I made this video, but I’m not  quite sure what it’s about.   It has to do with multiples, and there’s a suggestion of couples within that.  I like the way the imagery,color, texture, and sound work together.  Although I’m very familiar with them, Jon feels that not all the imagery is  recognizable.  In my mind, it doesn’t have to be if it works abstractly.  But I am curious if anyone else doesn’t know what the images are.  So have a look and let me know.

I somehow made this quilt so big I couldn’t hang it on the wall or take a photo of the whole thing.   I don’t even think I can get batting to fit it.   But the design worked and I just kept adding to it.    I tried to shorten it by folding over each end.  Maybe there’s a third option, last night when I was working on it, it stopped making sense.   I’m sure I’ll have some new ideas this morning.

Jon and Izzy in the Carriage Barn

Thanks for all the sweet anniversary wishes.  Off to celebrate for a couple of days, back on Tuesday.

As I was finishing up my latest quilt (I had hung it in the show in the Pig Barn Gallery even though it wasn’t quite done)  Izzy came and laid down in front of it.  He actually placed his head on the yellow yarn and of course, being Izzy, he stayed that way as if posing for a picture.

I made the quilt “City Flowers” after spending 6 days in New York City with Jon on his book tour.   On the train ride home I kept thinking of the box of old jeans in my studio.   The first thing I did when I got into studio was lay out the jeans on the floor.   The flowered polyester  skirt seemed the perfect juxtaposition.  I filled in the spaces with potholder scraps.  It came together pretty quickly.  I had been away from the studio for so long I think it was just building up inside of me.

It was sold before I even got to sew it together,( which is why I felt it was Okay to hang unfinished in the show).  Some quilts are slow, and even thought it was brewing inside of me for some time,  this one seems quick not only in making and selling it, but in the way it looks.  Bold and bright it’s impact is instantaneous.

I spent many hours  on Monday trying to figure out the finances of the show in the Pig Barn Gallery.  It was different from my Full Moon Fiber Art business because I was working with 4 other artists, credit cards, fees and taxes in a new way.  Scraps of paper with numbers and names lined my desk as I tried to sort out who got what.  In some cases I was sloppy getting information on receipts. On one transaction I subtracted the tax instead of adding it.   I know it’s all part of learning the business.  Making mistakes and learning for the next time, but by now I was starting to panic.

As the papers started to pile on my desk and I began checking my figures and coming up with different amounts again and again, I finally gave in and emailed my bookkeeper Anne for help. I just need a system I told her.  A place to put the figures that will help me make sense of them.

This morning I presented her with my stacks of papers and receipts.   I started to explain them to her as best as I could.  Then, beautiful words came out of Anne’s mouth.   She said,  “Why don’t I take care of this?”

I sat next to her for  while answering her questions as she made sense of it all.  Then I left her alone to finish her work.

Bless you Anne, bless all the bookkeepers who make sense of the numbers.

Izzy  keeping me company in my studio.

Back in the studio and it feels good.  It’s hot enough to sweat just sitting and sewing, and I’m loving that too.  I sold three Streaming pieces at the show at the Pig Barn, and when I got in the studio this morning an image came to mind so I sat down at the machine and go to it.

I recently heard the idea of “breaking away from the tribe”  a ceremony that takes place in some aboriginal cultures.  This is part of the process of a person finding their authentic self.  They leave the “tribe” behind and go inside themselves to discover their own truths.  On the body,  the”tribe” corresponds with the lower part of the body, the first 2  chakras that have to do with grounding.

From there, other images and words came…. migration and water, movement and security.  Then I ran out of purple thread.  Obviously, it’s time to stop until tomorrow when I can get more thread.

Iris blossom

About 20 years ago I entered a juried art show on Long Island and didn’t get in.  I remember picking up my painting and being disappointed, but also feeling alive.  Last night in yoga my instructor reminded us that movement creates energy.  Today I took  a broken bud off an iris and put it in water.

The thought of that flower coming so far and not having an opportunity to bloom seems wrong to me.  I realized I’ve always done this, taken the broken flower and given it another chance, even if it’s a dying blossom floating in a cup of water for one more day.

And every time I hear Simon bray, it sounds joyful to me and I feel like he’s saying “I’m alive”!

That’s what happened to me this weekend.  When we hung the show and turned on the lights it was like I was shouting “I’m alive”.  Every time someone walked into the gallery and felt welcomed and included I felt alive.  Every time someone was lit up by what they saw or bought a piece of art, I felt the blood in my veins.  When artist Diane Swanson, who has worked in the arts for many years, told me it was the best time she ever had being in an art show, my heart opened a little more.  When people walked through the gallery then visited the donkeys or watched Rose herd sheep then came back to the gallery smiling and talking, I knew the Pig Barn had been reborn.

And I wasn’t alone.  I couldn’t have done it alone.  It wouldn’t have been the same without  the work of Serena, Jack,  Diane, and Jon, the artists  who  kept the spirit of the show through out the weekend.  I don’t believe that it would have been the same with out the blessing from Mary Muncil.  And it certainly wouldn’t have worked without all the gracious people who came to the farm to see and buy the art and talk to the artists and visit the farm.  And I know that the kind thoughts and wishes from all those who couldn’t come were a part of it’s success also.  And, of course,  it wouldn’t have happened without the support and encouragement from Jon, who spent two days out side  of the Pig Barn Gallery feeding donkeys and herding sheep.

So thanks to everyone who answered me, by being a part of the first show at the Pig Barn Gallery, when this weekend I shouted “I’m Alive”!

I spent my day inside the gallery meeting and talking to people and selling art, but I know there was a whole other world going on outside the gallery.  Jon introduced Simon to everyone who wanted to meet him and then herded sheep with Rose.  It was more enjoyable and exhausting than I imagined and I’m burning with ideas for the next show.

I think it’s going to take me a day or two to absorb the whole thing,  now I’m going to have a cup of tea and read until I fall asleep.

Jon with Freida introducing the artists. My Mom's on the right