Studio Sale on Friday December 3rd 5-8!!!

We decided to join forces with our little community store and another local artist to help celebrate the upcoming holidaze!! Mills Creek Market will have maps to get to the other spots. Please pread the word. I know that that is a big job for all 26 of my followers and one of them is in Cambodia!!

Putting product together like the olden days...cleaning, decorating, cooking etc.

It is a good way to get the house cleaned and organized!!

Now off to the dump and the library and then back at it!

Stay warm!!!

First Freeze and November!

We had our first frost last night, so with that knowledge in mind, Sue and I picked the rest of our eggplant, peppers, and green tomatoes. We took the last of the plants inside, covered the outside lettuce, and jammed the green house with more lettuce, and tropicals...

Now I have a large basket of eggplant to whip up into something yummy and freezable.

The tomatoes can go into a bag and may ripen up! Lots of beets were pulled and the garlic still has to get put into the ground. Pronto.

 Last weekend we extracted honey and now the jars are in the dishwasher and we have another 4 gallons to jar up and label, trying not to get little dribbles of honey on the outside of the jar!

THE STUDIO 

 

In the studio, I have been playing with my gel printing. Have been playing with faces and thought about trying a doll body. I the photo above, you can see a couple of examples of the fabric print (the first print) and the paper version (the second print).

Not only is the paper version very cool looking, but it also helps to remove the paint from the gelatin, making it ready for your next print.

I added a piece of batting to the fabric version and did free motion stitching around the edges and features of the doll, adding stitched hands and boots. I cut out the shape, stitched her up with a backing, stuffed and closed up the edge. Took my embroidery floss to her and love how she is coming along.

Got to go and get straw, bunny food, chunchies for the chickens and saucers for the plants.

Mid October Already!

 Last week at this time I was teaching in Conn at Art-Is. Linda and I packed up...(well, Linda was the "packing bitch" of the day) and we drove home Monday after my class. We were pretty tired and grateful to be back in little rhody. She dropped me off and blasted the last few miles on her own.

We both had a great time, great classes, students, and lots of laughs!!! I met lots of peeps and was glad to actually be teaching this time. Looking forward to next year already!!
These are just some of the very amazing people teaching. You may know some of them and some may be new to you!

Michael deMeng
Sue Pelletier
Diana Trout
Jane Davila
Judy Gula

Also check out the most amazing tiny tiny fimo cupcakes!
Oh my I have been checking out blogs as I got those links...how time flies!

 So Linda showed up on Friday with a pan of plain set gelatin, paints, and goodies that would act as resists. Plus she had soup and blueberry crumble. What's better than that?!

I had heard about using gelatin as a base for what would basically be mono printing.  Linda and the Florida girlz were at it when she was visiting Cocoa Beach. Judy Gula was kind enough to let me laze around her class at Art-Is so that was my first live and in person view of the process.

After letting a pan of plain gelatin set, we plopped it out of the pan and flipped it over so the flat side was up. We then applied acrylic paint with a variety of brushes and a brayer and proceeded to make designs in the paint with wire, stamps, leaves and twine.

Fabric and papers were used to pull the paint off of the gel and and infinite number of images were achieved. I almost liked the paper better than the fabric.

I have the gel block sitting in the refrigerator just waiting for another round. 

Packed the Day Before!!

 

It is a rainy day here in little rhody, but warm and dry here in the pit surrounded by my stuff! Just a few more things to pull together for CT and a pile of eggplant and cooked pumpkin in the kitchen!!

Have packed up my "Roll-Ups" to sell at the big event! I made a pile of these as Sue and I plowed thru all seasons of "Lost". There may be some cosmic, where in the world am I energy stitched into these babies!! 

Off to shine up my little old Bernina...no computer chips...to take with me. It is the perfect on the road warrior! I bought it in California around the time I was making this piece. I think that was 1988. Back in the hand quilting daze...

Preparing for Classes...

Spent 4 extra long days at the Co-op in Wakefield this week painting the interior! The ceiling collapsed about a month ago creating a food retailer nightmare! Everything needed to be weighed, logged into a computer and then thrown away. It was one major mess after another. Demo and rebuild. With lots of scrubbing and cleaning help, the painting was finished yesterday!! So onto where I left off last week...

Preparing for Art Is...You ( I don't think that it is too late!) and classes at Quilts and More in Westerly. Making samples, putting kits together, making piles, looking for bright new ideas to share.

Bracelet parts for Art Is 

I made up this bag with our "patchy fabric" and a quick color wheel on the front. You never know when you will need that reference!! October 23rd at Quilts and More. Then onto dolls and the Holidaze!

Rag Dolls on October 30th

Stockings November 20th!

Back to my class organizing, shelling piles of beans, harvesting eggplant and honey!

What are you up to?

Mid September Already!

