I have been in the studio the past four days working on a new series of pieces that I'm really excited about. The photo above shows the first few sheets off the bath as I try to execute the initial concept. Moving an idea in my head into an actual, physical entity can be incredibly frustrating most of the time. But this time, I was pleased at how easily the transition was. The four pieces above are not exactly what I was aiming for, but it's pretty darn close. I'm not sure if I'm getting better at fully understanding my capabilities as a marbling artist, if this particular concept was easier to implement, or if the bath was being REALLY nice to me, but whatever the reason(s), it's all coming together nicely (I probably just jinxed myself).

My hubby asked me where this concept came from ~ what spurred it ~ and I told him I had no idea. One day I just had a vision in my head of a set of circles three across and three down surrounded by white space. When I got to the tank, that's what I did. From there, the reverse of that ~ white circles emerging from a stone background ~ was a natural evolution. It felt as if the circle were plucked from one paper and put on the other. My hope is that they make great companion pieces, like sets of three or five.

I'm using my favorite paper in this series ~ Arches Text Wove. It's the second most expensive paper I work on and at one point, 20 sheets of paper into the day, I was like, "HOLY BUCKETS this is getting expensive." And as quickly as that thought entered my head, it vanished. Some things are worth paying for. And this series definitely is.