I like my coffee black with one pack of Truvia sweetner.  Ever since I started buying the boxes of Truvia, I have loved their shape.  One day, I thought, "I could take this box apart and make a pattern, and wouldn't it be neat to try to make a fabric box like this sometime?"  Well, that day was today!  I finally had time to return to my studio to do some work that I enjoy today, and it just seemed the perfect time to try it.  I started with the piece of fabric that I batiked a couple of weeks ago using my loaner tjaps, remember this fabric?

This was a fun project, and I suspect there will be more to follow.  I have a smaller size to try, as well as a tissue box pattern to try...endless possibilities!  Give this a try, it's pretty easy and the results are adorable.

     Well, the website is complete. Take a look HERE:  I hope the other artists are pleased with it and like what I've done.  This has been a labor of love, and I've been honored to be asked to do it.  I'm sure we'll spend the next month or so adding and editing and making changes according to personal tastes; we artists like to make visual changes all the time anyway, that's just who we are: tweak this, tweak that..."what if" this, and "what if" that.  That's no problem, we can change it all we want to.
     My goal in the site was to showcase the talented artists and crafts-persons at the art center, and to create a website that would show the level of professionalism that our center has and is known for.  In other words, my utmost goal was to honor the art center, the artists represented there and Mr. Jim Jacumin, who provides the ample space for us to showcase our work for consumers and community members.
     If you've never visited us, come on down to Main Street in Valdese, just a few doors down from Myra's!  We have something for everyone on your shopping list!  A great place to shop for gifts for friends and family members, while helping support the local arts and the community overall!

We had a wonderful time together learning about Fiber Reactive Dyes and how to use them safely to create our own hand dyed fabrics at the Valdese Heritage Arts Center this past Saturday!  Each participant left with a yard of hand dyed fabric, and another yard+ of fabric they had done surface design on with our dyes thickened into paint consistency.  We had a lovely group, and tons of fun!!  Can't wait for the Batik Workshop coming up next month @ the arts center again on September 15th.  If you'd like to sign up, there are only a few slots left, so call 874-1849 to register.  Here are pictures of some of our fun, to see the entire slideshow, head over to the Workshop's Page.

     I have a Batik class coming up in a few weeks, and a dear friend of mine, Beth Bailey, offered to loan me her three gorgeous wooden tjaps for making Batik fabric, and of course I said, "I'd love it! Thank you!"  Here's what they look like:

     So, today I had some time to work in the studio and try these out for the first time.  My experiences there was wonderful!  Also, I should mention that Beth donated a bunch of dyed fabric that had been previously donated to her and her students that had not been used.  So, I used the donated fabric with the offered for loan tjaps in the studio to play and see what I could come up with .

Then, since I did not dye the fabric that was given to me, I wanted to see if I could use discharge paste with it, to pull out color, which is a technique that I love to use.  So, I pulled out my paste and the tjaps and went to town on experimenting with it.  Here's what happened:

     I was honored to be contacted this week about a speaking engagement in September.  Jay Bevis, of the Morganton Rotary Club asked if I would be interested in coming to their once a month breakfast/meeting to present my artwork and talk about my processes in making my artwork on September 20th of this year.  Of course, I said, "Yes!"  I am looking forward to speaking to this group of community minded individuals, and talking about my passion and my process.  I hope they will enjoy the information that I have to share.

     What a wonderful day I spent with my precious friend and fellow fiber artist, Beth Bailey!  I cannot say enough great things about her, her work or her hospitality!     Beth has been working on a new series called, "Silk and Stones" which are all based on the cruciform, and have the most unbelievable symbolism woven into each and every piece!  These one of a kind earthy creations are made using hand dyed and raw silks, and are adorned with hammered metal, sea stones, raku beads and other natural elements.  As soon as I saw these new creations, I knew I had to have one!    So a while back I asked Beth if she would make one for me, as a commissioned piece, and she graciously agreed.

     Along with the cruciform shape, I love that these pieces incorporate elements of nature and batik fabrics, and perhaps the most important part for me is the fact that they are interactive.  Most of these pieces have a pocket built in that serves as a "pocket" in which to place a prayer for safe keeping.  I hurried home, and placed several deeply  meaningful and personal prayers in my piece, which is hanging sweetly in my upstairs studio/office, where it can be admired daily.

     Beth, I love it!  My words are not big enough right now, but I can tell you understand how much this means to me.  Thank you again, I will cherish it always!

     Finished "Healing" in time for the Open Art Competition at the Old Rock School Gallery!  Wish me luck!!

  One of the thermofax screens that I used contains the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, check it out here.  I love to use symbolism in my work like this.  Many times it goes totally unnoticed, but I know it's there.  In a piece like this, which will hang in my studio once it's back from the gallery, that symbolism is very strong and meaningful to me.  In my opinion, this is one of the biggest blessings about making art work, it is an opportunity to get as personal as you would like in your creative expression.

     I entered two pieces into the competition, Healing, and you may remember, "Your Days of Sorrow Will End."

     I have many irons in the fire right now, which unfortunately doesn't leave a lot of time for art making; however, I am working on a new art quilt for myself and hope to be able to work on stitching it today.  I am planning to enter it into the Old Rock School Open Art Competition this week.