Sue and I had a lovely staycation the week after Labor Day here in beautiful downtown Charlestown. The weather was perfect and as we constantly reminded ourselves to relax, we dug out a perennial bed to make space for an overgrown strawberry bed, prepped a new bed for said perennials, planted lettuce and clover, harvested 40+ winter squash, watched netflix. Sue took afternoon trips to the beach and I relaxed at home with my book. The time was made more precious by the fact that Sue was to and did start a full time job on the 13th. 

And Bob's voice started to change...from peeping to a subtle teenage squeak. Still wondering if Bob is a boy or a girl...anybody else know?

While Sue has been orienting at Newport Hospital, I have been spending my time preparing for the classes I'll be teaching at Art-Is, and making samples, class descriptions, supply lists, etc for class offerings at Quilts and More in Westerly. There are piles of projects all around the studio. I have been pulling the old and new together, updating directions and illustrations, making new samples and of course trying to stay calm. So I am now going back to my class prep and will see where that takes me!

Hope the creative energy is surging around the world!!!

Happy 90th Birthday Eleanor!!!

I can't believe that it is Friday already. Just came back from the farmers market. Left some of my new scarves with Jan Doyle and her buddies.Will go back and get them at noon. It is a public trial!! 

Finished a knitted scarf. Very basic...knit one way, knit the other way...

Made a paper mobile for Eleanor's 90th Birthday! Loved working on it!

Harvested more summer squash and eggplant. Yard long beans waiting for me!

Started working on some collage heads. Used the top of wooden boxes that are hanging around. I think I have a whole pile of tops somewhere. Started cutting up my old Ms. Magazines that I have been hauling around for 30 years.

Cut out shapes that will become a cover for a small foam stool. Can't wait to start sewing it together. Want to dig out a big piece of flannel that is buried in the closet. I'm sure it will be easy!!

Now going to fill out an application for the Craftland Holiday Show.

Doesn't My Hair Look Fantastic?

Well Providence was it's glamtastic self last night as Adam Lambert fans gathered at Lupo's for a fashion show and rock concert! Sue mentioned the event on Sunday morning and well, since we are always wondering what people around here do for fun, we ordered up a couple of tickets. So there we were looking for a parking space around 6 o'clock and the fans were already whipped around the block. 

Dreaming of a good veg dinner at AS220, we crossed the street by Trinity Rep and it was like...isn't that the dad from "6 Feet Under"? and sure enough there was Richard Jenkins just crossing the street on his way to the theater. As our dinner destination was closed, we turned around and there was Richard Jenkins doing his life.

We ended up eating a delicious dinner at Cuban Revolution. Rice, beans, Marilyn Monroe, Castro, festive artwork and fans gathering strength for the evening. Also got to see the new outdoor mural designed by Shepard Fairey. He did the screen print image from Obama's campaign. You might be familiar with his Obey street art. His work is very amazing and worth taking a look!

We crossed the street to Local 121 for some coffee and desert and noted that the line was longer, more compact and very festive! A few more fans hanging around in the the bar. We split a very local lemon pound cake, blueberries and cream. The restaurant is noted for using high quality local foods and was located right next to the ever expanding line around the block!

We were checking out the line when we heard an excited young man ask his friends "Doesn't My Hair Look Fantastic?" Perfect. We managed to get in for our "will call" tickets without standing in line, found our seats and watched with fascination the amazing variety of individuals that ended up together in the venue. By the time we had all waited, listened to Allison Iraheta (i didn't understand a word she said), waited another hour for no apparent reason (selling t-shirts maybe) listening to throbbing mixed tunes the glamster himself was on stage...and the frenzy was in full swing!! Singing, screaming, waving, on and on!!!!!!

On the way out of the venue I noticed a young woman in black underpants layered with fishnets, a belt, little top and festive pumps. I have so much to learn! It's good for me to get off of the farm!!

Happy 40th Birthday Don!!!

Well, my first born ( the one on the left if you check out the link) is 40 years old today which confirms that I am not a twenty something or thirty something...

I believe that he is starting his journey from Edinburgh, Scotland toTullywood Farm in Roscommon, Ireland. He left his San Francisco job at Adobe at the end of June, gave up his apartment, got rid of his stuff and headed out into the world July 1st with his passport, camera and computer. He has worked at two farms in Scotland for room and board and is planning to continue the ride in the same manner.

His photography is beautiful, so if you want to take a brief armchair trip around the world, check out:

Flickr

Facebook

Don's Site

I hope you have the best day as you roll into the 4's!!!!!!

I love you!

xxxxxx

Honey, Onions and Garlic

We have been busy little farmers! After collecting and assembling flowers on Thursday, Sue and I spent the first part of Friday selling bouquets at the Charlestown Farmers Market for our friends George and Cathy. Lucky Cathy was dancing her way around England with "The Ladies of the Rolling Pin". Always a pleasurable place to hang out, we indulged in fresh pastries, bought peaches, apples, steamers and fresh cheese, met new folks, got invited to some end of summer parties, and had a very relaxing, perfect weather summer morning!

