organza  

a little fabric... a little life....

it's late and i'm behind on getting stuff together for my trip to baton rouge tomorrow. i;m doing a thermofax demo for cfal (contemporary fiber artists of louisiana)and today has flown by.....i'll get it together in the morning. the photo is a piece of organza i screened last fall using thermofaxz screens of doodles (and moss). the doodles are drawn on bristol board with a tech pen.

woke up this mornign to gray stormy skies and promptly decided to catch up on some zzz's adn went right back to sleep. i've been keeping long hours all week and it felt really good to sleep in.

and tonight is my *baby's* senior prom.. before i knew it, we were pulling together the last minute details....including bending earring posts to convert pierced to clip-ons...(yikes! you;d think someone who's spent the past year or 2 working with wire adn pliers coulda done That with a little more grace and ease!) ..she was...and is.....gorgeous! just got back from the senior walk/slide show/and *awards* where she was voted most spirited adn class clown! no surprises there.;-) i don;t know how we got to the this night already.....seems like it was just yesterday she was a little rug rat bouncing around...

time flies.

just a few notes

i stitched all weekend and loved it.
this piece may be done. the nice part about having
limited time to work is that i can put it aside for a
few days and look at it again with fresher eyes
when i go back to it. as in deciding if i;ve done
enuf embellishing.....does it need more? more stitching
anywhere? have i gone too far anywhere and need to
take some away? i;ve been working on this piece on top
of a back layer of black fabric as the *border* rusted fabric
seems a bit fragile adn looks like it may tear in the heavily
rusted areas.....if/when it does it will have another
fabric behind it. i;m thinking about leaving the ragged rust
edges and just finishing the black *border* . then need to
decide if it wants a traditional binding or Somehting Else.

just a little thinking outloud before the day gets going.

sacred saturday

have been stitching all day! and loving it. i;ve couched yarnd into some of the stitching lines that were already there. i pretty much always reach the point after i've done a little bit of embellishing that i think i;ve *ruined* it and should back off....usually i keep going and thats when it really seems to click. today's one of those days so far. i think its added a good dimension, tho i may go in adn trim some of it a bit. it needs more beading as well. i;ve also been experimenting with stitchign in the triangular areas in the corners: tried a rust colored thread, then a black/silver/copper metallic one. haven't decided which i like best. i want to minimize the visual effect of those areas.
since i;ve been too busy all week to actually go pick out new glasses (i;ve had the eye exam...)they;re abtou worn out! time to close them for a few b4 i get back to it.
it does feel good to be stitching again.
tho i have to admit, it was a hard decision this morning! it's a gorgeous day here. lo humidity adn cool breezes.... great welding weather too...so many things to do , so little time.......

rust_4 

added stitching 

new rust quilt in progress 

quilting again

after a long but more settled week at my new job, its time for sacred saturday!!
coined by my friend and fellow artist, julie john upshaw, it's an UNinterupted art day. (well ...almost have to bring my mother in for tests early in the morning)
i'm looking forward to getting back to this piece i started putting together a month or 2 ago - created from bits and pieces of my ever growing stash of rust fabrics.
i've layered this piece with hand dyed silk organza, and another rusted piece in some areas, adn black in others. slits cut 2 or 3 layers down in various areas create more texture and depth. i;m in the process of adding beads, and will stitch some copper threads on tomorrow.

it's time to get soem new rusted fabric going again as well. i'm feelign like i need to branch out into other shapes and forms....shouldnt be too diffcult to find a little more rust around here.
someone had asked recently how i do my fabric: the *trick* is to soak the fabric in @ 50/50 vinegar/water before placing the rusted items on top, or wrapping them inside a bundle. i find it works well if i can keep it damp for a couple of days as well.. tho some of my best pieces have been those that dry out in between spritzing... it forms a sort of tide line of pattern....

and then i;ve also been known to wrap my rusty clothesline pole with fabric (secured with wire that rusts in place). now if only i can be patient enuf to leave it on till it's DONE!

hope you all enjoy soem quality art time as well.

art day on the bayou

i had a wonderful day yesterday! (could it just have been yesterday? it already feels like forever ago!) i started out early enough to head to the chauvin sculpture garden for the first folk art festival. tho i brought my camera, i was so busy visiting i forgot to take pictures! but you can find photos online at the nicholls site: http://www.nicholls.edu/folkartcenter/photo.html
it's so densely packed it's really difficult to capture in photos . ... i think it's one of the best little *secrets* we have around here... well worth the drive down . it was great to visit a little bit with my art school family and catch up with the latest news before heading further down the bayou. i wish i could have stayed for the blessing of the fleet but had to scoot on down before it started.

it was a gorgeous spring day and we enjoyed the drive as we headed all the way down the bayou, where the road becomes just a thin ribbon of land surrounded by water. driving past the stark remains of once beautiful cypress trees, onto grand isle for the closing reception of the *unnecessary losses* exhibit was a good reminder of what the work was all about - the rapid loss of our wetlands.... i was Really impressed with the work on display, which made winning best of show even more awesome. one of the highlights was a section of ceramics done by grade school kids from the island..... they are certainly doing wonderful work down there!
and it was great to meet some of the other artists. once again, i completely forgot to take photos. oops!
for an online review of the show click here: http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/current/art_review.html
all in all a great way to spend the day.....
and next time, i promise to USE my camera!

gel printed 

river road: welded copper armature woven with a painted paper grid ......... 

some fun news!

i found out yesterday that my sculpture, river road, won the best of show in the grand isle art
exhibit! i haven't been to see it yet; will be there sunday. but am thrilled !
i;ve started a new day job adn have been way too busy to get back to my art work. tho the pile of gelatin printed fabric gets rearranged every time i go by it.....it may compose itself yet!

fence posts 

gel print 

finally!

i've been tyring to get back on-line all week. between starting a new job and having MORE computer problems it's taken a little longer than it should!
i've also finally gotten my scanner and computer to talk to each other once again. i've added a scan of one of my gel prints. i've got oodles of them waiting for me. i really like the watery effect
i've been getting by laying a thin layer of medium over the gelatin before applying the paint.

reflections at the sculpture garden in new orleans 

in computer limbo

after installing XP over ME last week. part of it went well.
then there are other parts that are still there somewhere but not
communicating with the rest, including my scanner.
so i;ve bought an external hard drive, saved everything i need
to ( i hope) and tomorrow i will take a deep breath and reformat
and hope like crazy that works!
we're having some totally wonderful spring days! sunny, cool, breey,
lo humidity. did soem work outside. including doign a little cleaning
out of the garage.... (till we ran out of room in the trash cans!!)
i embossed a couple of pages of soft sculpt during the week and
have spent the rest of today painting them, after cuttign them into
various shapes. ok . so theyre not *various* ; they're all fence posts.
no surprise there! i realy like the way they;ve turned out and will
post some px as soon as all the computer parts are on the same
page adn talkgin to each other again.
in the meantime i;ll find another photo to post........
(the photos are still workign right knock wood!!)