SAQA Weekend - Fugitive Media!

fabric crayon, rubbing templates, shiva oil stick, watercolor pencil

SAQA Auction

Check out the SAQA 12" x 12" auction, happening on-line now!  It is amazing eye candy for sure!

My 12 x 12 square for the SAQA auction

To own one of your very own, go to:  http://www.saqa.com/saqa-u.php?ID=1791

Searsport Maine, Here I Come!

I'm heading to Searsport ME for the weekend.  It's the second annual SAQA Northern New England weekend.  You can check out the info on a poster found in past entries here.
I will be offering a twenty minute info-go-round about using fusibles creatively and touch briefly on the ease and effective use of free form bobbin drawing!  Yah! Go wild!
I am also looking forward to hanging out with other crazy quilt artists!  I'm so very excited!  The weather looks like it will be great for this, too!

I will have a lot to talk about next week!  That's for sure.

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood." ~ Berke Breathed

A happy face pillow, mono-printed & embroidered
one of my students work.

I'm Teaching at Pro Chem, April 2012

A very photogenic boat, Wellfleet, MA

I want to announce that registration for my class "Mono-Printing: Creating Your Personal Mark" at Pro Chemical and Dye Company will begin October 3rd.  You can read about my class on their web site:

http://www.prochemicalanddye.com/product.php?productid=17695&cat=293&page=1

September Days

High Water at the Quechee Gorge Dam

The Rain and cooler temperatures make me feel serene.
Fall is arriving in it's usual way, however, more wet than I remember! Perhaps that will give us some incredibly vibrant color for the fall foliage?  I hope!

Time to turn on some lights and get creative...

"An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail. " ~ Edwin Land

The Aftermath of Irene

One of several balls swept down a raging VT river only to rest on floating debris

I made it through Hurricane Irene with no trouble whatsoever, but many of my friends were not so lucky.  One friend has been forced to leave her home because of structural uncertainty.  Others were without power for days.  Some of our local stores will be shut down for months.  But worse yet, the ravaging damage to the once tranquil landscape has left us shaken and affected us all.

Today it is raining.  I cannot enjoy it's steady rhythm on the roof.  I worry about who it is affecting now.  I worry about all the people who are afraid that the river will swell up again.  Who are worried that the earth beneath their now unsteady homes will slide away and take their cherished homesteads away permanently this time?  Who are worried that all the work done to tidy and maintain could be undone again if the rain becomes torrential and the river decides to surge and roar once more.

And I worry that the summer is over.  Fall is coming, the darker days are nearing and soon it will be snowy and cold.  Ah! Such dreary thoughts on a dreary day!  Time to make art.

Sculpturefest 2011

O, Sorrow!

SculptureFest 2011

Woodstock,  Vemont
Sculpturefest 2011 
will open with a reception for the artists and community at four o clock on Saturday, September 3rd.
The annex exhibition at the King Farm also opens at this time.
Access to the King Farm is open from Prosper Road ,via a short walk through a woods path.
For those who need to drive there is limited parking available at the KING FARM via Rose Hill to King Farm Road.

Featured artists for 2011 Roger Goldenberg and Wendy Klemperer
thirty additional artists exhibiting
For more information and directions check sculpturefest.org
An online catalog will be posted on Friday, Sept second on the website

Back from the Cape

I have returned from a much needed vacation where, I walked the beach and had two days of not getting into an automobile to go anywhere.  It was sheer heaven.  Now, I am back to my real life.

What's up with me?

Look for my work on the SAQA Auction site and I will have an installation at SculptureFest in Woodstock, VT from September 3 - October 30th.
I am offering several courses at the League of NH Craftsmen for the fall and winter.  Sign up at http://www.craftstudies.org/mixed.html
And, I'll be heading to Maine for the upcoming SAQA weekend!  Yee Haw!

This fall, the Crafts Fairs I will be vending are:
In Thetford, VT:
Holiday Crafts Bazaar at Thetford Academy, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, November 19, 2011
In Woodstock, VT:
The Apples-n-Crafts Fair, Columbus Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 8 & 9, 2011
Woodstock Inn Holiday Crafts Fair, Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 25 & 26, 2011

I have lots to get ready for!  Lots to look forward to!

"Dwell in the possibilities" ~ Emily Dickinson

SAQA Weekend planned!

RSVP at the link below:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QFHHMGC

Working on SAQA Maine and Sculpturefest 2011!

Hey, it's been awfully quiet here on my blog, but that's because I am working!  I am currently finishing up my piece, "O, Sorrow!" for Sculpturefest in Woodstock, VT.  The opening is September 3, from 4 - 7 pm. I will post the invitation when I have made it.  I went and chose my spot on the land a few days ago and I am pretty excited about it.  Now to attend to the finishing touches!

I am also preparing to go to Maine for the SAQA weekend Sept 16, 17, & 18.  I am making the poster for that, and it's getting me excited.  It is a wonderfully vibrant weekend, put on by fabulous hosts!  When I have the poster finished I will post it here.

