be nobody-but-yourself

Well here you have it, my most recent work for the past week, I find myself self trying to pull myself self out of a creative fog as I try to gear up to selling my wears at Craft Republic November 10th.

"Cherish"
(machine quilted multi layers of fabric and paper with pearls and french knots.)

"Life Art"

I am trying to frame these as a triptych... I put all 3 in one shadow box but it did not look right, so I will now try to frame them each on there own... what is making it hard is that they have dimension and need to be in a shadow box format and there is not to much out there to choose from, and I do not need to take up a new hobby of making frames!

"Art"

There are two art girls out there in art land that will be receiving these lovely parcels:
and let it me noted that wrapping it all up is my most favorite thing to do and at this point you
are only seeing it half wrapped :)

This one is going to Tonia,
she loves hearts (as do I! ) so I made her "Brave Heart" this etched and dapped copper heart with silver on beaded crochet silk necklace in a fabric holder.

she and I did a trade and Tonia created this most amzing Plexy necklace!


And this is long over due gift is making its way to Elizabeth for being a fearless RR leader!

“To be nobody-but-yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”
~ e.e. cummings

Fibre & Stitch

Fibre & stitch is a new online mixed media fabric zine. If you are intrigued with adding more fabric to your art work you must take a look at this amazing zine! It is jammed packed with so many creative ideas for altering fabric! Also in Fibre & Stitch, on page 34, I wrote about my creative process and how I create my fabric/paper doors.


"Doors of Hope"
(October, 2006)

"Hope"
(October, 2006)



Last October I created these for Patti Gramza , its was part of a 5x5 fabric page swap there were all amazing fabric girls in this group and most of the times I felt as if I had bitten off more then I could chew! these girls could really sew! I am what I like to call a "ART sewer" When I look back at some of the things I have done in the past I think... "oh, wow... I would never do it like that again!" but I can see that it was a steep that I needed to take to make it to where I am today... now these pieces that I did for Patti... well, once I made these I knew that I at long last I found my voice and I have been creating in this style for the last year.

"Doors of Faith"
(October, 2006)


"Faith"
(October, 2006)


I would like to thank Patti for all of her kind and gentle encouragement that she has given me over the last year she has supported and cheered me on in the background. it really made me feel like maybe I was doing a good job when I had doubt and fear about what I was doing ( I now refer to this as growing pains)

"heART"
(heart ATC October, 2006)

Growing Pains
by Helen C. Downey

These are the days of change
There’s a new growth that we all have gone through.
First we grow in height to surpass our mothers,
Especially we are taller than our Grandmothers.
Then our voice begins to crack and squeak
While our voice deepens
The peach fuzz on our face begs to be removed.
The biggest change is our vision
We begin to see things in a different light,
A different aspect than all others!
We are coming into our own individuality,
Our own special being.
We see life through a collide scope of beautiful colors.
Realizing that there are many paths to follow,
Many from which we can choose.
Some how we always seem to choose the right one
For us as the years go on.
Growing pains of freedom to be ones self
Gnaw at our tummies
But with patience and observation
We will learn much from those around us.

"heART"

(heart ATC open. October, 2006)

(you can view a collection of more doors here)

Whispered words

In June I completed these pieces and sent then off to
Cloth Paper Scissors

if you want to know how I create my fabric squares,
you can in the September/October issue that is on the news stands now.


ETHEREAL FRAGMENT SQUARES
"TRUTH"
(click on any of the images to view full size)

"TRUTH"
(close up)
sea star with the word "truth"
along with wool fibers and sea shells backed by sheet music. "with in my soul"
( truth detail)
words are placed underneath a flat glass marble.

"Nightingale"
(call the sky)
words placed on the back of a old domino
along with wool fibers, velvet leaf and seed pods. "Key" detail
(this started out with a black feather that did not work hence the wording "Nightingale"
after a few days of looking at this piece the feather was removed and replaced by the key...
if any thing stands out to much I tend to remove the element.)

(I stood alone, among that earthen lot)
"Surely Not in Vain" rusted bottle cap filled with pearls with the words
"among that Earthen Lot" along with dried seed pods.

"Bright and Beautiful"
"HOPE ( my wings)"
sand dollar trapped under organza with wool fibers.

It has taken me a long time to think of my self a artist, and to refer to my messy garage conversion as my studio, but I am 41 and have walked a long art filled life, my background as a jeweler has given me the eye for the smallest of detail and the need to create fragile yet nearly indestructible work. I ask myself just how did I get here?... I ask myself why cloth? why paper?.. I guess the thrill of creating nothing from something is what motivates me. I question why the soft muted tone on tone and I suppose its because its the layers and textures that I become lost in.

I create because I have to, its not a choice but who I am.
I have been inspired by many wonderful things and have been surrounded by amazing people. but the creative being that I have became, because of the craft is the sum of my many parts and no one person can stake clams on who I am and who I have become.

For inside each of us is a spark...
a gift...
and its called,
LIFE~



"SIN, SOUL, FRIEND"
Love and Gratitude
(they love and companionship were my delight)
(this piece was submitted but not include in the article)


Be Lost in the Call

Lord, said David, since you do not need us,
why did you create these two worlds?

