Wordplay 4: Gather

When I pulled gather out of the wordplay envelope that Heather Smith Jones sent me, I was excited.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  I had this image in my head of a young girl gathering something - apples off a tree, flowers from a field - in her hands, holding it out to share with the world.  I wasn't sure how I could convey this.  I thought about photography and drawing and even painting.  I stewed on the word, rolled it around in my head and wondered about some of its synonyms like congregate and collect.

Life got busy and I put gather on a shelf, waiting for inspiration to strike.  The vision of the girl was fading.  I thought about it from time to time, but never put pen to paper or picked up my camera.  Suddenly, it was November and I had a deadline.  I took out a fresh piece of paper and my micron and started writing down everything I was thinking about this word.  About halfway through the page, it came to me:  I was gathering my thoughts.  And I knew exactly what to do.

I found a board left over from my recycling bin art project and painted it a neutral green.  I took my sheet of thoughts and ripped it up in to small bits which I decoupaged on to the board.

I used an aqua acrylic to paint the words and the spots, giving it a bit of a wash in places.

My only regret is that I didn't have more time.  I would have liked to add more layers to this piece.  I'm okay with it, though.  Wordplay is about inspiration and creative process and I am happy with where gather went. Who knows, I may be inspired to take it even further.

I have really enjoyed working on this project with Emily and Tracy.  They are incredibly talented ladies and I feel lucky that I got to do this with them.  I can't wait to see their interpretations of this word.  And thanks, too, to Heather (and Shari, Jen and Blair) for giving us a great starting point.  Isn't it amazing what can be done with a single word?

Comments

[Sarah Jackson]

I loved how you expressed this! Really great.

[Grace Ann]

lovely! what a neat project!

I just found your blog and will definitely be following you!

[TD wool design]

when i saw the thumbnails it looked like a map. i was immediately drawn to the colors. this is great! it has been fun watching each interpretation. thank you all for sharing.

[emily]

i totally thought you'd do something with sewing gathers. and i absolutely adore this. the concept and the execution. what size is your panel? curious, because it looks similar in shape/size to mine. so fun. i miss it already. (and yes. chat next week. have SO much fun.) xo.

[Amy]

I loved reading about your 'process'. I think it's inspired.

[leslie]

oh, this is great. i love the colours. and the writing. and the decoupage. all together.

[betsy]

Erin, I love this beyond words. Beautiful. xo

[Tammy]

Very nice...

[tonya]

Wordplay has been an amazing peek into the creative process of three talented ladies! Thanks for the treat.

[caroline]

Fantastic! Well done! I LOVE the concept of "gathering" your thoughts.

[Sarah]

I love the colours you chose. And just the way it all came together...
Wow, you are amazingly creative!

[leslie]

i love the entire process of this........
from the girl gathering in her hands to share with the world (love that) to your final outcome. absolutely fabulous.

[sulu-design]

Okay, Erin, you have officially knocked my socks off. As if the insanely beautiful cardigan in the last post wasn't enough, you turn around and post this amazing response to the word play challenge. You are too much, girl. Too, too much!

[stephanie alaine]

i love this---gather has been a word present in my life these past weeks, too! i make cards and the theme of "gather" has been present there, too. if you'd like, take a peak at my gather card! i'll be off gathering thought and inspirations; starting here! thanks happy saturday http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16496210

[cloth.paper.string]

i so love your gathering, erin.

[Grace]

It *is* truly amazing, and I have loved to see the different directions you have all taken. Each is so uniquely representative of each of you. What an inspiring project!

[heather smith jones]

I like how your entire process reflects the word and it's meaning. Too I like the delicacy of your writing and the softness of the tears against the board surface.
I'm so happy to have been asked to play a small role in this collaboration with you ladies. :)

[lola]

Love it!!

[Lecia]

This is strikingly beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[miss chris]

This is terrific, Erin. You all have such different takes on Gather, and it's been fun to watch them unfold.

[Tracy]

What? I didn't reply to this when I read it the first time on Friday? What's wrong with me?

I really love your concept, I didn't even think of that. I totally thought you'd do something with fabric gathers, too. I'm glad you surprised me!

[tiennie]

What a great project!

[amandajean]

it's wonderful, erin! I love the colors.

[emily]

LOVE this idea. Just gorgeous. I'm inspired to try something like it :)