ONE Cause

Deadlines ... what would we do without them?  I just finished sending in images of my 5 fiber art collages for the One Cause, One Wednesday, One Hundred Collages fundraiser, created and organized by Virginia Spiegel and Karen Stiehl Osborn.  This was an Invitational to 20 hand-picked artists, and the deadline is January 1.  I was so relieved to get my collages finished, photographed, and entered, with even a few days to spare!


The goal is to raise $8,000 in one day to add to the $205,000 already donated to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause.  Mark your calendars for Wednesday, February 16, 2011 ... in fact, you should probably start checking it out a day early.


There will be a direct link from Virginia's page to all the collages at least one day prior to Wednesday, February 16 for a preview and all the details about how to acquire your favorite collage(s). Collages will be featured periodically on her blog and Facebook Fan Page prior to February 16.


Don't forget ... you can do some fabulous art-collecting, tax-free!  All donations for artwork will be made directly to the American Cancer Society online through FFAC here on Wednesday, February 16 and donors will receive an immediate receipt from the ACS.


Be there, or be square, as we used to say ... most of us have had people in our lives who have been touched by cancer, and this is a tremendous way to honor a either survivor (even yourself!) or someone you love who has died from this disease.  Plus ... ART!

"Under the Dome" by Stephen King - a review.

Under the Dome by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I just finished "Under the Dome" tonight.  I'm struggling with what rating to give it ... between 3 and 4 stars, as I was quite disappointed that it did not move me like "The Stand" did.

A lot of Stephen King's writing has either gone downhill, or has just stagnated.  I had quit reading him when he moved from innovative horror to gore-for-gore's-sake, but had high hopes for "Dome".  It is much improved (i.e., less gory) over his work in the last few years, but still very dated-sounding in his supposedly "hip" references.

I guess all this can be considered nitpicking, since I must admit that I was tied to the book for the last third of it, wanting to find out WHAT or WHO created the Dome.  I was slightly disappointed at the ending, but I got some enjoyable hours (and I do mean HOURS) of reading out of it.

Somewhat Recommended, IF you can commit yourself to a 1,072 pages (in paperback format), as well as trying to keep track of dozens and dozens of characters with similar-sounding names.  Also, the denouement at the end was sort of wimpy and anticlimactic, in my opinion.  After all that you go through to get to the end, you sort of want something more amazing or exciting than ... what it was (no spoilers here!)

View all my reviews

Guest Artist

Peaceful Pond, by Carol Poplaski

Carol is a "former lurker" on the QuiltArt list, and I had told her I would post a picture of this artwork, as she didn't have a blog set up.  Since then, she has set one up, at http://carolpoplaski.blogspot.com/.  She describes the above piece:  "the reed leaves are trapuntoed, the cattails are unique threads, the water lilies are folded origami and the border is beaded to give it a subtle shimmer in the light, like water gets".  Thanks for sharing this, Carol!

Happy ... ???

I always want to wish my friends a Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, or Happy Hanukkah ... but how to do it all at once, or if you're not sure of what to wish?  I found this phrase a couple of years ago, and appreciated its combination of genuine good wishes and humorous take on political correctness.  So I created my own Holiday cards in Photoshop this year ...

Happy HanuKwanzaMas to All!

Art Quilts -- some of my favorites from Houston Quilt Festival 2010

In no particular order of preference (actually, they turned out to be alphabetical by title), here are just a few of the pictures I took at the Houston International Quilt Festival in November.  There were so many more, but many of the shots didn't turn out well enough to post.

Oh my gosh, in looking back at all these pictures, I'm reminded once again of what a wealth of talent we have in the art-quilt world.  In the process of cropping, straightening, and light-correcting all these pictures, I've been inspired all over again.

I've tried to give proper attribution to the artists, but if you see an error, misspelling, or just don't want your quilt showcased here, please just let me know and I will immediately delete it.

Enjoy!

After the Rain, by Dianne Firth

Big Bang, by Marianne R. Williamson

Big Leaf I, by Dominie M. Nash

Caddy and the Cakes, by Janet Fogg

Coneflower, by Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert

Evening Dandies - Lions, That is!  by Leigh Layton

Global Meltdown, by Christi S. Beckmann

Hope Springs Eternal, by Phyllis Binkley

I'm Watching You, by Barbara McKie

Indian Paintbrush, by Margit Kagerer

It Came from Beneath the Sea, by Roberta Deluz

Leaf on Wet Pavement, by Ruth Anne Yax

Let's All Spring Forward, by Rosalie Baker

Lunacy on a Starry Night, by Annette Hendricks

My Rhino, by Pam Holland

Pathway to a Secret Garden, by Dianne Firth

Rainbow Canyon, by Grace J. Errea

Rooted X, by Kristin La Flamme

Royal Gala: Bloom, by Amanda Onchulenko

Ruffled Feathers, by Roxanne Nelson

Sandia Mountain Spring, by Betty Busby

Sheer Whim, by Maria Elkins

Sillouhettes, by Carol Taylor

Sunflower I, by Patricia Schumbacher

The Sentry of Santorini Island, by David Taylor

The Winner's Circle, by Nancy Dickey

Urban Footscape, by Jamie Fingal

Yellowstone I - Outflow, by Nancy E. Kempel

and here are a couple of art dolls that caught my eye...

Hobby Horse, by Brenda Gehl

Heart of My Heart, by Janet Bodin

Urban Footscape

Today seems to be my day for posting pictures.  After having lost the Silent Auction bid I had placed on Jamie Fingal's "Urban Footscape" piece, I had the good luck of buying one of her small pieces in this series.  Here's a picture of it as it hangs on my office wall.  It is only 5" x 7", but is one of the most dynamic pieces of art in my little collection.  Thank you, Jamie!

"I Want to Create With My Hands"
I absolutely LOVE this little work of art.

Pics from Quilt Festival

At last, here are some pics from the 2010 Houston International Quilt Festival.  These are mostly "people pictures"; some of my favorite art quilts will be posted later today or tomorrow.

Leslie Tucker Jenison and Jamie Fingal at their demo table.

Leslie explaining her technique.

Leslie gets "demonstrative".

Jamie at her free-motion quilting demo.

Jamie's "Urban Footscape".

Jamie's contribution to the Silent Auction -- I bid, but didn't win it.

Jane Davila at her Make-It-U mini-workshop "Gyotaku fish printing"

Cheryl Johnson and I both lucked out and got into Jane's class!

Nancy Dickey and "Passages"

One panel of the Beneath the Surface exhibit -- with my "The Key" on the right.

"The Key" and Me.

Pokey Bolton and Maggie Winfield, just outside the Make-It-U classroom.

Maggie and I went to lunch one day, and as always, she drew admiring glances from everyone.

Maggie strikes again.

The ever-creative Maggie Winfield had two little hand-made gifties for me when I saw her at Quilt Festival last month. I'm just now getting around to posting pictures of them.  So cute, and so practical!

The little "pocky-purse" (well, that's what I call it) is about 6" tall and 7" wide, with a spring-loaded opening.  It is flat as a flitter (as my Mamaw would have said), great for receipts, credit cards, cash, even a lipstick and comb.  I can carry it by itself, or stick it down inside a larger purse.

The notebook cover is about 5" x 8", and has a pocket to insert any kind of notepad in it.  (And Maggie knows, I'm always looking for a notepad in my purse!)

Thank you again, Ms. Maggie!