May 2023

It’s been quite some time since I have posted here. I am happy to announce that I finally pulled my stuff together and updated my, once sad, little website! It’s still a work in progress, but now there are actually things to buy. Please have a look and I would appreciate any feedback.

It has been a cold, dreary start to Spring here on the Peninsula, but my green house is full of dahlias and begonias ready to go. I will begin putting in the flower garden at Dragonfly Gallery next week. The shop is fully stocked with art and handmade treasures for the coming season. I hope to see you soon! Happy Spring 😊

September

A breezy fall afternoon. I am sitting in my quiet gallery, wishing I was at home in my studio. I have had a nice amount of visitors in the past couple of days, but not today. Next week I will bring my sewing machine down here and stitch my way through the Fall.

With all of my holiday arts & craft shows being cancelled this year, I am hoping that my customers will come to me in person at Dragonfly Gallery or online. I am currently creating unique, original fiber art pieces and steel art. I will add a number of pieces to my website at the end of the month. Stay tuned!

The Silent Summer

It’s a strange and challenging time to be an artist in Alaska. Much of our State economy is based on tourism and not much of that is happening this year due to the pandemic. I have limited Dragonfly Gallery’s hours to 3 days week. I have very few people coming in and, of course, sales are dismal as the entire economy is affected by the virus. With many art venues and shows being canceled, I do not expect anything to improve.

It is definitely time to give my website more attention and learn marketing skills to guide people to it.

I am trying to stay productive and keep making art, but I must admit that there are few studio sessions happening. On the bright side, I am spending many hours in my garden at home and it looks better than ever before. For the past 16 summers I have only kept the gallery garden maintained and this year, I can do both!

Besides having more time at home, I will also have time to enjoy our beautiful State and am making plans for a couple of road trips and other activities.

Stay healthy and enjoy the summer months, strange as they may be.

January 13

I have finished painting the tree shapes on my 3 panel project. The next steps will include heat setting the fabric paints, then washing away the resist lines.

Today I will go into town and pick up the backing fabric and stabilizer and prepare the pieces for Lily - my talented friend and long-arm quilting professional.

We received a little snow and are experiencing a heat wave of 3 degrees above zero.

Painting is complete. This photo shows the pieces still suspended on the large frames.

January 11

Another crispy, sunny day. Beautiful frozen landscape. I have not been out on my snowshoes yet this year. 10 degrees above zero is my cut-off!

The past 2 days I have been in the studio painting in the resisted design on my panels. Again, very challenging to see the lines. In the future I will add some color into the resist when I mix it so it will be more visible. I started with a dark Tobacco color mixed from flowable fabric paints, then moved on to a brilliant Emerald and then a Golden Green.
The fractured, ice dyed ground colors are taking shape as light filtering through the summer leaves. An extreme contrast to the frost covered trees outside.

Tree shapes painted with flowable fabric paints.

January project, cont.

This is a close-up of one panel outlined with resist. I am using a new product which is rather difficult to see. For 0ver 25 years I used the same resist made in France and last year it was discontinued. So, after a brief panic, I experimented and found some good replacements.

Ferrous & Fiber

My husband Adam and I are the featured artists for the month of July at Kenai Fine Art Center in Kenai, Alaska.

It has been a journey to create the majority of the works in about 9 months. Adam and I designed the steel pieces and he did all of the fabrication. My fiber art pieces represent many different techniques that I have further explored over the last winter.

The show is posted on my New Events page. If you have the opportunity, please have a look at the exhibit and let us know what you think

communing with the trees

I have been reading “The Hidden Life” of Trees” by Peter Wohlleben. I have always been deeply connected to the forest community that surrounds my home and this book has only increased my reverence. This winter I have been out on my snowshoes picking my way into the recesses of the woods seeking inspiration for my fiber art. The snowy woods, so softly silent, are purely magical.