Shades of Autumn

The foliage seemed to come and go within a few short days this year. Dried tea bags are reminding me a bit of the crunchy leaves on the ground. My wonderful tea drinking suppliers continue to faithfully add to my stockpile and I like having a collection of at least eight different designs of bags to inspire new ideas.

I finished another work on paper with the standard sized rectangular bags in quite an array of colors. I think it really does capture something of autumn.

I also completed another big canvas piece with tea bag sacs that Laura at Mon Vert Cafe has been so diligently saving for me. They are much larger than regular bags and really stain beautifully. The hibiscus stained reds are wonderful but they lose much of their color when in contact with adhering mediums. I'd love to find a way to preserve the red when I use mediums on them.

I'm currently sewing Mighty Leaf tea bags together. They are made of an almost transparent light fabric that allows all the tea leaves to show through. I'll have to see where this takes me!

Note Cards are Finished!

It's been a long time coming but finally I have finished two sets of note cards.  The first is a set of four floral prints....

and the second is a set of pear watercolors....

These images are taken from the pear watercolor and floral print calendars just off the presses.  It is is an exciting departure for me--from fine arts into a bit of the commercial!  They will be packaged and for sale in the area in the near future....

On Paper

Working on paper with tea bags is a new experience. I'm doing some 3 dimensional work that actually has the tea bag extending from the paper rather than laying flat (as I've done in the past).

I've purchased a number of plexiglass box frames to hold the new w

ork and I'm quite curious to see how it will hang. Here are several pieces that are completed.

This piece is in the final stages....I'm not sure if it will hang vertically or horizontally but will be able to have a better idea when it is completed.

Little Cottage in the Woods

I haven't cut a large kirigami mandala for a while.  This one is a commissioned work for Christine in England.  She is moving and bought this as a present to herself for her new home.  She wanted something with birds, trees and flowers and a little cottage.  I hope she likes it.

The Art of Tea

Last Friday Chris and I hung my new show at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. When I first heard that I would be exhibiting in glass cases in the Main Rotunda, which won't accomodate large pieces, I wasn't sure how it would work. But as I organized the show I began to realize it would be an advantage to show the tea work in a protected environment and I managed to gather and create enough smaller pieces to fill the space.


The show highlights a number of different pieces, using flattened tea bags, filled bags, tea tags and strings and a variety of construction techniques. Here are a few of the pieces:


The show will be up until early November. I'm delighted to be exhibiting in a venue that will allow many people, including those who wouldn't enter a gallery, to be able to view the work!

Sidewalk Mural

On Saturday while the Woodstock Arts Festival on the green was going on, three Artwise Women, Barbara, Anne and Kathy,  took up chalk and created a flower and butterfly sidewalk mural in our assigned spot in front of the Woodstock Pharmacy.  The event was sponsored by the Change the World Kids.  Here are a few photos of the work we did that morning....

Barbara is working on her first block here.  Sidewalk art is a bit hard on the knees and the back so knee pads were the order of the day.

We checked out some books from the Norman Williams Library and used them as reference for our butterflies.

Anne's beautiful monarch butterfly.

And this is the butterfly that flew to the middle of the sidewalk....

An interested spectator, who asked if he could take a picture, came back after we finished and took this panoramic photo which he emailed to Barbara.  Though it's a bit hard to see, the caption reads:  "with love from Artwise Women"....

After the Storm

It has been a long week, this week.  When hurricane Irene came through this state she did lots of damage.  We were fortunate to come through unscathed.  But lots of time was spent taking care of people whose lives were turned upside down by the flooding of virtually every brook, stream and river.  So many roads and bridges washed out.  So many houses damaged and lost.  So many lives altered dramatically.  Every morning folks met at the elementary school here in Woodstock to volunteer in whatever way they could.  What a fine community of generous, involved and caring people we have in Vermont.  I am so grateful to be part of that community.

And, finally, despite the storm, my floral print calendar is complete--here is the final print intended for November....

"Rose and Holly"

9"x12" -  soft cut linoleum print

"Rose and Holly"

9"x12" - hand colored linoleum print

At the moment, all twelve prints are being scanned and turned into a proof calendar.  I'm excited to see what it looks like!  I still need to make some decisions about typeface, binding, etc. after I see it.  But I'm almost there.

And then the question becomes what to do next?