Trees as Insiration

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."
RABINDRATNATH TAGORE

This is the quote that inspired this small series, which will become holiday gifts. I started with this sketch book. All the screen prints are from photos I took of trees. I first screen printed about 1/4 of the pages with various images of trees.

The screen printed trees on the cover of the sketch book are from a photo I took along the Musselshell River last fall. Here is the original photo. I set my camera on black and white in anticipation that I would be making thermofax screens from my photos.

The evergreen cluster on this page is a photo I took this past summer in the Beartooth Mountains during the llama trek with three other quilters. Here is the original photo - a sunset on a smoky evening (forest fires).

Several pages were embellished with scraps of gelatin plate prints of leaves and decorative stitching was added to the page.

There were several small pieces left over, so I used them to make several post cards and a couple of note cards.

Ginko Leaves in Tyvek

I feel like I am wandering aimlessly in the studio these past couple of days. All the backlog has been taken care of and now is the time to launch something new. Yet, I really can't devote my full attention to anything creative, as there are many distractions so my focus is really off. The apartment renovation is coming along nicely and now that the floor refinishing crew is there, I have a couple of days off, but we have had a houseful of people coming and going these past several days, as well. Since studio time is so precious, I hate to squander it on something mediocre, but maybe that is just part of the process.

Lacking other inspiration, I decided to begin making samples of small quilts incorporating gelatin prints with Tyvek in the theme of leaves.

This is the piece I did yesterday. I am not thrilled with it, but it isn't finished, so I know I need to be patient. The full piece just looks kind of messy to me right now. Maybe this one needs to be cut into small postcard sized pieces.

Here is the sheet of painted Tyvek before I cut the leaves from it.

Wildlife Views

On Monday, Airus looked out the window and said, "deer". We looked and there was a nice buck grazing in the yard. A few minutes later, another buck joined him.

Later in the day, Elizabeth was planning to give Airus a ride in the wheelbarrow, but when she turned it over, there was already somebody in it. This big fat Black Widow spider!
I gave the spider a ride far from the house and swept her from the wheelbarrow with a pine branch.

Yesterday, it started snowing and it snowed again today. We've probably accumulated 6 to 7 inches at this point. I can't bear to take a picture of it. Maybe later, when Airus goes out to play in it or something. It is supposed to reach 5 degrees tonight.

Great Grandparents Visit

My parents came to town on Tuesday. Dad (known as Pa to the grandkids) needed a preliminary physical exam for shoulder replacement surgery he has scheduled for December 3. They had not seen Airus for several months. They stopped by for lunch and a visit with Airus, who is talking a lot these days.

Airus loves looking at the newspaper, magazines, and especially sales flyers from hardware stores. Grandma and Pa had a chance to see that he is able to identify and name most everything he sees pictured. He is especially fond of pictures of tools and kitchen equipment!

Bit by Bit

Mexican Fishing Village. Painted whole cloth.
I am not getting much done in the studio these days. I've spent the past couple of months focused on renovating a downtown apartment we own. The building was built in 1925, very run down, and we have gutted the kitchen, bathroom and utility room. I've spent the past several weeks prepping the walls for painting and finally got started painting 10 days ago. It is still not finished in spite of my working there every day along with some help from daughter Michelle and her boyfriend, Caleb.

I usually spend about 6 hours each day. That is about as much as I can take of the paint fumes, standing on a ladder and contorting my body to reach awkward places with paint. It is a large apartment - three bedrooms, lots of windows, and it is taking two coats and it feels like forever . . . . .

We are on a time crunch, because I want to be done with the painting so the floor refinisher can come in next Monday and start sanding. I don't want to risk getting paint on newly finished wood floors, so I am trying to get the painting done now. But I must also allow time for removing the carpet, which has been glued down with a very sticky adhesive. Yuck. I am really dreading that!

By the time I get home each day, I have barely enough energy for dinner, let alone studio work. I have been trying to get a little done at the sewing machine each morning while I drink my cup of tea. It is kind of like a morning meditation for me. It might be the only thing keeping me sane right now.

Fabric Giveaway Jacket Preview

My friend, Brooke Atherton is hosting a fabric giveaway. A clothing manufacturer has gifted her with a ton of color sample pieces of 100% cotton knit, the type used for T shirts.
She, in turn, is distributing it to artists and is calling for creative projects to be submitted to her for publication. You can learn more by checking out the Fabric Giveaway blog. She still has fabric and is looking for interested artists.

I've been working on a jacket made of habotai silk layered with overdyed cotton knit.
I stitched an organic pattern in white cotton thread, then cut away some areas of the cotton knit to reveal the silk underneath. (shown above)

Next, I overdyed the whole thing. The silk and white cotton thread took the scarlet and lemon yellow dye, and the blue shifted to a darker shade of purple. There are long strings from serging the edges hanging off the bottom and I plan to string beads on these. Then, I will add a few more beads and some kind of closure.

