True Love... Truth

Her tender heartstrings are caring, gentle and wise.
(Tender Heart Strings)

For she understands that:
Her tender heartstrings are bottomless beauties of memories.

Held close to her heart…
(Tender Heart Strings)

The strings that break…
Help us grow.
(Tender Heart Strings)

The strings, which bind us…
Make us strong.
(Tender Heart Strings)

The tender strings of true knowledge love and truth…
Guide us through the years.
(Tender Heart Strings)



For she understand that her heartstrings...
Are strong and brave all we ever have to do is believe.
(Tender Heart Strings)



Eternally tender are her heartstrings...
Everlasting and evermore her spirit will continue to grow.
(Tender Heart Strings)



True Love… Truth
These strings create the fabric of our life.
(Tender Heart Strings)


(multimedia art dress measures 18 by 14 inches. slide show here)

I will be teaching how to make these little dresses at ArtFiberFest June 24th - 28th 2009 in Portland Oregon along with two other fabric workshops. I hope you can come!

Bluebird Poetry Dress

My backyard wisteria is almost in full bloom, the air is heavy with a sweet perfume. This mighty sight will only last about 3 weeks and happens only once a year but its a glorious reminder that spring has returned.



I stitched up some white wings last week and had the intention to create a angelic poetry dress but the fruition of this frock is still a little elusive to me. However once I pulled this blue fabric out of the dye bath a few days ago I had the full vision of this bluebird dress.
(I am now working on a Raven dress)



I spotted a free standing vintage child's dress forum that was not for sale at a antique shop. This really drove me crazy and lead me on a quest to somehow create my own. Once the box stands where created my poetry dresses have some how transformed into soft sculpture's



The crown is a wire nest that I fashioned out of steel wire.



snips and scraps from my cutting table along with three plump pearl eggs where stitched onto the wires



Reads:
"The bluebird carries the sky on his back"
~Henry David Thoreau



I made this little petticoat out of organza, netting and lace that I altered with heat to create a time worn effect.



hand details are only reviled after close inspection.



The back of the Bluebird is some how more ornate then the front the wings read:
"if happy little bluebirds fly over the rainbow, why or why cant I?"


the bottom back reads: Bluebird poetry dress by: Ruth Rae.
(This dress will be for sale at artfest next week. and you can view more details here)

Over the Rainbow:

Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg.

"Aubergines Joy"

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.

We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us.

And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

~ Marianne Williamson

"Aubergines Joy"

This diminutive beauty has been sitting every so patiently on my cutting table
for just about two weeks because I was sick.
Nevertheless yesterday she made her debut into this world. I had every intention of putting her up for sale, however my mother was smitten with little Aubergine... and how could I say no? For everything I am is because of my mother ~




multimedia art dress measures 18 by 14 inches.
slide show and more details can be viewed here
I will be teaching a workshop on how to make these dress at artfiberfest

my muse!

I have a small doll size dress form but I have been lusting for a full size one for the past year. I have been stalking ebay but just never found the one, part of me wanted a vintage one with all the charm but the sensible side of me wanted one that I could truly use to create clothing on. A few weeks ago I walked into a antique shop and to my delight I found her and she wanted to come and live in my studio and become my muse... and here she is!

she will get a name but for now she just makes me happy!
you can see more dress forms: here, here, and here.

And here is my fist full size creation...

I made this as a Christmas gift for Kristen
she even has a blog called: if Jane where hear
where she ponders what Jane would do.
so its no wonder that I would make for her a Jane Austin Poetry Pinafore.

most of this dress was done with free motion sewing you can read about the process here
and you can see a amazing example here.
(I will be teaching a class on this process and will post the information about it soon)

indulge your imagination in every possible flight.
~ Jane Austin

Teach us that we may feel the importance of
every day of every hour as it passes. ~ Jane Austin

Back of neck detail.

back shoulder detail:
Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong? ~ Jane Austin

ties on the back of the Pinafore.

Side view.

I hope your all doing well in the new year!

Soul's Delight

My Meditation day and night,

May it be pleasant in Thy sight,
For Thou art all my soul's delight.

(Soul's Delight "Poetry Dress" 24 inches by 18 inches)

(detail of hem line)

May this new year bring you all of your soul's delight!
Happy New Year and best wishes for 2009!

(my signature on the back of the neck)

Grace To Grow

Obtaining personal, spiritual or artist growth is not always an easy road. We know its necessary to grow but oftentimes we need encouragement to find the courage to take the steeps that lead to change.

(this dress is for sale here)

I am part of a delightful 12 days of Christmas swap organized by Deryn Mentock. Over the last 9 days I have been treated to a vast array of stunning ornaments created by 12 stunning artists.
you can see all the wounderment over at
Kelly, Joanna, Maija,Pilar, Danita and Deryn's blogs as they have been posting as they have opened there gifts.

Each of us had to create 12 ornaments and were assigned a day that we marked on our warped gift. then mail them off to the girls in the swap. we started to open our gifts on December first.

I had a few ideas in my head as to what I would create but in the end these little angel dresses won out. I wanted the dress's to share words of encouragement as they made there way around the united states, so I chose to use the words "grace to grow" The words on the dress's have been stitched on with free motion sewing onto each of the 12 dress.

wings were constructed out of layers of organza, hymnal paper, muslin and lace, alongside machine stitching to emulate feathers, were created and carved out of the layers.


The little “art dress” made out of muslin that I hand dyed was machine stitched together with decorative strings left hanging all about. the heart is heat altered felt, hand sewn to the dress.


The wings were then attached with a small mother of pearl button onto the back side of the dress.

Tiny hangers were made out of steel wire.

Then each dress was hung and here you have eleven completed dress's all in a row!

I was quite please with my self when I came up with the garment bags that I made for them to travel in!
each had the receivers name written below the heart.

And on the back I wrote the words that are sewn on to the dress, along with my day to open gift: Day 10


And on the reverse of the dress it reads:


"Thy gift is joy"
because joy is after all the gift we receive once we have taken the steps to grow!