Soft Power: a preview

We spent two days this week setting up our show at Art From Scrap. 

Angela Moll, Jill Littlewood and myself combined our work in the gallery upstairs and I think it came together into a fun and cohesive way. These photos were taken before we actually got every thing hung but you can get an idea of the show. I will go back next week and take more photos of the finished set up. We will have an artists' reception on Friday, Sept. 7 so if you are in the local vicinity I hope you can stop by.

Two of Angela's wonderful "Secret Diaries" wall pieces. Love her work!

On the table are some of Jill's earthy hand made paper pieces, waiting to be hung.

Here are a few of my embroidered wall pieces.

Angela is holding up some of my hooked owls to see how they look.

More of my stuff- two shrines, a small painting and four hooked pieces.

Angela's wall piece.

Some of my little owl paintings and a hooked flower I made a bit ago.

And tomorrow Dennis, Jason and I are off to the Sierras again for a quick Labor Day trip. Justin will stay home and feed the cats and play volleyball with his friends, enjoying his time before he starts his studies at UCSB in late September. Taking some stitching to do while the boys fish.

Hope you all have a relaxing weekend and have time for some stitching too!

More birds...

I was invited to be in a 3 person show at Art From Scrap's gallery. I thought I'd better get some new things made-pronto! So I hooked up these two birds. They still need their legs and feet and I hope to make a new squirrel and maybe hook some dolls too. Other projects in the works too!

A few new things....

Inspired by our recent Julie Arkell class I made a few things that still need more stitching.

The little mermaid and her sisters got finished up and even got necklaces.

A 9" x 9" collage piece that I made for a local art fundraiser called, "One Night Stand".

And a funny little elephant collage that I made inspired by a birthday card I bought for a friend.

Earlier this week I visited my friend and neighbor, Sharon. She has given me many fabric and vintage lace treasures this year. This beautiful embroidery came my way. I washed it and the yellow ran a little bit, but I will find a way to use it soon.

These dolls came from Sharon too. I love their faded vintage clothing.

It's been very hot here in CA and I have to take off and go for a swim in the ocean to cool off, which isn't too bad. It does make it difficult to get things done though.

Hope you have time for some creativity this weekend!

A special THANKS to Morna Crites-Moore for my new blog header script.

 I need all the help I can get! 

Thanks, Morna!

Little mermaid

A fun little mermaid doll that I finished up last night. She has two sisters who are waiting for their hair to be styled, hopefully tonight.

Hooking again...

Since I've been home I have managed to get some fiber work done. These two owls and a mushroom were on my list of things to do. I took them outside for a photo and my assistant, Henry came along to keep my company.

Puppet Show and High Tea

On our last full day at the workshop we spent the morning getting our puppets ready for their debut.

The outfits that everyone made were amazing. Jewelry and hats and hair! A baker with his wedding cake, cats and dogs, sisters, rabbits and that's my fox above. We named them and came up with a short story for each one. So much fun!!!

The show begins....

Irene from the UK in her cute hat and the flower pin she made.

The ladies who took such good care of us came up from the main house for our puppet show and to make our last day extra special, set up a beautiful high tea afterwards. They were always smiling and helpful and colorfully dressed and created the most delicious gourmet meals and incredible desserts.

For the high tea we had two kinds of tea and cupcakes and a cake make by our dessert lady, Sheila, with the Olympic rings on top.

Our last day and time to say good bye to our wonderful hostesses, Katie and Carol in the back, the two English sisters....Les Soeurs Anglaises!

Thank you for a most memorable experience.

Oh, and they had a little store too! Filled with linen pouches, buttons, scarves and drawers of "stuff" that you would like!

This was a photo on the wall of some of Julie's work from a previous workshop.

Bye to lovely France...a wonderful trip with wonderful friends...who made it one of the best experiences of my whole life.

Picnic Soiree

Our next day found us working on our puppets, sewing all the outfits by hand. Each puppet developed a personality as we created their clothing and embellishments and thought about the story they would tell.

For our evening meal a special adventure was planned for us. A visit to a small village with a picturesque pub and cafe for aperitifs.

With a lovely view of the valley below.

We then hopped into our awaiting cars for a ride to our "picnic soiree" at the lovely home of our hosts friends.

A beautiful table was set outside...

and two more inside....

while our host barbequed butterflied chicken to perfection.

We had some time to enjoy the home and gardens before it began to sprinkle, then rain, and then the biggest hail stones we had ever seen! A mad rush inside with food and table settings and all was well.

We had a most delightful dinner inside the centuries old farmhouse. Denise was one of my table mates. Had to get a photo of her with the wire sculpture "ears" behind her! After all she is Grrl + dog!

Had so much fun getting to know her and sitting and stitching in the evening hours in the Barn. I had always enjoyed reading her blog adventures through the years and one of my first memories of her adventures was her courageous yarmbombing of statues in her native Australia. Then of course I love her fabric creatures with words stitched on them and her papier mache too.

A bit of Denise's banner work-love those fabrics and her silk screen in the center.

We headed off for our "home" after the best dinner and delicious dessert, a fruit tart, to prepare for another day of art and adventure.