Journal
Random Musings on Art and LIfe
At the beginning of the month, I had the honor of participating in my first gallery exhibit at One Division Art in Buffalo, MN. The exhibit was titled Contemplations in Cloth. I enjoyed working with gallery owner Christopher Hoffman, and shared the exhibit space with Carolyn Abbott of Brainerd, MN. Carolyn and I worked together…
In preparation for my first gallery show, I had to solve the problem of how to sign a stitched painting. The pieces were finished. They were stretched on internal frames. They were absolutely ready for the packing crate. Except that… oops!… Nothing had a signature! Now I knew I could sign the back of the…
There are few things more frustrating than mistakes that can be avoided. In this post, I share my mis-adventure with a marking pencil — and how you can avoid this mistake in your fabric art projects.
About a month ago, I wrote about my dreams for a Talavera Awning. Today, I’m excited to say that I have an update for you. It’s going to happen! It’s going to be a Talavera Awning in 4 simple shapes! Yes, I’m excited. I see this awning design as an extension of my stitched paintings.…
Does the current state of the world have you dreaming about crazy stuff? Has lock-down fever finally got the best of you? Well, I know I’m getting a bit stir-crazy when I start dreaming about a Talavera Awning. I know that sounds a little crazy. And no, I don’t literally want an awning made from…
As we begin the new year, I’m making time to celebrate a few wins from 2020. It was a challenging year, but were definitely “wins” to go with the losses. For me, one of the biggest wins was getting four of my Stitched Paintings out of the closet and into their final form. I started…
A few months ago, I decided it was time for a studio make-over. I had everything I needed, but I was forever setting things up and taking them down. Thankfully, Engineer Brain had a good idea –– it was time to set up Studio Stations. The first big change was a permanent home for my…
For the past 3 years, I’ve been working on large Stitched Paintings. As much as I love these embroideries, they are big projects and often take months to complete. A month or so ago, I thought I would try — one more time — to figure out how to work on pint-sized projects that don’t…
When I purchased a home in Mexico, I didn’t just purchase a home. Nope! True to my overly vivid imagination, I bought myself a castle. And, of course, not just any old sofa belongs in the living room of a castle –– only a very special sofa will do! When the hotel in our compound…
Completions are a big deal here at Cedar Canyon, especially when a project stretches out for months. Needless to say, I’m happy to say (shout?) StarFlower 5 Compete!!! Ahem… did I say that loudly enough? When I wrote my last update a few weeks ago, I was chuckling about the value of Ugly Brown Beads…
I’m at a particularly happy stage with my current Paint • Stitch • Bead adventure, so I thought I would pause and give you a StarFlower 5 stitch update. Start with Paintstiks My normal working order is to create Renegade Stencils using the Silhouette Studio software and then cut the stencil(s) from vinyl with a…
On a trip to Guatemala in February, I purchased a number of vintage hupiles (Guatemalan blouses) from Chichicastenango region. I loved the geometric designs in the weaving and knew they would be perfect for an upholstery project. But… when you repurpose these used garments for a project, you have to Fill the Hole. And that…