Last week I began to work with a personal trainer to build muscles and strength that I have neither had nor used in almost five decades. Immediately I felt empowered by what I actually can do and that I ‘exceeded expectations for your age.’ This was especially gratifying to hear as I rapidly approach the […]
Blog
writing the bones…
As I continue to process my father’s recent death, my rehabilitation from two major surgeries in the past 13 months and my husband’s ongoing health issues which are requiring more of my attention I find myself in a quandary. So much grief…so little time. I am a verbal and visual person. I problem solve by […]
behind the scenes…
Today I went to a memorial disguised as a birthday party for an artist friend who died last month. She would have been 65 today. Judy was a wonderful pen/ink and watercolor artist, with all of her work being of animals. She was an exceptional equestrian and much of her work reflective of that. One […]
earth stories…
Last week I received exciting news that my work was juried into a new international exhibit (of 25 artists) which will travel 2014-17. I digitally submitted five pieces from my Upheaval series for the exhibit titled “Earth Stories” which was juried by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi. This was actually the second time Dr. Mazloomi has chosen […]
anything worth doing…
Probably the only thing worse than seeing an elder relative when we look in the mirror is hearing our parents’ voice in our head! Today I heard my father’s wisdom which he got either from his Bible Belt upbringing or Dale Carnegie… anything worth doing is worth doing well. Gad I hated hearing that when […]
back in the water…
At long last I am back in the water, walking forwards and backwards, bending, standing on tiptoes, rolling like a seal and just flat out in repose. A brief incision infection and knee instability kept me out of the pool until now. There are so many things I love about the water not the least […]
a sense of accomplishment…
I’ve been on a roller coaster the past few weeks in the ongoing rehabilitation of my second knee replacement. Just when I was making stellar progress my knee became unstable…too much flexibility I was told! So the physical therapist grounded me for 6-8 weeks. After I sobbed for nearly an entire day I decided to […]
saqa auction…
The annual SAQA auction is off and running and I have been patiently waiting for the reverse auction price to drop so I could purchase two of my most favorite pieces. For the past six years I have been acquiring first one piece, then two, and one year three pieces of two genres of 12″ […]
one size 13 step at a time…
I am in a very weird place with my knee replacement recovery. At almost 8 weeks my mental energy has returned with a vengeance but my physical body (the knee anyway) is not able to keep up! I continue to work hard in physical therapy, alternating with gym workouts and walking the track. I am […]
hitting the road…
This weekend two pieces from my Upheaval series are headed off on an exciting trip around the globe to Corsica, an island off the coast of France for an international invitational exhibit. The exhibit theme “Connexions: California-Corsica is curated and installed by Lisah Horner, executive director of ACCI Gallery in Berkeley, CA, of which I […]
random thoughts…
Now 17 days post op I am beginning to see all kinds of small improvements which add up to big accomplishments. My next goal is to be walking with cane instead of walker by week 3. A tall order but then I am a tall gal! The recovery from this second knee replacement has been […]
loose ends…
This summer so far has been an E-ticket ride! My elderly father died three weeks ago and I am having my second knee replaced in just two days. I have been tossing about like a cork in water with little direction this past month. Yesterday was my father’s memorial and it was great, a wonderful […]
rituals…
This spring my work Keeping Up Appearances #5 was selected for the Dinner@Eight annual invitational exhibit. The theme was ‘Rituals’ and I chose the ritual of table setting for my piece. The exhibit catalog is now available from Blurb. It’s a beautiful book! For this piece the main fabric was what else? a heavy […]
while making other plans…
Today is July 1st and I am rapidly coming up on the date for my second knee replacement. I chose to have this surgery in July because I will be 9 months out from the first replacement and sufficiently healed to start the process all over again. I do not relish this opportunity but have […]
observations…
Today while swimming alone in a public pool I was captivated by the reflective distortions water makes. I wished once again I had a camera to capture the squiggily reflections of the ladder on the surface or the exterior of the building chopped into segments by the gently swaying of the water. Because my mind […]
more studio time…
Last month I retreated to the studio in an effort to just chill out. How surprising is it that this is the place where I most am likely to relax?! I finished Stone Path but could not decide whether to place on my website as ‘abstract’ or ‘pictorial’ as it really is an abstract pictorial. […]
studio time…
What a surprise! Just as I was majorly stressed out I walked into the studio and bliss happened. I designed and finished another abstract landscape piece which I have yet to photograph. And I started a couple of new projects for small sales at ACCI Gallery. Just before Texas I whipped out a […]
the hype of social media…
Yesterday I gave a lecture at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, CA in conjunction with the current exhibit “Beyond the Comfort Zone: New Directions in Quilting” for which I also served as a juror. My talk was on increasing the odds for having one’s work juried into an art exhibit of any kind. I […]
and sew it goes…
I have been away from the blog and the studio most of May for a number of reasons all of which seem to be attributed to the decision to have my second knee joint replaced in July. I am now working backwards from that date, taking care of details like working my fiscal year hours […]
lake mac donald…at last!
