So much of life as I knew it has shifted the past two months. I am learning new ways of living, am reading books that never were of interest to me before, hardly cooking yet still eating fairly healthy as that is what I do, reaching out to see friends as I need to, binge […]
wisdom
walking out of the darkness…
I have made two pieces of deep, dark work this spring, that are reflective of my caregiving journey. I finally got downstairs yesterday to photograph them. It was so helpful that my daughter was here to help me figure out the new tripod with all its fancy bells and whistles. While I have been […]
Mindscapes: Trapped
41″ x 34″ As I was drawn further into 24/7 caregiving, grief manifested in my knee, rendering me crippled and isolated in my pain. I felt trapped. screen-printed, machine applique, machine stitched
Mindscapes: Descent 2
29.5″ x 23.5″ Inspired by my husband’s descent into Parkinson’s. repurposed quilt, textile paint, machine applique, machine stitched
there is light in the tunnel…
Twenty five years ago I was primary caregiver for a friend with brain cancer. He was also my employer. It started innocently enough with my feeling so badly for him that I worked overtime to find a temporary doctor to pick up his practice, eventually sold the practice, started ferrying him to doctor’s appts, then […]
retraining the old bean…
I was born a sensitive soul. It was not a trait I fully embraced though until well into adulthood. It was hell to be a sensitive soul as a child, especially when it came to bullying, as even the slightest comment or shove could be devastating! And yet I endured it, arriving into adulthood with […]
the fine art of woo-woo…
When I was in high school, maybe junior high, my father took a self-improvement course that nearly cost his children their sanity…the Dale Carnegie Course of Self-Improvement. It was, at the time, all the rage for corporate success; i.e., how to make more money for the corporation. Dale Carnegie was the developer of courses in self-improvement, […]
reminders of trauma…
I am a firm believer that we are all here to learn lessons. I have been made aware this month of two lessons, one from long ago, that I apparently needed a reminder of; and a new one… a very important one. I have been making narrative work since 2009 when I designed the Tall […]
not everything is a masterpiece…
When I first began stitching on cloth, I heard this expression more than once….not everything is a masterpiece! It is quite a humbling statement and one that keeps this artist from taking herself too seriously. It has been however, quite a long time since I have had to repeat this phrase…until today. It all started with […]
on overdoing…
I recently sent out my “quarterly” art newsletter about my work. I say quarterly in quotes because quarterly is the goal. The actuality is more like meh, I don’t feel like doing that today and maybe semi-annually is better! It could be said I do it because people ask me all the time about what […]
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!
Change is coming. It’s in the air. Can you feel it? I can for sure, but not in the way you might imagine! I have been fighting with these two pieces for quite some time. They are about fraternal twins for the Wisdom Gatherers series. Why are these two works troubling me so? One thing I […]
what i learned on my late summer vacation…
Last week I drove 1281 miles to San Diego (from No. California) and back for a 3 day art conference. Hubs rode along as extra set of eyes, as he no longer drives. It might seem silly to some to drive 4 days to stay 3, but I counted on all 7 days being an […]
Ms. Marion returns to Texas…
All thanks go to Hurricane Kay for bringing some cooler air to us in No. California. While she may wreak havoc along the way, as hurricanes are wont to do, this old woman remains deeply grateful that through her magic our temperature has dropped 35 degrees from two days ago. We have complained and moaned […]
heavy decisions…
Coming out from under a month of making hard decisions, plus two new works about heavy-duty subjects; the clouds feel as if they are parting a bit. There is always a sense of OMG, what’s next when work is finished. It is not for lack of inspiration! I have several hand-work projects in utero. I […]
art making in the time of Parkinson’s…
I continue to be both amazed and amused that I am able to make art while living through one of the most difficult time periods of my adult life. As I bear witness to my husband’s steep decline into Parkinson’s; as he loses more and more of his independence and thus becomes more dependent on […]
musings about the muse…
The other night when I was awake more than asleep I gave considerable thought to shutting down my blog. My reasons were three-fold: I can’t seem to post on a regular basis anymore, do I really want to share so much of myself online and is it even read it anymore? We all have so […]
where have i been, part deux…
Earlier this month I was blessed with a 7 day respite in No. Carolina. As we rounded the bend of what was 2021, and three years of not traveling, I recognized that I was fast approaching lala land if I did not get out of town, or at the very least get a caregivers respite. […]
three down, three to go…
For most of my adult life I have felt that older women hold the wisdom this world so sorely needs. As young as 30 I longed to visit “old folks homes” and ask them about their stories. Life intervened, I never had time being a working Mom and wife, to pursue the idea. Fast forward […]
is this actually December 32?
