Yard Art

These ceramic sculptures were created by Jose Avalos, a terrific ceramic artist and a wonderful friend.

Summer in the Desert

We've had some rain lately and the cacti are blooming. It's a stunning show that doesn't last all that long.

Dye Experiment

This is a piece of white on white fabric that I tossed into the experimental purple bucket. I like the color, but I'm surprised that the white print stayed so white.

Putting Handles on the Dye Experiment Tote Bags

I'm making tote bags from the muslin I'm using for dye experiments. These tote bags are suitable for groceries.

Playing With Pearls

I was playing with pearls today and made a short necklace. Naturally, I needed earrings to wear with the necklace.

Battling the Serger

Why does a serger have to be such an obstreperous machine? Normally, I watch the cones to see when my thread is getting low. Just before I run out of thread, I will tie on a new cone thereby avoiding the misery of manual threading. Not this time. I was so engrossed in what I was sewing, I failed to notice the thread for the dreaded bottom looper was about to run out. I followed the diagram, I put the thread through all the thread guides, I actually managed to get the bottom looper threaded left handed (I'm right handed), and tried to serge. Thread broke. After several careful threadings and still having problems, I looked and saw that the thread wasn't between the tension disks. Ugh! Why on earth does this machine have to be so cantankerous?

Jim's Wild Socks

These are my latest dyeing experiments. I've been mixing different colored dyes in assorted proportions to see what I would get. The photo with the two socks isn't a pair... it's two different socks dyed with two different approaches to try to get a great Chinese Red. The screaming lime green was a surprise. Jim has the spiffiest socks in town.

Dyeing

I dyed yesterday. I played with the dyes I have and blended two colors together. The colors don't photograph all that well. But... here are Jim's new socks. They are made from bamboo - very soft, very durable, dyes very well. The pairs are where I played with different combinations of purple and different combinations of blue green. The brilliant orange isn't quite what I was aiming at, but I like it. Eventually, I want to dye fabric with my colors. A few hundred more experiments, and I will have great colors.

Earrings

These are some of the earrings I made this weekend. Earrings are like peanuts - you can't stop at just one pair. These and other earrings are in my etsy store.

Playing with hand dyed fabrics

I tweaked a pattern I bought from Sew Thankful, used a technique I learned from Threads magazine, and used hand dyed fabrics from Della Jane Hand Dyes. As always, I used my fancy threads and fancy stitches.

Please give me feedback

When I made the head and shoulder sculptures, I had specific emotions in mind when I made the faces. Please tell me what emotions you see in these pieces. Many thanks.

Head and shoulders

Unfortunately, one of her braids was loose and fell down during the glaze firing.

Head and shoulders

I asked her how she wanted her hair and she told me she wanted braids piled on top of her head.

Head and shoulders

I had more fun making the hat for this one.

Head and shoulders

This is the first head and shoulder piece I made. I was working on something else, when I had the overwhelming urge to make this piece. Sometimes, art just has to come out.

Head and shoulders

After making 21 female figure sculptures, I started working on head and shoulder pieces. Can you figure out what decade was on my mind by the "clothing?"

Playing with the crystals and making earrings

After finishing sewing a pair of linen blend slacks and a black with white batik blouse, I made some earrings. Can't wait to wear them.

An interesting result

Sometimes, I feel as if I have so many demands on me that I'm covered in leeches. I used one of Jim's extruder dies to extrude the "leeches" which are shaped like little people.

Good idea, not good execution

What would happen if I soaked yarn in slip, applied the yarn in a pattern and then fired and glazed the piece? I'd wish I never started the process. I had a miserable time getting the slip soaked string attached. Then, the bisqued piece was so delicate where the string was that pieces kept crumbling off.

Result: I now use a coil when I want this effect. All part of the process of creating and learning.

It doesn't always come out like I planned

I wanted to make a sculpture with coils applied to the outside. Alas, when I got to the bottom, I slipped where I should have scored and slipped. When it was bisqued, I should have just removed the bottom coils. Now, they are forever glazed in that position.