I am off to the Cape next week for vacation.  I am so looking forward to that!  Hopefully I will get a few more entires in before I leave, as I hope to be techno free for the whole week.  Can I do it?  You know, I'm not so sure!  and my digital camera doesn't count!... although,, if I take some really good shots, I may just have to post them!... Ah, it should be interesting to see how long I can go, huh?

Teaching this week

All this week, I'm at the League of NH Craftsmen teaching, "The Art of Embellishment", a camp for teens on revamping used clothing.  Yesterday we touched on mono printing, today we will use fusible web and iron-on crayons.  Tomorrow, sewing!  It's fun to see the kids loosen up and start to enjoy the creative process.  I can't wait to see what they decide to do as their final project!  They decide!

I can't believe it's August already!  The summer is fleeting by and I am feeling sad.  But then, hiking season is around the corner.  I love hiking in the fall.  Crafts fair season is coming up too, so I will have plenty of things to do!

Felix trying to blend into the rug

An entry from my Sketchbook project

Oh Summer.... where art thou going?  Slow down, please.  I want to enjoy this...

"You've been walking in circles searching. Don't drink by the waters edge. Throw yourself in. Become the water. Only then will your thirst end."  ~ Jeanette Berson

Hot, hot, hot!

I know! I know!  You're saying, Margaret, what is it with all these pictures of flowers on your blog, lately?  Well, I did give that some thought and I realized that my gardens at home are in such a shambles, that when I see a nice tidy garden with simply beautiful flowers, I must claim it.  At least with a photograph!  Mine are so out of control!

This picture shows the only thing that may be really happy with this hot and humid weather!  The Geranium does so well in hot, sunny conditions.... this is a really happy picture!

Well, I'm off to go swimming!' Ta Ta!

Summers influence

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.  ~Gerard de Nerval

Thinking about flags...

This weekend I will be concentrating on my Sculpturefest entry, "Oh, Sorrow!" It will be a progression from these prayer flags... (the image represented here has me thinking about my process). I hope I can make it even better than what I imagine.

"Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish to the crowd." ~ I Ching

Spider weave

Natures artistic weaving

On visiting a friend yesterday, she drew my attention to this glowing spider web in her barn.  This photo does not do it any justice, but on seeing it live, I found it a captivating sight.  Had I played with the exposure on my camera to change the depth of field to flatten out the background, this could be a wonderfully mesmerizing photo... and perhaps, to take it even further, an intriguing cloth graphic.  Ah, the wonders of nature!

Fresh air is good for the creative soul

Gazebo on top of the world....

It's been a good few days. I have been distracted from my regular life and have enjoyed the company of some good friends. I feel refreshed. I have a lot of creating ahead of me... in preparation for upcoming craft shows. So, it's time to get back to being focussed.  I look forward to it!

A view of Vermont

The fireworks are over

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and Third by experience, which is the bitterest." ~ Confucius

Sketchbook Challenge

"Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day, for no matter how little it is, it will be well worth while, and it will do you a world of good." ~ Cennino Cennini

Sketchbook Challenge

My Auction Piece for SAQA

This is a 12" x 12" mono-printed piece of fabric with fused fabrics, reverse applique, watercolor pencils and couched ribbon. This picture was taken while the work was in progress.

The finished piece is a little different but not by much. I removed the sheer mono-printed ribbon at the top and added a bit more watercolor pencil. I am very pleased with it.

Sculpture on the Grounds

at the Aidron Duckworth Museum in Meriden, NH

Sue Katz

Detail, Sue Katz

Barbara Ciesclicki

More sketchbook

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~ Pablo Picasso

nature inspires

“Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more.” ~Vincent Van Gogh

More sketchbook

“If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.” ~ Win Borden

Sketchbook Challenge

Surface Design blowout

"The state of our heart at the moment of applying paint to canvas gets into the mix somehow. What our audience actually 'gets' when they regard our work is simply how we felt while we were doing it." ~ Eleanor Blair

Spring is just so amazing!

Hazy, Hot and Humid

It has been really hot here lately and due to get even hotter!  Up in the 90's today!  These temperatures are good for swimming, but for not much else!  The humidity zaps my energy.  I only hope the weather holds with good drying conditions for the upcoming Surface Design Blowout Weekend.  We'll see!

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~ Albert Einstein

Surface Design Blowout Weekend

It's that time of year when I start to organize my annual surface design blowout weekend!  It will be next weekend June 11th & 12th.  Two (count them 2!) whole days of outdoor surface design fun with like minded friends.
It will not be at my house this year, so if you are interested in coming to this, please email me and I can tell you more.  I have it featured as an event on my facebook page, as well.
Yee Haw, I'm ordering supplies and getting myself packed for this amazing event.

“When we engage in what we are naturally suited to do, our work takes on the quality of play and it is play that stimulates creativity.” ~ Linda Naiman

June

“The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's "own" or "real" life. The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one's life.” ~ C. S. Lewis