Fall leaves

I vaguely remember when I bought this "blah" print years ago that it needed some punch to it. Along came rust dyeing and the punch. Amazing that a grey dull print could end up with so much zing. Now what to do with it?

Quote: Ahhhh, my ultimate barbershop ambition has now changed from winning a quartet gold medal to being stranded on a desert island with Zing! -- Tom Gentry

Rusting away . . .

A few pieces that were rust dyed last week. I thought that I had a small horseshoe, apparently I don't, or, it got away from me. this one is too large for my purposes. (Anyone have a spare small one?) The center area on the right one is one of my favorite designs, nails.
This piece of fabric was a remnant purchased many years ago that was wrapped around metal flashing, thus the line in the center on the left example. On the right: I like the antique effect on the backside; the faint writing, backwards, and the leaf pattern. Stay tuned for what I might do with this fabric.
The lines/pattern in this piece were begging for some color, or at least I thought so. I love dye-na-flow paint! Easy and dries fast. In real life, the black dots and blobs are separate and shine.

Quote: At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since. Salvador Dali

It's official

After nine long months of tests and jumping through hoops Stacy, my precious daughter, is finally on the national kidney transplant list! Now the wait begins for a match. Thanks for all of the good thoughts and prayers!

Week #2

What a workout! The weekly life-stuff nearly got in the way of creating this piece! Too many health issues to deal with causing a near collapse under the weight of it all.

Anyway, the background is a piece of 5x7 inch ochre color Kunin felt. The center area is painted pellon with machine stitching, a strip of gold netting and a dried Plumeria flower that has been dipped in gel medium to preserve it. The edge stitching was so problematic that I ended up covering it with dimensional paint, black, with highlights of Treasure Gold. The piece is backed with canvas fabric which did help the felt from going wonky like it usually does, but the stitches were awful! A friend recommended a Satinedge foot that hopefully will improve the edge stitching. I think that a lot of my problem has to do with eye sight.

For Paul Newman, you will be missed!
Quotes: People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked.

Who's to say who's an expert?

You can't be as old as I am without waking up with a surprised look on your face every morning: 'Holy Christ, whaddya know - I'm still around!' It's absolutely amazing that I survived all the booze and smoking and the cars and the career.

You only grow when you are alone. Paul Newman

In the Mail

One of the cards I received for my birthday! Details are: Started off with canvas paper, glued some text and part of napkin with gel medium followed by watered down acrylic paint, while wet rinse aid was poured on. Dried and painted another watered down color, repeated rinse aid and dried. Did some gesso with ribbon waste. Added flourishes and grunge board. Grunge board was painted and embossed and painted. Added Happy Birthday!

Thanks DW!!!

***************
I spent my birthday at the Montecito Inn. The next day I was "back home" in Carmel for the weekend. My heart broke when I moved from the Monterey Peninsula two years ago on the 30Th of this month so I imagined that I'd have a difficult time leaving again, but it's true, it really is hard to go home again! Maybe home is where one is planted.

Quote:
"When you finally go back to your old hometown, you find it wasn't the old home you missed but your childhood"
Sam Ewing

Week One

(See Sept. 14th for details about the 52 projects. Click on photos to enlarge them.)

Week one.
Fabric painted pellon is versatile, easy, and satisfying! I started this particular piece with metallic paints, blue and red, followed with washes of more blue, yellow and a little black. Paint bleeds through pellon and often I find that what might be the backside ends up being the side I use. This piece is 4x6 inches and I did use the painted side for the background with the focal piece, a funny little abstract shape that is black edge stitched, taken from the flip side.

The embellishments are fabric beads leftover from an exchange I joined. The black fabric beads were painted with dabs of metallic paint, blue, gold, and bronze and wrapped with metallic thread before being attached to the piece with decorative ribbon. The other beads are a metallic fabric that is miserable to wrap around the straws; I dabbed a little gold paint on them for added texture. (Note: The beads that didn’t slide off of the straws when the glue dried were cut to size.)
Before satin stitch edging the piece I backed it with white canvas fabric.

I have a feeling that this piece might have been too serious if the abstract hadn’t been edged with a decorative machine stitch. Presently, the decorative stitches on my new Janome are a novelty that will probably fade in time.

Quote:
“I learned that you should feel when writing (or creating anything!), not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten - happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another.”Brenda Ueland

Book Review and 52 Projects

It's not often enough when a book comes along at the exact moment that I need it, but this one did. A friend re-acquainted me with Jeanne Williamson's work and I was instantly enthralled. Jeanne's creative spirit spoke to me and her year-long projects starting in 1999 have inspired me to start my own weekly version. Basically, she has chosen a size to use for each year and creates one small quilt a week using materials from her stash and found objects such as dryer lint, vegetable net bags, newspapers and other items that enter her life. It's always a good reminder to look at surroundings with an eye for usable items; I'm grateful to Jeanne for opening my eyes.

