San Luis Obispo, CA is a magical place where flora and color abound.  This time of year the colors of everything seem especially vibrant.  I visited the San Luis Obispo California Mission (5th in a series) and then the San Luis Obispo Art Museum where a current exhibit by Sha Sha Higby is displayed.  She works in three demensions with fibers, metals, clay and other objects.  Her pieces are stunning.
  Entrance to the museum is free.  I love finding new sources of inspiration and the museum is now on the list.

Mission San Luis

Mission Window

Mission Wall - Detail

The mission was fun to photograph because of all the texture and contrasts.  Having left my camera at home, these photos were taken with an iphone.

Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

The expressions on these works as well as the details to each piece are astoundingly beautiful.

Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

To view more detail click on the photo for a larger format.  You can tell I am in love with her work. I hope you enjoy them, too.

Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

Back of face ~Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

Sha Sha Higby ~ Artist

Ghost Owl ~ re-worked

  Below is a re-working of a quilt called Ghost Owl.  The owl was outlined in white embroidery thread.  The quilt lacked a focal point which was to be the owl.  While the hand work on the owl is interesting, the lack of contrast caused the owl to fade into oblivion.
  I re-worked the owl by adding bits of painted tightly woven mesh material.  The bits were cut into feather shapes, outlines and shadows then either sewn or fused onto the quilt.  This fabric addition gave the owl more definition and greater texture.
  I knew I was not finished with the piece months ago, but was unsure about what it needed.  So it hung in my closet until the inspiration in shape of a piece of material arrived at my doorstep.  Thank goodness for the divine in the creative process.  There is more to come.
  Click on the photos to see the thread work and added materials in greater detail.

Owl - Original - Detail

Owl - Re-worked - Detail

Salon at 27 Rue de Fleurus

Salon at Rue de Fleurus, Paris

  In the times of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, parisian avant-gardes of the early 20th century, artists fleurished at the Salon at 27 Rue de Fleurus.  Wouldn't it be exciting to join them for an evening?
  The May challenge for Art Quilts, Etc. was to design a piece depicting a time in the past or a time in the future.  I choose the salon at the Stein's apartment in Paris.  The Steins, Gertrude and her brother, Leo, were instrumental in supporting such artist as Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Honoré Daumier, Henri Matisse, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
    I am drawn to the colors and the techniques of the early 1900 painters in Paris.  Salon at Rue de Fleurus, Paris uses the colors of Matisse's paintings (1943-1953).  The background blue and orange fabrics were machine pieced.   Matisse's women were quilted and then appliqued onto the background.