Soon the barren trees will have lots of new growth. As soon as I put the finishes touches on this fiber art post card it's going to my Etsy shop.
Lots of snow and slippery weather stuff here in NY today. I am fortunate (I guess) to be able to telecommute from home for my day job in bad weather. So today consisted of lots of conference calls and emails all done in sweats. Perhaps it is time to comb my hair though.

Hearts for the New Year

New Year's Eve in the Hudson Valley brought very low temperatures and very fierce winds. Our electricity went out about 8pm and remained off for many hours. While Steve was tending the 2 woodstoves I did a bit of stitching by candle light until I fell asleep.

To friends I know either in person or through the internet I wish you an upcoming year filled with more moments of contentment than seconds of discomfort.

I could of stayed up all night working on this. It was one of those times that I was living in the right side of my brain and time was something from another dimension....a very special, special feeling. The base is plain white fabric with overlaid dyed and discharged silk organza. The hearts are dyed, discharged and stamped cotton fabric.

Ah Ha!

I had one of those moments last nights. You know the kind....when you try something figuring 'what the heck' and - lo and behold! - the results show promise. I took a gelatin plate print I had done on paper, scanned it into the computer and then printed it on silk fabric. This photo was taken on the run this morning and really does not show the subtle colors and textures very well. This is my new favorite piece (of course favorite pieces hold a tenuous spot in my life) and I think this 'technique' deserves a bit more exploration.

Fast Paced Times

Another 4x6"er for the museum. I decided against the burnt interfacing and went for beads instead. I really like this piece, probably because it is such a departure from my usual work. I've painted up some other organza and have an idea percolating for another piece. Maybe my kinetic life will allow me to start work on it tonight? One can only hope! And....sorry for blogging and running but my day job is demanding I get ready and go to it....ahhhhhhh.....

Seed Pods

Sat quietly and worked on this last night. Gelatin printed cloth, vintage glass beads and hand stitching done with threads and organza ribbon.

I am glad it's Friday.

Hand Work

It's been a beautiful weekend here in NY. Sunny, not too warm - just gorgeous. I hand stitched some of the screen printed silk organza into an ATC last night. I just love the beauty of silk ribbons and metallic threads.

Underneath

This morning my husband and I went and scoped out some yardsales (a favorite past time - you know, it's not like we don't have enough stuff!). One lovely woman had a large box filled with all kinds of small beads, sequins and pins neatly organized into individual baby food jars. Apparently these supplies were her mother's, who use to make Christmas ornaments. This lady wanted to give them to me (I insisted on paying her $5)....she was thrilled someone would put them to use. Welllllll....I came right home and added some as the finishing touch to this piece. See the little yellow & pearl beads? I, too, am glad these beads have found a new home that will love and cherish them as much as their former residence.

Textures

Messing around with textural stitching last night...I think I might mess around some more tonight...no doubt this will have more added stuff before it's done.

My day job continues to prove challenging but I'm surviving. When I'm feeling particularly 'used up' in my 9-5 world I think of art and what I'm working on or want to do and - all of a sudden - everything goes into its proper perspective. My day job is a function I have to perform. It is only a part of my life and meaningless in most ways - but necessary. But, the minutes and hours that are spent creating nourish my soul and have more to do who I really am than an A+ on a job performance rating ever will.

Not Those PrePrinted for Embroidery Pillowcases, For Sure

I started this piece months ago. It's the type of thing that gets picked up and put down - often. One minute I love it and then the next day - not so much. I worked on it again yesterday and decided that we can resume our love affair. Abstract embroidery - hmmmm.... I wonder if my grandmother is turning over in her grave?

Machine Work - Hand Work

My sewing machine and I were tight yesterday! This is a section showing the free motioned, background stitching on this painted piece - that, by the way, measures 17x14" (hip, hip hooray - well into the double digits!). If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you can see all the details.

Now I'm hand stitching accents on the flora. I wanted to finish this today but that's not going to happen. The hand embroidery is going to take hours that I can't give! We're going to friends for the afternoon. Would it be rude to bring along hand sewing? Talking and stitching....that works for me.....

