, “These should be tied into a dream catcher”, “This is so straight, it could be added to a weaving”. I collected quite a pile of colorful goodies before my kids were done.

Their hungry bellies were grumbling, and they informed me, the beach just isn’t fun if you can not go swimming. So after 4 hrs of beach combing, we went to go hike the dunes. I guess 4 hrs is long enough. Although, I am secretly plotting another trip someday soon while these guys are in school. shhh! 4 hrs is not really enough for this momma.