Today was another experiment in color.  Starting last week, Riley and I have been overlapping colors to see how they mix.  This week she used transparent inks and masks made from tape and shelf paper to work out a variety of experimental designs.  In the design at left, she used a star cut from shelf paper as part of her overlapping process, working with the transparent inks and finishing with an opaque white.  She snipped out favorite areas of these designs to save for later collage work.

Experimental processes always result in lots of leftovers.  Instead of throwing these away, we decided to make creative use of my shredder, and we wound up with long, ribbon-like strips of colorful paper.  Riley experimented with braiding and weaving the strips, and we worked together intently, getting a start on a mystery object, more whimsical than anything else - something that may or may not be completed or changed next week.  It's freeing to know we can throw it away when we're finished having fun.

After Riley went home, I hung our whimsy on the on the studio wall.  Probably due to the season, it reminds me of an Easter basket - even more so when I tuck an "egg," a favorite part Riley cut from one of her color-overlapping experiments, behind it.

Sometimes play, including experimentation, is the best way to open up the intuition, relax the inner critic, and surprise ourselves with something new.