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.

Deadlines..

..have a way of sneaking up on you. Awhile ago I decided to look for mixed media shows to enter instead of strictly quilt venues. When I found TOXIC COLOR" at Exit-a gallery space in Cleveland Ohio, I felt like the organizers had been peeking into my studio. My colors have been on a berserk for some time. Additionally, this gallery has had exhibitions of fiber art in recent history including weaving and collage work. So yesterday morning I discovered that the deadline for entry had about 18 hours to go. Fortunately, this gallery was ready and willing to deal with electronic entries, even electronic payments with PayPal. Five shots for 25.00 dollars was worth the concerted effort of getting this entry page put together before noon. I haven't posted pictures of this piece before and had to come up quickly with the title "Macrophage Cotillion" (hoping I spelled it right). Coming up with titles on short notice is unsettling although I don't think there's a law saying I can't change the title until they get the wallcards printed.

California Cannibalism

Now that title's bound to draw some weird traffic but sadly, that's what's happened out in Benecia, CA in the barn owl box that I watch on the cam (see side bar). When Frieda laid 7 eggs I knew that bad things were going to happen. As the first chicks hatched and grew, the last to hatch got weaker and tastier looking. All I saw was the diminishing headcount. We are down to four. Talk about Survivors! I still haven't recovered from seeing the TX brood go all natural last spring when the Mum checked out a chick that died from the heat and then ate it in one gulp! Nature's way, I know but it's so hard to NOT anthropomorphize the critters. These chicks are a long way from cute but I can't help it.

New look and new sound

I finally caved in and upgraded to the new blogger Minima template. They still let you tinker around under the hood so my blog is not out of danger yet. Y'all are going to have to deal with my new earworm on the sidebar for a while. If I can't get this song out of my head why should you? I can live without the video but it's a package deal. The saving grace is that the young woman in the video is actually his wife. He was on Oprah the other day performing this little ditty and the women in the audience were oozing down the aisles.

WIP

Cleared up the cutlets, packed the crew off to work, turned on the game and had this painted up by the 6th inning. It's good to get back to work a bit each night. I was definitely done hand-sewing on it. Now I have to leave it laying on the kitchen floor overnight to dry . Could be some interesting cat criticisms by morning.