New Additon to the Birdie Buffet

Liberty Town Artists Galleries has some amazing potters. One of these incredibly talented people (who wishes to remain nameless) creates these wonderful bird feeders! I have just picked up this one to add to the Birdy Buffett that occurs daily in my back yard! I have to tell you that the birds LOVE this feeder. I have spent a good deal of time watching the Chickadee's feed. They do not grab a seed and go, but grab a seed, turn around on the cupped base and open the seed right there! I think that this feeder may cause an obesity problem in Chickadee's and Titmice, but it sure is fun to watch them!!!

I realise that i did not include pictures of the top of the feeder but it is an inverted bowl shape that is held on by heavy wire. I think that it must be virtually impossible for a squirrel to raid this feeder from the top because of the weight and shape of the top dish and because of the wire locking mechanism . Of course you all KNOW that I am all about texture and color and the verdigris color combo just floats my boat!!! This verytalented artist creats all fo her textures with blocks and stamps that she has created herself!!!

So you can't ever say that I did not give you enough reasons to stop by Liberty Town when you are in the Fredericksburg VA area, and now you have one more!!! Your birds will be so glad that you did!!!

Collage Books-Samples for Classes

This book has been in the making for quite awhile. My intention is to use it as a sample for the Collage Book Classes that I am teaching at Liberty Town Artists Studios in Fredericksburg as well as the classes that I am offering in my home studio. When deadlines have loomed, the book has been put on the back burner, this has happened far too often!! But now I can finally say that it is in a finished enough state, without any internal journaling, to serve it's purpose as a sample! Another project off of my To Do LIST and on to my TAA DAA LIST (must continue to thank Michelle Ward for this marvelous phrase!!)

Again, this was a stash busting project and the covers were fashioned from the legs of a pair of my husbands jeans! Everything else came from my collections and junk mail that arrived at the house. Below you see the back of the book.

I have also integrated lots of my monoprinted papers and fabrics, hand stitching fabric paper, fusion paper, old buttons, fabric scraps and any bits and pieces that arrived on special packages from friends. It is these items that make such a piece special and so personal.

Below you can see spine of the book. I used buttons to anchor the waxed linen that was used to stitch the signatures into the book itself.

The book also contains pieces of old linens that might have been damaged in some way, scraps of fabrics left over from other projects, undersheets from stamping or spraying papers for other projects and anything else that sifted to the surface of my art space. If I liked it and it fit, in it went!!
Below you can see that I used a piece of a linen table runner as a large pocket on one of the interior signatures.I topped the torn edge with a piece of fabric paper that I folded and stitched down.

The spine of this signature below was created using a used drier sheet that I had painted with acrylic paints.

In several places I used bits of trims and fabrics to sew to pages . The fabric portions would form the spines or folds of each page. I made lots of use of my sewing machines to attach things and to add textural interest. In several areas I added layers of paint over the stitch.

THese are just samples of some of the spreads in the book. The book contains three signatures of eight pages each and I put the whole thing together using a simple stab stitch binding with buttons on the exterior spine to hold the waxed linen in place.

Now to spread the word aboutt eaching classe in my home studio!!! That will be the real work part of this project!!!! Feel free to spread the word for me, especially if you know of anyone in Virginia who has an interest in having fun ,learning lots of neat techniques, exploring the "What IF's," AND creating one of a kind books!!!!

Seed Sower- A Wonderful New Family Member

I am so very pleased to introduce you to the latest addition to my growing little art collection. Her name is Seed Sower. (Relax, she is not a new dog or, god forbid, a Bundle of Joy!!!!) She is one of the latest creations of my good friend, art gal pal extordinaire, Leslie Brier, of Brier Design. You must hop over to Leslie's wonderful blog and see all of her glorious creations here!!!
(If you scroll down thru her blog a bit , you will find pictures of her amazing dolls and inventive constructions- well worth the trip, believe me!!!!)


As soon as I saw the seed bag ground (the inspiration for this piece) the wonderful colors, the adorable sweet little Penny Doll, the wonderful vintage quilted background all watched over by the precious Red Bakelite Bird buttons, I knew that I would somehow, someway arrange to own this piece!! Of course the fact that it was the creation of my wonderful friend Leslie, was simply frosting on the cupcake!!!




Leslie based this piece on this wonderful seed bag that she found along with an amazing hand held Vintage Spinning Seed Spreader on one of her frequent junking adventures. ( The spreader itself became a vehicle for one of her fabulous doll assemblages that you can see here!)

Leslie has brilliantly showcased and at the same time framed her mixed media piece in a silver plated baking dish holder!!!

I just love it all!!!

Can you tell??????

When you visit Leslie's blog be sure to leave her a comment! Like all of us, she loves hearing from you!!!!

The Empty Bowl-Artists Making a Difference

One of the many big events that was impacted by our recent record snow fall was the Empty Bowl Fundraiser. This is a highly anticipated event in the Fredericksburg area because of the impact that it makes on a very fragile community and because of the incredible bowls that are made and donated by many local pottery crafts people!!! Above you see a small sampling of the hundreds of bowls that await the attendees as they file in to fill their bowls with wonderful steaming soups and stews also donated by local restraunts and chefs. It truely is a delightful event that is put on to support the Rappahanock Council on Domestic Violence (RCDV)

This event was the brain child of several Liberty Town artists and several of the Administrators of the Council, as a way to get the community involved in lifting up those in need, by using the amazing powers of beautiful art work and wonderful warm food. The Council uses the funding to support many local families to re-establish functional and happy lives and break the cycle of violence. Many families of women and children have been given new homes and a huge safety net because of the efforts of our local arts community to give of their time and talents.

