Meow, Woof Exhibition & Fundraiser

Art Expressions in Ft. Lauderdale will be hosting a fundraiser show for Grateful Paws. I love to create work for fundraisers. For my dog related piece I created a stoneware clay box with a dog bone cut-out. As with much of my work I finished the clay with iron oxide rather than glaze. After the second firing I created a pieced fabric quilt with some berries and broken up cinnamon sticks sewn down the center. All was quilted together and stitched into the box. It measures just over 8 by 11" and is about 2" deep.

For my cat quilts I started with some cute cat fabric by Laurel Birch, adding colorful cottons until I was happy with the design. At first I had two small art quilts with buttons, yarn and clay stars. I decided they weren't finished so pieced and quilted a larger piece of fabric, attached the small quilts and then wrapped each piece around a canvas frame. I'm happy with the final quilts and will use this technique again.

If you are near Ft. Lauderdale visit the show! Perhaps I'll meet you at the opening next week!

Why Am I Blogging?

A few years ago I didn't even know what a blog was and now I'm ready to become a blogger. Life is flying by and I'd love to be able to look back and see the stages and progression my art has gone through and this will allow that. I also have been enjoying peering into the studios of other artists, seeing the wonderful creations they have been working on. Sometimes when I've commented on those blogs I've been asked 'where is your blog?', so now I have my blog here. Welcome!

Above is a photo of my first stitched teapot. Our assignment in hand building class was to create a bust sized self portrait. It didn't have to be an actual bust but it had to tell about us. As a Home Economist turned potter, a stitched teapot sitting on a pin cushion tells my story.


Brian Somerville taught the class and he was excellent in asking just the right questions to get us to come up with ideas, plans, improvements, that we needed for our work. As I was sketching teapots he made the comment that a teapot doesn't have to be functional and asked how I might make that clear in my sculpture. That is when I decided to create my spout from a slab and stitch it in place. A slab built spout is not going to pour! Thanks Brian!