Making art

I don't know if this is true for all one-a-day artists, but for me "one a day" doesn't mean making one art piece a day. It means completing one piece of art a day.

What's the difference? Yesterday I made six art pieces. That is, I came up with six designs, chose the cardstock, did the required cutting with itty bitty scissors, placed the pieces, and glued. I made six art pieces, but I didn't complete any of them.

What's left to do? From a design standpoint, I don't know yet. Everything looks great when it's first made, but after looking at pieces for a few days I inevitably make changes. Some need hand-stitched along the edges, or they need a bit of color added, or they need something more glued on. They're fine as is, but once revised they're even finer.

The other things left to do are mechanical. I have to decide whether to use Mod Podge on a piece to anchor everything down, or to use clear strapping tape, or to let things be. The new guideline is that I don't use strapping tape if the piece includes fabric or fibers. Texture matters, and being able to touch the texture matters, too. Then there's the question of edges. Do they need additional glue, stitching, tape, etc. to be sure everything stays together through the postal system? Then there's the addition (or not) of a postcard back and attaching the text about the project. Somewhere in there, I also have to scan the piece, add it to the blog, and print out a tiny picture to paste into the red suede journal in which I document the project. (I know it will be online in perpetuity, but the journal is my back up system in case perpetuity doesn't last as long as it used to.)

How does this process look in real time? Today is September 26. I have enough postings already up on blogger.com's "post later" feature to get through September 29. I have six pieces finished, at least five of which are going to need more attention from me. I have one that's almost half done (I've cut out most of the elements and know what I'm going to do with them); and I have one that's done in my head but not started in my house. All in all, I'm in great shape. And still fascinated by what I'm learning.