I haven't posted scans of acrylic paintings in quite awhile. This tiny one, 4x6 inches, was literally painted in 20 minutes. Abstract experimenting continues to be the force behind practically every thing I create.

The two black-and-white photos are examples of seeing abstracts everywhere. Graffiti on a retaining wall caught my eye while walking with workshop participants along one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. I aimed the camera at it while everyone else was photographing the rocky shoreline.

On another field trip during a workshop to Moss Landing I photographed the decaying buildings while everyone else headed for the beach. The buildings no longer exist; the entire area is now "upscale." I did take some photos of the pier that vanished during a storm a few months later, and that photo is a favorite of mine.

Quote:
What a funny thing painting is. The abstract painters always insist on their connection with the visible reality, while the so called figurative artists insist that what they really care about, is the abstract qualities of life. Marlene Dumas

A little joy!

Swirls anyone? The movement of swirls has always made me happy so even though this piece is a bit over the top and needs some toning down and? it pleased me to work on it. Some of the fibers are kool-aid dyed but the yellow and turquoise are roving that came with the Janome embellisher.

Many years ago while browsing through a Thrift shop I happened upon a woman who was flipping through a book and when she left it on the table I grabbed the $3.50 treasure. The book, "Curves in Motion" by Judy Dales has a layer of dust on it, but I wouldn't part with it like the previous owner did. The person, (most likely defeated by trying to work in Judy's style) who donated the book left some sketches in the book of drawings made from Judy's lessons. I too was defeated by the intricate designs but have found them to be inspiring. I saw a work-of-art of Judy's at the International Quilt Festival last month and was once again moved by the motion she creates. Check out her work here.

Quote: A true friend is one one walks in when the rest of the world walks out. Walter Winchell

Joy

http://www.thejoymovie.com/

I needed this video today and I would imagine that many others do as well!
Thank you Tina!

I just received Rayna Gillman's fabulous creation in the mail! Her book, "Create your own hand-printed cloth" is full of photos, tips, and recipes that I can't wait to try! So, don't hesitate to add one more book to your collection, and lets face it, most of us have unused books in our collections. I guarantee that this one will be useful for those of who love fabric and making marks on it. Rayna's blog is a daily must for me. http://studio78notes.blogspot.com

Quote: Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. John F. Kennedy. (I will never forget sitting in a High School English class behind a girl who had an interesting birth mark on her neck when the news about the assassination of J.F.K came over the speaker system.)

Be sure to start reading Seth's blog, that is if aren't already a fan! Tomorrow he starts posting another round of The Pulse. I once again participated and can't wait to read how others answered the questions he posted. I will post some of my answers over the next few weeks, seeing how I now have more to say, isn't that always the case? One could keep editing until the end of time and never be happy.
http://www.thealteredpage.blogspot.com:80/

It's here!

The saga of the Janome embellisher went on for days and days and ended up arriving in my hands on Thursday. The house, as it turns out, is empty right now and I have no idea why I walked down two doors on Wednesday to check on the notice UPS left on the door, but it was still there. I felt certain that UPS would never be able to retrieve the machine and I was correct. A woman in a golf cart pulled into the drive-way as I was leaving and it turned out that she was the realtor who rents out the house and when it's empty she parks her car in the garage. She hadn't seen any strange boxes and the last renters moved out on July 29th. Oh joy!
UPS was just about ready to file a claim for Redlands Sewing Center when things strangely fell into place. The realtor, "M," phoned her client to see if he knew anything about a delivery. Yep, he'd received 2 boxes while he was out here and took them to his other house a few blocks away. He lives in Chicago. It turns out that not only did the UPS delivery man read the address wrong but so did my neighbor. The address label was correct. Why he took the boxes from one house to another and stored them is beyond any one's guess. And he owns 3 stores so you'd think that he would be more aware of misdirected packages! "M" was able to locate the boxes; I'm now the proud owner of an embellisher! As "M" said, "what are the odds that you would be at the house when I arrived and that I would phone my client?" Indeed!

This is a piece that I worked on today, needs a little more work, that I will most likely do free motion embroidery on at some point. The fibers are mostly from the Kool-aid dyeing session of a few weeks ago.

Quote: Painting gave meaning to my life which without it it would not have had. Francis Bacon

Such is Life!

So, the Janome Xpression was delivered last Monday TO THE WRONG HOUSE! Apparently, the machine made a pit-stop two doors down from me; at least that's what the tracking system shows. UPS was supposed to look into it last Friday but that didn't happen until today when they were "coaxed" to do so by a sales person at Redlands Sewing Center! The UPS driver informed me an hour ago that no one was home people today so he'd try again tomorrow. I would never have known that the machine had been shipped if I hadn't received a phone call from Redlands last Friday asking me how I liked my two new machines. What two machines? The sewing machine arrived last Tuesday and is loads of fun but no embellisher.

