Circles quilt

Another small quilt, also not finished. This one needs some hand-stitching as well as binding to finish it off. I'd like to make a larger quilt using this same them/arrangement. I've got loads of quilt ideas floating around in my brain...

That's my girl!

Katie looked at all the wonderful comments people have been leaving for me, and decided to go to everyone's blog and comment. She said looking at all their wonderful work inspired her to start drawing and posting on her blog. She came down here to draw, and I took this picture of her. She's a sweetie.

Fill the Night

The words--a paraphrase from (I think) Walt Whitman--really made this for me.

What a Day

I hate to whine, but I'm going to anyway. So no art this post, just complaints.

This morning in the studio everything just seemed to go flat. Nothing seemed to be working like I wanted it to and all of a sudden I felt very attached to PRODUCT. Looking back, I think this has been coming on for a few days--it was like a massive attack of grumpiness and dissatisfaction with myself.

I decided to completely change venue and headed down to town (though it did briefly cross my mind that I could just go up to the house and do some much-needed laundry and housework) . It's a twenty minute drive, so I try not to just head down the hill at the drop of a hat, but today I felt as though I needed a change. I went to Starbuck's and got a copy of the New York Times and then headed over to the little 'Japanese' restaurant to have lunch while I read the paper. It seemed to help some, and here I am back out in the studio for a few minutes before I go herd the kids off to bed.

As I came down the hill to the studio I could hear a loud noise. I thought maybe it was the wind blowing through the dry leaves, but the wind wasn't blowing that hard, and suddenly I realized: there was a broken pipe somewhere between the well and the studio--now the low water pressure in the house made sense. So I came into the studio and used the handy-dandy phone to call back up to the house so my poor husband can could come out in the cold to fix the broken pipe--and as I was calling, I realized that the studio was absolutely freezing, even though I left the heater on low this afternoon. Now I sit down at the computer, and I keep getting a message that there's an IP conflict with another computer on our network--but no message about how to fix it! It's just been one of those days.

BUT--the intercom-phone just rang, and it was Jenny's sweet little voice. She's tired and wants me to come back up to the house to put her to bed. So--someone wants me in a completely uncritical way. I guess that's going to be enough for tonight.

Photoshop tutorial

Found a Photoshop tutorial this morning and thought I'd try it out. My goal is to try and learn something new in Photoshop every day, as a way to practice with my new Wacom pen and tablet.

Here's the link to the tutorial. I don't have Adobe Illustrator and didn't do that part; I just continued working in Photoshop.

http://www.gomediazine.com/11/13/2006/designing-ultra-scenexcore-apparel/

Thanks to my friend Kelly, whose photo I used!

There are many links to Photoshop tutorials at this site:

http://www.good-tutorials.com/

Spirals Quilt

I love handstitching (which my sister says means I'm insane) and this is one I've been working on in the evenings. I did bobbin stitching in green around the circles (putting embroidery thread around the bobbin and then stitching from the back--the bobbin thread is then on the top) and the chain stitch by hand in turquoise.

I'll need to bind this (tomorrow? There's only the OLD sewing machine out here in the studio, for stitching on paper--all sewing has to be done in the house.)

Just Playing

This is a photo I took this morning with a Polaroid Land Camera using time-zero film. Got the camera on Ebay for $5.00, just to be able to mess around with altering photos by pushing the emulsion around. For a first attempt it's pretty cool. I'll write more about the process tomorrow.

AEM

Well, I did make art today, just didn't finish anything... I know it's okay to be in process (I do believe life is about process, not product), but wanted to share what I'm working on before I head back up to the house to sit by the fire with the girls.

Illustration Friday: Invention

Here's my effort for this week. The girl and the canvas are actual physical entities that I've been working on this week; the rest is digital.

Sketches

I feel as though I've really been failing at Art Everyday Month, though I really have been doing art every day except the two where I was so sick. Tonight I did some sketching while the littlest was falling asleep, and thought I'd post them here...

My Birthday!

Today I turned 43! It was a wonderful birthday, and to top it off, my husband went to town to pick up dinner--yay!

My most exciting present was a 6"x8" Wacom Graphire pen/tablet to use with my computer! So far, the kids have played with it more than I have, but my turn will come. I can't believe how much more control I have over it than I have over a mouse. We've all drawn with it, and it's amazing!

I did spend most of the day out in the studio with the heater up full blast. It warms up nicely down here, but gets cold overnight when the heater's off. I promised myself that one of the birthday gifts I would buy for myself (using the money my Dad gave me) is a set of business cards, so I've worked today on designing them. I'd love feedback on them, as this is a big deal for me!

