Explore your inner artist

The Universe in a Single Atom

2009-01-07T10:11:00.003-05:00

I'm reading the book by the Dalai Lama, "The Universe in a Single Atom". What resonates with me is that in the Buddhist philosophy you can change yourself by changing your mind. Wouldn't it be great to have had lessons from childhood in how to use your mind? In how to face whatever comes with grace? In how to see everyone in a compassionate light?

In this book, the Dalai Lama compares western science, psychology, and philosophy with Buddhist knowledge and philosophy. It's very interesting and informative how the two differ and where they agree. Some things that we take for granted are shown just to be a difference of background.

What books are you reading? Are they helping you see yourself and the world around you more clearly?

Memorial for Ru, Queen of the Button Lions

2009-01-05T06:15:00.004-05:00

I've always been lucky. I had a great childhood, had some great friends, married a wonderful man. And had the best pets in the whole world. Ru was going to be our mascot at the new place, The Fernery Art Studio. She was the social cat, the one who always came out to greet new people. She loved to be admired and petted. And everyone loved her. We miss her so much. I feel so very lucky that it was us she chose to spend her life with.

Her full name: Ru, Might Red Cat, Queen of the Button Lions, Revered Incarnation of Apop, Agent of Chaos.

She taught all the kittens Kitty Kung Fu until they got to be bigger than her. She loved to play tug of war. She would carry things around the house, howling at the top of her itty bitty lungs. We never knew why she did this, but she taught two other cats to do the same.

She was an orange female, which is rare, but even rarer was the extra digit on all her paws. The sweetest of cats. And greatly loved. I pray that we will see you again!

Art will get you thru times of no money better than money will get you thru times of no art!

2008-12-21T09:54:00.004-05:00

(To paraphrase Fat Freddy)

Aileen, on Aileen's musings, a member of the Altered Book Club Yahoo email group, put up some free images on her blog. Thought this was a terrific idea for gifts for friends who do altered art, so I'm putting some images here today that you can copy and use for your own work. (If you click on them, a larger version will display)

This is Hanuman, a god and hero in Thailand. This is part of a huge mural in the palace in Bangkok. It was 98 degrees that day, we nearly melted! The ice cream shop does a very good business...

This burnt Buddha from 500 years ago, in the old capital city of Thailand. It was overrun, and never restored. It's beautiful and magnificent, and reminded me of the poem "Ozymandius".

The recent cold weather had the hibiscus blooming like crazy. I like to cut these out with an Xacto knife for use in my journals. Hope you will find a use for it.

The red hibiscus are particular favorites of the local green iguanas, so I cut some to bring inside when they started blooming. My kitten, Uschi, ate one before I even had time to take a photo! She had the yellow pollen on her nose, so I know it was her! LOL!

ATCs for the Cyber Fyber Swap

2008-12-12T06:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I stumbled across the Cyber Fyber International Random ATC swap. Cool! Here are the three I'm sending, no they aren't fiber ATCs, but this particular swap is open to all mediums. And the time is short, so...

Also, got the first sale on my etsy shop - some of my hand dyed vintage lace and appliques. Tres cool! Hope to see what they made, and if they send me pics, I will post!

Some cool swaps to join!

2008-12-11T07:45:00.002-05:00

Just a couple lines today to tell you about a couple cool swaps to join! The Valentine Charm swap at the Tattered Rose. Here's where you sign up.

And an ATC swap at The Cyber Fyber International Random ATC Swap. Here
Sounds cool!

Fun!

Did you see this?

2008-12-03T08:11:00.002-05:00

Did you see this? Click on the little picture to see it enlarged. The moon aligned with Jupiter and Venus - and it won't happen again until 2052. Very pretty night sky. Almost forgot to look, but I was taking out the garbage, and this is the view from my side yard. Guess that was my reward for taking out the garbage?

Here's a page from my journal that I just created using some of the handdyed vintage lace from last weeks dye pot adventure. The maps in the back ground are some of my husband's old aeronautical charts. They go out of use after 60 days (because things change that quickly, dear reader). So I get them for my art! I'll be putting a few up on my etsy site too.

Dear reader, it is tres cold here today, and going to stay cold for a few days. Don't you know I have to go north about 300 miles today too? Of course, it is even colder there. Ouch!

Guess what? I'm going to visit a pyschic on Friday. One of the guys working on my house told me about him and recommended him. I'll tell you what happened! Since the new house is near Cassadaga, there are lots of folks around here who go, it's not even a strange thing to do! Love it.

Nice day at the antique show

2008-11-30T11:39:00.005-05:00

This lovely paperdoll, who btw, is fabric, not paper, came my way at an antique show yesterday. I paid WAY too much for it, but she really wanted to come home with me! Isn't she lovely? She has hand embroidery all over and the muslin material was handcolored with what might have been colored pencils. She might have been glued to something at one time, it looks like bits of old glue on the back.

What do you think I should name her? I'm thinking 50's. Would love to hear what you think, dear reader!

BTW, all the handdyed vintage lace pieces are up on my etsy site. www.bvandusen.etsy.com

Colors for Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T10:25:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Aren't these lovely? Some flowers from our yard this morning. Uschi likes them too.

Here's a lonely hibiscus that our iguanas haven't yet noticed. Maybe it's because it is so cool today and they aren't active. We don't get to see all that many hibiscus flowers since they are quite the delicacy to the green iguanas that live here.

Some of the lace that I dyed on Tuesday. This is the same dye batch. Love how the different fibers take the same dye differently. Not only do I love vintage lace, and dyeing it, but it is fab to use in anything altered. My journals all have old lace and trim, sometimes for an edge, sometimes as a feature. You can use these pieces in crazy quilting, altered cloths. Put paverpol on them and make a sculpture.

I love how this old ric rac turned out. It was partially in one pot and partially in another. Then squeezed all together. Yummy!

This machine made trim took up three different colors and has nice variations. Isn't this a marvelous color? It would look great as a journal page edge trim.

How do you like that little hand crocheted piece? One color is great, but three is even better!

Turquoise is one of those colors that will always say South Florida and the Bahamas to me. A lovely swim in a pool on a hot afternoon. South Beach art deco. The ribbon on my Mom's straw hat from Guatamala. She wore it the day we picked her up at the airport - she flew home for our wedding. She looked so cute in her straw hat and cotton pants and sneakers.

More mauve and burgundy and pink laces and trims. So pretty!

Happy Thanksgiving! Big hugs to all of you!

A Perfect Day to Dye

2008-11-25T17:20:00.004-05:00

One of these is not like the others!

Once, a long time ago, several of us held a ceremony to learn our totem animal. It was a girl evening, and so nice to be with friends. Even so, we all took it seriously and spent a lot of time seeking. We were to make sure that the animal that came to us appeared to us from all directions. My friend Stephanie found her totem animal to be a polar bear. Another woman whose name I've now forgotten found her animal to be a tiger. I don't remember the others. Mine was a small white heron or a cattle egret. Ever since when I feel somewhat disappointed not to have a strong totem animal, I remind myself that I get to see my toten animal frequently, whereas my friends have to dream them (or go to a zoo). So, isn't that luckier in some small way, dear reader?

