joanell

Food and Art in L.A.

2012-01-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

Just before the new year, my friend Pam and I made a trip into LA near the train station and Alvera Street. First we had lunch at Phillipe the Original/Home of the French Dipped Sandwich
www.philippes.com/ Pam had to have the pickled egg in addition to the sandwich, I love the cole slaw.

Then we hunted down the Charlie James Gallery www.cjamesgallery.com/ to see a solo show by one of our collective favorite artists - Elizabeth Higgins O'Connor. www.elisabethhigginsoconnor.com Years ago my son Brian was a ceramics student at Long Beach State. He called one day and said I had to some see the current senior show. I went and then I called Pam and said, you have to go see the current senior show - that is how we fell in love with Elizabeth. We collected student work and have tried to followed her progress.

Currant show is entitled - Dreadful Sorry Clementine - not sure why, check out gallery website and pdf of show catalog for more info. And I love the name of the show.

I felt my cane and his crutches blended well

Meet Pam. These wonderful creatures are larger than life.

Materials - to my mind they are - 2 x 4 wood, screws from a power drill, found fabric objects (bathroom mats), upholstery fabrics. corrugated cardboard, paint. But it is the way she puts it all together.

Pam and I were in love.

there is no eyeball, but rather the build up of the bone structure eluding to an eye. You could poke your finger into the eye (not that we did) but the eye ball was an illusion. Loved it!

I am including bad photos of Brian's recent work for Crafty Wonderland in Portland - these are extra vases he left here after Christmas. They are about 8 to 10 " tall. I love then.

October Art Fun

2011-10-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

I recently made cards for the only art fair I am doing this fall. Artistic License was this last weekend and it was great. Plus you could not have asked for better weather - sandals and short sleeves. And it was a great show.

I intend to use these cards as this years Christmas cards, assuming I accomplish that task - good intentions.

This is a sample, each card is unique. They are like little quilts mounted in the blank greeting cards that have a window or frame.

The process

I started with a photo, manipulated it in Photoshop. then uploaded the image to http://www.spoonflower.com, an online fabric printing site and ordered a quarter yard.

This is the basic image I sent off to be printed.

I took this fabric, using a silk screen, I screenprinted silver paint onto the image, in a ramdom pattern, and then

Then I did the same random printing with a stencil, sponge and red textile paint.

The end result

I quilted the fabric to batting, cut them into rectangles and made cards

Here is another example
The same process on a second pattern I had printed by Spoonflower

My intentions here are to share the process, any questions - please ask.

October - how did that happen??

2011-10-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in Joshua Tree, Ca, with a friend. We attended 2 - 1 day workshops with Ellen Hill, a water-colorist. On location in Joshua Tree National Park, way out, behind lock gates and awesome. Ellen was great, the other students interesting and sharing and the scenery magnificent. Son Brian learned to rock climb in this park.

With the right frame of mind and incite, the desert is beautiful. The 2 park ranger volunteers were also wonderful.

And apparently no blog would be complete without food.

We went to Ruby's Restaurant at the end of the Huntington Beach Pier. Meet daughter Erin and Michael.
Michael, a 20 yr. vegetarian having a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich - he said he had been thinking about bacon. Pork seems to be something people dream about.

And Tom the wood turner These are segmented wood bracelets. He is busy buying all sorts of wood to cut into really tiny pieces to make bracelets. Ebony wood apparently goes for $98. a board foot. Too bad I like black and white. A Capricorn accountant - appears to be a perfect match for segmented wood.

Happy Columbus Day, apparently no mail delivery

Mid September

2011-09-23T22:06:00.001-07:00

Tom and I were in Portland, Ore - for a long weekend. This is a photo of some of my favorite men. Brian, who was celebrating a birthday and his dad, my first husband. Brian treated us to several great restaurants, even one that had and needed no sign out front. We attended several of the TBA = time based arts performances. Getting your mind around performance art is an art. I explains it thus - i stand on the corner jumping up and down for an hour - that is performance art. This is not to make trivial of the real art and we saw several memorable performances.

