Call / respond week 21

Spring is nature's way of saying "Let's party." --Robin Williams Trio of Dancers was joyously created several springs ago from remains of three other projects: the pieced background, the triangle screen print, the three-dancer design. Context, pattern, and design. Sounds like an art party to me. About Call / Response: Quote-a-day calendars infuse my day … Continue reading Call / respond week 21

Summer Solstice: Three Simple Stools

Three handcrafted wooden stools work in our home. Today they tell me to choose a summer that is a mix of work and rest. I struggle to overcome pandemic inertia; canceled events cleared the calendar of interaction but I have commissions to complete. The white stool was made by my grandfather when I was a … Continue reading Summer Solstice: Three Simple Stools

Create A Space For Creating

My fabric career spans decades, serving clients from Hawaii to Puerto Rico.  I have worked on the dining table, in a spacious bedroom, down in the basement, and from the kitchen counter. Soon I will practice in a studio made just for me!  Originally a two-part wooden door opened to the work bench / potting shed of … Continue reading Create A Space For Creating

Hone: Knowing And Maintaining A Tool

I use different scissors for different tasks in the studio just as I use a variety of knives in the kitchen. Practice informs me which tool works best for a particular task.  Experimentation increases the scope of usefulness for each tool I own. Recently, I have begun to regard my screen images as tools.  This set … Continue reading Hone: Knowing And Maintaining A Tool

Origins Of A Crisp Finish

The conversion of garage to art studio began this week.  I tiptoed upstairs to see the progress during lunch.  The framing confirms that I like my plans; it assures me that the end results will work.  The craftsmanship also informs me about my own work. I have been complimented over my years of custom sewing, … Continue reading Origins Of A Crisp Finish

3 Patterns, 7 Colors, and 10 Women

I led my first dyeing workshop this month. 10 good women braved a cold night to gather in a pottery studio to put their hands and minds to dyeing silk scarves.  After I demonstrated three fold and tie patterns, each participant received a scarf to manipulate and then color.  Here are their results. I discovered … Continue reading 3 Patterns, 7 Colors, and 10 Women

The Beginning is Not The Starting Point

In the beginning.......God created.......In the beginning........was the Word...... In the beginning of 2016, I stalled out. In the midst of stacks of fabrics, committed projects, commissioned work, beckoning ideas, and pots of paint, I struggled to create a plan and to write a schedule that would contain and direct all these good things.  The elements … Continue reading The Beginning is Not The Starting Point

Bring On The Heat

The sewing machine or a pair of scissors are often the tools first associated with my art practice.  But it is the iron that is used most frequently and consistently. When I am working well, focused on what is before me and its purpose, it is the iron that guides me into good evaluation. Fabric … Continue reading Bring On The Heat