Elizabeth spotted it in my studio yesterday and asked to try it on. She loves it!

More Quilts from the International Quilt Festival

"Leaves and Twigs" was juried into the "Quilts, A World of Beauty" judged show. It is constructed of gelatin plate leaf prints with a hand dyed border.

The surface was embellished with Tyvek leaves. They were painted, then stitched in place.

This is what the leaves looked like after stitching, but before heating with an iron.

I also sent along this little practice piece. I used this small quilt to work out my design process and decided to donate it to the IQA silent auction.

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.

Special Exhibits - International Quilt Festival

The International Quilt Festival in Houston opens today. I have three pieces juried into special exhibits at the show. For more information and to see images of some of the special exhibits follow this link.

"Color Burst" was juried into the "In the American Tradition" Exhibit.

80 x 60"

This was the first quilt I made entirely of fabric I dyed myself. The border fabric was the inspiration, because it was too beautiful to cut up. I pulled colors from it to make the arcs - which were foundation pieced. It took me nearly a year to decide how to do the machine quilting.

"Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire" was juried into The Sky's the Limit Special Exhibit.

“Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire!” evokes a feeling of flaming balls or nebula. The foundation of this piece is discharged black cotton which was overdyed with shades of red to yellow, creating a fiery impression on cloth. Machine quilting was done with a variety of metallic, polyester, and rayon threads. This quilt has been heavily beaded to the point that it is practically a piece of jewelry! The beads add even more fire and sparkle.

It has been previously shown in the following venues:

Spring Festival 2005

Sacred Threads 2007

Published in Quilters Newsletter Magazine June/July 2007

39 x 41”

"City Lights" was juried into the Tactile Architecture Exhibit.

This piece was inspired by the unique style of artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. His use of color and line influenced the development of this image depicting the bright lights of a spring evening in New York City. A plasticized wrapping material called Tyvek® was painted with pigments, cut into shapes and placed on top of the fabric sandwich of hand dyed cotton, and cotton batting. After the building details were stitched by machine with bright polyester and cotton thread, the Tyvek® was melted slightly with an iron to create texture and depth. Fused tulle creates lights beaming across the sky, while hand stamping with metallic paint creates the softly reflective East River in the foreground.

Size: 38.5 inches width x 56.5 inches height

Completed: July 2006

My Semi-Precious Stone Jewelry

I took a little time out for myself this morning and put together a couple of pendant / earring sets. I am especially attracted to semi-precious stones and am also a big fan of copper findings. Above is a set made from opalized quartz. This set is really luminous, and therefore, seems a lot more dressy than I was originally intending.

This one is Adventurite. This stone is said to bring adventure and fortune. I am going to wear this one a lot, I think - it seems good for everyday wear and I could use the good fortune.

I purchased this citrine pendant at International Quilt Festival in Houston when I attended in 2004. It has been waiting in the bead box until now. The earrings are actually faceted amber, which are about the same color as the citrine. Both of these stones are good for attracting positive energy. I have a lot on my plate these days and I can take all the positive energy I can get!

I am off to paint ductwork and scrub walls so I can begin painting the bedrooms in the apartment.

Small Works Auction

Yesterday, I noticed an article in the newspaper about the upcoming deadline for donations for the Small Art Auction, a fundraiser for Yellowstone Art Museum. I'd intended to contribute something last year, but missed the deadline. They want 9 x 12" pieces of art and they will frame them for the auction.

Earlier in the week, I purchased a tablet of canvas paper in a 9 x 12" size - just a coincidence that it is exactly the size they want for the auction. I bought it because I have been wanting to create mixed media collages combining paper and fabric. I have been looking for something I can paint on without having it go all wonky, but also something thin enough that I can stitch on it. This 136 lb canvas paper, made in France, has a canvas texture, and I discovered, it does not buckle when painted. It is easy to stitch with the machine, and I was able to sew the buttons on by hand, as well. I used some ugly demo fabrics left over from my workshop. The buttons are vintage, from my rejected button collection. I think I am going to call it "Rejects #1" because that is pretty much what it is made of.

The fabrics have been hand painted, sun printed, fused with painted Wonder Under, stamped with one of my latest homemade stamps, and stitched in place on the painted paper background.

I look forward to seeing how it looks in a frame among the other donated art. It may be the only way I will ever have my work shown in the local art museum. Oddly, I have exhibited in many other museums around the state and country, but never here in Billings.

Windows #3

It has been really great having a couple of weeks in the studio. I've been able to finish a number of projects that were started last spring.

This is the third in my Windows series, and my favorite one so far. It is much larger than the others. 60 x 51". The first 6 hours of quilting were unpleasant, as I was not pleased with the way it was turning out, but that changed about half way through the process, and I began to enjoy it as it came together. Now I really like it. I had to wash it to remove the Crayola Washable Marker I used to mark it with and I think that improved it even more- the quilting really pops now!

