energized

I have an exciting creative opportunity looming on the 23rd and in preparation, I thought it would smart to dig around in the studio. There's been a pile of horrors in the corner by the door for awhile now gathering cat hair and crud.

Part of my supply list includes bringing a freshly mixed batch of dyes so I decided that an overdye fest was in order. Kill two birds with one dip - fix these tragedies and finish off the old dyes.

Anyone who gets terrific results when they dye their own fabric might not share with you the horrors of FABRICS GONE WRONG but here  you have it. Even table moppers shine when held up with this bunch.  The upside is that, because I have to go to work this afternoon, these pieces will have a day to soak, absorb and transform.

dreadlines

I've been getting emails reminding me of deadlines and others tipping me off to opportunities that I should not miss so I waded into the studio yesterday and
began taking a look at what's been accomplished in the past months and years.

Not long ago I pulled rolls of finished quilts off the shelves to look for a certain one that someone wanted to see in person so there's a pile of work halfway up the design wall. One by one I took them into the spare room to inspect for lint and cat hair and guess what - this is some Hot Shit if I do say so myself.

 

It's easy to get bored with pieces when you are only looking at digital images on a screen but live and in person these pieces still speak to me in loud and joyous voices. In my small, dark spare room, it's like being in a room full of shouting lunatics!  Now it's time I did the hard work of getting them seen somehow, somewhere. I know my work is strong and not everyone's cup of tea but somewhere out there a wall is waiting, a room is waiting to be lit up. All I have to do is find the room. 

  

09.09.09

                                      Couldn't let this day pass by without some acknowledgment.       

Later, something to say about it all.           

cusspots redux

Somewhere along the line I learned that it's a sin (or some measure of bad karma) to waste a sunny day by staying indoors.                                                                            I found the bucket with my premixed dyestock hiding in the garage and fished about a dozen assorted bags and cusspots out of soda ash soak and set about bringing the rainbow down on all of them.                                                                   I'm out of time now so they'll get to stew in the colors until tomorrow sometime. Remind me that I have physical therapy at 10.

summers end evolution

Thanks to everyone who had thought about this piece. It continues to grow and evolve.

hanging on to summer still

I continue to hang on to this piece as it evolves. So far each scrap that I've incorporated has been beloved on it's own. Pulling them together continues to be a challenge.     I know that working on this is a nervous reaction to a number of pending deadlines so today I'm just going to enjoy it and have blocked out tomorrow for getting down to brass tacks on those "got tos"                  

still splashin

Ain't it grand to be wrong sometimes?

I am really looking forward to this weekend. There will be sleeping late, studio time, and family together. Nothing else matters.

just a little summer to hang on to

Somewhere I heard someone say that being a parent is like wearing your heart on the outside of your body for the rest of your life. It's so true.

What did I say?  IF the sun comes out at all this weekend I'll take another shot at it but I started physical therapy for my back today and the thought of slowly descending into really cold water makes me kinda clench. We'll see.

stormy sunday

 

I hope this is not what it takes to keep me in

the studio for an extended period of time, well an hour or so any way. We now

have Houses, Landscapes, Happenstances and even a few "rescues" - things that

didn't work out do rather well chopped into 6"x4" pieces.

I keep telling myself "it's a TOOL"

As if I couldn't hammer in a nail with a rock.



I know I shouldn't, but I covet.  
Shsssh! Don't say anything to my A95!

Summer fading fast

Every time I get to spend a little time in the pool these days I feel like I'm saying goodbye to a friend who is going away for a long stay elsewhere.

Each day it takes more time get ahead of falling leaves and storm debris. Still, I'll be going in until it's too cold for penguins. 

Then we let the leaves fall and stay and the pool becomes a pond again. This year I may get some guppies to keep the frogs company.

small moves

I bought a yard of 2 sided fusible a while back and knew this day was coming. My scrap baskets are full to overflowing, the cards are all cut out and now all I have to do is please myself one 4"x6" space at a time. These are all headed to market..and speaking of which. Does anyone know just what the market will bear, price-wise,for mailable fiber art postcards these days? I am without a clue, all input gratefully considered.

a blankie

Another satisfied customer. This young lady chose the fabrics she wanted - all I did was bring them together.

spoobit spawning

As usual, the hand stitching doesn't add a thing design-wise, from a few steps back . Up close and personal (once drawn in) I'm still liking it and will add some more. There will be some painting to address value issues and quite down the chaos a notch but for now, it's on the design wall where I can spend some time eyeballing it while I put together a couple of flings.

