A little problem solving goes a long way

Phew. The final September obligation is finished ... just a little late. But I am pleased with the results, I learned a lot, and I'm glad I forged ahead. As a firmly left brained analytical person, I have often pondered what draws me to art. Through this project, I think I have realized it is the problem solving ... it's what I do, and it gives me great satisfaction.

I belong to a small group of women who help to manage a larger online group. We have been working on our own little project since February, called "A Dream House". We are making 8x8 pages for each other to put together into a little book. Each page is a "room" though we've used that term loosly. This is my last one to make. It is for the lovely Leilani aka Studio Gypsy. Her dream home was a sculptural and poetic, creative place in the hills of Tuscany. My room for her is actually a threshold ... the "Doorway to inspiration". It is the first piece of interactive fiber art I have made ... thus the need for problem solving.

Of course the "key to creativity" is what opens the "Door to inspiration" and I had fun beading this old key.

Whenever Leilani is feeling a creative block, she can find inspiration here ... by pulling the strings on the left up or down, she can choose a color direction...

By spinning the wheel in the upper right corner, she can set the mood ...

By flipping the tags on the right she can settle the details of her piece ... each tag is has its opposite on the reverse side.

The background is a piece of fabric which I knew I would not use as is, so I painted it in the colors of Tuscany ... reds and orange like the poppies of the fields, lavendar (well, maybe that's French, but I used it anyway) and olive green. I free cut some petals from the fabric before adding the olive green details and made these flowers, which I am rather fond of. I hope that Leilani is dreaming of the Tuscan sunshine and finds inspiration wherever she looks.