stitchers and t shirt

T-shirts and hoodies as gifts to stitchers and gifts for the holidays. Contact me.

Melissa and Jincey, veteran recreation buddies show the T shirt



Bet, Shirley, and Mary not talking politics

Below left, Deborah, Diane, and Jan still fingering fabric
Karen, Gloria, and Lynne on right passing gifts back and forth.

Extended engagement. The quilt will now be on view the entire month. Tell your stitching friends.

The knot
The cloth surface stretches before me
time lingers illusive and impermanent
my thread eases through fiber like a bow
across strings of an instrument

the needle rocks up and down, methodical rhythm
I am lulled by a soft music despite focus, transient
each action is a dance of hand and thought and sound
then in a flash my presence takes wing, divergent

inner seeing lost, then found, a twist has gathered to a knot
the flow unwinding is now ground to a halt
each stitch produces its own note, a subtle texture
formed by motion and rote. At a standstill my spirit

is bound. Cut and redo, a discipline for the supplicant
breath and progress renew as life continues resilient

thank yous

Quilting the Common Path has been an intensive three year project which began when my daughter Isabelle entered her first residential facility for people suffering from brain disorder. The underlying inspiration for the project has been her courage as we both continue to share her challenges and celebrations of daily life while dealing with mental illness.

The last phase of the project, funded in part by the City of Cincinnati Arts Allocation Grant, has enabled me to finish the prints on paper, photograph and digitize the images for printing on fabric, printing them on silk, piecing and quilting the final project with the aid of community quilters. Over 150 volunteer hours were put in by community members to consult and stitch the final piece.

I would like to thank the following people.
Isabelle Provosty for allowing me to be part of her care
Will Batstone for ours
William Batstone Photography and hours
Diana Ballard Designs for scrutinizing and persisting with perfection in printing
Raymond Devine maker oft he quilt frame
Brenda Tarbell loaner of the quilt frame
Juanita Canter for being there from the beginning
Jincey Yemaya for being there before the beginning
Moya Jones for consultation
Arnelle Dow for everything she does

And for the following stichers
Jan Thomas
Diane Gloss
Lynn Zucker (and for the task list)
Lisa Kallman
Kathy Freeman
Carole Kessler
Jeanne Speier (needle threader extraordinaire)
Melissa Smith
Cathy Hale
Deborah Boerschig
Shirley Maul
Karen Arnett
Bet Stewart
Katie Whitaker
Deb Bennett
Blossom Kreimer
Gloria Esenwein

hoist away

quilting the cooperative initiative

Testimonials

"Stitching alongside another person is better than talking"

1.
A knock. I open the door to a stranger
Outside the gray mist weighs into droplet
forms puddles. Cars splash past pedestrians
Inside the house is dark. We climb the stairs together

As shadows pass across the window pane we settle
around the frame like a hearth, slowly stitch by stitch
the alchemy of breath and craft begins to stroke a flame
graceful hands stroke the slippery web of fiber

armed with needle we pierce the surface of the silk
with words and fingertips held by thread
we build a unity fueled by common fire
joy and sorrow within the work embedded

"Its amazing after all that work that she lets us put our hands all over the piece"

blog 5

I have always enjoyed working in a collage medium and working in photoshop is reminiscent of that process, adding, subtracting, cutting, layering meaning, implying other meanings. Investigating contemplation in this medium has offered lots of challenges technically but also lots of growth. My most significant accomplishment is my increased comfort level in photoshop.

Working efficiently with layers has been an ongoing process, most challenging but I am making progress. I have mastered  basic techniques while improving my efficiency.

When I look back at where I began with the first two quizzes, the magazine cover and my grand daughter dancing, in both images I see how my use of technique was interesting but rough, the text tools on the cover awkward, the neon effect with the environment of the dancers still relatively undeveloped, but the seeds of meaning are there. By the time I got to the left side of my final, the Indian scene is well integrated with technique and intention, directing the eye to the right and blending into the kaleidoscope

final image to ad