Merry Xmas 2011!

I've been gone a long time, carpal tunnel, work/overwork,etc.  My hands/wrists are better and my life is slower.  I have made some new little pieces: some are fabric and some are on canvas or board.  I'll post some photos soon but for today:

Deep Thoughts

Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it.

                                                                                                        Lily Tomlin

First Day Of Fall.....Walking Home Again

"Walking Home Again"     (7  1/2" x 8  3/4")

 

       Iris Dement singing "Walking Home Again"  moves me back in time....walking over the fields or down the dirt roads....mild breeze blows....hint of cooler air....grasses dying down....sun glowing, paler and not so bright....hearing my mom's voice, kids shouting, screen door slamming....the excitement of my dad getting home from work....old furniture worn out by all the kids and pets and people....the fireflies will be out soon....I see it and hear it and smell it and feel it.  I am that girl again and these are the moments I love.                                                                          

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Sprinklings of rain, grey, cooler today.  My hands and wrists seem to be okay now.  (I overdid it before and had to stop again)....So back to the piece I was unable to finish when the carpal tunnel struck!  It's off to work I go....

Passing Moment

Today was just that kind of day...

Swinging And Dreaming

My carpal tunnel has cleared up except for a bit of numbness in my fingertips.  I've started sewing a little and trying to not overdo it.  Here's an older piece made from my memories.  Last week was wonderful, sunny days, breezes, lower humidity....like the early June days on our farm when I was a kid.  The swing was magic.  You could go high and low, fast and slow, twist and turn...my favorite was to sing songs and recite poems out loud or make up stories in my mind and daydream as I swung.  I could be anywhere and do anything when I could dream and swing.

11 3/4"  x  12 1/2"  

    

One Spring Leaf & One Spring Flower

More Spring Colors!



 Another beautiful day with sunshine....spring may actually be here!

How Does Your Garden Grow?





A REAL Mother's Day!



It's your day, Mom...
Do whatever you want to do!



Think SPRING!

First real day of sunshine and light...these are little pieces I make from small bits, scraps, yarns, and "leftovers."  These remind me of a world waking up and of Spring.

I Wanted To Write... But I Couldn't!!

From Me!
I've been brought to a screeching halt by carpal tunnel in both hands!
Unable to sew, write, even hard to hold a book to read...
Just thought I'd appear for a bit to exhibit signs of life.
Will be back when hands can work again... 

Piece Of My Heart

Pain...loss...struggle...hearts break and shatter.  If we are open to accepting what we cannot change, and remain open to love and to others, healing occurs.    Out of the fragments and pieces emerges a deeper, stronger, more understanding and compassionate heart...more beautiful than before it was wounded.  There is an old Sufi saying, "When the heart weeps for what it has lost, the spirit laughs for what it has found."

16 1/4"  x  11 1/8"
Hand appliqued, embroidered, beaded, quilted

  

Fire Dancer

Thinking about cold last night made me remember this piece.  "Fire Dancer" is about our inner spirit or fire which can heal or harm, be selfless or selfish, illuminate or destroy.  Our challenge is to find our balance in and with this power, to find our rhythm in the energy, to dance with Light.

"Fire Dancer"
16" x 16"
Center is made entirely of one stitch (chain) done over and over and....

Fireplaces And Cold Winter Nights

I'm feeling the cold tonight and remembering being curled up in an old chair in front of the fireplace. I grew up in an old farmhouse where cold air whistled through cracks and windows rattled in their frames. There was a wood burning pot-bellied stove in the "middle room" and a fireplace in the "front room."  A person ventured away from those at the risk of seeing her breath frost in the air and no one stayed away any longer than necessary.  But I also remember being wrapped in a blanket in the chair by the fire reading and reading and eating apples.  The fire would blaze and rise and dim and lower, while my face would go from hot to warm to cold to hot again. Stirring the embers... banking the fire... putting off going to bed in a freezing room where the sheets were like ice...I absolutely love central heat, but I do miss having a "hot spot"to go to or gather around when the world keeps getting colder and the wind is rushing past. 

I'd better go to bed...I'm sensing phrases like "in the good old days" and "back when I was young" are coming next...and I'm trying to save them for use when I'm older than I am now.  

My Life "Rules"

Live With Intention.

Seek The Truth.

Practice Compassion.

Happy New Year! It's 2011...Do You Know Where You Are?

Glinda says, "Follow only your own path in this new year...
  Go one step at a time,  get up each time you fall down,  work when you must,  play when you can,
 rest when you need to,  confront your fears,  believe when you falter...  
Now put on those shiny red shoes and GO!"