George and Sue with Fresh Eggs!

Sue was up and working in the garage on Saturday AM before my eyes even thought about opening. It was shortly after 6 and she had already cleaned up 37 lbs of onions and was on her way to completing 11 lbs of garlic. We started picking blueberries about 9 and it took us about an hour to collect 8 lbs!

The next task on the list took us to the towers of bee power to extract what turned out to be 70 lbs of honey! It is truly a remarkable, miraculous substance...amazing to spend just a few moments watching the bees arrive with their little legs packed with pollen, or watching them at the pond gather up minute amounts of water, building cone, attending to eggs and the queen, filling in little spaces with propolis, jetting around their territory, chewing, building, storing...

Then get the frames, brush off the bees, haul them home to the extractor, cut the comb, hand crank the extractor, honey into the bucket through two filters, clean the jars and tops, fill 'em up, print and stick the labels...beautiful!!!

Now off to make yogurt and scarves!

What are you making with zucchini???

Chickens like zucchini!!

Wet Felting!!!

Linda Willis and I trotted our bad selves up to the Rhode Island School of Design for a 4 week...one night a week....wet felting class with Anna Kristina Goransson. We had a varied, talented and enthusiastic group of women who were always ready to mix roving, water and soap! Like being a part of any collection of creative types you get to see a wide range of styles emerge almost immediately!! Always a joyful and interesting experience!

With a pile of roving left from Artgirlz, a stash of wool picked up along the way combined with the goodies that we received in class I have been playing with making holey scarves. Will anyone else like the scarves???? Time will tell, but I am having a great and somewhat relaxing time at our kitchen counter putting down roving and trying to keep the water under control!!

Have to go and check the sprinkler...so hoping for rain!!

Blueberries!

Sue and I have been picking blueberries and putting them in the freezer. They usually last us through March. It has been a very relaxing venture with about 7 pounds of goodies to put into the freezer and on yogurt and to just munch by the handful!!! With a pile of Artgirlz wool hanging around, I decided to finally make a couple of blueberry pin cushions! 

They were pretty easy to put together. For the larger piece on the left, I just stitched precut wool felt flowers on a 3.5cm wool bead and had myself a very large berry. Made three of them and stitched them together around the base. Cut out and stitched on leaves and there you go. It lack the most amazing range of pink, green, purple, blue of the actual berries, but your pins will hang in these quite well!

The smaller piece on the right, was made from a stitched together cluster of 1cm beads and hand cut leaves.

Have been diggin wet felting! Will take some photos of what's been happening!

IPhone Photo Apps!

I had Marisa Haedike as teacher at the Squam Art Workshops (there is a session in Sept people), and she shared her favorite phone photo apps with me. So, while Sue and I were relaxing on our trip in Seattle I was crazily spending 2 bucks here and 99 cents there for the said apps. What I ended up getting was Shake It Photo, Camera Bag and Hipstamatic. I found the latter two to be more fun than the Shake It Photo which "develops" your picture as you shake your phone. The Pics below were taken with Hipstamatic. Thanks Marisa!

Camera Bag allows you to apply a filter to an existing photo and the Hipstamatic takes a photo through the "lens and film" of your choice. It is very entertaining and I found myself taking pics everywhere. Check it out if you like to play with photos and your phone!

Off to harvest garlic, check the bees and pick blueberries!

All is Well!!

This is just a quick note to those of you that are panicked about my "new" life. I am happy to assure you that Sue is here...alive and well and we are doing the things we've been doing for the last 18 years...digging in the dirt, working on projects...you know the usual. The big change for me is the closing down of Artgirlz and the endless hours of work that went with it!!

Beautiful day here in RI! Cooler for a bit!!!

Now What????

Greetings from Steamy Breezy Rhode Island and Welcome to the #1 posting on my new window to the world! I have been hanging out in our cool (as in temperature) basement, (former secret location of Artgirlz World Headquarters) organizing every little bit of arty crafty stuff that has been in my life for years!! The felt, fabric, beads, threads, papers are all stacked and packed by color... I must say that I am very grateful to have a drooly dreamy studio space in which to work in the said basement. To take advantage of the space, I will be putting some fall classes together. Will post them as soon as I get them organized. And, I am hoping to actually do some of my own work down there and get back to mixing up materials.

 Linda Willis and I have been taking a wet felting class at RISD. We have both been layering and manipulating roving making practice shapes, mixing materials because we can't help it.

 I have spent many hours this spring and summer working in the garden. We have flowers and vegetables, chickens, rabbits and bees. All seem to be doing well so far. We have a month old chick that seems to be adjusting to the big girlz very well...sleeping on a roost and cruising around with the group. Other than one cranky neighbor that doesn't like our chickens exploring her yard, all is well here on the farm!!