Life has settled down a little bit. I’ve been able to carve out chunks of
time to weave in the art studio. I
decided to launch into a piece for my upcoming “Looking at Water” exhibition as
I’ve maintained progress on the rest of my projects. It seems that every time the weather gets hot and humid I
start thinking about cool Canadian lakes and birches. It’s a source of comfort, thinking of my Canadian roots and
travels north. Looking at birches is
meditative for me, in part because it brings back memories of my
Grandmother. In Pinery Provincial
Park on Lake Huron I would collect pieces of driftwood, freshwater clam shells,
pieces of birch bark paper and polished great lakes beach stones. I used these
to make her little collages to use as ashtrays. On the birch tree piece I’m making, I still have to create
the birch tree trunks and leaf clumps but I’m really pleased with the woven
canvas that I’ve created.
I also
spent a little time this week dyeing yarn. That’s less meditative, but it’s part of the art to produce
the colors I need. I currently have
two ongoing commissions that require yellow yarn for different reasons. The first includes a path that will
require bright yellow and purple flowers.
The second is a commission that will feature autumn aspens. The yellow yarns will go into the leaf
clumps that I will crochet. Having
several different colors and texture of yellow yarns adds depth and structure.
My commissions are pretty diverse, so
while I’m working on birch trees I’ve also been advancing my big-headed ant
commission for Wonderlab. Right
now I’m working on the super major.
I have completed the head and abdomen, and now I need to flesh out the
structure that joins the two. The
queen will be the final piece for that insect collection. As I move all my projects forward, I
keep reminding myself that I need to focus on the ‘Looking at Water’ exhibition
I’m scheduled to display in October.
I’m feeling some added pressure because I sold five pieces in Des Moines
that I would have used in that collection. Between travel, commissions, and readying the house for an
Open House in mid August to celebrate the boy’s advancement to black belt, a lot
has to happen in the next few months!
Also on the horizon is the Fourth Street Festival on Labor Day weekend. We have monthly meetings to orchestrate
the show and everything is coming together. This year’s T-shirt design, a tribute to the late Jim Kemp,
looks amazing. Kyle Spears did a
great job creating a layout for the art and bringing the project together. On the family front, we celebrated
Jacob’s twelfth birthday.
Tommie
baked him a peanut butter cup pie, which was wonderful.
Ever since we started grilling fish in
North Carolina, Jacob has taken a real shining to grilling. We’ve managed to outfit him with a new
grill, chef’s hat, and an apron with grilling tools. The weather has been pleasantly cool so we’ve been able to
have many meals out on the veranda.
I’m hoping that Jim and Tommie can keep him supplied with fish!
The only bad news to report is that I
didn’t get another pie after Des Moines.
I know we bought lots of tart cherries at the farmer’s market, but now I
see that they’re in the freezer!
Jim seems to think that just because I finished one pie (raspberry) on
Thursday I don’t need a fresh pie on Saturday! Sometimes I just don’t know what he’s thinking.
Until next week,
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