Miro Page 13

It has been a while since I posted any of my Miro pages from my study book.

I like the exagerated arms and gestures.  I think it is very daring and shocking to have

the caracter sticking out his tongue.

"Gradually Miro became more and more disgusted with the commercialization of art, with "the guy who buys a canvas as an investment."  He even burned some of his canvases, in part for "the joy of being able to say merde to people who see art only for its commercial value,"   he told the journalist Santiago Amon.

    Through out his career, Miro had considered the artwork itself as being only the means to a spiritual end, "Besides," he onced asked,  "do I have to remind you that what I detest most is what is lasting?:  What is lasting, in this centenary retrospective, is more than indivual works; it is the evidence of Miro's uncompromising path toward self discovery."

from Arts and Antiques October 1993

Joe's Stocking

I did this stocking our second year of marriage. 

I started it in November and got it done in a month.

It wasn't easy either for the thread is wool not DMC embroidery thread. 

Christmas Day

With Nicole and Bree.

Under the tree.

Handmade ornaments hanging above.

A bird's nest long forgotten

Making memories that will last.

And remembering those of Christmas past

A visit from a Christmas mouse

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!!!

And a Happy New Year!!

Winston's Stocking

 

I cross stitched this for Winston when he was an infant...but didn't get it finished till he was 3.

We were living in Oregon and so I thought a Douglas Fir would make a good motif for the back.

Mosaic Monday

1. Abstrait, 2. White is White, 3. Soleil Rouge, 4. Untitled

I am featuring one artist today, Cecile M.'s.

You can see more of her work here as well 

as visit her blog here.

Driftwood Tree

Isaac is drilling out the crown of our driftwood tree.

Here he is putting on the finishing touch.

Here is our driftwood tree ready for decorations.

We are planning on making decorations out of drift wood and other found object through

out the year.  I will show you the ornaments as we get them made. 

Fossils

 Fossils

I wasn't really sure how i wanted to pursue the bottom of the quilt till this week.  I knew that it is the next progression for me. This week I have been thinking about my dugout shelter and what might have gotten unearthed...both physically and emotionally.  Because this quilt is a metaphor of a relationship of irreconcilable differences.  


(If you want to read the rest of this post push the read more button)

Dolls from a special friend

One of the best things about blogging is making friends.

Ancient Cloth has become a very special friend of mine.

She sent me these lovely dolls.   

I love their sweet faces.  

My little African American doll is so plump in my hands, I love the way she feels.

Her expression makes me smile.  She keeps looking in the kitchen to see what goodies I have in the oven.

Look at the details.  both have under garments.

The fabrics are so well chosen.

My little dolly is named Bree.

And the mother is named Nicole.

She has inspired me to make a doll.

If you have a handmade doll on your blog leave a comment and a link, I would love to see it.

All types of dolls welcomed!!

I fix tea and we can have a virtual tea party.

The cookies are cooling and will be waiting for you when you get here.

P.S. The dolls are sitting on my husband's antique Radiola 20. A tube radio from the 1920's.

The Door of Fear

Remember that I had all this fullness in the door and I was wondering how to "work" with it.

The first thing I did was sew it down to this card board so that it would lay as flat.

I took some basting stitches around in a circle so that I could draw the fullness up in a central spot.

I took it off the card board and sewed shisha mirrors over the circles.  I made the shi sha mirrors  from a laminar  potato chip bag.  Shi Sha Mirrors were believed to ward off evil.

I think that is very important when looking at our fears.

 

I sewed a back onto the door.  Eventually I will attach it to the quilt.

I also plan to have the door open to another picture.

Catherin's Stocking

Time to get out the stockings. 

Here is Catherine's stocking.

It is a Alma Lynn design and based on the Nutcracker.

The dolls hair is Catherine's real hair.  I thought that would be very Victorian.

The back is cut from a quilt my great grandmother made. 

I think that you can see it is the wedding ring design.

It was falling apart and I wasn't interested in restoring it, but using it in this kepts it alive.

The Canal Like a Mirror

Mosaic Monday

1.seed-pod spoon set  2. 8.4.09 (153), 3. Mending and rag weaving in rural Japan, 4. cloak

The Door of Fear

Well it is kinda interesting working on the door of fear, to work on one side is to also be in touch with the other side.  When you say it is a door you can't help but wonder what is on the other side.  I think I have come up with a few ideas.  Here is one that I thought of doing in jest.

Becky's Gallery - Wool Quilt

This weekend I am going to be tying my wool quilt.  Right now it is held together with safety pins. 

