I'm back

My life has gotten so busy!!!

An opportunity came up to garden like crazy. An art friend gave me the name of a lady who was going to put her house on the market. She has (had because they are now in my yard) a yard full of flowers that had become somewhat overgrown. Digging up four pickup loads of flowers and many days of putting them in the yard was quite an ordeal. It was so worth it! Next spring will be wonderful.

I love the larkspur.

This area is so sunny with all the yellow.

I love my miniature roses.

I am about halfway through my Photoshop class. It is much harder than I expected but I am learning a lot. We will see if it pays off as time goes bye. I also cashed in my Christmas gift certificate and got a Bamboo pad and pen. I am excited about using it.

I have started two classes on Artists for the Round Table. One based on the book Create Your Own Hand Printed Cloth by Rayna Gillman and the other based on the book The Decorated Page by Gwen Diehn. I am enjoying both of these workshops.

I carved the stamp for the above piece.

These are some of the beginning pages of my new journal.

I am wrapping up a class on Altered Books (AB101) given generously by Elizabeth of the Altered Book Lover blog. I learned a lot in this class which has made starting The Painted Page workshop so much easier. Thanks Elizabeth!

One of the spreads I am learning to make.

Brain pieces everywhere!

I feel like my head is going to explode. I started a class on Adobe Photoshop at our local college. I hate realizing my limitations!!! I will learn this stuff. I love the Photoshop part, but I am so inept with my computer knowledge. It probably is taking me four times as long as the other students to do my assignments. But in a few weeks I should be able to start posting some of my collages (I hope).


One good thing is that my friend, Ella, took my gears to clean and rust so that she could use them. Thank you Ella! I do not anticipate that I will be working with them for at least a month.



I have taken over a thousand photos in the last ten days. One day at the Bio Park here in Albuquerque. I spent that wonderful day with my daughter Lisa just browsing and doing macro photography. A walk in the neighborhood with an artist friend gave me more. And then a day at Fiber Arts Fiesta gave me lots of inspiration and targets for my camera.

Flying outside my comfort zone

I had an opportunity to spend a day with Jesse Reno. The class was fantastic! Those of you who are familiar with his work know it is wild and expressive. I have never attempted anything like it before and I wanted to push myself. I had a blast!

The pictures I am posting are not finished but they are pretty far along. I will show them later when I have time to work on the details. So much fun.

What did I start?

I keep emptying bins, drawers, and bags of stuff. I feel like they will never end but each time I finish each one I am so proud. There is hope! So far I have cleared out a couple of car loads of stuff. I am so glad I found our local art center. I can not throw things away but I feel good when I know someone else will have access to my excess.



Finding time for some art. I took another class from Leighanna Light. Her classes are so much fun. I do not get uptight, I can relax and learn while I play. This one was collage on canvas. I really like how they are coming along. I will post again when they are done.

Our art group met the other day. I love show and tell there are always so many good ideas and examples and we got a mini demo on wire wrapping from one of our members. Thanks Elizabeth! We are going to do an ATC exchange next month so I will post them then. And we are going to do a mini 2 day retreat. I am looking forward to spending extended time with my art buddies.



I made my first charm swap. I have not done this before so I am a little nervous that I did what I was supposed to do.

STIMULATION ON OVERDRIVE

It has been awhile since I have had time to sit down and visit my own blog. I had eight days of constant art stimulation. I am so tired but so happy. First. I did take my class with Leanna Light and had a great time. It introduced me to using metal in my art (aside from a little silver smithing I have not really used any).

Leanna on the right - getting us started.

My pieces at a very early stage. I will post them again as they are completed.

Girlfriend Ella, came over and we worked on the Fiber Art Workshop exercises together. It is always a day of giggling and great fun.

FAW(2) Hot glue on foil - then applied to quilt block. This is so shiny!

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Then my friend, Judy, made it down from Colorado. It was so good to see her and her husband. This was the first time in over twenty five years we have had an extended visit without having some outside influence on our time. I was able to introduce her to some of my mixed media passions and she helped me to get over some of my inhibitions regarding watercolor. We both did Zen Tangles for the first time. Her's were great, mine were OK.

I need a finer pen if I am going to work on ATC sizes.

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She fell in love with my felting machine. I think she will be a proud owner of one soon. I got some of my pieces trimed to ATC size. Now I need to embelish them.

