Craft in America

After coming home from work at 3:30 and going straight to bed until 6 pm, I spent the evening doing handwork and generally attempting to restore my sanity. The PBS special "Craft in America" came on and I got sucked completely in watching every minute of the three hour-long segments. It was completely engrossing but I was a little disappointed in that mention was never made of how artists and craftspeople everywhere have to struggle and compromise to support themselves. "I just decided to quit my job an do it", oft repeated, seemed disingenuous to me, almost irresponsible. I will continue to think about how the show made me feel and perhaps watch it again. What did you think of it? There will be a full moon tonight, the second one in May, and tonight there will be ritual! The Full Moon in Sagittarius is an invitation to bask in the light of some good old-fashioned Jupiterian optimism and joy! This Full Moon represents the union of the physical and the spiritual in the search for knowledge

O TV

Sometimes the commercials are even better than the show...the wait is killing me. Click on the picture to hear My Chemical Romance's take on life in the Mob. Hilarious.

new wip

This piece came from the dyefest on Saturday. The black and metallic gold paint was added afterward and there will be more painted elements as it develops. 43x53. Another one of what's turning out to be the "mob scene" series.

Memorial Day

My Dad, Charles H. Useted, 1943 at his graduation from the Great Lakes Naval Academy just before he reported for active duty aboard the USS BRAINE - DD630 My husband of almost thirty years, Jim Lacativa. I often think about how your sacrifice and service made you the people you are. America salutes you. Thank you Daddy. Thank you Jimmy.

Dyefest al fresco

Perfect weather for a dyefest. But after a little while I felt like I was working at the gates of hell. I really hope these colors hold up to the rinse & wash. PS - They sure did. "Spankin' Harsh" as the younglins say.

New work in progress

40-something x 60-something. Another Mob scene. This piece is on the design wall now. I'm going to be treating it as whole cloth and don't as yet have any plans for altering it too much ...but I'm just studying on it for now. The design is a continuation of the series I started down in FL. Since I have a good shot of it's Birthday, I thought it would be good to track this one on my WIP section....after a little more progress of course.

Summer has Arrived

You know summer has arrived in Georgia when the kids start saving on haircuts. Now, of course, Jake's hats are all too big.

Look Elizabeth - More Willies!

I've started going through more of the pieces that were started in Florida back in March. It's good that there are pictures around that remind me of them because my studio is in such turmoil that I couldn't find some of these things on purpose if you paid me. I go rummaging through boxes and things keep turning up. And when things get too hot out in the outdoor studio I take the plunge.My oasis has come a long way since this was posted. Actually the water has been so cold that after five minutes you're numb and don't care. Now that I've gotten a lovely rejection email from the Exit Gallery, I'm free to scramble and get slides made in time for Art Quilts at the Lowell.

New Toy

I've been resisting becoming a PODHEAD for too long. For Mother's Day my sons saw to it that I submit like the rest of the civil?zed world. Once stuffed with your favorite sounds, the little Nano sits like a tick down into one of the headphone earcovers. No wires, no worries. The only danger is getting caught singing along.

Night Visitor

This was the frosting on the cake of my Mother's Day. Festivities over, progeny scattered and GoodMan off to work, I settled in for a quiet evening of hand sewing and serious horripilation thanks to Tony Soprano. I knew those peyote buds were a bad idea. Deep in the night come the sounds of feline conflict loud enough to rouse me from my bed to break up the brawl. I flip on the bathroom light to find Voodoo squaring off with this character. Those are MY favorite jeans he's roosting on! I snatched up two of the cats and beat a hasty retreat locking Rocky Raccoon in the bathroom. Now what? I locked the two cats in my studio and went downstairs to rearrange the sofa so the only retreat for the intruder is straight out the cat door at the base of the stairs as you descend from the bedroom floor. All barriers in place, I armed myself ridiculously with a cardboard tube, opened the bathroom door with the intention of getting into the tub and prodding my guest out and downstairs. He had other ideas. He had climbed into the open window and wedged himself between the window and the screen. Talk about ten pounds of crap in a five pound sack! I went over to the window and shut it trapping him place and giving me time to come up with an acceptable solution. Fortunately Rocky was pretending I wasn't there and was meditating on the situation quietly. raccoons can be dangerous when provoked or cornered. He scootched higher up on the screen and I opened the lower window with the intention of releasing the screen allowing him to tumble down the side of the house to the waiting trash cans. He was wedged in there so tight I couldn't pull the latch so I took a kitchen knife and sacrificed the screen slashing it wide so he could make an escape. Just as I closed the window again Jim came home early from work with a toothache. It's now going on 3am. "Just in time!" I told him. He sighed, went to the window and had the strength to pull the latch holding the screen in place. Rocky & torn screen tumbled one story down. End of excitement for all of us for one night. DID I MENTION THIS WAS ALL my fault because I left the back door wide open when I went to bed?

Artquilts:Markings

Thanks to Katherine M. for taking these pictures at the PAQA South show at the Page-Walker Art & History Center in Cary, NC. One of these days I'd like to get to a show and see my stuff in person. Guess I'm going to have to rattle the cage on the fiberart sensibilities here in ATL if I want to see that happen anytime soon. huh. This piece did not have the wavies before it left home. I wonder what goes on in those UPS trucks? And it's nice to see how gallery lighting can emphasize the textures that we strive for by actually quilting the cloth. Oh yeah, that's why I do this stuff.

I'm no Shoe Freak (really)

and it's a rare thing when I turn the page of the New York Sunday Times and spout "OMIGOD, I WANT THOSE!" so I quickly scrambled to the web to find the details. Kork-Ease has one of the swinginest websites I've come across in a long time. Turn up your speakers and put on your dancing shoes! They DO come in my size (!) and in the original heel height, I mean these are cute but a fall from this height and just shoot me. Lessee, Neiman-Marcus, etc. Oh sure-the day I pay $178.00 for a pair of shoes will be the friggin' Rapture. For years I bought a similar style (but flat on the ground) from Rockport and then they discontinued it . Give them about a week to retool. heh, heh, heh.

tagged:::gagged

JLB, I'm afraid I have to be a stinker about playing the game where you post 7 things about yourself. I also have a horror of asking others to play. People who know me will assure you there's nothing shy or retiring about me at all. Perhaps this is a place to try and maintain a civilized front, something I struggle with on a daily basis. All you have to do is look around here and you'll see as much of my private self as I care to hang on a public line. ALSO, when prodded in these directions, my foremost inclination is to make up outrageous shit and lie wildly when the truth is much more bizarre. Then I ask myself "why" on both counts. Here's an old clue .

new business card

Vista Print has made me an offer for new business cards that's pretty hard to refuse so I've put together a new design. My old card with the image below is so old it's hard to imagine that I was deep into a series of tiny hand-stitched pieces all in homage to Mark Rothko like this one, my favorite, "Little Sweetie". Any opinions on the new design before I finally send it to VP are welcome.

some handwork

I've started hand quilting and beading this piece and hope I won't regret it down the road although I've pretty much made up my mind that this one is MINE. The leaves? Dunno. They have started turning up in the studio and I don't know yet what is going to come of them but I like making them and that's always dangerous.