SAQA Auction "Wins"

I was so happy to have "won" the bidding last week for Cathy Smith's wonderful piece in the annual SAQA fundraiser.

Titled "Waiting for Roasting" it is part of her "Roasting Marshmallow" series that incorporates digital images of her rural surrounding. The "marshmallows" refer to the giant hay bales that are wrapped in white plastic for storage.

I was also delighted that my submission to the auction "Shards of the Day" went to a collector in Bend, Oregon!

The last phase of the auction is on at this moment....go check it out. I am ;^) There are a couple I have my eye on. Click here

Fiberactions "Texture" revealed

I participate in the online group Fiberactions. Every other month a member proposes a word to inspire the group. This month the word was "texture".

Pictured here is Electorate in Tatters, another of my cathartic creations...or rants, depending on how cynical one is. Using the challenge word "texture" as a vehicle rather than a subject, I put together this piece describing my concerns for our country.

These 13 traditional log cabin blocks represent the 13 original colonies of the US and their roughly 33% of the electoral votes (158) and, coincidently, roughly the percentage of the population eligible to vote in our great nation, that actually opts to exercise that right in national elections.

The 37 stars represent the roughly 67% of the population, undoubtedly self-described patriots eligible to vote, that opt not to exercise their right in national elections.

In this detail it's easier to see the multi-colored “logs”, created from a “haystack” of sliced fabrics. The white is wool batt.Both light and dark are dense and highly textured.

The process might be working...I'm less agitated...but I have also been limiting my exposure to "news".

Countin' Cowboys

Gosh, it's been a long time since I last posted. Most of that time was spent coping with the Hurricane Irene's visit to the Northeast. Eight days without power certainly turned schedules upside-down.

We are now back to normal (whatever that means).

I made this baby quilt for my nephew's third son, expected to arrive on October 10th. His wife has been having problems with this pregnancy and is in bed until then, hoping that little Adrian (the last name we heard about) will opt to stay put until the appointed day. It's the first machine work I've done in a couple of weeks, for obvious reasons.

My nephew and his family live in Texas...actually always have...born and bred. That's why I decided to build a "user", fun baby quilt around the little bit of cowboy fabric that I found in my stash.

I'm thinking that, by baby boy number three, a "user" quilt would be most appreciated. And this one, with its flannel backing and binding will be fun to play tent under, nap with and drag around.

"Countin' Cowboys: Red Hot and Star-spangled"

Hanging together

Rosalind Spann is pictured here with her work Dad's Greens Harvest. Behind her are two of my pieces: top Windfall and below Harvest of Leaves. I'm adding this in a rewrite, after I received her permission to post her image. Below is the original.

How happy is this group!? CT Fiber Arts Collective hangs their latest collection in West Hartford CT (l to r Jeanne Landry, Mary Lachman, Diane Cadrain, me, Carol Vincik, Rosalind Spann and Carol Eaton...Karen Loprete was absent). We were all in attendance to mount our exhibit.

The library is very supportive...the walls are self-healing, hence very forgiving and easy to use, the staff was very helpful and there is lighting specifically for the artwork.

The gallery space is three-sided, devoted to the arts.

This photo looks out to one of the library areas.

Irene visits Connecticut...she wasn't nice

Our power went off at 2:52am Sunday, August 28th and it's still off. I used to love camping. I now find that I don't like to camp anymore. I like flush toilets, potable water, fridges, the internet...little stuff like that. (When we loose power the well's pump does not work, ergo no drinking or flushing.)

Trees are down everywhere...hanging in the electrical wires. Many roads are impassable. Fortunately the weather is mild and residents can camp in their homes.

The real disasters are homes and businesses near the shoreline and rivers that have flooded, thanks to Hurricane Irene.

Enough whining!

The big news: Today is the day that CT Fiber Arts Collective hangs it's second show. We are all excited! I am at the ready to help. I have my hanging kit, artwork, camera...boy, oh boy, I can hardly wait.

Oh, and did I mention that the venue is very near a Marriott that is fully functioning? I have internet and a hot shower. Life is good.

Power may return to us over this coming weekend. We will consider ourselves very lucky...and try to help our less fortunate neighbors.

Note two hours later: I'm sorry to be so shallow and such a sissy. I have been in typhoons, hurricanes, blizzards and many tropical storms before. I do know how to survive nicely, honestly...I think my frustration is that the power company didn't make assessments of damage for a couple of days and their talking head said that this "down time" would give families a chance to be together. (no, really, he did!)

I wish I could dye....

I'm pretty good at discharging...enough to like many of the pieces that I have made. But, I've never really liked much of what I've dyed. I think it might be the difference between baking and cooking.

Leap in logic? Maybe not. One requires precision while the other can be judged. I actually am better in that place where I can say..."how about a little of this?" "How about that?". Yes, I did take a bunch of chemistry at university...but I liked geology and psychology much better because they fit my personality better.

I'm thinking it's the same with dyeing and discharging.

Which is EXACTLY why I support other artists who are so good at dyeing. I buy their work.

This piece, titled Sunrise-Sunset (because I couldn't decide) is made from fabrics I purchased...some from Constance Rose and some from Laura Cater-Woods and some from an anonymous dyer. I enjoyed every moment of working with their beautiful hand dyed fabric. A big "Thank You" to you all!

Okay, maybe I'm cranky...

What do you do when you are mad as hell? or sad? or happy? or....whatever? I make art quilts.

My latest case in point is "Congress: Words, Words, Words, Talk, Talk, Talk"...too long a title? That's just the point.

Our forefathers set up a great bi-cameral legislative body, balanced by a judiciary and an executive. Why, oh, why then have we degraded into such a wonky, unstable mess?

It beggars my imagination to understand how members of government...elected by fairly small numbers of supporters considering 1) those who voted for the other guy, 2) the great number who are too young to vote and 2) the incredible number who just don't bother to vote. Those elected, when they take their seats and swear to uphold the Constitution, represent us ALL...not just the relatively small numbers who support them. Okay, okay...more should vote. But it doesn't change the fact that they represent us ALL. They all just tenaciously hold on to their little worlds while the whole crumbles. There's just no agreement on anything.

My husband says we have the government we deserve: the best money can buy. While I'm mad as hell, I'm not that cynical YET.