Glacial Collapse - Sunny Day at Valdez Glacier

As I mentioned in my previous two posts - we went back to Valdez Glacier in our kayak a second day.  It was much warmer, sunny, and there was a lot more melting going on.  While walking on the glacial moraine, we heard some big splashes back in the area of the ice caves, so we thought it would be interesting to go investigate.  Paddling along, we saw a number of new (within the past hour) icebergs floating along in the fjord near the entrance to the ice caves.  We cautiously ventured a little bit further and discovered a couple of huge chunks of ice had dislodged from the entrance of our most recently visited ice cave!  Yikes!  Joe made a short video of the scene:

https://youtu.be/Jos4JajdDrU

Quilting Arts Magazine

I had just begun thumbing through my Quilting Arts Magazine when Joe brought in the mail and there was a large envelope from Interweave Press. I was surprised to find it contained another copy of the current issue along with a letter thanking me for my contribution. Hmmm. . . . I wasn't aware of any contribution. I glanced at the table of contents and saw the 2007 Journal Quilts were featured, so I went to that article and sure enough, there was my piece on page 83! In case you don't have access to the magazine and would like to see my quilt - I featured it on my blog last fall. Here is the link to my 2007 Journal Quilt. This is the third time my work has been featured in this magazine. I feel quite honored.

Our satellite monitor died last Sunday and I've not had Internet access for 6 days! Yikes! I had no idea how much I rely on it for information and entertainment! I am sure glad to be back online as of this morning, thanks to the efforts of my dear husband, Joe.

2007 Journal Quilt - Medicine Wheel

Each year, I try to make a pilgrimage to an ancient spiritual site called Medicine Wheel. Located at nearly 10,000 feet in the Bighorn Mountains, it is an 800 year old construction made of flat rocks that have been stacked in the shape of an enormous wheel with 28 spokes, 80 feet in diameter. Nobody knows who built it or why, but there is speculation that the 28 spokes are linked to the phases of the moon and the number of days in the human reproductive cycle. There is a raised central cairn with several others on the periphery which appear to align with astronomical constellations.
Whatever the actual history or ancient purpose, this place has personal significance to me, as I always feel a deep spiritual stirring each time I visit. I’ve had visions and felt a connection with divine spirits while visiting Medicine Wheel. It is a very powerful place.

Since 2003, the Journal Quilt Project has provided valuable influence on my development as an art quilter. This year, for the culmination of the Journal Quilt Project, I wanted to create a single quilt relating to something personally significant. This spring, I came away from a Medicine Wheel visit committed to creating an image expressing my feelings about this sacred place. Discharged and hand dyed cottons were reverse appliquéd to create the swirling sky background. Painted Tyvek® and stone chips represent the Medicine Wheel in the foreground. Hand dyed couched threads, beads, a dyed silk hankie, and hand made polymer clay faces have been attached to embellish the surface, conveying my personal interpretation of the sacred spiritual connection between heaven and earth at the ancient Medicine Wheel site.