Said son got a sewing machine for his birthday. He found a fur jacket at Red/white/black thrift store and wanted to know if the machine would handle the fur. Sometimes you got to wonder.

Tom has gone back to wood turning school and this semester is working on bracelets. I think he has gone over the hill - 48 or so of these little things makes a bracelet. Now how much would that cost in the free market?
Went to lunch with a friend in Anaheim. There on her table were a couple of ceramic pieces of Brian"s, what fun.
She uses the old dresser scarves on her table and tops the scarves with art.

Last Saturday we went to the wedding of a child we have known since she was 2. Her parents are dear dear friends and our companions are dear dear friends.

Nice to get dressed up and celebrate. We all need to celebrate MORE, what are we waiting for.

30

august became september

2011-09-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

August seemed so long and yet went so fast.

The American Sewing Guild held their National Convention downtown L A at the Bonaventure Hotel. As a member and a Bernina Designer, I was invited to show one of my garments. Tick Tac Toe is the second from the right, gold and orange. It was fun to see the garment on a mannequin and out of the closet. The blue garment, on the right belongs to Judith Bear and it is wonderful. She won viewers choice at the Bernina Fashion Show in Houston.

Judith and I went to the convention together, visited the vendors and stayed for member fashion show. Dinner is an important part of these events. We each had a Caesar Salad - not the usual presentation but pretty great, sardine and all.

A Friday - it started with an estate sale in Leisure World in Seal Beach. This is a gated senior community and the sales vary but somehow still seem pretty much the same. We do not often "score" at these sales but we have fun.

My companions are Madelyn and Jeanne - friends and my former neighbors going back to 1987. These are gals who know where the bodies are buried, if you know what I mean. We went from Leisure World to a couple of Garage Sales, to my world famous Mexican restaurant in Santa Ana for Fish Tacos.

Then the Goodwill Market Place, with the pickers and the auctions. Bins , 6x6x6, of hardback books were going at auction for $30. No one would tell me what they were planning on doing with these books that had been donated to Goodwill and never made it to the store or didn't sell in the stores.

There are stories to tell with displayed merchandise - I think this one is especially provocative.
Do you sun first and then shower or vice versa.

Then we went to a real honest to goodness Goodwill store and scored.

I left the house at 7:15 for Pilates and returned home about 4. What a great day. Thanks Madd and Jeanne Marie

The month of August, so far

2011-08-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

It is with great honor, I have participated in the Quilts of Valor program. http://www.qovf.org/index.html. I made a quilt top, provided the backing and binding and was paired with a Long Arm Quilter. Colleen quilted and finished our quilt.

I love the picture of our quilt on her long arm machine, it shows process and I love knowing the how and the why of how stuff is made.
This long arm machine is in her living room, as many of these magic machines are. More about Colleens quilting can be found at: www.colleenscreations.com

Colleen was honored to be able to present this quilt to a wounded member of the Armed Services. May it help in their recovery. I have the fabric for my next quilt.

Moving on with the month

THE SPACE BETWEEN, a special exhibit at the Long Beach International Quilt show. My quilt, Life Happens In the Space Between is shown with me standing in front. International Quilt Association presents a great show and I was priviliged to have a piece in this special exhibit. More about the quilt can be seen on my website - http://joanell.com/

And lastly, so far. Tom and I flew to Wyoming to attend the 8th sort of semi-annual Burgert Cousins Family Reunion - it was great. I am submitting just a few of my favorite photos.
The road, the fences, the land and the sky - what is not to like.

The view from my favorite spot on my brothers back patio - storm coming.

Before the storm, my cousin Marilyn and I ran the par course, just imagine our sense of fulfillment after these chin ups.

And I always ask to see a friends favorite photo from a trip, this might be mine (or the chin ups)/ I think it is the worlds biggest dandelion. My sister wouldn't let me keep it and put it into her car and take it home - she had enough of them already. But I love the detail and will try to make a screen or something or not.

And the month is not over - yet.

