Piles of color

I have been in the studio for two days, dyeing and overdyeing scarves for spring. Turquoise, sun yellow, spring green, antique rose, and many colors in between:You can find many sale at Lowell Fiber Studio this Saturday, during the Western Avenue Studios First Saturday. The rest will be with me in Providence, RI, at the Rhode Island School of Design Spring Sale. Go HERE to run through a stunning slide show of work that will on display, rain or shine.

Meanwhile, my soul is still returning from the trip south. Here is the shadow of a tulip treewe sat under the first day:
My head is full of pictures. I feel confused and sleepy. But ideas are cooking, like eggs under a mother hen.

Travel in Time

Pearls by Linda Dunn

Back from 8 days on the road, or was it seven? We traveled from Boston to Lancaster PA, through Maryland, back to Philadelphia and then home. We visited 5 women, all in their 80s. Two will be 90 the next time we see them. Then today a poem by Sharon Bryan on Writer's Almanac about middle age. A fragment:

you can see your life whole,
beginning and end not far
from where you stand,

the horizon in the distance—
the view makes you weep,
but it also has the beauty

of symmetry, like the earth
seen from space

I am awash in images: old faces, old kitchens, tidy sitting rooms settled years ago. Layered on that images from a day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art: the huge productivity of so many male artists. Who washed their dishes and clothes? Did they cook their own food? Care for their children? So I do the laundry and plan my afternoon in the studio. A lot to think about.

a treat for vacation

An entire world out of two colors and a song:


I Don't Know from ATO Records on Vimeo.

Color and traveling

Follow this link for a fantastic article comparing the art of Matisse and Bonnard. They were contemporaries and colleagues. Their work is on display currently in NYC and Philadelphia. This article is unusually articulate about what makes paintings work. Read it and think about your own use of color and form.

I have been madly sewing inventory for the upcoming RISD craft show. This year they have a delicious gallery on line to whet your appetite.

Suddenly it is time to leave.

Each year for spring break we go on our Little Old Lady Tour: my mom outside Lancaster PA, my godmother outside Washington DC, and my husband's aunt outside Philadelphia. All three are now over 85. Time slows down when we visit; computers and DVDs disappear. We gossip; we eat. We walk slower and listen more. The drive is a bear, but always we are glad we when we get there.

Send , Share

You think she's posing, but actually she's keeping track of the squirrels.Yesterday's post of my DOG prompted several happy responses. So here for you dog lovers is Jacquie Lawson., my favorite source for e-cards. Much of her work features her own dog, Chudleigh.

No affiliation - My daughter (15 now) and I so love Jacquie's animations that we run through them together just for good cheer. Support an artist and drop one in someone's in-box.


If you feel handy with new software, here's a a place to build your own collage on-line. They have a free mother's day card offer now. Free is always fun.


Someone pointed me at this Flickr group today, all about textures. The collection is on the vintage/sweet side. I'm sure us fiber people can augment their collection!

Spring

Storm clouds above, Red Sox Opening Day postponed, but spring is creeping out to meet us.I love the way the flowers and buds push past the city's limits:
I love the intersection of trees, architecture and sky:
I walk these streets every morning because I have a dog. I never planned on a dog, but she's my buddy now, every day of every season. No better exercise plan has been invented:
Today I came home, had my Support Phone Call, then worked on pincushions, then (FINALLY) started work on a commission. Now (ah, it's pouring outside) upstairs to work on some notebooks. O, and fresh bread just came out of the oven. This is a good day.

Check out Quilting Arts!

My colleague and former studio mate Merill Commeau has a beautiful article smack in the middle of the current issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. She's the cool chick in the bottom right corner of this photo by Megan Moore. (I'm the babe in the upper left. The shot shows all the artists who worked on the Visting Nurses Centennail Quilt.) You can see a sample of Merill's work here and here.

Her training in architecture and interior design combines with her remarkable eye and anything-if-it-works attitude to produce stunning, huge artwork. She just got back from a month retreat in Vermont, and begins work soon for a solo show at the Danforth museum. (Hey, that link features her art, too!)


Gotta go get my hands on that magazine. It's open studios again today, so I guess I'll stop by Friends Fabric Art on the third floor and pick me up a copy.

Spring Song

My desk is very nearly empty. I realize this is temporary. But it feels good.
Among the finished projects are these two Spring Bird collages. They used to be more serious, then the flowers starting appearing on my morning walks, and I just had to bring some of that back to the work. Suddenly that wild-dyed lace, all pink and green, had a purpose. I've had a lot of fun finishing these. I'll have these and my new Advice pieces ready for Saturday's Open Studio (cross your fingers). Then it's back to the wilds of printing.