Interior Paintings at Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde

 There are several towers in Cliff Palace.  These had several floors, which were constructed of posts (some still in place after 1000 years!)

 Looking up through one of the doorways, we were able to view the posts and also paintings on the walls.

Here is Joe standing in front of the small doorway we looked through to view the interior paintings and the wooden floor posts in the tower.

Cliff Palace Tour

 Cliff Palace was inhabited between 1190's to 1270's A.D.  and had more than 150 rooms.  This cultural group was primarily agricultural, growing their crops up on the mesa above. 

 The kivas are considered ceremonial rooms - perhaps used for healing rites, to pray for rain, luck in hunting or for a good crop.  They were also gathering places and sometimes a place to weave.  The inhabitants were expert basket weavers, but their craft fell into decline around the time they lived here.

The fire pit is shown in the center of this kiva, with a fresh air vent (rectangular) built into the wall.  The air deflector (thin vertical stone helped control the flame and the smoke).

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde

 We toured three of the large cliff dwelling ruins at Mesa Verde.  Cliff Palace is the largest and the tours are led by a ranger.  There are about 600 cliff dwellings in the park, but only a few can be toured.   These images have all been taken as we approached the area from above. 

I'll give you a closer look tomorrow.

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings

 It is possible to view many of the cliff dwellings from across the valley.

The largest one, below - is called Cliff Palace.  A guided tour is available for it.  

In the upper left hand corner of the picture below, you can see people waiting

for their tour of Cliff Palace.

 

These other ruins were not open for visitors, but we enjoyed seeing these,

and several others from various viewpoints along the scenic road.

Quilting Arts Workshop - Art Quilt Design with Hand Carved Printing Blocks

 I am delighted to announce the release of my Quilting Arts Workshop Instructional Video.

It is now available as a download from Interweave.  It may be downloaded either in HD or standard video.  Follow the link below to see an excerpt from it!  Be sure to watch the preview!

http://www.interweavestore.com/Quilting/DVDs-Videos/Art-Quilt-Design-with-Hand-Carved-Printing-Blocks-Download.html

A hard copy (DVD) version can be obtained next month.

Mesa Verde

 Mesa Verde has been on my bucket list for a few years.

When I was scheduled to record a DVD in Loveland, Colorado in early May, 

it seemed like a perfect opportunity to add some travel to the itinerary.

Mesa Verde is in the south west corner of Colorado, so we had over 300 miles to travel 

to get here after the taping was done.

The first look surprised me.  Above is the entrance to the park.

 It is a pretty long climb up to the top of the mesa, where the cliff dwellings are

tucked into the ledges. 

 The valley below looks like a rich agricultural area.

We learned this valley was farmed extensively 1000 years ago when 

the cliff dwellings were inhabited, and people also farmed on the

top of the plateau.  Apparently, at it's peak, about 5000 people were thought to 

inhabit the mesa.

 

Here's the view from the top - looking south. We were on the lookout for some of those 

cliff dwellings, which are scattered all around - there are many of them here.

Mail Art Project Ninety Two

"Abstract II"

Hand painted cotton.  This fabric was painted by my small art quilt group - WAV.  We each had a color and a paintbrush and walked around the table adding to each area until it was almost all covered in paint.  When it was dry, we each took a piece of the fabric.  I used mine to create a series of postcards.

This week's quote:

"I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

-Thomas Alva Edison-

1847 - 1931

Foot Square #25

Hand dyed, screen printed, block printed, and the red is also printed with an onion sliced lengthwise.  I love onion prints!  The onion is sliced and left out to dry out overnight so the rings separate and give more definition to the print.

The Chinese writing says: "Montana".

My Beautiful Iris Garden

 

The iris above is called "Local Color".  The iris below is called "Sneezy".

 

The iris above is called "Jigsaw".

The iris below is called "Ancient Echoes"

This iris is called "Godsend".

Beautiful Iris

  

The iris above is called "Peach Royale".  The iris below is called "Ride the Tiger"

 

The iris above is called "Sneezy".  I don't know what the one below is called.

My Iris Garden 2012

 

The iris above is called "Circus Dancer".  The iris below is called "Circus World".

 

The iris above is called "Just for Fun".  I don't know what (or if) the iris below has a name.

This iris is called "Swingtown".

My Iris Bloom

I am slowly converting my yard to an expansive iris bed.

These flowers are one of my favorites. 

Furthermore, this is a flowering plant that is well suited to the environment here.

They do not require much water and the deer do not eat them 

(usually  - although it has happened at my house).

 

The iris above is called "Ace".

 

The iris above is called "Daughter of Stars" and the iris below is called "Gladys Austin" .

Mountain Sheep on Sylvan Pass

 We took all these pictures out the window of our car as we drove the highway on Sylvan Pass between Yellowstone Park and Cody, Wyoming.