Photoshop class at Create Retreat

2011-05-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

The class was about working with Photoshop and using the images in your art - collage, paper or fabric. Various programs and skill levels made the class interesting. Working with other students and trying to note their sequence of moves or tricks - made it fun.

And this morning I had breakfast, with iPad in hand, with Rose. She walked me through Blogpress app., giving me the ability of posting on this blog from my much loved and under utilized iPad.

Two days later I made it actually work. This is fun.

Line image of freshly cast ceramic ducks

Same ducks with vegetation overlay

Line drawing of graffiti

Ceramic angel over old post office mail boxes

Having fun with stamps

Glowing Joshua tree - the picture belonged to someone else but she borrowed my flash drive in the class -so! Two images overlapping, one original, the other with ps glowing edges -I think it has possibilities.

Location:All day last Friday

A trip downtown LA and lunch

2011-05-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

It wasn't a field trip but rather a number of destinations. First, the pottery place you could see off the freeway - sort of at the corner of the 110 (Harbor Freeway) and the 91 (Artesia Freeway). You can see it but couldn't get there from here. I have this friend who never says never. ZoeAnn found it.

You can see by the "end " of the road sign that it is not an easy place to find.

Colorful

Artistically inspiring. Then we hit the freeway and headed downtown.

We went to shop for fabric. One never has enough fabric. This is Michael Levines, a downtown LA institution. We went to the "by the pound " loft space - bargains you don't need but buy.

And then there are the streets in the fashiob/garment/fabric district
You often wonder just what country you are actually in - but that is another story.

Then we went for lunch - food is always part of the adventure.
Is this not the most fabulous name for a restaurant?

We had a great lunch, sitting outside, on an island between 2 busy streets. We watched the tour bus arrive at the Orpheum Theater - who knows who was actlually arriving and getting ready to perform on friday evening. This photo is of the back side - the colors and form.

And, we saw this food vendor on the way to our car - we could have eaten here, but didn't

Check out the sign

On retreiveing the car at our roof top parking garage, these where the vistas.

and There are many parts to these adventures. The participants, the itinerary, the food -( lunch is always a part) and the intention. Whatever the intention for this day, we had a great time. As my mother in law used to say - a good time was had by all.

A beautiful day for a Goodwill experience

2011-03-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

For the forth time I found myself at a Goodwill Market place. This is visit #2 for the Marketplace in Santa Ana, Ca. What an operation. Today I was a picker picking for someone else - sort of like a Pro Picker. Pam is/was looking for a particular type of sweater material for her latest collection. She will deconstruct, construct and over dye. She is putting together a collection for a spring fashion show.

We found sweaters for her a a couple of things for me. But the true adventure was learning about the process. Orange County/Santa Ana operation is way way bigger than the one in Long Beach. There are trucks and bins and boxes everywhere. The live auction was in full swing. Auctions are in Spanish unless someone needs it in English, so we grasped only parts of the operation.

A person wins a "lot". That merchandise is gone through and either - packed up to take somewhere, sorted and boxed and stacked or bagged. It all goes away, every day.

Apparently the merchandise is either headed for Mexico, a swap meet or a container.
The guy I talked to indicated that these white bags, full of stuff, were headed to a container and would be going over seas. Seems sales of used US merchandise is big in other places.

Amazing!!!

And I cannot believe I like going to the picker lot and just finding stuff. It limits your pallet, you find what you find. Somehow liberating - who knew?

In my real world I have just finished a quilt - "Life happens in the space between". I am entering this quilt into a juried competition so am not showing the completed quilt, today. The fabrics for this quilt all came from Goodwill.
Blues/greens/ male fabrics from Goodwill Store in Huntington Beach
Red/pinks/ mom type fabrics from Goodwill Marketplace in Santa Ana

I contend I have rescued these fabrics. Who knows their fate. Today there was a sweater from "Free People". It was a small petite so I had no reason to buy, but I do wonder what adventure this sweater will have.

