Guest blogger over at the LillStreet Textile Blog

Hi,
I plan to write a more in depth blog entry later tonight, but till then, I wrote a little entry for the LillStreet Textile Blog on 'Inspiration' over here:

http://lillstreettextiles.blogspot.com/2011/05/inspiration.html
(for some reason blogger does not want to publish my links...I hit the link button and paste in the link but it doesn't work...I will have to investigate further)

Texture Tuesday

It is snowing here in Chicago. It has been snowing since last night and it is still snowing. It has not been a heavy snow but is has been fairly steady. We will supposedly have between 8 and 12 inches when all is said and done tomorrow (and I believe it). This was what it looked like looking out my back door earlier this afternoon:



I decided to venture out in the snow and see what the rest of the backyard looked like. I was fascinated by some of the textures I found in the snow.
Like footprints...


and curves created by opening the gate...


and water droplets dropping into the snow from the eves...


and lastly you can almost see individual snowflakes on these red berries (such a wonderful contrast)...


All this wonderful texture to think on. I wonder what tomorrow morning will bring?

Inspiration Monday

I am looking for inspiration to get my buttocks moving. I have spent most of today surfing the net and only doing a little of the organizing I planned (and so far not even a lick of art making...maybe some art gestating...maybe). So I started organizing some photos and found this one. This is the poster child of industriousness. This will be my inspiration for the rest of the evening.



Oh and just for a little contrast in photos I guess we will be getting more of this tomorrow...snow...lots of snow (though not as much as the East Coast got). Maybe the weather is what has my motivation sluggish.

May Day

Since it is now just past midnight it is officially May 1 or May Day. It is also my wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that I have been married for sixteen years. It doesn't seem that long. Hubby and I are going away for the weekend to celebrate.

On the art front, I printed two scarves today with thickened dye. Soon as they are done batching and are washed I will put up a couple pictures. The circle embroidery project is coming along (but slowly). Maybe I will post some in progress pictures of that on Monday. In the meantime here are a couple pictures for your inspiration. They were taken in a park near Chinatown in Chicago last spring.

Not much exciting going on at the moment artwise

Been working slowly on that embroidered and silk screened circle project. I still need to take a photo of it. Maybe when I get my camera back tomorrow or on Friday I will get around to it (loaned it to a friend for a bit who needed it to photograph her work). Also, at some point this week or next, I need to work on making some pre-felts for a felting class I am taking with Jorie Johnson come June at the SDA conference post-conference workshops. I am really looking forward to her class. I expect to learn a lot. I have her book. I wonder if it would be too fan-girlish if I asked her to autograph it? I also need to order some more Finn wool (from Misty Mountain Farm and maybe some dyed Finn wool from New England Felting Supply). Some Blue Faced Leicester from Marr Haven would be good too (and maybe some variegated Merino from them too). For Merino Wild Turkey Felt is a good supplier also. I think I have just listed most of my suppliers (I have also gotten carding combs for my mother from Pacific Wool and Fiber). As far as silk goes I order from either Thai Silks or Dharma. Although when I want silk immediately I go to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. Dharma is also a good supplier for dyes and such. I have also heard good things about Pro-Chemical but have not ordered from them as of yet. Anyway, I am off to bed, so I am going to put an end to my ramblings. Oh, and one more picture for inspiration. Goodnight.

Been A While

It has been a while since I posted. It has just been so very busy. There was a lot of work at the beginning of the year because everyone wanted to get their stuff together for taxes. I was also taking a class titled 'Embellished Screen Printing' taught by a lady named Camille Canales at the LillStreet Art Center. You can check out her website here: http://camillecanales.com/home.html . She does really cool embroidery and bead work on fabric. Anyway, the class involved screen printing and then embellishing your screen printed item with embroidery and beading. It was a really enjoyable class. If you live in Chicago I highly recommend checking out the LillStreet Art Center. If you live in the northern suburbs of Chicago I highly recommend the Evanston Art Center. Although for fiber classes LillStreet offers more. I have taken a number of classes at both art centers and both have some really good instructors.
I need to get around to taking pictures of the pieces I produced in Camille's class. I also have been working on a huge felted and stuffed form that I need to take pictures of. I have really been lazy lately about taking pictures of my work. So, I think I will put up a couple of pictures just for inspiration (from a trip I took to Wetumpka AL and New Orleans LA a few years ago). Maybe it will inspire my lazy self to go take some pictures. For your viewing enjoyment:







I hope this provided inspiration.