Eco Dyed Collage

Each summer...
I work on my submission
for
Sew Somerset
knowing that if the work is chosen

for publication, 

it will be published 

December 1

when... let's face it, no matter what holiday

you celebrate,

there will be festivity in the air..

and busyness buzzing

everywhere...

so

I was inspired by two things when I created

these eco dyed collages..

the black bean bath that soaked a kitchen towel

and the antique angels from

from a tattered print..

The pale blue shade of the black bean dye bath

reminded me of some

antique cover papers in an old

set of books that I have been

squirreling away..

they were lovely..

with a tiny blue, green and gold floral pattern..

and such a shame 

not to be able to see them...

so I used them as my substrates ...

details, details, details...

it is always about the details..

Once again I am in great company

with

three talented artists who are blog friends:

Colette Copeland

Kim Andersen

Tina Jensen

If you stop by to see them, 

do tell them I sent you..

and as always...
I am

especially grateful to 

Stampington
and Sew Somerset 

for publishing my work

and providing me with a teaching platform...

xo 

Paper Quilts

What a lovely surprise

to find 

a complimentary copy of 

Artists' Cafe

in my mail box

and to see that

Stampington had chosen

to 

reprint

my 

Solstice 

Paper Quilts...

just some of my

very favorite works...

and so timely

don't you think?

I hope you will pick up a copy...

I am as always in

excellent company!!

Next Tuesday, my travelogue continues..

Ciao, ciao!

Gardening and Concertinas

Gardening in Florida

has been

nothing but

challenging

for me...

The tropicals all died the first year

in the cold...

and so I decided to go with hardier plants..

plants that I knew could tolerate

some chilly weather

The Mexican petunias above are like weeds

and invasive but they are so pretty... 

so I planted them in the pool cage

and in pots where they cannot escape and 

take over the world...

My Veggie garden was almost a complete failure..

my herbs grew well.. but we have very

different seasons here and I would have to 

make raised beds due to the sand, so I am not in a hurry to 

conquer that right now...

but as you know...

Gardens and flowers are always on my mind...

So I created

some concertinas

for the summer issue of 

Sew Somerset...

which will be available 

soon

I just received my copy in the mail

which made my day...

The article includes the instructions to make

my little books..

and thoughts on peering through the garden

to find a treasure ..

to uncover the hidden beauty that lies

just beyond our sight....

and if that wasn't nice enough...

I learned that 

two of my art journal spreads in my

Antique Record Journal 

will be featured 

in Somerset Apprentice...

you can go here to

see the spreads and try to figure out which pages

they chose...

and so I have had some success

with gardening

and as you can see

they seem to like it here...

 Ciao for now

gentle reader..

xo

Assemblage or Collage?

There is something

holy

about taking those

mundane 

pieces of

everyday life and elevating them...

lifting them a bit higher..

with their tears, 

and scratches...

snippets of long ago weddings...

empty button cards saved 

to remember a special shirt or blouse..

I think that in 

celebrating the past..

and combining 

the memories...

we tell new stories

of friendship, family...

life

and love...

assembling

collages...

pulling old crumpled 

memorabilia together

and stitching it to the page..

we open a door

to 

a new future

a new way of looking at things..

and allow life to spill off 

the page...

with gratitude to 

Sew Somerset for publishing this collection

and my article

The Sisterhood of Sewing...

ciao, ciao!

Sewing Collages

We are back from our

lovely holiday trip

we had a beautiful visit to

Santa Fe

with very dear friends.. 

what a bittersweet reunion...

and I have lots of photos to share...

but first

 I came home to this...

and wanted to share the article with you...

The Sisterhood

of 

Sewing...

on page 6

so if you get a chance please

peruse this issue..

it is 

yummy...

C4N!

Sew Somerset, Fleeting Summer

I always look forward to

receiving my work

 from 

Sew Somerset..

like seeing old friends ... 

I remember exactly what I was thinking

about when I made it...

Believe it or not, I am already stitching up...

 my new article and artwork...

this will be for the December Winter issue...

and I hope it is inspiring...

I photo copied these flowers 

with a dear friend...

and friends will be at the center of the next article as well...

the memory of being with my friend,

Robin..

in part

inspired me 

in the making

 of the mini quilts....

Back to the studio...

I will have a new post shortly..

ciao, ciao!

Gold Leaf Landscapes

I have been

very 

fortunate

to have contributed to 

Stampington publications

since 

2005

they have kindly published

my work and articles

in 

Somerset Studio

Sew Somerset

Haute Couture

Somerset Home

Somerset Gallery 

and next year

I will have a small article in

Somerset Apprentice

so it is a great pleasure

that my fine art

has illustrated the cover...

and I cannot tell you 

how elated

I was about that...

especially to see..

my signature

on the cover...

it doesn't happen everyday.....

if the

collages look familiar, 

it is because I had shown them to you as 

WIPs

I have to tell you that this is one of my favorite articles..

and I hope you will get a chance to check it out...

and take it home...

I am as always in great company

with my friends, fellow artists...

Cat Kerr

Mirjana Cesar

and 

Colette Copeland

if you haven't already been to their blogs..

then go blog hopping..

enjoy!

xo