Progress

Happily working away here in Shawangunk Ridge land. The top piece is a closeup showing the bit of foiling I added to the whole cloth I've been altering. Right now the cloth has been painted, dyed, printed and foiled enough - the next step will be to quilt it. Probably free motion machine stitching but maybe with some added hand stitched details - we'll see. The bottom photo is of a larger cairns inspired piece that seems to have morphed into a bit of the Garden of Eden. This one will definitely get hand emboidery added - and maybe a snake image or two...we'll see.

Time to get back to work!

Hand Work is the Answer to a Motion Filled Day

Yesterday we had company - and when that company includes 3 children under the age of 11 it involves a lot of motion and kinetic energy. We fished in the pond, made a scarecrow, had a bonfire and ate lasagne.

After they left at about 7:30, I checked my email and saw that my Garden of Eden had sold (hooray) and then was able to to do a bit more hand embroidery on the abstract above before falling asleep in the chair at 9:00. Yes, kids can keep your spirit and mind young but - goodness! - they can suck you dry of any and all energy, plus dig into your reserve tanks.

Letting Go

"Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong." Lao-Tzu (600 B.C.)

The last day or two I’ve been thinking about controlling. Controlling as in trying to fix things, coerce other people into making the decisions I think they should make, trying to anticipate every ‘what if’…etc, etc, etc…ad naseum….

I always feel the most centered and in control (now there’s a paradox) when I keep out of situations that need to run their own course and keep out of lives that need to be lived by the people they belong to (for sure their lives don’t belong to me). A gentle touch, a soft smile or an encouraging nod is really all that’s needed in many situations where our loved ones are trying to find their way.

The first piece above is some free form stitching and embroidery I started doing one night. The second piece is the third in my cairns series that morphed into a symbolic image of an adult letting go of a child.

Thumbprints

Lately (well....really....for at least the past 3 years) I have been wondering about this artful journey I am on and what it is saying. I am struggling with trying to find and answer my inner voice, my thumbprint. I may want to create polished works that scream of mastery with all the latest techniques but I am continually drawn to earthy, funky styles that are filled with home spun elements - chunky hand embroidery & other hand work, beading, textures, abstract designs etc. Perhaps one of the most important factors for me to keep in mind is that if I want to create unique art that expresses my inner self I need to listen to what my *self* is telling me and follow that voice. I have also made a decision to begin taking some drawing and art 101 courses - not art quilting courses. I know how to sew, what I would like to explore is elements of good design and composition.

Instead of Paint Now My Clothes Have Dye on Them

I have been busy dyeing fabric and trying my hand at all kinds of altering techniques. As soon as that 300w BBA Photoflood bulb comes in I'll either be in screen printing heaven or hell - depending on my success! The background fabric on the piece above is discharged crushed velvet, the purple piece I dyed and the larger vertical piece is dyed silk from a skirt I purchased at a ridiculous small price during a store closeout sale. I never wanted to wear the skirt but I knew the material was fabulous.

I plan on making more of these small blocks using different hand dyes, then complexing the blocks with embroidery and other embellishments, and then stitching them together. If my vision is successfully executed I may enter this piece as a submission for a juried show in Sept....we'll see.....

Almost Finished - Finally

Work on these abstract gates is going to close down soon. Some pieces seem to flow effortlessly (well almost) along - that's when it seems another hand is guiding mine and all is good in the world. Then there are the pieces that fight you every step of the way (kinda feels like I'm back in the twilight zone of raising a teenaged daughter). Guess which scenario I had with this piece? Hint - on more than one occassion I considered seeing if I had any talent with manifesting magic spells.

Music, Thread & A Quilt Show

The art quilt above was inspired by Gee's Bend quilts. It features large, design element hand quilting using wonderfully texturized natural thread.

Sat. evening my husband & I plunked down a bit of money & went to Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock to enjoy a show boasting some premier musicians – not to mention Levon himself who still sings despite being a throat cancer survivor. Levon’s studio is attached to his house in a beautiful barn – lots of wood and Catskill bluestone throughout. It was a once in a lifetime experience. He is a true American icon.

The next day these old bones (cause they were certainly feeling their age) dragged themselves to the Northern Star Quilting Guild’s annual show. I saw many inspirational pieces there. Major eye candy.

Of course another attraction was the vendors. Oh yes, I do like the vendors. And I especially love the vendors with out of the ordinary things. I bought lovely chunky, cotton thread and some great funky, Japanese fabric that just looked a bit on the edgy side to me so, of course, I had to have it. Some things are just meant to be brought home, don't you think?