Family...

I was trained as a painter...well, mostly as a painter.  I took advantage of school and learned as many mediums as I could.  I felt like I couldn't produce what I needed to unless I had all the tools in my toolbox.  That education, coupled with the immense enjoyment I get from the process of creating, has taught me to try anything.  So this is my latest project - my grandmother's Family Tree.
I had created this project about 13 years ago as a birthday present for my grandmother, and I used a Madrone branch and paper leaves that I attached to a fabric covered board.  Since then, the family has grown considerably and I took back the tree to "fill it in."  However, 13 years later, the project felt static and I felt like the "tree" itself need to change. 

But I had no idea of what to do with it or how to change it...I kept the tree for a year.  It sat in the living room and my grandmother was convinced I stole it and would never return it.  So as Thanksgiving approached, I was resolved to return the tree to it's owner.   And yesterday it came to me. Linen and ink.

So here's the process and project:

First, my daughter and I stretched linen over a masonite board and used a chalk marker to give an outline of a branch.  I used removable stickers to mark the general area of each family (my mother's siblings and my cousins.) I then used a ink wash to mark the major branches.

 Then I started to fill in the names using a brush tip marker.  Like the last tree, I put the First, Last and Birth Year for each person. 

 

Once the names were all on the tree, I started to fill in the main branch with shadows, highlights and blossoms.  Everything was done in ink washes of black, gold, pink, red and silver. 

 I mounted the masonite in a simple wood frame that I built and painted black.  I am really happy with how it turned out.