New Year, New Beginnings

I love making collages if I can stay out of my head. This is not easy at times, but when it happens, the world disappears. Creating "Quiet Joy" took a while to get to the get out of your head stage. I am happy and hope whomever takes it home, enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it.

The Brush Art Gallery and Studios has been good to me so when the opportunity to support them, I jumped at the chance. They are asking artists to create a piece of art on a 4" x 4" canvas. The event is called FOUR by FOUR for Education and is on display from March 4 - 14 with the fundraising event occurring on March 14 at 2:00.

"The Four by Four raises funds for the Brush Scholarship fund and Special Perspectives. A $1000 scholarship is granted to a deserving University of Mass Lowell art student. Special Perspectives programming brings art instruction to challenged adults, currently Megan's House, a transition program for young women recovering from addiction."

There is still time to participate. Deadline is February 26. Mine is in the mail! 

Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone

Reaching for the Boro'd Moon

I like storms. They let  me know that even the sky screams sometimes too.   
                                              - Alice James-Book

For more than fifteen years, I have made putting stretch marks on my comfort zone a practice. Whenever I feel I am getting complacent, I look for something that makes me uncomfortable. When Cathy Neri approached me at Fantastic Fibers and suggested I do an artist residency in Paducah, I was hit with an uncomfortable moment. Crap! I applied and to my surprise, I was granted a two week residency at A.I.R. Studio in Paducah, Kentucky. I begin on September 2 so the count down has begun and I will be sharing more about what I want to accomplish in the days to come.

A Woman's Work, A Woman's Story

But first, I want to catch you up since I have been terrible about keeping this blog up-to-date. I have been going through old journals. I had high hopes after a crushing 2013 with nine friends dying that 2014 was going to be better. Only it wasn't. It was a year of lots of rejection, my husband being laid off from his job and all the stress that it caused, and my dad died. Remembering these tough times makes me appreciate all the great things that have been happening in my life. I try my best to practice gratitude. I have had lots of successes the last 19 months to the point that I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.  My work continues to be accepted into gallery exhibits. The most recent is Something Boro, Something Blue at the Brush Art Gallery and Studios in Lowell, Massachusetts. I entered two pieces and both got in! Not only that but "Reaching for the Boro'd Moon" was selected as the postcard image for the exhibit! To honor the Japanese tradition of boro I only used fabrics leftover from other projects that included a discarded print of my hand and arm and the indigo dyed dupioni moon. My other piece is a dress that is part of a series. It is titled "A Woman's Work, A Woman's Story." The opening is next month (August 11). Wish I could be there. If you get a chance, send me your thoughts.  Keep creating!