Summer Travels, Summer Art

Summer Travels, Summer Art

Sonoma county in Northern California is an artist mecca.  The wing sculpture was made by a local resident Jeromy for his wife Jenny.  My friend Marian and I hit the local thrift shop where I was able to pick up hand dyed fabrics for a fraction of their original costs.

Large sculptured Wings

Wing Detail

I spent a week at the Wilber's cabin in Arnold, Ca. The solitude defined me for the week.  I visited local shops and an annual flea market, attended the Bear Valley Music Festival and enjoyed opera, swam in the evenings at the Lake, and immersed myself in art making.  Having little to distract, I could focus, start and complete several pieces.  While at the cabin I played with several textile ideas.

Ceramic cups for sale in Murpys

Murphys, Ca

One such small project, Enso Three, was made by mono printing hand dyed fabrics and then hand stitched with #5 embroidery thread.  The larger pearl cotton threads creates strong lines.  The piece is finished by enveloping white gauze and stitching to the batting of wool felt.  Enso Three will be entered in SAQA's Trunk Show Exhibit for 2017.  I am keeping my fingers crossed.  The challenge with a small piece is to create interest and movement with in limited parameters (7 niches by 10 inches).  I have been treating the back of my recent pieces as opportunities to continue the front motifs.

Enso Three; 7 by 10 inches

Enso Three, back

Sheer backing envoloped

While in Arnold

Fly In Lake

Steps to the Wilber Cabin

White Pines Lake

Exploring felting has become a new passion.  Most knitting shops carry a variety of roving types and colors which I use as my paint box in needle felting.  The foundation of the heart piece is 100% wool felt.  The greens and yellow wool roving are needle felted into the foundation.  The heart was created using wool yarn purchased half price in downtown Murphys, CA.  Prior to adding pearle cotton embroidery, the wool was washed and air dried which felts the fibers further. 

Foundation Felting of Heart

 

Completed Heart

Felted Bowl, a first try

 

From northern California I traveled to Bend Oregon and then up to Washington state to visit with family.  The drive back to Vegas brought me through rural communities.  I would love to do an expose capturing the heart and soul of those communities in photographs.  I was able to do a bit of that using the iphone camera.

We atteneded a family reunion in Bend, Oregon.  Hiking along the river was breath taking.  Nature's grandure reminds me of how blessed I am.

Bend, Oregon

Along the Deshutes River

Rapids

River Hike

Deschutes River, Bend Oregon

Quiet on the River