Journal

Random Musings on Art and LIfe

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A First Gallery Exhibit: Contemplations in Cloth

September 22, 2021

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…

How to Sign a Stitched Painting

August 20, 2021
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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…

Learn from my Marking Pencil Mistake

June 30, 2021

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.

A Talavera Awning in 4 Simple Shapes

March 5, 2021

I’m dreaming of a Talavera Awning

January 20, 2021

Stitched Paintings by Shelly Stokes

January 6, 2021

How I get more done with Studio Stations

November 4, 2020

Pint-Sized Projects

September 30, 2020

A Special Sofa for my Castle

September 10, 2020

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…

StarFlower 5 Complete!

July 30, 2020
StarFlower-5-Complete cover image

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…

StarFlower 5 Stitch Update

July 2, 2020
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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…

Fill the Hole in a Vintage Guatemalan Huipil

May 18, 2020

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…