The title alone, "The Uncommon Quilter," should alert artists that the book might not be for everyone; for the fans of Jeanne's work though the book is a gold mind of ideas, simply brilliant! 52 projects can't help but change how one thinks about small quilts. To me it's a book about experimenting, unleashing stagnant creativity and becoming playful.

Each project is broken down with a list of materials and step-by-step instructions along with insight into why Jeanne chose the materials or medium she used. As mentioned in the foreword by Kerry Patterson Bresenhan, "freeing one's imagination from the constraints of expectation is a huge step toward maximizing personal creativity. How delightful it is that for once maximum results can blossom from minimal size!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My Guidelines for the 52 Projects starting the week of Sept. 14Th.
Use fabric or fibers for a base. Stitch or needle punch each piece. Sizes: 4x6 or 5x7 inches only. Try new techniques. Anything goes regarding embellishments especially found objects. The piece “should” be created within a seven day time-frame; make-ups are allowed. Throw outs are not allowed; much can be learned no matter how awful the result might be. Try to chronicle events. Keep reference notes about each piece. Additionally, the following weeks project(s) can be prepped in advance; this might help to relieve some pressure, after all this is meant to be fun!

Why start this particular week? My birthday is the 18Th and I'd like to celebrate the end of this tumultuous decade by creating a lot of work; what better way to do that than learning something new each week? I have absolutely no idea if I can pull it off, but a few friends are joining me so hopefully we can keep each other on track.
Feel free to join us. My first 4x6 inch piece will be posted tomorrow.

Quote: Whether you're an experienced quilter, a beginning sewer, or a creative artist looking for a new medium, it's always important to experiment with new ideas, techniques, and materials. The more artwork you create, the more you grow and the stronger your work will become. Jeanne Williamson

Yellow Dots

Experiment.

Black square needle punched onto blue felt; front to back and back to front until I like the blending. Strips of red felt needle punched from back first then front to tone down the red. Yellow roving circles. Metallic gold thread satin stitch edged and decorative stitched. Learned:I like the blending of two colors of felt, blue and black. Edge stitching felt has a tendency to distort the piece. The fragment/patch could be used on a larger piece.

Quote: All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experiences. Henry Miller

Note: click on photo to enlarge

Creative Groove

Another great question Seth asked for "The Pulse" is:

How do you get your creative groove?

I'm always in the Mental Grove but a lot much depends on what is happening in my life as to when the Creative Groove happens. (Energy deficit being what it is.) Often though, it’s an overwhelming need to throw paint onto a substrate that gets me into the studio, or a challenge that I join on a yahoo group.

Just start: Picking up a well used paint brush and pulling out a few favorite colors of acrylic paint often works. Or, a response to something like the Cirque Du Soleil inspired series I began after a weekend in Las Vegas. I found the visuals of the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics to be exceedingly inspiring, enough so that I’ve been jotting down ideas. I’m in awe of anything done well.

Mulling/researching time: I often need to mull things over before starting to work in a new medium such as deconstruction screen printing that I’ve just become interested in. I nearly always put together a “kit” of the supplies needed for something and that excites me enough to start. DSP requires screens, dyes, and thickener all of which have been purchased; the excitement is building.

All it used to take was to photograph anything and I’d be in the groove.

----------

Rust mono-print. Background.

Quote: Images help me find and realize ideas. I look at hundreds of very different, contrasting images and I pinch details from them, rather like people eat from each other people's plates. Francis Bacon

A Collection

The following is my response to Seth's question on http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/ Show and Tell. SHOW us one photograph of the object or objects that you collect and TELL us how your collection(s) came to be and/or what they mean to you. Feel free to include any anecdote about how you might have found/bought any of your treasures.

I have the usual collections of art books, magazines, and supplies including a collection of alphabet rubber stamps that I had to have and rarely use, but it’s the mugs, vases and baskets full of brushes that hold a story. When my father died in 1999 I inherited tubes of oil and acrylic paints along with the brushes that he had used for decades. The tubes of dry paint weren't difficult to toss, but the brushes are irreplaceable. Maybe my penchant for collecting brushes is in response to the frugality my father had when it came to his supplies; he only acquired a new one when gifted.