Do you see what type of birds these are? They are ibis, a bird that seems wonderful because of its strangely shaped beak. Here is a small part of a flock in the side yard, where they ate for at least 20 minutes while I played in my pots! Do you see that one of them is actually a small white heron? I was graced by their presence, and when I saw that one was actually my totem animal, I felt doubly blessed.

I thank the universe for the lesson and the beauty of it.

Today was the perfect day to do something that seems magical to me each time I try it. The temperature was up again in the high 70s after a week of cool weather. And a more beautiful sunny day you couldn't ask for! So I filled up my dyepots with colors, no measurements, just whatever came to me. And threw in all the lace from one of the baskets in the kitchen.

Dyeing is so lovely. You throw in some plain colored stuff, and out comes a magical new piece. How old lace is transformed by dyeing, it's truly wonderful. Something different every time.

These are some of the turquoise pieces I'll be putting on my etsy shop.

These were dyed with cinnamon tea. They are so soft looking. I would use these in my altered art.

Desperately Seeking Input

2008-11-10T05:45:00.003-05:00

Help me find the perfect teachers for The Fernery Art Studio! What would you like to learn? Who would you like to spend time creating with? What types of classes would entice you to come to Florida in the wintertime?

What do you most want to create? Learn? What would make your experience exquisite?

Help me, get 25% off your first visit, and get entered to win the free 3 day workshop/retreat. Six lucky people will get a free workshop and free room and board. Happening January 2010. Leave a comment with your email addy, or email me directly at barb@thefernery.com

Well, rust my tin!

2008-11-04T05:26:00.004-05:00

Went to Connecticut a couple weeks ago for the "Art Is - You" 2008 retreat. It was a blast! Had the BEST classes. It was just chilly enough to give this South Florida gal a real taste of fall. (Fall? What's that? It's still in the 80's here!) And the leaves! Wow!

It was all so exciting and stimulating that I kinda forget to take photos, but I did get two pictures from the Tattered Threads class on Sunday. I sat next to Gwen, pictured below sewing. A funny lady and brilliant artist!

And below is Julia, who was wearing this great tunic. Doesn't she have a terrific smile? She was even smiling when I mistakenly used her sewing machine in the morning without realizing. But she was happy to share! Everyone at this retreat was someone you would want for a friend. Hope to see everyone again!

Took three classes, two of which my sister, Karen, also picked. I loved the altered board book with Lesley Venable. Since I can't find what I did with that photo right this minute, I'll just skip on to the Altered Tin class. Serious Fun!!

Here's my rusty tin from Lesley Venable's class. It seems I forgot all about the step to stop the rusting. Hmm. Wonder if it will stop. What will it look like in a few months. Inquiring minds!

Lesley is a fabulous teacher. She is patient and funny. Full of energy. Super organized. Very talented. Is interested in everything. Yes, we loved her and the class. We really really want her to come teach at the Fernery Art Studio.

We made these crazy little books (you know I love books!) using formica samples (rob your local big box hardware store!). I used some of my dh's expired aeronautical charts to cover the "pages" and some travel scenes and quotes. You can't see it anymore but I stamped the box with a big map stamp. Both my sister, Karen, and I love to travel. Hope we get to do that sometime in the future!

Lesley shared this wonderful German scrap that looked like black lace, where did you get that Lesley?

Dear Friends, The Fernery building is starting to get way more fun now. Talking to the cabinet makers and thinking about lighting fixtures and all that. Don't forget to check out the latest photos.

Four Kitty Night

2008-10-01T07:35:00.003-04:00

Dear Reader, slept so well last night! And why? Because I had 4 kitties sleeping on me. Now a one or two kitty night is common. Ru, the little orange cat, almost always sleeps on my shoulder or side. She's light as a feather, just a warm little presence. And faithful Salem, my big black loverboy, sleeps always by my feet. Sometimes he will roll over and lie on my feet or legs, but not too often. And then, when my toes are a bit cold, I might tuck them under his warm belly. But that will only last a few minutes until he wakes up sufficiently to give me a warning nip! LOL! But long enough, dear reader, to get those toes warm!

Third most common is Pixie, who is her Daddy's girl. She'll only allow me to pet her if we are all lying in bed. But she does sleep on my arm and hand fairly frequently and has taught me to pet her in my sleep. I'll wake up petting her, or perhaps she is lying on my hand with one regal silver paw wrapped around a finger.

Next, there's Alice, who until Uschi came along was the kitten of the family for nearly four years. She likes to snuggle for 5 minutes or so as soon as I go to bed, but then must resume her duties at the highest spot in the room, where she carefully watches for any infraction of the rules.

When Uschi was a little kitten (she is now an 8 pound 8 month old teenager) she always slept with us. But as is the way, she is now asserting her independence. To our sorrow, she doesn't sleep with us all that much anymore.

So last night I woke up and upon returning to bed, I picked up Uschi and brought her back to bed with me. As you know, dear reader, cats are often more pliant when sleepy. She seemed happy to be there, and soon snuggled up with head on my leg and feet in my tummy. Ru resumed her place on my shoulder. Pixie snuggled down on my arm, curling paw around finger. And then, to my delight, Salem rolled over and put his head on my foot.

As I drifted off, I felt secure in the knowledge that no matter how far I might fly in my dreams, my body was safe and securely weighted down by my dear little friends.

Love is the only way, dear reader, that we will survive this mess. It is the best part of us, and that which resonates with the universe. Tell those you love, that you love them, and give them a hug. Today.

Busy Bee August!

2008-08-26T11:37:00.007-04:00

Dear Reader, this has been such a busy month. First a trip to DeLand to see what's new on the house and workshop. Then a trip to Oakland where my friend, Laura Bowker, gave a presentation on a special kind of engraving that she learned in Murano. She told a great story, how she fell in love with the technique, built an amazing piece of equipment to do it, and intricacies of the technique. It was great fun to tell everyone that I was her roommate!

One of the days it was so clear that we could see from our window across the Bay to San Francisco. Reminder to self: Always check the weather when going to San Francisco, you will likely need a jacket!

Then I got a cold for a few days, followed by Tropical Storm Fay. Spent some time during all that working on a bunch of swaps. Made NINETEEN birthday RAKs for folks in the ClothPaperStudio yahoo email group. NINETEEN! That was the biggest month so far.

Next I started a bracelet for the bracelet RR in Adornmentz. Jeanne Brickman sent me her bracelet, which is a dainty little bracelet with no links, so have to put on my thinking cap for that one. Have some ideas, will post those next time.

Worked on the technique pages, boy did the bubble paint thing not work, have to try that again, good thing we have until October.

Then there's this Deco RR for the BookArtz group. This is my very first Deco RR! My theme is Bees, which I love. Bees are so important to our food supply, and most people don't even know that. Nor do many folks know that there is a very serious disease affecting colonies all around the world. We could be in some very serious trouble. Everyone should be planting bee friendly plants in their yards to encourage bees.

Couple of personal challenges have started too, so I'm very busy in the studio these days. More pics soon!

