May Bricolage

 This art was built from the quote by Mary Oliver and which I only took the beginnings...

I love the digital art the Jen Maddock's has given us to work with this month. The background paper is simple breathtaking. Photoshop blend modes allow me to change things up and produce something to highlight and frame the words. 

Enjoy!

Book Ends: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

 I just finished Klara and the Sun. I wish I could say I loved it but I thought it was a bit slow moving. If you know me then you know I really like to read novels about artificial intelligence. And, Klara was an artificial friend. 

 

She was selected, much like a new toy, by Josie, a girl who had some health issues. The story is told through the eyes of Klara and is set in a futuristic world. She has great observational qualities and offers insight into human emotion and vulnerabilities, all of which are present today. Klara, is devoted to Josie and thinks she can solve Josie's problem, going to a great extent to do so. But in the end...

Well I will leave that for you to find out.

April Bricolage

 I nearly forgot to post the April entry. Look, I included my latest finished canvas collage. When I saw the scissors element, I knew which direction I would head in. Digital art in Photoshop is so much fun. It is so easy to recolor things. I wish I could do this in the sewing lab. haha

The Path to Glad, Orange You!

 Do you remember the Knock-Knock joke from your youth? 

Knock, knock, whose there? Banana. Then, repeated over and over. Eventually the teller answers Orange. Orange you Glad I didn't say banana. 

The whole time I worked on this piece, that joke popped in. So of course it is the Path to Glad and the subtle reminder of its source--Orange You.

This work involves screen printed and painted canvas, recycled cloth, decomposed screen printing, stenciling, machine stitching and quilting. It makes me glad.

Bricolage in March

 I love what can be accomplished with layers and blend modes in Photoshop. It ceases to amaze me. The lower right effort is stunning. Enjoy!

Bricolage in February

And I quote: Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. Good thoughts indeed from Mary Oliver. I am a golfer and as I play I am in wonder at all the sounds of nature. Birds, insects, breezes, water, just so many and so varied. These always amplify the sound of silence which I find mesmerizing and equally astonishing. So calming.

 

Bricolage in January

Bricolage, what a funny term. It means something constructed or created from a diverse range of available things. One of my favorite digital artists is Jen Maddocks and she offers a bricolage challenge each and every month. She provides three elements and a couple of quotes. These items are to be used in a unique page layout. This is all done in Photoshop, where layering is most wonderful. This one is the January challenge.

So much fun!

Well Good Bye Then

 

Here are 12 things to consider as we get closer to closing the door on one of the most horrible years of our lifetime:

1. The dumbest thing I ever bought was a 2020 planner.

2. I was so bored I called Jake from State Farm just to talk to someone. He asked me what I was wearing.

3. 2019: Stay away from negative people. 2020: Stay away from positive people.

4. The world has turned upside down. Old folks are sneaking out of the house & their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors!

5. This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her dog. It was obvious she thought her dog understood her. I came into my house & told my cat. We laughed a lot.

6. Every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pajamas will have you believe all is well in the kingdom.

7. Does anyone know if we can take showers yet or should we just keep washing our hands?

8. This virus has done what no woman has been able to do. Cancel sports, shut down all bars & keep men at home!

9. I never thought the comment, “I wouldn’t touch him/her with a 6-foot pole” would become a national policy, but here we are!

10. I need to practice social-distancing from the refrigerator.

11. I hope the weather is good tomorrow for my trip to the Backyard. I’m getting tired of the Living Room.

12. Never in a million years could I have imagined I would go up to a bank teller wearing a mask & ask for money.

I'm like 2020% done with you.

Merry Christmas One and All

in a golferly sort of way.

 

Merry Christmas Everyone

 From our house to yours!

Well Would You Look At That...

 A hole in one for me, yes, me! The last one was 10 years ago. And a lime green Callaway Super soft. So fitting for Christmas.

Last Minute Gifts

There are a few things that are immensely positive about COVID. One is the significantly reduced political adds we have had to endure for the last three months. No political phone calls for me, at least.

I've also had more time to sort things out. In doing so I ran across this note. Not even sure if Hecht's department is still around or where it ever was. But nice thoughts for a COVID time or anytime really.

Last Minute Gifts. . . 

. . . that money can't buy:

Keep a promise

Keep a secret

Share a dream

Send her a favorite flower

Let someone have the last word

Return a smile

Laugh at his favorite story -- again

Let someone in line in front of you

Listen to a child

Listen to an adult

Say something nice to someone you like

Say something nice to someone you don't like

     --Hecht's department store ad                        

Today's Work

 A friend of mine sent me this image. She found it in the garden where she volunteers. A good reminder. Today I did!

Book Ends: The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

The Book of Two Ways is actually a book of three ways. First there is the topic of Egyptology and the two paths to the afterworld, water or land. Then there is Quantum Physics and the concept of dual universes and finally there is Dawn's story and the two lives she could have lived. In this book, all three are explored rather heavily. 

Dawn Edelstein, is the main character, She was a graduate student in Egyptology and on a dig in Egypt when she gets the call that her mother is dying. She has a 13 year old brother who she now needs to raise. She leaves the love of  her life, Wyatt, behind in Egypt. She marries Brian, who is a physicist, and they have a daughter Merit. These are the two paths the  novel explores.

Anyone who reads a Jodi Picoult book knows they’re going to learn things they probably didn’t know before.  The downside to The Book of Two Ways is that it is a bit overwhelming. Picoult certainly did her research, but while I found some aspects of Egyptology interesting, there was a lot that I just couldn’t grasp or didn't care to. I found myself skimming some long passages, mostly with hieroglyphics, until the story went back to the main plot. The same holds for the discussions about quantum physics. Just simply too much. Who gives a physics 101 lecture to someone in a hospital waiting room.

I also found the chronology hard to grasp. The prologue is misleading and that doesn't give an assist to the the story line.

I liked the three main characters but didn't need to read about their life work in such detail.

Dreaming in Hexicolor: the Backstory

 A number of years ago, I took a class to learn how to hand dye fabric. The followup to that class was another that required our use of that fabric to make an art quilt. To this point in my short quilting history, most of my work was blue. Any shade of blue would do but yes BLUE! 

So I challenged myself to use all colors: the primaries, secondaries and yes even the tertiaries.  So this is the work that I produced. The golden rule. I discovered that I like tertiary colors the best. But I never had much use for this quilt. I wasn't sure what I would ever do with it and so it lived in a pile for a long time. 

One day, I was inspired to make something new with it. I had an idea and so, boldly cut it up. Here it is in it's new life. What a transformation! I named this Dreaming in Hexicolor. It's 18 inches square.

Circles and Cycles, the Sister's Virtual Show

MIX, the small quilt group of which I belong, usually exhibits at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show. Because of COVID, the show was canceled for this year. Jean Wells and The Stitching Post, the grand master of the show, have asked groups and quilters to do virtual shows. Here is ours.

Enjoy this work!

I just could't resist this one

and I hope you can laugh in the face of all this. Stay well. And, find joy.

The Juxtaposition of snow and palm trees

Ya gotta love it...

A Chance to...

Learn something new, 
do something new, 
read something new, 
cook something new. 

Get going, 
What are you waiting for.

Remember to Smile...

It's good to do so.