And then, Pam and I went for lunch. Probably the best fish tacos I have ever had.
This is the view of our table but sadly does not include the man across the isle who had catfish in garlic sauce. It was a live catfish when he ordered it and he said it was fabulous.
Great day and thanks for listening,

a creative couple of days

2011-01-26T23:24:00.000-08:00

I have to share the window displays of Anthropology at Fashion Island, Newport Beach. Rumor has it that design school students are the creative minds behind displays. These dresses are created using paper covered wire hangers, like you get from the dry cleaners. I took these photos to share with my dry cleaner.

AND - I participate in a small study/design group that meets every tuesday. We start the day with a word, this week the word was BLOOMING. First we do 5 min. pencil sketch, then a 15 minute something. This is paper collage. I had a page of EYES. If the eyes were flowers they could be blooming

Then we select an image from an art magazinse or high end auction house catalogue. This is my inspiration image, artist unknown,
We do 3 15-20 min. interpretations of the inspiration image.

This week I like what I saw and did. Not every week or trip to the mall is so inspiring. What are you working on?

Ran away for the long weekend

2011-01-17T22:06:00.000-08:00

Tom

This post is about Tom. He fell in love with wood turning this fall. This long holiday weekend we drove north to Sebastopol, Ca. He and his buddy Gary took a 2 day class from a master.

Gary

Tom and the teacher Jerry Kermode and the very thin bowl Tom made.

The leaves are still turning in Sebastopol. This was before sunset with the sun behind me but the moon is very real.

The old Apple Drying buildings across the street from the teachers studio.

Another view of the apple drying building - liberties taken with photo playing.

This was Tom's weekend. I too had a great time seeing Sebastopol, Petaluma, a great yarn store and having tine with a long time friend and lunch with good friends.

The hardest part was driving back down to LA. I hate the drive across LA to Orange County. I consider it driving through the "belly of the beast". Flying in and out is much easier.

As my mother in law used to say - a good time was had by all.

New Year and New Projects

2011-01-03T14:15:00.001-08:00

The Sketchbook Project - I ordered their small sketchbook and let them pick my theme, title.

"If you lived here"

I am just about ready to mail my entry into the Sketchbook Project - through the Brooklyn Art Library. These are some of my favorite pages. Check out the project at http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject/

If you lived here, you might be swimming upstream

If you lived here, you would be wearing large boots

If you lived here, you would be up a tree

If you lived here you would be invited to a party

The project and my work is not great art but parts of it were great fun. If I were to do it again, I would replace the pages with paper that could be glued and painted and stitched. It was a challenge in the end.

the night before thanksgiving

2010-11-24T18:30:00.001-08:00

Sunday I asked that we cancel turkey day. I just was not up to it, truly. I wanted to bring in from the grocery store or the local restaurant. But the promises to help, do it all - prevailed. Tom is great with a turkey and we shall see what time others arrive, and what they bring. I love turkey, my mom's stuffing and totally politically incorrect beans. In the end it will be great, I just don't want to "do dinner". As they say, we shall see what we shall see. I promise to do better with Christmas. It was a great day. Thank you Michael for taking the lead in the kitchen, Tom for doing the turkey, Jack for his enthusiasm, Larry and Barbara for flying from Kentucky and spending the day with us, Spence for being you and Erin - you made the day perfect.

I participate in a weekly design group or gathering. We always begin our morning with a word or saying - drawn from a basket. The words/sayings have been submitted by members previously. LATE LAST NIGHT was the recent saying. Do a 5 minute drawing followed by a 15 + min. interpretation. I usually use paper collage and a glue stick. This is my "late last night", as the sky might have looked with the moon above the rolling hills or furrows of crops. I live no where near either of these visions but I can take poetic license.

The sharing of this exercise has been prompted by Rose Hughes. She does weekly Tuesday Teasers. She can be found at

http://ravenspeakquilts.blogspot.com/2010/11/design-groups-tuesday-teaser.html

And I am currently working on a quilt for Noble Seasons - FALL. I like working with old photos of woman doing something. This gal, a friends grandmother, is chopping wood or preparing a chicken for dinner. As you can see, I am not quite done but I will be. I am also using silk screens of winter trees and a screen of an old house. The house is my son's in Portland and was build in early 1900's so it qualifies for the time. I am curious how this will all turn out.

