The Invasion of the Tiny Purses

Hm. Strange hanging plant or what??


The current tranquillizer, in view of the new series of health crises in the household, is the Tiny Purse. These are one of a kind, just big enough for a cellphone, or Ipod or that kind of thing. Long strap, slings round your neck or over your shoulder, so you can't walk off without your stuff.

A while back I knitted blankets for rescued cats, same idea, tranquillizing in long days and nights in hospitals, waiting rooms, ICU places, and so on. The joke was the a bad week could be a two blankie week!

I've had a few two-purse days lately, purses being somewhat faster to make. So here are the current results. They will be in a craft show and sale in the Fall, to benefit rescued animals, same group as I made the blankets for.

It's a way of making lemonade out of the lemons life has been firing at us! great fun to pick over my yarn, and mix and match and design these items, mostly crocheted, some knitted depending on the yarn and my mood at the time and the state of my hands, which need changes from activity to activity.

Fiberart in progress, maybe Frida

Here's the latest work in progress, photo'd on the patio so you can see 1. the weather is moderate again, cool, cloudy, very nice and 2. the relative size of the piece. Up to now this is a crocheted warp and weft, but there will be more weaving and general playtime before I get through with this. It was plain white cotton yarn, which I dyed and left to dry in the studio during the heatwave, took no time to dry.

So now, this reminds me of Frida Kahlo, no idea why, and maybe this concept will vanish as I work and maybe it won't. We'll see. The ties that fasten it to the stretchers are not part of the work, just put there to stabilize it for weaving purposes. It was crocheted freeform, off the stretchers. This crochet is very elastic, so it won't be a solid mass when woven, but will be interesting to see what happens next. Don't ask me, I only work here.

But I think I'll get spinning with that lovely top I got down at Cape May, which is heavenly to handle and smell and work with, and Duncan the cat is totally kinked out over it, throws himself into the midst, drooling and rolling and generally looking like a total fool of a cat. I have to protect it from him.

I did give him his own little bit to play with and he ran away with it, drooling and slurring his words. But I think the cleaners must have vacuumed it up, so I need to give him a new one, or I'll get no peace to spin. But I think that will go well with this piece, we'll see.

Or it may be that you see a cat woven into the piece, indignantly shouting lemme out! depending on how it goes.

Handmade paper and words

In September I'm invited to take part in a group show on the theme of Wordplay, involving handmade paper and words and that general concept. Which made me go check on what I already have in my studio which fits the bill.

I selected a few pieces, which I want to show you here, and maybe some of these will make it into the show, depending on how they fit. They all involve handmade paper, often my own, or mulberry, and drawing and printmaking, taking words off the internet, an early foray into that as raw material, with the permission of the friend whose journal entries these are, though I broke the words and generally corroded the firmness of the font, to convey my own notions. One is reverse painted on the framing glass, as well as being a mixed media piece.



Mixed media piece, 20 x 16, with my handmade paper collaged, line drawings, the little gold insert a reference to Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, sneaky little art joke there




Handmade mulberry paper piece, with my own artist made paper underneath, mushroom printed. 20 x 16




Painting created from paper pulp used as paint material, with wire drawing, landscape of moon and hills, 30 x 16




Collage of leaf destroyed by gipsy moth, with handmade paper, wire drawing, 8 x 10




Collaborative work with text created by Kristie Helms, and artwork, monotype, stamping and reverse images on paper. Kbean, I have not forgotten that if we ever sell this piece, you get half the proceeds!!




Torn and cut collage of mulberry and handmade paper and charcoal drawing, 20 x 16




Double drawing, handmade paper, charcoal, ink drawings, from series based on the journal headings of Joyce H., with her generous permission




Drawing and painting with handmade paper on cardboard, using gesso as paint material 20 x 16




Small piece, artist made abaca paper, with wire drawing and amber bead, white painting reverse on inside of framing glass, using gesso as paint material, 8 x 10

New Weaving

Paper work, stamped paper strips woven with postage stamps, for an upcoming group show on the theme of Words. It made this a while back, had to let it rest, dry, generally take shape, and today I framed it. I decided that it needed to be under glass, for stability, but I'm not always much into imprisoning artwork under glass!