November Chill

Here are some glass pins for Christmas, still warm and in the kiln.

Here is some wool roving, freshly dyed and drying in the sun.  I am hoping to spin it and make warm scarves!

Here is some freshly spun and laundered wool yarn drying in the fresh air.

More Blue Faced Leicester

I am finding this wool pretty easy to spin.  So, I dyed some more!

Halloween

Halloween at Barbra's house was great!  Phil and I went as Count and Mrs. Dracula.  Here I am with my art friends (Barbra didn't make the photo and Deloris didn't make the party).  Don't be fooled by their costumes, these women are great oil painters.   Each week I am humbled by their wonderful work.

This is my latest dye job of Blue Faced Leicester Roving.

I hung these skeins of dyed and spun wood on my trellis to dry.

Blue Faced Leicester

Yesterday I dyed some new blue faced leicester wool (no, the wool is not blue).  I spun some last night and it is looking just lovely.  It seems to be a little silkier than merino.

Fiber

I have been working on my spinning technique.  It is a bit tricky.  Here are some photos of some merino wool roving that I have dyed.  The "buns" are in the middle of the dye process.  The photo with the wheel shows some of my dyed roving and the beautiful yarn as a result.  Some of the merino wool I spin before I dye it.   The white yarn is the natural merino wool after I have spun it.  I dyed one skein of it already.  So, some of the wool roving I dye before I spin it and some of the wool I dye after I spin it.  And, Chiquita is bored while I work, so here is a photo of her in one of her napping locations.  She is a funny dog.

October

As it gets colder my mind turns to wool.  So, I have a new spinning wheel!  I have been learning and enjoying the wheel.  The scarf (with my handmade pin) is from yarn I didn't spin.  But, the spools are from my new wheel.

Chun Wang was painting with us on three Tuesdays.  Here is a painting that he helped me with.
And, I have a bowl of my handmade fused glass pins.  I am taking them to the Creative Hand Show on November 19 and 20, 2010.

Latest Projects

Here are some of my latest projects.

Oryx

These fine oryxs live at the Kansas City Zoo.

Giraffe

This giraffe lives at the Fort Worth Zoo. We had a lovely visit at the Zoo in June with our wonderful family. I painted his (or her) portrait on a 16x20 inch canvas panel.

Distractions

I do love making fused glass earrings with my own handmade sterling silver earwires. Here are some of my latest!

Portaits

I've been starting to paint people portraits again. Here is my great niece, Annika!

First Draft

Here is the first draft of a Wood Duck painting that I started today. I took the reference photos at the Fort Worth zoo.

Chiquita's Friend

Just a quick sketch of Chiquita's little friend, Dylan.

Portraits

These sweet little dogs didn't mind getting their portraits painted!

Two of the Entries

Here are two of the entries into the Stems Event. The third will be the pansy from the previous blog entry. Wish me luck!

Stems Plein Aire

I painted this 5x5 inch pansy in two hours at the opening paint out on Saturday night.

Trinity Art Show

Here are four paintings that I plan to bring to the Trinity Art Show this weekend (May 21-23).

These are going to the Friday (May 7th) show with me!