Minnesota Storm

Knitting and Snow....the perfect combination  Warmth and Beauty in early December

The Blue Marble self portraits

"Forty years ago today, Apollo 17 astronauts took a famous photograph of Earth. It's now known as "The Blue Marble," because that's exactly what our home looks like: a blue marble floating against the vast black velvet backdrop of space. The photograph was the first clear image of the Earth, because the sun was at the astronauts' back, and so the planet appears lit up and you can distinctly see blue, white, brown, and green. You can also see a cyclone forming over the Indian Ocean. The photo became a symbol of the environmental movement of the 1970s.
The crew of Apollo 17 was about 28,000 miles away from Earth when they took the Blue Marble photo. It was the last time that astronauts, not robots, were on a lunar mission — since then, no humans have gotten far enough away from Earth to take a photo like it."

from the Writer's Almanac for today Dec 7, 2012      Host: Garrison Keillor
Writers: Betsy Allister, Holly Vanderhaar

Florida Watercolors

Saint Joseph Peninsula State Park, Gulf, Florida

sand dunes at St Joseph Peninsula state park

These were done quite a few years ago.   I have recently been doing some gouache copies of work and do not want to post any of those since they are quite derivative, so here's at least more original work.

Strings of Stripes

Using some lovely wool from Denmark called Kauni Efffektgarn in colors coded: EQ and EF, I am knitting a pattern called Wiggle Wrap by Sally Brandl.  I hope this colorful interlude will help me get going on finishing the warp of hemp on the loom which has been waiting for action for too long.

On Being : A Dash of Light

This program is an interesting burst of sunshine on a complex vision.

http://www.onbeing.org/program/alive-enough-reflecting-our-technology/63

another more local, humble yet interesting burst of sunshine on a complex vision

S P O O L S

Metrosketchers at Swedish Institute

interior stained glass window and fancy mouldings, in addition to Christmas tree decorations

the exterior of Turnblad Mansion, looking from the Nelson Cultural Center

inside the Turnblad Mansion looking out

The American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN was the site for the most recent group sketching trip.  There are two buildings: the Nelson Cultural Center and the historic Turnblad Mansion.  Often the sketchers in one building could look across the way and see the sketchers in the other building looking back at them.  My drawings are from the viewpoints of both buildings and I could even see  a reflection in the windows of the building from which I was sketching.

Banks of the Mississippi

The paper in the journal has an orange/yellow tone........from West River Rd, Minneapolis, MN looking east

Awhile ago I was given a journal of handmade paper. It came from mind'seyejournals.com  So I was exploring how the paper works......
The light on the trees along the bank was an odd color in the early afternoon and I was trying to get that impression of light trees.  Well at least there is something of Autumn......

Loom Drawing Again

Labyrinth

I went to Milwaukee to visit grandchildren and enjoyed walking (or running in the children's case) the Labyrinth at Mt Mary College.  The actual process of drawing the old loom also felt like a labyrinth experience, because of the slow back and forth complexity.  But of course drawing and walking are not quite the same.  Walking a labyrinth is an ancient meditative practice which unlike a maze allows you to simply follow a path.  I found it very soothing to have no decisions to make about which way to turn.  Now I want to find a labyrinth closer to home.

Metrosketchers at the Cemetery

On Sunday about twenty artists met at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.  A great diversity of points of view is one of the interesting results of these group sketching gatherings.  The lovely fall day and the variety of territory and monuments from different timeperiods made Sunday a great example of this.  I believe examples will be posted on the Metrosketchers Facebook page.  I was particularly impressed by the lichen-covered statue in memory of five year old Ella Louise Hankenson from 1888.  As I was sketching the trees surrounding the statue I began to wonder if her parents, George and Florence had seen any of these same trees over a hundred years ago when they came to visit there.   More contemporary visitors have added both plastic flowers and a plastic rosary to the weathered stone which has now blended into the location as almost another part of nature.

Ella Louise, Daughter of George and Florence Hankenson, 1883-1888

Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis MN

Marimekko Ragtime

I am using scraps of Marimekko that have been carefully saved for many years to make another rag rug but this time I am using the same warp that has been on my loom for a few months already.
The warp colors are so dominant that the bright weft colors need to be even more vivid in order to show.  Same colors, new melody.....ragtime jazz!

Weaving studio Sketching

creative clutter

Good practice for me to attempt to sketch an entire scene, lots of looms, fabrics, baskets, gear, fun!

Sugar Maple Colors

Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, MN

Crisscrossing Creative Process: Maple Hemp Sumac

Hemp from HempTraders

in process

Weaving Studio at Color Crossing, Roberts, Wisconsin

Sumac reds and greens

All of these photos represent beginning images for the next paintings, drawings and weavings that are crisscrossing in my creative process.  I am beginning a new hemp warp for the loom, joining a wonderful group of women at Color Crossing and reveling in the colors and patterns continually changing at this season of transformation.  Particularly inspiring is the contrast of bright color and no-color, as the light alters.

Autumn Again (One Year of this Blog)

Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, MN
(Kunst and Papier 16 x 19 cm journal)

Some of the most interesting areas, biologically speaking are the edges between woods and meadow or where ever there's a change in habitat etc.  There is a steep hillside between the picnic area to the east along the river and the more open area that leads to the movement of the creek after the falls.
At this time of year the tall dry weeds seem to take over and the squirrels are being very busy indeed.  I've so recently seen jackrabbits in Arizona, squirrels in Minnesota.  The marvels of air travel make these contrasts striking once I slow down enough to notice.  Observations on the edges are another gift to the naturalist with a notebook, or a sketchbook.  I hope students are getting out their nature journals in preparation for another year of paying attention to their world.

Time in the Desert

early morning in Thoreau, New Mexico

I just returned from a wonderful time of both solitude and community at Madonna House in Winslow Arizona. It was truly an experience of simplicity and back to the basics of my life journey.  Spending a day, looking at earth and sky and eating only bread and drinking tea felt like a banquet.  There is always something amazing about finding a spot of harmony for my soul.