Back again

Has it really been ten days since I did an entry? Too much of life has been happening. Most of all it was time to get everything together for TAXES!!!

In the spring a good friend who is a bookkeeper set up Quick Books for me. She came for several months and would enter info into the program for me. Then I went of vacation and we never got together again. Woe is me!! It took me three days to sort of get caught up just on my art stuff. It only took me a couple of hours to get the home stuff together. I hate having to use my time this way!!! However, after almost four days of working on the stuff I got it to the tax prep people so am now waiting to see what the verdict is.

And then, I babysat my grandson a couple of times, once for an entire day...that takes some getting used to...even tho he is only 5 months old (today!)

And then, taking my father out to get his hair cut, to the bank, shopping, and shopping etc and then doing his bills and then taking him to doctor appointments...

And then, starting a women's fellowship group at church to help bring the women who are at home during the day together...mostly older women...

And then, pulling out my paints and a canvas and doing a collage which I really enjoyed doing. Was able to get a lot more depth in to it than I do with my fabric.

And then, feeling sorry for myself again because I can't quite figure out which way I want my art to go...and not having much time to do it all.

And then, have Karen Eckmeier come out from Conn. to speak to our guild and do a workshop. Since I am program chair, I got to pick her up on Saturday, get her to the guild, then back to her hotel and then made arrangements for someone else to get her to the workshop and then picked her up Sunday after the workshop and went out to dinner. And then, I had to get up at 5 AM on Monday in order to get Karen to the airport in time for her flight...I don't do early mornings well but I got home and started working on a piece I have been playing with.

So, what is going on in my mind (this is for me...not you) I am not having creative blocks...what is happening is that I am trying to decide where I want my art to go. I have been doing some good things but sometimes it seems too easy and I need to challenge myself some more. Add more depth to my work....ideas of using more of my dyed silk organza in layers...more of my dyed cheese cloth, and introducing some of the tyvek I have been playing with...not as the subject but as part of the texture in parts of the work. So where do I go with all of this?

So, I started working on I Remeber Mama quilt instead. When Mom died I had friends and family write about her on four inch pieces of muslin with white print. I had thought that some day I might put them together along with the little applliqued hearts I had been doing while I sat with her in her last couple of weeks. But then too many people wrote too close to the edge.

I've been thinking about what to include in this quilt...so this morning I took out a piece of white cotton, used spray paint to add red and blue and some white on top, since Mom was extremely patriotic and also wore a lot of red, white and blue, and also spray painted the squares that I had fused to wonder under. Cut those with a fancy cutter and have fused them on to the backgroung cloth. Now, the fun begins as I print out pictures, cut them out, put them in, add embellishments (like the red, white and blue buttons she had) and just go to it.

However, I do have to stop regularily to allow myself a good cry. It's been five years since she died but do I ever miss her!

Love ya Mom....