I made this quilt in 2004. A friend gave me a collection from the 1960's of shirting samples from Pendleton wool factory. 

 

My goal is to have this done before Christmas.

Strategies through the Door of Fear

I have to admit the door of fear was scaring me. I was really excited

about going to the desert and surviving a seemingly impossible situation

and living to tell about it.  Where did my courage go?  My goal is to

build memories and experiences for my family that are unique and will

give my children different perspectives on living.  We lived off the grid

before, so I wasn't worried about that.  In fact I welcomed it because it

forces you into a different rhythm of life.

My door has started to take on a little bit of a fun element in the
scorpion.  I thought Yeah, she would definitely have a flashlight for eyes
so that she would be able to find me.  In exaggerating my fear, I actually
was able to start laughing at it..I thought about people like Evil
Knievel, who thrive on doing things that people said couldn't be done. How
do they strategize when looking at the door of fear?  I think they look
past it.  I think they look at what they will gain rather than what they
could lose.  I think too that they have had enough experience to believe
that there is always a way out.  But I also think that they get addicted
to the rush that fear can create.  It distracts them from a lot of other
things they may not be dealing with.  They have an excuse, or at least a
mental escape while they are focused on the job at hand.

So I guess we should ask our self

• What is our strategy when dealing with fear? 
• How do we dress it up so that we can go through the door? 
• How do we distract ourselves long enough to push past the feelings that would seem to overwhelm us?  
• How do we get "focus?"
  

Art of Symbols of Fear

Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who just won Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent." She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret Germany's invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII.

The Door Called "FEAR"

The door that reflected my feelings about living in the desert was FEAR.

Fear of the unknown and fear of change, and fear of what I couldn't control.

We all have doors that are presented to us like this.

Sometimes we push past our fears and turn the handle and open the door and walk through.

Sometime we are forced to open the door and we are pushed through.

But we all have experienced that door of FEAR, metaphorically speaking.

So what would a door of FEAR,  look like to you?

I am again reminded of Susan Sorrell's class for searching for our Personal Symbols.

So this is a quest, embodied in a story quilt, that is in search of Personal Symbols.

Mosaic Monday

Last week I showed you some pictures from my paper stitch book.  I asked Maya, at Million Little Stitches, if I could share with you a picture of her embroidery on paper.  Her art work showed me that I have a long ways to go and that paper has a lot of potential for the embroidery artist.
You can read about this piece called.My Allotment Garden here.

Flowers - A memory quilt

I made this quilt in 2007.

The quote was taken off of a post card that I had written and sent my mother

after the death of my little girl, Sarah. She was 15 months old.

Sarah died in a tragic accident, that was a shock to us all and left a hole in my heart.

My mother sent me this post card back in 2006.  I had not even remembered writing it.

I thought the words were so meaningful

that I wanted them to be on something that would not get lost or torn,

so I decided to put them on a quilt.

"Winston and I just picked some flowers and I put them in the rose bud vase.

I think how each one of us is like a cut flower one day we will perish.

If we stay closed because of coldness, God does not enjoy our beauty (walk)

or fragrance (prayer life).

It is only when we open up to Him that he can enjoy us.

Sometimes to preserve us God chooses to press us.

God's will be done!

June 5, 1992"

Becky's Gallery

Exotic Butterfly - 2009

On fridays I like to show some of my finished artworks.

In keeping with the spirit of an article written by Arlee on Mr. Stitch Hippy Embroidery,

I thought I would show you one of my embroidery wall hangings that has a hippy influence.

Thank you Arlee for including my Dug Out wall hanging in your gallery for the article!!!

Loved It!

PEACE

Thursday Art Video - Happy Thanksgiving

This is a stitched accordion moleskin.  Cool...just think of the possibilities.

Just for something fun check out this magazine...Just a little eye candy.
http://www.antlermag.com/index.html

The Door to Change

 It has been brutal being out in all this wind, so naturally I am looking for an escape.

The door to change is not the name of this door.

I will name the door after I have thought about what to embroider on it.

I used to live at the Piano Factory in Boston near Tremont and Mass Ave.

It was a community of artist.

In the artist spirit they encouraged you to paint your own door.

I had never thought about using my door for an canvas before, have you?

 

What would your door be like?  What would it say about you or how you feel about living where you do?

 

What colors would you use?  Would it be loud or soft?

Would you go outside the line and extend your painting to the walls?

Would it be exciting or tranquil?

 

What would your door look like if you were thinking about living in a desert with no water, or electricity?...except for what you brought in or made.

These are the thoughts that I am having as I work on my wall hanging, Dug Out.