Beads and Big Lots

I'm a Big Lots* addict and I've placed myself on a 12 step program because I could nickel and dime it to death in that store getting all types of stuff that I pick up and say "now, isn't that neat" or "hey, i could use this for    (fill in the blank)" .  But yesterday this item had to come home with me...(and its been months since I was in Big Lots until I went yesterday)

Now its really not about all the 600 pieces of various types of nuts, bolts, wires, screws, etc that come with this, although, I'm sure to find uses for them in the coming years...ITS really about finding the perfect storage container for my seed beads and such.  All the donut shaped containers come off and when stacked on the cylinder in the middle, I can carry around.  The top of the cylinder unlocks and is hollow providing space for small scissors, threads, etc.  The snap on the donuts are very snug when closed and open easily with out having to push hard.  You know how some plastic container lids are difficult to open and then suddenly jolt open causing the contents to spill out? 

Now I just have to find something to put all these pieces in that came with the caddy so I can put my beads in.  Oh, and it was only 6 bucks. 

The other thing I picked up was a 6'x9' cotton canvas drop cloth for 5 bucks.  When I picked it up I was really thinking of using it for its intended purposes...but after I got home and fondled the fabric (I don't think fondling fabric is illegal since I didn't do it in public) I'm thinking of going back and picking up one or two more for quilt related purposes...not that I have any specific ideas, but "hey, i could use this for    (fill in the blank)."

*Big Lots is a store that buys out warehouse inventory of other stores, all types of stores and brands and retails their merchandise very low. 

Recycling Art over a cup of Highlands Honey Tea

Recycling art over and over and over...I don't have a plan, just playing around...On this piece I like what I did at the bottom using crackling gel and several yellows topped with a burnt amber.  I like the brass piece (that used to be one of my earrings back in the 80's).  I like the women as a focal piece...that blueish colour will go and I'll continue to work with the red.

And thanks Michele for the Highlands Honey Tea...Kalahari brand has been my favorite tea for a couple of years but I have not tried this one!  Did you know this already or was it just synchronicity?

I'm Done

All I have to say is track #7, Slow Dance, Once Again, John Legend!

NakedJuices

We use to "juice" a lot and seal the juices in airtight containers and freeze them.  P. and I would devote weekends to buying fruit and veggies from an area u-pick farms all for the purpose of squishing them in the juicer.  I remember the first time we took the kids apple picking...Ade was 5...he looked at the apples on the trees in the orchard and quipped, "the apples are dirty".  We cracked up...the plight of city kids...LOL...

We slowly stopped juicing over debating whose turn it was to clean the juicer...that was a pain...getting all that pulp out of the filter took forever...ahhh, the plight of being accustomed to convenience...LOL

A few months ago we came across this brand of fruit juices and I'm now addicted.  I must have one if not 3 of them each day.  I've pretty much eliminated carbonated beverages, opting instead for one of these juices.  From all the juices I've tried, this brand comes the closest to fresh squeezed.  My favorite is the Strawberry Banana...but I love them all except for the one with coconut.  I entered my zip code (on their website) to see who else carries them in my area besides Kroger and I see they can be found at Sam's Club.  (Dang, why not Costco!?) But I'll check Sam's next week sometime.

Today I feel better.  It was such a leap to write yesterday's post.  I use to maintain a seperate blog for talking about health but I stopped posting there but have left it up due to other people with PH who have stumbled across it and emailed me to thank me for putting into words their feelings and struggles.  But today is a good day...don't know if any colour will fly around here but my grandson is here with my kiddos out of school today and that is enough. 

 

You Can't Meditate that Sh*t Away

LOL, the title is a voice of a very dear friend who said those words to me many years ago and who I hear when I'm trying to exercise mind over matter about my health.  It makes me chuckle but also come to grips with how I'm feeling.  I've not felt well and am not feeling well today. At first I was contributing it to the stress of December/January...then it was not having practiced my art...then I had a touch of pnuemonia...and again this year I had to go through the rigamaroll the same as last year with another new insurance company and was without two important prescriptions until last week.  There is that part of me that says "keep your hands moving, keep colour in front of your eyes, get out and be social, etc." and the joy from these things provides another focus and many times this works, but today is not one of these days.  Usually I can fake it until I make it, this is not one of those days. I need to just recognize the pain and not explain it, apologize for it, or pretend its not there.  I don't attend the pulmonary hypertension support group because it seemed everyone was worst then me or the ones on the mend had had lung transplants and I didn't want to face that either.  I've thought about how I could channel all this bullshit into quilts and if anything I think its why I'm drawn to linear/angular abstractions of colour and shapes.  I don't want the details of visualization, the burden of details.  I want a meditation of colours as a emptying out busyness and a filling up of calm.  This is the channel I travel to get back my self, the self that I love the most.

What, Why, How, Who, When and Where

Tonight is the LAFTA meeting...ummm, I think I'm not going to go tonight.  Today is a day that nothing commands my time outside of home and I'm opting to stay in.  It is sunny but Babee, its cold outside!  On my radar this weekend is spending time with a sister, niece and great nieces and nephews.  Mo, my daughter, is bent on having her prom dress made and Deb, sis, will be making it.  So this weekend we'll buy fabrics for the dress, and the dress only...no fabrics for me.

Also, this Saturday is the regional meeting of SAQA that Carnegie Art Quilt Critique Group will host at the Carnegie Musuem and on Sunday it is the Sankofa Seam Alliance meeting.  These I plan to attend.  Since I've stopped working (damn! almost 2 years ago), I've become much more conscientious about my time and place.  I was telling P. that I seldom drive beyond a five-ten mile radius...also, I'm a lot less spontaneous and find myself dividing my calendar into quarters and planning quilt related trips that I want to take through 2008. 2008!!!!!!!! Geez, I never planned that far ahead!!!!  The old Karen would have only concerned herself with getting in the vacation time from work and not thought about the trip until nearly time to go. The changes I see in myself brings to mind a girlfriend saying "she's died at least 7 times" meaning she also been resurrected at least 8 in order to accept the changes that life brings. 

I've been browsing through Testimony: Vernacular Art of the African American South . The artist, Purvis Young's works holds mystery (I love), busy (less so), gentle (I like).  I'm looking at art of others that appeals to me and asking myself "why?" as an exercise to help me define what I want to do in quilt art. Soooo, a gentle mystery...so, I can do busy when there is mystery (imagery) and gentle (colours)...Yeap, I think I'm getting there, "there" is towards the cognitive reasons of how to achieve what I'd like to do in my work. 

Here are more pages from altering books.  The one on the right has pockets but I haven't decided what I'm going to put in them. The one below has eyelets set in.  This was the first time I used the eyelet setting tool and I was digging that a lot.  I'm going to try this in a quiltlet.

Today I was going to re-start my Photoshop lesson but I think I'm going to make some more straw beads since I found them yesterday along with my foils that have been missing for 6 months. Where did I find them? I'll just say plastic storage containers are fast breeders and before long you'll be looking for ways to organize the plastic boxes that you purchased to organize the stuff inside them!

 

I like windows and doors

Completed pages from an altered book.  I like the layout and the window.  I'll be looking for doll house size windows and doors and door knobs as elements in altering books. The item in the lower right corner is an image of a gray shutter door surrounded by an orange wall.  Other than doing these pages here and there I've not managed to do much of anything except daydream about where I could live that the temps never fall below 40 and never rise above 90...low humidity, blue skies, an occassional rain storm, and no natural disasters....ummmm, only in my imagination???