This afternoon I'm taking a bead crochet class at the Golden Bead Monkey in Tamarac. Should be fun!

Then back to DeLand, St. Augustine, Daytona and Melbourne to make the rounds of our future stomping grounds, and visit family and friends. Guess lots of stuff has happened this month, even though Fay kept the guys from doing much of anything last week. We sure got a lot of rain. But our property is very high and dry, so just a few branches were down. That's a blessing!

Take care!

Bandana technique production mode

2008-08-03T10:31:00.003-04:00

Dear Reader, I've been in production mode now for several days on these pages for the BookArtz technique book page swap. Every time I check the database, someone else has added their name! Since the closing day for sign up isn't until the 15th, no telling how many will join. Oy!

But never mind, I do enjoy making these. First I paint, and while that's drying I stamp some already painted pages, and while that's drying I outline. Or doodle.

You can use a couple different types of pens. Since the Inksentials (from Ranger) pen wasn't readily available, I started with a paint pen by DecoColor. It has an extra fine point which I like very much. You definitely want an extra fine or fine point pen for this! And DO NOT get a Marvy pen, boy they can make a big mess. Here's a hint for paint pens - always start them on a separate sheet of paper. I mean every time you start using them, not just the first time! Nasty little surprises are just SO unwelcome!

The Inksentials pen is just a gel pen, and it's nice, although it doesn't smell as nice as the paint pen. Both make a nice line and dot though. So either. My personal preference is the extra fine point.

I did start getting a little bored just doing the white doodles, so then I started adding some color doodles too. Would this strictly still be bandana technique? Who cares? So then, maybe the image doesn't have to be black either. And I definitely think that one should try drawing an image in black and then using the white doodles with the drawn image.

While you are doing these over and over you can think of lots of ways to change up the technique. And maybe what to cook for supper and a few other things not completely related...

But watch out! If you mind wanders too much, sloppiness happens! And everyone knows "NEATNESS COUNTS!".

On these last two pics, you can see two sizes of pen point. The fine point in the color, and the white is extra fine. It's about twice the size. For some reason the A.C. Moore only had white in the extra fine.

If you aren't already signed up, go directly to the BookArtz yahoo group and sign up! This promises to be a really great reference for altered book techniques!

Love this technique!

2008-07-31T08:33:00.003-04:00

This is so much fun to do! I was up late last night working on these for the Book Artz technique book page swap. As best I can tell, this technique was developed by Robin Beam. It shows up all over if you google it.

There are three parts to it. Background color or colors, a black image, and white doodling. Robin used Ranger inks for the background. Another artist used colored card stock. These pages started with acrylic paint thinned with glazing liquid. Thinning the acrylic colors makes them transparent so that you can layer them. The more glazing liquid, the more transparent. One of my favorite things to do in altered books and journal pages.

The images are cheapo foam stamps which had nice thick images, but not too cluttered. You could use any images you want, but you want to have space to doodle, cause that's the part that makes it really cool!

And then the mostest FUN part - doodling! Use a white pen. Everybody seems to have a different favorite white pen. There is a white pen from Ranger, but that wasn't in my local store so I got a white extra fine point paint pen. It works great! Smells good too? Am I getting high from that? hehehe

Hope y'all like 'em!

Script It! BookMooch Journal Project

2008-07-27T10:19:00.003-04:00

Green ink and Buddhist wisdom for my spread in Script It. The whole collaborative art project thing, assisted by the internet, has got to be one of the best trends our this time. Did it start with Artist Trading Cards? Probably not, but that's where it first came to my attention. Since then I've tried to do as many as time permits. Love sharing my art. Love having other people's art. Recently I sent out a journal in the BookMooch Journal project. Will it return to me? When? You never know.

I've had this journal a little longer than you're supposed to, but it took some time to decide whether to use fonts in Word, or try to do some myself. Finally just used some of my favorite fonts. Attached a glassine envelope to put in one of my beeswax tags with my personal info on it. And a piece of hand painted cloth. Since colorful fibers and fabric are part of my vocabulary, they had to be included!

Hope you are having a colorful day, dear friends!

Picked up my tiles!!

2008-07-22T12:46:00.002-04:00

Some tiles for the risers. Made at the Armory Art Center. Using Georgie's glazes. This are B-mix clay, bisque fired to 6. Gel medium was painted on, allowed to dry. While they're drying make some more tiles! When they're dry, wipe with wet sponge. Clay wipes off except where the gel medium dried.

It took 4 semesters to get here. I had given up because the last kilm full prior to these, EVERY ONE CRACKED! And then, these. Well, I'll be going back and trying some more.

These will probably be on the kitchen risers where I can see them frequently.

Book Mooch Journal Project

2008-07-14T19:55:00.002-04:00

Do you belong to Book Mooch? Do you know about the journal project? It's a collaborative art project. You get a journal, write or create a page, and then pass it on. You can find out more here. I've participated in a couple journals so far. And now here are a couple new ones that I'm going to add.

The first one is "Juicy Women". It can be any woman that you think lives a JUICY life.

Doodles are so much fun, and nearly all my journal pages have doodles, so I thought it would be fun to collect lots of different doodles. So doodle away!

Pink favorites swap

2008-07-09T18:57:00.003-04:00

As soon as Sue said "Pink" for the next favorites swap, I've been tossing stuff in a bag. There were plenty of pink beads and buttons for two bags! There is some ribbon, some lace, small pieces of paper, lots of fabric, some pink iron on appliques, some little self stick faux gems, some fiber on a clothespin (isn't that a nice way to keep it?, who started that? Nice idea), a couple beeswax collage tags (one with my name and info), a couple napkins (which are really cool in beeswax collage, but peel away the back layer).

You know, I really didn't think I had all that much pink stuff since it really isn't one of my colors. Or maybe it's something that occassionally gets pushed up into the conscious realm.

Here are my latest journal pages:

Have you read about the Pickens plan yet? Check it out using the new badge at the top right.

Colors of Summer

2008-07-03T10:27:00.002-04:00

Some of the things that are blooming now in my backyard. The corner out the kitchen window is so pretty now. The arbor is overgrown with jasmine, the alamandas bloom in profusion. The hibiscus bloom, and sometimes I get to see them before the iguanas eat them. We have quite a lot of iguanas this year, since we are on a canal and have trees (mostly palms, but one gumbo limbo) for them to live in. They like trees, but they love hisbiscus. Yummy! Apparently they don't care much for the alamanda, and it's not surprising they don't eat the bouganvilla. The bouganvilla have gotten quite wild, and we should probably cut them back.

We are lucky that the rains have started, we had a dreadful winter/spring drought and everything turned quite brown. But now even the staghorns are green. The good thing about the drought and the water restrictions was that our water bill went down a lot. Boy, watering the lawn uses a lot of water! Who knew? Well, now it would be hard to go back to watering more than once a week. We'll plant less things that need a lot of water from now on. Lesson learned.

Dear readers, hope you will enjoy a warm July 4th with your family and loved ones.

First Day of Summer!

2008-06-23T10:38:00.004-04:00

On the first day of summer, I walked thru the front "door" of my new studio and out the back. What a thrill! Someday soon we will be hosting workshops and meeting new friends.

