Fairytale & Cat

TWO more boxes completed. I'd almost forgotten how much fun these are to make. (Note: See Blog post of Oct. 18, 2008 for some familiar treasures.)

Reading Matters

I collect "stuff" to use in the boxes I design. I'm also a lover of books, Emily Dickinson, and history of Amherst, Massachusetts. Here are photos of some of my book collection.

The James Jones book (open and closed)is one my husband found at a book sale in the FREE section. The contents you see in the photo were actually in the book when he found it. Not seen in this photo is a necklace I sold for around $100 and some JFK coins I gave back to the fundraising organization.

Browsing for Inspiration

Yesterday I plunked myself down at a Barnes and Noble cafe, indulged in a tricked out coffee, and browsed* through my favorite periodicals. (Fiber Arts; Quilting Arts; Cloth Paper Scissors; The Artful Blog; Altered Clothing")

Armed with one of my trusty art journals, I...
TOOK NOTES
SKETCHED IDEAS
RECORDED COLOR PALETTES AND TEXTURES THAT CAUGHT MY EYE
JOTTED DOWN BLOG AND WEBSITE ADDRESSES
MADE LISTS OF THEMES FOR ART SHOWS
SUMMARIZED INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEW TECHNIQUES
PLANNED NEW PROJECTS!

Then I went home and looked up all the websites and made more notes. Today, I'm ready to create!

On that note - I'm closing down my computer and getting started.

*I bought the coffee to ease some of my guilt for hardly ever purchasing one of these magazines. I'm a pretty honest human being, and this may be one of the most sinful things I do. It's just short of stealing :(

New Boxes Born Today

FINALLY! Can't stay away from my passion any longer.

Boston State House exhibit

Our art was placed in 4 rooms at the State House. It's hard to get a good angle to view the exhibit because the rooms aren't very large. These photos are from 2 rooms. The 1st is the Executive Officer's room and the 2nd is Senator Rosenberg's office. One of my pieces in the exhibit is shown on the right of the 1st photo. It's a paper quilt titled "Koi".

Boston Exhibit

My work, along with the art of 14 other Shelburne Arts Co-op members, is now on display at the Boston State House in the offices of Senator Stan Rosenberg. The show runs March 16th - May 30th and is open to the public during working hours. If you live in the area, or are visiting Boston - please stop by and take a look.

Reminiscing

I have been extremely involved in my arts Co-op business issues lately and haven't had the big chunks of time I need to settle into creating art. I am going to try to set aside at least two hours every day to do nothing but CREATE. Probably I'll have to choose a regular time slot, but for right now it's just getting that 2 hours in somewhere.

What I HAVE had is smaller bits of time that have led me to reminisce. I've gone through some old photographs and had a great time thinking about the good old days. I've also thought a lot lately about my parents, who are gone now. I still miss them, even after 12 years. My mother and I had a very intense relationship, but time has mellowed out the worst of it. I think about the friends she left behind and then, one by one, their spouses passing. They all seem like such strong women in my mind, and I wonder if I have that fiber in my soul.

Anyway, I wrote this poem for them:

WIDOWS

Strong women
deeply lined
with names like
Marjorie
Doris
Myrtle
Ruth

Strong women
selfless
caring for
the grandchildren
teenagers
aging parents
dying husbands

Strong women
keepers of the
christening gowns
smudged report cards
Great Grandmother’s china
sepia poses
bloodlines
family secrets

Strong women
caring for each other now
with their own pains and cancers

Fine, strong women
who are
just fine
really –
thank you, dear