Hangin' Around

'Tis the season to be exhibiting...thought you might want to see where I'm hanging around, so to speak:

Just about to come down is the PAQA South Member's show ArtQuilts:reflections which has been at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center in Cary, NC. Have a look here at the virtual exhibit put together by member Janine LeBlanc...I'm in Gallery 3 with two pieces. (Be sure and look at all of the show...they are all amazing pieces!)

Opening soon is The Piedmont Arts Association's invitational Art of the Quilt exhibit curated by Linda Fiedler and Tina Sell, where I have two pieces. This show will run from Nov 7 - Dec 27 in Martinsville, VA.

I also am included in three upcoming art exhibits...first is Fall for Art, a one night event of Associated Artists of Winston-Salem where I am a juried member. This event will be held at the Winston-Salem BMW showroom on Nov 2 from 6-9PM. I have one wall piece in this event and also have a solo booth with my vessels, journals, purses, and other small works. It will be a fun evening! I am hoping for good sales...but anything not sold will be available in the AAWS Gallery downtown after this event.

Next is an exhibit at Salem College in Winston-Salem by women artists, Reflections: Politics and Religion in Art which will hang in the Salem Fine Arts Center from Nov. 3 - Jan 30.

And the last one I will mention today also comes with the news that I've been accepted as a member into The Cosmic Cow Society , an art group based in Greensboro, NC. They had posted a call for applications and I just couldn't resist...the sense of humor in the name got my attention! I have this thing for cows...goes back to my childhood farm days...but I digress. Anyway, we will have our first show as the new group... Natural Bliss: Instinct and Inspiration will hang from Dec 4 until Jan 5 at Maya Gallery in Greensboro.

I continue to be amazed by the doors that keep opening for me...I am having the time of my life and I am truly blessed!

Progress - Interior Design

I got a call from the painter today and the condo project (more here) has paint going up on the walls!!! I made a site visit recently when the drywall was up. That's when things start to happen more quickly and where what had long been in my mind and only on paper takes recognizable form...it's exciting to me, even after all these years in the business, to see on site what I've seen in my mind's eye...and for everyone else to start to see the reality of what they've entrusted to my design. It's just too much fun! I'm not posting pictures yet...I'm saving up for the reveal, so stay tuned....

Blog Action Day 2008

Being relatively new to blogging I was not aware until just now that today is Blog Action Day, a day for bloggers to all focus on the same topic: POVERTY, aimed at stirring a world-wide discussion and focus on this inexcusable problem. Inexcusable, that's my opinion. We live in a world of abundance tarnished by an ever present sense of greed. It's so easy to turn a blind eye and step over the person in need on the way to wherever we think we deserve to go, gathering more than our share along the way. How much better off the world would be if we all practiced what we learned in preschool - SHARE. Such a simple concept, even a child can learn to do that. Why is it so hard for us "grown-ups"?

So I will turn my thoughts today to my own actions..... Where do I see unmet need? What will I do about it?

We can all do more. It's a responsibility, and approached with the right spirit, it's a privilege.

Taking Flight

First a "J" Then a chrysalis...check out the metallic gold dots!

Then TA DA!!

Isn't she beautiful? (Yes, I know it's a she because of the wing spots and the longer body...see the 2 dark dots on the wings next to her tail?)


Like joy unexpected, I looked over at the bug box today and there was a beautiful, newly hatched Monarch butterfly just hanging there. I missed her coming out party...I always do. But that's OK. The fun part is getting to hold them and take them back outside. So that's what we did, and another year's cycle of life has revealed itself to us. I'm keeping watch over the other chrysalis (what's the plural of that word?) in the garden...we spotted three today. Meanwhile, back in the bug box we have moved in one of the Swallowtail caterpillars. I can't wait to see that one transform!

In My Garden

It's the height of caterpillar season...I have lots and lots of Monarch's and have even found a few Swallow Tails munching away at my parsley. Today I discovered a Monarch chrysalis hanging from my mailbox post. I rarely see them in this stage outside - I think they usually hide in the bushes to transform, so a close up view like this normally only happens in the bug box.

In these uncertain times it's nice to see reminders like this that life goes on. Beauty is all around us...where have you found it?

What's new

Boy, am I behind on posting! It seems like everything happens in September.

The boys have settled into their new routines for school and all of the homework that comes with AG classes, and they both have their first baseball games of the season this week. Scouts starts Friday.

I'm tending to this year's Monarch caterpillars...I took 6 to the elementary school for the kindergarten classes to raise, I have one in a bug box for us to watch up close, and there are at least 20 more in the garden. I suspect there are lots more than 20 but that's what I counted on today's run by. I don't think I'll ever tire of them - though I'm sure my neighbors tire of the sight of that flower bed. It's a mess!

It's been a crazy busy time in the studio...I have my exhibit up at the library, 2 pieces going to the Piedmont Arts Association invitational 'Art of the Quilt' exhibit in Martinsville, VA, 2 other pieces going to the PAQA-South member's show in Cary, NC, a piece to submit for a women's exhibit at Salem College, a piece to make for EPU II, my first FFFC (Fast Friday Fabric Challenge) that will begin this Friday, a solo spot at Associated Artists 'Fall for Art' coming up the first weekend in November to make more things for....somebody pass the OXYGEN!!!

And then there's my 'day job'. I have three interiors projects going there.

I just love fall!! I really do. That first little hint of coolness in the air re-energizes me. Good thing, huh.....?

More FUN!

Once again, the ladies of Miss Bee Havin' gathered for an all day quilting retreat, and this time everyone got to come. We spent Saturday from 8 am until 7 pm creating away to our hearts' content. There were quilts being pieced and basted and tied all over the place. Gorgeous stuff, and if they weren't my good friends some of them would have gone missing! I mean the quilts, not my friends!! I may covet but I'm not a kidnapper. Well, I'm not a thief either. But there were some really fine works happening in that room. Anyway, as usual when this group gets together, we had a blast!

I started out dye painting some silk/cotton blend fabric - just a small piece. I'm working on an art quilt that will have 2 sided leaves and I thought the shimmer from the silk would play well into that piece. I used Dynaflow but I didn't get quite the color I was after and the sheen was almost all lost in the process. It's a color that I can use elsewhere but not in this one, so I opted for some other cotton that I had hand-dyed about a week ago and I'll check the store again to see if they had green silk. Shoulda thought of that to begin with...I just saw white and said,"ooooh, shiny!...think of the possibilities!" I'm still going to play with the rest of it...maybe a little rust dyeing, and maybe some color dyeing with a product better suited to silk.

Meanwhile, while the fabric dried, I got on with another art piece that I'm cranking out for a Black and White challenge. I ended up spending the entire day on it and got the top completely done! I can't show it though...it's hopefully headed to be juried if I can get it quilted in time. Nothing like a tight deadline!

At the end of the day we headed over to our favorite Italian restaurant and had a wonderful meal and some really good red wine. I can't wait for the next retreat!!

The cutting... The sewing...

The PERFECT Y SEAM!