We Art the People - Albuquerque

Every year the Off Center Art Center sponsors a great art fair in Albuquerue. It is called We Art the People! Above is the name on a booth that I just loved!

Booths and more booths

People strolling

and perusing

They also have a parade of huge puppets that dance in a parade. I missed the parade this year, but found two of the puppets.

All in all, a very nice day in the park. It was not unbearably hot (this is August in New Mexico after all) and the rain from the night before was not in evidence.

Blogger likes me today...

Ok, Blogger is letting me install photos now, so I will post from last night and tonight!This is a recycle quilt using the leftovers from a future black and white quilt. I thought that this was the back, buy it may be the front. I am still practicing on my machine quilting, but it goes very slowly!

This was the front, now maybe the back? I like the contrast between the colored and black/white. And yes, it is not straight-when I got the backing on, it was crooked, so I just went with the flow and made it catty-wampus!

Here is several yards of black and white cut into 2" strips for a wedding quilt I owe my nephew!

This is the scraps and dropoffs from cutting the strips. Most of the pile on the right was transformed into the quiltlet shown in the first photo.

Start on the Black and White quilt

I cut up yards and yards of black and white fabric last night into 2 inch strips for a black and white quilt that is the last of several wedding quilts that I owed my nephews! Now we are starting on baby quilts! But I already have that covered.

ARRRGGHHH! Blogger will not let me upload images, so I will add this quote that I found:

Somewhere, there is something incredible waiting to be known! Carl Sagan

ARtful weekend

I finally got back to my studio over the weekend. I did some housework and watched a movie that evening. During all this I was painting in an altered book that I have been working on for some time. Orange dye, airline label and masking tape

Blue Cabachon on the left and I just LOVE the Jacquard Lumiere Indigo paint.

Blue Tag (more will be done on this page)

I believe quote from a magazine, more will be done on this also. '

It is so good to be back in the studio!

If you have kids, or are a kid at heart

check out this blog!
http://blog.betzwhite.com/2008/06/super-foam-erator.html
Not much arty is happening in my studio, but I did have an art date with a friend to attend Albuquerque's First Friday Artscrawl. After a week of work, I did not have much energy, but we went to three galleries and saw some very interesting art!

More Rust

I am still not sure that I have enough on these two pieces of muslin, I may put them back to rust some more. I like the top piece (at least the right half of it) and I like the left half of the other piece.

This is some white on white fabric that I found. The print is VERY small bubbles, but you can see them in person. I probably need to make something out of these rusty pieces before I get too much fabric (too much, what am I saying!!)

At last I am home alone (except for BC and FB!)

Left to right, Kay, Marsha (hidden behind the aluminum foil), Donna, Allene, Floye and Tim.

Another busy weekend. I took sick on Friday (just too much stress, and I had a light day... What can I say??). Mother had stomach trouble, so we did not know if we were ready to take off for a three hour drive with very few bathroom opportunities, but by noon she was feeling better. I went to get my oil changed and found out I had to replace my brakes ($300 instead of $30!) They had been making a strange sound...

Anyway, we took off Friday afternoon and got home in time to have some great meatloaf made by my sister. Mother was most relieved to be home!

My uncle left Friday morning via ambulance to the nursing home that my cousin works in. He will be there for 2-3 weeks for rehab. I know that branch of the family was glad to be home also!

Saturday, we got hit by the remants of Hurricane Dolly, so I beat a hasty retreat to Albuquerque in front of the storm. They got about 4 inches of rain, which is almost a year's worth of precip in the dry desert! I got caught in an absolute downpour and lost traction, so I slowed down after that!

I came home and enjoyed the peace and quiet of just me and the cats.

Last night I started some more tannin/rust, but came out mostly tannin and very little rust. I am drying them now and will post tomorrow!

Busy, Busy, Busy Part Deux!

I just thought that I had been busy in my last post.
My 86 year old uncle fell and broke his hip. They flew him to Albuquerque to the VA Hospital.
He came up alone, and I went over to see him and stayed with him all day Friday until my Aunt and cousins could come up to Albuquerque.
My mom also came up, so we had a mini family reunion and looked at old family pictures.
They operated on Sunday and the hip replacement went well.
I am very impressed with the VA Hospital. I know that they have had some bad press in the last few months, but the staff are kind, gentle, understanding and seem really interested in the patients (and family). They are engaged and interested, even when the patients are rambling!
Could not ask for better care than what he is getting.

