letting things happen

I have so much I could be doing. I thought finishing grad school would mean lots of time opening up, but lots of other things have filled in the negative space already! Looking forward to the next few months brings a solo exhibit, 3 shows I need a piece ready for, and a new opportunity to curate an exhibit. Making enough work is now filling my mind. Unfortunately, my mental energy has been so much on thesis and residency work that there hasn't been much room for thought on artwork.

Last night I sprung out of bed at 1am, rifled through my scrap bin and found a hand-dyed handkerchief i didn't know was in there. I quickly ironed it and pinned it to the square of pieced vintage fabric from my Gran's stash that has been pinned to my design board for a year now. That was enough to let me go back to sleep. Sometimes having the "studio" at home is a good thing.

This morning I basted the two fabrics together and grabbed scissors, needle, and thread to bring along on a road trip. We took a little family day up to Ellis island and the Statue of Liberty. Two hours in the car allowed me to begin some reverse applique on my fabric sandwich. The problem with the pieced square was that it was too busy to accept decorative stitching on top. The soft pinkish/yellow cotton over top provides some resting points and structure over the randomness of pattern. I'm not planning this one out. I'm going to let it become what it wants to become.

 Maybe something organic will get superimposed on the double grid of piecing and reverse applique. Winter trees are calling out to me again.

 Here's Lady Liberty peeking through the trees.

The solstice light was too dim for the ride back home to stitch. But for the shortest "day" of the year I feel happy and productive.