cynthia's road ahead

The Makings of a Machine

2011-03-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

The place that made my quilting machine, HandiQuilter, is in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their operation is meticulous and impressive, and I got the chance to snap some photos of their workshop.

Ahhhh! Sweet Slumber!

2011-03-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

Cats sure can relax, especially on a quilt.

Hi Everybody!! I'm Back!

2011-03-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

Whew! What a long blogger break this has been.

Lately, I've been trying new artistic outlets. One has been mixed media...stuff I've found at flea markets glued together.

And, I was foolish enough to do another paper-pieced quilt. This one sold at a recent quilt show.

What's Up?

2009-09-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been thinking a lot about this "oversharing" business everyone seems to be doing. There are the blogs, Facebook, reality TV, instant messaging, Twitter, Twatter and Twutter.

Do we really need to know this much about other people? Does anyone need to know this much about us?

It's starting to give me the creeps.

So I'm trying to work this puzzle out:

And Phoebe's thinking of staying hidden:

I'm not sure if I want to continue blogging. So don't be surprised if I don't post for awhile.

Books, Broads and Breaking Bread

2009-09-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today was our book club meeting at Jo's.

This is the most fun group of women ever. There are fifteen of us, and I love us all (pardon if I do say so myself). Our book discussions are lively, and even sometimes contentious, but always stimulating.

Jo made a fabulous lunch for us. A salad with all the yummies she could think of:

And bubbling on the stove? Hungarian mushroom soup!

And there was warm cheese bread with butter.

And (as if that wasn't enough), a creamy custard thing with peaches on top for dessert.

Yum!

The day was beautiful, so we ate lunch out on her deck, which overlooks the Santiam River.

Beautiful Pre-Fall Outing

2009-09-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today, the road ahead was a walking path through Bush Park in Salem.

A walk that would have been incomplete without flower photos at the conservatory.

Then there was the incredible exhibit in the Bush Art Center by Kristin Kuhns called "Acts of Reconstruction."

Her pieces are beautiful and intense, and I was blown away by the whole show. Here are two of my favorites.

And before the day was done, a trip to the Wednesday Farmers' Market where there were local fresh organic vegetables,

hand crafted objects (this is part of a purse),

and beautiful flowers, foods and soaps.

Spiders, Seams and Struggles

2009-09-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today, I was sweeping off the deck and came upon a frightful sight. Behold my new best friend:

I really understand Miss Muffett when she sat on her tuffett, eating her curds and whey...oh, geez that's a big spider, climbing down right beside her, changing the mood of her day.

Most of my studio time today was spent piecing together my latest quilt top. I'm still obsessed with curves. and lines that change color because of perfectly matched seams. Here's a picture of what I have so far:

Teeny Tiny Turf

2009-09-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

For almost as far back as I can remember, I've had a fascination with small houses. I guess it's a holdover from building forts in my childhood...they were safe, private, hidden.

So imagine my delight when, during my walk, I came across this little beauty, perched atop my friends Norma and Tom's roadside mailbox.

It reminded me to take another look at one of my other favorite blogs, Kent Griswald's Tiny House Blog.

Have a look.

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

Shakespearean Signs

2009-09-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

Today, my walk took me on a different road. Not one I hadn't been on before, but one I hadn't walked recently.

First, I crossed the bridge and stopped to watch the sun coming up over the river.

Then I began to notice all the signs. Believe me, there are a lot of signs on the road ahead.

Take a look...they're everywhere!

And then there are the signs that make me laugh.

“He that is thy friend indeed,
He will help thee in thy need:
If thou sorrow, he will weep;
If thou wake, he cannot sleep:
Thus of every grief in heart
He with thee does bear a part.
These are certain signs to know
Faithful friend from flattering foe.”

William Shakespeare

The Season is Changing

2009-09-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

Got some time in the studio today.

I'm still falling in love with encaustics, but I don't think encaustics are falling in love with me. I've burned myself, cut myself, and made HUGE messes for myself to clean up.

But dang, it's sure fun.

Fertile and anti-Fertile

2009-09-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today, I was looking at stuff I've acquired over the years during my travels, and I found this. This is "Pacha Mama" and her tiny baby. She's a fertility goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. (Pacha Mama translates to "Mother Earth.")

I met the woman who made this doll. She claimed that the dress was made from an ancient burial cloth. I don't believe it, but it makes a great story.

Not long ago, I finished a needlepoint cushion from Ehrman needlepoint designs. I'm thinking about starting another project this winter.

