Would you believe . . . ?

My art quilts are on their way to a new home!

"'Crusaders broke into this mound', Maes-Howe Orkney Scotland"

"Older than Stonehenge, Castlerigg, Lakes District, England"

When I returned from quilt retreat and checked Etsy I noticed that I had sold the above quilts and two pieces of jewelry. I did a little happy dance and scared the dogs . . . and startled the heck out of my husband too.

I cannot wait to tell my quilting buddies. They have been so encouraging and supportive.

Art Quilts and Last Call for Bead Soup! Day#8

I got a late start on the Bead Soup today because I was working on another art project. I have spent a lot of time lately on beading and jewelry making, but I am also an Art Quilter/Fiber Artist.

At quilt retreat a few months ago, I worked up two small quilt-tops (approx. 25"x15"). They were inspired by my travels and my interest in Art History. For the last few days, I quilted and finished these little wall-hangings just in time to submit them (this afternoon, whew!) for an art show at a local gallery with the theme "Great Escapes -- landscapes and travels". I will not hear until Tuesday to know if they will be in the show, but I thought I would REVEAL them here for you.

This one is called "Older than Stonehenge". It is my interpretation of a relatively complete, small stone circle called Castlerigg in the northwest of England near the Lakes District. My husband and I visited it with two dear friends who were living in England at the time. There it was in the middle of a farmer's field surrounded by a simple wire fence. No guard hut, no gift shop, just out there -- in the natural surroundings. It was very magical.
The next piece is called "Crusaders broke into this mound"-- Maeshowe, Okney, Scotland. The name of this piece comes from one of the many Viking rune graffiti left in the mound in about 1153.

I stitched a plan of the interior of the mound in gold thread . . .

and the Viking rune graffiti (the title) is stitched out in gold thread as well.

I am fascinated by Maeshowe, not just because it is in a breathtakingly beautiful natural setting, but because thousands of years ago, a group of people constructed it over a long period of time and with exact alignment to the setting of the sun on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice. As a matter of fact, this little quilt shows the two sunsets one sees behind the Hill of Hoy (to the far left).

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The sun sets and then pops out again for a minute or two in the lower crook of the hill. All the while, the light is traveling down the tiny passage to strike a stone in the center of the chamber with a momentary flash of light in the darkness. Maeshowe have may signified the death of the old year and the birth of a new one with the days growing increasingly longer. The mound reminds me of the pregnant womb of Mother-Earth.

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Anyway, here is the last list of the Bead Soup Artists. Please visit them and post comments on their blogs. They have waited a LONG TIME to REVEAL their masterpieces.

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June 26th

85. Melissa, One-Eared Pig Beads

86. Rebecca, 2SistersBeadwork

87. Karyn, Releases by Rufydoof

88. Denise, Bling on the Blog

89. Doris, Glaszwerg

90. Megan, Churchy & Her Sailor

91. Jo, Daisychain Designs

92. Jen, VanBeads Jewelry and Design

93. Kristie, Artisan Clay

94. Jess, Vintaj

95. Suzann, Beadphoria

96. Sharon, Sharon's Jewelry Garden

97. Michelle, bMichelle

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If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. It could be you!! -- (I will do a Random Drawing on June 30th, that way, if you are slow at reading all these wonderful blogs, you will still have a chance to win.)

Retreat

Retreat!

I love the word, not because it means, among other things “flee quickly" from conflict, but because its other meaning is to “get away from the ordinary" and "get in touch with oneself”.

The past three weeks have been very difficult for me. When I was teaching, I always had a few weeks after summer school when I was mentally counting the days until school started again. I thought I was doing really well this summer, mentally preparing for NOT going back to the campus, but I was wrong. It hit me like a ton of brick two and a half weeks ago. Since then, there have been more days than not that I would get up in the morning, make breakfast and see my husband off to work, then lay back down “for a few minutes” only to awaken 5 hours later. Some mornings I would not even get up until nearly noon.

This is not like me – this is depression at its most insidious. It eats up my life and saps my energy. And, quite frankly, I resent it.

The good news is: I have been looking forward to this past weekend. I just returned from four days and three nights with my dearest and best artistic friends. Every year, twice a year, I look forward to Quilt Guild retreat. This time I paid for retreat right after I found out I lost my job. I knew I would need the spiritual sustenance that it gives me, and I was right. I took my jewelry to sell, and while I did not sell everything, it was worthwhile. I also bartered jewelry for a 30 minute massage from the on-site massage therapist. Yes, it was very good to go on retreat.

While I was there communing with my best gal-friends, I created two small quilt-tops that I will quilt as soon as I can get my best sewing machine repaired. (Have you ever noticed? Everything costs money!)

Saturday morning I left retreat to attend the first meeting of the Dallas Area regional group of Studio Art Quilters Association (SAQA). I met some of the local big names in art quilting and felt a bit intimidated. They were as nice as they could be so I am glad I joined. I look forward to tapping the collective resources this group has to offer.

Here are the two little art quilts I designed (but have not quilted) while on retreat. This one is Castlerigg, a Neolithic stone circle in the Lakes District of England.

And this one is of Maes-Howe and the Hills of Hoy on the island of Orkney way north of Scotland.

And here is my Etsy shop. Now, please go over there and buy something. I will give a 10% discount if you mention my blog in a convo (to me).

The Joy of Teaching

This week I am lecturing about Earth Art/Environmental Art and some of the great prehistoric sites I mentioned a couple of posts ago. I get all excited about this material because I have personal experience with it. I have walked around Castlerigg, the oldest stone circle in England (NOT Stonehenge). I have traipsed through sheep pastures to visit the Neolithic burial cairns at Kilmartin Glen. I've placed my foot in the spot where early Scottish Kings proved their worth to be crowned on Dunnad Hill Fort. I have also visited Orkey and encountered the wealth of Neolithic remains of astronomical technology and housing settlements.

Castlerigg in the Lake District of Cumbria, England

I try to share it with my students to varying degrees of success. It is hard to "get it" if you haven't actually "done it".

This section also introduces them to Andy Goldsworthy and his art. This they get -- mostly because they can relate to a guy working patiently on a fiddly project, only to see it collapse before his (and their) eyes. I also have them create works inspired by Goldsworthy. It is a real treat for me, because I never know what I will be opening up in the next email from the students.

A few years ago, I developed the visual arts aspects for a team-taught Study Abroad program which travelled to Scotland for four summers. To see students "get it", to have students take me by the arm and tug me to a specific location so that I could experience their vantage point in a newly learned experience just gives me goose-bumps. So often, I plant seeds and never see the fruits of my labor. But in an experience like those Study Abroad learning environments, the seed is planted and grows to fruition before my eyes -- not always, but most of the time.

I love planting seeds and seeing them flourish. I also love to see the lightbulb go off over someone's head. It thrills me to teach and to help students "get it". That, for me, is the joy of teaching.

If you teach, what excites you? If you learn, what helps you "get it" the best -- experience, observations, kinetics (hands on), listening to lectures? What has been your most exciting learning experience?