I’ve finished this piece on Lake MacDonald which I started in an abstract landscape class with Patty Hawkins in March. Normally I finish work quickly but not so in this case although I can say I really enjoyed taking my time with it. I created a lot of texture in the mountains, ripped out the […]
we be furoshiki…
Last year I was approached by Deb Cashatt and Kris Sasaki, the Pixeladies about discharging cloth (removing color) as samples for their new book on Furoshiki. Up to that point I had never heard of Furoshiki but I am always game to learn something new and to see my work in print. So I WTS […]
getting side-tracked…
Some time ago there was a video going around that showed a middle-aged British woman whose entire day was taken up with getting sidetracked. She was going to wash her car and when she went for the keys she found the plants needed to be watered. She got out the watering can when she noticed […]
what i learned in texas…
We’ve returned from what will likely be our ‘big’ trip for the year. I am between knee replacements strong enough to wander yet preparing psychologically for round two this summer. Then..Katie bar the door I will be ready to fully roam once more. Last week we participated in a Road Scholar program in Austin and […]
lake macdonald landscape continued…
Today I got back to working more on the Lake MacDonald landscape. This is the piece I started almost 3 weeks ago which for me is a long period of time when it comes to designing work! I’ve spent a fair amount of time considering the stitching, if I should pillowcase and stitch as I […]
wonderful news…
Recently I posted about documenting my work in an official format other than website or portfolio. And much to my surprise I had designed nearly 200 pieces in 12 years. This number both comforted and disturbed me as I had been fretting quite a lot with the volume of work I put out into the […]
things to give up to be happy…
A long time ago someone told me that we will die after we have completed all our life lessons. I have always considered myself a content person but was somewhat surprised when I read this wonderful post It occurred to me that I may have quite a bit of time left! My need for control […]
abstract landscape class…
This past weekend I took an abstract landscape class with Patty Hawkins. I have long admired her work and knew I wanted to study with her. While it is always good to meet other artists and hear about their perspective on life and art I don’t take as many workshops as I once did as […]
new work…
Since I finished the massive documentation project I decided it was time to re-immerse in some art making. And so these are two new pieces Currents #19 and Currents #20. I continue to be fascinated with the curved line and now have entered the twenties with this series. This same curved line has also worked […]
keeping track…
My friend Franki Kohler suggested I maintain a daily log of all I accomplish in a day’s time. She said I accomplish more than just about anyone she knows and yet so often I feel as if I waste so much time. This is in reality a WASP upbringing hangover about being idle..rest being akin […]
dancin’ shoes…
Last week when I felt lack of gym motivation I decided to do the stairs as cardio. I had not been down more than a few stairs since my total knee replacement five months ago so I figured it was time to try the 13 stairs. I went down and back with ease. So after […]
