Needed Some Red

A friend who drives by each day on her way to work, said my door needed a bit of red. So, with some fresh gifted boxwood, what I could scavenge of red ornaments, as well as some painted catalpa pods, crisis averted.

Walk Along the Genesee

The sun finally came out today, and just in time for my walk (with 50 of my new best hiking friends). This is the lower falls of the Genesee River. Of note, a half mile down stream was a pickup spot for Canadian boats, used in the nineteenth century, that took slaves to freedom to Canada.

Poppies

A detail of Merill Comeau's piece "Meadow of Poppies" shows the discarded discontinued designer fabric samples, deconstructed repurposed clothing, and vintage fabrics. With painting, block printing, fabric composting (?), collage and machine stitching, Merill has made a wonderful landscape.

Hang It All

While in Des Moines this fall I came across these wall magnets that mount to the wall with command strip adhesive. Seeing that I use these metal drapery rods, the magnets seemed a good idea. And now I can rotate works easily, and just reattach it on the wall.

Hockey Gear Art

It is always hockey night in Canada! I saw this piece at the World of Threads Festival and it just blew me away.  By Liz Pead of Toronto, it is Louis Riel - The Church at Batouche. Made of recycled hockey gear and mounted on hockey pucks, it totally redefines fiber.

Seen Round Town

Karen Frutiger's piece currently hangs in the Rochester Contemporary member's show. I know her from her fiber work, but this painting "Four Square" is a strong statement in mixed media.

More Printing

The last day of monoprinting class was today, and we got to experiment with other inks. This is speedball, which needed dampened paper. We had been using Akua Kolor, which is a water based ink that goes on dry paper. Thanks Connie Mauro for a great class.

Presents Under the Tree

Now that it is mid-December, gifts appear under the tree. My daughter used the half-square triangle pattern to make the quilt, and finished tonight. She did the sewing, long-arm quilting, and binding. And, in that wonderful tradition of quilt making, she will give it away.

Progress

I know, it seems like you've seen this before. Its like a growing child. You can't see the change day to day, but looking back, big difference. The left side is about finished, now for the right.

Art Speak

Ed Buscemi talks this afternoon for the last of the "Days the Artists Spoke" series at RoCo. His rant was full of humor, wisdom, as well as peppered with his pile of sketches. We so often work in silence, and it was refreshing to hear and speak to other artists. I look forward to next year.

Basting / Basta

One of the first words I learned in Italian was "basta" which means "enough." Here is a tricky joint, which I will not fight with. The machine gives me a long basting stitch, and now I will go back and hand applique. Basta!