Diva's Challenge #331: Petoskey Stones

What better what to start this week's blog post than with a tribute to Petoskey stones, the state stone of Michigan. Both a rock and a fossil, these gorgeous stones feature adjacent hexagons with a "mouth" in the center and tentacles that reach out to trap food. I created two tiles for this week's challenge, and could have kept going but for the knowledge that my drawings, as fun as they were to do, would never achieve the magic of the real thing! I really hope that I can hold one some day.

My first attempt used a hexagonal reticula. 

My second attempt started with a hexagonal reticula, too, but with the fragments touching each other. I used a recycled Cheez-Its box. (I ate the contents first. Oh, the sacrifices we make for our art!) I really love the color of the cardboard, which is peaking through in the bottom right corner.

This was too much fun!

This week, I also finished an Opus tile that I had started a year ago. When it began, it had this really strong direction that I somehow lost (forgot?) one day!! I set it aside, looking, thinking. Finally I decided that it needed color. The cayenne and turmeric stains had begun to fade! Once I filled and colored the Molygon, we were in business once again! Bit by bit, I added a few more inches of tangles here and there. The whole looked like a crazy bouquet in a vase that leaned to the left. The final moment , when I knew I had finished, brought a strong sense of satisfaction and confidence. The "knowing" was very intuitive, not rational at all.

(Thank you, Anne Marie, for letting me know I forgot to post the picture!!)

How do you know when you've finished? How does it feel? Do you look at your work with a technical view or an intuitive feel? 

Thanks for stopping by. Your comments motivate and inspire me more than you know! I really appreciated the "welcome back" words last week!

Have a creative week!