Reality replied: O prisoner of time,
I was a secret treasure of kindness and generosity,
and I wished this treasure to be known,
so I created a mirror: its shining face, the heart;
its darkened back, the world;
The back would please you if you've never seen the face.

Has anyone ever produced a mirror out of mud and straw?
Yet clean away the mud and straw,
and a mirror might be revealed.

Until the juice ferments a while in the cask,
it isn't wine. If you wish your heart to be bright,
you must do a little work.

My King addressed the soul of my flesh:
You return just as you left.
Where are the traces of my gifts?

We know that alchemy transforms copper into gold.
This Sun doesn't want a crown or robe from God's grace.
He is a hat to a hundred bald men,
a covering for ten who were naked.

Jesus sat humbly on the back of an ass, my child!
How could a zephyr ride an ass?
Spirit, find your way, in seeking lowness like a stream.
Reason, tread the path of selflessness into eternity.

Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.

~ Rumi

aspects of nature

Today I finished up the last of 2 art journals that have been waiting penitently in my studio for the last 2 months for me to work work on!I know there is no excuse for late but this Round Robbin got a little behind and has been going on for almost 2 years now so when these books made it to me I was up to my neck working on the art work my book.
but now I am happy to say that I am all done! ( but I do fear that I am now on the prowl to start or join a new RR journal group)
These pages are for Delila's " aspects of nature" journal.

LOVE GROWS



ART LIFE

Marriage

Then Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of Marriage, master?"

And he answered saying:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

~ Khalil Gibran
(chapter taken from the prophet)

Me

You Are 3: The Achiever

You're confident and competent - with a lot of energy. Eager to reach your goals, you are ambitious and competitive. You are good at motivating yourself and motivating others. You're also a charmer, with a great sense of humor. At Your Best: You are kind, confident, and completely authentic. You are witty and full of life. At Your Worst: You are insecure, narcissistic, and jealous. (I sound like FUN!) Your Fixation: Vanity (remember my closet!) Your Primary Fear: Being worthless. Your Primary Desire: To be important and valuable. Other Number 3's: Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Jordan, Madonna, and Shania Twain.

What Number Are You?

an emotional excursion

I completed my work In Julie's Round Robbin art Journal " an emotional excursion" today.

"I AM WISDOM, BUT SOME CALL ME KNOWLEDGE"

(ART)
Acrylic paint, ink, on paper and couragated card broad with a altered heart fabric pillow.

(two page spread)

"I LIVE IN A PLACE CALLED TRUTH"

On the path of truth...

"My dear heart never think you are better than others.
Listen to their sorrows with compassion.
If you want peace, don't harbour bad thoughts
do not gossip and don't teach what you do not know. "

~Rumi

its good to be home!

I have been home the last week... hanging out by our pool and reconnecting with my family! 2 weeks away from the kids was hard! Here is a fast recap of my trip:

The Drive to F & W Publication's

This is where Kelly and I Spent a Week filming the How to's for " A charming exchange"

These are the girls that I spent my week with from left to right: Me and our photographer Christine, Tonia our fearless editor and my partner in art crime Kelly!
( yes she really is that much taller then me!)


Kim and her crew were so sweet to spend two days with us they took us to spring grove built in 1845 is the 2nd largest cemetery in the United States and is spread out on 733 acres... all I can say is BIG and HOT and STEAMY!
we started out as a group but them we all started to break away as we all became captivated by all the head stones and statues... I ended up high on top of a hill and could hear Kellys voice in the distance screaming my name I looked down and there in the distance I could see Kims new yellow SUV!


I left Cincinnati Saturday Morning for Chicago and these are the shoots I took from my car on the way to the airport


Once in Illinois I was whisked to Bella Luna Beads Where we had a PMC Play night.


Debora's Husband Gary has one amazing mid century art collection!

And here is the sweet little Town of East Dundee!

This is Jim enjoying his amazing wine as he grills us dinner... I must say that his home wine making cellar was the hilight of my trip ! each bottle was some how better then the last and I could not pick a favorite so I just had to keep trying them all!

I got home on Monday from my tour of the mid west just in time to celebrate my Fathers Birthday! the last 7 mounths have been so full for me... I am not one to look back for long... but its hard for me to wrap my brain around the last 2 weeks... I have grown in many different ways from the people who I have meet, each and every one so full of life and creativity! But I must say its good to be Home!

"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart." — Kahlil Gibran

A Charming Exchange

At long last the cover of the book!
we got to see it last week for the first time!
as a special surprise just for me our amazing art director put a image of a tree oh the cover!
to pass your art to another artist and then have there spin put into is just what this book is about... sharing what you do the best with some one that has a different skill then you and then steeping back and allowing the process unfold.

Tonia our editor and Christine our photographer were so great! they made each day we filmed the books as pain free as they could... but there was a little bit of pain as some things just took longer then expected when your sleepy and jet lagged and some steep outs turned out to be a little more complex when you working with watchful eyes :)

I want to also congratulate my fellow cover girls from right to left:
Deryn, Catherine, Jess and Crystal!

I am still away from home, I am now in Chicago with my Friend Deborah enjoying her family and hanging out at her most amazing bead shop! we are also working on a blog for her and a etsy shop where she will sell bead kits!