Livingston Cultural Art Center - Delivery Roadtrip

I was honored to be invited to participate in an upcoming textile art show at the Livingston Center for Art and Culture. This non-profit group has been in existence for about 10 years, with a gallery presence at 119 South Main in Livingston, Montana. The textile show, called "In Stitches" will hang for the month of November.
You can read more about the other featured artists here.

The curator had requested delivery of the artwork today, so I drove 2 hours each way to personally deliver my 5 pieces.

I made the trip alone. I've not had a lot of alone time in recent days, and I hoped to be able to use the time for creative thinking. Instead, I found myself experiencing a rather eerie deja vous melancholy. I lived in the Livingston area for 10 years from 1979 - 1989. Not the happiest years of my life. Those were the early years of my adulthood. An unhappy marriage. All kinds of stress, isolation, destruction by fire (the school where I was teaching as well as the big fires in Yellowstone Park - essentially our backyard), life threatening complications with the birth of my first child, etc. . . . Anyway . . . . .

Livingston is known for having extreme wind and the wind was unbelievable today! I found my car being buffeted by the winds all the way there and back.

I've not been in downtown Livingston for many years. It has not changed much from the time I lived in the area. Many of the same businesses are there. The wind still blows. It is a beautiful area, and I once passionately loved the Paradise Valley. I tend to remember the area fondly for its wonderful scenery. Today, I realized how glad I am that I no longer live there!

I stopped along the Yellowstone River on my way out of town to snap these pictures.

Beach Time

I didn't take any of the pictures in this post.
The photo above was taken by the housekeeping staff who arrived at the condo to clean before we were gone. This was our last moment on the beach at Las Conchas.

All the other pictures in this post were taken by Mom.
Her birthday gift from all six of us was her first digital camera.
She did very well with it. Her pictures are terrific and I think she enjoyed it.

The pelicans on the beach were fun to watch.

A short walk from the condo, the mega sized beach mansions begin to appear. These are amazing structures . . . . most of them empty during the week we were there.

Zapotec Indian Weaver

A favorite stop in Puerto Penasco is the Zapotec Indian Rug Weaver shop. I have a Spanish style stucco house with wrought iron railings, and I am gradually collecting rugs for my floors.
This time, I purchased an 8 x 10 ' rug to go under my dining room table.

Five members of our group purchased rugs from him!
They are beautiful - this tribe creates these rugs directly from their own sheep.
Shearing, carding, dyeing, spinning and weaving.
There are a few tiny bits of plant matter in the yarn - a wonderful keepsake from our trip.

Las Conchas Condo

High tide at Las Conchas beach. This photo was taken from the condo patio.

Here is the view of the condo from the beach. (below)

The patio was a favorite place to hang out.

Coffee on the patio at low tide.

Fishing in the Sea of Cortez

We booked a fishing trip one morning. It was calm and clear the day we went out in the "African Queen".

The view from the boat was fabulous!

Everyone who tried caught a fish. We had enough for a couple of meals!

Puerto Penasco Fish Market

Puerto Penasco is a very old fishing village. The shrimp in the Sea of Cortez grow very large, and they are so fresh, sweet, and tender - it is amazing!

The area where the fish market is located is along the waterfront, and there are a number of statues scattered around.

The fish vendor stalls are located directly on the waterfront. Someone could come right up to the door with a boat and unload. I don't think they actually do that anymore, but it offers a beautiful view and a fresh breeze.

We ate fresh fish and/or fresh shrimp every day for dinner during our 6 day stay. One of us went to the fish market every day to select our dinner! Fun and delicious!

Lunch at Mary's in Old Port

Our first full day, we went to Old Port, to visit the fish market, tourist shops, and dine at Mary's.
The little village is built right on the rocky shore and the waves crash against the waterfront fish shops. I took the photo above from a fish vendor's stall.

We climbed the stairs at Mary's, to dine on the upper level patio, where we had a great view of the busy street below on one side, and a seaside table.

Our group enjoyed Mary's specialty - fish or shrimp tacos.

Organ Pipe National Park

My mother's 80th birthday celebration began when her six daughters met in the Phoenix - Mesa area. We are far flung around the country, so we all flew in on different flights.
The drive from Phoenix to Puerto Penasco took us through the Organ Pipe National Park.

We stopped at the park to eat our lunch.

It was very hot, but we wandered down the path, anyway.

The little spring in the middle of the desert was interesting - complete with tadpoles and lots of algae.

It was interesting to get a good look at the cactus up close and personal.

From left to right: Kathy, Jackie, Mom, Karen, Becky, Shirley and myself (Cindy)

Growth Thru Art

The Growth Thru Art Gala is coming up on November 14.
Last winter, I worked with two groups of adults with disabilities in a fabric painting workshop.
You can see the workshop here.
You can see the results here.

I am a member of WAV, a small art quilt group, and the members took on the challenge of using a piece of the fabric to create something to donate to the silent auction fundraiser.

You can see all the WAV creations on the WAV blog here.

Puerto Penasco - Mexican Fishing Village

I am back!
The trip was terrific!

More details and pictures to come, but I need a day of rest. I am exhausted!

Off to Mexico

I will be out of touch for the next week. I am traveling to Mexico with my 5 sisters and mother. This is a celebration of our mother's 80th birthday. Just us 7 women. No kids or husbands. We will be staying in Puerto Penasco, which is on the Sea of Cortez.

We won't have Internet or cell phone service at the condo.

Will post when I have some pictures from our trip!

The Roof!

The weather in Montana has been unseasonably cold and snowy the past couple of weeks.
We have been scrambling to get the addition enclosed, but alas, Elizabeth has had to shovel snow off the addition floor a couple of times already.

We have worked every possible day.

Finally, the last of the sheathing was attached in the nick of time -
before I leave town for a week.
Now, the roofer can come attach the shingles while I am away in Mexico celebrating my mother's 80th birthday with my mom and siblings!

Gallery 16 Show in Great Falls, Montana

I was thrilled when I received the phone call inviting me to show my work at Gallery 16 in Great Falls, Montana! Gallery 16 is a women's co-operative gallery that has been in operation for 40 years! I was invited by potter, Judy Ericksen, who has been involved with Gallery 16 for 39 years!

Towards the end of September, I delivered 27 wall hangings along with hand dyed silk scarves, hand printed journals, and hand sewn hand bags.

October 2 was the Friday Artwalk reception and there was a good crowd passing through the gallery. I was pleased to see some familiar faces and met quite a few other artists in the co-op as well as many fellow quilters who came to see the show after reading about it in the arts section of the local newspaper.

I enjoyed having my husband Joe, and my parents accompany me to the reception.

Everything was beautifully displayed. The three featured artists included myself and Judy, along with painter Sue Toppen. They did a fabulous job blending our work to create visually pleasing displays all around the space.

If you get to Great Falls, Montana anytime in the month of October, stop by Gallery 16 at 608 Central.