{local art graffiti}...

I love to catch the messages

we are receiving all the time.

It's just a matter of being present in our lives.

I could just have easily have missed this little graffiti sign

as not.  And who knows how long its been there.  I drive by this fence often.



The original ~ on the street...

Have any of you locals seen it?

{da vinci for everyone}...

While we have all heard of and know Da Vinci's art.

I have never felt his art before.

To feel so connected to his art and perhaps even Da Vinci himself was unexpected.

But that's what happen.  I had spent several hours (it's been raining again) working in PSE

with two of my favorite images of his.  And when I had finished and stepped back

to look at the finished pieces this art felt like it was real and alive in my live.



Head of Madonna

and

Female Head

After all these centuries, his art is available to everyone.  So dare I say,

I hope he would approve.   

{freshing up the blog banner}...

Well ~ even though I haven't been spending much time blogging lately

I felt my banner really needed a renewal.

So here it is. 

I'm still spending most of my time relaxing and gardening.  Although

after the storms this week, in which hail and wind destroyed most of the flowering plants

and trees.  (I have leaves plaster to the front of my house).  Its more like major clean up than gardening.

So while the rains have stopped, for now,  I think I will go outside and do some more clean up play some more.  Play because here in Arizona we do love the rain.

{OMG I don't even recognize blogger}...

When I did my last post I didn't know I would be gone sooooo long.

I've been doing more home decor projects and gardening then art of late and

I've also been doing a lot of reading and contemplation this summer.  Just relaxing. 

But I've got the collage show coming up in August at

The Raven Cafe here in Prescott.  I wanted to do at least one fiber piece for the show.

So I ask by looking at the photo below what could all this mess I mean layers be?

 This is how it all starts.  Collage means layers so...  Grab a bunch of fabric for the collage layers,

rip them into strips, mix in a few thoughts and then lay them all out into some kind of

cohesive whole.

Below is the result.  This project sort of took hold of me and wouldn't let go until

I completed it.  Whenever I tried to go in another direction nothing worked.

I spent a whole day trying to go another direction and at the end of the day

I had nothing.  It felted like such a waste of time.  

But in the morning it was clear that this is what I needed to complete before

moving on.

 I kept the edges raw, a layer, which seemed a bit odd for such a large piece.

But I got over it.

I've gotten comfortable with loose threads and raw edges for my art journals

but this was different.  Or at least I thought it was thinking you "shouldn't"

have raw edges and threads.  But it would have been a very different look if I had seamed

all the edges.  I would not have liked it nearly as much.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the raw edges.

 Close ups

It reads

...and just when

you think the whole world is going to implode

from hatred, separateness, and fear

when light, liberty, and sacredness are missing

their are still  those who will see the beauty

who will act with kindness

and

who will live with hope and gratitude

these are the souls that carry

the entire planet

I've put this thought into my own words which I've adapted

from a quote I read from Tut Notes from the Universe

Like I said I've been spending time contemplating things lately

and this just took hold of me.

Now I need to keep blogging.  I feel so out of it.

{one last blast of winter}...

While we are experiencing a winter blizzard - 18" of snow and counting.

I have been spending a little time in PSE with some photos of spring flowers

knowing full well spring will return shortly.

I'm really glad I didn't plant the peony shrub outside on Friday.



{more fiber and poem}...

You may remember when I got this window frame last year.

Since then I have played with different ways to use and display it.

My first decision was whether or not to put glass in it.  I decided I would if I could find some "interesting" glass.

So off my sister and I went to a local glass shop.  He had some textured glass that seem perfect.

So I added glass.  The texture is subtle and difficult to see it the photo.  But it looks old.  And heavy.

Now

for my most recent use of the frame I stitched a

 Hafiz poem title using ribbon to add width to the lettering.  I want the stitching to be large so the whole poem

was out of the question for this piece.  Although the whole poem may show up at a later time.



the poem in it's entirety.

Who wrote all the music

Why is it now
that I come to you like a humble servant
willing to feed you brilliant words and love
from my own sacred mouth and hands,

willing to say, "I am sorry,
I am sorry for all your pain"?

It is because when God
fully revealed Himself in me.

I saw that it was Hafiz
who wrote all the music you have been playing.

I saw it was Hafiz
who wrote all your notes of sadness,
but also etched and gave you
every ecstatic wince of joy your face, body,
and heart has ever known.

Okay my dear,
you have stumbled enough in the earth's sweet dance,
you have paid all your dues
many times.

Now let's get down to the real reason
why we sit together and breathe

and begin the laughing, the divine laughing,
like great heroic women
and magnificent
strong men.  ~ Hafiz

{the post that almost had no title}...

3 finished pieces. 

 I only used one of the original photo collages I started with. 

I wanted something with a bit less of a polished look.  So I chose

a couple of my first paintings.

But how to attach?  There are so many options.

 After considering encaustic.  I went with gel and matte medium instead.

I know these materials better.  My experiments using encaustic are still to unpredicatable.

More on that someday.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the sides.   

A solid color white or black would have been fine

but I wanted something "different".  Whatever that meant. 

I had a grunge ribbon around them for a while and I was about to

go with that when inspiration struck.

Laying on the desk top were writing scraps from

another printing experiment.

It was the perfect touch.

It was just what I was wanting.

{6X6 Canvas Art ~ paper}

A couple of little pieces of canvas art. 

Collecting paper can be as addicting

as collecting fabric.  So it was time to dive into my paper stash for

a little collage work.

I've been starting the day with this in my mind.

It's layer upon layer of paper petals or rays depending on whether

I see a sunflower or the sun



 The second piece is a quote from Walt Whitman.

Made of far fewer layers.  I could keep adding more

and more and it may be just as fun but I tend to like the simple clean layout . So I stop. 

It's bright and cheery and

the quote helps set me free.