"Nest"

Welcome to a spring nest!  How enjoyable it can be to put together a little house.  

Not without some problems along the way, this nest was built with more effort than I thought it would take.  After finishing, I wrote a page for myself outlining problems and how to solve them, solutions so that the design might be better next time.  That tells me that I'm still in a bit of unknown territory.

I'll be thinking more about what this 'house' plan means to me because I think there are deeper feelings going on and the practicality of my medium just has to catch up.

"Your sacred place is where you can find yourself again and again." - Joseph Campbell

"Desert Dreaming"

I began work on this bird after we got home from the desert.  The colors used, seem to reflect what I saw while out in that wild world.  Do you think this guy is waiting to fly off to the west, back to where he'll blend in well?

I experimented with his top-knot - by using loop levels of 10 and 11.  Now I know what those loops look like and they certainly made a good head dress!

"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds". - Aesop

Welcome to the New Year

"Snow Bird"

Tomorrow we'll welcome the new year.  I love that as each year begins I feel like my slate is clean, that everything is a possibility, that whatever I did wrong last year will be replaced this coming year with good decisions, good thoughts, good deeds and good work.  Resolutions aren't really something I worry about but I always have goals I want to reach in the coming year, and dreams that I want to come true.

During this coming year I plan to focus on punchneedle and doll making as my art forms.  I'm excited and have drawings and pictures and ideas fluttering all about my studio.  Hopefully some of them will alight long enough to be brought into being.

Here's a big New Year's toast that this coming year is bigger, better and more wonderful for all of us.

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love". - Marcus Aurelius

"Birdsong"

"Birdsong" - She keeps the caged bird company in the hope that she will learn how to whistle.

Ever since childhood I have wanted to be able to whistle - sadly that gene was left out of my DNA!  And so I hum, but certainly wish I could 'whistle a happy tune' once in awhile. 

Birdsong brought several 'firsts' for me.  The embroidered face and using non-encrusted beaded embroidery were new to me.  Both of them presented their very own challenges and I have to say I learned a lot. 

My current goal for art doll figures is to make each one with a 'stage' in mind.  This cage, seemed from first sight to be the perfect place for an art doll. 

The actual placement hanging wasn't quite as seamless as I would have hoped but again, that's part of the learning process.  Without a few challenges I'd soon get bored.

Because I didn't utilize encrusted beading I was able to make this art doll a bit larger than past figures.  I'm also experimenting with limbs, which I didn't utilize in my encrusted beading. 

I wouldn't be surprised to walk into my studio any day now, and hear the sound of a soft whistle coming from the cage in the corner of my studio.

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance". - e.e. cummings