And getting ready for OPEN STUDIO at my studio the first weekend in Dec. See the notice to the right or left?
Happy Thanksgiving.

Men's Ties - start to finish

2010-10-28T15:00:00.001-07:00

Early last spring I decided to make make men's ties for my fall art fair shows. It took months to get my head wrapped around switching gears - from sewing and "doing lunch" to dying yardage.

I participate in a small design group - we meet weekly at my home. There was interest in trying soy wax batik. Soy is supposed to be far friendlier to the environment, less hazardous and easier to remove than traditional paraffin and bees wax formulas. I found it a pain to remove totally and lines far less crisp. It could have been operator error and others seem to have better results. But I glop wax on, moderation a fleeting thing.

I dyed one yard pieces of silk. Dye on, wax on, dye on, wax on. This is the scene on my patio table - for weeks, it seemed.

Samples of the fabrics in process. I used a square wooden chop on this piece. Layering the dye and the wax, attempting to vary the dye color with each application and the placement of the chop.

I used a sumi brush for this piece -

These are the 4 final fabrics that headed off to the tie maker downtown L.A.

The ties will premier this weekend at Artistic License Art Fair . Hoping for a great show and a nice weekend -

Picker for a day, possible career change

2010-08-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to gather more raw good materials for my "up scaled/repurposed" sweater, jackets , vest and scarves project, Anne and I spent Wednesday, 9 am till 2:30 pm at the "Last Call" yard of Goodwill Industries, in Long Beach.

We, the collective we, place our used items in a bag and deliver to a donation spot - ever wonder what happens? Probably not, I just assumed someone bought my great donations and Goodwill made money. That happens but tons never make to the stores. Before goods wind up in China or Mexico - there are options along the way and this is one. Stuff is $1.90 a pound at Last Call.

We had a great time spending the day with professional "pickers". And once we understood the rules, they were very kind. These gals were sorting machines.

An unfinished sample of end product. ( Thanks Jeanette for modeling)

April and pretty

2010-04-14T21:12:00.001-07:00

It is beginning to look like spring - yeah!!. I do not like winter.

I was in Oakland last week and drove past this house and garden. These are the actual colors of the bark (purple blue), bushes and house color. How could you not stop and take a few dozen photos.

And in my own back yard!. The plant/flower - it reappears each year and only gets bigger and better. The Tea Cup/ bird feeder yard decor is by and from my sister in law, she has a way with decorating - home and garden. The view out my dining room is FAB - even if I do say so.

THE OTHER DOWN UNDER

2010-04-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

Introducing my latest quilt - The Other Down Under. 36" x 48", has been juried into "Beneath the Surface", an invitational-juried show which will premier at the Long Beach IQA quilt show this July. I hope the show travels because the collection of quilts will be fabulous.

Here is a detail - again with the birds. They honestly screamed to be included in this quilt. They are above the earths crust and below - so, obviously a portal exists. And my favorite line for all this is - and who's to say it isn't so.

See the blog for this special exhibit at

HOLLYWOOD AND MONDAY

2010-03-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

This is the star and wreath for actor Peter Graves - downtown Hollywood.

The Kodak Center - these elephants must be 50 feet high. A site to see. Had a great day with dear friends.

This is a scene from the Kodak center looking down onto Hollywood Blvd. Break dancers, Darth Vador and tourists.

View of downtown LA in the distance, taken from one the Kodak Theater. What a view on a marvelous day.