Because of the storm , many were not able to turn in their tickets this year and therefore did not get to choose their bowl. This past Saturday, all of the remaining bowls were laid out on a huge table at Liberty Town, for any who wished to come by and redeem their tickets and choose a bowl. What anincredible sight that was!!! It was very, very difficult to pick a favorite and it helped knowing that we will have a chance to participate in this wonderful event again next year!! (Of course, if we all could not wait for more glorious works of pottery, everyone is encouraged to go and visit the numerous sites in town where the pottery can be purchased directly from the artists!!!) Just to give you an idea of how selfless and generous our local potters are, I know of one artist who threw 100 bowls to serve as her donation to this event!!!!

Yet again, Art makes a huge difference!!!!!

After a good twenty minutes of deliberation, I went home with the cobalt and red bowl two rows from the back, that you see in the picture above!

New Works for Liberty Town

Being the first of the month with an upcoming First Friday Event at Liberty Town Galleries ahead, last week was spent creating new items for the Emporium at Liberty Town. The monthly deadline seems to emerge from the mist every four weeks, to catch me unprepared!!! Even with calendar prompts, I seem to always be rushed!!! This month I did create extra stock to hold back in preparation for next months deadline- hopefully this will help!!!

New for this month's Opening Event are some new Cashmere and Pearls Blossom Pins, some fabric/Paper Collage Pins and three new Vintage Jello Tin Pincushions.
I also plan to reopen my Etsy Shop this week with introductions of some of these items!!
Better Hop to It!!!

The Story of the Traveling Pages

The Story of the Traveling Pages is the name of a blog that I belong to that is dedicated to a fabric page swap hosted by Stitching Fingers.You may have noticed the badge for this blog in my side bar and if you would like to see what everyone involved in this project is doing , click here.

There are 14 of us participating and we each create an arch shaped fabric page for another member each month. My chosen theme is Windows and this is my first page , created by Cobi from the Netherlands. the details are wonderful and it is very obvious to me that Cobi tokk some time to get to know me before she created this piece fo textile art. The flowers and the Blue bird with nest all speak of some of my very favorite things!! It is a wonderful start to this adventure. Below you will see some close up shots so you can enjoy some of the details!

THese last two shots give you some idea of Cobi's wonderful stitching skills. Just look at the wonderful embroidered leaves. Theya re so tiny and so very perfect!!!! Such a treasure!!!

You may remember the first page that I created for this group, the Door page. You can refresh your memory here if you would like.

Here is my second page for Debi from Washington state. Debi's theme is Shabby Chic or All White. I decided to go with All White as I love stitching in white with vintage materials. I know that this is a contradiction to what I have been creating lately! I have always loved working in shades of white and I find it very soothing and restful. Here is my page for Debi.

I spent the first weekend of the Winter Olympics working on this piece and I ahd such a grand time with it that I ahve decided to launch two more projects with this feel and color scheme. Or should I say "absence of color" scheme!!

Every stitch of this piece was done by hand with all vintage materials. One can use even the tiniest bits of lace and fabric when creating a collage like this.

I used a scrap of silk scarf that I found at a Thrift shop to create the puffed heart, that I then beaded with little pearl beads. I used several mother of pearl buttons and some glass beads and a few fresh water pearls. I also used some wonderful tatting and a portion of elegant leaf and flower trim in the top portion. A right click on the photos will give you a closer look.!

My next page will be based on the theme All Creatures Great and Small- I am leaning towards using a photo of a Praying Mantis that I took last year, in the garden. Perhaps I am yearning for Spring!! Just Maybe!!!!!

What Will They Become ???

Will they be architects,

engineersveterinarians,

oceanographers,

environmentalists,

musicians, political scientists ?

As a parent, at this point in my parenting career, I am acutely aware of the questions that my kid's are posing to themselves and mulling over in their minds on a daily basis for the elder and more occassionally for the younger. At this point I can confidently say that they already are all of these people!! They constantly express concerns and opinions on most of these topics on a daily basis. Which will they choose to follow as their life's path? It will probably be some amalgam of several. As we wait for the envelopes to arrive, hoping for thick ones, we contemplate all of the possibilities for our children. Matthew has relaxed a good deal after getting a very quick acceptace to his 3rd choice school, but we anticipate the arrival of the others!

I am very aware of how very lucky my family is to be where we are and able to consider endless possibilities for our kids. I do so pray that all children might have those in their lives to support endless possibilities for them as they grow up into adults. I know that there are so many parents who cannot take a moment to dream but must constantly fight to get through each day and not dare to dream. What will become of their children, and their children's dreams? Ok, I am going down a dark road here and that was not my intent! I do wish that all of us could work towards a place where all kids could fullfill their dreams- what a wonderful world that would be!!

My intent for this post was to share a creation with you!! My kids have returned to school after 11 days of absense due to the snow storms. We are approaching a return to status quo in our household and it is getting better for all of us. Routines are good for all of us!
During the days away from school, my daughter and her girl friend established their own work routine outside. I got into a routine of drying mittens and hats and washing warm socks and drying snow pants and jackets in readiness for the next days constructiuon. The girls have demonstrated a strong interest in achitecture and tenaciously created this wonderful igloo.

As a kid growing up in the North East I can remember dreaming of creating such a structure after large snow falls but never got there. The girls really stuck with this project and did a beautiful job!

Being a parent is an amazing journey of daily discoveries and rewards. These two will go far and they will go wherever they choose, down whatever path is available. I will surely keep you updated on their adventures !!
I will always remind them that when life gives you snow, go out and make an Igloo!!!