Here's the view from the back of the studio. One day there will be a patio here, where we will make paper, hang dyed fabric, and enjoy the moment. Can't wait to see what folks will make!

Nearby I spotted these Sandhill Cranes. This adult was escorting a single chick, and only yards away another adult was with another chick. We have at least 6 breeding pairs in the area. Sandhill cranes can live for 20 years, start breeding somewhere between 2 and 6 years old, and mate for life.

Playing with color and BookMooch Journal Project news

2008-06-12T14:58:00.003-04:00

New Journal pages exploring colorways. The new studio is going to be organized around color! I was thinking about those rolling bookcases you can get at Office Max that you can access from either side. And then having everything purple on one, like beads, fabric, fibers, paper, collage bits. Since I use all kinds of stuff in the same piece it makes sense. Well, still thinking about it.

But everything is going to have to roll, so spaces can be easily reconfigured depending on the current project or workshop.

Some really great colors accidentally "discovered" when playing in Photoshop. Color is an important part of an artist's vocabulary.

I love to doodle too. Working on a book for the BookMooch project that will invite participants to doodle! I'm going to get my first journal from that project in which to work shortly, it has been sent. Can't wait!

Journal Girl Journaling Workshop pages

2008-06-08T21:05:00.003-04:00

Okay this is cool. Journal Girl Yahoo group is doing an online journal workshop. Yeah, I need another journal project. But the Bead Journal Project is not until September, and I'm so far down the line in the BookMooch Journal Project, Who knows when I'll get one of those.

Here is the cover: My second rule in life.
Thinking about spaces, personal and sacred. Space, not just in a physical sense, but also in the sense of your personal reality. What is the personal reality that you yourself create for yourself?

I believe that stating your intention helps bring about that reality. My journal is clearly going to be about the new house and workshop my husband is building for me. And the bringing to life of The Fernery Art Studio.

How Bonnie got the Aloha Bracelet

2008-05-27T09:30:00.004-04:00

Okay, you're not supposed to brag, but this really did turn out nicely! While in Maui for friends Tracy and Dean's wedding, I picked up this great bead bracelet kit at Aloha Bead. Design by Sarah Klopping. Kit comes with everything you need except tools. It took me about three weeks after getting home to finish it.

It's a single strand of ochos, and then you keep adding dangles. It's a great style that you could make many times after you see how. The button for the closure in the kit I bought is gorgeous!

Here's the funny part. The instructions mention that you want enough dangles to cover the work around the central strand. Total obsession took over and I kept adding and adding! I'd think, well now it will be done at the end of this length of thread. And then I'd turn it over and look and think that I needed to add dangles in just a couple more spots. Two hours later I'd set it down thinking it was almost done. Well, guess what I added too many dangles! It never occurred to me that the inner circumference was shrinking, but of course it was!

So that's how Bonnie ended up with this bracelet. She loves beaded things and she was the first one I thought of when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to wear it myself.

It was so perfect too, since she had just bought a neat purple dress she will wear it with. Isn't it funny how things can work out like that?

Art is Everywhere!

2008-05-20T07:49:00.002-04:00

For the ArtBuzz challenge I posted my slideshow of art found on my birthday on Jones Beach on Long Island.

Finished!

2008-05-16T11:56:00.002-04:00

What do you think? It's finished and all I have to do now is find a box!

In progress, fabric cone

2008-05-13T08:27:00.002-04:00

Somehow I ended up working on this in two pieces, is that how you did it? Anyway, since my sewing machine is under about two feet of boxes packed for the move, I'm handsewing everything. The inside has some tulle and some lace I hand painted, a piece of my handmade paper (the pear stamped on it).

Captured some purple potpourri under a bit of lace and made a little topper with lace and peyote stitched beads, capturing some ribbons. This is the inside. Next time I'm finding some white felt and hand painting it too.

Now I'm working on the outside. Continually fussing back and forth on the shape so that the placement of the butterfly will be correct. Want it to show when the whole thing is hanging. Also redid the handle. Now it has fiber captured in a simple square knot. Think I'll cut holes now for the handle...

CPS Fabric Cone Challenge

2008-05-07T06:59:00.002-04:00

The Cloth Paper Studio group on Yahoo has a new challenge/swap - the fabric cone.The directions are in the Quilting Arts Gifts special edition magazine. You can see some really beautiful ones by Ruth Rae here.

Step 1. Gather stuff together, isn't that fun? Don't you love to look thru your stash. I want to use this fab beaded butterfly, so I pick blues and purples. Got a funky piece of felt at A.C. Moore. Not that you will see it all that much.

The cone will be diamond shaped, and Ruth reminds several times in the instructions to keep your piece correctly oriented.Hmm, I'm really not sure about the music. Found some nice old music that had some nice words.

Layers and layers are how this works. Capture some interesting stuff in tulle, or net, or cheesecloth. I have a wonderful old purple chiffon scarf that is nearly completely see thru. And some hand dyed cheese cloth and sheer silks from the class with Julie Sibley.

Painted a glaze on the music, tore it smaller and stamped some on it. Like that better. Tried making a handle with cord from Anima Designs and some vintage buttons. Woke up this morning thinking that I need to do that over and put some neat fibers in the center. It looks too clunky right now.

The layers give such a rich feel and it is so fun to dive thru my stash looking for just the right thing. But I better get a move on, only have like a week left!

2008-05-01T13:04:00.002-04:00

I was very inspired by Stacy's blog. What a great self-challenge. Love the 3X3s that she has. Everyone should check them out.

This is a page from my handmade engagement calendar for this year. The last week of April, first of May. Can you believe it is May already?

Rocks of No Significance

2008-04-29T06:53:00.003-04:00

The map actually says that these rocks have no significance! We found them to be of great significance. A means of communicating with folks you will never meet or even see. An art installation. Something that will change and grow for years. Has been going on for some time. I loved it!

Click on the map and a larger version will display. Check out the top of the map.

Here's a slideshow.

Lahaina Beach photos

2008-04-29T06:48:00.002-04:00

Two beaches on the opposite side of the country, in one month. And if you count the one down the street, that's really an embarrasment of riches! What a beautiful country we live in. What a beautiful world.

Beach walk, Jones Beach, NY

2008-04-27T18:22:00.002-04:00

This month I've visited two beaches other than my own, one Atlantic Ocean and one Pacific ocean. The first, Jones Beach, at first just seemed cold (well, it was about 45 degrees F!) and drab. Since it was so foggy, you couldn't see very far either. I guess this beach is seriously crowded during the season, so it was really pretty lucky to see it so deserted.

No matter where you are, art surrounds you if you will just look for it. Here is a slideshow of art I found on Jones Beach.

Tomorrow I'll post my pics from Lahaina Beach, Maui!

Uschi, the newest baby at our house!

2008-04-07T10:28:00.004-04:00

Here is the newest addition to our family, Uschi. She is about 9 weeks old and just adorable. She loves to be held and sleeps in bed under the covers all night long. The others are learning to get along with her. She loves to play and it's good to see some of the older ones playing with her.