The new sewing machine has a lot of fun stitches and after I tried them all out yesterday I added some much-needed touches to this piece that I had felted and distressed quite some time ago. Hand stitching is just too hard for me to do so I'm very pleased that there are so many stitches to utilize on the Jem 760. Threads: red, blue, and gold .

Note: this piece is located in a May post along with a pic of the attachment that is now available. Interested may contact me at: gpierce@dslextreme.com And, a friend of mine has a Janome Xpression available, also contact me and I'll connect you with her. I won't pass up a reasonable offer for the attachment.

(On the home front: Stacy had yet another miserable test last Tuesday at Loma Linda Medical Center. The RN who did the bladder pressure test, AKA something I can't pronounce much less spell, told us that Stacy's numbers are in the right zone. You'd think that we'd be doing a happy dance, but now we need a verbal clearance from the urologist at Loma Linda before Stacy can be placed on a a kidney transplant list. The doctor is booked solid until October. There is a little concern about the urine reflux problem that still exists from the birth defect that caused all of the kidney problems so that might need to be addressed . . .)

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to leave me comments or email me! It means a lot!

Quote: The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery. Francis Bacon

Blue Lagoon

Okay, the idea is to formulate a plan of attack that might just get me out of the doldrums. (where did that word come from? I have no idea what the origin of the word is but it seems fitting. pl. verb A period of stagnation or slump.
A period of depression or unhappy listlessness.)

The latest fascination, besides Kool-aid dyeing fibers, is Breakdown Printing aka Deconstructed Screen Printing. A member of my group brought it to our attention and it immediately captured me in its web. (lots of info by googling it) So, I purchased the book by Claire Benn & Leslie Morgan and have ordered the DVD by Kerr Grabowski. Armed with some info I've also purchased polyester curtains and stretcher bars to make the printing frames. But as mentioned many times, the intense heat is keeping me out of the studio space in the garage. This is a messy process and one that should probably be done in the garage. But, I can prepare screens, mix dye, and have fabric cut and ready for that one day when the temps might just drop to a doable 90-something, whenever that might be. We used to tell our photography students to always be prepared to print in the darkroom so that when the time became available there wouldn't be hours spent preparing to print. I've gotten out of the habit of prepping or pre-planning projects and right now just getting fabric soda ashed, dyes mixed, and tools ready might be the only thing I can do. Always be prepared!

When I started to think about stagnating I dragged out some paintings that weren't finished or needed some redoing and discovered "Blue Lagoon" a piece that has gone through so many transformations that practically none of the original colors exist. I have a feeling that working with fabric can also end up that way, covering up, layering, and using the first idea as a foundation for the finished piece. A good foundation might be what it's all about along with not becoming too attached to the first layers. I know that when I love an area of a painting so much that I can't finish the piece I need to put it away until the love ebbs and I can either use that precious area as a jumping off place or completely cover it up. In the case of this painting I covered up an area with Tar Gel so that only some blue from the bottom layer remains. For more texture I tossed on some clear plastic beads to the layer of gesso which is something that I might do again.

Quotes: The creative process is a process of surrender, not control. Julia Cameron.

Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery - it recharges by running. Bill Watterson - the creator of Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.

Direction-less?

Does this fungi have a purpose? Here it is hotter than blazes, 114 yesterday, and in the garden I spotted this crop of fungi happily growing. There is absolutely no reason why this plant exists; it isn't edible or especially decorative, though, I was captivated enough by it to photograph it, so why grow? Pain has kept me awake for too many nights again and when that happens my mind wanders into dangerous territory. Was it impulse buying that brought on a frenzied need to buy an embellisher and new sewing machine at the International Quilt Festival, or, is there a yet-to-be-determined need that led me to these two machines? I don't seem to have a direction, there is a glimmer of a few possibilities such as redoing my wardrobe and enhancing/embellishing tired shirts and giving them new life, and I'll be needing tote bags to carry groceries home in, but outside of that I don't have a plan or direction regarding all of the experimenting I've been doing or likely to do once the machines arrive. So, why in the world do I keep experimenting with new to me processes and techniques? Without something to create I know that I would fall into a deep depression so maybe that's reason enough to continue to follow the journey I seem to be on. But then, what do I do with all of the things I create? I can't imagine that there is a need/market for anything I enjoy creating regarding painting abstracts, felting or working with fabric and how many swaps can a person do? I love receiving trades and surprises in the mail but after a while they end up out-of-sight when something new comes along. How many of us enjoy the process and don't care whether the end result is usable or necessary? How many of us continue to try the latest making-the-rounds technique rather than ask ourselves, is this something I can use in my work or do I simply want to be part of the in-crowd that is exploring a particular process like Kool-aid dyeing? Or, is it my mood that is questioning everything right now? I have a feeling that I'm just rambling while attempting to find a reason to continue creating . . . Isn't just being interested or curious enough of a reason? Probably.

