Day ONE with my new camera

Working in my yard this morning I saw these

My honey brought this over to show me what
he found under a rock in our side yard this morning.

Whatever would could did

Have you ever had a time when whatever could would? 

I did.

The tornado storms west of me

flew over to where

my house lives

with high winds

hail

buckets of water

falling  down upon this ground

high up on a mountain.

Good thing I live in the mountains

No tornadoes right here

high winds blow the trees in ways trees are not meant to bend

No electricity

no water

no phones 

no internet.

all while I am busy making other plans.

the folly of it all.

One day I just left this place. . .

When I came home 

something wonderful

came here too

A new DSLR Camera

But

I had to charge the battery first

No electricity. . .

No computer

I have wanted this tool for a very long time

Woke up this morning 

the sun is here

electricity too.

My friend Neuroknitter

at We Heart Yarn

Inspired me so last week

that I could not wait

any

longer

Now I have to figure out how to do this.

Another learning curve. . .

but, hey, who is complaining?

Thank you Gail for showing the beauty in your world

with such clarity 

I especially love the photographs of the dandelions

I will never ever seen one with aggravation, again.
My friend Camilla and Carolyn got me started with this
so Thank you to them, also.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Hugs to you!

You KNOW what I am doing.

Just Do It!

A relief came when I woke this morning, I had a telephone, I could get back onto the Internet, and I had water. What are the odds of two major breakdowns in one day? I drove down off the mountain to the nearest point I knew had cell phone service and called the water co. and phone co. It took both until late to restore our service. I am thankful for electricity. At least we had that.
OK, so I am in the mode of setting up new problems to solve in my artistic endeavours, I have some time to devote to whatever I want, except for time I need to do the dailiness things of living. So, What am I going to do?????



Conceptual Art is always on my mind. The problem is that I post things like that.
Most do not get what that is about.
The photo above is something I did last year for a self portrait.
I hold it to a mirror and shoot.
There I am and you can read it.
This image is taken from the cover of one of my favorite books: "The Art of Arts" Anita Albus.
It took weeks to finish this piece.
Not what I normally do in that I never know where I am going when I sit down to free motion
embroider, unless of course, I do a drawing first.
I manipulate images that I create on my computer in many different ways.
I have blogged about this process before.
I call it idea generating.
I have set parameters for doing a series of work.
I decide on color, size, and an idea that is interesting enough for me to do multiples.
In this I find as I go along more interesting techniques to explore which may be part of this series
or perhaps the beginning of a whole new set.

This is where I am, right now.

Summer is dyeing time for me, as well.
So. . .that is included in my dailiness.



That photo above marbleized



The first photo with woodcut treatment.

Now you know that I am more than finished with the image above, and above, and above,
I show these images so you can see where I could go.

I am thinking of what is next??



I bought silk ribbon and silk embroidery thread.
This has to be part of it all.
I want to make book/boxes, too.

Hm mm, if I put it all together
Maybe
Maybe
embroidered boxes?

Stay tuned. . .







Sunny Snaps of My Life

Solomon's Seal from below

Cabbage Leaves

Iris which has been here for longer than I have been alive

Another shot of this old old old iris I found in the woods

My Jilly dog who follows me everywhere I go
We are standing in a patch of poison Ivy

My 3 story cottage in the woods

Mesa Verde National Park Artist In Residence

What I would do. . .
You must leave your piece behind
Live in a clay building "A Hogan"
Explore
Volunteer work
Make Art inspired by this park



Are You?
You Are?
On the planet Earth. . .
What will you leave behind?


 



Pine

Juniper

Texture from you do not know where or when?

Window onto TIME?

Where did they all go?

WHY?



Spanish Connection?

Or what?





Burnished  Pine Sawdust Fired Pots
Porcupine Quill?
Coil. . .
as in pot
as in rattlesnake?

A point at which to start. . .

Next Year?

Hmmmm???

http://www.nps.gov/meve/supportyourpark/artists_in_residence.htm


http://www.nps.gov/meve/forteachers/upload/education_packet.pdf



The pillow made with Magnolia Handspun  Art Yarn using the
the new stripe version and white felted wool
Blanket Stitch Embroidery around the insert in white wool yarn.
I have been searching for a yarn to blend with Michael James Stripes which
I used for kitchen balloon shades and dining chair cushions, obviously, I found some!

I used batik scraps doubled this time to lock in the stitches. I really like the effect
it gives in the background of the yarn.
This pillow is 24" by 24".

Today was my last class for this year.
We had our picnic inside because of the rain, again.

Now, more time for doing some more paper sculpture
and thread paintings, oh so lucky me!

Hope you are having sunshine!
Hugs and thanks for dropping by!