Marie's Daughter

This piece, with its ink jet transfer, was inspired by Karen Jink's tutorial--I've been using such bright colors lately, this seemed a pleasing change. Again, I'm not sure it's done, but don't know exactly what else it needs. Maybe another image transfer of one of the photos of her? This is a small drawing (?) of Marie Jewell Parish' daughter, Cora. In actual photos it's clear that something was not quite right with her (maybe an autism-like problem?), and I believe that Marie and her husband moved here in the sixties to be near her at the State Hospital here. All conjecture...

There are some of her in what appears to be a wheelchair, and some of her playing with pigeons while sitting on the ground. She never looked at the camera, not in a single picture. I also have pictures of her as an old woman in (perhaps) a group home setting. The whole story haunts me...

The Ninth Crow

I am a girl again at my childhood home in Michigan. A summertime deluge has drowned the yard and water pools everywhere. I wade through the puddles, exploring and enjoying the unique experience of living in the middle of a pond. A duck and her babies paddle by, and I hear a rustling in the long grass in the corner of the yard. I worry that a duckling has gotten tangled, imagining him struggling futilely to escape and catch up to his mother. I feel sick at the thought and hurry to free him, but when I part the thick green grass I see a glimpse of glossy black. The thought flashes through my mind, "No duckling, this!" and I reach in, bravely, and pull out a young crow. His feathers shine in the brilliant light of after-rain, and I notice the bump on the top of his beak. A yearling crow, I think, not this year's crop. No mother caring for him now. He flaps, only once, and then settles into my arms.

I carry him to a dry spot under the apple tree and set him down. He cocks his head and stares at me, examining, questioning, but makes no move to escape. He wants me to do something, I think, and then notice a loop of black plastic over his neck and one wing. "Poor boy," I say, reaching forward. He obligingly holds still while I free him, and hops once toward me as I pocket the plastic loop. His shoulder rubs against my knee. His air of comraderie enchants me, and there is a brief moment when I feel as though he knows the joy I feel in this, or any, friendship.

I know I must free him, but as I pick him up I feel something else underneath his feathers. A wire harness encases his body, so tightly that I know I won't be able to get it off myself. The crow and I take the bus to the zoo. He nestles under my jacket, quiet and calm, and no one knows he is there but me. I can feel his thoughts. His name is Nine, and somehow he is the friend I have never had. At the zoo, a young man hands me the tool to cut the wire from Nine's body. I part the feathers and, looking at the twisted wire biting into the sad birdskin underneath, say "I don't want to cut him." The young man looks into my eyes and says "You won't cut him. You'll free him."

When I finish I say sadly, "Now I need to let him go." My heart aches at the thought. Nine lifts his left wing and hops toward me. The man places his hand under the wing, showing me the stunted growth. Tears seem to fill my chest till I'll burst with the sadness. I look up at the man. "He'll never fly, will he."

Illustration Friday

This week's theme is Thanksgiving, and I had a hard time illustrating it. I finally turned to the idea of giving thanks, and thought about the things for which I am grateful: beauty, time, and the ability to find joy in small things.

Truly a Magical Place

This is one of the bigger things I worked on yesterday. I'm not quite sure if it's done --it feels like it needs something more, but I'm not sure what--I usually set things on one of my picture ledge shelves and look at it for a few days.

What a Tree

I've been working on some bigger projects the last couple of days, but I used some scrap papers to put this together. I had a dream recently where the trees were huge flowers, and so those are sneaking into my work...

The background is a leftover piece from something else--it was an experiment with texture--I'm not sure I like the green, but the layering really worked.

Fly South

Started a new little experimental art quilt using the same techniques as yesterday. I sat and hand-stitched last night and will do the same tonight. I don't usually use much glittery stuff in my art, so this is a tiny step outside the box...

an experiment

This is a close up of yesterday's 'art for the day', which was a small quilting experiment, inspired by Beaney and Littlejohn's book, Stitch Magic. Not nearly finished yet--I'm planning on this being heavily handstitched--

The idea is to use fusible web and a translucent fabric (in this case, tulle) to trap little pieces of fabric, yarn, glitter and thread. The next step would be to machine quilt over it (I didn't do this last night as everyone was asleep) and then hand embellish it with thread and maybe even some beading.

I may make another small base piece (this is 5"x7") and machine quilt it before I begin hand stitching... I do love experimenting. It just occurred to me that I could also try ironing Pearl Ex into the fusible web (just a pinch) and that maybe I could also add foiling...

I Don't Want To Be a Passenger...

"I don't want to be a passenger in my own life."


At nineteen I said to my mother, "Only I am in charge of my happiness; no one else." I'll never forget how vehemently she disagreed. "No, no. Other people can make you unhappy. If they're unpleasant or mean or unfair--then you can't help but be unhappy."

