Time for a break

After opening at the Stebbins, the show in Lowell, a trip to Lancaster PA, and the small adventure that was Irene, I am ready for some down time.

Dawn

 

 

 

 

My Lowell show was supposed to come down yesterday, but with tree limbs down and roads flooded, a 40-minute commute did not seem smart. So we hunkered down at home. Power stopped at 11AM. Without coffee, I slept through much of the afternoon. Puttered in my studio. As the light dimmed, we gathered at the kitchen table, with all the candles we could find, and NPR on the battery-operated radio. I was struck by how quiet the world became, and how unused we are to not having chatter or music, and a general hum of equipment in the background.

Up at dawn to day, I drove to Lowell and took down my show. You may be able to see some pieces of it in Studio 512, during Open Studios this Saturday, noon to 5. Me, I'll be on the Cape, all my projects in a box, taking notes from the dog and sleeping in the sun.

On the road again

I am off to Lancaster PA to visit my mother, who turned 86 this summer. "A baby," commented one of the women in my painting class.

 

I go via Poughkeepsie NY, where I'll meet up with my sister. It's a long way, at least 7 hours, no matter the route or the mode of transportation. Once there, it's another country: Lots of rolling fields, friendly people, slower pace,and much more casual clothes. Plus the Nursing Home world of the elderly. A journey of the soul as well as the body.

Birthday Gifts

I am a shade plant, so I count yesterday's drop, on my birthday, to a cool and rainy 69 as a personal gift.

 

To celebrate I brought home fresh peaches from  Busa Farm in Arlington. It is a hidden gem, tucked off a main road not a mile from my local Trader Joes:

 

The rows of sunflowers were alive with bees and goldfinches.

I made birthday muffins with local blueberries.

 

  And noodles with basil and tomatoes from my porch garden.

 Suzanne Abrams, a new talent at Lowell Fiber Studio, surprised me with this lovely bag, made from fabric she hand printed. All this plus ice cream. A lovely day.

Quilts and Art in Lowell This Month

At the Brush Gallery: Art Quilts: The Sea, a  juried  exhibit of work from Canadian and US artists. The show runs from August 11 - September 10, 2011, with a reception on Saturday, August 13, 3 - 5 pm.

 At the Whistler House Museum, the juried exhibit Art Quilts 2011. The exhibit runs from August 10 through September 3, with special events including afternoon tea and sweets August 12, gallery night August 11, and a reception Saturday August 12.

Bulbs by Pamela Allen

For more traditional quilting, plus a raft of vendors and events, visit the Lowell Quilt Festival, tat the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. I especially recommend the lecture by Beatriz Grayson, a wonderful quilt artist.

At the National Quilt Museum,  Maine's Quilt Heritage, an exhibit of quilts dating back to 1804.

At the American Textile Museum, two exhibits. Grace and Glamour: 1930 Fashion features the limpid, sensous style and the modernism of that decade.

Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam records how soldiers used marks, including graffiti and stitch, to mark their time on a US transport ship.

At 122 Western Avenue, in Western Avenue Studios, the Loading Dock Gallery is open Wednesday-Sunday, 11-4:30. Explore work by several artists from Western Avenue Studios, as well as the textile art show, Moment of Pure Seeing.

Trio:  Tranquillo, Grazioso, Quieto by Linda Dunn

Open Studios in Lowell today

P8053597, a photo by The Loading Dock Gallery on Flickr.

I'll be up in studio 512 at Western Ave studios today. Hope you can stop by.