Feeling Good

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

 

Yesterday I returned to The Basement...it was like sugar in my bowl!  I started out by rearranging my sewing area since and returned my sewing machine to its resting spot.  It, too, had been in for a good cleaning and Valerie was right, I'm back in love and the machine is running smooth.  I took an journal size quilt I did years ago and cut it down into two 4"x6" postcards and edged them.  I was on such an incredible high after making them!!!  Just floating and smiling and feeling good!!!!  Can you believe me in such bright colours?!  Well it was made right after a workshop with Melody Johnson. The top one is my favorite...something about the

orange!  The bottom one makes me think of ocean waves.

 

 

These are for sale, 25 each, or both for 40.

 

Today I took the altered art area and rearranged it and on Monday or Tuesday I'll tackle the everything else area and then I'll return to my Learning Curves curriculum

. 

 

Sleep in peace when day is done
That's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Journal Pages...

C'mon Artists, make a Fundred Dollar Bill

http://www.fundred.org/

This is a national project but the below is taken from the local press release.

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Come make a Fundred Dollar Bill at Mellwood A&E Ctr: support a nationwide art project

Presented by 21c Museum and Louisville Visual Art Association's Open Doors Program

The soil in New Orleans is contaminated with lead.  It affects 86,000 properties in the urban area, and is especially harmful to the inner city youth who live in this region.  There is a plan to de-toxify it and remove any health risks to the community.  It will cost $300,000,000.00.

Contemporary artist Mel Chin has a plan to raise this money and it involves everyone across the country.  The Fundred Dollar Bill Project invites you to make your own hand-drawn $100 Fundred Dollar Bill.  3,000,000 of these will be collected by the project in a veggie-oil powered armored truck and taken to the steps of Congress and asked for an equal exchange of money to clean the New Orleans soil.

You can make an $100 Fundred Dollar Bill and be part of a nation-wide public art project that will bring awareness to an environmental/health catastrophe in New Orleans.  Drop your Fundred off at the table or bring directly to 21c Museum Hotel, an official Collection Center on the armored truck's US route.  Tell your friends to participate!

Just remembering what I was doing in pictures before what I'm doing now...

My lungs are clearer than they've been in a very long time! My doctor released me yesterday from being house bound and I thought I'd return to The Basement Workshop today but the temps have dropped below freezing and after yesterday's running around I found myself good for nothing but sleep when I returned home. 

 I'm in dire need of a hair cut but as always when it begins to grow out I entertain the thought of doing something different with my hair other than my signature cropped close to the scalp afro.  But I've turned into such a really LOW maintenance chick that the thought of keeping any sort of regular appointments with a braider or beautician makes me go NO WAY! But I really could do a little better.  Wish barbers made housecalls.

Remember the art journal I had lost?  Well I found it buried under some things at the Studio. This is a page from it for materials to be used in the above piece.  Looking at it now, it feels like it will be a "safe" piece...no risk taking here. 

Today will be filled with reading.  Yesterday I picked up the latest SDA journal, Studio, and Legacy magazines. I've started another book by Zades Mda, Ways of Dying with the same protagonist, Toloki, the professional mourner, but this one takes place in his home country of South Africa.  Also I'm continuing to scribble and work with colour in the design writing that I began while in the hospital...all this should keep me out of any trouble for a day or two...

Hurry up Spring!

Cion, a novel by Zakes Mda

 I finished this last night and because of quilts being one of the central themes in the novel, I'm recommending it as a STRANGELY ENTERTAINING read.  You can read my thoughts on the book at my book blog, My Eyes Have Seen the Coming of the Word.  The top 3 posts discuss the book. 

Zakes Mda teaches at Ohio University right in Athens and cleverly interweaves the history, quilting and otherwise, into the novel.  Please let me know if you read it by leaving a comment at either blog or via email. 

Peace,

As I typed this Martha Stewart demo'ed how to make felted soaps.

One of my favorite tunes that Cheryl Lynne Skinner use to sing when she performed locally had a line that said "i'm sitting in the house with everything on my mind, looking at the clock and can't even, can't even, tell the time". 

dig the gold by Liquitex!  

Amazingly, I'm calm and cool and relaxed even though I've not left my domain since coming home from the hospital.  I'm even letting the fingernails grow...(a little idiosyncracy about me, I clip them short because I do not like the whites of my nails to show and have never been a fan of long nails even when I had regular manicures done at salons...nail techs found me odd that way.  But this obsession with clipping them short as I do started about 3 years ago when I was going through some BS with my daugther and I just never stopped.  I also found short nails to be better for handling paints and dyes so it just made sense to continue.)

 beginning a new "design writing"

If I'm honest with myself, it will be March before I return to either The Basement Workshop or The Beauty of Holyness Studio.  The comments in the previous post boosted my spirits.  The idea to start "design writing" came intuitively without any preconceived ideas of where the lines and values would go.  I just kept changing up pens and writing anything from what I heard on tv, what the doctor said to me, something I recalled, or a slew of emotions.  The idea Mai-Britt offered to make copies and experiment with colouring them was like "a duh, why didn't I think of that" moment.  Thanks Mai-Britt for the idea.  I haven't been in Photoshop in so long that I didn't feel up to taking in sharp turns in my brain by trying to recall how to do layers, but when I do feel up to I think I'll try working them with colour that way. 

  

i got carried away

Deborah's idea to start a study made me go "wow! i'm going to do an entire journal, page after page design writing"  I dig this!  Then Acey suggested seeing them stitched and I thought "ummm, did she mean stitched paper quilts...thats cool, I've never done one...or did she mean print them on fabric, ummmm saw a quick layout in my head...then I thought a paper and cloth quilt!"  I dig this also.  The art of holiness and the holiness of art is that it is regenerative on soooo many levels, one being that it draws community, and out of community, one finds their tribe.  So thank you to all who commented, one love!

doodling faces to mimick Ethiopia artists.

The answer to the question, "what are you writing these days?"

The paper is a heavy textured cotton like paper that I just love to close my eyes over rub. The writing is done using Faber-Castell Artist pens that glide beautifully over the dimpled paper.  The journal size is about 14x11 inches. The writing I started while in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs.  I have at least 2 weeks to be house-bound, at which, gives me time to finish it.  I thought about adding colour but I love the stark contrast of the black and white.