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.