Excuses

I know I should be finishing the last three weeks of my trip to PNG and OZ – all the pics are up but they need words to make them understandable.  I’ve lost the momentum at the moment as it has shifted to other more pressing things. Like…

…remembering all those who serve and have served in our country’s armed forces – this is Memorial Day weekend here in the US.

…cleaning up after our recent spate of storms. Nothing serious here, just lots of tree debris.

…making plans for a small papermaking gathering here in June.

…writing two articles with deadlines in the next two days.

…making sufficient samples for one of the articles.

…nailing down all the necessary aspects of a teen/river art project.

…working up plans for a community art project.

…hosting and attending various family functions and gatherings – all good fun ones. And setting up future ones.

…giving two presentations on my OZ/PNG trip.

…giving a mudcloth for quilters presentation – which got chased into the church basement due to a nearby tornado.

…quilting some of my mudcloth to use as samples at the above mentioned presentation – which I then forgot to take along!

…making plans for a couple possible trips.

…finalizing various teaching plans for the rest of the year.

…getting excited about the upcoming births of our first two grandchildren!

 

I promise, there WILL be final reporting on my two weeks in PNG plus the last week in Australia at the Orange Forum.  Just not promising exactly when….

Twining

I’m on a twining roll. Started with paper twist and baling twine on Thursday and ended with the newspaper plastic bags today. Two separate pieces, one technique.

The baling twine and paper twist has some character to it – undulations, an opening on the side, a really nice found stick running through three sides of the piece.

The plastic bags piece has color – from the bags (blue and orange and dark green during winter so you could see it in the snow plus some lovely pale greens, oranges and tans). It’s shape is pretty staid – basically didn’t try anything different do to the very limp nature of the material. Halfway through the piece my love asked if I was making a bag to hold the bags?  Well…. That must be what it is!  Added a twisted handle at the end and hung it in the garage.  More bags to come!

Will get some pics up later this week.  ITMT, pics of the Oxford exhibit, Rock Paper Scissors are up on my Flickr site.

Rock Paper Scissors

That’s the title of the exhibit that opens on Friday, March 12 at the Oxford Community Art Center in Oxford, OH. Moya Jones and I are exhibiting our fiber art there through April 3. Opening reception is Friday, March 12, 6-8pm.

We hung the show on Monday without too much difficulty. Some of the work just begged to be shown next to each other!  Here’s how the first wall looked as we worked: "Rock Paper Scissors" at Oxford Community Art Center

It was funny how we thought of each other’s work: I figured Moya would have lots of color in her quilts (which she does!) and she figured I would be fairly neutral in color (which is true for the most part). What we both didn’t realize is that we each are starting to move in the opposite color direction!

Moya has some lovely rust dyeing work that is full of rich browns and greys/blacks. And I have some recycled paper/book work that is fairly bursting with all sorts of color. So our work really melds together well.

I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy the show – look forward to seeing you on Friday!

Catch-up from November and on through December

Boy, time has flown by! Since mid-November it seems like I’ve been deep into one thing and then the next with nary a breath in-between.

The Branson Banana Bash was a rousing success, if measured in trunks bashed, fiber cooked and new friends well met.  No pics up yet on my Flckr site – hopefully over the holidays…. I did get a chance to pull some sheets fromn what was done in Branson and they are nice! A bunch of trunk pieces are currently soaking (actually, they are frozen solid!) in a wading pool and cement mixing tub on the deck. I didn’t think rain would hurt them but I totally didn’t factor in freezing temps. Oh, well, it will just take a bit longer to ret.

A lovely Thanksgiving Day (thank you Karen and Nick!) was followed by a group art exhibit at the Pendleton Art Center in downtown Cinti taking advantage of their Final Friday and Second Look Saturday events. It was a nice showing of nine different arts, a not so bad crowd and lousy sales. Even lousier attendance and sales the following day. We did the December Final Friday, too (which really is the third Friday this month because how Christmas happens this year), and skipped out on the Second Look Saturday due to the overwhelming (NOT!) crowd and sales on Friday.

ITMT, I made a quick project for our Weavers Guild exhibit at XU coming up – a smallish quilted hanging using color catchers. AND I started the large installation piece I proposed for the exhibit. If it all goes well, I will use 200 china silk scarves to hang on the third floor of the Student Center in the atrium area. Two panels that should each be about 20′ x 17′. Keeping each scarf in correct order so as not to mess up the design has been the challenge so far! (The side-by-side order isn’t as hard as the top/bottom order – and then the panel-to-panel order where they meet in the middle – that’ll be the killer!) I’ve got one panel’s worth mudded so far – need to rinse them out and then to start on the second panel. Already checked out hanging supplies at Home Depot.

I’ve had the bass out lately  getting ready for Christmas mass music. Tuning up the voice, too.

Throw in some oddball activities (like putting a new back onto a loved blanket for T&L), some smallish scrumble projects that absolutely required cool buttons from St. Theresa Textile Trove, meeting up with some friends of various stripes, guild seasonal parties, business and friend seasonal gatherings, an exhibit proposal, a workshop proposal,  the obligatory gingerbread cooking baking sessions – and I know I’m forgetting a few things….) and I’ve not had time to get into too much trouble.

The days immediately ahead look like they will be a continuation of same.

Many wishes for a most blessed and joyous season and new year!

Book cover cloth

Finally pulled the camera out today and took some shots of the book cover cloth that I’ve been making lately. It’s been fun to see what the fabrics will do together. And to think of other things that could make a fabric.  Of course, it all looks so much better in person.  <g>

My love made the comment last night that it is getting harder and harder to tell the difference between what is food, what it art materials and what is garbage. I try my best to keep him straight.