why we keep learning

I've been reading a book about Leonardo di Vinci

 (and may I add as an aside that it is wonderful to be able to read again --- the cataracts were really impacting that more that I realized!)

anyway, this quote really grabbed me:

"In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed, and the first of that which comes...The instant does not have time; and time is made from the movement of the instant....Observe the light.  Blink your eye and look at it again.  That which you see was not there at first, and that which was there is no more."

 I am more aware now days of time's passage -- wondering some days how it got to be Thursday again already -- fussing about the idea that I never seem to get the house cleaned to my prior standards, yet feeling little inspiration to spend time doing that -- I want to make more art!!

Also feeling more pulled to taking the time to spending meaningful time with other people -- family and friends

Does it really matter if the house is spotless (or as close to that as it ever was)?  I think not --- 

I'm going back to the studio to work now --- new art is calling, the river and the instant and the light keep moving on

because it's about the journey, not just the destination

 it snowed all day yesterday, and this morning there was a lot of fog

one of my jobs now days is to make sure Mr Cute gets to school on time, so today we set off a bit early that we usually do

for one short stretch, we came out of the fog bank into a little patch of weak sunlight, which we right away called "our own little sun ray", and his instruction?  "pull over and take a picture"!

so we did

it makes my heart sing that he is inspired by some of the same beauty around us that I am

as I drove back home after dropping him off at school, I was thinking about the times that I have driven someplace and arrived realizing that I hardly remembered getting there -- in a way it makes me a little sad that I might have missed something as spectacular as having my own little sun ray -- but I also realize there is a time for each season -- and I think this is my season to really see those little bits of joy and to share them with such a special young man

I'm actually working on a couple of pieces in the studio

this one is titled "Transformation" -- and is based on a photo of a sunrise from late August

right now I'm doing the needle turn applique to create the big (40x54) sky that has only a very small strip of land at the bottom --- I'm past half way now, so I'm already in the "are we there?" feeling -- just chugging along

my artist group (https://4commoncorners.com/) has a current challenge for a piece on the theme of "Heat"

this piece is titled "What Icarus Saw"

based on manipulation of colors from a paint pour in PhotoShop and printed by Spoonflower on organic cotton sateen -- I am now doing the quilting with a variety of cotton, rayon and metallic threads and have done some painting -- more to follow -- with metallic pearl paint

this piece is totally different than anything else I have ever done -- very much an experiment!

counting down to Christmas

the stockings are hung by the chimney with care

these, of course, are just "decorator" stockings -- the ones we have used for years for the "real thing" won't come out of the bag until Christmas Eve
  
many of the pieces that are out there on the newly built mantel haven't seen the light of day for quite a few years -- for at least 5 years we had not been at home for Christmas, so we had done much less decorating, and even last year (when we went all out) they didn't come out because we didn't have a mantel to put them on

I think this may be one of my favorite bits in the whole house this year

work on other things continues

the fusing work on the commission piece is complete, and I have started doing the quilting -- I hope to have this done in the next few days

the third silo is complete and ready for the next step

and I have started working on the rail road tracks

and of course at this time of the year there are a good number of sewing projects in process that I can't show you right now!

from time to time someone asks me where do I get the ideas for my art quilts

these three photos (and quite a few more) were taken from my front porch this morning

there is something about that thin line of blue below the gray clouds above the housetops that caught my eye, and has me wondering if I could create this look in fiber

time to get to work!

staying focused

last week after I posted about my word for 2016, I received an envelope in the mail from a friend that lives nearby
 
inside was the star banner with my word for the year lettered and colored on it -- way cool!

it's hung clear at the top of the design wall -- to help me remember what I'm supposed to be doing!

and as part of that focus, I spent some time installing the new thread rack that Santa brought me -- now all of the thread is out of the drawers and bags and is all in one place so I can see what I have

yeah!

since I actually managed to get this piece done by the proper date, it has been entered in a challenge with one of the bead groups I belong to

the voting for the challenge winner goes on over here  on the Etsy Beadweavers Blog

if you're interested, go over and take a look and vote on your favorite

one of the things that goes with the lap quilts I make is a sort of guarantee -- if you use it, I'll repair it -- and yes, eventually replace it if necessary

the point is I make these to be used and enjoyed on a daily basis -- my way of sharing a daily hug!

this quilt was made for my daughter, and the silvery wings had become very thread bare, so she brought her quilt in to "the shop" for the needed repairs

the wings have been replaced (well, I actually appliqued a new wing layer over the old one!) and I have put a layer of fleece on the back and requilted in the necessary places

working on the new binding now, so this will be done soon

last year I made this sweater for Mr Cute

at the time, the adorable tractor buttons worked fine since it was an adult person doing the buttoning

now days, he's all about doing it himself (a good thing!), so his mama requested that I switch out the buttons for something easier

these vintage orange buttons are just the thing, and he took it home with him today

this week I worked on the truck

early in the week I had a real problem with the trim that is supposed to go around the windshield, so I picked that part out and refocused on doing the door, the fender and the hood

along the way of doing that I've figured out a different approach to that pesky trim piece -- yeah!

marching right along

Fog + Cold = Art Inspiration!!

this is what the tree in my front yard looked like at dawn this morning -- no, it did not snow again last night, we just had heavy fog that created all these little "twig-cicles"

as if I didn't already have a long list of art work I want to do!  Mother nature just added another one to my list

Focus

It's hard to believe that it is the first day of 2016.