LUNCH WITH COLLEGE ROOMMATE

2010-03-10T19:54:00.001-08:00

Today Patty and I met at the Getty Museum for lunch. We live in opposite ends of Los Angeles area, each about an hour from the Getty - on a good freeway day. It was our birthday get together and this was/is a big birthday. We walked the gardens, sat and caught up, barely looked at art and had a fabulous lunch. Ther is no admission pricd to get into the Getty but the parking is now $15. So we had $30. invested before we started and it was worth it. The Architecture is whatr I love and the views.
Take the walking tours when you visit - it is amazing - the history and the detail.
From our table at lunch I watched the sky change behind these manicured trees. When screen printed, can't you see these trees marching across the band of your pillow case - in red or purple .
Lots more going on. Will post quilt photos and picture of a quilt I have in an upcoming book.

WHILE ON THE WAY TO THE SUN

2010-03-02T15:41:00.001-08:00

My art quilt, "While on the way to the sun" is now in the art collection of Hillcrest Congtrational Church in La Habra Heights/Whittier, CA. For three days the quilt held court in the Fireside room, during the 50th annual Hillcrest Art Festival.

I went to pick up my unsold items on Monday. One of the ministers commented that she didn't want to see it go. An arrangement was struck - everyone is very happy. This church has been having art fairs and collecting art for 50 years - I an honored.

A DAY IN SAN DIEGO

2010-02-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

We have been attempting to take advantage of living where we do and taking day trips. This week it was San Diego. We started by looking for a wood working store in Solano Beach. The store had closed but was replaced by the marvelous import store, The David Allen Collection. Wonderful wooden furniture, tree roots carved into "objects of art". My favorite was a mass of Indonesian puppets from the 30's. There are 95 of these marvelous "people", an entire puppet theater troupe.

Then to the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. Sea Creatures of Arline Fisch. To call it crocheted wire it to do it all a dis-service.

First post using the new Apple computer and finding the photos to upload. Success. Now to go practice Photoshop.

Summer is almost here

2010-01-07T16:48:00.000-08:00

My newest quilt A SUMMER PARADE has been delivered and will premier in the Nobel Seasons Special Exhibit at Road to California in Ontario next weekend. Again it will be great to see how 20+ artist interpret the same theme - this time SUMMER.

I enjoy using old photos and making up my own story. This young 15 yr old is Violet, the mother of my friend Linda. The picture was taken in 1930. And again I have included the word Peace somewhere on the quilt. Take a look.

The holidays are over except for a couple of BIG birthdays. They might have been more fun or momentous when those big days were for being 16 or 21. We intend make it to Disneyland on these respective birthdays and receive vouchers to be used for renewing our annual passes.

DAYS LATER

2009-12-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

Time is just moving too fast and Christmas is looming. Have not started the cards but they are made. My cousin Ann posted a picture on Facebook, a gathering of the cards I have sent over the years. I am more than touched. She will be getting another tree this year.

I have been expanding my Puppet collection. At Jamie's suggestion I have used red and blue along with the peace symbol. These puppets are available - just ask.

I consider them finger puppets as you can manipulate them with a finger but they are about 10" in height. 5 are currently available. I intend to do Etsy - it is in my technology package for January. I love the making part.

And I am working on a quilt that is due by the end of the month, sooner would be better. It is for a 4 seasons invitational. Spring is done and Summer is the one on the drawing board. The gal is Violet, age 15 in 1930. She is the mother of my friend Linda. I loved the image and the quilt will be called - a summer parade. (when completed). All decisions on this quilt are subject to change

DECEMBER

2009-12-06T23:09:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to the Muckenthaller Cultural Arts Center to see the Contemporary Quilts show. I had been told my quilt - Peace In The Valley was well placed. I really did not realize it was on the show entrance. Tom took the photo to document the event. It is a beautiful show, nicely hung. I have 2 pieces in the show and am thrilled to be in such good company.

And - one of my favorite pictures from the Portland trip. Brian makes butter dishes and will be participating in the Crafty Wonderland craft show next weekend. Info to follow. This picture is of the raw goods, cast and waiting in the "wet" box to be made into interesting butter dishes and the occasional cup. I find it fascinating how artisans actually do the process of what they do. And I thought those swans were well placed.

