A Year's Reflection ~ 2016

I do not usually do much reflection about a passing year or set goals for the year.  Last year was different, to motivate myself,  I set a goal to show more of my work in 2016.  With that in mind, it is time to look back and see what became of the auspicious plan.  I was able to show pieces in Washington, Oregon, Texas and Nevada.  Here is a brief synopsis of the year. 

1. Enso 2, Texas Quilt Museum, SAQA, On the Fringe regional juried group show.
Constructed from hand dyed fabrics, eco printed cottons and silks, painted, machine and hand stitched.

Enso 2

Enso 2 - detail

 Enso 2, will show again at the Harrington Gallery in northern California, March 2017.  Then it goes into a private collection.






2. Oysterville, Washington ~ Then and Now, Visions Gallery, Chandler, Arizona. Art Quilt XX juried selected exhibition and Northwest Quilting Expo, Portland Oregon.
Constructed using cotton fabrics, painted, hand stitched and embellished.   Barn painted and stitched, then appliqued onto the map. Artist's rendition of overhead map of the Wallapa Bay in Washington state.  Resides in a private collection.

Machine piecing and layering of Oysterville map

Bard-Heim Barn, originally on site in Oysterville

Oysterville, Washington

3. Moon Over Bourbon Street, Quilt and Fiber Arts Festival, La Conner Washington. Juried show, winning second place Fiber Art Created Textile category.
Constructed with photoshop created print on cotton, free motion machine stitched, and oil painted.

Moon Over Bourbon Street

Moon Over, detail

4. Enso One, Las Vegas City Hall, juried program for the arts (2015-2016).
Constructed using commercial fabrics, machine appliqued and long arm quilted by professional and good friend, Linda Natale.

Enso One

Stitch detail

5. Dead Horse Canyon, Desert Quilters of Nevada, First Place in Art Quilts, Place category.
Constructed with photoshop digital photo transfer on to canvas, ink penning, oil paint, hand made copper and brass embellishments, free motion machine stitched.

Dead Horse Canyon ~ construction

Dead Horse image

Hand crafted embellishment, from drawing to fabrication

6. Shelia, Visions Gallery, Chandler, Arizona. Juried selected exhibition.
Constructed using twice printed cotton for lizard, hand embroidery on boarders, free motion quilted, machine pieced and appliqued.

Shelia

7. Spiral, SAQA, Traveling Show
Constructed using original drawing on paper with ink and pen, photoshop rendered, transferred onto cotton, inked to bring up color, machine free motion stitched.

Spiral

Spiral detail of stitch

Spiral, Original pen and ink on paper work enhanced in Photoshop

Well that is my year in review.   All of these pieces have been featured in previous blog posts.  Check around in old posts if you'd like more details. I hoped you enjoyed the year in review pieces as much as I enjoyed the creative processes shown.  This year I plan to go bigger and hopefully better.

Follow your dreams; they will take you to places unexpected.

More Street Art and City Photos of Lisbon

Of all the photos taken the ones most commented upon were those of the Street Art we happened upon in Lisbon.  The cityhas embraced the work of street artists local and international. The Portuguese capital is now known as one of the cities in the world with the best street art.  Here I present more of the art we happened upon during our daily rambles through the city.  Lost was often the best way to discover the best art.

Trolley Tracts w Street Art

Trolley

Trolley Detail

Street Art Detail

Love Street Art

Street Art

Art in Front of Pharmacia

Local Doorway

Street Art ~ Mouraia

What I loved about Lisbon was the street art, the light and the architecture. The city is know for it's seven hills.  It seemed that everywhere we went an other view came into view.  We took the tram one afternoon to the end the the line which dropped us off at a hillside cemetery.  From there we walked through residential neighborhoods and parks.  Throughout the city central squares, large and small, provided places for people to gather.  Hole in the wall cafes were around every corner. Simple but fresh daily entries were available as well as coffees and pastries.

