A Creative Weekend

Not only did I get to make stuff this weekend, I got to teach a class in surface design, and saw alot of "AHA" moments. Not much better than that! So here is what I did... the big piece is a 3+ yd piece of silk crepe on which I used Setacolor. It was a salmony pink to begin with, and I added magenta, violet and ultramarine to the mix. A little salt, and I will batch it for a couple days and then dry it. The small pieces are already dry and heatset. I also did some beading, but as they were to hold my glasses at work I didn't remember to get a pic first. This week is journal making time, and this coming weekend, oh joy, is Montpelior Sheep Dog trials! Working woolies! Then it is back to making journals and jewelry and whatever I get excited about. Now, if I can just not get so tired after work, it would be easier.

The last of the caravans!

Well, here it is, the fruit of many weeks labor, and several iterations. It is my Caravan of Dreams. The beach refers to the travels of the Rom, often across the sea, and to my own love of the ocean. I have used mostly water colors, and the sky is is a fabric with cranes, representing long life. The cat is for grace, the cards are for fortune, and the lone card refers back to the difficulty of relationships in a nomadic life. The dreamer, of course, is me!

This weekend

I got to spend a wonderful day with my dh, something I haven't done in a while, too long a while. We went to the Museum of the US Marine Corps. It was terrific! They cover at least in a perfunctory way, the complete history, from Tripoli to now. There are plans for more in depth displays on several subjects, and they have a building fund to that purpose, but it really is good right now too. I have put up some pics. The wall with all the Marine insignia has one Eagle Globe and Anchor (and a few Navy Eagle and Anchors) for everyone killed at Iwo Jima. Mindboggling. The flag pic is the actual flag (2nd) raised there, seen through the famous photo. Say an extra prayer for all our men and women who serve us so valiantly, often far from home and loved ones. All give some, some give all.

Last weekend I went to an SCA event, and it was 98 degrees. I sat in the shade drenched, and then had a terrific supper, got rained on (cooled off!) and dragged home, tired but happy. I have put a couple pics from that up too. Cheers!

9/11

I have trouble concentrating every year on this day. If I keep busy, it is okay, but when there is downtime, The Day comes flooding back. I will remember those who died, those who lost loved ones, those scarred forever. I will remember them until they are no longer dead, no longer alone, no longer scarred. On this day, every year, I remember where I was, how I learned of it, the fear and worry for those I loved. Two towers and one pentagonal ring. One plane full of very brave people. I will remember the brave men and women who have fought and died to help keep this from happening again. Seven years of foiled plots and ruined plans. Seven years with no further acts of terrorism here. It is personal for me, like so many others, I knew someone who died, and an EMT who lost all but 2 others of his company. I will never forget.

After the wild rain...

Well, Hannah came roaring up the Eastern Seaboard and dumped a whole lot of rain on us, and some wild winds blew up a blustery Saturday, but mostly it was a non-event around here. Great! I think we must be about caught up on rainfall too. I hope the leaves can be more colorful now, though alot of them are already brown and sere. In fact the little tree in front of my house has lost almost half its leaves already. Most seem okay though.

Well, wind and rain not withstanding, it was Angela's birthday Saturday, and I was not the only one who ventured out to wish her a happy birthday and take advantage of the coupon sale she was having. By the time I got there, about 1100, her wall was full of handstamped cards, and the shop was packed tightly with others. In fact I had to walk a block to find a parking spot! I came away with a Big Bite Cropadile and stamps. Eehaa!

I have also been working on the caravan for my Yahoo group's Capolan caravan swap, and I think I am about done. Anyway, here is a representative piece. The base is Timtex, and I have layered fabric onto Lutradur, then on to the base. The photo in the wagon is on matte photo paper, and so are the girl and the cards. I wanted the wagon to represent the immense world in our imagination, waiting for us to dive in. In the context of Capolan, the whole nomadic lifestyle of the tribe represents that wanderlust , that opportunity to go where your mind takes you.

Art is my caravan, my passage to my dreams, what about you?

Birthday Card

The proprietor of our local rubberstamping store is celebrating her birthday tomorrow, and promises us a wonderful discount if we bring her a hand stamped card! Now that is my idea of a bribe! So here is mine. Angela is a wonderful friend too, and my first teacher in bookbinding. Through her I got to take a class from Michael Jacobs, what a terrific opportunity!

Caravan, obscured

Okay, so this is the basic fabric collage, but the lightmisting I sprayed on (to cover an irregularity) turned into a very opaque mist on most of the pieces . This rendered them unusable for the swap. Sigh. But it turns out I am not the only one still incomplete, and I can do them again. This time I will outsmart the watercolor paper, and will use fast-2-fuse as a base. Gosh I am glad to work in a good fabric store! Well, even though I hate fussycutting, In this instance, I am anxious to start over. Now I just have to find a way to pry off the charms! I stuck them down pretty well...:)