Around the Block Fiber Arts Stroll

My new series of birds, inspired by the birds in Kristin Shields' folk art, will be shown and sold at the 9th Annual Fiber Arts Stroll in Sisters, Oregon on Sunday, July 7th, Noon-4pm.  We'll be at "The Jewel", 1221 W. Cascade (Hwy 20).  

This red bird has a wool body and an angelina fiber wing embedded with triangular flecks of angelina film.

This chubby pink-orange bird's body is made from angelina fibers and its wing is made from angelina fibers and angelina film.  It has long swirly twirly tail feathers.

A closer look.

Whimsical wired women, other critters and wiry trees will also make an appearance.

Stop by and visit us if you have a chance.  We'd love to see you.

  

Backyard Birdfeeder

I put some birdseed in this weathered birdfeeder
and the birds had quite a party!

There was plenty to feast on below the feeder, too.

And then the party was over.

Intuitive Color and Design - Day 4

Morning snow.

White covered morning

Flakes drift lightly to the earth

As hidden birds sing 

In town

birds congregated loudly

among snow-covered branches.

Colors mingle with the snow.

At the end of the day - a few more blocks, a pincushion/paperweight, a little quilt ornament, and one small Black Butte quilt finished (the one on the bottom left) and ready for its companion framing quilt.

Possibilities

Color and design unfold

Endless Potential

Spokane

 A beautiful sunny Fall day in Spokane, Washington.

 Riverfront Park

 This structure glows colors at night...

 inviting closer inspection during the day.

 Welcoming paths beckon.

 one of my many feathered park companions

rippling waters 

 the first course of my lunch - a delightful feast for my eyes

 autumn colors

a mix of textures, shapes and colors 

 Squirrels scampered back and forth before me
(and in the trees above me)
as I made my way through the park.

 flags of many colors, with the city beyond

 another view.  graceful curves.

 a pleasing color combination

 a sundial marked the time of my visit to it

 a glimpse downward to the fall composition at my feet

 oregon grape blue amidst the fall foliage

In the park people walked, ran, skateboarded and rode bikes. 

There were children with balloons and young families full of smiles and laughter.

Businesspeople walked by in their dark clothes and jackets; some with cellphones pressed to their ears, oblivious to their surroundings.

Other people, like me, found a spot to sit or recline and stay for a while.

Branch Out Retreat with Rosalie Dace

I am unpacking and reflecting on a weeklong retreat, Branch Out, with Rosalie Dace in Sisters, Oregon at The Stitchin Post. 

Pre-work for the class included considering and collecting images of trees.  Trees intrigue me and many photos I take feature them... the assignment for this class gave me a reason to concentrate on taking photos of trees from afar and up close.  I brought a diverse collection of images to class - somehow I misplaced the original set of photos I had selected, and ended up ordering a totally different set of photos the day before class.  The set of photos I used were from the photos that happened to still be stored in my digital camera; they were a mix of Oregon and Hawaii images.  Here are the photos I worked with in class:

One of many large, lush beautiful trees at Punchbowl National Cemetery on the Island of Oahu in Hawaii:

This tree stands on the grounds of a church in downtown Honolulu.

A banyan tree at Iolani palace.

Along the Metolius River.

Bare poplar trees hosting a feathered symphony.

An early step in the process we used for developing our design on the first day was to cut/tear dark, medium and light paper to render a representation of what we wanted to capture from our tree image.  We also wrote down what we wanted to convey in the finished product.  I ended up with five candidate images - four are shown in the photo below taken of my design board at the end of the first day.  The fifth image was the one that struck me most deeply; I am saving it to work on once I have had some practice rendering some of the other images into quilts.

I chose to make a quilt based on the photo of a log laying near the Metolius river;  the photo and paper rendering are the set in the lower right.  I began pulling out fabric for the main parts of the log.

On the second day of class we began construction.  There was a ton of activity around the room as each participant went about her work in her own way. 

The third day the main parts of the log came together.  Since I am used to taking my time when sewing this sort of project - usually doing quite a bit of preparation and planning before putting needle to fabric, it was quite different to work relatively fast (for me) piecing free-form with non-regular shapes and lines. 

On the fourth day I forgot to take a photo. 

Amazing what came together during five days of concentrated effort, with excellent guidance and support, and in the company of such talented and gifted quilters.  Here's what I had at the end of the week...

More to do, but a good solid start.  Rosalie has requested we send her photos of our finished pieces in six weeks time. 

May moments

We walked along a favorite path next to the river shaded by tall trees under blue skies.  I wore my new sunglasses which made all the greens seem greener.  There near the path were these delicate purple flowers.

In spots the river raged loudly near our quiet path.

My view on the walk included the back of our lead dog - eager to see what lay ahead and to each side and under the rocks and brush - he explored happily at the end of his leash.

He paused when I slowed to take photos.  Sometimes turning to encourage me to move forward.

Every once in a while he stopped to take a long cool drink from the river.

Our river.

A rest stop.

Greens and browns.  Mixed textures.

New leaves on a tree at the river's edge.

The view upwards as we came to the end of the trail.

At home, a lone bird in the shade of a tree.

Geese at the pond.

Birds singing in high branches.