I got a great email the other day from someone saying that she thought of the studio barn as “a beehive, humming with quiet, purposeful activity and creation” I immediately went to my black board wall and drew the studio hive. Of course the studio has that classic beehive shape, but it was also so meaningful because the past few weeks those giant bees that bore holes in wood have been scoping out the studio as a potential home. They have since left ,but for a while, I would see them constantly outside my window as I worked and I did feel like I was working inside a beehive.

I have a friend who keeps honeybees and she sometimes tells me the story of their existence which is fascinating. The words she uses to describe the process make me think of a children’s book. The queen bee makes a Nuptial Flight a mile into the air to mate. There is Royal Honey made for the Queen. And the worker bees will kill an intruder , like a mouse or spider ,and seal it in the hive with wax.

The hive is a rich, dark and magical place.

Latest Blue Woof Bag is actually a Blue Bark Bag. This one is made from a dress, denim shirt, a velore shirt and a piece of fabric which was in a box of scraps that someone gave me. The blue plastic button mimics the swirls on the that fabric.

My facebook page went up yesterday.  I’m still figuring out how to use it and it isn’t yet at the point where I can interact with it so my bog will show up there until I get it going.  Like every other step in this process, I find I procrastinate.

I designed this bag when a customer asked me to make her a green and blue bag to collect sea glass in. I immediately know what blues and greens to use (the ones that looked most like sea glass). The buttons are shell. Freida was good enough to take in the sun for the photo.

I left Freida in the house today because it was too hot in the studio.

This evening as I looked out my studio window I saw Mother the barn cat pounce and when she turned around she had feathers sticking out of her mouth.  She disappeared for a while (I assume to eat the bird) then came back and seemed intrigued with the mailbox which is just outside my window.    She sat on top of it and was looking around as if there was something else to eat.

Then, because Freida wasn’t there, She came to my door and meowed.  It’s been a long time since Mother came into my studio, and it was good to have her back.  Before Freida, Mother used to come to visit whenever I was in the studio.  I would feed her whatever I happened to have, muffin, cheese, bread, and she would eat it.  She would sit on the pink chair and I would read her Pablo Neruda’s  “Ode to the Cat”. 

I made this “Mother the barn cat” quilt.  I wrote the Neruda poem on fabric, cut it into strips and  used it  along with fabric that reminded me of Mother. (The pink and green accent,  her tongue and eyes)

Even though she doesn’t come to visit like she used to, I still see Mother walking past the studio every afternoon, headed into the field to do some hunting.

Here’s Mother checking out my quilt “Suburban Nature”

Some days are easier than others. Some days I have to continually talk to myself to keep working. Like one of those dreams where you’re legs are really heavy or feel like they are struck in cement and each step takes a huge amount of effort. Sometimes in those dreams I just give in and decide to leave my legs behind and fly, other times I just trudge through until I wake up.

Today was a bit of both. The photographer from the Glen Falls Post Star came and took pictures of me making a couple of potholders. I really hate being photographed if someone is asking me to pose for a picture, but I did my work and he did his and it was a breeze. I learned in art school how to concentrate on my work while being watched, basically I throw myself into my work and ignore everything else going on around me. When I was first learning how to do this ,if someone was looking over my shoulder I would just repeat to myself “go away” and eventually they did.

But today was actually enjoyable. We talked easily and even though he was sometimes right in my face I was never uncomfortable. The article will run on June 7th in the “Neighbors” column. I don’t know what that is, but I guess I’ll find out.

Freida was at the vet having her teeth cleaned so Izzy kept me company today. The photographer recognized him, (he saw him at a reading once) and I must say Izzy was friendlier than Freida would have been.

It was wonderful coming home from NYC and waking up to a new born lamb in the pasture this morning. What a surprise since we didn’t expect any of the sheep borrowed for the summer from a Vermont farmer to be pregnant. Jon could tell there was a lamb by the way the sheep was baaing. I ran up the hill and saw a shiny black lamb looking for his mother. He even tried to suckle LuLu the Donkey and almost got trampled. I named him Bartleby after the Herman Melville character Bartleby the Scribner because at first his mother rejected him. The lamb seemed so lonely and disconnected and born at the wrong time. Eventually the ewe and lamb bonded and tonight they are safe and cozy in the barn. Bartleby is strong and determined and his mother only nudges him away after he’s had lots to eat. It’s very sweet!

