lowercased vern dissonantly

“Life is a dream. ‘Tis waking that kills us,” Virginia Woolf

Squirrel of the moment

Still staying away from the studio-  this dumb cold I got on the plane to Boston has me able to walk to the kitchen but then I need to rest.  Not fun.  I was getting up during the night and trying every place I could lie down to see if I would stop coughing and drift off for a bit.  Finally I gave in to Nyquil's call and have instead been walking around like a dope tripping on things and spinning like vertigo has its grip on me again. Anyway, I AM better- made it to the end of the street about seven times today with Ollie and his reserve bladder.  

Bless his heart, as they say around here.

ANYway, at the studio:

looks like I am still filing my fabrics by color.

I got enthralled by unicorns and started looking at the Unicorn Tapestries online, and printed out some big ones to use for reference.  And then I started collecting unicorn images and am shocked at how many different mythical animals are unicorn -able.  there are unicorn giraffes, deer, goats, fish, and a whole bunch of undefinables. So off I went piecing some 3 sided triangles from tree-ish fabrics and covering the background with those.  Didn't adhere them because I have to tuck in a whole mess of men and of course unicorns into the greenery.  I also made a Medieval fountain for the center and hope that I can do some 'carvings' on it once I get embroidering.  ANYway, I hit the wall the other day drawing up a fleet of unicorns, so I folded up the whole mess and will dig back in some time this weekend.  I have already screwed my resolution to be in the studio more.

This is part of my ongoing series of groups of animals, the  unicorns are called a 'Blessing of Unicorns'.  I'll be at it for a long time, stay tuned.

Time for the Art Lesson!
Today we will talk about Simon Beck who, with nothing more than apair of snow boots, the power of his legs, and some intuitive math, has created hundreds of spectacular, large-scale land art pieces onto snowy terrains around the world. Beck, a former engineer, has been creating his snow art for more than 15 years.

“Usually I work outwards from the center,” he explains on his 

Facebook page, which if followed by more than 270,000 people. “Straight lines are made by using the compass and walking in a straight line towards a point in the distance, curves are made by judgment. Both require a lot of practice to get it good.”  Beck’s work is ephemeral by nature, inevitably destroyed by the elements. “You’ve got to try and get these things done in one day,” he said, “because the weather in the mountains is not entirely predictable.”

  








And when there isn't any snow...


Make sure and enlarge these images to see the individual footprints in each!  Lesson here is you do NOT need special equipment to make art.  You do NOT need ethereal techniques.  And you do NOT need specialized education.  Of course all help, but real art is assembled from what's around you at any given time, and what's already in your head.  

Back to work now, time to take Ollie to the illegal dog park to jump on his pals.
Then, to the studio, I promise!

Supposed to hit 87 today, and 60 tomorrow!  Sew Sandy Sigh