March Miscellany
Some of you live in Gillette Wyoming, but you might not know about the wonderful venue for contemporary art quilts at City Hall. Take the stairs, and see my artwork from various vantage points! I change out the quilts in Spring and Autumn. There are four new pieces to enjoy. Evolution, 43 X 53 (above) is one of them.
Each May, Local Color puts on their annual art show and sale, held at a house (usually big and for sale) and artfully curated. Last year the event was cancelled due to Covid-19, and this year organizers are worried that they may not find an available house. Oh dear. (I am no longer a member of Local Color, but it does cause worry.) I have five weeks to create two or three new pieces for this show - fun, upbeat, simple, appealing, affordable pieces of art. Wish me luck.
March is when Felix and I try to get our pruning of trees and bushes done. It's been a cold month, so we've been waiting patiently for a warm week-end day to do this work. We do some of it together, with me pointing to what needs removing, and Felix doing the sawing and clipping. I seldom like to do collaborative art, but collaborative pruning works. On March 27, no longer patient, 31 degrees with no wind, 7:30 am - we drove to my daughter's place of business to prune. We got it all done in under an hour and came home much satisfied, even though I got a smack in the face by a chokecherry branch! The pruned sticks will be bundled and taken away later. Our hands and feet would like this job to continue on a much warmer day! Did you know that pruning is a form of editing? All creative sport requires the maker be very comfortable with pruning!
Yesterday I removed a 1988 applique (below) from its stretcher bars, and washed it. I had the idea that I would convert it into a quilt, but after carefully looking it over, have decided not to save it. It's hard to get excited about working with faded polyester fabrics! There is a possibility that I will make the image again, starting from scratch and in a different size. I have always loved the subject of marching clouds and like the composition too. Girl on the Slide is 24 X 40 inches.
I must clean house in anticipation of guests' arrival in three weeks. After one year of pandemic, I must seriously challenge the two kinds of dirt that have taken over - dusty grime and clutter. I have plenty to keep me busy. In addition to the monthly jobs of hanging an art show at AVA art center and writing a blog post I will 1) Clean house/organize, 2) Create new artwork, 3) Prune/clean-up debris.
This month's recipe is for a group of toppings I call Nearly-Pesto. The flavors of pesto are there, but the preparation time is short and there are no equipment needs. These toppings can be added to cooked pasta, spaghetti squash, or quinoa. Nearly-Pesto: Drizzle with olive oil. Add garlic powder, dried or fresh chopped basil, grated parmesan cheese, and toasted seeds (pumpkin or/and sunflower) or toasted chopped walnuts. Zap in microwave briefly. See how fast that was!