link love and unrealized visions

It's not every day that a surface designer (gasp! is that what I've been doing?) gets highlighted in three separate places. Humble thanks to the artists who have showcased my work in words and pictures...it's so gratifying to see what someone else makes of my groundwork. That's one of my damasks wrapping around Jude's "Redefining Growth". Arlee Barr continues to work magic with my fabrics and Mendofleur is about to. Lorraine Glessner keeps popping amazing new work into my sight line. I keep coming back to Joshua Brehse paintings and thinking about middle eastern calligraphy. Ever thoughtful Elizabeth Barton has been posting about The Preparatory Sketch (or not ) and the Seduction of the Surface. Both topics are brain worms for me at this fallow moment. Although there is work at hand, these little things are mere wishes, sketches I suppose. Pieces have been coming to me as a vision or dreams and I am so reluctant to even sketch them out. It's as if once committed to paper, the magic evaporates and I'm not even inspired to lift the scissors. The two small things I am working on right now have spawned enormous daydream pieces but I know that the scale of all the fabrics I have been creating just won't translate to ten-pace pieces, the things you have to view from across the room, the ultimate limitation of the seduction of surface that EB talks about so eloquently. I can't speak for what drives others to work at surface design. I certainly don't do it with the intent of building a pallette to work from. I've learned that lesson but I am deeply grateful the other artists who find my efforts to be a jumping off place for their own dreams and visions.

wip

I find adding hand stitching to a piece already machine stitched to be very challenging. It really is apples and oranges so I'm taking pains with the handwork so it doesn't wander too organic or trixy. I want the lines to get along and compliment one another. no fighting for attention. After three or four false starts (hours to stitch and minutes to pick out) I've come back to the ever faithful split chain but I'm building the thread out of 4 or 5 30 wt. machine threads; rayons, cottons & metallics - so each stitch has to be guided slowly top and bottom or whacko nests ensue instantly. Where is my Thread grease?

perfect weekend

There was great pool time. Seems like I'm seeing more and more leaves on the water and I don't want to dwell on the idea that summer is counting down. Once I got that kid's quilt finished up I felt free to start poking around in the mess, finding some of the fabrics I've been creating and seeing if they have anything to say to me or each other. Looks like a start. I've been falling into a pattern of making order with the grids and rows of dots so I'm going along with that flow. So far this one is all machine stitching but there will be some handwork too as in Gate of Grace. Looks like the rain delay is over, but I'll catch this one from the bedroom. It's been a long and steamy day.

stirrings

Things are stirring in the studio - primarily a large spider who has taken up residence between my chair and the window. I will have to evict him soon. A commissioned first grader's quilt is coming together. Good thing I like her fabric choices as the making of the thing is uninspiring. There are some new beads to contemplate and I've arrived at the comfort zone with my new skill level at the office. Last night I was able to listen to a ballgame (a nilebiter, but we lost ) and do some crocheting between calls. I've been enjoying my own little go bag and so thought I'd make up a few for sale in October. These beads will figure in somewhere with the final design. I keep thinking about how my park critter would work and the moss on Judes roof made me wonder about how one encourages moss to form and what sort of surface would support it and not suffer.

doctor's office doodle & 3D thinking

Sitting in traffic on the way to doctor's office ::a snatch of info from NPR regarding Henry Moore at Atlanta Botanical Gardens::: Inching past Shorty Howell Park in the rain and I'm thinking "they could use some sheltered seating" It's really big. Shelters six strangers and a dozen close friends. Metal would make a good drum circle setting. Fiberglass would make it affordable. and toxic. Sprayed concrete with color mixed in? Those dented marshmellows are seating. My mind wanders and I forget the turn into Whole Foods. The Chinese eggplant will be waiting for me on Saturday. Diagnosis:: left trochanter bursitis & poss lumbar stenosis. treatment - PT. what fun! At HoAnns my coupons don't help. A very small pot of red clay is 17$ Now to research making paper mache with the Craft Whore. I like her approach. Can you imagine? Two kids and I never did paper mache, at least I can't remember it. Speaking of kids, Colin's girlfriend Raquel is a singer/songwriter and tonight at 10PM on MTV one of her songs will be used in a "Real World Cancun" episode!

Love at First Bite

On my first week of a low carbohydrate diet, I would have bet the ranch that a place like this would open it's door about a quarter mile from my house! One of the things we lamented when we moved to GA from NY was the lack of real pizza. Weep no more! I don't know how far you would go for a really first rate pizza but if you live in the vicinity, treat yourself. Look for the wheelbarrow growing fresh herbs out in front. So far we've only tried the pizza and it's the real deal.