inspiration from fiber artists

While I am not a fiber artist myself I am always drawn to that work.  I marvel over the textures, color, forms, and most of all the time and dedication of the makers.  Perhaps I come by this naturally as my mother was a weaver for many years, and is now an avid knitter.  So, I want to share with you fiber artists who I find very inspiring. As I was looking at the butterfly I found yesterday with the colors and patterns on the wings, I thought of these three.

     * Go see the shimmering shibori work of Glennis at ShiboriGirl.
     She makes stunning colors and patterns in her work on silk.
     It is luxurious and she is so skilled at what she does.

     * Jude at Spiritcloth makes beautiful quilts with
     fabulous embroidery and applique work.

     * Helle at Gooseflesh is a fiber artist who crochets amazing sculptures
     from pre-loved wool and plastic bag yarn. Go see her recent post
     on the coral garden she's making.


These three women are so talented and creative, I enjoy watching their work bloom! I hope you'll go see for yourself!

poking holes, sneezing, drawing,

Today I had a good day doing studio work at home on the new pinhole pieces and some new drawings. The sky was also a clear and beautiful blue, as it was six years ago today.

Check out the pencil shavings here; it had apparently been a while since I last emptied my pencil sharpener, it was as packed as a bird's nest.

Is anyone else having major allergies right now? In between sneezing hysterically and tending to my nose, (the herbal tea is "breathe easy", probably works better for colds) I did manage to do a good amount of pinhole work on these pieces. They are inspired by my late grandmother's letters. I think there will be ten pieces in this series.

I also started some new drawings. They are 4 1/2 in. x 6 in., graphite, watercolor and colored pencil. I made six of them today, this is number SIX.

light on the plains

This was my favorite polaroid I took at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve last week. I like how it looks so light, and the bricks make staccato notes that lead you into the plains. I waited for that horse to move into the frame, he was curious about my "dinosaur" camera (as my sister calls it). I never really know how a polaroid is going to turn out, so it's a good thing I have always liked surprises.

new pinhole piece today

I had an idea the other night as I was falling asleep: to make a series of pinhole pieces with notebook lines at the bottom. Each piece in the series would reveal a portion of a letter. The letter is from my late grandmother and is pinholed in her handwriting. These photos show it in process and the bottom photo shows it with another pinhole piece I did previously.
It was a nice Saturday, I had the window open in the kitchen and sat at the table working. It was great to poke holes through paper again; it's been a while since I've done any pinhole work. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm gearing up for a big pinhole project.