I have been chauffer, nurse, therapist, and friend all weekend, and will continue as my Aunt (77) and my Mother (85) will stay until my uncle is released and able to go home.

So art is off the table for now, but will return!

No art today

I am under a lot of stress at work due to a Human Resources issue (not for me, but about a co-worker). Did not sleep well last night, and so I will try to work on some art tonight, but I have been reading, relaxing and playing video games! Oh, well.... maybe some art tomorrow

The Story of Stuff

I watched this video after I made my earlier post, and feel like I really need to let everyone know about this issue. It is a 20 minute video, but please watch and send the URL to your friends. The Story of Stuff http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Busy Busy again

One of my more successful rust attempts. I think that this piece reminds me of a fresco wall

This was a test piece of postcard fabric which came out very nice.

This is my "dypepot" an old inexpensive cake pan that rusts most satisfactorily. It sits outside on the balcony amid my plants. This is how much rain we got last night, which is very unusual for Albuquerque.

Today after church we went to the Lavender festival in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. It is a very green, lush almost rural area with lots of vineyards. Very interesting and they have lavender in almost anything! It is an annual festival, and next year we are going VERY early on Saturday morning.

My Political Rant for the week

It is only July, and today I saw two McCain and two Obama ads (and I do not watch that much commercial TV). I discovered this website http://www.recapturetheflag.com/. This is a site asking for pledges from politicans that they will stop torture, etc. Check it out, I signed up and when I got an email today from NM Senator Binghaman, I asked him if he had taken the pledge. I think it is time for all politicians to take the pledge.
Art resumes over the weekend.

Another WIP finished

This is a long-time WIP (work in process) that only needed a little quilting and the binding applied. It is now finished! Hooray!

Lins Cats

I am using this wall hanging from my friend Lin to practice my machine quilting. I just did outlines, and it came out OK. Note that Baby Cakes is giving it the once over

Very colorful quilt, and I will give it back to her at our meeting of The Thrusday's Women this week. (Note that Baby Cakes got scooted off the middle of the quilt, but is still hanging around the edges!)

FINALLY!! Art

I felt like Saturday was a bonus day, as Friday seemed like Saturday.

I started on some altered tags and a box on Sunday,

This is the first coat of paint in a great color called Indigo Jacquard Lumiere paint.

I also did some rust dyeing over the weekend- that bonus day again. I think that this looks botanical, perhaps a tree? Sorry for the shadows, but the flash gave too bright a picture.

These small pieces are white on muslin, and I really like how they came out. I will have to root around and find some more WOW (or WOM as the case may be) to experiment on.

This was the only disappointing piece, and it may go back into the rust. I have some jacquard weave upholstery fabric brewing now, and we will see how those came out.

BTW, the rust was inspired by the latest Bonnie McCaffrey video!

Time Flies

Wow, it has been three weeks since I posted last. My life has been very busy lately...

I have had a nasty bladder infection and have just not felt up to par for some time, so have not felt like doing much art.

We also had SAS70 auditors at work for two weeks, and managed to pass with flying colors (or my department did at least!) Lots of stress involved in that, and after the wrap-up meeting, my boss walked in my office and had the most horrible look on his face! Then he broke into a smile and gave me the good news!

Anyway, the stress is off and I am finally feeling better (but I did wait to go to the Dr. until it was very bad!).

I have a show for Rainbow Artists in September that I am working on. At church two weeks ago we had a favorite band called Celtic Coyotes perform the Solstice service. One of the members of the band Stephen Miller, wrote a song called Brigid on the Rio Grande. It was so perfect (the art show is "La Vida Rio") that I asked if I could use his song as my inspiration for the show. Of course, being the gentleman that he is, he gladly consented.

So now I am working on photos of the Rio Grande, and looking for images of St. Brigid. Should make a striking piece.

On my way to our traditional 4th of July viewing party in Rio Rancho, I stopped and took some pictures of the Rio Grande. Can't decide which one I like the best, but I will probably go with one of the shots that has all the elements, river, trees, mountains, clouds and sky.

But only time will tell.

Which one do you like best?

This is the first shot that I took (all of these are raw, uncropped images)

This one is a definite contender

The white spot in this one is somone's roof! So probably will not be using it without some manipulation

This one is not bad, but not much "rio" is showing

This is the last shot that I took (notice the ornamental brigde work in the lower right corner-I did not even see it until I got the digitals uploaded) I like the balance of rio, trees mountain, sky and cloud in this one, and will probalby put the Brigid image on the left portion of it.

More to follow!

