Structures #133 – In Progress
Turning to Turnips
After my post last friday, Playing with Color –> Finding Turnips, Pumpkins, I was inspired to take the turnip fabrics and turn them into art.
The above, in progress, textile painting is the result.
When making this piece I wanted to capture the essence of the turnip. So I thought, what is a turnip?
And, honestly, I couldn’t come up with much. They aren’t very popular, and I’m not even sure what to do with them.
What I do know about turnips are their distinctive coloring with the purple on top. And from my model (photo below), I loved the long root tail.
The result: the colors + a few simple lines for the root = the lowly turnip.
The Lovely Turnip
The Theme for the Weekend
Turnip
©2011 Lisa Call
Acrylic on Canvas
4×6″
My daughter and I decided to get out the paints Saturday morning and play around. It was moments after selecting the starting point for my turnip textile painting and so naturally I turned to the turnip with the paint.
I have no idea how to paint, and my daughter says this looks nothing like a turnip, but it was fun.
The Next Inspiration?
Hundreds of Tomatoes!
This weekend we had our first frost warning in Denver. That meant it was time to bring in the tomatoes so I spent most of Saturday evening harvesting and cleaning a plethora of fruit that has been refusing to ripen on the vine.
The next textile painting just might have to be green and red.
Working in a Series
I recently came across a blog post I wrote 5 years ago about working in a series: Structures: The Series in Review.
This was back when I had completed only 60 textile paintings in the Structures series. Today I’m posting #133 and still loving the process. I wrote:
It’s a daily process of struggle and discovery in my studio. For me, each and every piece is new and unique, presenting fresh problems to be solved and possibilities to be explored.
I’ve spent a lot of time the past 10 years thinking about what it means to work in a series. I share my experience during my 8 week long workshop on this topic. It’s not just about the art, but also my mindsets and studio practices.
The next session begins October 16, and it’s not too late to join us! More details are here.
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{ 10 comments }
Nice capture of the essence of the turnips.
As for how to use them, think potato but hotter (spicier). Use them in soup and stews for an extra kick. They do take a little longer to cook than potatoes, but we love them.
BJ – thank you. Potatoes take forever to cook up here in Colorado so I’ll add in a bit more to the ‘forever’ and be good to go :)
Oh, green tomatoes! slice ‘em and saute ‘em in a little olive oil. Or, slice ‘em and layer in a casserole with very sharp cheddar cheese; sprinkle each layer with a little salt and pepper and bake covered at 350 degrees for an hour. Remove the cover during the last 10 minutes.
Susan,
I love fried green tomatoes! Yum. I’m going to try that casserole for sure – sound yummy and less work than frying.
Love this post. Love the pictures of the tomatoes – so inspiring!
Thank you Catherine. It took me hours to clean all the tomatoes and line them up but I figured they’d look great :)
Gorgeous! I love turnips and I love how you’ve extracted their essence. Can’t wait to see the tomato-influenced paintings!
Beautiful table of tomatoes. Your textile paintings inspired by the turnip are good, I think you have honed in and expressed what makes a turnip a turnip (turnip doesn’t look like a word the more times you type it).
Turnips are yummy stir fried. :)
I have to admit that we tried the turnips I grew and ended up not being fans. Next year – parsnips!
—lisa
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