Wooden printing blocks

 Found these in the bargain bin at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Beautiful hand carved printing blocks from India - which will be put to good use. The large peacock is about 13cm in length, while the three smaller pieces are 3-4cm across. So glad they made it home safely and can't wait to use them.

Unpacking treasures

While in Philadelphia I participated in a workshop by Lorraine Glessner was about mark-making. I learnt so much and took techniques and processes I'd used previously to new levels. Rusting was one such part - and here's a piece that has spent the past three weeks developing itself ... it was still wet when it arrived home with me yesterday. This is an "exchange piece" from one of the other students in the group - we all brought along bits of metal and found objects ... there will be many more pieces to emerge and accompany the rubbings I made on already rusted fabrics (using iron sulphate and tannins with Ankie before heading off to Philly) that also made it home. The first, with the backdrop of part of the USA side of Niagara and the second on a rather large pot of emerging tulips - made me think of Ankie and Linda. Shiva sticks perform quite differently in freezing temperatures - at times it felt like grating frozen butter - not to mention the absence of feeling in the fingers - however it was superb fun.

Snow storm and home

The end of a great trip (for me)  which overlapped with the start of  a work colleague's trip to Canada and Alaska - here we are being snowed on in Buffalo - the first snow I've ever seen falling from the sky - looked like someone had a nasty accident with a box of tissues and a blender - a gorgeous first time, bucket list experience. And now, some 35 hours later, I am home. Thanks to everyone who made the last month incredible, enjoyable and inspirational - hope to be in the studio as soon as tomorrow.

Light plays and lobsters

Perhaps I am the last to notice - on dusk the sky becomes dark and the water becomes light - almost a reverse of a daylight photograph. Thank you Tom. This is the water off  Bailey Island, off or perhaps more accurately out from the coast of Maine and nearly two hours' drive from Madbury where our friends Susan and Tom live. We had a memorable night at the Cooks Lobster House and arrived back in Madbury NH around midnight.  Apart from the lobster, we were treated to a huge bowl of clams which were dipped into warm water in an attempt to rinse off the last of the sand / grit then dipped into a pot of melted butter before consumption. It took me a while to get the hang of it  and more than one clam got lost or tossed in the process. Thank you Susan and Tom for a night that will never be forgotten.

Rachel Carson Refuge

Rachel Carson 's legacy is, in part, this refuge of second growth forest with tidal salt marshes that wend their way to the Atlantic ocean. It was a frigid afternoon - and I could hardly feel my fingers taking a rubbing from a memorial plaque in the park.  It is early spring and there is evidence of renewal after one of the mildest wineter's on record.  A beautiful place for quiet contemplation, even as the sound of waves crashing along the coastline came tumbling through the treeline.

The PEM and Salem

One of the most exciting exhibitions I visited was in Salem -  ShapeShifting  - which explores American Indian art in sometimes confronting ways. My personal experience of some of the installations was "great" we should be confronted by the impact of our actions, or inactions and the way that impacts on others, and in this exhibition, the impact expressed through art and creativity. The exhibition was organised under four themes - changing, knowing, locating and voicing. the first and last pieces of the exhibition are huge installations which can be walked through or under ... I found the parallels with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contemporary art unsurprising -  both vibrant and evolving.  ShapeShifting is curated by Karen Kramer Russell and continues to the end of March.  No photographs of the exhibition were permitted - and instead here are some other pics of works within the PEM. Well worth the trip to Salem for the PEM alone - forget the witches!  There is a large permanent collection and ongoing exhibition of Korean arts - including this beautiful bojagi (wrapping cloth). This piece was created by Gyeongsuk Son and provided to the PEM by the National Folk Museum of Korea. the PEM also has a rather large program for the young and young at heart - while we were visiting, hundreds of kids were mark making on denim - it was fabulous to see the energy and glee being invested in the mini-textile art pieces.



State of Being

Walking through the forest at Quechee Gorge in Vermont I stumbled over a survey marker  from 1972. What a good rubbing that would have made ..... then in the midst of the path, a tree with bark that was so like a painting from the impressionists ... and I will always remember Vermont for the clear, sweet pine air that permeates every fibre of one's being.

Delectable Mountain Cloth - Vermont

Spent a few hours in Delectable Mountain Cloth in a Brattleborough, Vermont. The shop is filled with silks, exquisite cloths, buttons and many different accessories - all under one cramped roof and creating a visual overload of sumptuousness.  This is also a place of lace, brocade and all things romantic and beautiful - especially for something as special as the ring-bearer's pillow which needs to be finished in ... less than three weeks!

Journal work and three minute sprints

holiday  musings ...

