Art and Life

Here I am, happily in the HOH Rainforest yesterday. Notice jacket, sweater, scarf, silk shirt...May in the NW!

David came over from Seattle, since Brian was away at Band Camp. David brought his cute little Mini (his second), along with the new dog, Winnie, who I am beginning to think of as my youngest niece. (see my Facebook page for pictures of the adoption).


I love the drippy moss, dappled light, the 500-year-old tree. We have Such Beautiful surroundings here! One advantage of being over 62 is having a Golden Eagle pass to get into any National Park for free. Too bad it takes a visitor to get me out enjoying my surroundings--that's not totally true.

Little car, big trees. Good to hang out with my youngest brother.
Today he worked on some new cloaks for Winnie, while I cooked. We are lucky to have siblings we enjoy.

I am lucky to have more wonderful things to do than time--much preferable to the other way around!



The ART PART: Last weekend's Tiny Art Quilt class at Quilted Strait, now in Port Gambol, WA. A wonderful group of women and class room. We had fun working inside on a Beautiful Saturday, although I did stop at the beach in Port Townsend on my way home...LOVE the beaches!



Kathie Karst's piece, using tree fungus, attached with tulle.


















Lindy Leon, sewing like mad on her fabric journal pages. She had a whole furniture unit with drawers of supplies...serious Workshopper!


Mo Harrah's tape-transferred Monkey face in a fabric jungle. Even though she left all her treasures at either the old MT or new PA home, she made do in style, and said she enjoyed being able to play, instead of teach.











I wore my pieced ancestor vest, with photo transfers onto cloth on the back, showing the wedding of my mother's parents in 1918. Here, Patsy Simpson and I are discussing strategy for her music-oriented piece. She says she's going to applique piano keys.





Thanks, Wendy Whittenmore, for furnishing some of the pictures of class. Here you are, contemplating your next move...


and the tribute quilt for your husband .you made below...I imagine we could have just kept sewing and sewing, talking and talking. Thank you, Ladies, for a fun Saturday!


Kris invited me back for a return engagement in the fall, maybe Ancestor dolls.

In October, I head East to teach 3 classes at Art-Is-You in CT: Angels and Icons--tiny dolls, Dancing on the Edge--dolls using found objects, and Star of My Own Show--self portraits.






There is also my current fascination with painting portraits. I am using charcoal and acrylic on heavy water color paper, to save money and storage space, but am thinking that canvas is easier, and doesn't have to be framed. I've slowed down considerably since I did the eight portraits in seven days thing...

The first Patti portrait and then the start of the second Patti portrait. I always see things I want to do differently next time, which means do Another, then Another.




















I'm still chugging along with the HOT FLASH book, too--send me pictures and stories, the yard, cleaning house (at least once every 6 months), work--ah, yes, work that keeps a roof over my head while I play and make ART. What is the Answer for a healthy and happy life? Is it to be content with accomplishing a little bit of a lot of things, even while I try to keep honing and honing to the most important (to me)?