The ATC's are a great way for me to use up the trimings of my larger pieces.

Another friend, Lynne, and I started on papercloth awhile ago. I pulled mine out and got the pieces done. I don't know what I am going to make out of it but I think it is kind of fun and funky stuff.

(muslin - matt gel medium - images on paper - matt gel medium - tissue paper - matt gel medium - paint - stamping)

We worked with watercolors a bit. It is just background stuff but I was able to keep my colors clear.

Pieces for my ATC workshop

water color on paper

Acrylic paint on paper towel

Pearlized paint on paper towel

Watercolor on baby wipes

We also started dolls. I have lots of parts that we made. I will show them as they get farther along.

Before 2007

This helps define where I began.

Art Quilting - Within NMQA I meet a group of art quilters. They encouaged me to start to look outside the box. Less patterns and color freedom! I began to take lot of classes. I felt like a sponge, I just couldn't learn enough.

Community Service - While I was learning to quilt I met a lady who invited me to look at New Mexico Quilters Association (NMQA). The first time I went to a meeting I met a wonderful group of ladies that were in a sub group called Sweet Charity. They were making quilts to give away to those in need here in New Mexico. I joined them and we made over 3,500 quilts during this time.

Quilting - One day a friend walked into my house with five bins of fabric. A pack rat had gotten into her shed and she had to wash everything. She said she did not want the fabric back in the shed, and she knew I would find something to do with it. Back to my pack rat habits. I took a bin of fabric and my old sewing machine and headed down the hill to a local fabric shop, Quilts From the Heart (I still go there).

This is not the first quilt I started but it is the first I finished.

I took a class on creating art with found pieces. We went into a local wooded area and created art, took pictures and left the sculptures there for others to find. I went back months later and they were still there.

Claywork - I was going through a time of trial and found myself in a ceramic class. One teddy bear and a rabbit later I found I really enjoyed learning how to use glazes and other ceramic stuff. I took a bunch of classes, opened a storefront and began my journey into clay.

This is the store and production facility in Los Alamos.

Marketing was the hardest part for me. But I went to market in Dallas here. It was designed for only southwestern products.

New Mexico has a ceramic show where people compete for ribbons. My store took Best Shop for two years. My students were awesome!

I've done a little sculpting.

I developed a series of dishes that I marketed in Santa Fe and in craft shows.

I developed the glaze for this chili series. It was a hit.

Designs were based on the Anasasi Indians' work.

I developed a Lords prayer series. I have a friend, Marilyn, that did the most beautiful caligraphy for me.

This series was blueberries on top of a white glaze.

My very first class. They all made yard bunnies.

I taught many children. I loved watching them try new things.

Amanda & Bill

Amanda & Bill - I came across these pictures. This is my granddaughter and my husband. It sure brings back memories.

Cast dragons done with raku glazes.

Burial Urns done for a scientist in Los Alamos.

Burial urn done for a friend in Mexico.

Jewelery - Who can resist strings of beads? I can't, so I designed necklaces and strung them to my heart's content. One day I tried a little silversmithing.

I found a source in Germany for some wax that would soften at hand temperature. I made a line of candles by using this wax to sculpt designs and then attached them to premade candles. I also hand dipped candles but I do not have any of them left.


Knitting - A very sweet white haired old lady taught me how to knit in my senior year. I made a letter man's sweater and a car coat. I was so proud of myself. I wish I had taken pictures but I did not. I'm afraid I have regressed and the only thing I have have been making is scarves.

Picture at an arts & crafts Christmas show.

Sewing - In my junior year of high school I discovered I could sew (a teacher deserves a lot of credit). I started on a formal for the prom and made a matching coat (in black velvet and white pique no less). If you don't know you can't do it you probably can. Followed by four wedding dresses, a few bridesmaid outfits, and a couple of more formals and finally I decided that I could sew.

Daisy chains - As a child I loved to do repetitive things. I spent hours knotting daisies and clover (more plentiful). I don't remember what I did with them but I remember loving it.

Sandcastles - One of my first memories are of a sand box my father made. He filled it with sand that was full of periwinkle shells. I hunted for them by the hours. Probably my beginnings of found art. Mustard flowers and a few flowers stolen from my mother's flower beds adorned my sand art work.