shadow play take 2.. or 3 or 4..

I love the shadows. Especially shadows that artwork makes. In the last few weeks I have been able to experience such shadows in abundance. MoMA, The Dairy Barn, Kennedy Museum of Art. How lucky am I? Here are a few of my favorites:

edge of a wall hanging by Cecilia Joe at KMA

edge of an art quilt by Danette Pratt at The Dairy Barn

bronze shadow makers by Dorothy Dehner at MoMA

bit of a wall hanging by Lenore Tawney at MoMA

wired orb shadows by Ruth Asawa at MoMA

corner of an art quilt by Sara Impey at The Dairy Barn

corner of a wall hanging by Sheila Hicks at MoMA

edge of an art quilt by Shulamit Liss at The Dairy Barn

floor shadow of an art quilt by Sue Benner at The Dairy Barn

Hope you have enjoyed these shadows as much as I did. I think I might make some art that makes shadows also soon....

a conversation

As I prepare to share some of my art with you, please enjoy this interview recently recorded with Nathalie Kalbach. It's really more of a conversation than an interview, Nat is lovely to talk to! And you'll love her new book Artful Adventures in Mixed Media! So grab your favorite beverage and settle in...

click for the interview!

stitched paint strokes

Usually I stitch with a plan in mind. Meaning that I have seen in my minds eye what I want to achieve and I am stitching towards that vision. But sometimes.... just for the fun of it I want to stitch with no plan. Just meandering and enjoying the process, the colors and the texture that is being created.

For inspiration I'll pull out a picture and use my stitches to interpret that picture. I don't mean exactly, just the feeling of it. Like a moody autumnal landscape for example. I'll concentrate on the color, the direction of the vegetation.... This exercise is lots of fun to do with painting by famous artists. I'll open up a big heavy art book or print an image from the internet and try to capture the feeling of it with my stitches.

So where am I leading with all this? Well... I am trying to entice you to take a vacation with me. Yes. a vacation. In Ticino, that's in Switzerland. In August. I know it seems so far way, August and Switzerland. But August will be here in a blink of an eye and Switzerland is just a hop, skip and a jump away!

a detail of a Klimt

my stitchy interpretation

Picasso is fun to play with

fun to choose the fabrics and the stitches

Rothko's serenity is interpreted well in silk

simple is best

that's the hotel!

and that's the scenery!

So? Come stitch some paint strokes with me and enjoy the end of summer in Ticino!

the little hump backed horse

Hello! long time.... Happy New Year!

As you might imagine life has been busy. The projects in the pictures below have consumed my life for the past two months. It was fun, challenging and hard work. And now it's done. Here's proof (in order of appearance on stage):

Ivan and the magical horses

Magical horses again

Ivan and the Little Humpbacked Horse find the Firebirds feather

the bazaar scene

storytellers

The Tzar arrives

the Tzar and his Attendant

the Firebirds dance

and dance some more

I love this blurry image of the Firebird being captured

The Tzarina Maiden

the Moon and the Sun

the Fishes

Fish begging forgiveness from the King Whale 

more Fishes

The Tzarina Maiden with her Prince Ivan magically transformed 

storytellers

my favorite colorful players

how adorable are they?

and for good measure the Moon and the Sun again...

That was a lot of pictures I know, hope you enjoyed them, I could have posted many many more! Here's the English version of the story if you would like to read it.
Now off to clean up my studio and make some art!

Oh and I must confess... I stole all these pictures from my friend Ekaterina who painted the fish heads and horse heads for me. I have an excuse! I was back stage helping with costume changes! And she did give me permission. Really.

jumpstarting!

I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating as an artist in Creative JumpStart (CJS) 2016, run for the 5th time by Nathalie Kalbach. If you're not familiar with CJS, it's a one-of-a-kind online event to kick your creativity into high gear in January 2016.

Learn techniques, discover new materials, and connect with artists and crafters. There is SO much cool stuff to learn!

Throughout January participants get 25 downloadable videos from 24 featured artists. I'm proud to be one of those artists, called “JumpStarters.” See for yourself:

Head on over to Nathalie's site to sign up and for more details:

http://nathaliesstudio.com/cjs

You get 25 videos for just $45 (USD) for a limited time if you sign up before December 31, 2015 at 11:59pm (EST)! But wait – it gets better: as my valued reader, you’ll get $5 extra off today. Just use this coupon code during checkout: cjs2016
*This is a limited offer valid from 10:00am Dec 4, 2015 to 11:59pm EST on Dec 11, 2015.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up here nathaliesstudio.com/cjs, and apply the coupon code during check out process. Thanks!!
I cannot wait for you to see my video, I had so much fun making it!

happy summertime!!

Oh boy! What happened to June?? Well here's a quick show and tell in pictures:

I've been stitching a bridge on some buildings in plastic.

I've been cutting out plastic verbiage for graffiti

I've been putting the pedal to the metal with lots of thread-sketching

I have embroidered a lyre bird

I have started embroidering an arctic fox. This is my outline.

Trying to figure out how to stitch fur. It ain't for sissies...

This is the undercoat, now I've begun the topcoat, I'll let you know how I mess this up...

Oh and yesterday I published my June newsletter, take a read here if it wasn't delivered to your in-box.
Thanks for reading!

magic monday

I haven't been in my studio since I finished Spruce Street. Life got in the way. But I haven't stopped thinking about what I want to do once I got to the studio.... Here are a few things that caught my eye during the thinking stage.

beautiful bouquet

sunset lighting up newly minted leaves

a fabulous chandelier

And today I did get into the studio. For just a little bit....

a start of something new.....

Now full steam ahead! There is much to be accomplished....

friday in the studio

So much going on this week and next..... here's a short and sweet version of what is happening in the studio:

Lots of hand stitching on the companion piece to Iron Spine

Many more X's to go on the roof of the latest home portrait

Playing with TAP for a detail on a piece that I have been stitching on for a long time

Finishing up a few samples for an Easter Egg Felting workshop next Saturday

Preparing for the FIVE day workshop at Hudson River Valley Art workshops

and finally something for moi! I'm nuno felting a piece of snowdyed silk for a sweater...

So as you see I have quite a few balls up in the air, good thing I work well under pressure! Hope to share some finished work soon.