TURKEY DAY DONE

2009-11-26T21:27:00.000-08:00

What a great day. 8 for dinner. Brian did most of the cooking . He and his dad the the lions share of today's events. We are truly fortunate - it has been a marvelous day. And it has sort of rained all day and that is fine.

Still don't know how to upload a photo from this remote Mac. Will try harder.

THANKSGIVING EVE

2009-11-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

We are in Portland visiting one child and headed to airport to pick up the other. Life just couldn't be too much better. Weather is crisp - thank heavens for tank tops for those of us who live in more temperate climates. (I am a wimp, just ask my family).

Will send photos when I figure out how to upload them from this portable machine.

Happy Thanksgiving - j

TURKEY APPROACHING

2009-11-20T23:12:00.000-08:00

I was in Joann's this morning and they are getting their Valentine fabric in.

I am still missing summer.

This year I have tried to incorporate the word PEACE in my work. These puppets are just one example. They just make me smile - that was part of their job assignment.

the line between warm and cool

2009-11-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

My quilt - "the line between warm and cool" has returned. It premiered in July at the Long Beach IQA show. Then appeared at the mother of all quilts show in Houston. BUT the really big part is, it was selected to be in the Oct/Nov issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. I cannot tell you the page but it is still on the news stands.

It is made of batik fabrics from Ghana and is available - if you might like it. Email for details. But between here and then, I am putting it on my wall - I love it. Can you find the line? Sort of a where's waldo game. j

DAYS LATER

2009-11-02T20:10:00.001-08:00

Today is the following Monday, we are in November.

Woman's Conference ended Tuesday evening. I watched the Minerva Awards on the sofa with a glass of wine. I wish I had been "in the room" while Jane Goodall spoke. I am not easily impressed but people making a difference impress me.

That was Tuesday. Helped hang a Quilts on the Wall gallery show on Wednesday, in Whittier. Email me, I will give you the details. Thursday I laid down - I had it penciled in on my calender. Friday evening - about 9 p.m., Tom and I headed out for Joshua Tree, the town not the park.

We spent Saturday and Sunday touring about 25 artists homes/studios near Joshua Tree, Ca. We have been attending these open studios for about 8 years. We pile into cars, drive from studio to studio. Great fun. Some great art. Some not so great art. Some fabulous homes/studios. Some not so hot homes/studios. Like dropping into other peoples reality and hopefully with little judgment involved or apparent. We just have fun and we buy art. Some of us buy more than others.

This year we had 8 in our party - 2 cars of 4. When we arrived, they thought the tour bus had arrived.

We stayed at the home of a friend. Her mission is to commune with nature and God's creatures and to photograph them. She encourages and feeds the wild life, whether she is there or not. Automatic feeders. The coyotes and bobcats seem to know when she is in residence. These pictures were taken in the morning, before 9, out an open sliding glass door and she/he is about 10 feet away. Tom actually took these, he has way more patience than I do.

Now for the open studio, my favorite photo is: I love chairs and at some point could do one of those little 5x5 books on chairs and where they reside.

These photos were taken at the studio of Bobby Furst - a metal artists. Amazing

Womens conference Tuesday

2009-10-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Can only say, what a day. Couldn't sleep so I reported to duty just after 6am. (I don't do early, ask Tom). There were attendees already lined up. Throughout the day I got really lucky with job assignments and being moved from here to their. I heard amazing stories. I know WE are all equal but some of us are more verbal or visible or inspiring. The conference can be found on line.

Happy Tuesday - j

Woman's Conference, day of transformation

2009-10-26T21:17:00.001-07:00

Tom dropped me at the convention center on his way to work. Way too early. Got home about 8:30 pn. What a day.

I either heard, saw, or lurked at: Maria Shriver, Maria Beck, Dr. Oz, Kathy Griffith, Caroline Kennedy and Madeleine Alright.

At the end of my volunteer day, Peggy Bunnel joined me and we attended the Night in the Village. Lots of give a ways, non profits, book signings. Martha Beck interviewing Paula Dean. Dancing with the stars teaching salsa.

