Paradise Valley

These pictures were taken during a drive up the Paradise Valley, where I lived for 10 years between 1979 and 1988. This view of the Yellowstone River was taken from a bridge just a bit south of Livingston.

The next three pictures were taken in Tom Miner Basin.

This view from Tom Miner takes in the Absarokee Mountains in the distance.

Visual Journal Page #31

I have started coloring the black and white faces with a Copec marker.
Seeing this one in black and white makes me realize I need to color it in, also.
The fish is a hand cut rubber stamp, and her tail is made from my hand painted papers.

Glue Gel Painted Animals

I know these look a bit distorted. I took these pictures while these were hanging to dry on the clothesline.

Now to decide how best to quilt them.

Mulling several ideas. . . .

Visual Journal Page #18

The vintage faces I have been using are from a 1920's high school yearbook.
The wings - from a diagram in a 1920's college textbook.
My research indicates that things printed before the 1920's are safe to use as
far as copyright. However, this Visual Journal is for my own use. I am not selling
the images so I don't think it is an issue, anyway.

Another page from my visual journal.

Glue Gel Paint Washout

I painted these glue gel images last spring and set them aside to cure.
We've had some really mild weather recently so I washed these and hung them out on the line to dry. They were dry in no time.

Visual Journal Page

Another page from my Visual Journal.

Gallatin Valley Sunset

The sunset was lovely in the Gallatin Valley.

Hyalite Canyon at Dusk

It was getting dark and we needed to get going.

Walking out.

Hyalite West Shore Trail

I have walked a lot of the trails at Hyalite, but this one was new to me. Perhaps it is a new trail.
It seems great for cross country skiing and we saw ski tracks, but it looks more like people have been walking here.

The day was quite overcast, and it was late in the day.

We were delighted when the sun broke through the clouds to the west, lighting up the east ridge.

Hyalite Canyon Visit

Michelle and I decided, on the spur of the moment, to take a little road trip to Bozeman.
The roads are good right now, so we jumped at the window of opportunity.

Hyalite Lake is a reservoir that provides water for the city of Bozeman. It is located about 30 minutes from town. The stream that leaves the lake makes its way through the Gallatin Valley, running across the west end of the land my father ranched for over 50 years (but was sold in 2006).

The lake was frozen, but there were areas showing signs of melting. A few people were ice fishing, but we only walked out on the lake a little ways, feeling sort of uncertain about the stability of the ice. It was melting where the water was moving.

This is an area I visited quite a bit growing up. I had not been there in the winter for a very long time, however. It is a lovely recreation area and they have done a lot of improvements - adding trails, etc.

I recently read that this is the best ice climbing region in the lower 48.

Visual Journal Page #30

This is a screen print from a photo I took in our neighborhood
after a wildfire destroyed two houses and many acres of forest and grassland.

Visual Journal Page #33

I've been numbering the pages in the journal. This gives me a small sense of satisfaction, seeing the numbers increase. I am almost to #50. More to show in the next few days.

Discharging Black Cotton Lawn

Years ago, I had a bolt of black cotton that discharged to a nice creamy white.
Ever since, I have been on a quest to find another black that will discharge to white. I have not been successful yet, but I recently purchased a large quantity of cotton lawn (a very delicate, thin weave) that discharges to tan. On my monitor, this is an accurate representation of the resulting shade of tan.

Above is an example of this black cotton lawn - pole wrapped bleach discharged.

Below, is an example of kanoko shibori with bleach on the black cotton lawn.

I have not yet tried using Jacquard discharge paste with this fabric, so have no idea how it might respond to discharge paste.

I am providing these images primarily for those individuals who wrote to me asking about the fabric I used in "Sticks and Stones", shown in a recent post about the Yellowstone Art Museum art auction. That fabric is no longer available.

I do have a large quantity of this 45" wide black cotton lawn, which I am willing to sell for
$6.50 per yard plus actual shipping charges (I prefer USPS). Please realize that I am not in the business of selling fabric, but I have a lot and if you feel you must have some, please email me and we can make arrangements.

Visual Journal Page

I am really proud that I have been able to maintain my commitment to create a visual journal page each day. The visual journal page is my first studio task of the morning.
I know some people sketch, but I am not really a sketcher, so I am using collage techniques.
I have a couple of ground rules:

1. images may come only from things I have on hand -
this may be junk mail, sales catalogs, brochures, maps,
etc.
2. I try not to overthink my designs or spend too much time
on them. I am working quickly and intuitively, but I hope
to strengthen my design sense and especially the creation
of a focal point for each page.

Winter Sky

The evening sky has been a really lovely delicate shade of pink. Lovely against all the snowy trees.

Flicker

We've had this lone flicker hanging around all fall and winter. It has a nice cheerful song, but it is kind of camera shy.

Hungry Deer

Last evening, the deer showed up to raid the birdfeeder.
This baby apparently has been getting handouts from the neighbors.
It came right up to the door and put it's nose against the glass. It was not the least bit startled by our movements inside the house.
Poor little guy was shivering, but we resisted the temptation to invite it inside!

Winter Beauty

It has been terribly cold here the past few days, so we have just been staying inside
enjoying the view.
These two pictures were taken out the kitchen window.

This view is to the North, taken from the veranda.
The temperature at the time was -5, but it should be warming up!

YAM Art Auction

Yellowstone Art Museum Auction

This is a very big deal for me!
For the first time ever, (well, actually this is the first time I have entered) - but my entry,
Sticks and Stones - was accepted!
This is a really significant career milestone!
This auction is very prestigious for the city and state.I do not know of any textile art included in this prestigious event in the past - and certainly this is something unique - all discharged cotton and hand stitched, embellished with sticks and stones.
There were over 500 entries!

Anyway, when I delivered my piece - the response was really gratifying.
People were not responding for my benefit (they didn't know I was there!)
There was a lot of oohing and ahhing!
What a thrill!

I have this piece mounted on mat board and framed in shadow box style behind museum quality glass.
The opening reception is January 28, 2010
The party and auction take place3 on March 6, 2010.
I'll be sharing more as those events come about.