from small talk to action

as most of you who read my blog or follow my photographs, i switch back and forth between painting and stitching.

as you can see, these have been a stitching couple of weeks.

well, sorta kinda because some of the pieces are more mixed media as in the above pctured book cover and family crest.

but below...the labour of love.  labour intensive since it was embroidered with single threads.  it is a pam garrison template i bought on etsy.  i didn't realize when i bought it that the details were tinier than tiny, but being the perseverer that i am, i just began.  one stitch, one thread at a time.  it took me almost two weeks to complete.  i added a little border in patchwork to give it the finishing touch and it is now framed in my bedroom.  

below, more embroidery with a seaside twist inspired by carolyn saxby in st. ives, one of my favorite fabric artists who recently sent me one her mixed media seaside hearts.

and then.......somewhere over the rainbow also in single thread for a chunky fabric book i am working on, stop and go since it is also labour intensive.  since this photograph a few moremwords have been completed as well as other significant pages.

this is a detail of one of the fabric book spreads, the ever present warmth of hearth and home.

when i am in need of a mantra, i choose repetitive stitches

 if all goes well, this circle will continue growing concentrically until it is huge.

 

only last night did i return to my faces

 

it always surprises me that they usually look so innocent, between childhood and adolescence.  i don't intend them to be that way, they just go their own way with the ebb and flow of the pen and pencil movements.

i love the expression on this sweet face.

 these last two are a bit older, having gotten lost in my hardrive, practices in pencil and ink pens both part of a bookmark that now marks the spot in my present readings.

and what are these you might ask?  well....two miniature portraits on oyster shells  a-la lynne hoppe to be scattered at point lobos also a-la lynne next week as we head up the california coast.

 

at least this lady looks a bit more adult-ish.

please pardon the difficulties in posting since i am now mainly using my ipad which is not user friendly at all for blogging. 
well that is the jist of it for now, hope to see you on the road.

Un Poquito de Todo

Uf, que semana. Aunque un poquito frustrante ya que la mayoria de mis materiales estan en bodega y tengo que barajarme con solo ocho lapices de acuarelas, unas telas armadas de las tiendas de segunda y muy locos hilos de bordar. Asi y todo, mucha inspiracion y creatividad en mi vida y participando de desafiantes retos. Nos han pedido que pintemos algo Durante 10 dias seguimos. Me painted tarde asi que solo he contribuido 3 hasta ahora.
Amo las Artes, es lo que me mantiene sana y alegre, lo que me motiva.
Espero todas las que me siguen esten bien y sanas y llenos de ese mismo "spark".

Costura y Fotografia

con los frios que han hecho no me han dado muchas ganas de alejarme,de casa mas que a buscar telas usadas y mas hilos para continuar con mis costureos. tome una clase en linea con jude hill de spirit cloth para expander horizontes y aprender sus technicas tan especiales. ella tiende a usar telas en tonos mas opacos y oscuros pero yo siempre tiendo a los colores mas fuertes, no me pregunten por que.
asi que toda esta ultima semana mucho de puntadas con algo de fotografia enter medio y viendo los capitulos perdidos de downton abbey y muchas de las peliculas antiguas que muestran en tcm antes de los oscar.
aqui algunos de los resultados

Alma, Corazon & Vida

a pesar que muchas cosas estan aun en el aire, digamos inconclusas e inciertas, un constante me mantiene dentro de un equilibrio y tranquila, mi entrega total a seguir creando. Y dentro de esa creatividad, mi amor incondicional hacia las telas, sobretodo organicas, naturales como el algodon y el lino. la paciencia y perseverancia con la que debo ejecutar mis bordados, muchos de los cuales demoran varios dias, es una manera de estar completamente presente en el momento, evitando ideas preocupantes. producer algo bello es, en si, un logro, por muy pequeno que sea dentro del gran esquema de las cosas.
cada puntada es un paso adelante
cada obra completada es un acontecimiento
y definitivamente crear es mi leit motif
para mas inspiracion con telas no dejan de visitar el blog de jude hill www.spiritcloth.typepad.com