Steve brought her home with him from work. The security guard found her. She was attacked by a hawk, and he heard the commotion and rescued her. She now has a safe and loving home.

Ceramic Surface Embellishment class, Erin Furimsky

2008-04-07T10:06:00.003-04:00

Learned so much at the recent workshop at the Armory Art Center in Palm Beach, FL. Erin Furimsky is an excellent instructor, and a fabulous ceramic artist. She is a full time ceramics instructor at Illinois State, mother of a two-year-old boy, and a full time ceramicist. Wow! Eleven of us participated in her workshop, where I learned many techniques that will definitely be seen on my tiles.

One of my favorite techniques was using a resist to paint on the leather hard pieces. You paint on green wax, or we used matte medium, using a paint brush a design that you like. Wait for it to completely dry, and then use your sponge to wipe across the design. The area with the resist will not wipe away, but the area around it does, revealing your design. Cool!

Erin uses a lot of subtle design techniques in her fabulous work. Her works reference architectural details. Her shapes are sensous and clearly she spends many hours perfecting the lines in them. She showed us just a tantalizing section of her handbuilding techniques. I was fascinated by her process. She first decides on the shape and then figures out which methods will work to get her that shape. She may combine throwing, slab and coil techniques all in the same piece. She would spend hours perfecting the piece once the rough shape is achieved. We all enjoyed her workshop and hope for her to return to show us a few more tricks! Thanks, Erin!

Handmade Paper journals to trade

2008-03-27T10:50:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I'm bored with posting only about my stuff. I'd like to post what art YOU are making. So I've got a trade. You get a handmade journal from my handmade paper if you send me a jpg of a new piece of art that you make that describes you or something about you, real or wishful thinking. Also, some short introduction of yourself and a general (or detailed if you feel like it!) description of how you made it.

Each journal has 5 or so pages of my handmade paper. The black one has vintage red plastic buttons. The gold one has metallic foil bits in the paper. The big turquoise-ish one uses handdyed silk ribbon (bought). Making paper is very fun, and I will be offering classes at the Fernery (coming 2010).

I will be adding and subtracting journals as folks pick which one they want. I hope you will play!

Barb V.

Spring has begun?

2008-03-24T13:08:00.005-04:00

Dear Reader, here in South Florida we are having a lovely early spring. It's been in the 70s and a few nights even lower. We are getting some much needed rain (we are on rationing here). So far my friends in the midwest have been safe, but it is going to take some time for them to clean up. Hope you are where the weather is lovely.

Since I last wrote, I went to see the Calder Jewelry exhibit at the Norton in Palm Beach. Calder made at least 1800 pieces of jewelry in his lifetime, mostly as gifts to his beloved wife and friends. I knew about his mobiles and stabiles, but hadn't really seen any of his jewelry and it was stunning! He used wire and found objects to make the most amazing pieces. Phenomenal. Please go see it or get the book on the exhibit. You will be blown away by what he could do with a piece of wire and a hammer.

Here's an altered tin for the spring altered tin swap from Unshelved Words. Trish told me about it and I couldn't resist. I cut out the front leaving a pretty frame and added a watercolor flower and a couple pressed flowers (under mica).

The inside is lined with some hand painted fabric and vintage lace. The poem is actually a haiku although space didn't allow the correct formating. Doesn't spring always make you think about starting again? What will you start this spring?

Beeswax collage with Claudine Hellmuth

2008-03-09T18:23:00.005-04:00

Two weeks ago the Art League of Bonita Springs sponsored Claudine Hellmuth in a three day intensive on Beeswax Collage. The Art League has a beautiful facility. It was a terrific class and Claudine is a fantastic teacher. Even with a very large class, 24 students, she was able to spend time with each student each day, working on design issues and whatever. She is a bundle of energy and creative ideas. Many of the students were repeats and she is slated to return again next year.

I had a lot of problems to begin with. Doing collage with beeswax is very different than gluing. It took a couple of days to figure out that you really have to have different expectations as well as using different types of paper. Some papers will be too thick. Anything cardstock weight is too thick. What happens is that you get this build up of wax around the edge. So anything that has any height to it, compared to the prior layer, is going to have this filling in around the edges. Also, some pictures from magazines won't stand up to the heat. This can be used to effect, but you have to be expecting it...

Tissue papers work really nicely. And here's something way cool, use your Pitt pens to draw on white tissue. The white tissue disappears, and the drawing looks like it is on the previous layer. See the cat tails and leaves on the first Heron Collage here.

Lately I've been drawing herons. I want to do a mosaic medallion for the entry of our new home. I'll be using ceramic tile, indirect method. Wish me luck!

So these are several layers of tissue paper on canvas with beeswax. I drew on white tissue with Pitt pens. The herons are on computer paper. I drew the originals on watercolor paper, scanned them into photoshop and resized them. Then printed the pencil drawing. Colored with Pitt pens on the computer paper and cut out with Xacto.

You can polish the wax with a paper towel.

My Handmade Jewelry

2008-02-18T19:22:00.002-05:00

There's a group online that's all about vintage costume jewelry, called JewelCollect. I've been a member off and on for something like 10 years now. It's an email group and they have something called the Topic of the Week (TOW). It was your own handmade jewelry, so I made this photo album with some of mine. Thought yall might be interested.

Handmade Paper

2008-02-15T20:01:00.005-05:00

Since you can only put a few pictures at a time here, I've made an album of some of my handmade paper. I love making paper and books and journals. Please check it out and tell me what you think.

Barb V.

Puerta Vallarta Mosaics!

2008-01-28T14:43:00.000-05:00

Nancy Shelby's Mosaic class in Puerta Vallarta was truly fab! She is a wonderful artist, and a good teacher too! I loved how much time she took to work with each of us individually. She helped me immensely with several things. Her sense of color usage with mosaics is most excellent, and I listened closely, not just when she was helping me, but also when she helped others. The colors that you might use when painting or collaging are different than when mosaicing. It's not just how it changes with grouting, but how the blending happens with the relatively large pieces. This is going to be a big help in the future. Also, her grouting demo really helped. Yes, that's maybe the easiest part for you, but I've been having trouble. And it seems that every class I take, the teacher just assumes that everyone can do that part. Nancy's demo really answered my biggest problem - why the grout goes down so much. Well, I've been just doing everything way too wet, and the wetter, the more the grout will sink down after drying. Another big help - make a test patch, using tessarae from your piece. Then grout with a couple colors so that you can pick the right color grout without messing up your piece.

As always, the best part of the class was meeting the teacher and other students. This class had some really interesting and talented women. Shelly and Joan, from Michigan, were second time students of Nancy's. And their work was WOW! And Shelly has a truly beautiful voice. On the last evening of the workshop, we all enjoyed a Russian ballad from Luba. She was born in Russia, but moved to Canada some years ago as a young mother. Her voice, too, was beautiful and we were all moved by the ballad and her rendition. Martine also sang for us and too has a beautiful voice. I was awed by the singing talent, and one evening just sat and enjoyed the lovely songs shared by my new amigas. Martine was very entertaining, as a screenwriter she had a repetoire of interesting stories to share. Although Madeline professed not to be able to sing, she is a talented artist and her watercolors are soon to appear in advertising for a watersports company in Canada.