Quotes: It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance and I know of no substitute whatever for the force and beauty of its process. Max Eastman


In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. Eleanor Roosevelt

International Quilt Festival

Well I made it out of the desert to Long Beach for the first International Quilt Festival held at the conference center. Amazing! I went to be impressed and I was! From what I heard Friday was very crowded so I'm delighted that we got there at 11:00 Saturday and left at 6:45 a lot poorer than when we started out. I wanted to check out the difference between the Janome and Babylock embellishers and ended up not only getting the Janome one, an incredible deal, but a new sewing machine as well; the Jem Platinum 760, which looks to be very efficient and covers just about all I need right now. Both of the machines came with great packages and $$'s off which made a huge difference. Sadly, though, I have to wait for the machines to arrive. They sold out most of the really good deals on Friday.

Yep, on the lower right that's a glimpse of my quilt on the wall of the Make it University Quilting Arts area. Alisa Burke is sitting at the table in front of it with her fabulous painted canvas work! Check out Alisa at: Great fun to see her and Pokie Bolton, below. Beryl Taylor must have been tired of being photographed, she turned away just as I clicked. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it until too late that my camera was on the wrong setting so most of the photos I got are horrible! So much for knowing how to use my new Coolpix S530. I think that my old Coolpix took better pics so I should have taken that, I liked having a viewfinder, the new one doesn't have one and in sunlight I end up guessing what I'm taking! Not good!
Pokie Bolton drawing names for the Make it University. (click on all of the photos to enlarge them.)
Amazing that I got anything due to not having a viewfinder! The camera screen just doesn't cut it for me in sunlight. I'll be looking for another camera before too long. So the top photos are of Gladstone's on the beach at Santa Monica where we ate Sunday. The bottom left is just below the restaurant and the photo on the left is Long Beach near the Conference Center of which didn't exist when I lived in southern CA many years ago. The whole area blew me away! It used to be the worst area and know one in their right mind would go near it, but it's fabulous now!

There were about 500 vendors at the festival and I don't think that I missed too many of the booths. The exhibit of quilts was unbelievable and I couldn't take them all in. It was so much fun seeing familiar names including Carol Clasper, Laura Cater-Woods, and Judy Dales, etc and their work, but the pics I took are as I said awful! I have a difficult time in crowds but I managed okay by ignoring what was going on around me and shopping like crazy!
I might just sign up for a class next year . . .
My head is still whirling with ideas that I hope don't escape my thoughts before the new machines arrive.

My daughter, SIL, and grandsons came out to stay with mom and Stacy and we stayed at their house in Redondo Beach which is about 30 minutes from Long Beach. A respite from the intense heat was a bit too short, but appreciated! And I got an ocean-fix by having meals at three ocean-front restaurants during the 2-day weekend all suggested by my outstanding SIL!

Quote: I had to learn to think, feel, and see in a totally new fashion, in an uneducated way, in my own way, which is the hardest thing in the world. I had to throw myself into the current, knowing that I would probably sink.
Henry Miller

Kool-aid dyeing, cont.

Ah, the soothing color blue! Or is it violet, blue-violet, deep purple? Blue has always been a bit tricky to dye, at least that's been my experience. In person these two colors aren't quite as bright as they appear to be here. The background is a rust dyed piece that I composed on gold cotton fabric. It turned out better than I thought it might. The fabric is a remnant piece that I nearly didn't buy; the color didn't have any appeal to me so it's been in my stash for a long time. It might also be a good base for dye-na-flow paints.

The lighter blue is plain Berry Blue KA and the darker one, more indigo in person, is Blue Berry KA, Tropical Wyler's, and a smidgen of Wilton's Royal blue. One of the components of both Wilton's and KA is citric acid which seems to make the fibers colorfast but I'm adding a glug of vinegar just to be safe and rinsing in dish washing soap.

Yesterday I ended up in bed very ill from the 5th spider bite in two weeks! This one was the worst yet and if it hadn't been for "C" coming to my rescue with a home-remedy of baking soda mixed with toothpaste I think I would have gone off the deep end. I not only had flu-like symptoms but the itching and throbbing were beyond bearable. The worst is over but I'm now terrified to do the evening watering in the yard! Fortunately, a monsoonal storm blew in last night and dumped just enough rain on the yard that it didn't require attention from me last evening nor will it today! I'm happy!