I've had this extra time in the studio while we've waited for workmen to finish some things in the apartment we are renovating. Now that the workmen are clearing out, I will have to go to work. There is a gutted bathroom and kitchen to deal with, a lot of painting, and wood floors to refinish. I expect it will occupy all my time and suck up all my energy for the next couple of months.

Next week, after International Quilt Festival opens, I will post my 2007 Journal quilt, as well as my other pieces in the show.

Quilts:Fiber for Thought, Plains Art Museum

I just received a letter from the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota announcing the opening of a new quilt exhibition.

The show is called "Quilts: Fiber for Thought" and is curated by Kim Baird and Kimberlee Madsen. See more details about this event here.

The show opens on October 25 - that's tomorrow. The reception is on Saturday, November 10 at 7 pm. The show closes on January 13, 2008.


My piece in the exhibition is "All Alone and Blue"This piece was inspired by the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

It has been constructed of pigment painted Tyvek, which was cut, stitched to black cotton, then melted. "All Alone and Blue" is my interpretation of the feeling of isolation created by those suffering from depression. To learn more about this piece, as well as my other works, visit my website.

Primitive Hearts - Finally Done Sewing Buttons!

This is a whole cloth quilt. I scrawled out the primitive design with Elmers Glue Gel, then painted it with primary colors. I carved a special heart stamp, and stamped randomly with Lumiere paints. I printed out 1Corinthians 13, a love poem in Japanese, and the four types of love in Greek and made them into screens, which I printed in white.

Hand embroidery and buttons provide the final embellishments.

This quilt is unlike anything else I have ever made. In retrospect, I wish I had put a bit of planning into it. It might have turned out better, but at the same time, I really love working intuitively and wanted it to appear primitive and unplanned. I certainly accomplished that!

Co-op Gallery Location

2914 First Avenue North is the future home of an arts and fine crafts cooperative gallery and studio.

The entire space is approximately 1000 square feet. This is the view from the front door. This portion of the space will be the gallery and it is approximately 650 square feet. We plan to install track lighting.

There is excellent street exposure. First Avenue North is a one way street and 2914 has corner windows on the alley side, so street traffic can see in the window from half a block away. I have been told that 20,000 vehicles drive this street each day. There are restaurants on either side of the space. Cham Thai is to the west and Sweet Grass is to the east. There are a number of other restaurants and coffee shops within a block or two.
I am hoping there will be an artist interested in setting up a to work in the window.

The studio space is in the back with access to the restrooms (shared with the Thai restaurant). This space contains a single basin sink and there is room for a refrigerator and microwave on the counter. Work space for the member artists will be snug - about the size of a cubicle in an office. I plan to set up a design wall and work table in this space, and hope for 4 or 5 other artists to join me here.

The view of the entire building from across the street. This building has a full basement with lots of storage space.

Please contact me through a blog comment if you are interested.

Oracle Card - Hathor

From Wikipedia:
Hathor (Egyptian for house of Horus) was originally a personification of the Milky Way, which was seen as the milk that flowed from the udders of a heavenly cow. Hathor was an ancient goddess, and was worshipped as a cow-deity from at least 2700 BC.

Another interpretation of the Milky Way was that it was the primal snake, Wadjet, the protector of Egypt who was closely associated with Hathor and other early deities among the various aspects of the great mother goddess.

Oracle Card - Yemanja / Yemanya / Iemanja/Yemoja

From Wikipedia:
Yemaja is an orisha, originally of the Yoruba religion, who has become prominent in many Afro-American religions. Africans from what is now called Yorubaland brought Yemaya and a host of other deities/energy forces in nature with them when they were brought to the shores of the Americas as captives. She is the ocean, the essence of motherhood, and a protector of children.

The goddess is known as Yemanjá or Iemanjá in Brazil.

Every February 2 in Salvador, Bahia, there is a celebration of Iemanjá, which involves thousands of people lining up at dawn to leave their offerings at her shrine in Rio Vermelho. Presents for Iemanjá usually include flowers, perfume, and objects of female vanity (jewelry, combs, mirrors). These are gathered in large baskets and taken out to the sea by local fishermen. Afterwards a massive street party ensues.

In Rio de Janeiro, Iemanjá is celebrated on New Year's Eve, when millions of cariocas dressed in white gather on Copacabana beach to greet the New Year, watch fireworks, and throw flowers and other offerings into the sea for the goddess in the hopes that she will grant them their requests for the coming year. Paintings of Iemanjá are for sale in Rio shops, next to painting of Jesus etc. They portray her as a woman rising out of the sea. Small offerings of flowers and floating candles are left in the sea on many nights at Copacabana.

In the Umbanda religion, Yemoja is a goddess of the ocean and patron deity of the survivors of shipwrecks.