See you at SAMA!

Blackbirds and a black cat

2007-12-29T04:51:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone is having a nice holiday, whatever it is that you celebrate. How about celebrating that the days are getting longer again! Have you come up with resolutions for the New Year? My number one is to enjoy each and every day to the fullest. Isn't that hard sometimes? You really have to pay attention too.

Here is a recent piece. I have been using a pouring method to make multicolored sheets of paper. The pours are random. But, like inkblots, imaginations turns them into something!

Here is the sheet after it has dried. Do you see the blackbirds? Immediately the song by the Beatles, "Blackbirds" came into my head. This song has long struck me as an anthem to people who need to break free from whatever has brought them down.

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise"

I love sewing, and sewing on paper is interesting. You can't not use a hole you've made, so make holes carefully. My teacher, Trish, says that I should do more of this. It's amazing how much stuff there is in the sheets of paper I've been making. Dear reader, you will no doubt be seeing more of these...

Salem trying to sleep in the basket on my worktable. He is so sweet, often purring gently while I work. Sometimes I'll look up at him, and one eye is just barely open, watching me work. It's good to have a friend, especially one who loves all that I do...

Plant love

2007-12-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

This is our front porch now, in Pompano Beach, Fl. As you can see, it's getting overgrown, which is just how we like it. There are statues of Kwan Yin and Rebecca hidden under the pothos, and some shells and glass balls. We love the Vietnamese pots, and over the years we've collected a few of them for all the succulents.

Behind all the pots in the front there are some ruella which aren't in bloom today, but when they are they are a lovely purple color. You can't see all the lizards, but I assure you, there at least a hundred of them, different kinds too. The iguana live out back in the gumbo limbo and palms near the canal. We had at least 8 babies hatch in our yard this year.

Marvelous Miami Mosaics!

2007-10-27T19:06:00.000-04:00

A whole week in Miami at Design Impact learning mosaic techniques. What a blast! Gina Hubler is an amazing mosaic artist and we enjoyed both her expertise and her lively sense of humor. During her frequent absences we were privileged to be lovingly guided by her talented apprentice, Veronica. Veronica is also extremely talented and working on an amazing piece that will be in a Cuban church when finished. Between the two teachers we were able to nearly complete three projects, each in different types of mosaic techniques. A week is barely enough time to sample techniques. Gina showed us classical setting, tile setting and smalti (Byzantine glass) setting. Please see her website for available classes.

Here are our tile mirrors drying before we are able to grout.
This is my piece, before it was grouted.
Here we are grouting in the pouring rain. You see Veronica's back (Gina had personal business most mornings), and at the end of the table is my new friend Gail who lives near where my husband and I are moving. Can't wait to get together and see all her mosaic projects! The rain kept us from being able to finish all our projects since it seriously slowed drying time. Thanks Veronica for being so patient and helpful!
Here are my classmates. Gail (left standing) is working on her yin/yang turtle tabletop. Bonnie (black tanktop) and Gail are sisters and have collaborated on mosaic projects. I can't wait to see their outdoor shower! Bonnie made a beautiful pink flamingo, which you see here in early stages. Vivian (far right standing) set her tabletop with three large leaves. Sitting with her back to us in this picture is Margo. Margo is a printmaker from Wisconsin, whose amazing sturgeons came out fabulous. She showed us many pictures of real sturgeons which are caught during the winter on Lake Winnebago, near her and Vivian. Her sturgeons were beautiful and colorful!

Open, Illustration Friday challenge

2007-10-23T19:52:00.000-04:00

Grow means a lot of things, soon I'll have my own veggie garden. I'm growing into a whole new lifestyle. Every thing you learn is a kind of growth. Growing stronger by allowing everything to happen and just being curious about it, rather than worrying about it or denying it.

The Fernery

2007-10-21T07:42:00.000-04:00

The Fernery! Building will begin very soon now. We have the site plan, and most if not all of the required documents to take to the county for building permits. Roger is getting bids for various things, like concrete and plumbing. My good friend Larry is coming up with more folks who are local who are interested in working on some part. Friday I spent all day staking out protected trees, the area to be mulched for the big trucks to drive on, driveways. We are putting down mulch to protect the tree roots from the compaction which will occur with all the big trucks that will be coming in during the building process. We will have at least 9 concrete trucks!

Working on a google map with local area interest. There is so much to see and do in the area, especially if you are interested in hiking, biking, fishing, boating, birding. We are so LUCKY! Come visit

Free Cemetary Images on my website

2007-10-10T10:22:00.001-04:00

Here's the famous Buck headstone, you may copy any of the photos from Maine cemeteries on my website.

Hope you will be enjoying a spooky Halloween!

Pleasures of Fall

2007-10-10T09:16:00.000-04:00

Dear Reader, are you ready for Fall? Have you seen leaves changing yet? Here is a piece of paper that I made with a leaf skeleton in paper class a week ago. Gampo fibers. We use the Japanese method of papermaking, drying on plywood boards.

It's so good to be back taking classes. Everything shuts down here in the summer, in Florida. There aren't enough full time residents to keep classes full. Fall starts up a lot of things here in South Florida. Soon the art festivals will be starting, and the outdoor antique shows. My favorite things to do on weekends, shop outdoors! LOL!

I owe you some more pictures from Maine. They're coming up...

Bar Harbor, Maine

2007-09-30T09:33:00.000-04:00

We are in Maine for a few days visiting Steve's family. They took us out on their boat, here's a picture of a lobster boat stopped to collect lobsters. Notice the seagulls that follow them around while they work. Guess they get some free food!

The next pic is in Bar Harbor, a beautfiul town. This is the door of an Inn right downtown.

Dear reader, hope you are well.
Barb V

For Beth, tube rivets

2007-09-24T08:28:00.001-04:00

Beth, this piece has some hand dyed fibers under mica, the frame is attached with tube rivets.

Collage Discovery Challenge, Lesson 1

2007-09-22T10:11:00.000-04:00

Canvases from the first "lesson" of the TreasureArtTrends Collage Discovery Workshop Challenge. We are using the book by Claudine Hellmuth's book, working thru trying each technique. The first four techniques are for backgrounds.

"Dance" started with the paper-pulling background technique. Learned some interesting stuff on that one, like if the paper is wet, you can scratch a lot easier. The paper was a piece of music. It was a bit too busy and that threw me, and it didn't end up as well as it could have, but I do love the lady dancing!

