Cloth Paper Scissors - Studios

The latest special interest issue, Studios, from Cloth Paper Scissors is shipping now. My studio is featured in a six-page spread and the layout looks fantastic (in fact I wish the room was as clean right now as it was when I took the pictures!) The issue is wonderful and has pages and pages of inspiration and organizational ideas.


It's energized me all over again to get going on a few more pieces of furniture. I've got at least one more thing to build once the deadlines that have taken over my life abate somewhat. And the floors need re-finishing. And the walls need painting.

A Cautionary Tale

Keep chocolate bunnies away from heat sources. We're not entirely certain how this happened, but the result is not pretty...

Illustration Friday - heavy

cotton fabric, acrylic ink, printed origami paper, and acrylic paint on 6" x 6" stretched canvas

Ants can lift up to 50 times their body weight. They are the heavy lifters of the animal kingdom. I hate them in the house, but find them fascinating outside.


Yesterday I had the opportunity to go do something fun and art-related in Massachusetts. I was delighted to find alpacas at my destination. These baby alpaca, called cria, are absolutely adorable. When they noticed me taking their picture, they all wandered over for a closer look. Their faces are so expressive!

Wander

A fiber postcard made for the word prompt "Journey" for Postmark'd Art.

Not all those that wander are lost - JRR Tolkein

Make a wish

It's my birthday today. The year I was born the 13th was a Friday and although it's a Thursday this year, it's been lucky so far. 13 has always been a portentous number for me plus I figure having been born on Friday the 13th I'm immune to all of the typical bad luck superstitions. I walk under ladders with impunity, I follow black cats fearlessly, I even shatter mirrors with elan.



My friend Julie gave me this wicked cool pin made by Dennis Ray. He dips cicada shells in molten copper. Don't worry, no bugs were harmed, the empty shells are left behind during the moulting process as the cicadas become adults. Hmm, a perpetual teenager? Is she trying to tell me something?

I had chocolate at breakfast, gelato for lunch, and I'm sure there's a cake or pastry in my future tonight. Buzzing on a sugar high, but hey, it only comes once a year...

Last winter, while in my favorite art supply store, I came across a magnet with a saying on it (by Mary Anne Radmacher) that has become my credo. I usually dislike these kinds of rah rah, motivational things, but this one really resonated with me. I read it again every day -- it's on the fridge.

live with intention.
walk to the edge.
listen hard.
practice wellness.
play with abandon.
laugh.
choose with no regret.
continue to learn.
appreciate your friends.
do what you love.
live as if this is all there is.

Here's looking forward to another year of trying to live with intention.

Ilustration Friday - garden

cotton fabric, acrylic ink, printed mulberry paper, found object paper, gel medium, cotton thread and acrylic paint on 6" x 6" stretched canvas

This time I incorporated a cucumber beetle cut from a page of a vintage children's book that my friend Melanie gave me. I antiqued the beetle to knock down the color just a tad - even though the page was old, the colors were a little too bright for this piece. The flowers are free-hand sketched with black thread on a sewing machine. Now if it would warm up outside so the garden really could start growing! I'm sooooo ready for Spring and an end to the dreary Winter landscape and the cold temperatures.

time running

time running 5" x 7"

Deadlines, deadlines everywhere... If I didn't make lists I'd feel totally out of control. Nose to the grindstone, keep working, keep crossing things off.

Say, where does that expression come from anyway? "Nose to the grindstone" - sounds painful, and not terribly productive since you'd have to stop and bandage your nose.

Illustration Friday - leap

cotton fabric, acrylic ink, printed rice paper, transferred inkjet image, gel medium, cotton thread, linen thread and acrylic paint on 6" x 6" stretched canvas

It takes a LEAP of faith to believe that a bumblebee can fly. The ubiquitous myth states that science has proven that the bumblebee can't fly but because no one told the bee, it does anyway.

NB: A physicist, Z Jane Wang, at Cornell proved that bumblebees do in fact follow aerodynamic principles of flight. They can't glide, but I don't see how that makes much difference to the bee.

Note to self: Wait for the gel medium to dry next time before adding stitched lines with the sewing machine...