Quote: I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow. Voltaire

Dyeing Fibers

There are pros and cons about dyeing with Kool-aid but for me the pros out-weigh the cons. No chemicals! Being one of a gazillion people with chemical sensitivities I'm always on the lookout for safer methods and when a dear friend sent me some KA dyed fibers some time back my interest was piqued, but it wasn't until she posted a photo of recently dyed fibers that things fell into place. So, if you're interested simply do a Google search, lots of great info.

On my expressionstudio group a few of us are experimenting with not only KA but Wilton's icing and adding Rit dye to get, as one person said on a KA dyeing tutorial, adult-friendly colors. Though, having said that the purple is plain old purple KA. The reddish color is something I've tried to emulate since I dyed with cochineal dye about 3 decades ago in a spinning and dyeing class I took through adult education on the Monterey Peninsula. Two packages of yellow, 1/2 capful of liquid dark brown Rit and a smidgen of Wilton's icing. In person the color is more like the little piece of cochineal I have left from eons ago when I was weaving. Close enough! There is also a Wilton's tutorial that you can find by doing a Google search.

The rust dyed fabric background is from Rusty Turtle at:

Quote: You have a standing invitation to enjoy the day - - every day!
Sally Huss

Crackled or shattered?

Underneath of this crackle is a painting that is best covered up! If all else fails cover it up. I have absolutely no idea where it's going from here. But it's one of the best crackles I've ever done.

Just as I thought, the book mentioned in the post below brought on a flood of tears. I think that I've kept the flood-gate closed, tightly, by being cranky and angry when I needed to open the gate. The book is short and a nice easy fast read; nothing really all that note-worthy but it's as if I wrote it, her words and thoughts are mine and when I got to this, "Mama was not Mama anymore. I realized that my most vocal booster, supporter, and cheerleader was gone. She was no longer able to tell me how precious I was to her, how much she loved me, how much confidence she had in me, how I could do anything I wanted to . . ." well, I lost it!

My mother was always the first person I told anything and everything to and who stood by my side when others left and helped me through all of the rough times with Stacy and now that person doesn't exist . . . (Someone once told me that we tell our stories to not only understand them better, but perhaps to help others who might be going through similar things in their lives. I truly believe that, so I'm grateful that Linda Combs told her story.)

Quote: The flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.
Chinese proverb

In the Mail

This came as a complete surprise! I loved the card on Val's blog but to see it in person is . . . . well I'm speechless! Brought me to tears especially what she wrote on the back of the card. To read about the details go to Val's July 6Th post. Aren't I lucky?!

The Internet has certainly brought many cherished friends into my world that I know I never would have otherwise met. I'm extremely reclusive.

It's a day for tears! Also in the mail was a book I ordered, "A Long Goodbye and Beyond," coping with Alzheimer's by Linda Combs.

Quote: All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.

Abraham Lincoln

The book is written about Linda's mother, I hate to think how many tears I'll shed reading it! This sounds like mom, "I could never predict what Mama was going to do. sometimes she attempted to dress too warmly in summer and not warmly enough in winter."

My mother has taken to wearing sweatshirts for the last few days, and it's about 110 degrees! It's unbelievable to me that so many who have Alzheimer's act or do the same things, it's like they're following a script. I suppose that could be comforting, but I'm not comforted, sadly.

Amusing myself!

Sometimes one needs to find amusement whenever and wherever one can find it! The sauna-like-conditions haven't been conducive to evening watering (the drip system doesn't cover all of the areas, yet!) so I took my camera outdoors with me and took a lot of photos. I love close-ups that I can manipulate, but thought I'd share these instead. This yard has only been in for 16 months. Some of you may remember seeing photographs of the bare bones which in this case is horrible desert soil! Everything in these photos has ended up here after a lot of sweat; to say the least I'm quite pleased with the results. Upper left, the vine growing up the pole of the pergola that shades my bedroom and the dwarf lime tree. Upper right, the view from outside of my bedroom looking to the west. Bottom left, basil waiting to be made into pesto. Lower right, The mounded area outside of the dining room/great room which is also under the tree in the pic just above it.
White oleander nicely back lit. A cactus I brought with me from Monterey. Notice the two babies in the front of it, this plant multiplies like crazy!
A palm tree in the front yard next door, back lit. And a grape leaf in full sunlight. I doubt we'll ever have any grapes, but the vine is doing quite well.