Well, aren’t I the tardy one? I try to blog monthly but seemingly missed December entirely. I know artists who blog daily, although I doubt anyone’s life is THAT interesting? Weekly is also a challenge I don’t need; monthly seems doable. And yet here it is January 1 and I missed out on December. Unless […]
scraps as a metaphor…
When I first became a quilter in 1999, after 25 years as a weaver, I joked that I chose the former as I discovered I could buy cloth already woven. What I really discovered was how taking a whole cloth and cutting it into pieces and then sewing it back together is really such a […]
the weary life of a studio artist…
I’ve been actively limiting my screen time for two reasons, both related to over-use & my body complaining. After a three day migraine caused by a “small” volunteer project for a non-profit organization; a database update that required three documents to be open simultaneously and transferring data from those three to another file online while […]
time well spent…
This week I was blessed to have a private visit with my 93 yo Aunt Dorothy, who is the light of my life. She, being an extrovert, often has a crowd around her, so for us to just enjoy private time together was so special to me, and seemingly her. She has always had my […]
well it finally happened…
As a retired workaholic, raised by a workaholic & related to another workaholic, I am one of the most organized artists I know. I have curated, juried, packed and unpacked a number of exhibits, and know all too well that many artists lack this organizational skill-set. I have always been super proud of my organizational […]
drowning in paperwork…
Never have I claimed to be a voracious reader. That would be my daughter! How could two lousy comprehension slow readers produce a kid who reads everything she can get her hands on? And if she can’t find it, she writes it! It simply astonishes me. No, I am the plod along, always distracted (multi-task, moi?!) eventually […]
what good are excuses anyway?
In the past month, I finished new work that absolutely stumped me in design for the longest time. When I finally figured out what I wanted to do, it went swimmingly and I love it so much! It is titled Hypocrisy 1; because you just know I am making another! It is about evangelicals who worship […]
the big reveal…
Now that Quilt National ’21 has officially opened, I can reveal my work juried into this prestigious exhibit. This is Somebody’s Child 2, which was digitally printed on silk organza, fused, machine and hand stitched with tear-drop shapes. This piece was a followup to my work Somebody’s Child 1; both of which were inspired by the murder of […]
missing Marion…
Today I have been working on a powerpoint presentation I am making next month for the SAQA Board. Essentially it is about introducing diversity to the organization by relating how my friendship with Marion Coleman led me to self-educating about black history. I designed and tweaked most of the morning, and when hubs needed the […]
musings in the night, part 47…
The other night’s musings brought me some awesome titles for new work. Not the work itself, just the title! I particularly love ‘the writing on the wall was in invisible ink.” Or “how I became an activist on my way to becoming an old woman.” The funny thing about night musing which most often follows […]
Too Much Information…
I spent the morning sorting through my Inbox. Not my email inbox but my IRL inbox. Yea, it’s a holdout from my office days that I still have a real life inbox. This one has no sense of urgency however, but rather a place to stash papers I want to remember, revisit or read later. […]
loose ends…
I’ve been fraught with anxiety for much of the past four years. I made a lot of art about subjects that got me fired up and am now exhibiting it as much as I can, in a pandemic. After the election I calmed down a bit until the domestic terrorism two weeks ago. Today on […]
