Fire and Fences and Hanging by a Thread

Awesome news,  Fire and Fences and Hanging by a Thread have been juried into "Abstracting the West" a show at the Wyoming Territorial Prison.
The show is from June 30th until I think end of September.  

Fire and Fences

 This is the close-up.  Almost all of the items with the exception of the yarn and threads are pieces found on our property in Crandall Wyoming.  Homes burnt to the ground in the 1988 Yellowstone Fires.

I really like this piece.  Not my usual fiber art. I like "real".  I also like thread painting.  I think the objects speak to me. As you can see from the previous piece, done  "inches" or as those are 1 1/2" inches,  I do like using little stuff and found objects in some of my pieces.     This is the 2nd piece I chose to enter in Abstracting the West,  a juried show.  

Hanging by a Thread

It looks like it floats, but it actually is hanging with fishing line.  I thank my friend Kathy Lichtendahl for photographing this piece.  I have entered it in a juried show, Abstracting the West.  If juried in, it will hang in the Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie Wyoming  pretty much all summer.  The only prison to have actually held Billy the Kid.  
 I should know this week if it is juried into this show.  
In making this piece I used many of my Dad's hat pins a few coins and other items he had in his nightstand.  The maps I cut up were also found at his home.   So,  although I have put a price on it, it is a hefty price, because I really do not want to sell it.  But if I do and get what I ask,  I think I can sell it without guilt.  
 I actually have another piece I have entered,  I will feature it next week.  So,  check back. 

Heart Mountain #2

Ruger loving those awful stickers!

Leave it to Ruger to love the stickers.  Yes!One of the 1st times we took this crazy dog to Crandall he ended up with his face full of these tiny awful stickers.  Funny thing  was he liked them,  so he rolled and rubbed himself full of lots  more of  those stickers.  We do laugh a great deal  at him. 

Snow Angel and Sand Angel

Sand Angel

 Snow Angel

Olivia our Granddaughter made the Snow Angel Christmas time 2014.  We were in Crandall, Wyoming.  We spent time sledding and she just layed down and spread her wings.   I was also very surprised when she did the wing spreading and angel making in the sands of Cancun Mexico.  We are looking forward to our next family vacation.  A wedding for her Uncle John and Aunt Emily??? Maybe.

Teton as a puppy!

Teton as a puppy.  We adopted Teton when she was probably 4 years old.  She is now almost 10 years old.  She has a funny personality.  She howls with me every morning as we get ready for our walk,  she is a bit selfish with her show of affection but she has the wettest kisses when she wants to share.  I do not think any of my friends have entered my home without her nose going for the crotch.  (very embarrassing for me)  She loves other dogs but has to fight with them the 1st meeting,  she seems to be fine after that 1st showing of who she thinks is boss.  I knew her when she was little and I love her as a part of our family.  This will not be the "art" photo of her I make, but I do love it.  I just find the photos from our part in her life more meaningful.  She has been lots of fun.

Artist Reception for The Textile Artists of the Greater Yellowstone at HMWF

This is a photo taken by Claire Cella a staff member of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation. Those 2 beautiful children are my grandkids.   It was taken at the Artist Reception for Textile Artists of the Greater Yellowstone and honored guest Naoko Yoshimura Ito.  Ms Ito was interned with her family as a teenager. Her quilt expresses a touching story about the time she spent at Heart Mtn, but also of the "Letting Go" of the hurt and pain that many Japanese Americans felt being inprisoned without trial by a country they loved and called home.  

Kodiak Griz

This is another shot from our trip to Denali National Park, Alaska.  Think maybe I should be putting these on at the time of the visit but it is fun to re-visit these photos.  This was taken very far away and he still looks huge!

Denali

Last summer on our annual trip to visit John and Emily.  We went to the  Denali National Park,  we took a small plane up to see the Mountain formerly known as Mt McKinley and  now known as Denali.
Most days visitors are unable to view the mountain because of cloud cover.  We wanted to make sure we saw it, and it was breathtaking!

The Doghouse

When we started planning out little cabin in Crandall.  I designed the cabin much different than Russ did.  I planned the bath to be on one side of the cabin,  Russ chose the center.  YES,  he chose the bathroom to be in the center of the cabin! Another huge difference in the planning was I wanted it set away from all the trees,  Russ put it so near trees that we had to trim huge branches to put the porch roof on. ( not a single  part of my plan was implemented) OK, that said,  because of these choices I have always called it the Doghouse.
Our dogs love going to the cabin so not all bad.  I did have to tell that story to tell you why Ruger is the photo I chose for this weeks blog.  I want to fill that little "doghouse" with thread painted dogs.  Our dogs!  And Ruger is my next thread painting for the cabin. 