Quotes: The real character of a man is found out by his amusements.
-Joshua Reynolds

The mind ought sometimes to be diverted, that it may return the better to thinking.
-Phaedrus

The only way to amuse some people is to slip and fall on an icy pavement.
-Ed Howe

In the mail!

This gorgeous glass mosaic button is from my a very dear friend Linda. Check out her work at her etsy store: and on her blog at: I chose it because I live in Palm tree country and am acquiring a fondness for the trees even though a mere 20 months ago when I moved here I hated them; what can I say, I lived in Pine tree country for 31 years!

Fleur-de-lis

On June 29 I posted the before pics of this piece.

I can't remember when I started collecting Fleur-de-lis motifs, but right now they seem to be very popular! Wouldn't you know it?! The metal embellishments are handmade; once they were aged with black paint they told me where they wanted to go. I was blown away by the way the fibers from the left to right, lower area, followed a sweeping swirling motion, subtle, but perfect for placing embellishments. Wish I could say that I'd planned it that way, but I didn't notice that line of fibers until I put the motifs in place. Anyway, this piece was embellished for Dale's online workshop. Lesson 2 of 6. Talk about being way behind. A few students are caught up with all 6 lessons, I hate them!!

I think that my problem with this piece was that I fell in love with the gold foil on the black felt base and then the painted cheesecloth that was embellished on followed by a layer of distressed silk gauze. I've always had a hard time working with layers, but it sure makes a difference. In person the gold foil is a little more evident, nice shimmery effect in a few areas some of which can be seen in this scan on the upper edge a little right of the middle. At first I thought that this was a vertical piece but the direction changed to horizontal once I started adding yarn to it.

We're having monsoonal conditions here in the desert! Thursday night there was an exciting thunder and lightning show with even some rain! I sat on the patio under cover of the extended roof and marveled at nature! The change in weather is playing havoc on our allergies! But at least the temps have fallen from 110 + to high 90's. Yep, one can feel the difference.

I found a collection of poems by Emily Dickinson amongst mom's books that I was sorting out to donate. (She seems to read the same 3 books over and over again. I think that she's drawn to the covers. I'm not a fan of romance novels so I'm clearing out a huge portion of them.) I opened the book to the page with this poem on it.

Quote/poem: Pain has an element of blank:

It cannot recollect

When it began, or when it was not.

It has no future but itself,

Its infinite realms contain

Its past, enlightended to perceive

New periods of pain.

Collaboration

Darlene started this box and I put the final touches on it. Check out how the box looked

when it arrived at my studio on Darlenes' blog at: We gave it our best shot . . .

(click on the image to enlarge it.)

Quote: The muse is born in pain, thrives on it and loves to inflict it. Warren Criswell.

What's it all about??

(about the 5th attempt on this painting!)
I often wonder why I end up going ballistic over things that really don't matter all that much. So what if it's so hot that it hurts or that the glass on the oven door shattered after the warranty expired or that appointments get changed or that Stacy still needs at least one more test before she finally gets onto a kidney transplant list? And how come I'm easily upset by the odd things mom does while wandering around the Alzheimer's abyss? Maybe it's self-protection to always be a bit angry or stressed over things? I let my guard down on Monday and feel as shattered as the glass on the oven door that exploded on the 4th of July! At least the glass can be replaced while I on the other hand need to dig myself out of the black hole once again. Watching mom slide into a place where I can no longer reach her is the most painful thing I've ever dealt with; I often think that maybe the timing was preplanned to keep me from the feelings I have about a kidney transplant. I'm still not sure it's the best thing for Stacy. But, she's at a cross-roads where she'll start to lose ground the longer she's on dialysis. The options aren't good. Either is the news about all of the things that could go wrong . . . So, if I'm a bit angry most days I can deal with whatever comes up, but if I fall apart I can't handle even the slightest thing like having a horrible spider bite on my leg without going to bed and sleeping for days.
This piece drove me nuts! Or maybe it was supposed to challenge me to think about something other than the daily dose of dealing with the wasted 4 hour round trip to Loma Linda (the last urologist didn't do enough tests!) or perhaps I needed to literally throw paint at something because I often want to scream about the latest "lost" item that mom has misplaced? She always thinks that someone has taken her things; I loathe searching for things, but then who doesn't?
(closeup)
Whatever the reason I can't get over the transformation of the blah lifeless painting to something rather exciting. At least it's exciting to me. For quite some time I have wanted to do a painting in shades of white with a some brown thrown in; nope, that's not black on the painting, it's chocolate brown, but nothing worked!
(closeup)
I also wanted the piece to look like a wall or the side of an old building. The textures were created with lots of gesso, tar gel, sand and layers and layers of paint that I painted over with gesso for a clean-slate each time I wasn't satisfied with the direction the painting was going. It finally came together when I let go of trying to make it behave. Letting go is what life is all about; when will I learn that?