I told her that I could also choose to be happy, deep down in the middle of me, regardless of what other people did, and that I would choose to be happy. "I'd never give someone that power over me," I told her.

To the end of her life, we simply agreed to disagree on this whole point. I feel so sad when I think of how much of her time here on earth she spent angry and unhappy and blaming others. That's not to say that I'm not ever sad or angry or frustrated; those are normal emotions. But I acknowledge that I'm allowing myself to feel that way and that no one can ever make me truly unhappy without my permission.

I look at my mother's life and think that in so many ways she was the passenger in her life. By not taking responsibility for her 'bad' feelings, she also handed over the rights to her 'good' emotions--every feeling she experienced depended on what someone else did or said.

I'd like to think that I'm in charge of what I feel; that my successes result from my strengths and that my many failures are a chance to learn and try again. I own my sadness and my happiness, and I hope I pass this on to my children.

There's nothing so awful as one who has given away her power.

Art for the Day

My art for today was done with my two girls (ages six and eleven) in preparation for doing a project with the first-grader's class. I won't tell you whose is whose--aren't they cool?

Clear as a Bell

The very first layer was an in-progress canvas, but everything else was done digitally--a good challenge for me!

Today

Today I worked on lots of backgrounds on canvas and watercolor paper--text, tissue, and some color--but I didn't really finish anything, so tonight I took some of the w/c papers I did and did a little ATC. For some reason, I've been using more turquoise, green and blue than I usually do--the time of year? Normally I love reds and oranges and golds...

Came out to the studio in the dark to scan and post this, and heard the most awful noise! Thought that one of the goats must be having her baby, so got a flashlight and went out to the pasture to investigate. Turned out to be an absolutely immense owl (great horned?) sitting on top of the telephone pole. No goat-babies, yet...

She Could Never Go Home Again

Here's today's offering--I really like this.

Inside She Was a Rainbow

I dug out Pamela Hasting's book on paperdolls last night, and was so inspired!

So, here's my offering for today's AEM. All I could think as I was making her--"Inside, she was a rainbow."

Marie's a Doll

And here she is all grown up...

Delicate Marie

There's a long story behind this picture. It's one of a whole stack I bought when a small antique store was going out of business and turned out that most of the stack was from the same family (that always breaks my heart). Sometime I will write down all I know about Marie Jewell Parish and the joys and sorrows of her life, but for today I will just say she had a "delicate and lovesome countenance."

two for one!

Something else for today--

Art Everyday Month

This is going to keep me hopping, I can tell! Typically there are days where I don't finish anything--sometimes on the weekends I don't even come down to the studio--this month, at least, I will feel a commitment to do something every day, even if it's something small, like today.

I love making ATCs--this one was fun.

Father Always Said

I've started AEM (Art Everyday Month). I may have to do simpler pieces some days...

My dad still says this to me, even at 43 (when it's not necessarily true)!

I've been thinking about this one for a long time...this may become a theme for me...

Sunday Scribblings: Morning

Morning, that most precious time of day before beginning.

When I was little, my sister and our friend would take turns setting our alarms very early. The other two would tie a string to their toe and run it out the window. Whoever was up first would have to pull the string to wake the other two; then we'd grab apples and quietly leave the house, climbing on dew-damp bikes and riding off for an early morning adventure in the woods. As we rode down the empty streets the only car we ever passed was the odd person coming home from working late shift in the car factory. The face inside the car looked tired and shut down, and I didn't ever want to feel that woodenly adult.

I've never been a lay-abed in the mornings, except for the years I struggled with the never-ending postpartum depression. Those years I could hardly drag myself out of bed, and wondered, when I was awake, if I would ever be the person I'd been before, one who got up to start another wonderful day as soon as her eyes opened. I look back at those years--I've described them as three years falling down a hole--and lament all the mornings, all the moments I missed.

Of course, even though the depression's over, I'm not the person I was before--could never be her again--but I'm someone beyond her, a synthesis and result of all that's gone before--and I do wake early and climb right out of bed. If I'm lucky, I'm the first one up and I can silently make a cup of tea and sit at the kitchen table and look at the mountains or, even better, sneak out to the studio for a peaceful hour before the world awakens.

Blowing Smoke

Here's my Illo Friday post. I had to scramble to figure out a way to do this one!

Photo Friday

I'm posting this for Photo Friday for my photographer friend Kelly who said, "okay, I think this qualifies as light..."
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Non-functioning link

I put a link on my "Garden of the Wind" post, and it didn't work. I certainly wish I'd known--feel like a total idiot for not checking it first...

Quite a Week...

Seems like I've been out of action forever--kids with fevers, me with fevers, Halloween--it's been non-stop around here. But I'm back in the studio today, at least until I go to my eye exam this afternoon...