Checking In

Sometimes it seems like life just runs forward whether you're ready for it or not. But if there's anything that helps life feel consistent for me, it's my art...So even during times when I don't have time for it, I can still turn to it, in small ways or short spurts, to help give me perspective.

Before I share some projects and other news, I just want to thank folks for their helpful words and support to me about my Mom. Thank you for your kindnesses.

Just wanted to post quickly about a couple of projects that have been brewing slowly. The first photo shows the finest thread warp I've ever wound on my loom before...It's a very thin 70/2 linen warp.  The weft I'll use is the pineapple ramie I've gotten from Habu Textiles. It's a beautiful thin yarn, that has some irregularity to it which I love...sometimes a lighter color slub or variation of texture to it. And it dyes beautifully. So it's making for a very sheer and beautiful fabric (will add photo of the actual weaving in next post), that someday will be finished and off the loom to be integrated into some new art piece (or several, if I cut it up). I think there's about 7 yards wound, so it can be a lot.

Then another piece that I have on the burner is one of my mixed media pieces.. It's a large 48x30 canvas that for the first steps I painted with acrylic and adhered silk gauze to it for added texture. Currently it's in the hand stitching stage, so that's slow and calming work, which is important as things keep changing for me. Even a half hour of the activity is helpful. While this is just a close up, and won't show the whole, for me the inspiration here my imagined view of my dream home, from the front (or back) porch that looks out over a pond or a lake....and it's a foggy early spring morning. Crisp, cool, with that hint of the warmth of the season to come...but you can still smell the snow that's in piles in the shade...

So the return to my art in full is very slow...but that is okay for now....Besides losing our Mom, there have been lots of other things going on that I was trying to just ignore because I didn't have the energy to figure out.  But life marches on whether you're ready or not...one of the positives was that in September I moved my studio to the wonderful Studio Place Arts (SPA) in Barre, VT. It's a great space, and much more affordable than my Montpelier spot.  Here's a blurry shot of it:

SPA is such a great venue in this area. I've been lucky to have had work in the VT Surface Design Association's group shows there. In addition to the gallery spaces there, they rent artist studios and offer workshops. It's a building with a lot of character, and they've added a lot of value to the Barre community through creating lots of public art - much of it centered around granite sculpture which ties it to the history of the talented Italian immigrants who came to the area with their stone working skills to create a new life in America.

Anyway, I've got a lot more news to share soon, but need to do that another day. Just wanted to check in....Thanks for reading!