Feeling Good!

One of the things I have treated myself to for a number of years is a massage every month or two. My hands, wrists, and shoulders that do so much concentrated work are particularly appreciative. The move from PA meant that I lost a massage therapist who knew exactly what I needed, but I was lucky on my first try here. Michelle took care of an aching wrist for me on the first massage and I needed to look no further.

Two weeks ago before she started to work her magic, she completely surprised me by asking if I would want to hang one or two of my quilts in her office--a beautiful space in one of the many old renovated mills around here that has a ceiling that goes up two floors in places, creating all sorts of nooks and crannies and tall white walls. She had not been in this space long and was still figuring out how to decorate it. I went home, looked at the quilts I had available and decided that I could do this. About a week later we arranged for me to bring in several pieces to see what would fit and what she liked. The quilts all looked magnificent on those white walls and she decided on four: a large piece, a medium one, and two small.

I finally gave up trying to photograph the fourth, the edge of which you can see in the above photo, since the window light kept dominating the picture. I was able to put labels with each piece, explaining a bit about them and including a price, and I also hung a brief bio under the largest piece, Unexpected. No sunshine hits these. What a great venue for textiles! I smile every time I walk past this building.

Hope you are smiling over some good news as well! Thanks for the company!

Learning

I got to see how long it took to get to Manchester, NH, yesterday very early in the morning for an 8 AM class with Wen Redmond. I have admired her for a number of years since she is fearless in her experimentation that has produced some memorable work and has amassed a great of knowledge about a number of techniques. Yesterday was a class on using thermofax screens. I have used these in a couple of classes and felt that they would be a useful tool in my quest for more texture and depth in some of my pieces, but didn't know much about the process.

Wen at work

In 2 1/2 hours Wen answered my questions. I now know what kind of images work for this process and how to prepare a photo or make a drawing that I can use. I also know an inexpensive way to frame the screens using duct tape, and I know about various squeegees that work for small screens, the kinds of paint needed, various clever ways of printing images, and what is needed or not needed to set the images.

And I came away with four small screens that will be eminently useful and some sample fabrics printed from two of them:

The first is from a photograph of ice in a puddle.

It was the perfect class--gave me the information I needed and didn't leave me with a large unfinished project or oodles of samples that I will never use--well worth the fifty minute drive, particularly since the once forecast sleet and freezing rain did not happen. And I got to meet Wen, a person worth knowing!