Winter Visitors

When the snowbirds, or juncos, show up at the feeder, it is proof positive that winter is here. I'm not sure where they migrate to in the summer, but they don't stay here. The feeder has been busy with the juncos and cardinals this winter, and we've also had one pair of doves show up occasionally.

Earth Day Auction

Spiral of Hope #8
4" x 6"
hand dyed cotton scrim, hand dyed and painted cotton cloth, recycled silk sari yarn, beads

I donated the postcard above to an Earth Day auction that is raising funds for Greenpeace. There are several other artists involved, and more artwork will be added between now and the auction date in April. Here's the info from their blog:

"In honor of Earth Day, we will be contributing to Greenpeace (website Greenpeace.org). The main purpose of this organization is protecting the environment (forests, oceans,global warming etc.). This is your chance to give back to "mother earth".

We will be using ebay as our auction with the proceeds going directly to Greenpeace. We welcome any fiber/paper creation. This will also be listed on our blog at http://2007earthdayauction.blogspot.com/. So, please bookmark this site and look to it for exciting artists and their contributions."

Sketchbook Covers

Two of the sketchbooks now have "jazzed up" covers and are ready to go! Just in time, since my old sketchbook is full, and I am ready to start a new collage series. So this afternoon I will be working on preliminary sketches.

Several of you asked about where to buy a machine to do this type of binding. You can usually purchase the machine at an office supply store. Alternatively, Kinkos will punch and bind your books for you. I'm not usually patient enough to make a second trip back to Kinkos to pick up my sketchbooks, so I just wait until I am visiting my friend and use her machine to make several books at once. Plus, Kinkos used to complain about the thickness of the matboard covers.

Electric Quilt, Anyone?

In my quest to clean out my studio, I came across this group of items:
Electric Quilt 4 software (complete with Book 1 & 2)
Sew Precise software (Collection 1 & 2)
Too Much Fun! (book by Barb Vlack, complete with disk)

I am willing to sell this whole package of items for $25 plus $10 shipping to the first person to respond.

New Sketchbooks!

I have a friend that has the machine that punches and binds this kind of book, and I loved using it to create my own sketchbooks! It enabled me to mix several varieties of papers within one sketchbook. These new sketchbooks include watercolor, drawing, and marker papers, plus some bristol board to experiment with. Now I need to get busy and jazz up the covers! The photo below is the cover of my old sketchbook, now full.

New Work

Fragments #10
13.5"h x 13"w
$175

I have finished some new pieces in the "Fragments" series. This has been a fun series to work on --- using bits of my favorite painted cloth and adding images that are taken from my photographs or personal notes and letters --- fragments of my life collaged into a series of textile art. Click here (and scroll down) to see the rest of the new pieces in this series.

More Socks

It has been a little over a year since I learned to knit, and what fun I have had! I originally wanted to learn to knit, so that I could have some hand-knit socks. This is now the 6th pair on the needles. They are extremely warm, which is perfect for winters in the Midwest. I have also knit a zillion little stocking caps for the neonatal unit at a local hospital, and now I think I am ready to graduate to knitting a sweater. I've bought the pattern --- now to decide on a fun yarn that I will enjoy knitting for an eternity until the sweater is finished.

Thank you, Carol, for teaching me to knit at the Houston festival, and thanks to my Mom for generously sharing her knitting supplies and knowledge once I got home from festival!

Snow, snow, snow, and more snow!

We got another 6" of snow yesterday, along with the requisite wind to drift it around a bit. I think it is serene and peaceful, but then again, I don't have to drive in it. Once the wind died down, I headed outside to take some photos. These are a sampling from our yard. I also took several close-up shots to use in a future collage series.

New Toys

One of my Christmas gifts was a check --- thanks, Mom! --- so today I went shopping. I got the starter set of Golden fluid acrylics and some glazing medium to mix with them. Yes, I have a plan...... I am going to experiment with crumpled tissue paper on canvas, followed by a wash of color using my new toys. My hope is that this will provide a textured background for a new series of collages. Wish me luck!

Scrim

Currently, on the QuiltArt list, there is a discussion about scrim and cheesecloth and dyeing, so I thought I would post some photos. Below is a small sampling of the scrim and cheesecloth that I have dyed. It takes the dye very well --- both Procion MX dyes and natural dyes.

This photo (below) is a detail shot to show the difference in the weave of cheesecloth vs. scrim. The top purple cloth is cheesecloth, while the bottom green cloth is scrim.

A New Series!

I have been snowed in the last few days, so it seemed like the perfect time to finish this series. It is based on photographs that I took in the Old Market district last fall. This is the older, downtown area of the city, and I love all of the colors and textures that abound there --- the peeling paint, crumbling brickwork, graffiti, architecture, etc. Click here to see the entire series.

Contest!

This is a detail shot from one of the newest pieces on my website. The first person to email me with the correct name of the piece will win their choice of one of my postcards. Have fun!

Another Reworked Piece

Tropical Blues
20.25"h x 15.25"w
$300

This is another of my "rework" projects. It is an older piece that I decided to change up. I added new fabrics to it, then cut off a huge section of it. The look of the piece has totally changed, and it now reminds me of the cool Caribbean waters with little flashes of tropical colors. I always seem to miss the islands around this time of year. I guess the cold winter winds and white snowbanks make me yearn for warm tropical waters and island color.

More Socks

This is the latest pair of socks on my knitting needles. They will be a wild pair when they're finished, but what's the point in hand knitting socks if they don't get noticed!

On another note, thanks for all of the interest in "Memories" from my last post. It has been sold, and hopefully it will also get juried into an exhibition later this spring.

Memories

This piece was originally started for an exhibition about women who have made their mark. I chose to portray fragments of my memories of my Grammie. However, I didn't read the prospectus changes carefully, and the piece ended up being too small. Click here to see more.

Happy New Year!

Urban Warfare #1

15.25"h x 14.5"w

I hope all of you have a prosperous new year --- full of family and friends, good health, fabulous art, and the time to enjoy all of it!

The piece above is my last finished work for 2006. It is a bit of a social commentary about my views on various world issues.