Pretty Colors

These are some wonderful fabrics I bought this weekend, along with a nicely fused stack all ready to work with. The colors really do glow like that. One of the shops I go to very nicely sent me a gift certificate in appreciation for past patronage. Of course I used it and a little besides.Although I do love hand painted and hand dyed fabric, I also love buying it already done. So much less work. In July I will have a little time off, so there may be time to paint some more fabric. As hot as it is, it would dry in about 5 minutes. In the meantime, I have these lovelies to play with.

Fran asked if there was any curved piecing in the last work I shared, and the answer is no, it is all done in the tradition of the Chicago School of Fusing. I also
wanted to say that reading Nancy's book is NOT stressful in any way, except that it is so inspiring you want to drop everything and work on art 24/7 like she apparently does. The book is a wonderful retrospective of work, and also talks about some of her inspirations.
It is well worth owning if you love art books as much as I do.

I read about her classes on another email list. What is "stressful" to me is that she requires a lot of work in a short time, and she wants it to be large. Although I understand the idea of "loosening up" and working more intuitively, I do not want to put time or size constraints on my work. Deborah blogged about art and size a couple of days ago, and I agree that the size of the work should be what it needs to be, not artificially imposed. (An obvious exception would be a commission meant to hang in a specific area, like the one Gerrie just completed.)

Off to work (the paying kind) now, I hope to have more to share with you soon.

New work and a new book

I recently finished this piece, "One More Day Up In the Canyon". It's about 15" x 18". I love the colors of earth, sky, and water, it seems to be a recurring theme in my work. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out.

Like quite a few others, I finally received my copy of Nancy Crow's new book. I have already spent hours looking at it. What an inspiration! If I could work faster, I might save up to take a workshop from her, but from everything I've been reading about her teaching technique, I don't think it would suit me. I am not being critical of her, I just know I wouldn't thrive under that level of stress. I told my husband we needed to buy about 60 acres with three barns on it, and he looked slightly alarmed until I told him I was only joking.

Sort of.

Breakfast, Books and A Dog Wash

Our weekend was a typical one. We had the usual chores (laundry and cleaning) and a few extras like bathing the dogs. This is NOT their favorite activity and we pretty much get as wet as they do in the process. They feel great afterwards, though, and run around barking and rolling on the rugs. It
was pandemonium for a little while there.

Other than chores, we had a couple of nice breakfasts, particularly on Father's Day. Breakfast means oatmeal, toast, fruit or yogurt during the week, but on the weekend it's something special. Although we went out this weekend, often we cook at home. We make spectacular omelettes, fried potatoes, the works. Sometimes its homemade
breakfast burritos.

I haven't been sewing much, but I have been reading. Summer weather has me feeling
lazy, and I love to relax under a ceiling fan with a nice breeze blowing in the window. One of my favorite authors is Jodi Picoult. I just finished these two this weekend. I always like a good story where the author makes you care about the characters. The topics are contemporary and the plot moves right along. One of her methods is to write from each character's point of view, and you really get a chance to get inside their heads and see what's going on. Anyway, if you are looking for a good summer read or two, check it out.

A New Phase and Random Thoughts

This painting is by Jay Milder. From Abstract Art Online. I love the color and energy, and even in an internet picture I can get a feel for the "cake frosting" quality of the paint. Great fun.

Lots of things going on here. Work is busy, busy, busy because a) I am still playing "catch up", and b) everyone is bringing me their summer projects for binding and repair. I find that I am absolutely wiped out at the end of the day, even eight weeks out from surgery. On the other hand, as Jerry reminded me, I used to be wiped out after long work days BEFORE I had surgery. I have been working out how to cope with the symptoms of my new phase of life. I attended a "menopause" class, and am trying the black cohosh for relief from hot flashes. I started exercising again, which I hope will help with the stress and emotional upheaval. This has probably been the most disconcerting part. I find myself weepy at the drop of a hat (hearing a song, for example, will set me off). This is very unlike me, and I don't feel quite like myself. I have not made any decisions yet about turning to medication.

We also have a house guest, a friend of Jerry's who has been living in Egypt for the past year. He is a photographer, and he has amazing pictures, both of Egypt and of Darfur. Take a look, they are incredible. What strikes me so forcefully are the beautiful smiles on the faces of some of these people, even after so much suffering. It seems absurd to ever complain about anything when so many have so little. It gives you a lot to think about.