Aullwood: Vita Marie Lovett

Vita Marie Lovett "South Window"  12 2/3" x 9 3/4

Vita Marie Lovett is another "regular" artist at Aullwood's art quilt show.  I wrote about her work in 2010 and in 2009.  I am drawn to her work for many reasons, her fondness for old architecture (especially barns), antiques, and detail.  I appreciate this piece for several reasons:  In the early spring, I can't wait to harvest some forsythia to bring in and have their luscious yellow chase the winter doldrums away.

 I also love the long rays of light which one finds in the early morning and late afternoon.  I imagine that this time is fleeting for her as she lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. One of the things I missed the most when I moved to Connecticut from Michigan was the long periods of this "long light" . Because the area of Michigan I lived in was fairly flat, just gentle hills, and the area of Ohio where I live now is flat as a pancake thanks to the hard work of the glaciers, I have longer periods of this light.  Connecticut was just too hilly!  But there are many things I do miss about living in New England.

Vita Marie Lovett "South Window", detail.

Vita Marie drew this image from the south window in her cabin. I appreciate her work because she does not print a photograph on fabric then stitch over it,  but paints a background the color reflected in what she sees, then draws with thread on top of it..often many, many layers to do the detail. Her work is rich and sparkles...and lays flat as a pancake, I think partly because she uses canvas as her back ground.  That strong fabric is less likely to be distorted from all the work she does.

Look at the bottle.....it really seems to be transparent.  Her complex thread work gives it depth and dimension while imparting the impression that it is clear.

Vita Marie Lovett,"South Window" detail.

If you haven't looked at Vita Marie's website, you owe it to yourself to take a visit.  You can see it here.

Aullwood 2013: Bits and Pieces, the work of Barbara Bruser and Pam Geisel

Barbara Bruser, "Mandala " 26" x 26"

I'm back from Montana and a little worse for the wear.  I am finishing up the pieces which were exhibited at the Aullwood Nature Center's 2013 art Quilt show.  Tonight, you will get to see the work of two fellow Ohioans, Barbara Bruser and Pam Geisel.

Barbara's work entitled "Mandala" is  personal. A mandala is a spiritual symbol used in Hinduism and Budhism.  One of the purposes of a mandala is to set out spiritual space, another is to represent the universe, and to aid in meditation.

Barbara has been studying to obtain her masters in Socialwork.  In doing so, she studied Erikson's Psychological stages of life which describe elements from infancy to old age.  Barbara tells us  "I envisoned this as a mandala,expanding concentric circles for each stag,  all striving for the unity of one's total self."   Barbara used

fabric and beaded embellishment to illustrate her personal travel.  She intends to add to it as time goes on.

"Bruser, "Mandala"  detail

Pam Geisel, "Seasons" NFS.


You've seen Pam Geisel's work here before.  Pam is a fellow member of the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network here in Ohio.  Pam  arranges little piecers of fabric together ona background cloth and  puts netting  over it and stitches it down.  Pam let borrow her photo  as these pieces are framed in 5" x 7" frames and the pieces themselves only measure 2.5" x 2.5"  Given the lighting at Aullwood, my photographs were less than to be desired.

Although this shot leaves a lot to be desired for many reasons, I think you can get the idea.  Each of the little mosaics shows a tree in each different season.You can see more of Pam's work on her website:  http://www.forquiltssake.com/

Once again, I am participating in Nina-Marie's Off-the-wall Fabric Fridays. For more art quilts make sure to go to her website.  http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

Harvest once again

 

Once again, I am in Montana.  This time I didn't come out to help with harvest, but to see my mom and dad....at least I didn't THINK I was coming out to help.

A little more than a week ago my mom blacked out and fell, breaking three ribs.  In reality, I originally came out to see my dad whose heart is weakening.  I arranged it between chemo treatments....

While here,  have either been doing harvest meals n my own (twice) or acting as sous chef for my sister (lots of chopping).  This year has been a little nuts as we don't know if we are going to have seven to feed in the field or 12. ....and they eat lots.

Yesterday, I made Bott Boi (a.k.a. "Pot Pie") a German dish  which is made by the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Amish and the Germans around my area of Ohio.   It is wonderful home-made egg noodles traditionally cut in squares, with chicken....basically chicken and noodles....but then...at least back home, the whole ooey gooey mixture (which is more like gravy from the noodles than broth) is served over mashed potatoes (or in some areas, but not mine, chunks of potatoes).   I love it...So.....I made the broth and stripped the chicken and yesterday made the egg noodles.  I used my sister-in-law's Atlas pasta machine as the last time I made it my noodles were tough....I couldn't get them thin enough and the dough is soft so I had to keep on adding flour to keep it off the rolling pin.

I was in a panic as I didn't know how much the recipe would actually make..the one I used said it would make 6 servings...but I remembered that the last time I made it I fed the ladies of my quilting group as well as saving some for home and freezing a lot since it feels good on my chemo ravaged tummy.  So.....I made a second batch of noodle dough to hold in reserve.

I sort of  cheated as I usually slip in veggies to make it more wholesome than just pure starch.  Celery, peas and carrots found their way into my pot.  It tasted heavenly....and made a huge stock pot full. I fed the field (that day 9 men), saved out half cup servings for my mom, dad, sister and me, and there was still enough left to put in containers for my brother to eat for breakfast.  I wondered if they guys in the field had ever had home-made egg noodles. Mom made them rarely, but I loved them.  As I worked on this she kept on saying "why bother? I just buy the dried egg noodles."  Nope.  Not good enough, and actually noodles aren't that hard to make. This website is basically the recipe I used, and the noodle recipe is the best.  I didn't put it over mashed potatoes as  I have always thought that was overkill...and we have from 2 - 4 diabetics working for us.

http://chezpim.com/cook/pennsylvania-du

This lovely photo is wheat harvest in Spokane, in 1926.  Thank goodness I didn't have to feed horses too!

I'm leaving soon...I wish I could stay longer, but my ribs are saying "are you nuts??" from all the standing.