Thursday, December 29, 2011

Moss Garden

I added moss to this clustered bowl collection as well as a pillar candle. It's a nice little living plant, contained and nothing's more beautiful than springy, green moss.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Hot Air Balloon Over Zion







Wow! This is what I did today. I, along with five others and the pilot flew over Zion in a hot air balloon. The wind pretty much picked us up and dropped us over the West Temple. Holy Cow! Check back for updates on a coffee table book with artist's contribution and impressions of this flight.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Felted Bag and Robinson Crusoe



A little felted wool scarf bag I created to travel with my camera as a slightly less obvious package. The inside is lined with fleece and the wood button added with blanket stitch details.

The New Yorker is a fantastic magazine. I read an article about Masafuera (Farther Away) Island, the likely location of Robinson Crusoe's isolation. It's off the coast of Chile, one of my favorite countries in the world. Maybe the bag would come in handy.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Bob and Betty





This is Bob and Betty. I love the unformed nature of their bodies and the finished texture of their dress. Artist: Michael Evanson

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Kinesava Watercolor Painting


Finally she paints...this is from recent view of Kinesava. I'm planning on taking it along with the other 5 paintings I need to do in the next week! to a new gallery.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Serged Sewn Sweater


What a fun evening doing yoga with friends, eating a truly wonderful dinner, but its true purpose a cleanse, and meditation. This is becoming my style...another re-purposed sweater saved from the donation pile by adding a band across the bottom and a vertical stripe to make up for the shortfall.
HAPPY SOLSTICE!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Holidays

I'm back from a little holiday trip...I couldn't figure out how to upload a post from my iPhone. I'll be working on that in the future. Good times in Atlanta! I'm going to start painting these scenes. I've always loved flying over the Grand Canyon.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Peek-a-boo Book








PEEK-A-BOOK Stab Bind Book

This handy book is perfect for samples, ephemera and possibly small 3D items. From At Home with Handmade Books by Erin Zamrzla. The pages are plastic zipper bags. I re-used a friend's eye chart calendar for the paper, the extremely talented Stefanie Brechbeuhler, http://www.workstead.com.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Fort Zion

Photo at sunset at Virgin Trading Post, also known as Fort Zion in Virgin, Utah.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Cabinet of Curiosities

This is my cabinet of curiosities (Kunstkammer) installation in the studio...these cabinets were extremely popular in Europe during the Renaissance. I was collecting and assembling these long before I knew what they were called, but it seems artists and also wealthy Euro types in the 16th - 17th centuries have been avid collectors of all things natural and odd for some time. Along the same vein, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) did some amazing things for a woman of her time, including travel to Surinam and paint butterflies and plants at a time when women were not only discouraged but unable to pursue art the way we know it today. Interestingly, women were allowed to paint in watercolors, but not oils. I think I might have been in some trouble had a lived back then...

Monday, December 12, 2011

Red Birds






My friend, Michelle, made these gorgeous little birds for the Zion Canyon Arts & Crafts Fair, among other things. These beautiful little birds are recycled champagne stoppers. Now that's genius!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

FRONT

BACK
I guess I just don't realize how impatient and how equally stubborn I am sometimes...I bought a really expensive piece of fabric in San Francisco as a treat. Without the experience to warrant my optimism, I decided to adjust a pattern (no previous experience doing this) and cutting into the velvet (no previous experience doing this). I understand why books and experts recommend trying your luck on something less expensive first, but I didn't have the patience. With much frustration, I am this far...

Friday, December 9, 2011

Arm Warmers



I was going to cut these and decided they were pretty darn cute the way they were. In reality, I haven't taken them off since I decided that. I wore them to yoga. PERFECT! Just the right temperature. I wore them under my sweater in the picture on the right. I wore them walking the dog. They are simply the arms from a felted sweater. They would work equally well as leg warmers from a slightly larger sweater arm.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Principles of Uncertainty





In the midst of a vascular headache day I had a moment of clarity and flipped through this book. It was worth the risk of straining my eyes and triggering another...MAIRA KALMAN's illustrated journal is a gem.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

New Take on an Old Sweater


I found this sweater in a NYC thrift store a few years ago. I never liked its length, but love the color and the collar! Today, thanks to my serger I added a section of felted wool (with a detail on the back) that makes the sweater perfect. I did lose a thread on the serger and had to remember how to run it through all those eyes! I know why the repairman told me not to mess with it again once he fixed it. Unfortunately, the machine didn't listen to those instructions.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Pumpkin Stew


I baked this beautiful white (Casper) pumpkin in the oven after cutting a lid and removing the seeds.

TRICK: take the lid out before the rest of the pumpkin it done so it retains some form.

I added a potato and navy bean stew to the pumpkin and served a small party of 6. The season calls for hearty soups, introspection and more sleep if you can manage it.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

The Leaves Have Fallen

It froze last night, down to 27 degrees Fahrenheit at my house. The remaining leaves have fallen to the ground. We can anticipate the solstice and the shortest day of the year in just three short weeks.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

SERGER

Day 1
Day 2
Day 2













You must see the movie, ANONYMOUS, what a great new twist to the Shakespeare myth...I went to a lesson on how to use my ancient Mini Lock Serger. I was so excited to get started but coming up with a pattern and cutting sweaters is quite stressful. Which side should I have show, the serged side or the clean side?
Day 2

Total re-work. I made it more fitted and added what I hope is interesting details. I've still got to figure out how to attach the straps or simply tie at the neck.

Day 3

Didn't get far today, I need the muse to advise me. I added the felted flower and got stuck on the fine tuning and opted to sleep on it.

I did get started on another sweater, not from scratch, but improving one so I'd like it better.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Moravian Star

Absolutely wonderful evening with several girlfriends last night...we started with an arts & crafts lesson from Michelle on how to build this beautiful star that I spray painted deep teal. We enjoyed an amazing potluck meal and watched several episodes of GLEE.