All these use acrylic paint. The top left has an opaque layer of dark cherry and a transparent layer of a mix of fuchsia and coral. Love that dark cherry!
The top right demonstrates using petroleum jelly to give a "peeling paint" look. That was interesting even just getting petroleum jelly since I didn't have a clue where to buy it. What does it get used for? Found it in the same aisle at CVS with the bandaids. You have to seal the opaque layer with gel medium before you smear some jelly where you want the paint to come off. Then use a wash on top of the whole thing. It was fun using the heat gun on this, the paint moved around on top of the jelly. I'll definitely use this technique again as it was high on the funmeter. CH is very into using fingers, even with paint. Clearly I'm going to enjoy her workshop in Bonita Springs! Better take my apron...
The bottom left should have turned out better. You use a big blob of titanium white and smear it around. Then use deep stamps (I used some metal ones that I got on Granville Island a couple years back at Maiwa) and whatever else to make impressions in the thick layer of paint. You can write, use your paste paper tools, whatever. Then it has to dry overnight. The top is a wash, and here's where it didn't quite work out. Since I left ridges in the white paint, they obscured the stamp images. Also, the fuchsia wash isn't quite dark enough, the colors she used in the book are much more interesting with this technique. But I shall try again with different colors.
The last canvas shows my favorite technique, paper pulling. This makes a terrific background and, dear reader, you are sure to see it again! This was an old dictionary page, starting with an old piece of paper adds to the whole effect, something that would have helped in the piece "Dance".

Hope you have a creative day,
Barb V.

Henrietta and Ruth Ann

2007-09-18T16:11:00.000-04:00

I wish I could have met Henrietta, but alas she is probably long gone. The old photos I have of her are all from 1916, where she looks to be about 20 years old. I am much taken by her since in every photo she is grinning or laughing, and it looks like her friends were always laughing with her. I wonder what her life was like and hope that it was as beautiful as she was.

She has shown up in some of my ATCs and one altered book, but I just can't seem to stop wanting to put her happy face on everything. Here is a necklace that I just finished. It's sterling. The black stones are onyx. The chain is fun, I used 16 g ss wire, balled up an end, hammered it flat, then put a hole thru it. The next link goes thru, with one hammered flat ball end bent. It's kinda wonky, but I like it. Everything got thrown in liver of sulfur (except the photo) and then polished in the tumbler. The photo is a copy of the original on some really good paper that I found at Jerry's Artarama. I wanted the shape to look like a torn piece of paper, what do you think?

Hope you are well, dear reader.
Barb V.

The orange cat wears fuchsia

2007-09-14T06:12:00.000-04:00

Since several projects are always underway, sometimes stuff spills over. Does that happen to you too, dear reader? The old lace curtain grabbed at Trash 2 Treasures for the Trash 2 Art projects got painted with my favorite fuchsia color. The lace was being cut up to use on the Red Queen (which you haven't seen yet since it would be unseemly for the Queen to be seen not completely clothed!). And these Gothic Arches were just lying there, and whoopee! doesn't the lace look nice on them? Don't you love when that happens? Remember the Textile Show in Minneapolis? Well this morning I was reading an old Surface Design magazine (Gallery, Sept. 2006) and came across the work of Lynda E. Andrus. Her Grandmother's cabinet is in the Gallery, and here is what she has to say about it: "My work consists of using mixed media and multiple techniques. I have crossed the boundaries of fine art and fiberart. I take an idea, then address the materials and techniques I need to execute it with. The union of fibers and fine arts opens up a whole new world of exploration."

Dear Reader, as some of you know, Barb V. is into walking and is trying to join up with a group who would like to do some walking somewhere fun like Tuscany or Provence. I'm hoping some of my friends from Green Mountain will want to go!

What about the orange cat? She had to go to the vet yesterday, and they put a lovely fuchsia bandage on her paw where they took the blood. She didn't appreciate it much though and we had to have it off quite soon after returning home.

The Red Queen Principle

2007-09-13T07:51:00.000-04:00

The Red Queen said that you have to keep running just to stay in place. Isn't that what life feels like?
Well, that's what I've been thinking about a lot lately and so it ended up being explored in this shrine. The mat board and recycled paper came from Trash 2 Treasures. There is an art challenge coming up, you need to use 75% materials that are gathered from Trash 2 Treasures. This shrine is more or less experimental since I wasn't sure what techniques to use. Shrines are very popular right now in the altered art world. It seemed like a good way to start.

You need a very sharp knife to cut the mat board or it will rip. Since mine wasn't, the next step was to cover up those rips. The recycled paper makes nice papier mache.

Since books are part of my shtick, there's a book in it's own niche, made from some of my very own handmade paper. This paper is very nice smelling too, since the teacher, Trish Halverson, brought some tea in that day and we added that to the pulp.

The food references didn't even occur to me until just now, but the sticks on the book binding are bamboo skewers that I painted, and the tin with the shell on the left was a food mold of some sort. Hm. That's the cool thing about creating stuff, though, isn't it, how stuff just sort of comes out without you realizing until later. I love that.
Here's the back, if I hadn't managed to take the picture right in front of my lamp/magnifier, you could probably see the top better, oh well.

Hope you are on top of it all today, dear reader.
Barb V.

My little corner

2007-09-12T16:37:00.000-04:00

Right now this is a corner of the "studio", really the big bedroom of our house. My helper is Alice, and she would dearly love to play with something (anything!) on this table. But she has learned that if she wants to be on the table, then she must stay in the basket. I've tied a little ribbon and bead on the inside and sometimes she will play with this. If she starts looking too interested and not sleepy enough, then I give her a little eraser from a stash that is okay for her to have. Later I'll find it on the floor somewhere and return it to the stash.

When we move, the studio will be a separate building and there won't be any cats in there. But that's okay because we are building a huge porch for them. It will be all the way around on both floors, so that should be quite enough play room for them!

Got interested in Gothic Arches after hearing about the Gothic Arch Challenge from Keron Lee on the Yahoo group ClothPaperStudio. Keron has a great art blog. Right off I saw the possibilities for a book using this shape and have started two using some of the fab watercolor paper that I got at Trash 2 Treasures for free! (They got it from a dumpster behind an art supplies place that closed!)
Yep, they are various shades of coral, fuchsia and purple. So far. Just a start for the backgrounds. The other set is blues and greens mostly. With some bits of underwater map and water related old music sheets. Guess I need to take a picture of that. What did we do before digital cameras anyway? LOL! I don't think the second set is going to be a book, but will have book like qualities. I think a book that you can't open. Like an altered book that has a hole in it, only a handmade book instead. Hm, well, maybe I better just make it and then show you.

Hope you are well and happy, dear reader.
Barb V.

So many projects!

2007-09-12T12:31:00.001-04:00

How are you supposed to have time to work on your projects, and still blog? Hm. Well, someone pointed out that I haven't got any of my current stuff up here. So first I'm going to put some pics from two recent swaps.

These are the cards I sent for the Vintage Bird swap sponsored on the Yahoo group TreasureArtTrends. The base is watercolor paper, then various art papers and ephemera. There's at least one layer of acrylic glazes. For some reason, one color is never enough for me. These are my favorite colors right now, fuchsia and salmon. Or raspberry and coral. Some of the birds are from Dover CDs. Then some silk ribbon and a bit of hand dyed/painted old lace and some sequins. Somehow beads and sewing always end up getting into each of my projects. The beads on these are holding down the sewn on sequins.
Here's a journal page from a swap in ClothPaperStudio, another yahoo group. See - my favorite colors and sewing too.

