packing to fly

Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes. The procedure went very well except for a 9 hour headache that really rocked my schedule. After a good night's rest the headache AND the ass-ache are gone.

Dare I speak the words aloud?  To celebrate I've signed up for a program at work called "Couch to 5K in 9 weeks" which will remain to be seen.

I'm leaving for a short visit with family in NY tomorrow. Don't tell my Dad..it's his birthday and my visit a surprise.

Here is "All Unknowing" mounted permanently on a 20"x24" canvas. I've gotten a ton of questions and comments about my "mummification" process. I think the question that folks are reluctant to ask is "Why are you essentially destroying a fiber piece?".

At first, I was afraid of the change myself.  We don't encourage the handling of finished fiber art work but while you are making it the tactile intimacy is total. Can you think of anything thing else inanimate that you have spent so much time handling? Then to take these tactile impressions and irrevocably turn them into something hard and often harsh to the touch strike people as quite bizarre.
My whole purpose was about the visual impact of the piece. This process is more complex than mere decoupage. With practice I have figured out how to enhance values, retain original appearances and manipulate other visual characteristics and plan on continuing the exploration.

Another consideration was a better and different way to present small textile pieces. Nobody is mistaking any of these for potholders or placemats. These are ready to hang, like any painting.

I hope to have all these recent pieces posted here available in the in the store shortly. If you have any interest before then, just let me know.

treatment day

I had an injection in my back this morning that's supposed to cure the problem but now I have a brain breaking headache. 



I wanted to work on this one today but I'd rather not be sewing my fingers together.

And more proof that the nut does not fall far from the tree.

a good days work

Terrible pictures (my fingers are all stuck together)  but these all got processed today. There are three more waiting. Maybe an outdoor photo sessions tomorrow, it's supposed to be a peachy day. It's great to finish things that have been hanging around waiting.

top "Gates of Grace"


"Social Networking"


bottom "Winter Solstice"

mummy making

"As Yet Unbaptized" mounted on a 20"x20" canvas and sealed with diluted, matte acrylic medium.  I wanted to be sure that the bright whites kept their dazzle so I treated them first with a light coat of acrylic straight from the jar and allowed time for those areas to dry before I went ahead and worked the rest of the piece.  I really like the way the value contrast is improved with this method.

I deliberately chose to mount this one on a canvas with almost no border and will have to proceed slowly. The areas of running stitch are going to lose a lot of texture as the medium flattens out all the ridges and bumps, or not, as I go along. From experience, several of these fabrics will darken considerably, again a good thing if I control which ones and how dark.

Persistence in method and material

This is "Skin Keeps Us In" from 2006 and at the bottom, one of my "Ornamental Innards" a foray into soft 3D also in '06.

I've decided to call this compositional process "cat herding" for obvious reasons. Comes as no surprise to me that it's a place I like to go - organizing a group of small and not necessarily compatible elements.

We spend a lot of energy in this household doing just that. Who's in, who's out, who ate or not, who's fighting - and that's only a herd of 3.

Both of these pieces have a lot of a large damask tablecloth that I ripped into quarters and dyed.  I can't recall the larger motifs but the tiny dots woven into the cloth are everywhere in my work.

That little patch of blue on the piece I'm working on now came from that tablecloth and "As Yet Unbaptized" has some of it too.

There is almost nothing left of it.