Cat loves Bearded Dragon

This is just too weird and adorable not to share.  Thanks to picklified on YouTube.

Interspecies snorgling at its best.

Book Review: Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World

I’ve just received this new book for review (the first in a series) by Martha Sielman, Executive Director of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA).  My first instinct was to run my hand over the beautiful cover, which features “Peacock Pride” by Barbara McKie, and what a sweet little surprise it was to find the image lightly embossed … a delicate, subtle embellishment of an already stunning cover.  (Little things like that just make me happy.)

The book itself, like most recent art books by Lark, is printed on lovely, heavyweight paper that is a pleasure to handle.  The color photography appears to be true to the originals (at least according to my vivid memory of having seen some of them in person).

There are well-written profiles of 19 major fiber artists, including some of my favorites … Betty Busby, Paula Chung, Ginny Eckley, Ruth McDowell, Barbara McKie, and Annemieke Mein.  Plus, there are both full-page and smaller images of some breath-taking art quilts by more than 70 other artists.  I can honestly say that this is one of the most beautiful and informative art-quilt books I’ve seen, and it will have a permanent place in my library.  In fact, I’m very much looking forward to the next in the series.  (No affiliation, etc.)  Here are 192 pages of incredible artwork to feast your eyes upon, and to inspire you.  Highly recommended.

Kindness Chronicles - 3/19/12

My favorite experience with the Kindness Chronicles challenge this week was with a Down's Syndrome lady I met in the grocery store.  She was accompanied by her parents (or maybe they were her grandparents), who were getting frustrated with her attempts to stop people to talk to them.  She had the sweetest smile, and I decided I was not in such a hurry that I couldn't stop and visit with her.  She was pointing to the "muscles" in her arm, and telling me that she goes to the gym every day.  As we visited (I had a hard time understanding her, but she didn't seem to mind), she would occasionally reach out to touch my arm and ask if I had muscles.  I laughed and told her that I needed to go to the gym too!  Finally, as her guardians urged her to leave me alone, I asked if I could have a hug.  She was enthusiastic but gentle in her response, and I walked away feeling happier than I had that morning.  What a sweet spirit resides in that lady, and I felt lucky to have basked in her radiance for just a little while.