A Whole New Space

It was time!  Time to find different ways to use my space. I decided I'd like work stations -- especially to use the window at the end of the room for natural light. Also I needed more shelving for all of my 'stuff' - but then who doesn't! 

With the help of IKEA and my trusty handiman husband (thank heavens for him) we embarked on a major readjustment.  Tom says that the worst words in the world are "some assembly required" and when I opened this box where my soon-to-be chair resided in pieces I almost flinched back in horror.  There were all these bits and pieces, several screws of different sizes and everything in black so it looks alike.  YIKES!

But with effort and patience it all came together.  I now have a space where I can divide my work properly between visits with you at the computer and joyously stitching in a special spot.  I love having my sewing space in front of the window, with natural light in the morning and the frogs in the little pond outside serenading me.

"Change brings opportunity." -  Nido Qubein

A Path Often Taken

What draws me back and back to figure/doll making?  For my path always seem to take me that way - or perhaps it is not back as much as sideways.  Like forks in the road, I work on one type of craft for awhile and then take the turn and head back into the realm of figure work.

I am most attracted to work that tells a story of one kind or another.  It can be a story-story or it can be the tale of the artist and the thought of seeing the world through the artist's eye.  For some reason using the figure as my medium always allows me to tell a story -- it forms in my mind as my hands are working.

Perhaps it is the 'personality' that develops as the work progresses.  Perhaps it is the 'mother' in me that wants to shape and create a new 'life'.  Whatever it is - when it hits it is best for me to go along for the ride.

"To learn something new, take the path that you took yesterday." - John Burroughs

"Waiting"

"Waiting" -- this young woman is just beginning her life.  What awaits her?  She is anticipatory thinking that all things bright and beautiful will be coming her way.  Will someone come along and unlock the key to her heart?  Will each day bring wonder and magic?  All is before her.

I so enjoyed working on this figure - which includes painted fabric, snippets of special fabrics, a couple of my 'trinkets' and of course a few embroidery stitches.  Pure joy!

This figure was inspired by Daryle Cook's 'stuffies' submission in a 2009 issue of "Cloth Paper Scissors". I am so grateful for this guidance back into figure/doll making.

"The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." - Bertrand Russell

A Walk Around the Yard

June bloom!!  Color abounds!!!  I start out the back door encountering shades of pink, the Goatsbeard is especially lovely.

The Oak Leaf Hydrangea is in full bloom.

 There are banks of Rhododendren.

St. John's Wart is one of my favorite yellow flowers, I love the way it spills over the rocks.

The Balloon Flower is quite showy this year. 

The Lavender is just now starting to bloom - soon to fill a niche with its lovely lavender blooms and scent.

Who wouldn't smile at the bright orange of the Butterfly Weed?

And of course the Daylilies which grow in such rich profusion, closing up overnight and opening to greet the sun each day.

Thanks over and over again to my husband Tom who has planted and tended all these lovelies.

"Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light." - Theodore Roethke

Making a Mess

Its been a long time since I last painted on fabric -- back in my book art days in fact.  But I've begun a new project and the cloth and the paints are back out on my work table.

This is fun!  Mixing acrylics with water, trying to get just the right mix - not too thin, not too thick.  Playing with colors 'does it need a bit more orange?' 'does it need less white?

Wetting the fabric so the paint will soak in easily and then going at it - brush in hand wildly spreading so there aren't too many sections of stiff paint.  A wash is what I'm looking for so it means moving quickly over and over, sometimes just a touch sometime several layers.

"All that is necessary to paint well is to be sincere." - Maurice Denis

Along the Parkway

The Blueridge Parkway never disappoints.  Walking in these blue hazed mountains is a softening interlude in an otherwise busy life.  These hills are very old and have developed a soft look - densely green and standing stolidly, firmly in their place.

This dead tree stood out graphically with a backdrop of so much green.

The Mountain Laurel were in bloom - their delicate shades of pink making a break from the green of the leaves surrounding it.

A Flame Azalea is always such a wonder - standing out so vividly.

"How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains." - John Muir

Gathering Moonbeams

Continuing my long love affair with the moon!

For ever so long none of us had actually been to the moon and so it remained a bit of a mystery sending light down upon the earth in the middle of the night.  Has seeing pictures of the first person to set foot on earth taken away its magic?  Not for me -- I still look up at a full moon feeling that it is shining just for me (but I gladly share it with everyone else).  While science and discovery can tell me all the nitty-gritty about the moon I'll continue to gather moonbeams on a full moon night.

"Moonlight is sculpture." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Trinkets and Doo-Dads

I am 'addicted' to trinkets!  I can hardly pass a possible future embellishment without grabbing it up and putting it into my stash.  These treasures give me endless inspiration and often create something almost on their own -- I'm just the hands that they pass through.

I thank all of those who have created and packaged these bits of magic. I have to admit that my stash is a lot larger than shown here, this are just a very small  sample of the buttons, bells, and wonderful doo-dads that reside here.  I love them all!

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." - Thomas Edison