Missouri in the Fall

I know I'm a little late in posting these pictures of how beautiful autumn is in Missouri as the wind and rain have come and blown most of the leaves away, but I have just found time to load my photos onto the computer and the time to write.  I feel a little awkward posting lovely trees with sunlight glinting through them while the East Coast is looking at the massive amount of damage done and figuring out how to clean it all up.  Such a huge ordeal.

When I first arrived in St. Louis I went to stay at my friend Janet's and we went to meet an old friend, Joe, at his sisters for dinner.  Such a nice time reminiscing about high school days.  The next day I drove to Poplar Bluff to visit my folks.  My brother came from Texas with his wife and dog and it was a great time to see them all. We missed that my sister wasn't able to join us.

Drove to Big Springs at Van Buren and it was the perfect weather to walk around and marvel at the beauty.  With an average daily flow of 276 million gallons of water, Big Springs has been described as both the largest single-outlet spring in the United States and in the world.

We do not have the deciduous trees in California that are in Missouri so we don't get to see the colors of the leaves like this.

After the week in Poplar Bluff I drove back to St. Louis and participated in the Weavers' Guild of St. Louis annual show.  It was a great show and I got to see a lot of friends I have met over the years.

I am in Ashland now and will give my workshops this weekend and fly home early next week.  This is me on the road to St. Louis.

Take care everyone and especially all those on the East Coast my thoughts are with you.

Studio Progress

My husband and son Tony have been making great progress on my studio addition.  I am so excited to get extra space to work in!

There will be an overhang off the front with pea gravel around, a nice place to dye outside when the weather permits.

From the inside looking out.

When all is done I may plan to have an open studio, would you like to take a drive to the mountains to visit me?

Last Flourish of Summer

This morning the waning moon hung distant in the sky. The days are noticeably shorter.  Darkness comes at 7:30 but summer is still hanging on and sending temperatures soaring.  100 degrees yesterday.  Ninety degrees in San Francisco, unheard of!

Michael and I went to Capitola at the beach for dinner to sit outside where it was much cooler than here on our hill.  Cool enough the outdoor heaters were lit.

The garden still pushes it's produce but shows signs of winding down.

In my studio I've been dyeing and gathering items, making piles of like things to create with.  But not now, not today, it's a bit too warm and we don't have AC so I just putter around and sit in front of the fan stitching these scarves.

And I'll weave these crochet runners together with silk ribbons, both of which I've dyed using natural dyes.

Time Between Petaluma and St. Louis

I'm home from Petaluma and Art Is You.  I did not take one picture while I was there so I have none to post.  I am working on items to take to the St. Louis Weavers' Guild show in Oct. and also preparing supplies for the two workshops I'll be giving in Ashland, Mo. the first weekend of Nov.  Please see my events page for more info.

I just listed a few more natural dye printed fabrics pieces and ribbons in my etsy shop but have an appt. to get to and will post more later this afternoon.

Art Is You Petaluma

My car is loaded, I'm leaving to drive up to Petaluma to prepare for the vendor fair tomorrow evening.  See my events page for more info. I hope anyone in the bay area will come!  Here are some images of a top I finished to sell.  It's one of my reconstructed mens' shirt tops.

Frantic - desperate or wild with excitement!

Yes frantic is the word I use for the last few weeks of my life.  But frantic in a good way.  Ever since I returned home from Art Unraveled I have been working on a new class proposal.  The idea had been formulated in my head but I needed to make samples and know it would work and students could finish a project in a six hour class.  It's a wonderful upcylced garment class that even a beginner can grasp and accomplish. I made a few samples before I was able to create just the right thing that would work.  I had two friends (thank you Char and Jinn!) come up to my studio to be "guinea pigs" and I was so happy that everything turned out so well.  YEA!

During the creating I was also doing the write up for the proposal, I even wrote step by step directions for handouts.  I proudly finished the proposals yesterday and submitted them.  What a huge relief but now the anticipation of waiting begins.  The deadline for proposals is tomorrow Sept. 15, just so you know how close to the deadline I was.  We won't be notified until Dec. if we were accepted or not.  The process is a lot of work but just imagine the promoter having to carefully survey each proposal and make choices, that's quite the task.

Classes don't get published until early next year so you'll have to wait and see but here is a peek at what the "guinea pigs" created.

Of course in the midst of doing this I was contacted by the Tucson Bead show promoter (as per my previous post) and I had to get those classes together.

It's work, but work I like doing.  I think artists are often procrastinators so the deadlines loom and then life becomes a little frantic but once it's done I get to do what I love, teach and create.

Upcoming Shows and Workshops

I was contacted and asked to join the Tucson Bead Show that will take place in February 2013.  It's not just about beads but also other adornments that incorporate beads or products that beads are used for etc.  I committed to the show with enthusiasm and little anxiety. This is a huge event and I will have a suite to host small workshops in and sell my wares.  I sure hope people come visit me and I'm not sitting in my little room alone.

Are any of you reading this going to be at the Bead Show?  Will you come visit me, maybe take a workshop or two?

I have talked with Joanna Pierotti and she may be joining me for a couple of days to show and sell our work together in my suite and to host a special trunk show.  Joanna is teaching at a different venue than I'll be at the 8th, 9th, and 10th so I am so hoping she can arrange her schedule to join me a couple of days before her teaching engagement!  I am so excited!

The Tucson Bead Show  (click to go to website)

February 5-10 • 2013

Windmill Inn

There are over 600 artisan booths, galleries, merchant displays; and workshops taught by artisans, offering instruction for all skill levels.

See website for registration and more information.

In October I will be traveling to Missouri to visit my parents for a week then I will be participating in the St. Louis Weavers' Guild Show Oct. 26th & 27th.  The following weekend Nov. 3 & 4 I will be giving workshops at my friend Sharon Kilfoyle's studio. 

See my events page for all the happenings and more information.

I hope to see a lot of familiar faces and meet some new ones at these events!