I treated to myself to an IPod upgrade yesterday, before I found out how much the replacement glass for the oven is costing!, and while downloading Cd's I came across a Neil Diamond quote. "I never tried to fit in because that meant conforming what I could write or what I could do to a certain set of rules . . ."

Challenge

Not much of a challenge, but I tossed this one out to my yahoo group. Use puzzle pieces and rubber stamp on them. A few members played along. After trying a few things the pieces that worked for me were first spray painted with black then stamped with white dye ink and sealed with Future wax.

What's the difference between scanning and photographing? Sometimes there is a vast difference as in the case of a gesso textured mat board with a black acrylic wash and a touch of treasure gold highlighting. I didn't like the scan on the left so once I glued on the puzzle pieces for a cirque inspired effect I photographed the piece. The photograph is truer to the black and white of the piece but still isn't accurate and the puzzle pieces are barely noticeable. (click on photos to enlarge.)

Quote: Got a goal? Without a doubt you will succeed. With a doubt you might not. Sally Huss

So hot that it hurts!

The temps have been excruciating! This is the second time in two weeks that it's so hot it hurts to breathe or go anywhere or play in the garage studio! I'm frustrated! Who knew that 107 would feel cool? When the temps creep up to 115 and stay there for a couple of days not only do the plants in the garden fry and die, but I feel like joining them. A dialysis nurse in ICU told me that it's much easier to deal with the heat if you say to yourself, "this intense heat only lasts 16 weeks." Who is she kidding? The AC has been on since March, but at least it was only in the 80's - 90's then and cooled off at night. The night temps are now around 91 during the night. Yeah, I know, it's "dry heat." That doesn't matter when the pores are dripping sweat!


The thing that might save me is my new-found love for embellishing with the felting adaptor. I'm so far behind, three weeks, with the lessons for Dale's workshop that I'm beginning to think that the only way to catch up is to combine lessons. The first samples above are: gold foil ironed on black felt topped with dye-na-flow painted cheesecloth heavily embellished on both the back and front sides. A bit garish! Fortunately, I ordered black silk gauze from Dharma that I was able to tone down the colors with; I also distressed the black gauze with heat. Sadly, the gold foil is barely noticeable after all of the layering, but there is a hint of it which adds a nice glow. The next step is to add stitches or something which is where I'm stuck!!

The second piece is dye-na-flow painted pellon. Yep, I love dye-na-flow! I just got my order from Dick Blick so I now have a few more colors to experiment with on cheesecloth, lace, pellon etc. I'm hoping to do some felting on the painted pellon but so far the direction is alluding me. I painted the pellon before Stacy's ICU visit and find that most of the ideas I had have vanished. So, if someone finds them please return them to me!!

Thanks for all of the lovely comments here on the blog and personally! Means a lot to me. Liz, I find quotes everywhere and have collected them for years. Lots of them can be found by googling "quotes for inspiration" or "quotes for artists" but my favs are by Sally Huss from the local newspaper.

I can identify with this quote: I have a promiscuous muse. My muse wants to own every color, work in many media, and in numerous genre. Mary Klotz

Give Worry a rest. It gets tired too. By Sally Huss

Oh how I wish I could give worry a rest! Stacy spent three days in ICU last week when her BP was so high the top of her head nearly exploded, at least that's the way she explained it. Numerous seizures and BP readings all over the charts was more worrisome than anything we've experienced in awhile. Hopefully, I'll get some studio time this weekend.

Felting

A little needle embellisher piece.
-------------------------------------------------------


This is too large to ignore and obviously of great concern to me. Mom daily loses more ground into the Alzheimer's abyss.

24-hour helpline: 1.800.272.3900http://donate.alz.org/

Dear Gail,
I'm writing to you today with an urgent message. I wanted you to be among the first to know this news because of your interest in our goal of a world without Alzheimer's disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics today reported that Alzheimer's disease has surpassed diabetes as a leading cause of death. Alzheimer's is now the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.
With our nation facing an unprecedented population shift of aging baby boomers, and Alzheimer's poised to strike 10 million of them, it is clear this escalating epidemic must be addressed now with your help.

Rust dyeing

Found some odd metal, roof tiles, at the home improvement store so tossed a couple into a vinegar, water and salt bath and the next day wrapped a scrap piece of muslin around the already rusting metal and drenched it with more vinegar. Two days later glorious patterns had printed onto the muslin including the price tag on the back side! At first I was upset by that and then I thought that maybe it might be a good idea for a resist. Yep, this is from one piece of metal. The folded muslin made 5.5 prints.