Around the time of my father’s death, not unexpected, was when I started experimenting with mediums to replace the darkroom work I could no longer do. (Chemical sensitivity was the result of being unaware of the dangers lurking in photography chemicals; gloves and a mask would have been a good idea.) Decorative painting was the first thing I tried, but I have a problem following patterns, recipes or directions so that lasted about a minute. Each decorative painting stroke required a different brush, something I couldn't keep straight. An interest in watercolors followed and of course more brushes; watercolors aren't my thing either. Then acrylics; I couldn't use the precious watercolor brushes, so more brushes were purchased. Speaking of precious, while packing to move from the Monterey Peninsula to the desert near Palm Springs two years ago I discovered a box of brushes I had purchased years before because they looked interesting; big thick brushes with beautiful handles. During my short stint of being enthralled with collage I came to the conclusion that gel medium required brushes that are easy to dispose of which led to a collection of cheap brushes from hardware stores. And now that I;m once again working with acrylics other tools have joined the collection such as: foam brushes, spatulas, spreaders, and brayers that create texture which I have a fondness for.

What brushes do I use most? When I start a painting I reach for cheap under a dollar natural bristle brushes along with a brayer and one of dad’s brushes for luck!

Quotes: I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Robert Frost


A friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself. Jim Morrison

Hwy 10

PS: regarding the photos below.

A friend emailed me and asked what the highway looked liked where the windmills are. So, this photo is in response to her question. As you can see it's difficult to get a good shot of them without vehicles clogging up the photos. Not only are there miles of the windmills on the desert floor but on the mountains as well. Once we drive over the Banning pass the buildings start line the highway; I'm grateful to live in the desert where there are miles and miles of vast landscape. I don't do well in cities. I just wish that the heat wasn't so intense! But then we have very mild winters and I know I wouldn't do well in a colder climate, nor could I deal with snow. Everything is a trade-off . . .

Labor Day Weekend!

"When a bad patch shows up patch it up with a smile." Sally Huss
I thought I was going through a rough patch until a friend and member of my yahoo group shared with us the loss of a house! A lightning strike of all things! Nature at her worst!! They weren't home which was probably a blessing, but I can't even imagine going through such a tragic thing. My heart goes out to her and her family.

It seems that appliances and technical things keep breaking down all around me; it must be time to return to painting! Tubes of paint and substrates don't break down or fall apart, though, painting can be quite challenging. The glass on the oven door shattered on July 4th, then the computer mouse died and the replacement keyboard was defective. The Janome Embellisher was delivered to the wrong house, the laptop computer has a virus and is in the shop for repair. The portable AC unit we bought for the garage only works if the ambient temp is below 97, or so we were informed when we phoned customer service inquiring as to why only hot air flowed out of it. We had hoped we could place it on a high shelf and vent it out of the garage vent near the ceiling, but alas, it likes to be on the floor with the exhaust vent aimed out of the side door, not perfectly situated because of course the intense heat pours through the open door. I was finally able to use the work table in the garage this morning with the AC unit aimed directly at me along with 3 fans when the surge protector died! Why not?!? I don't want to cool down the entire garage, all I want is cool air in a very tiny area so that I can work in the garage. I was so close!

On the health front mom says she doesn't feel well, but can't explain what's wrong. Stacy's BP has been extremely high again and the side effects from the meds are giving her problems. The humidity from the tropical storms has plagued the Coachella Valley for about a week and the dampness has taken a huge toll on my health but has also reminded me that for the most part I do feel better living in a dry climate. And so it goes . . .
These photos were taken out of the car window in route to Loma Linda Medical Center last Thursday. The windmills aren't exactly photogenic, or at least I've never thought so, but after looking at the images and playing with the second one in PSE I've changed my mind. The simplicity of the lines might be abstract enough to use in something. They're of great fascination to my grandson who tries to count them every time they come out to visit.

Where did the summer go?! September is my birth month and every year I'm amazed that I've survived another year. This one has been full of trials and grief while I watch mom slide further into the Alzheimer's abyss. But, there is much to be grateful for as well and I'd much rather remember the highs.

A rare sighting

The desert is disappearing at a rapid pace! When I moved here nearly two years ago there were large areas like this between the shopping centers and while I prefer to live near the ocean the desert is calming compared to cities with traffic and high-rise buildings. Occasionally a glimpse of the desert opens up between the ridiculous amount of buildings being built and we're allowed to see a bit of the past. In route to the new fabric superstore in yet another super-size shopping center I couldn't grab the digital camera out of my purse fast enough. I was able to get three shots before the signal changed. I was pleased that I was able to capture a little bit of the desert for myself.

Quote:
“All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.”
Buddha

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 . . ."