Creating at its best

Wow! It has been a while since I posted.

 I've been loving kumihimo braiding, beading, leather work and anything else that strikes me as fun and interesting. Lets just say I don't like to be limited by my materials. When I work with fiber, I want to work with all kinds, colors, sizes and textures. The same goes for beads and cloth and leather and metal and on and on and on. And I want to be able to use many different techniques, whatever seems appropriate right now, so I like to have lots of tools, as well.

I get such a fabulous rush of energy from colors and textures. I'm constantly finding glorious combinations I want to play with. The possibilities are truly unlimited.

I have let my garden get really wild. There are still lots of flowers but not much organization and nothing that requires high maintenance. It's the "survival of the fittest" approach to gardening. Right now the Phlox, Physostegia, Cannas, Boltonia, Virgins Bower Clematis (a weed), Ruellia, altheas, crepe myrtles, wild asters, some dahlias and roses, are happily blooming. My red passion flower and Tibouchina are bursting out of the greenhouse while the creeping fig is attempting to shade everything again after being cut to the ground in the spring. My Anisacanthus (hummingbird shrub) has survived the cold winter, thank goodness, and although the fig lost the top 6 - 8 feet of branches, it has finally produce fruit which I still can't reach.  Cyprus vine and morning glories are draped all over the place so the hummingbirds are happy. Beautiful chaos.

Its all about now

It doesn't matter what already happened or what is going to happen. What is happening now? Am I happy? Am I doing what I love? Am I heading in the direction I want to go? Do the people I love know I care? Am I learning from what I am doing now? Am I making things better? Do I have a clue who I am in the greater scheme of things?

Colored Pencil Society of America, 19th Annual Exhibition

I am very excited to learn that my piece "The Crow's Story" was accepted into the Colored Pencil Society of America, 19th Annual Exhibition.

The idea for this piece comes from the song "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead and covered by others such as the Indigo Girls.

It's the same story the crow told me, it's the only one he knows.
Like the morning sun you come and like the wind you go.
Ain't no time to hate, barely time to wait.
All I want to know is "where does the time go?"

Fun with Foam Core today

I'm building a display with foam core today. There is no need for it to be boring or simplistic. There have been some really interesting things done with foam core. I'll post a picture when I finish.

I've made the main cutout pieces. I may add bark texture.

My Birthday

I really like seeing the fireworks on my birthday but it is such a huge traffic jam anywhere around Atlanta that it isn't much fun. So this year we are going up to spend most of the day in Dahlonega (with Tripp and Laura) watch the firewords over the drill field (where Tripp may very well be a cadet) and then Carl and I are spending the night at Robert's cabin just outside Dahlonega. What a fun birthday!
Thanks Robert for the use of the cabin. And thanks Carl, Tripp and Laura for spending the day with me.

Submitted Silent Auction piece

Well I went with an updated version of the frog, now titled "Maybe He's a Prince."

In the meantime, I am receiving the other silent auction pieces for the show. A few arrive each day. I'm betting there will be a deluge of them in a week or so. It's pretty fun to see the work ahead of time.

Another option

Here's another one I'm working on...going for a painterly feel.