Hmmm. Could this be a procrastination technique to keep me from doing "real" work in my studio? After all, how many pillows does one girl need?

Anyway, here's a picture of the last project.

Beware...The Forest Has Eyes

2009-09-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

I found these orbs on my walk. I have no idea what they are, but they remind me of little eyeballs. Maybe they are.

Last Friday, at Greenbaums Quilted Forest, (my favorite quilt shop) I found the most fabulous poppy floral fabric. I coveted it, but at sixteen-some-odd dollars per yard, I didn't think I wanted to use it in a quilt.

So I decided to make a tote bag.

Thanks to such a long, lazy and rainy weekend, I finished it today. It'll be good for schlepping groceries and books, with room to spare for an irresistible yard (or two) of fabric.

Woods and Wackiness

2009-09-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Today, the road ahead was through the woods.

And take a look at this handsome fellow. He lives at my friend Lillian's house.

Tomatoes and Tableaus

2009-09-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

I LOVE tomatoes...look what our across-the-street neighbors brought us this afternoon. Yum!

I found an old leftover currency bill from my trip to Peru, so I decided to tear out the beautiful aviator Peruvian woman printed on it to make another encaustic painting.

Geez. These paints are so fun to work with.

I keep looking at this combo on my fireplace mantle and trying to think of how to interpret it in an abstracted encaustic still life. The colors of the gourds, the swirls on the cat, the mortar between the stones, make me think I need to try it.

Another Peaceful Day in Paradise

2009-09-03T16:41:00.001-07:00

Phlowers and Phoebe

2009-09-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

I spotted these lovelies on my walk today. I wonder what they are.

And these.

Weirdly wonderful and wonderfully weird.

Phoebe decided to take a nap in Jim's lap. Ahhhhhhhh...

Berries and Beeswax

2009-09-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it's September... supposed to be the end of summer...but look what the wild blackberries are still doing.

Hmmm. Maybe there are yummy times to come.

I've been trying to teach myself to use encaustic paints. It's a wonderful medium because you can build up layers to create all sorts of weird textures.

Here's one I did that incorporates a bit of collage.

Artist as the Creator

2009-08-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for two things: old stuff and gridded stuff. I guess that's why quilting appeals to me so much. Quilts seem orderly and organized...two traits that I struggle with.

Today I went to pick up the mail at the post office, and noticed a nifty grid.

Then when I came home, I did some work on a quilt I'm putting together that incorporates some very very old fabric that I found at an antique store in Sisters. I'm hand quilting it.

These old pieces feel good in my hands. Maybe because I'm imagining the long ago person who cut them and hand stitched them together.

The fabric is so soft, it makes me want to suck my thumb and snuzzle in it. No...really!

And the pieces are wonky and spunky and oh-so-wonderful.

Here's a painting my daughter Kelly made for me from a photo of us, taken when she was a little girl.

"I've never believed in God, but I believe in Picasso."

A quote by Diego Rivera that pretty much sums up my view of things.

The Road Not Wanted

2009-08-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

Okay. So yesterday evening, Jim and I discovered a road that was none too pleasant to travel...the road to THE HOSPITAL.

First there was Jim's excruciating abdominal pain.
Then there was my dead battery when I needed to get him to the emergency room.
Then there was the drive in his car to the hospital.
Then, the ER's male nurse who had criminally blue eyes.
Then...the wait...the tests... the diagnosis (obstructed bowel due to a sigmoid volvulus)...the hospital admission...the late night procedure to un-obstruct the bowel.

Finally relief for him, and a restless night for me back at home.

Today, the first thing was to get someone to come rescue my dead battery so I could find the road ahead and get back to the hospital. Thank goodness for STR Towing.

The walk to his hospital room seemed a mile long. I was anxious to get back to him.

He was woozy, but feeling like he might want to live after all.

There were a lot of foreign objects on his table.

And on the walls.

But now we're home again, grateful for the small pleasures in life...good poops and familiar objects.

NOTE TO SELF: Don't take the small pleasures for granted. You can't predict if/when a blockage might make them impossible.

No More Road Blocks (I hope)

2009-08-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

So I'm launching this new blog.

I'm hoping to create a blog that allows me to share the more eclectic (some say "scattered") aspects of myself.

So toward that end, this morning, I plugged my ears with my I-Pod shuffle, and headed off to the road ahead.

I realized that not all directional signs on the road are created equal. Ugh!

And sometimes there are scary warning signs that advise you not to do something you didn't want to do in the first place.

But if you stay on the road long enough, chances are, you'll probably find the right way home.