Lots of News to Share

I had a BUSY weekend. Starting on Friday night, I went to a trance dance event. I had never gone before, and I really enjoyed it. The music was fantastic, and I lost myself so totally that at one point I had no spatial recognition-- I might have been hanging from the ceiling. We danced for 45 minutes, and it seemed like only a few minutes. We started with a intention, and that really helped me to focus. For more information see http://www.studiopizazz.com/.
The next morning I attended a meditation/art workshop at First Unitarian Church. I am not that keen on structured meditation, but this was very interesting. Again we had to focus, and I was able to use the same focus point that I had used the evening before.
That afternoon, I sat in the gallery at 516 Arts . They have a new exhibit called "Trappings: Stories of Women, Power and Clothing. This is a great multimedia exhibit that asks the question: What do you wear that makes you feel powerful? Of course, each woman answers differently, but the results are fascinating. This show runs through Aug. 18.
And finally, if you are anywhere in the area, you MUST see the Cradle Project. This is a gathering of almost 500 cradles created by artists and school children from around the world, in a benefit show for African Orphans. The scope of the exhibit, on two floors of the old First National Bank Building (Central Ave. downtown between 2nd and 3rd) is absolutely staggering, and some will bring tears to your eyes. A very worthy project, and you can bid on the cradles at the online link above. Unfortunately, the exhibit closes next weekend, and they are only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I went to the opening, and wanted to go back and see it again, but just will not be able to get back and see it again.

Recovering from my Cancun trip

Wow, am I getting old or what? A simple five day trip to Mexico wiped me out! After I came home from work, I did nothing but laze around! Of course, it did not help that I overindulged in rich food and drink (I have discovered that a Mango Daquari is most satifsying!)

I went for a wedding of two very sweet young people, Langdon and Tiffany! They got married on the beach at Cancun, and it was magical.

No pics of that, but we were all supposed to share, so I am sure some will be forthcoming.

I do have pics of the Mayan Adventure that my BFF Lyncia and I went on. Believe me, if I had known they were going to take pictures, I would have worn a coverup! But I am what I am!

Canoeing, that is me hiding behind Lyncia.

Group Picture, Lyncia is in Black and I am in brown! One of the skinny young people was the only one to have the sense to cover up!

Lyncia on the zip line

Me on the zipline (such a flattering pose!)

Lyncia rapelling down a BIG cliff

Halfway down. Aren't the hats flattering?

Me rapelling down the big cliff

All of us at the bottom of the cliff

Being blessed by the Mayan Shaman, before entering the cenote

This was like swimming in Carlsbad Cavern (the cenote is an undergroud resoivoir). Note how clear the water is!

Recovering from my

Ancestors and quilts

My genealogical search continues, and I have found a treasure trove of pictures from a distant cousin (thanx Tim!!). The picture above is my grandmother Onie Scott Clayton (1899-1999) and her mother Eunice Annie Gregg Scott in front of a quilt! Guess that it was the back of the quilt, as they did not do that many whole cloth quilts (that I know of)

A very artful Sunday Afternoon

I passed on going to see Sex In the City with girlfriends this afternoon, as I had several projects that I needed to complete before I go on vacation. This is the last two spreads in the ABRR that I have been involved in. I am not sure if I will add some things to this or not. But it will be sent before I go on vacation.

This is an accordian book that I made for my friend L. who just found out that she needs a liver transplant. My thoughts are with her.

I had some leftovers, and somewhere on the internet I read

where an artist used the leftover papers and etc. in a collage.

Here is my Girly Girl collage (approx. 4x6") made from leftovers!

Shopping Yesterday

I went shopping yesterday, and found these 45 RPMs. I am not sure why I bought them, as I no longer have a turntable, but I was attracted to the designs, and purchased these three (for $2.00).
It brings back memories of my childhood. 45's were the first things that I purchased as a pre-teen (I don't count toys as my first purchase). My sister and I would save our allowances and once a week we would buy a 45 for $.99. This was in the early 60's and there was a lot of music to choose from.

I will probably use these images in my collages, so you may see them again.

I do have two cats...

Baby Cakes seems to always be doing something cute when

I have the camera, but the other day Fuzzy Bucket really outdid herself

(which is saying something!)

I came into the bathroom and Fuzz was under the rug

I waited for her to come out, but she did not so I took another picture of her under the rug

And then I almost missed her making her escape.

Jan Phillips is my Mentor

Jan Phillips is my mentor. We have drifted out of communication and when I went looking for her, I found the following, a recitation of her Artist's Creed. Please listen and enjoy