Some lot of maps that I came across had this old technical drawing that was from the 60's. Back when they did engineering drawing by hand. So I cut that up and used it for the journal pages. It had a great old quality to the paper. And some of the pages had parts of the drawing on it which I thought was really cool. Can't wait to get started binding the journal so I can started using it. The pages that I got in return are terrific and make me feel like I could have done better. But since I always feel like that, I'm letting that useless emotion go.

Okay that's enough for now, hope you, dear reader, are well and happy and working on something fantastic.

Thinking of Minneapolis the day before

2007-09-12T06:28:00.001-04:00

Having been on the bridge in Minneapolis the day before it went down, indeed less than 24 hours before it went down really made me have to stop and think for a while. There were two women who died, the report said one was 50 and the other in her 40's. And I thought of my friend, Laura, who is in her 40's and me, 53. And wondered, still wondering, what were their dreams and hopes. Were they laughing and sharing?

My friend Laura had never even seen the Mississippi before, and one night we looked up from the bus and saw the moon over the Mississippi, yes, on that bridge.

The next week Laura was asked by Robert Lu of Ornament magazine to send him her wonderful beads to be photographed for the next Ornament magazine.

What would those women be doing now? Would they have gone on to splendor and glory as will my friend Laura? I am so sorry for their families and friends.

I finally put some pics up on my website of the "Nothing New" show at the Textile Center, an utterly marvelous place. I spent hours in the library looking at just a few of the hundreds of books they have on fabric and textiles and related topics. Stop in there if you can.

Minneapolis meanderings

2007-07-31T17:37:00.000-04:00

The textile center in Minneapolis is fabulous! I spent three hours just randomly accessing books in the 60,000 book library. These purses were hanging on the wall across from the library. There is a wonderful gallery with a great show: "Nothing New". If you are in the area, go see it! (pics from that tomorrow)

Loved these purses and took some pics to share with you, dear reader! Hope you can figure out the makers from the attributions on the left.
http://www.textilecentermn.org/

My friend, Laura B., and I were in town for the ISGB Gathering. I just had to see this place and the Book Arts Center. Missed some good demos at the Gathering, but no regrets! It was a fab day and I got in a lovely walk too! Downtown Minneapolis is beautiful this time of year. My friend Laura, who is from Washington state, had never seen the Mississippi before. Her first view was early evening with an almost full moon!

Off to Minneapolois

2007-07-25T08:41:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning I leave for Minneapolis and the International Society of Glass Beadmakers convention, the "Gathering". A very cool four days. We will get demos by some of the top glass beadmakers, do a museum tour by bus, shop, enjoy a banquet with auction afterwards, and shop some more. Can't wait to see my friend, Laura Bowker, and her new beads.

She has been spending time in Italy, Murano, Italy, studying with a master beadmaker. Her new beads are amazing and I can't wait to hold them in my hands! I will post some photos when I get back.

These beads are some from a few years ago since I haven't been making a lot of beads, or at least none worth taking a picture of! BTW, have you noticed that the new digital cameras are 10 megapixel? Wowzer! Got to get a new one before I go...

Dear readers, I hope you are well today and feel inspired to try something new. Do something that you don't think will work - and learn from doing it. Learn from the process. It might open your eyes to something unexpected!!

Working with Green, healing the heart

2007-07-12T15:31:00.000-04:00

Mid July, and it is devil hot here in South Florida! Everything is green since we had 7 inches of rain in June, which we desperately needed. Lake Okeechobee is almost 20 inches low, and we have been having to ration water. My Ruellas are blooming beautifully again, they make me smile. What hibiscus has bloomed, the green iguanas have been eating. We have at least three, maybe more, and a new young one this year. They love hibiscus flowers, I do not begrudge them these. The iguanas are a fabulous green themselves, so beautifully prehistoric!

The green pendant I bought at Offerings in Vermont at the end of May, with my new friend Linda. It needed something more than just a silver chain, so I created a green freshwater pearl and mother-of-pearl blister pearls necklace, what do you think? It looks good against black.

Green is one of the colors representing the heart chakra. Since I lost some very good friends last year, green for me is healing. Breathing in, I pull in all the pain from people around me. Breathing out, I return only compassion and love.

Dear reader, may you be blessed with peaceful feelings.

Fabric from Trash 2 Treasures

2007-07-11T06:26:00.000-04:00

Wow! Can you believe all this fabric for free? Can you imagine that they were all going to go to the dump? Can't wait to try painting on all the beautiful white on white pieces, maybe you will want some pieces for your stash! There are sample pieces, small pieces, remnants and also some large yardage pieces.

And there was a whole bin of faux leather pieces. Will have to get a leather needle for my machine. Some pieces came with grommets in them, I'm thinking handbags for those! Could just tie some handles thru the holes...

Dear reader, hope you are well. You may have heard about the terrible crash of a twin engine plane into a couple houses near Sanford Florida. The day before another twin engine plane crashed, killing the pilot and co-pilot. The pilot was a friend of my husband and a very cool guy, Bob Cunningham. He had 37 years experience flying. Have to say that this shook my confidence in learning to fly. But I went and took my lesson, and fly patterns and faced my fears. Isn't that what life is about - learning to face your fears and growing stronger?

2007-06-30T10:53:00.001-04:00

Ou-est the bibliogator says hi. My husband is flying his plane today for the first time by himself. I'm trying not to be too nervous. So I'm going to go wash fabric that I got for free yesterday at Trash2Treasure.

http://www.trash2treasurefl.org

There is about 6 yards of the most beautiful beige on beige heavy silk fabric that I can not wait to paint and dye. So I'm going to go wash it and hope that it still looks beautiful! LOL! I got a lot of little pieces too, for altered books and purses and altered clothes.

Next time I'll put up some pics of the fabric.

Do your exercises often!

2007-06-28T11:21:00.000-04:00

Something about me - I've been to Green Mountain. If you are overweight and have tried every diet there is, then you need Green Mountain. My life has changed, my health is so much better, I have been empowered on so many levels.

All those diets? They aren't telling you the truth!! Everytime you go on one, you lower your metabolism. Yeah, you lose while you eat the diet food, but as soon as you start eating normally, you gain back! Every time you do that you harm yourself! Big time! What you have to do is to raise your metabolism - and there is only one way to do that! You already know what it is! You have to increase your lean muscle mass!

At Green Mountain, I learned that this is not as hard as you think it will be! In 4 weeks my body responded by losing more than 10 inches and 14 pounds! And it's still off, and more is coming off. Your body responds amazingly! It WANTS to do this - and it makes you feel SO GOOD!

Because I want the best for you too, dear reader, I am putting a link to another website with a free download of yoga postures. I've never met these folks, but they are giving a great gift with this. Try it. And look up Green Mountain - they're online!

FREE DVDS Yoga Online

Visit the Yoga.org.nz Online yoga website
heaps of cool yoga stuff including a free downloadable Videos and DVDs.

Tin can art, with beads of course

2007-06-27T13:43:00.000-04:00

Took this great class with Charley Orlando and Bobby Hansson at John C. Campbell. We recycled tin cans and made shrines and jewelry and whatever you wanted to make. This is a shrine with pics of Lady Meux and Whistler's mother. (both by James Whistler) And a mirror at the top.

Of course I had to add beads!