Last year is almost  blur of activity and places!

Since 2013 I have chosen not to make New Year's resolutions, but to choose instead a word as a guide post for the new year's art.

In 2013 that word was BRAVE

In 2014 the word was REACH

Last year's word was PERSEVERE

And as it has in the past, it turned out that perseverance was needed not only in finding ways to make art, but in life in general.

During 2015, in addition to a lot of knitting for gifts and charity, completing 9 pieces of beaded jewelry, a fair amount of utilitarian sewing and mending and the completion of a queen size bed quilt, I was able to complete eight art quilts - and five of those quilts were accepted into shows.

So what does that reflection on last year's activity bring me to this year?

FOCUS

As I worked on art quilts last year I realized that I need to be more focused on what I am doing if I will ever have enough of a body of work to apply to be a juried artist with SAQA.

That means I need to make some pieces that I am not making just because they fit a specific call for entry somewhere.

I need to make the work -- the venue to enter it will come

And so, I will try to focus on spending more time in studio work, and that work has begun already, as I brought in the new year working on this:

 

And I'm thinking about the look of the background

After I picked out several of the pieces in the lower part of this that just seemed too dark, I think this is better

We'll see what I think after I get the truck done

Meantime, my file of "what project to do next" is growing -- I have three more pieces lined up behind this one that I want to tackle

Time to FOCUS!

The word for 2015

The word for 2014 was Reach. (If you'd like to read the entire post about it, you can go HERE)

Apparently, it was a pretty appropriate word -- I spent a lot of the year Reaching beyond my grasp!

I didn't think of it as anything but an artistic challenge when I picked it, but life has a way of turning things upside down, and certainly 2014 presented other challenges as well.

Despite health challenges of my own and others in my family and finally making the decision to put on the big push and put our home on the market, I did do a lot of artistic things too:  completing 8 art quilts and having 13 more in some stage of progress; completing 13 pieces of beaded jewelry. 

Its time to look forward into 2015.

And it seems that the word this time should be Persevere --- I learned in 2014 that no matter how difficult other things feel, I need to make art -- it's what keeps me sane --- I will continue to Persevere!

up sides, down sides

this is an up side

yesterday afternoon I finished the beading on this bracelet and spread the goo on the back that seals all of the stitching

when I get back to it I will be cutting it out of the backing and working on creating the "sandwich" of bead work, plastic, metal cuff form and leather that makes the final piece

this is actually the second piece I've created in a month that fits the theme of the latest beading challenge -- and I think this is the piece that I will actually enter -- I just think it will do better in the voting

this one is an up too

I'm getting very close to finishing the upholstery of the chair I've been working on, and one of the things that was needed was a pillow 

ta da!  the back of it is the same deep burgundy as the center of the flowers on the front

looking good!

and the chair is down to needing the final fabric across the bottom and the decorative braid and tacks around the lower edge

should get this finished this week

this one, however, is a down

I like the moon (in fact, it came out way better than I thought it would), and the way I added the ring around the moon worked well too

the snow at the bottom is good

there to the right of center is the beginning of a tree, but here is where things start to get difficult 

for one thing, hand embroidering that tree and the two others that were planned in the original drawing will take a very long time, and I can tell already may cause a problem with puckering the whole center area of the piece

secondly, the layer of organza over the top is too reflective -- I was looking for that sort of hazy, glow-y look you get on the night of a big full moon, but this is just not quite it

so I'll probably be picking out all of the embroidery then I'll need to think about how else I can get the look I want it to have

more up

finished another hat -- this one has some interesting patterns that just "happen" when you use combinations of yarn together

I started working on the mittens to go with this hat last night

this bird house sits in the corner of the fence around my patio

during the last snow storm, this little "snow cave" formed around it

I love the look of this!  (now, how can I do that in fiber?) 

The word for the year

It is unbelievable to me that we are already in a new year -- 2013 flew by so fast

Last year at this time I wrote a post titled "A Brave new word" where I talked about choosing a word as a "touchstone" for the year regarding my art work

The word I selected for 2013 was "Brave"

Little did I know then that I would be exercising that word not only artistically, but personally as well

Given that, I've thought quite a bit about possible words for 2014, and I keep coming back to one:  REACH

Specifically as it is in the context of the quote from Robert Browning:  "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp -- or what's a heaven for?"

