Cynthia St. Charles Store

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Flashback to Learning to Cook Process

Click on the steps to access the blog post for each stage of the construction of Learning to Cook #2

Step One:  The beginning of Learning to Cook #2 - a bronze / green fabric collage.

Step Two:  Filling out the Collage

Step Three: Screen Print Auditions

Step Four: Adding Circles

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Food for Thought at National Quilt Museum

 My piece "Learning to Cook"  (detail above) is on display as part of the SAQA Food for Thought juried exhibition at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah. 

Screen prints of my grandmothers' handwritten recipes are over printed with a cellular pattern to represent ingredients.  Mine is one of the few abstract works in the exhibition.

The exhibition hangs through July 8th.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Chickadee #2 to ARTfusion in Big Fork, MT



 This small piece, measuring 8 x 14" has been consigned to ARTfusion gallery in Big Fork, MT.

Hand painted, block printed, screen printed, machine quilted. 

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Greener Pastures #5 to Gallery 16 in Great Falls


"Greener Pastures #5" measures 17" x 33" and has also been sent to Gallery 16 in Great Falls, Montana.

 Collaged hand dyed fabrics, overprinted with screen printing and block printing.
The wind turbines are both fused (the larger ones) and screen printed.  The cows are screen printed (Thermofax screens adapted from my photos of cows grazing).  Machine quilted.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

"To Grandmother's House #1" to Gallery 16

 "To Grandmother's House" is part of a series of small pieces done with my grandma's handwritten recipes that have been converted to Thermofax screens.  Additionally, the cottonwood trees evoke memories of the Montana ranch I grew up on, with my Grandma living nearby.  The tree print is also a Thermofax screen converted from my photos of a cottonwood grove.
 This piece measures 14 x 16", and has been consigned to Gallery 16 in Great Falls, Montana.


Friday, April 24, 2015

Gallery 16 Consignment - Swallowtail #6



Swallowtail #6 measures 12 x 17"
Hand painted cotton, block printed, screen printed, hand painted, machine quilted

Monday, April 20, 2015

Petrified Wood from the Yellowstone River Banks

This is one of the nicer specimens of petrified wood that I picked up on the river bank.
We had a lot of fun being out that day!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Yellowstone River Agates

 The shores of the Yellowstone River from Pompey's Pillar east to where the Yellowstone joins up with the Missouri are rich in agate deposits.  These deposits are reportedly 20' deep in places and extend for many miles.  The time to look for them is late fall, winter or early spring before the water rises. 

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Yellowstone River Time

 The Yellowstone River is a great place for an outing on a warm early spring day.  We headed east about 30 miles from Billings to the Captain Clark Fishing Access, where we explored the river banks for agates and petrified wood.


Friday, April 17, 2015

Daffodils

 I am so glad I planted all these daffodils last fall!  What a wonderful sight to see in early spring!




Monday, April 13, 2015

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Old Montana Farmstead

 We recently visited the Captain Clark fishing access on the Yellowstone River.  The access is large and includes an abandoned farmstead.  We were curious, so we took a self guided tour.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Marsh Marigold in my Fish Pond

I started this plant in my pond a few years ago.  It has never bloomed this early or this long!  Such a bright spot outside my kitchen window!

Friday, April 10, 2015

Reticulata Iris in Bloom

 I saw these little Reticulata iris bulbs in Costco last fall and thought I would give them a try.  I am so delighted with them! 

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Who Has Seen the Wind?

 Jumping ahead, here.  I failed to take any intermediate shots of this quilt as it was a work in progress.  I have only a few detail images to share, as this piece will be entered in an invitational exhibition and I need to keep the full image under wraps until then.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Block Printing Mountains and Foreground

Two different blocks are used next to create the illusion of mountains and foreground.  Pebeo Setacolor paints on hand carved rubber blocks.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Block Printing the Sky

The next step is to define the sky area of this landscape piece by block printing the top 2/3 of the fused collage.  I use Pebeo Setacolor opaque white fabric paint with a group of swirly hand carved rubber blocks.  This unifies the space quite nicely.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

New Project - Fused Collage


Time to start a new project!  I begin with a fused collage of hand dyed cottons.  This measures about 45" square.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Tide Pool Reflections

This is one of my favorite pictures from Mexico 2015.  I loved the clouds and the way they reflected so beautifully in the tide pools.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Beach Glass and Seashells

The seashells on the beach in Puerto Penasco are generally very petite and delicate and also quite complete.  The tides here are generally very gentle, so shells don't get very worn.  I am always on the lookout for shells with holes worn into them, so I can use them for sewing or jewelry.  I also collect beach glass for jewelry.  I am happy with what I found this time!

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Wednesday, April 1, 2015