Isolating/discovery



 By isolating elements
for consideration
for exploration
for decision making
for inspiration
the crystal clarity
of direction
might come through
when deep inside the forest
looking for the pathway
hidden 

Show and Tell

Well, this has been quite a year. Many of you know that I teach art to children. I work at a little private school and in the summertime I teach/share here in  my studio. And I usually teach a summer session to older children at the school. I wish I could share photographs of the students and their activities. But, that is not possible because of privacy issues.
It is a wonderful experience for me to be able to have a chance to inspire these children to try new things that may spark something inside that will stay with them for their lifetime. I find that curiosity is one ingredient that makes me want to learn new things. I hope the children become so curious about everything that is natural to ask questions of what they see in life and try to find the answers. Problem solving in a creative way is one tool I try to teach. Also, that when you turn something upside down or look at it as if you were flying above, or put unrelated objects together, that increases your ability to see the subject in a new or different way, that maybe you will find the answers. The world we inhabit is full of wonder, in it is every answer.
I moved here to try to make a difference. I hope I do and will.

I take care of my mother who is getting up there in the years. With her it is a good thing to keep her mind active and busy. She was a quilt maker in her younger years. She makes baskets now because they are something that she can handle as far as size and difficulty are concerned. She always gives me a surprise when I see what she comes up with. I like her sense of color. She has a dedication to work and she always has. I like that about her, too.
Fortunately, I have both ends of the spectrum, time-wise, the freshness of  the children's innocent wonder and the experience of a long life lived well to inspire me in my own work. I try to share what I do these days.
I have an older digital camera without the bells and whistles which affects the ability to make my photo's into "art", but that is OK, too. It is a challenge to try to do the best I can with what I have. Maybe, for now, it is even another blessing.
Time is the biggest issue in my life. I never have enough. Some things that I try to accomplish get short changed once in a while. But, that is OK, too. Blogging is one of those things. I love blogging because I have met so many wonderful people from all over the world. I keep up with what is going on in the art world through this, as well.
I have been a city girl all of my life until I moved here. It is a wonderful life, either way.
So, without further ado, I will share a bit with you in photographs, now.

I collect textiles from all over the world
and from all time
This is a carpet made in Nepal
by Tibetan refugees
I have had this and many more carpets for quite a long time.
I love the craftsmanship of the knots.
I love the colors they chose to dye their wool
These are completely made by hand.
Two of my mother's baskets sit upon this carpet.

Here you see a selection of her baskets.
We use them for storing fiber related projects.
How lucky am I?

A pillow I made using batiks as fringe around the edges.
Two of Mom's baskets, also.

A lot of  times I hand stitch just because I love to do it.

I love Michael James striped fabric and I buy it whenever I find it.
It is amazing what he has done as the "Father of American Art Quilting"
I am not a quilter.
I tinker with quilting fabric just for fun.
You can see here the batik scraps fringe around the pillow.

I knit with the batik scraps and here I use it as a finish
for the upholstery of this antique chair

This is a porcelain bowl with hand painted
under glaze then a matte glaze over that
In a previous life
 I was represented by
 several galleries around the country.
I have turned to fiber arts, now.

Another corner of my studio.

This is it for now.
Have a super Saturday!
And Thanks a bunch for stopping by!
hugs!

Red letter day . . .not

I have no idea where the post went from yesterday???
I will just wait to see if it magically reappears. . .
But here is today. . .
I bought more yarn from Magnolia Handspun last week
It arrived and now I am making a pillow for my wicker chair.
This new yarn is a self striping yarn with beautiful colors.
This is just the beginning
I plan to do much more than this. . .stay tuned for that.
I have a visitor everyday
My red headed woodpecker eats all day long.
I am making a computerized embroidery of a real crazy stitched quilt piece
which I photographed and used that to design the piece
stay tuned for that, too

I have been gardening a lot.

I hope that Blogger finds my post of the lady slippers. . .
It is Friday the 13th
I hope you all have a super weekend
I know I will
xoxoxo to you

Come With Me Into My Woods

May Flowers for May Apples

The cool damp forest floor where Ferns Thrive

A Trillium in bloom?

Lady Slippers multiply

At first there was but one.

The next year there were three

Now I find nine pretty Ladies
They curtsy to you.

I am working on many fiber related works
when I am not in the garden
or walking aimlessly into the woods.
How  could I not be content
with the wonder of it all?

Garden

Nothing Equals Nothing

They will take your soul

if you let them

You've got a friend

Today I wanted clouds for breakfast

I want to dance like these Columbines

Alliums

I like the ALL in Alliums

I'll take a little moon shine 

while you are at it

Don't be sad

Bee happy

Photographs for my 52 weeks

are hard to find when I am not looking

Just like everything. . .

You get exactly what you put into IT

Porcelain Beauty
in a couple of cups
are they full?
Of what?