An entry a day ... or that's the good intention. Sometimes there is so much to say, and sometimes the merit is in the silence. Must practice that more often and I'm learning that, albeit slowly. Getting my travel journal completed before the memory and the accuracy of them fades is becoming a priority - another great way to relive the trip and utilise unexpected "free minutes". While we were trainbound on the Southwest Chief, the challenge was to draw madly in three minute bursts (which usually coincided with how long it took to de-train someone from the train or welcome new travelling companions. We had quite a break in Albuquerque until the heat drove us back to our compartment - this time the challenge was for five minutes of drawing.  As we travelled the sheer numbers, types, and heights (or lack of) the utilities poles were a source of constant wonder - I couldn't let go of the idea that each of these was once linked to providing an essential service like power, or communications and each had been a contributor to the place in which it was erected. In a much different way now, they still are important, if only as ghosts.We pulled into  Santa Fe and ejected a few more passengers and made room for the newly arrived. Then it was on to California and the end of the lines. 
 


Albuquerque



The Poles



Santa Fe

 

Live from the studio ... Journal pics



Nashville to Chicago @ 30000 feet

 The amalgam of paddocks, highways, interchanges, residential estates and farms - waterways, motorways and varying heights - the change in perspective occurs during the flight - we climb - we descend - and all the time I'm drawing whatever is out the window.
I've included another page of the journal - from another flight - this time in Australia - different paddock, different day , same world.

Northern NSW


Different landscape and density flying to Brisbane earlier in the year - I've added notes on beads, ribbons and such - ways I might be able to add texture. And it won't happen if I don't get off the computer and back across the hallway ...

From the air ... Journal to Fruition III - going "live"

Nashville to Chicago

On our trip to the US in September one of the last legs was to fly to Chicago from Nashville to catch the mighty Amtrak South West Chief back to Los Angeles. Some people hate the time they spend in 'planes. I don't - I 'm not too impressed by the time spent in airports but I love getting into a tube of aluminium and  hurtling across the landscape. It's all about the different perspective. I love to journal the "blocks" - and one of the next "day projects" is to transform the journal drawing inspired by the view to an art quilt.  That's the plan for today ...and I have until 4pm when Lorraine and Keith come up to celebrate the removal of her plaster cast with ... Margaritas and kebabs on rosemary sticks ...  I'll keep posting as the day progresses - sort of my first live post ...

For the fibre artist in all of us



Eppie Archuleta woven cloth

 The trip from Walsenberg and La Veta CO across the Rio Grande is a real treat with some extra special delights for those with and interest in fibre. One of the buildings within the Fort Garland Museum houses  the work of many artists, local and not so local, including that of weaver Eppie Archuleta. Eppie began weaving at the age of six - has received many commendations over the years. She weaves in Rio Grande and Chinayo patterns.






Hairy stuff









It seemed like felting with coir - and it was. This saddle blanket is made from .... hair. All kinds.

A housewife of sorts ...



This wallet like item was called a "housewife" and carried such useful items as needle and thread, maybe a button or two  .. and was made by a wife, girlfriend or other significant female in the life of the soldier. When we got across to Bardstown KY it was amazing to learn that at least 400 women served on the front line of the Civil War - and Bardstown KY has a museum specifically honouring their contribution to the war effort.


Take a left at Fort Garland and head south through the San Luis Valley towards Taos, NM.


Leave the stunning mountain scenery behind and head into the vast, flat and sanity-challenging windy place that is the San Luis Valley. Imagine the wagons .. mile after endless mile ...  the cold and the dry wind ...  and altitude. It was, to us, exquisitely beautiful.


La Lana Wools



There were many opportunities to help lead the US out of the recession / GFC and La Lana Wools in Taos, NM was a great start. Wools, fibre, and all sorts of exquisite things fill the entire shop from top to bottom.  Knitted, felted, woven, spun, raw ... it was all there in every shape, size and weight imaginable.  Very nice.



Taos shops

More shops, including Common Threads with the very "uncommon fabrics" discussed in a different post. Beautiful silks, buttons of distinction ... and a price tag that reflects the uncommonness of each bolt. Value on many levels. Lots of disposable income required. Parity with the AUD and USD would make an Internet experience worth a click or two ... although I'll wait for someone to let me know how good that was given my recent experience.



Big buttes abound



If returning from Taos NM in the general direction of must-stop-and-stay La Veta CO, take a few moments to breathe in the stillness of one of the many buttes (Australians would pronounce it "beaut" not "but" as I mistakenly did on tour)  .. eroded over so many millions of years - beautiful.  It's about 2+ hours between Taos NM and La Veta CO - a local might well do it in less time but there was always the "anxious prediction" of hitting something bigger than the hire car in the evening light - which meant anything larger than a raccoon.