take down day

 It seems like a lifetime ago that Jimmy and Colin hung these pieces for me but it's only been a month and now it's time to turn this beautiful space over to the next artist.

 I drove over to the gallery this morning and in a few minutes everything was packed and ready to come home.

It's a little sad but not a real surprise that there were no sales. Despite its pretensions at sophistication, I have always found Atlanta a pretty prosy place.  My work is pretty bold and the appreciation of textiles  takes an even bolder art collector. Just having had the chance to display the work was a great gift.


If anyone has any interest in acquiring any of the pieces from the recent show (or any other work, for that matter)  please know that any reasonable offer will not be refused.

It's no longer a secret that Jimmy is battling cancer and our financial reserves have been stretched to transparency. I'm deeply grateful for the resources we do have and the flexibility my home based job allows for. "Grateful for every golden now" is my in-breath and "survivor" our mantra. 

Email me and be surprised. They say that artists should never lower their prices.  Right now I'd like to get my hands on "they" and show them what I'm feeling about that rule.

tattered garden

My mailbox garden is looking pretty ratty these days. These sunflowers and morning glories soared twelve feet but I won't take them down until everyone has eaten or carried off all that is useful to them.

And we stitch a bit.

portal

Dear visitor from South Dakota...drop me a line.      Tell me what you think.

a good one...

It feels like a perfect late September morning, a real treat for August in Georgia. I'll take it. There will be some decompressing today, some stitching, a little pool cleaning time and later some grilling. Life does keep spinning.
 I'll save the bloody paperwork for tonight.  F*k 'em for a minute, eh?

My Goodman

Colin and Jimmy hanging my show.

 We met with Jim's oncologist today, got some concrete results and set the treatment plans in motion.

Now we rally our tribe, pound our shields with our swords and roar. 

owning up

I have to think about why my totem mark, the gator head, turned to left for the first time without bothering me.

This was composed over the last half of the Braves - Mets game yesterday while Jim napped on the couch.  Yeah, I napped through the first five and wish I has missed Jason Heyward getting hit in the face with a fastball.

 Composing in cloth (or any medium) came as a surprise to me. Apparently it doesn't take heart at all because my heart is busy elsewhere.

I brought the task basket downstairs, spent a half hour cleaning and sorting, just winding spools, putting pins back in the little tomato and trying to  let go of other cares for a few minutes.

 The lizard brain took over selecting the softest, tenderest shreds of cloth one at a time. Basting them onto a very soft vintage damask table napkin. Shapes, colors, symbols and layout appeared, just running on fumes.

Whether or not this turns out successfully (and I even question what that means now) is irrelevant. Making was what I needed in that moment.  As much as I wished it was possible to separate my daily life from my creative life, reality steps in, so a brief explanation is in order.

For family and friends. Now that Jim has let his distant family know, I will share here that we have been in the beginning steps of doing battle with cancer. There have been many tests and scans and scopes with no firm diagnosis or treatment plan as yet. We give thanks for his great doctors with  compassionate staffs and good medical facilities close to home. 

The battle is on and we are up to the fight.  I don't intend on documenting everything here, just keeping those who care about us in the loop. Any and all prayers to any and all powers are welcome.

keeping busy updated

I've turned these out almost as a nervous reflex but a reflex that soothes. Putting tails on them seemed necessary, makes them come alive. Eyes and beaks or wings will be up to you.

There's an awful lot of hand dyed cloth in the studio looking for homes so here's another way to move it out.. There are eight in the store  now with links to closeup shots.

Just added four of these - many of the black and white bits are trimmings from the Karma series so there are commercial prints and synthetic fabrics along with hand dyed damasks and other cottons..also available at Random Acts of Dyeness

overnight changes

And the world turns upside down.

We've gone from basting in subtropical heat and humidity to the damp 60's overnight.

busy hands empty the mind

Although I don't know when I will ever have the heart for something new, I shouldn't  be surprised that a little stitching is better than any number of pills for smoothing out the wrinkles on my brain and between my eyes. There are still many stars to hang in this firmament.

"Sunny Jim"

hiatus

All the time and freedom I have had to make the art that you have enjoyed here has been  made possible by my biggest fan and supporter, my husband Jim.
We have things to attend to now so it will be mostly quiet here. It's good to be needed.