Hanging our ----1942 Heart Mountain executive order 9066---- at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center

This is some of the Textile Artists of the Greater Yellowstone.  This photo was taken after hanging our art at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center. The show opened in the exhibit hall March 1, 2016.  We will have an artist reception April 7th 6:00pm-8:00pm.  At that time the center will be open for all to see the history and story of the Japanese Americans that were sent to this camp, as prisoners, without a trial, and without a  say. 
This exhibit includes 22 quilts made by Textile Artists of the Greater Yellowstone,  and a larger, hand quilted quilt made by Ms Ito, as a child she and her family were interned at the Heart Mountain Camp.  
If you are unable to attend the artist reception or this show, I strongly urge you to make the trip out to see this center.  It is truly an eye opening, heart wrenching experience that not one single US citizen should miss!!

Fences

This quilt is 18" X 24" and I used rusted, melted glass and melted plastic I found on our property in Crandall Wyoming.  These are remnants of how a "let it burn" policy in Yellowstone National Park 1988 destroyed private property.  This is what is left of some of the homes that were once on our property when the fire went beyond Yellowstone. I remember Cody was like a war zone,  National Guard were in Cody to fight the fire,  the sky was a dark grey and we had ashes floating in the air.  It was so dark during the day the street lights automatically came on.  It was not only un healthy but very sad to see so much beautiful Wyoming destroyed. The mountain behind where these objects were found is still barren of trees.  

"The Children"

1942 Heart Mountain
Executive Order 9066
I made this quilt for this exhibit, it is hanging with 21 other quilts made by Textile Artists of the Greater Yellowstone and one beautiful hand quilted quilt made by former Heart Mountain incarceree Naoko Yoshimura Ito.  These quilts are in the "special exhibit" room for the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, located between Cody and Powell Wy.   It will hang in the center until the end of May 2016. We will have an artist reception April 7th 6pm-8pm.
Pubic is welcome to join us, and this includes a free visit through the center.  

Wyoming State Guild raffle quilt

This quilt is now finished and traveling around the state.  It is the Wyoming State Quilt Guild raffle quilt.  The drawing will be this summer at the state convention in Powell Wy.  I did a lot of redesigning of this quilt,  it was beautiful before I did that, but just more time was needed to do more than these simple blocks.  I helped sew this together and I quilted it.  The other help was friends, more non guild members than members.  It is flannel and soon I will add a photo of the completed quilt.   

Fire Weed

This is Fire Weed,  It looks like a flower but I think it really is a weed.  This is beautiful and you can find it  all over Alaska. An art quilt in my future for sure.  I have found lots of photos I have taken of this when we visit John and Emily.  Think I like it!!

My Dad and my Son! Date right on the photo!!

 My Dad and my Son John.  August 15, 2007.  That is my kitchen in the background, I thought this was from Christmas 2008. Wrong! Until recently I had not checked out the photos left on my Dad's  camera, just a few photos on it but fun to look back. 

Found my Dad's old Camera…...

The top photo is my Uncle Roy,  the bottom is his wife my Aunt Mert,   Aunt Mert is my Dad's sister.  My Uncle Roy passed away,  Aunt Mert is now living in Lander near my Cousin Margaret keeping her in check.   They are in my Dad's home.  Very sad times.  I do believe my Uncle Roy was feeling awful at this time, later diagnosed with cancer. 

Meet Emily

In about a year this beautiful person will be my daughter-in-law.  We are hugging here because we caught the biggest halibut  on our Alaska fishing trip when we visited  John and Emily in 2014.
I say she will be our daughter-in-law but she already feels like a family member,  I think my son's have chosen the most awesome women to share their lives as well as ours with.  Life is Sweet!! 

Have you seen this one?

My goal a few years back was to finish some of the quilts and fiber art I started and abandoned.  This is one of those.  
It has appliqué, thread painting and I think beautiful quilting on it.  If I have put this on my blog, you get it again.  I have new quilts, they are waiting to be juried into shows and I will not be able to share those for probably several years.  Time to get some art done just for the blog. Maybe some more of these abandoned UFO's.  That would be a wonderful goal to  try again.  I did get lots of unfinished projects done when that was a goal and it gave me a great sense of accomplishment.   

