Tag Archives: beech

almost the darkest day

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view-out-backI love the glow of light along the roof lines and the cheery rectangles of warmth coming from my neighbors’ houses.  In 2013 I plan to construct fabric houses that more nearly represent the houses in my neck of the woods.  And, speaking of houses, anyone who knows my work will guess why I was drawn to this wine – thereby confirming something recently heard on television – and that is, that labeling greatly influences wine purchases.Cleaning up to host the wine-related event, I found this little guy.  I think I was checking the bobbin tension on my machine, and reading Lynda Barry at the time.  The reverse side captures how I sometimes feel this time of year, hoping I am remembering everything I need to remember.

Goink!!

bird, tree, and snow

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Here is a quick sketch that I did of a clay figure sculpted by artist Maria DeCasto.  I found the photo in the book “500 Animals in Clay“.   I like drawing from other artist’s work, especially when it is not fiber.  It is a way to appreciate and celebrate what another artist is doing as well as to think about the basics of medium.

I fiddled with photo in my very rudimentary graphics package and now she is a ‘snowbird’.  Today’s fiber class will be devoted to doll-making and I’m going to try my hand at rendering Maria DeCastro’s avian scuplture in cloth.  I am not anticipating copyright issues because there is no way what I make will resemble hers.  Should I be concerned?

Perhaps I could ask the wise, enduring copper beech in my neighbor’s backyard.  I am lucky enough to see this massive and glorious tree out of my kitchen window (right where I stand to do prep) and out of my bedroom window.  I often turn my head to look at it, first thing as I wake.

When I woke up on the day after election day, relieved and tired, it struck me that this tree has been through so many elections, so many changes, tides, upheavals…  I’m pretty certain that it was alive during the Revolutionary War, more than 200 years ago.

What a thought!!  I wish that it could talk to me.  Perhaps I am not listening hard enough?

Beech Trees Journal Quilt

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Back when I was taking photos of urban scenes to adapt as decorations for a local after prom party, I also took a number of pictures of beech trees.  They live in Brookline, just a street over from Beacon Street, and they are truly magnificent.

This quilt is small, about 8 1/2 x 11″.  I used the bucket feature in Photoshop Elements 3.0 to change the background colors, which transformed the branch patterns into something resembling stained glass.  I changed threads at least three times quilting the piece, which is a departure from my generally lazy approach to thread.

I’ve recently been back to visit these trees and have come to the conclusion that they are most beautiful when the branches are bare.  This time of year, leaves are plentiful, obscuring the muscular structure of the trunks which I so love to look at.