Spring

Reception at ACME last night

Bird By Bird opening tonight

Contemporary Fibers and Textiles Exhibition Photos

Here are some of the photos from the fiber exhibition I co-curated with gallery owner, Daniel North at the art studio in Cut Bank, MT:

Leather Mask Making Workshop at ECU

I had a great time this weekend at the leather mask making workshop I did for the wood guild at ECU.

Progress Report 5

Well, here's the grouping of fabric collages in their nearly finished stage. They turned out differently than they looked in my imagination. I'll admit that I took my inspiration for the overall shape from a seashell noodle. The ribbing on the noodles create a very cool texture and I wanted to replicate that in thus piece. This challenge of gathering inspiration from textures and replicating it in fabric, was an assignment in the construction class in taking this semester at ECU. The goal was to use a few of the fabric manipulation techniques that we have been learning about. Overall, a great learning and problem solving experience for me, but ultimately, I'm not thrilled that everyone thinks they're clam shells.

Progress Report 4 - adding wire

Still needs some work. There are 3, maybe 4, of these in total. They will be displayed at various heights, and in one - this one, I've embedded an audio component. More to come....

Progress Report 3

Got back from Florida Sunday night and started working on my fabric sculptures again. I finished the sewing and washed the pieces to allow the edges to fray. The next step was to snip an incision and feed in some wire and fill each pocket with bird seed. I love the look but WOW...time consuming!!! I'm basically moving the seed down one or two at a time by stroking the outside with the tip of a chop stick! This process will take forever. Another thing I didn't account for is the delicate nature of my outermost materials...Silks. They are two kinds but both paper thin and just want to snag on everything. Here's a veiw of how the pockets look with the bird seed incorporated.

Cast Shadows

Welcome Back Mr Sunshine!

Ringling in the Rain

Rockwell at Ringling

It was a real treat to see the new exhibit, In Search of Norman Rockwell's America, at the Ringling Museum of Art. The museum juxtaposed the images of photographer Kevin Rivoli along side Rockwell's paintings and illustrations.

This Rockwell painting was so moving. It was one of the first he did as he transitioned from doing feel good Post covers to illustrating more important topics that Americans were dealing with.

Pineapple Express

Yesterday's rain gave us a chance to do some fun indoor activities. We especially enjoyed the big Pineapple Antiques Sow and Sale going on in Sarasota. Lots of vintage fabrics, lace, books, dishes, and of course...a baked goods table overflowing with stacks of yummy things made by the little church ladies.

Taliban Smack Down

On Wednesday, I had an opportunity to hear a lecture by Pervez Musharraf, the former President of Pakistan. The lecture was part of a series called Town Hall Lectures sponsored by the Ringling College Library Association. Other lectures have included folks like Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, and Bill Clinton, to name a few. My goal was to get a photo of me and Per-diddy doing a knuckle bump...it didn't happen.

More info:

President Pervez Musharraf occupied, what TIME Magazine described as ‘‘the most dangerous job in the world,’’ playing a crucial role in the global war on terror. President Musharraf has survived two assassination attempts; rooted out militants in his own government; helped direct countless raids against Al Qaeda - both in his cities and in the mountains; and tracked Osama Bin Laden with technical and human intelligence. His astonishingly revealing memoir, In the Line of Fire, chronicles his struggles for the security and political future of his nation, with high stakes for the world at large.

At the start of his presidency, political restructuring was one of the four areas of focus for his government. He began examining why democracy remained dysfunctional in Pakistan and addressed the core malaise. He empowered the people of Pakistan at the grass roots level through a local government system, which did not previously exist; the women of Pakistan were empowered by gaining reserve seats at every tier of the Parliament; multiple private TV channels were allowed for the first time in the history of Pakistan, and the electronic and print media began operating independently of the government.

Following the September 11th terror attacks, the United States sought President Musharraf’s support to fight the Taliban. With a vision for a modern, democratic, non-fundamentalist Islamic Pakistan, President Musharraf was one of America’s greatest allies in helping to fight the Taliban.

In the course of his seven years at the helm of affairs in Pakistan, President Musharraf traveled widely all over the world and met many prominent leaders, and many of those leaders came to Pakistan and interacted with him. Such top-level interactions allowed him to develop a sense of the geo-strategic realities of the world, and various conflict regions. It also crystallized his views and perceptions of key world issues. President Musharraf articulated one such thought to bring harmony into distraught regions in the form of a ‘‘strategy of Enlightened Moderation’’. This captured the imagination of the West in particular, and was adopted by the Islamic World for Enlightened Moderation.

President Musharraf had a vision for Pakistan, and still believes that it is a nation that has all the resources, the potential and all the human capability to be transformed into a progressive, moderate, prosperous Islamic State.

East / West; Opening Tonight

Cool! My piece made the postcard.

Rain, Rain Go Away...

Spice and Tea

One of the coolest shops that we've visited in Sarasota so far is the Spice and Tea Exchange on St. Armands Circle. Check out the sweet tea blends and the smokey salts, herbs or spices : http://www.spiceandtea.com

Ruffles

I'm finding this whole crochet thing to be a wonderfully relaxing indulgence! This is another scarf I'm working on this evening. A sweet evening in with hubby; quiet except for the sound of the ocean kissing the sandy beach outside - which is nearly being outdone by the chill Parisian CD we picked up while poking around the shops in downtown Sarasota.

To Life

C'est le Via!

Sarasota Architectural Salvage

Today I died and went to heaven...well, nearly...we found a huge architectural salvage wearhouse overflowing with the coolest treasures on the planet. I got a cast iron door knocker that will be the perfect accent to our future house, whenever that may be.

Check out the website: http://www.sarasotasalvage.com/index.php

Good Morning Florida!

Yesterday we made our annual Spring Break pilgramage to Longboat Key, Florida. This morning we had a lazy day breakfast and enjoyed an amazing view from our balcony.

Fabric Sculptures - progress

New work in progress

It doesn't look like much yet, but this is the start of a fabric sculpture. I'm pulling out all of the stops and incorporating several of my newly acquired sewing techniques...layering hand dyed and silk screened fabric, then doing reverse appliqué, fraying, and creating pockets to fill with...to be continued.