Quote: I have a promiscuous muse. My muse wants to own every color, work in many media, and in numerous genre. Mary Klotz

I'm immersed in an online felting workshop, nothing to show yet, but having a blast!

Color Lottery Challenge

Lucky me! I received the lilac, pink with a smidgen of green postcard in a color challenge lottery. Fun idea. The colors I drew were burgundy and lime green. We could add a third color so I went with black.

The background on mine is a monoprinting from a post below, stamped Fleur de Lis on paper towel, foam letters, a hand embellishment, ribbon, brads and assorted postage stamps.


The gorgeous PC I received is Painted paper towel, scrim, couched yarn, chiffon scarf, a few French knots and a little Angelina.




Quote: If a muse knocked at our studio door tomorrow, how many of us would even notice?
Carol Katchen

New Toy

Not a very good picture, but the felting adapter I purchased from Feltcrafts.com is pretty amazing. I had the metal plate cut to size by feltcrafts and that holds the foam into place. So, I decided to take the adapter for a test run today; the workshop I signed up for starts on June 4th.

I've decided that painted lutradur felted onto white felt might not have been a good choice, but I couldn't find any black. The colors, burgundy and lime green, were more vivid until they were toned down by the white felt coming through the lutradur, hard to explain! Felting happens when two pieces of fabric are meshed together by the punching with needles. Sometimes the back of a piece can be as interesting as the front because fibers are pulled through, not so with this one. Being that this was an experiment to try out the adapter I didn't have a plan in mind when I felted on yarns, a painted dryer sheet and finally black chiffon, so I'm surprised that the result is interesting. I love that the heat distressed chiffon allowed some of the background to show through. I have no idea why I added the white chiffon strip on the left, but this might become a journal cover.

I scanned my progress from beginning to end and the huge PDF is here:

Quote: Those who work only when the muse strikes them make little progress.

William Dunning

Handmade Paper

Another piece of two handmade papers fused together. This piece fused a little better than the one in the next post did. The bottom layer is rusted paper and the top layer started out life as a brown paper bag; when the sheet was dry an abstract of acrylic paints was applied.

Question: is anyone having a hard time getting daily updates now that blogarithm has changed? I love getting blog updates daily so that I could quickly go to them. Is there another service like that? The one that took over from blogarithm seems to be a bust.

Quote: Do whatever you do intensely. Robert Henri

Handmade Paper

Handmade papers and rust monoprinting. (Couldn't get this one to scan straight!) It seems that we're having a bit of a heat wave! 114 yesterday about that again today. Yikes! The monoprinting part of this piece only took about 2 hours instead of overnight. The background paper is my secret, rusted paper and the top layer is a blue speckled piece that was made from copy paper and blue card stock.

The transplant saga continues: My plan to load Dr. L. with as much info as I could along with my plea for help, and I'm positive the good thoughts and prayers from just about everyone we know, allowed things to fall into place in such a way that it now seems ridiculous that I was ever so upset! Faith!! We met with Dr. L at 1pm today and he said that he couldn't figure out why the transplant team needed his approval/clearance so he wrote on a prescription pad, "PT can have surgery." I wonder what the team will think about that? Then we started a plan to wean Stacy off of the Dilantin and increase one of her other meds which should take about 3 weeks. We're hoping for a balance that won't throw her precarious system into high-alert causing seizures. Sounds easy doesn't it?

Dr. L. was also in total agreement with me that it's not necessary to pursue the epilepsy surgery evaluation. Phew! What a load off.

Thank you readers for "listening."

Quote: Moodling, a combination of musing and mental doodling, can lead to floating over any number of obstacles . . . Jane Chanpagne

Urban and cirque inspired

The urban inspired piece on the top was completed two weeks ago when I was still feeling optimistic; the cirque inspired piece was nearly finished at the same time. I couldn't sleep last night, the second sleepless night in a row, so I finished the bottom piece. The scan is a bit off, the lime green isn't as yellow as it appears. The scan also didn't capture the depth. Notice the line on the left that runs through the circle, that's a surprise. The circle was added after the lines. Nice when surprises happen!

I have great friends. Wait, make that outstanding friends! One sent me in the direction of Eckhart Tolle's earlier book, "The Power of Now," which as it turns out is exactly what I needed now! Thank you Maria!

Ready for some humor?! Mom received a jury summons in the same mail that carried the news about the continuing saga for the kidney transplant evaluation. Can you just picture an 81 year old woman with Alzheimer's on a jury who doesn't know where she lives or what day it is? The devil in me nearly decided to take her on the appointed day, but the good daughter wrote the letter explaining that I'm her caregiver. Both of us have now received summons in the last two months, I imagine that Stacy will be next!

