Welcome to MissouriBendStudio!

This is an online journal of my artistic investigations and a way to communicate about my work, ideas, quandries and queries! I welcome comments and conversation and do hope you enjoy these musings. My artwork is available in my shop MissouriBendStudio on Etsy.com or on my website.

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Friday, January 20, 2012

Winter Has Arrived

What happened....how it did it come to be Friday already?!  I had a busy week, which started with a lovely surprise. Some time ago I had submitted my work to The Grand Hand, a wonderful gallery in St. Paul, Minnesota, and heard back from them that they wanted to carry my work....great news!  The question was whether it was easier and more cost effective for me to package and ship framed work or make the five hour trip with the work myself.  Given that Johntimothy, the packer in this family of two, was way too busy to deal with getting the works safely packaged, I decided to make the quick trip up there to deliver the work in person.  So, off I went on Tuesday, returning home on Wednesday night.  It was nice to see the gallery again, meet the folks there and give them a choice among which works they'd like to have on hand.  That took a chunk out of the week, but sure am glad I went when I did, as we now have snow on the ground and temperatures have plummeted!




Trying to get back in the swing of the slow work I have going.  I'm not sure you can tell the difference in this piece....here's a detail of that red one again.  I am just stitching randomly, adding different colored bits to each little item....I think of these floating amorphous shapes as something akin to dust....containing scattered moments of history as they move slowly across our field of vision.  I'm sure no one else will read them that way, but that's what they are to me. There is still a very long way to go on this piece.  Dust seems to accumulate pretty quickly....why doesn't this go any faster?


I have started a couple of other pieces as well....hoping to have enough going on them to be able to show you more works in progress at the beginning of the week.  Until then, hope you have a fine weekend. I'm going to work on staying warm!

16 comments:

  1. I like the randomness of this piece. I mean the 'dust' settlements here and there. I used the word dust because that's what I immediately thought of. They are little settlements of dust to me. Beautiful dust.

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    1. Well, I'm so glad to hear that "dust" comes to mind when you look at this piece!!! I like your notion of dust settling....I guess that's what I've been thinking as well. Thanks so much for your comment!!

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  2. How super that you made the cut, and the trip, to your new gallery. That cracked me up how dust accumulates faster than the work. These stitchings seem like microscopic amoebae to me - in a hieroglyphic kind of way. Love their cheerful colours and animated way!

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    1. Thank you Lorraine....hoping for good exposure with the gallery and a new audience. Glad you like my teeny tiny accumulating stitches too! Hope you are doing well and enjoying the winter weather!

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  3. Yay for you! That's really good news about the gallery. It's hard to believe that your scenery has changed so much since the days of the flooding! We too had a snowfall (about 5") but most of it is melting away with the higher temps.
    I really love you slow works. You seem to have the patience of a saint when it comes to your stitching. Stay warm!

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    1. Thank you Carole! Yes, the scenery changes radically with the seasons, doesn't it? Our snow will be melting soon as well with rising temps....it's a strange winter. My patience ebbs and flows....sometimes I feel like I'm going to jump out of my skin, it takes so long to make enough stitches to create any visible change! Ha ha....isn't this what I asked for?

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  4. congratulations on the new gallery placement!!! love what you are working on now

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  5. Thank you Kathi....and glad to hear you like these new slow pieces!!

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  6. Congratulations Patti - fabulous news re the gallery, and good on you for taking your work there yourself. Also - I love those photos of your river - what an amazing view to watch, changing every day, stories being told...and the last little 'dancing fairy folk' (or dust)...just delightful!

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    1. Thank you Fiona for all the kind words! The river setting always provides an amazing view and sometimes quite the entertainment when the eagles are around!

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  7. P - well done - but we do suffer for our art - that was a long round trip. Still great to have works in the gallery. Good also that you are progressing new works. B

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  8. exciting news on the gallery. congratulations!

    isn't it funny how exhilarating the re-centering on our values is initially and what a struggle in practice of the painstaking process? it is hard because you are doing good work!

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    1. Hi Anca....thank you for this supportive message. Ah, the ups and downs of the creative process....at least I'm more on an even keel lately....the struggles are not quite so tiresome! Hope you are doing well!!

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  9. Hi Barry....yes, the sacrifices, but so worth it for something we love! Nothing like having your working out in the physical world for folks to see in person! Yes, always moving forward, as we all are...cheers!

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  10. First, congrats on having work in the gallery! Forget Friday, how did it become Monday already? Our scenery looked just like your then, and now the rain is washing all away. Strange winter indeed. I like the red stitched piece, how the threads seem random and floating, but are of course attached to the surface and in a permanent connection to one another by their placement - the perfect balance of freedom and security! If only life could imitate art! Have a great week!

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  11. Hi Gabriella....the winter weather continues here, although up in the 40s expected by Wednesday...melting snow! Love your analogy of the delicately balanced freedom and security in the red stitched piece....what bliss to be able to hold those two things simultaneously! You are ever insightful! Have a wonderful week....I'm working on one too!

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I'm happy to hear from you...comments and questions are welcome!