View to River

Typical Street

City of Seven Hills

Convent Roof Collapse after Earthquake

Convent

City View

Night in Lisbon

Street View

Ever Changing Street Art

Roof Top from Below

Roof Tops from Above

Cemetery Street

Inside a Crypt

Cemetery Cats

Fountain in Park

Restaurant Fare

Cobble Stones with Designs

 I would like to return to Lisbon to take in more of the sights and the air and the light and the food and the people. 

A Date with Madrid and Lisbon ~ 2017

Hello and Happy New Year.  I had a surprise date with Madrid Espana and Lisboa Portugal in the month of January.  What a wonderful way to start the new Year. We traveled to Madrid first, spent four days in the area called the Reiro, and then headed by night train to Lisbon, Portugal for three full days.  Because of the off season, we were able to enjoy the cities more as the locals do.

The two most memorable things about Madrid are El Retiro Park and the art museums.  El Retiro Park which we walked through daily is 350 acres of lawns, trees, fountains, avenues and paths.  The park is the center of the city even in winter.  It is entirely surrounded by the present-day city. Couples walk hand in hand, families stroll, and runners traverse trails at all times of day.  Madrid's avenue of art consists of three major museums, Museo del Prado, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, and  Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.  All were within walking distance from our apartment.  Seeing art up close is amazing.  The layers come to life, the colors vibrate, and the compositions inspire.

Madrid Inspirations in photos:

Buen Retiro Park

Crystal Palace ~1887

Retiro Statue ~ Paseo de las Estatuas

Madrid at night

Joan Miró i Ferrà - 1966
Pájaro lunar (Moon Bird), 1966, Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid

Then we were onto Lisbon Portugal via the night train from Madrid to Lisbon.  While we thought we'd be able to catch a night's sleep on the train, the train stops and starts periodically throughout and night. All in all the adventure was worth the few hours of sleep had.  Lisbon is a city of gracious people, cobblestones, avenues and alleys, and hilly terrain.  The food and the light of the city makes for a foodie's and photographer's paradise.

Lisbon Inspirations in photos:

Remains of Church after 1755 Earthquake

Lisbon walk way

Church Interrior

Apartment plumbing

View from Boutique Hotel

Street graffiti

Wall of Street Art

Detail of Graffiti

Rusted rose from cemetery tomb

River Tagus

Building tile

Traveling abroad brought me home again. I am blessed with the abundance of  opportunity our country provides.  I have the time, the resources, the support of family and friends, and the space to grow art.  Thoughts of becoming an expat dissolved as I realized the wealth I have in my own backyard.  As Dorthy stated in the Wizard Of Oz, "There's no place like home." 

Xmas Cards and E Magazine

Hello and to all a happy holiday.  The Texas Quilt Museum sent out an E_Magazine to this year's art  participants and supporters.  I was pleased to see the quilt Enso II featured for the SAQA Regional show last summer at the museum in the December E_Magazine on page 7.  It is an honor to be included with the best of the best.  Smiling and humbled here.  What a very nice way to end the year.

Next, I enjoyed our chilly Las Vegas weather by staying home and inside making Xmas cards to be sent to friends and family.  Each year I try to change the craft up a bit.  The joy of crafting each card by hand and adding my own mark is so motivating.  I would gauge this activity as a labor of love, loving it all the way.

I crafted two different cards this year; one series using wool felt and the other series re-purposing silk and foil.  The felted tree was created using pre-felted wool, wool roving in various colors, and embroidery threads.  The tree and background are needle felted first, then washed in a gentle cycle, dried and hand stitched.  The washing of the needle felted piece, causes the piece to felt further and provides an excellent surface on which to add texture and color through stitch.  Not only do you end up with some colorful original art, it is also a great way to experiment with the needle felting processes as you go.

The great thing about these cards is that the benefactor can re-cycle by cutting the card in half and using the decorative portion as a post card.  Is this something like passing it forward?  I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Silk and felt materials

Silk scraps sewn to felt

Silk bulb Xmas card

Felted, stitched Xmas Tree card

Hope to see you in the New Year !!!