Mark your calendars!

" I am so small I can barely be seen. How can this great love be inside of me? Look at your eyes. They are small but they see enormous things." ~Rumi

The creative process can be a mysterious thing; In November of 2007 I produced the diminutive piece of art “I turn to thee” composed of castoffs found on my desk…
at this time I had no idea that it was going to be chosen to launch the première issue of
Art Quilting Studio.



I am please to announce On Sunday, July 12th at the Orange Town & Country Barnes & Noble (791 South Main Street, Suite 100, Orange, CA 92868)
Jenny Doh and I will be on hand to sign copies of the premier issue of Art Quilting Studio from 2:00 to 5:00 PM.


A few of the quilts from this issue will be on hand to be viewed and I will even be bring my little featherweight with me and I will be doing some art sewing!

I hope you'll come by to help us celebrate the launching of Art Quilting Studio!

Me and Jenny at CHA 2009

If I could give just a few words of encouragement to a budding new artist it would be this:

“Always create like no one is watching.
Always follow the humming of your soul!”

be tender and true

My bags are packed and I am off to fiberfest... I will try to phone blog the fun!

I so enjoyed making these Sacred Conversation Hearts you can view all the ones I made in this slide show here.

your vision...

(Read more about my dress making process in the premier issue of Art Quilting Studio)

When my children were very young I worked with polymer clay. I would construct dolls with armatures. I found great delight in how each one took on a life of its own some how... once I created one of these dolls I would bestow it with hand stitched clothing to enhance its individual personality.



In some ways when I create a poetry Pinafore the process is much like when I made dolls, as each dress is unique unto its self. Most of them come together quite quickly telling me what they want to become while others offer me a little more of a challenge and hang around uncompleted taking longer to complete.

I have been toying with the idea of once more creating a doll of some sort to go with my dresses but I have yet to fully grasp just how I will go about this task… I did have a reflection a few days ago however I need to find some time to carry it out. soon… I hope.

I take great strides to utilize my sewing machine as much as possible the writing on the dress is done with a process called free motion sewing or free motion embroidery.
(in July I will TRY to get up a youtube of how I do my stitching as my process is somewhat different)
(I sew with a Bernina aurora 440 however I travel with a singer featherweight 221 from the 1930's and she does it all!)



I do delight in the details When I create these dresses I try to capture a depth and motion.
I do this my hand basting and gathering to create a rousing effect on each piece.

(my signature is on the back of each dress)

(Shoulder detail)

(Bottom of dress details)

each time I make a new one I discover new ways to add a little more life to each one, I started to take a dress making class a few weeks ago as I have found that I need to learn foundations of this craft that I have embraced so fondly... its very hard for me to be a student as my mind has a hard time staying on task and wonders quickly to the "what if's"... and alas strait seams and edges have never been my thing. however sometimes we must go back to go forward. and as my husband like's to say only I would write a book on sewing then take a class to learn how to sew!
Lucky for me I am surrounded by a delightful group of many knowledgeable seamstress's who have all taken me under there wings! (thank you all for putting up with me!) Now I am off to work in my studio! Happy creating, follow your vision!

Chinese legend tells of an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, Regardless of time, place, or circumstances… This thread symbolizes an attachment of hearts That distance alone can't keep apart. This tiny, thin thread may stretch, tangle or fray but can never break~

Love is the thread that binds us...

View more "Sacred Conversation Hearts" here

"Tenderness Felt"

(Congratulations Sarah! you did it!)
Things have been crazy for me as all mom's know the last few weeks of school are always hectic but add a high school graduation complete with out of town guest... and I think you get the idea!



Over the last few days I have been able to get back into the stuido as I am frantically working away trying to build up an inventory for fiberfest:June 24th -28th (day passes are now being sold if you would like to attend) and for Idyllwild art: july 4th and 5th (seats are still available)



Here is the lay out of "our wings"



and this is what the lay out ended up looking like just before I start to sew.



These dresses are waiting for hand details.

I made a batch of cuffs, here are two Poetry Fabric Cuffs.

"Tenderness Felt"


This necklace has a brass sparrow that hangs from etched copper on a vintage brass chain embellished with hand dyed silk and tiny faceted green garnet.




"Our Wings"


is a multimedia sculptured art dress completed!

At my dress making class

Sewing table view 9:44pm

Working on right now

On newsstands now.

It's coming together nicely...

It's time to start sewing again.

Back detail

Stiching...

The first cut.

Truth Dress

Getting ready to cut it out.

Dress for me...

In the pin up stage.
(all the fabric is vintage)

Waist detail

internal harvest (stillness within)

It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything.

~Virginia Woolf

There is a shadow and a darkness that sometimes sets in when one is trying to explore new ideas. I trust that taking the road less traveled is necessary for a internal harvest that in turn will unearth a creative growth.
I walk into the darkness and linger until a shadow starts to appear.
once I have this shadow in my minds eye then I emerge.



I try to view my work with eyes that are not my own… I attempt to be subjective… during the process of bring a vision to life I practice the process of elimination if a element is to obvious in my design then it will be eliminated. When I am unsure then I will walk away and give my eyes a change to decided. This is the process that I follow until I have achieved stillness within my mind.


(copper basket with coil's and coiled beads along with hand forged copper leaves and large unpolished garnets is 6 inches in diameter.)

Finding the time to work on innovative visions has became increasingly hard for me… I have a long list of things that have to be done and I have new ideas that I want to work out. Achieving balance in my work has always been a challenge for me. However I have grown to except this part of me and allow myself this dormancy when I do not want to work or create.



This basket was intended to be a workshop, however it was replaced by other projects. Coming up with new classes is always a challenge as it’s hard to decide what others would like to learn from me. I still have to work up more classes so If you would be so kind please tell me what you would like to see me teach in 2010. (don't be shy... even if you can not travel, I will be doing some online workshops as well)

The key question isn't "What fosters creativity?" But it is why in God's name isn't everyone creative? Where was the human potential lost? How was it crippled? I think therefore a good question might be not why do people create? But why do people not create or innovate? We have got to abandon that sense of amazement in the face of creativity, as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.

~Abraham Maslow