Art in the Park

Here are a few photos I'm sending in with an application for an art show this summer. I'd love to send more but they only want four per media... and since I'm a multi-media type woman... or perhaps a little ADD... it looks like a lot of photos. Quite a few of my friends are at this show, so I believe it will be a lot of fun!

Sorry, they are completely in random order, I'm on my way out the door here shortly to see what I can do about this monster "to do list."

Happy Creating!

(And for heaven's sake put a little color in it!!!)

-Carmen Rose

Camping and Cooking

It's been three months since I've been in the studio and I think it may be a while longer before I can go back.  I've hit a bit of a rough season but I'm not going to force myself, that will only make me hate the work.  So... I'll wait it out, hopefully things will be looking up soon enough.  These days I find pleasure in the smallest things.  A bright moon on a dark night, or food I've never tried before... and I'm still cooking.  Food is good! 

I spent a few days camping with friends at Floyd Fest, it was a great adventure and I managed to make some good food along the way.  Wolfie (my host) does not eat gluten, so putting together a menu was a welcome challenge and I learned a LOT along the way.

Spicy grilled shrimp with fettuccine Alfredo.  These were rice pasta instead of semolina, the taste is good but they sure do make the consistency of the Alfredo a little strange. 

Adobo chicken and veggie bobs

Leftovers for lunch... Grilled chicken summer salad with strawberries, blueberries, almonds and raspberry vinaigrette... spicy grilled shrimp, some grilled veggies and that's either leftover Alfredo.

I cooked the fish and beans on the grill in foil and the saffron onion rice inside the RV on the stove.  That really heated up the RV, so I didn't cook much inside after that.

Curry chicken salad with cashews and spring onions.

I learned to cook using a little bitty charcoal grill... believe me, that took some getting used to but once we got the hang of it it was great!

Me holding a fish skeleton.  I love it when the bones come out cleanly, and skeletons are really cool!

This is Wolfie, my host.  He is Stuart Mercer, a jewelry designer who mines stones, cuts and polishes them, then sets them in gold or silver.  I was there at his invitation and enjoyed the time with him and the rest of the Wolf Pack a great deal!  They are really neat people!

This shows his set up, the jewelry under the tent and then a demonstration area in front where he and I both worked at a lapidary grinding wheel shaping and polishing stones.  I really enjoyed learning the process from him!

Me with one of the stones I worked on.

 

And I learned to hula hoop and it made me feel like a kid all over again!  It was SO FUN!  So now I have a lovely new hoop that I picked out from ones that were a variety of weights and sizes.  This one just seemed like it was made exactly for me and I knew it from the first twirl!  Since then I've been doing some hooping on my back deck, trying to get better at it.  It is good exercise and very fun!

I'm indebted to Wolfie and his pack for their hospitality, I learned a great deal from them and had a blast at Floyd Fest!

Savor the flavors and the moments of delight along the way,

-Carmen Rose

Framing more Mini Quilts

I've been looking around for projects to finish up to make my "one woman show" coming up next month. (Next MONDAY to be precise! EEK!) I discovered these four small quilt tops, fused but not quilted.

Misde wanted to help me photograph these, wasn't that nice of her?

I found these frames at TJ Maxx ages ago and when I realized what could happen when a mini quilt was glued on over the artwork... I bought all they had.

So when you put these ready made frames together with these mini quilts...

Then the artist tends to get happy.  Check out how dimensional they are:

Yeah, I like that!
(I should have tweaked the color, they look a bit washed out in these two photos.)

I was back at UVA today for a post op check up.  I'm doing pretty good, still not 100%, Doc tells me maybe another two weeks before I can expect to get my strength back.  They took blood to see how I'm doing with the anemia.  I'm trying to be patient... but putting recovery and prep for a featured artist exhibit together on the same schedule... well... it's not exactly working for the show or the recovery.  Here I am again, pulled in a variety of directions.  I am beginning to think it's the story of my life!  Do you ever just want to stomp your little foot and tell the world to just stop spinning for a dad-blamed second?!  Yeah, I do.

On the way back from my doctor's appt, I stopped by Waynesboro for a little shopping.  I was doing it mostly for the exercise, and because I'm always so happy to get out of the house these days that I have trouble going home before I've had a little adventure, somehow, some way.  Today I happened in the door of Ross, (like TJ Maxx) and I always check the cheesy reproduction "art" section for frames for quilts...  

GUESS WHAT I FOUND?!  

More of these dimensional frames!  I'm so tickled!  I snapped up all they had!  (Only four)  I may have to take a day and just drive to all the TJ's and Ross's in reasonable distance just to see if I can find more of these!  (Put down those car keys, step away from the car!)

Time to get back in the studio again, time's a tick tockin right on by.

Happy Creating,
-Carmen Rose