THE BREAST PROJECT

Several local artists, including myself, were invited to participate in a fund raising project to aid in the fight against breast cancer. The artists were to "decorate" plaster casts taken from women who had lost a friend or relative to breast cancer.

Although it was a natural for me to collage the plaster cast with paper and fabric, I chose, instead to make fairly realistic breasts to celebrate the breast "au naturale" and breast health. I covered the cast on the outside with cotton quilt batting to soften them and then covered them with cotton/spandex in a flesh tone. I then made hands with the cotton/spandex and stuffed them with polyfil. Using oil pastels, I added some color contrast on the breasts and fingers. There was a lot of hand sewing involved in modeling the breasts and hands and attaching the hands. I found that a curved upholstery needle helped tremendously.

The breasts will be auctioned at a gala event in October.

Body of Work

I've been working in a grid style since the beginning of 2007 in order to produce a "body of work" which is consistent and recognizable as mine. For the most part, I am trying to work within self made parameters which are (1) using unprimed canvas as fabric and (2) using stitches, usually hand stitches of various kinds.

The works you see here are "Fragments", at the top, which is a large piece (about 22" x 44") stretched on wooden canvas stretchers and framed. It is hand dyed canvas with squares of hand painted cotton and hand stiched with cotton string.

The second piece "Knockout" is small (about 6" x 6") with hand painted cotton muslin stretched over an artist canvas. Unprimed and burnt canvas squares are fused on and galvanized metal knockouts are applied. Perl cotton is used to attach burlap threads. This piece is not framed and the hand painted fabric wrapping the sides become part of the artwork.

Several other gridded pieces are in progress. In addition I have several grid-style art quilts finished earlier this year which are now showing in Oklahoma art galleries.

Something there is that doesn't love a Fence!

Alas, it has finally happened. The owner of the huge subdivision (without houses, so far) has erected a fence to keep us out! No dogs, no pigs, no cows, no people will be allowed into the sub except those going through the big white archway seen in the picture. It is a gated community now. The biggest problem for me and the others on our street is that we have nowhere to walk our dogs or walk ourselves or jog (if that is what one is into). The road to which we lost access goes up into the hills from which we can access the Botanical Gardens without driving downtown and back up the hill on the other side of a steep and narrow canyon. Many local workers used this road to walk to and from work. One neighbor has dubbed it the Berlin Wall.

Trip to Art Quilt Tahoe

As I did last year, I attended Art Quilt Tahoe in California in November. This year I had a class with Gerry Chase whose art quilts I have admired for many years. We painted on fabric using a djanting tool that is usually used for wax batik. Then those paintings were ripped apart, literally, and the pieces used to compose quilt tops along with the other fabrics and embellishment we brought with us.

Gerry is a marvelous teacher and a mentor in professionalism in art quilting. The class was all I could have wanted and much, much more.
Thank you Gerry and all the other students in the class for a memorable event.

Day of the Dead

We celebrated the Day of the Dead in San Miguel with visitors from the U.S., Rain Johnson and Amber Whitlatch and their sons, Ogden and Jubal. All of us made votive candles to welcome back from the dead our dear departed. Then we made this offrenda, an altar offering for them. It is traditional to scatter marigold blossoms to light the way and make offerrings of favorite foods and drink. A sugar skull and some pan de muerte (bread of the dead) rounded out the altar. We lit many candles and let them burn all night while we went to the Jardin to view some related entertainment. A very nice evening in all while we remembered those who could not be with us in person as they were in spirit.

Shopping the Mercado

Tuesday is market day in San Miguel. We call it Tuesday Market, not to be confused with the Tuesday Morning shops in the U.S.A. Here you can buy all kinds of things from CD's to fresh tortillas. It is somewhat like a huge flea market of new goods and produce and other food.

Suzy bought a new velour sweater that fits both of us and cost only the equivalent of $2.00. I bought some huge avocados (about $1.00 each) and some barrettes for my growing hair. We did not buy the chicken feet nor the tortillas but may on another, more adventurous day.

Shopped out and happy we returned home to our daily siesta!

Pigs and Other Animal Neighbors

Because we are living on the edge of San Miguel de Allende, some of the neighboring households raise pigs and chickens. Just below us on the hill is a sow and her 6 piglets, which my dogs have startled on their morning walk. Most endearing, though, is the solo black pig who wanders a large area around here. Lately he/she has been sleeping in the vacant lot across the street. I tried calling to him with a friendly midwestern "sooo-eee" but only frightened him senseless. He bolted and ran with the dogs in hot pursuit. All ended well with the pig escaping.

Then there are the roosters below us that start crowing at 2:30 a.m. It's like living with a cuckoo clock - you get used to it and no longer hear it.

We have plenty of neighborhood dogs, all of whom defend their own territory. No dog fights yet and my dogs have been very well behaved in that respect. Downstairs we have Rooney, a Pyranese Mountain Dog who is just a pup and big as a pony. Very friendly and playful.

I've started walking in the hills with the dogs, now that I have some earphones for my iPod and hope to encounter more wildlife -safely, I hope.

Festival of San Miguel

Last weekend we attended part of the festival honoring the birthday of San Miguel. There were fireworks starting at 4:00 am (yes, that is a.m.!) on Saturday morning - skipped that. We went for the parade at 5 ish in the Jardin, the large plaza in front of the main church, La Parroquia. There were crowds of people, vendors of food and little folk art thingies. The parade was of dancers from the native tribes in the area, including the early natives conquered by the Spanish. Also the parade brought flowers to adorn the church. The flowers were mostly woven into ladders which were brought to the church and leaned on the walls. A large display of flowers was brought to adorn the gate of the church. There were also floats from local organizations. Some brass music but mostly drums for the dancers. Another feature of the day that we witness was the flyers or birdmen who fly in circles upside down from a pole while another man plays a flute atop the pole - very dramatic. More fireworks followed that as did the rain, which we walked through to get to the car. All the taxis were busy and so we walked. We arrived home dripping wet and cold at about 9 p.m. There were more festivities on Sunday, mostly masses and a smaller parade and more fireworks.