I've Been Turning Snow Days Into Art Days

Yes, that's a swarovski crystal in the middle of the pendant. I've got to get some black velvet ribbon when it thaws out enough to go shopping. 
Today is the third snow day in a row that we've had. It's not snowing; it's very cold and two of the generators for El Paso Electric are frozen and we've got rolling blackouts.  Today will be another art day for me. 

My Heritage Emerges

This is a quilt I started some time ago and never finished. It needs a binding, a sleeve and a label on the back. 

Red and White Quilt

I finished the quilting on the red and white quilt. There are close up shots of the hand and machine quilting. The machine quilting is done with a silver thread. 


I am thinking of calling this one Root of Memory. I was going for a root with shoots, but then I realized I'd drawn a root with the Hebrew letter shin. 


I'll have to figure out how I want to bind the quilt. I'm not sure if I want red binding, white binding, or a color I haven't thought of yet. 

Snow Day!!!!!

We don't often get snow in the desert. Today is one of those rare times when not only did it snow, but it's too cold out for the snow to melt. Still, quail have to eat. 

Jim Wedging Clay

More Fun With Beads

I'm thinking about using a black velvet ribbon to make chokers from these. 

My New Clay Studiio

Working On Mugs

I've been working on mugs. These are coil built, and I'm starting to get better shapes and I'm getting better handles. Another 50 or so and I'll be where I want to be skill wise. 

I've Been Playing With Beads

I played with triangles and made a pair of earrings. 

More triangle playing, this time with a crystal and off center fringe. I think I'm going to attach it to a black velvet ribbon and turn it into a choker. 

Sketches to be used on a Jar and a Mug

I started playing with my sketches to see how I could use my line drawings on real mugs and jars. 

Latest Beaded Triangle

I haven't decided if I like this piece. I was playing with design while making a triangle. 

Jim's Latest Wood Bowls

Some of Jim's latest wood bowls. 

Jim Using The Lathe

This was my first attempt at making a video. Here's Jim turning a bowl. 

What I Decided To Do With The Little Quilt

I want to thank everyone who sent me advice and comments. I finally decided to do what my gut said in the beginning - hand quilt. It was suggested I use a red to match the appliqued piece, and I liked that better than my original idea for dark lines. 
I'll use an iridescent white thread to machine quilt the background. I'm thinking of a close meandering quilting to make the applique and the hand quilting pop. 
I originally started with a line drawing that was merely meant to be a root with some shoots. I was surprised when the drawing was finished to see that I had made a Hebrew letter - shin. This is the first letter of the shma, a prayer we say each day. I was always Jewish, but I didn't know it until a few years ago when I discovered my grandmother's really bad German was really Yiddish. Her family had kept being Jewish so secret that by the time my grandmother came along, she thought she really was Lutheran. I started looking at my roots off an on from the time my Grandmother wondered aloud about how her name and her siblings names were Jewish. Sydney, Benjamin, Esther (my grandmother), Harold, Alfreda, Naomi. Alfreda was named after my great-grandfather's mother, Alfreda Butz, a French Canadian who married an Englishman. 

Quail Feeding In The Back Yard

We bought a quail feed block and the quail really seem to like it. I love the coloring on these quail.