For those of us who run out of bubble wrap to pop there is another way!

Tina sent me this! Make sure that your speakers are on. I had a blast popping them!

http://tinyurl.com/ytszm

Quote: And how do I get to that point of realization?
When you surrender to what is and so become fully present, the past ceases to have any power. You do not need it anymore. Presence is the key. The Now is the key.

How will I know when I have surrendered?
When you no longer need to ask the question.

Ekckhart Tolle - The Power of Now

Monoprinting Challenge

Monoprint challenge. Spread paint onto freezer paper or sheet of glass. Make a design or not, lay fabric over the paint, brayer fabric to create a tight bond, pull the fabric off and you'll have a new piece of fabric to play with. I love this technique! It's been years since I've done any monoprinting and suddenly ideas are springing up everywhere. Tips: brayer from the middle out to the edges, this makes for less movement of the fabric and a crisper lift of the print. Use only a couple of colors, otherwise you'll get mud. Use a brayer or paint spreader to evenly apply paint to the surface, make a quick design or use stencils or rubber stamps. I find that I often need to spritz water over the paint before putting the fabric over the design, but then it is 100+ degrees here in the desert right now!
Thank you Carol Taylor for another fun challenge!!!

I'm working on a couple more rusted objects monoprints similar to one posted a few days ago; they're not quite as instant as using acrylic paints or inks are.

Another piece that didn't make the grade for the collaborative. This one was re-worked numerous times before I finally stopped. There is a peeling paint effect that was achieved with gesso over black paint, sprayed with alcohol and rubbed until I liked it. Depth surprisingly occurred when light and dark shades started playing off of each other. This piece didn't jive with the direction of most of the work for the collaborative so it's now in my collection.

Kidney Transplant Update: We received news by mail late yesterday that an important clearance had been overlooked. Who do I blame and shout at?!?! This important neurology status about Stacy's seizures had been omitted from our list of 14 things to have done! It should have been number one. Unfortunately, yesterday the neurologists office phoned and canceled the appointment Stacy for the 27th with the news that Dr. L. can't see Stacy until July!!!!! I wasn't happy about that, but once the letter from Loma Linda was in my hands I hit the roof! One of the anti-epileptic meds would interfere with a kidney transplant anti-rejection med so unless the anti-epileptic med is changed, and that could have been done over the course of the last few months while the other tests had been done, she can't be put onto a transplant list. I'm having a very difficult time coming to terms with how this happened and what can be done about it. Stacy is wounded beyond reason. We're not having an easy time with this news. Dr. L. is one of the few overbooked neurologists in this area, so simply saying that I'll find another one isn't of much help.
I've just spent the last hour putting together the information and my concerns into a thick package of materials that I will carry to Dr. L's office on Monday. Hopefully, he'll see the need to start doing something about the med and he'll phone me. Plan B is to do a sit-in . . . This particular medicine has concerned Dr. L. for quite some time and he has wanted to wean her off it while trying another med. We're just a little late getting around to it. So, the saga continues . . .

Quote: Sally Huss to the rescue again!! "Give up your concerns, not your attention, but your concerns."

Circles

Now that the collaborative I've been involved in has been submitted I can show some of the work I rejected for the project. This piece was done using Nevr-dull Wadding Polish to remove color from a magazine page. I normally use glue for the resist to make patterns, shapes or lettering but this time I used Gel Tar. Copyright issues are always foremost in my mind when I use pages from magazines so I look for pages that mostly have one to three colors on them that will work well under the resist. This time I got lucky; black that turned to grey when removed by the Nevr-dull. A wash of metallic yellow helped to create an interesting background. This piece will go into the works-in-progress bin.

Finally Friday! This week was very intense with doctor appointments and finally getting the urology clearance Stacy needed in order to be placed on a kidney transplant list. (she's not officially on the list yet.) It must have seemed like the perfect week for mom and Stacy to have melt-downs which left me close to having one myself. Instead I spent a few hours in the garage studio this morning working on some monoprints and backgrounds before the heat forced me indoors. 100+ degrees already!

Quote: Just the right thought can change a moment. Such a moment can change a day.
Sally Huss (to the rescue again!!)

Urban

I'm not crazy about cutting a picture in half with any kind of line, but for some reason this one doesn't bother me. The grid on the lower half is more textural than bold which otherwise would definitely not have worked.

I bought some spatulas at the dollar store yesterday to use as spreaders rather than a much-used credit card that seems to create the same textures over and over. Surprising the spatulas, 5 of them, do make a difference. Changing tools is something to consider more often . . .

Quote: I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living.

Robert Henri