I'll be away from my blog for a week as we're going to the cottage. Most of our children will be there, and I'll have my laptop and sewing machine but no internet. I realized yesterday how much my daily environment impacts upon my work. The broad horizon of lake huron, 
the travel to Europe that I hope to be able to continue, 
and the circular things that I collect for my home. 
By laying a grid over my 25" square drawings, I was able to size them up onto my studio walls. Four new pieces (each 90" square)are outlined with narrow strips of cloth and stretch around the room. It's wonderful to contemplate what they will eventually look like.
I want to make it clear that the four large square pieces, while inspired by my coursework for JC school of textiles, are not part of the university degree. They are my own body of work.
I am the beauty of the green earth, and the white moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters.
Wiccan chant
Highway 17 across the top of Lake Superior is a magnificent statement about the largeness of Northern Ontario.
It took us four days - two to get from Manitoulin to Thunder Bay, and two more to get home again. We didn't drive after dark because of all the hype about moose danger, although we did not see a single animal. 
Not very many people either.
I drove and Barb entertained. She either had to turn the pages of Art Forum magazine which stimulated our art conversation, or take photos through the windshield, or check the map to see where we were.
(We were in God's country.)
(all photos by Barbara Sprague)
I am in Thunder Bay and am writing this post on the little lap top my father gave me last spring. The drive here from Manitoulin along the north shore of Lake Superior is superb. My friend Barbara Sprague and I have been enjoying this artist "date". 
Today, in between visiting old friends from our mutual past life, we searched for the Gaea Enthroned commission that I did in 1992 for the Provincial government building in Thunder Bay. 
We found it. The triptych had been moved from the second floor elevator hallway down to a main floor corridor. Much faded after the seventeen years of display it was like seeing one's child grown up with gray hair. I felt tender towards it but so glad to see it again.
It's August and local guilds and arts organizations are planning the fall and winter ahead. I've been asked to consider teaching art quilting again yet I'm wondering how many piano students will return after the summer break. 
Go deeper. Get better. Work harder."
A life passage like birth requires the attention of a special textile.
Pamela Fitzsimons Walking Werakata 4 2006 Silk, plant dye, rust print, layered, hand-stitched 26.5" x 25.5"
Helen Parrott Red Circle 2000 - 2002 Tied quilting, calico and linen thread 229 by 229 cm
I've managed to get into my studio every afternoon this week, and may be getting used to the social workers that have started renting a suite of offices next door. 
Sidetracked by an older piece from re purposed wool blankets, I believe I've stabilized it by stitching it to some commercial felt that Oona gave me last spring. 
I've painted nine circle paintings. What I'm seeking is a quiet contemporary zing, and have put aside any of the drawings that seem heavy. This one made my short list of five. I'm hoping that a cross made from two twigs and attached simply to the large hanging with thread will not seem irreverent.
Meanwhile, this is the land scape we see now on Manitoulin - peaceful circles. Gold and green grasses. 
Lacy wild flowers.
I spent the morning watching the haze lift from the sky while doing some foundation piecing by hand.
I took several photographs over the three hour period, but only a single moment is depicted in each. Photographs capture single moments. 
On the other hand, the period of time spent making stitched art is tangible. Add in the power of repeated human touch and the result is extra ordinary. Why is it undervalued?
I spent a good amount of time in my studio yesterday, and came home exhilarated. The circle paintings are still coming, but its time to consider how I'll be able to translate them to cloth and stitch. 
Using the 12" ceiling tiles that cover the walls as a measurement, I pinned a strip of fabric into a 90" square outline and cut out a 60" diameter circle from an old sheet. Doing just that was so exhausting I had to lie down on the floor. 
The beautiful activity just outside my window revived me.
Belated birthday wishes to our only (so far) grandchild, Everett, three years old earlier this month.
Something dreamlike happens when Ned and I take the boat to his family cottage. Something slow and quiet. My muse knows to visit me there, but not till afternoon.
shelling peas
the view
