A Gift

Yesterday morning as I was feeling decidedly unblessed I received an email from a woman I did not know. This woman wrote to tell me how much one of my pieces that recently sold (to someone else) meant to her. She is very ill and explained that she wanted to buy the piece but is on a very limited income due to the cost of her medications.

Side Note: When are we as - supposedly - the most developed country in the world going to provide healthcare that is adequate and affordable to ALL of our citizens?

This lovely lady told me that my piece 'Cradle Me' represented to her the faith she has that she is not in control and there is a power much greater who will take care of her and that everything is the way its suppose to be. Her note brought tears to my eyes.

I will - of course - be sending her an art piece free of charge. Knowing that my work was able to touch someone so deeply is a gift that no amount of money can buy.

The piece above is a 4x6" postcard that is a small study for a larger work I'm planning.....painted cloth, free motion quilting and hand embroidery.

Climb Every Mountain

Painted this on cloth yesterday. Needs some enhancement, wouldn't you say? Maybe some free motion stitching? Some hand work? Perhaps some threads? Maybe a vintage sequin or two up in the sky? I see lots of French Knots dropped in the bottom field....I see swirling wind in the sky...anything thing you see?

No Cloth!

My husband is a direct descendant of the Protestant French Huguenots who were persecuted and exiled by another religious faith in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many eventually ended up coming to the New World. Quite a number settled in New Paltz, NY and many of their beautiful stone homes still stand today. My husband's roots run deep here in Ulster County. Sometimes we talk of moving away to somewhere different - maybe thinking the grass is greener in another part of the country (no doubt the taxes would be cheaper). I believe in dreaming but I suspect it would be very difficult for either one of us to leave this beautiful location and our heritage. Oh! What does this little story have to do with the photo? The window is a picture my daughter took of a window in one these restored stone houses.

This collage was created by glueing the photo onto an 8x10" mat board and then applying modeling paste in 2 layers. After the modeling paste dried I glued a piece of this cool tape that looks like screening Steve had in the basement. Then I went to work with acrylic paints, alcohol and a soft rag.

8x10" Mixed Media Collage

This photo is rather bad but wanted to post this 8x10" collage I finished this morning (yes, before going to my day job!). The focal piece is painted cloth with attached handmade paper and embroidered accents. There's also a bit of blue sparkley pigment in the upper left portion. This piece was then attached to a black mat board with dyed cheesecloth and embellished with blue and bronze pigments. I call it Magic Carpet Ride.

Still Emerging

The birth of spring is progressing....added some more free motion stitching and wisps of cheesecloth...more additions to come....

On another note, I'd like to take a minute to thank Melanie who I 'met' through this blog. She is assisting me with editing the article I am writing. Her professional comments and thoughts are invaluable and greatly appreciated. Such a wonderful network we have here in internet art quilt land!

Cityscape

Yesterday I was messing around with paints, papers, screens and fabric. This happened (clicking on the photo will enlarge it and you can see some of the details). I don't know what it's going to become in it's next life (a post card? a collage for Virginia's ACS benefit http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/NewFiles/ACSFundraiser.html ? as part of a larger piece?) but I do know that I like the looks of it as is!

New Year's Day Fun Postponed

Our friends were going to have a New Year's Day party but due to the snow falling here in upstate NY it will be postponed until Sunday. For this party everyone is to bring something NOT Pretty and something Pretty wrapped as gifts for a surprise grab baggy type game. Here's an interesting scenario....what if a gift intended to be NOT Pretty is opened by someone and they like it?

Here is our NOT Pretty offering (cute as heck but NOT Pretty)....

And....keeping with the same mailable item theme here is our 4x6 postcard Pretty offering.......

Happy New Year everyone! May 2008 be a hopeful New Year for us all.