In that context on my art this is a sort of extension of the whole Brave idea -- learning last year to be brave enough to try things I might not have otherwise, I am well aware that I am already Reaching toward things that I do not yet grasp.

I hope this year to extend my Reach

morning has broken

 the dogs at my daughter's house are used to being up at 5

while I was not really ready to be up then, I did get the chance to see one of the most beautiful sunrises I've seen in a while --- the defined glowing pink edge to the clouds was just amazing

(now, how can I reproduce that look in a piece of fiber art?)

for whatever reason, she just doesn't want to sleep on the dog bed -- next to it is fine with her, but not on it -- after a busy day with Mr Cute and the dogs on Saturday, she slept a lot yesterday

nap time for the terrier too -- I was sitting on the couch working on a quilt project and the smallest dog decided she needed to nap on the couch

this is the "fourth dog" -- Jeri is a beautiful pionus parrot -- caught here in one of his naps (this shot taken with the camera and a zoom lens so the "click" wouldn't wake him

yup, all's quiet on the western front here --- the critters are all doing well and I'm chugging along on projects

the escape plan and we have an app for that

sunrise this morning -- off the deck at my daughter's house

since the DH was feeling pretty good after his surgery on Thursday, we decided to take our daughter up on her invitation to come and visit for the weekend

so we packed up the dog, closed up the house and escaped

even though it is still hot (in the 90s), her house has air conditioning and there is significantly less smoke in the air

enough smoke for spectacular sunrise pictures -- there are no clouds in that shot, just particulates in the air

the last report I heard last night was that we have lost 419 homes and there are two confirmed deaths in the Black Forest Fire --- there was actual RAIN on the burn area yesterday afternoon, and the report is there is 30% containment

these two ballpoint sketches were done yesterday morning while I was waiting for the fabric store to open -- I had begun an art piece that was fire themed last summer but had put it aside when I had some issues getting the look I wanted -- I'm going to be revisiting that

 we were so early getting to the fabric store that we had to wait for them to open the door -- I love this picture of my daughter holding Mr Cute -- I love the sun hat, especially with the sun glasses perched on top of his head 

somewhere I have a photo of my daughter, just a little older that Mr Cute is now with her sunglasses on top of her head --- 

sooooooo CUTE!!

this is a smart phone ---- going old school!

yes, I know, there is an app for post it notes

but as my daughter pointed out, it takes longer to find the app and create the post it than this old paper and pen method

I love this!  she is SO my child here

today's activities involved a trip to the fabric store and some sewing -- I'm making summer sun hats for the boys (Mr Cute and two of his friends) and my daughter is going to start putting together a quilt top for Mr Cute's new bed

time to get moving!

finished x 2

well, almost

the quilt is done, including the facing (and let me tell you, that extended branch was a real challenge!)

I still need to make a label for this thing

which means I need to come up with a suitable title --- I have no good ideas at this point -- all suggestions are welcome!

this is finished too

the free floating, second set of wings on the big dragon fly are made of a sheet of angelina fiber

pretty cool stuff

finishing this piece means I'm at a cross road with the visioning project -- I have three other small pieces in process and I'm just beginning the big landscape -- but none of these was actually for the visioning project --- I have worked my way through the original book I planned to use, so now I need to think about where that's going next

the beading is moving along -- I should be able to get that second rose finished today -- looking good


this morning's usual routine will be disrupted with an unplanned trip to the vet -- the big black dog that lives here began limping badly yesterday afternoon, so this morning we're taking her to have the vet take a look at what's going on

need to get going
 


 

moonscape snow fall

strange snow yesterday afternoon

it began as a sort of wet pellet snow followed by a couple of hours of heavier wet snow

an inch or so accumulated

but out on the grass -- it's weird

it looks like a moonscape

almost like little ice stalagmites all over the grass --- inverted icicles formed over the dry grass? 

like I said, it's weird

but I just might use some of the pictures I took of it to create a quilt piece for my Visioning Project lesson that has to do with "scale"

 

so while Mother Nature was creating her little snow landscapes outside, I was working on this project inside

each of those petal shaped carnelians are now bezeled with beads and backed with soft leather

next step will be to create the long tube to form the "s" curved "wire" that needs to be between these pieces

I hope to get that part done today

time to get to work

A Brave new word

January is traditionally the time people make resolutions.

Over the years I've made a conscious decision not to do that -- having decided I was much too good at "self guilting" and I didn't need to come up with new excuses to do that.

The past three years I've been part of a couple of different email lists made up of art quilters (there actually is some overlap between these two groups).

