Playing With Fiber

While we were on our roadtrip we visited my son and his family in Mt. Vernon, Washington. My daughter-in-law Andi is a fiber artist. Here she is working in her studio, or perhaps I should say playing in her studio. When you have as much fun as she does while she is in her studio you really can't call it work.While we were visiting she was preparing for an upcoming show.

She does quilted wall hangings using a variety of techniques.

Marty built a frame for one while we were there.

She uses some very colorful fabrics.

She also does wearable art, including handbags and jackets.

She makes book covers and coffee sleeves.

On an earlier post I had a photo of a piece she had hanging in the History Museum at LaConner. Click here to go to that post.

The show she was preparing for included 10 of her wall hangings.

If you want to see more of her work you can go to her website and check out some of her projects. She has also begun a blog.

Skagit Valley

We were out and about the countryside around Mt. Vernon yesterday. The morning was rainy, but in the afternoon the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. We drove by an old schoolhouse, the Mt. Pleasant school. There are lots of old barns around the area because it is a farming area.

Some are still in fairly good condition but some look ready to fall down.

The snow geese like the fields and there were spend the winter here.

Three were flying in close formation.

We went to LaConner and visited the shops but we also went to the historical museum there. They have an art exhibit, Paint Me a River, Art Meets History, hanging at the museum right now. The focus is on Skagit Valley history. My daughter-in-law Andi has a piece hanging in that. Andi's piece is Every Year a Tulip. Tulips have been grown here since 1906. In the spring huge tulip fields are blooming in the area. There are even some of the bulbs shipped back to Holland.

From the balcony of the museum we had a beautiful view over the area. Fall colors are beautiful here right now.

Right now the sun is shining and it's a lovely day. We haven't firmed up our plans today, but I believe they include going to a car lot that has classic cars for sale.....

Hang a Crane On Your Wall

A few weeks ago I went to the University of Alaska Museum of the North. It is one of the favorite tourist attractions in Fairbanks. I will post some pictures of the museum exhibits at a later time, but today I want to share with you the wonderful work of an artist that was featured at the museum. Her name is Karin Franzen and her medium is art quilts. Karin does absolutely gorgeous art quilts and her favorite subject is the Sandhill Crane. She layers sheer fabrics and painstakingly places tiny pieces of fabric to create her subject. She works from photos and first draws a pattern. It is much like a paint-by-number, only she fills the spaces with different shades of fabric. She places the sheer fabric over the drawing and then places the fabric pieces using the pattern as a guide.

She was working on a piece featuring two cranes dancing. The detail is exquisite.

She had on display another of her pieces that shows a burned forest. This piece has three layers of fabric. Hanging against the wall you see the burned trees with the Fireweed growing up around them.
When it is held up to the light you see the dimensional effect of the Fireweed growing and rejuvinating the forest. You can see more of her work by going to her website, http://karinfranzen.com/ and there you will see some of her finished Crane pieces. The Alaska Bird Observatory has one of her works featuring a Crane in their gift shop. It is being raffled to benefit the Observatory. Of course I bought some tickets and I think I will have to go back and buy some more. It is absolutely gorgeous and I would love to hang her Crane on my wall.