Actually got to work last night and completed a step of a fabric collage that will be my next piece. Happy with it so far. A long way to go, but it felt so good to be lost in the piles of cottons and silks. The dogs slept, though every time I left the room, two of the three would sleepily stand and follow me, even if I was just going to the next room. It was great because Hapi, Kizzy, and even Cairo joined me, too. All birds seemed to enjoy the attention and change of scenery, and Cai gave up his usual spot on my head in favor of a separate wooden perch. I listened to The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom -- so compelling and beautifully written it is sure to be finished today. What horrors people have inflicted on each other. So sad, yet Corrie's faith was so untouched. Enhanced, even. A beautiful life. The narrator is excellent which makes it even better.
Amazon.com sent me a note stating that a book I ordered in November, Claire Wellesly-Smith's Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art would not be available after all. Unless I wish to pay the $100+ cost of a few used copies that have surfaced on Amazon. No thanks. Instead, I did get the digital copy and hope to go through it today. I'm all for mindful and contemplative while fighting the pull of the high pred dose I got yesterday!
Getting ready for this week's talk and this weekend's workshop with the Merrimack Valley Quilting Guild! It will be great having all day to just play with beads -- I can't wait! Got supplies yesterday and made a sample to use for teaching. Fun ahead!
Today's art link is to a intriguing artist who wrote about textile sketchbooks for TextileArtist.org. Lynne Butt's sketchbooks overflow with enthusiasm for cloth and texture. Her limited palette is engaging, as is the atmospheric and abstract feel of each pictured page. I like the simple linear style of the drawings and knonw I need to return there myself...drawing is the beginning of everything. I might make my current altered book more of a fabric one -- experiment with painting and layering, attaching stitched pieces to it, too. Will have to beef up some paper pages though, or sew one from fabric, even as a simple paper page isn't strong enough to handle all I want to do to it. In visiting Lynne's page on the Phoenix Contemporary Textile Group page, I see she is a certified art teacher (UK) who also holds a City and Guild's certificate...I see a pattern here!
Onward!