What a difference from NYC. I’ve spent a lot of time in New York City, but since moving upstate, when I go back, it’s always shocking. It’s enough for me just to walk around the streets and watch all the people and notice how they are dressed (all completely different from each other. I seems in the late 80′s and 90′s everyone wore black. Not anymore, it’s much more interesting than that.) It’s enough to just look in all the store fronts. There’s constant noise and smells and motion.

The weather was perfect, While Jon was at meeting, I ate lunch on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and went to the Whitney Museum. They had their Biennial and one floor of permanent collection.

I found myself smiling as I walked around the Museum. The permanent collection pieces they were showing were all perfect, from Mike Kelly’s stuffed animal and afgan “Paintings” to Milton Avery’s beach scape. There was even a Hopper that reminded me of my first trip there.

There was great stuff at the Biennial too. Some of my favorites were Curtis Mann, Leslie Vance (abstract painting based on Dutch interior painting which glowed with the same light) Sarah Crowner sewed together canvas to evoke the straight edge op-art painting of the 60′s. Jauba Averbach painted folded paper on large canvases. They were so beautiful, soft lines and colors that looked abstract, yet were not.

On the way out I saw a cigarette machine by the elevator. I had forgotten that there used to be cigarette machines. This one sold art instead of cigarettes. For $6.95 (you get a token from the gift shop) you can buy an original piece of art. I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I got a token and pulled on the handle that said cactus basket. Two older woman stopped and watched as I opened the small box that came out of the machine. Inside was a tiny basket about one and a half inches long made out of a dried cactus bud and filled with crystals. There was a piece of paper in the box explaining the piece and giving the artists email (ruthipsanbrown3@gmail.com). I had to try it again and this time got a block of wood with a self portrait “Mystery Woman of the Flowers” from the fiber art Linda Edkins Wyatt. (lindaedkinswyatt.blogspot.com).

So this is a new way for artists to get there work out there. The label on the cigarette machine said a portion of the money goes to the nonprofit company distributing the machines and a portion to the artist. No one is making a lot of money, but I loved it especially in an institution like the Whitney Museum.

I updated my Gallery page today, so check it out. I still have more to post, but have added most of my quilts. I made some mistakes and deleted the whole gallery page, but with some help, I found it in the trash and it’s back where it should be. I still have to post my quilts for sale on ETSY. Most of the quilts on my gallery page are already sold. Above are just a few of the quilts on the Gallery page.

Going to New York tomorrow and will return on Friday. I’m going to visit the Whitney Museum which has it’s Biennial. I haven’t been there in many years. The first time I went I was in High School and there was an Edward Hopper exhibit. I remember being surprised at being able to see the brush strokes in his paintings. I had only seen reproductions in books, and they always looked so slick. I was actually disappointed at how rough they were, that was obviously before I was into texture. Now I love looking at each individual brushstroke in paintings and marvel at how they create forms. Seeing the brush strokes is like looking back in time and seeing what the artist did when he or she placed the mark on the ground and decided to leave it there.

Just heard from Christine at Redux Gallery in Dorset VT (she shows Jon’s Photos and sells his note cards and my potholders) that Jon and I will have an Exhibit there on July 24th. Nothing will cost more than $15.00. I’ll be making a some new potholders which will be displayed in groups and work as a whole but will be sold separately. Jon’s note cards will also be displayed and for sale.

I’ve been thinking for some time about doing a large potholder piece. The potholders would create a grid (maybe 6′ x 9′) they would work as a unified piece like a fabric mosaic or potholder quilt, but each potholder would be sold separately and as people wanted to buy them. It would be constantly changing as the potholders were purchased and creating blank spaces where they used to be . I’d do smaller pieces at Redux because of space, maybe 3′ x 3′ like a tick tac toe board.

I’ve figured out that I can comfortably make 2 bags a week and have one day for potholders a day for quilts and an extra day for business and to catch up and experiment with something new. Planning this way has been helpful to keep me focused and less anxious.

Still working on getting the gallery updated and ETSY and facebook on the site. And making new business cards and labels with care instructions.

I feel more attached to this site that my old one and once it’s all done, it will be easier for me and other people to use.

Today’s my day off and I’m on my way out to the vegetable garden digging weeds and preparing it for planting after Memorial Day.

Choosing the fabric for a bookbag for a customers Mom. She likes denim and mauve.

Laying out the design.

Piecing the bag together.

Sewn together with batting an backing and quilted.

Freida with the bag before the button.

My favorite (and last) part is picking the button. This button picks up on some of the greens and has the shimmer of the pink ( 1940′s dressing gown) fabric above the denim. (the denim is a pair of shorts that belonged to my mother) It also mimics the design in the batik fabric.