Back to Botswana

I am delighted to once again be part of a Fiber Revolution exhibit in Botswana. My piece, Celestial Navigation IV: Kalahari, is third row down, first on left.

If You're In St. Petersburg. . .

Russia, that is, not Florida. I have a piece in this Fiber Revolution exhibit in Gatchina, Russia, near St. Petersburg. Let me know if you get there! Unfortunately my art travels more than I do.

Back from Hibernation

Oh, it's been a long winter. In my last post (four months ago! sorry readers), there was a photo of the house across the street with three small pear trees between us just as we were getting our first snow.

Here it was during one of the big snows this winter. The house is behind the big pine tree on the left.

Here it is now: the big pine tree fell over in a storm and now I can see the houses's front door.

Luckily for us, other than a lot of snow, we didn't lose any trees, although my arbor vitae hedge was damaged and is being replaced, but that's a story for another time.

The snow confused the dog, although it doesn't take much to do that.

 

The cat was happy to be inside, although she is as scary as ever.

As part of welcoming spring, last week I went with my friend Rayna Gillman to the Morris Museum to see Art Quilts: Contemporary Expressions from the Collection of John M. Walsh III.
 

At the train station, we met up with Benedict Caneill, Shirley Levine, Melanie Testa, and Patricia Gaignat (l to r) and they all managed to fit in the back of Rayna's car.
 

As we walked through the exhibit, we saw some old friends and made some new ones. And then we heard what sounded like a group tour. It turned out to be Jack Walsh giving a private talk to a cousin and some friends. After greeting us warmly, we joined his group and were delighted to hear his "stories behind the quilts". Rayna and I had seen some of the quilts several years ago at his house, but hadn't heard all the stories. And there are several new additions which are as fabulous as his previously collected pieces. Plus, by being near the close of the exhibit, we were able to see a couple quilts that hadn't arrived before the opening.

 

On the way out--continuing to dodge large crowds of boisterous school children--we stopped in the gift shop. I wanted to check out the display of Fiber Revolution's Art Concentrated pieces. Here they are: mine is on the left, second shelf from the top. You really can't see much, but it was a nice display.

After the exhibit, the six of us had a delicious lunch at an Indian restaurant. Yum, but no pictures.

So that's a quick snapshot of the last four months. I want to thank all of you who have continued to check this blog for updated postings. I promise to post more often in the future. And if you want to read more of my writing before the next post (you gluttons for punishment), check out the April/May issue of Fiberarts. My article "History in the Making" is about the wonderfully creative work of Diane Savona that is on exhibit at the Hermitage Museum in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey.

Thanks for reading,

Rachel

Snow and Inspiration

We had our first snow last week.

Luckily we missed major accumulation, and because of the cold temps, some interesting results were left behind.

And there were a few leaves still to fall.

 

I have not been able to make any progress with one of my Celestial Navigation pieces, so I decided to put together a kit I bought recently. I am a sucker for kits when I go to quilt shows, but have a bad record of finishing them. I thought maybe cutting and sewing might get the juices flowing. Well, let's just say it's been a long time since I made a piece this large: it's 75 by 75 inches, and that's without borders. I had to lay it out on my living room floor which meant moving furniture and bending over way too much. I've pieced the first five rows--just five to go--and I've realized my patience for precision piecing ain't what it used to be. Plus I'm bored with the fabrics I didn't choose. All in all, an eye-opening project.

Pearly Gates

Been having a little home improvement done around the place. Here's our new fence that goes all around our corner property. I think the neighbors are even happier than we are. The old fence lasted 15 years, which is pretty good for wood, most recently held together by paint, green mold, and chicken wire at the bottom to keep the little dog in because he discovered in the last couple years that he could squeeze through the spaces between the pickets. He's foiled now because the spaces are smaller!

How long does it take to chose the right shade of green? The answer is that there's never enough time. I chose one, it's still not perfect, but it'll do, even though I have to see it every morning. It's for the master bath, which is small.  Happily the shade of blue in our dining room that I've lived with and loved for many years worked well for the hall bath.

As the days get colder my gorgeous impatiens are losing their kick. They were spectacular this year, partly due to all the rain we had but also due to the fertilizer I forgot I added to the pots. I will miss them. Now looking forward to getting some mums, though I already have some pumpkins that the critters are munching.

And now it is raining, raining, raining. And will continue through the weekend. But no snow here.

Monotypes and Monoprints

Last week I was lucky enough to spend some time with Rayna at her studio. We worked with Akua color paints using her table top press to print on paper and fabric. (I tried to remember the difference between a monotype and monoprint. I do know--now--but don't ask me.) The colors we used were red, yellow, and black. We got tired of them by the end of the day, but were so busy figuring out how much paint to use, how to apply it best, what difference the paper made, what fabric worked, etc., etc., that we'll have to save color play for next time.

We started out with leaves. And did a lot of experimentation.

Then I made a collagraph plate using masking tape, duct tape, cut paper, bark, fabric scraps, and thread:

And here it is after being used and its printed image on paper:

We were both amazed how the subtle elements in the materials you use--for example, teeny pinhole stripes on the duct tape--show up in the print. And I kept forgetting that the image gets reversed.

Vacation

For 41 years I have been coming to this same wonderful lake in the northwoods of Michigan. It has always been a time of rest and renewal. There are friends and family to visit with and beauty everywhere. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Wind rising.

Sometimes the dog gets in the picture.

Sunset light on cedars.

Sunset light on docks.

Sunset through trees.

Moon rise.