One of the recurring themes on these lists this time of year is the selection of a word for the year that will serve to guide and encourage the individual through their personal art endeavors for the coming year.

Let me note here that the membership of both of these lists seems to be closer in age to mine than to my daughter's.   (Which really doesn't surprise me as I watch my daughter juggle career, motherhood and home responsibilities, I feel like I'm looking through the looking glass back almost 30 years to when I was doing the same things.)

I was especially touched by an email written by a member who is more my daughter's age as she is struggling to find just a moment or two between the diaper changes and cooking and laundry and hundred other unending tasks to create.

I was equally touched by the calm reassurance of an older member who had been there and done that and who sought to reassure this young mother that she is already creating and that she should hold onto that spark --- the demands of a young family change and time will come.

This whole exchange confirmed for me why it is that so many women are what I call "serial achievers".

For many of us the pathway is similar: 

When we are in our 20s we are getting our education, finding a career, meeting our spouses.

When we are in our 30s we are raising children, juggling home and career, wondering if we'll ever find a moment to do anything creative (or feeling guilty when we take a moment here and there for ourselves)

By the time we hit our 50s our children are off to college or homes of their own and we find the time we looked for to begin a whole new adventure.

For some of us that is enough to scare us away from that creative spark  --  we've spent too much time putting it of to "tomorrow", or "next year", or after the next ____ (insert important personal event here).

The question that we should ask ourselves then is:  "what am I waiting for"?

So I have decided that this year I will choose a word for myself as guidance for the next year.

And that word is BRAVE. 

When I am tempted to put off something because it is scary or because that is easier than doing it, I need to be BRAVE.

At this point in my life it's time to stop putting off to another day.  I've retired from that corporate career; the children are adults; now is the time to do those things I've been waiting to do

Time to be BRAVE

After the storms

inspiration comes in many guises

one of the things I've learned about my own process of making art in the past few years is that nature inspires me

I did a series of small pieces that are leaves

which is probably why this leaf caught my eye when it got brought into the house on the bottom of a shoe this week after all the storms

I'm intrigued by the shape of the leaf and by the pattern of the little moldy spots across it's surface

being able to scan it and create a file means I can use it for some art project in the future


more progress was made yesterday on the busy book for Mr Cute

this was one of the pages that necessitated the trip to the fabric store --- I had teeny, tiny snaps and I had enormous snaps but nothing in between --

like these, for instance, that I stitched on to the coat

cool

and time spent on the Snow Queen yesterday

I still want to add some little pieces of mirror to this, but I'm really anti breaking a mirror

so today I'm going to the local hobby store and see if I can find any little pieces of mirror that are intended for some other kind of crafting


time to get to it

Inspiration time

in the past few months I've been active with a team of bead embroiderers on Etsy (you can see our work by searching "EBEG" on Etsy)

along the way I've gotten more excited about creating new and different pieces of jewelry -- and using some of the new components that are available now

recently on our internal email board there was some discussion about a couple of new books that talk about those materials

I did some smart shopping and ordered a copy of each of these at a price I could afford -- they arrived yesterday and I spent some time browsing through the "eye candy" and reading the sections that talk about techniques that are new to me

cool, very cool

I'm looking forward to creating some even more amazing things soon

and under the category of finding inspiration in unexpected places:

Sunday evening I saw a commercial that I could not take my eyes off of

lush, elaborate, artful images -- amazing!

if you haven't seen this, it's worth the time to see it HERE



I know yesterday I promised pictures of the work I'm doing, but our day was a bit odd -- I'll try to do better today (but first a trip to the grocery store -- and the hardware store for a light bulb!)

glory in the morning

here in the mountains we get what is called a "wave cloud" off of the mountains from time to time

when we were at our daughter's at Thanksgiving we had one of those mornings when the clouds and the sun coming up all came together to create an amazing blaze of color

I grabbed the camera and started snapping photos -- I have a file of this kind of pictures that I keep to use for future inspiration in making art quilts
Mr. Cute was up too

he came over to the door and stood looking up at me as if he was asking "what are you doing grandma?"

couldn't resist snapping this picture of him bathed in the fiery light of an awesome sunrise

I love this picture!




last night was the Christmas party of the evening quilt group that I belong to

at each place on the tables was one of these cool coasters -- of course, being that everyone at the table is a "stitcher", we right away set to "reverse engineering" them

ok, I can whip up some of these in no time if someone wants some (and yes, other fabrics beside Christmas prints will work too!)

and in keeping with the wearing of my "social butterfly" wings, today is the Christmas luncheon for my other local quilt group, so I'll be heading off (spinach orange salad in hand) to join the ladies for a purely social meeting -- no projects, just good food, show and tell and talking about what we plan to do next year -- it should be fun

guess I need to get something done before it's time to leave!