The premise for the conference is - I am the architect of change. It begins with our own lives. There were groups of woman attending together and there were groups of gals volunteering together. Either way - it was impressive. I met volunteers from California, Maryland, Colorado.

Apparently this conference has been the Governors Conference for Woman, for years. It has been hosted by the Governor's wife. Maria Shriver, apparently has taken it and run with it. This year it is listed as Woman's Conference.

Now to see if I make it on time tomorrow. News at 11.

Everything has a pin!!

Woman's Conference in Long Beach

2009-10-25T19:11:00.001-07:00

I attended the volunteer training today at the Long Beach Convention Center. I have worked as a vendor at this venue, coming through the back doors. But today I had to learn a new orientation. Maria Shriver presents this conference. This year it is 2 days plus a Monday night. I report for duty at 7:30 am, tomorrow. I have my camera and hope to report interesting things. It will be interesting. Feel free to check it out. Woman making a difference and doing things. jo

http://www.californiawomen.org/

Between a quilt show and an art show.

2009-10-21T18:42:00.001-07:00

I spent 5 days at the Santa Clara convention centerat Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF). It is great to see "friends" you only know from doing a certain event year after year. Like old friends but we only know "this much" about each other. Not a lot of expectation but quick catch ups and hugs good bye.

From those vendors I spoke with, sales were good. Better than anticipated. Maybe not better than previous years but better than a "poke in the eye", as a good friend would say. Got home Sunday evening and am preparing for Artistic License Fair - in Costa Mesa Friday and Saturday. It is a bit of shifting mind sets. I got my booth tables and props out today, laid it out in the drive way and I think I am under control. Or as much control as a person really has.

This is one of my favorite images from 09. It is entitled - bird in a tree with leaves looking for peace. It is part of a collection of collages I sent to New Zealand for a collage exchange. I will have several of it's brothers and sisters with me this week end at Artistic License.

Peace

COLOR EVERYWHERE

2009-10-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

Blue and Green everywhere

While on a pumpkin/gourd expedition last week, we found this wonderful barn north of Reno, Nv. The orange, my second favorite color at the moment, did wonderful things to the blue and green.
I leave for Santa Clara and the Pacific International Quilt Festival in the morning. You will find me working at the Mulberry Leaf booth, probably at the top of the 600 isle. Say hi.

The process

2009-09-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it just takes many hands to do the job

This is a series of four wall quilts not done or ready for prime time. Many hands have had a hand in these pieces. Rebecca Janes who took the time to give me a refresher course in de-constructed screen printing, Rebecca of Ananse Village for tempting me with her wonderful batiks from Ghana, Ellyn Mosbarger for giving me the yellow fabric with the discharged leaf motif, L inda Carlson who found our old old thermofax machines years ago, Rose Hughes for picking that deep plum color for the paint for the screen print of the leaf, and the various goodie bags and give away fabric bags that have come my way.

Joined Facebook this week - again, what was I thinking?

Cards

2009-09-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

I am working on my blank greeting card selection for fall shows. These cards have wee quilts on them. I collage the batik fabrics onto felt, sew and embellish, then sew the squares onto the cards. I like outlining the quilt with black marker - gives it visual boundaries

Edges

2009-09-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

My quilt "the line between warm and cool" will be in the Oct/Nov issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. It is part of the EDGES quilt exhibit which premiered at the Long Beach IQA show and will be in Houston in October. The quilt will have an entire page in the Edges article.
Also getting ready to deliver 2 quilts to the Muckenthaler Cultural Arts Center in Fullerton for their upcoming - Contemporary Quilts exhibit. What fun.

Los Angeles Fires

2009-09-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken by my daughter who lives near the beach. This was the view yesterday from Long Beach looking back, towards the mountains. If it was a thunder cloud that is one thing, but this is the fire.

I love her art, you might get tired of seeing it but truly, she has a different view of my world.

Almost September

2009-08-31T22:34:00.001-07:00

Somehow was tricked into starting this blog. Hopefully it will be a good thing.