Back to the fiber art this blogger loves!

This is one of 3 or a triad of quilts, meant to hang next to each other.   I thought I had photographed all 3 but could not find them.  I will share these again when I hang them on my wall.  I used a book called Fabled Flowers by Kumiko Sudo,  I made these blocks years ago and at that time was going to make a large bed quilt.  After giving it some thought I liked the idea of using the 9 blocks for 3 wall size quilts.  I am now binding them and soon a sleeve and label will be on the back.  These will hang in our new home,  our Crandall Home.  

One year ago today!

This is a photo of my Dad and 2 of his Great Grandchildren,  my grandkids Olivia and Liam.  It seems like only yesterday somedays. Other days it seems like forever that we lost Dad.  I sure missed him this past Christmas. In the past 5 years I think he spent most here in Cody with us.  We loved having him here to celebrate with us. I have some great memories, those before he died and some good a few of us share after he passed.  

Miss you Daddy!!

I am Over the Moon!

 Meet Walter Ronnie Cunningham.  America's 2nd Civilian astronaut.  He was the Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 7.  He as well as Shine on Harvest Moon have been juried into the "Fly Me to the Moon" Exhibit. This fiber art exhibit is a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Man's walk on the Moon.

Shine on Harvest Moon
is a song about lovers sitting under a willow tree.  The girl is frightened by the darkness so the boy sang to the harvest moon to shine on so she would stay.  I "carved" 
Sara and Foster into the tree.  Sara and Foster are our dogs, both have passed now, but they loved each other and us.  I thought it appropriate in my missing them to add them to a quilt that I had at the time, great hopes of it being juried into this exhibit.  I guess they are still watching over me, cause here we go... 

A tree and Me!

It's time again for quilt retreat!!

Friends and Co Quilt Retreat January 2015

Today I will be going to the January 2016 Retreat.  Always a good time to just work on my own projects.  I have everything packed,  I packed several projects because I did not make any plans for any one thing to get done at this time.  Many of these ladies will not be there this year,  they will be missed and a few that did not make it to a Friends retreat in the past will be 1st time joiners.  Looking forward to a wonderful time with good friends.

Happy New Year!

Finally the end of a very hard, emotional year.

I am looking forward to the promise of good things in 2016.  I do not make resolutions, but I do try to make some basic goals each year.  I can usually keep the goals  and I hope it makes me a better person.  So the list…….

#1

  Blog blog blog,  I have let this go for way too long,  so my goal is to update here every week.

#2

  I would like to create more of my  fiber art.     

#3

  Be better at staying in touch with my family and friends.

#4 

  This might be silly but I do need to paint every room in our home.

#5

 Last but not least,  have the official plans drawn up for out new home.

Seems like a do able list,  I think the hardest is paint this house!

The photo above is the view we will have from the front of our new home.  

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Back….

This is a shot of my Dad in his hospital bed.  Only a few hours later he passed.  I have and always will miss him.  He was a good, kind man.  He taught me to laugh,  tried to teach me to think before I speak.  But he always let me be me.  

So… I think he would be good with me moving on,  getting back to art and just remembering the good times, not the getting rid of all his "stuff", remembering his last days, and all the could have, should have stuff we all deal with when one we love dies.   My Dad was an organ donor and so he was cremated,  we will bury his ashes next to my Mom and my big brother John, in Kemmerer in a few weeks.  

Raven #1

 Raven #1 is my 12"X 12" for this months Textile Artists of the Great Yellowstone monthly challenge.  The theme this month was "something you may not know about me".  And so the Raven.  I love this bird, they are fun to watch, they live to be well over 20 years, they have a great sense of humor.  Not a single day goes by that I do not see a Raven in the area.  They soar,  they love the wind,  they make everyday play time.    Years ago,  I met a Native American medicine man, he told me that my spirit guide is the Raven.  I am not sure how he would know that, but since that time I value these birds.  I have watched them closely,they make me believe that each one that I see will bring me good thoughts, good days.  A happy life.  They certainly make me smile.  This is the 1st in a series I hope to make using the Raven as the constant in quilts.  

Merry Christmas!

I made this for our Textile Artists of the Greater Yellowstone Christmas gift exchange   The trees are 3-D.  Our theme for this exchange was Peace or Piece.  I did both.

Love the hugs!

 

 Russ, Olivia, me. We also enjoyed this lunch with Emily, John,  Jessi, Willie and Liam.  This was November,  we were all doing really well keeping the Birthday Party a surprise from John.