KATHLEEN

I just saw Josh Ritter a few nights ago and it reminded me of a portrait I had done last year of an old elementary school classmate of mine. I have and had been out of touch with her for very long time but I had received news that she had fallen into a coma. This was dramatic news for me and occupied my mind. I am a mother of young children and I knew that she had three very young children of her own. It was awful information. It was at this time that I came across singer/song writer, Josh Ritter. One of his popular songs is called 'Kathleen' and it affected me greatly. I played this song over and over and one day it just came to me that I needed to create a portrait of Kathleen to remember her as a child. After I did this my mind became at ease and I really came to terms with what had occurred. Here is the portrait. If you have frequented my blog you can see that it is very different from my other work. I think that is because it is drawn from memory.

SLACKING

So, I didn't work last night. My husband and I went to a Josh Ritter concert. If you have never heard of him you need to visit his site. You can click the link on the right hand side of my blog. He is a country/folk singer of a kind. Sort of walking in the steps of Bob Dylan. That said very original, passionate, fabulous songwriter, and just all around great performer. So go to his site and download some free MP3's he generously supplies, enjoy and try to catch a show at some point. Seeing this kind of artist live is so much better then recorded.

On my work....more to come I promise. I'll be cutting stencils tonight!

THE NEXT STAGE

I know I am due to post a final image of my "Dreaming" piece but, guess what, Im not finished. So as soon as I finish up those pesky final details you'll have to wait for the final product. In the mean time, I am planning again. I can't get pink out of my head and now I have another image to prove it. The image below was lit with yellow light so the color is not quite right...sorry but you probably get the idea. By the way, this is the cover or House Beautiful, I believe, and it is Marie Chantell? Something like that. Anyway, I am now thinking purpleish-pink and satiny for my next work. I have some very cool painting techniques which I think I will try out. More on that later. I also think I will be pleating and quilting this work?? Time shall tell.

As for inspiration, The Complete Book of Sewing by DK publishing is fantastic! I just want to practice everything in there. I also just received Fashions of the Gilded Age in the mail today and I have already reviewed the whole thing. Talk about pleating and ruching. Yeah! So, I have my work cut out. Now I just need to sit down with some paper and think it all out.

MID-ATLANTIC QUILT FESTIVAL

Well, I just got a letter in the mail today notifying me of the acceptance of my "SMOOT" art piece in the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. I am so thrilled. This is all very new to me as I have been working as a 'portrait' artist of sorts and have just recently entered the quilting realm. If you are in the region come and visit the festival. It should be a fabulous time. I am excited to see and speak with some amazing quilt and fabric artists! USE THE LINK ABOVE TO GO TO THE QUILT FESTIVAL SITE THEN MAKE SURE YOU LINK TO THEIR HOME PAGE AND ALSO GO TO THE LINK FOR THE 2006 WINNERS. There are some SERIOUSLY inspiring quilts!

The following images are of my "Smoot" painting/quilt which was selected for the show.