Breast Pockets

Melanie Testa has challenged her artist friends to make 1000 breast pockets as a testament to women who chose not to have reconstructive surgery after breast cancer. I decided to join in her endeavor, and have made 18 pockets to honor friends and family. Eighteen is a spiritual number in Judaism. It is believed that the letters in the word chai add up to 18, so chai and the number 18 are symbolic for life. 

This project turned into a meditative activity for me. Caught me off guard. My sister, Ellen, passed away in 2001 due to breast cancer. For a long time, I could not deal with the breast cancer issue. As the years have passed, I am now able to acknowledge the villain that breast cancer is, and fight it in my own way.

 Here’s to my friends and family that have fought and are still dealing with the villainous ways of breast cancer. These pockets are a symbol of my love and admiration for you.

 Here's a link to Melly's blog: Melly's Breast Pockets

Art Mastery 2012

Did I mention that I am studying with Jane Dunnewold in her Art Mastery 2012 class? So far we have had two sessions, and I am having a ball! Learning some great surface design techniques and getting to know a great group of women from all over the place. Here's a sample of some of the dye work we have been doing.

Group Quilt Heading to Houston

Excited to say our group quilt, Balancing Act, will be heading to International Quilt Festival in Houston this fall. It is always a great time working with my quilting buddies-Kathy York, Barb Forrister, Connie Hudson, Susan Storey, Frances Alford and Leslie Jenison!

SAQA Benefit Auction Donation Quilt

I would like to share with you my SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) Benefit Auction Donation quilt. I hope you will take a look at the other wonderful quilts that have been donated at this link: http://www.saqa.com/gallery-mini-detail.php?ID=2053 . 

Perhaps, you would consider bidding on a quilt online. The auction opens online on September 10 at 2:00 PM EST.

Where does the time go?

Seems like only yesterday I posted photos of my village house. Thought  I would be a little more vigilant in posting to my blog. Well, in honor of Daylight Savings Time, I will commit to updating and posting to my blog more often.

Art House Views

My Art House

Today is my day to show off my house, so come with me as we tour 'The Art House'.

Here's a list of the participating artists, their houses and blogs to tour:
Susan Else (website) May 2 http://www.susanelse.com/



Frances Holliday Alford May 3 http://www.franceshollidayalford.com/weblog/


Pamela Allen (website) May 4 http://pamelart.homestead.com/titlepage.html


Frieda Anderson May 5 http://friestyle.blogspot.com/


Lisa Call May 6 http://blog.lisacall.com/


Jane Davila May 9 http://janedavila.blogspot.com/


Naomi Adams May 10 http://killerbeedesigns.com/blog1/


Jamie Fingal May 11 http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/


Barb Forrister May 12 http://www.freespiritartstudio.blogspot.com/


Vickie Hallmark May 13 http://fiberartglass.blogspot.com/


Connie Hudson May 16 http://beyondtherail2010.blogspot.com/


Leslie Jenison May 17 http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com/


Sherri McCauley May 18 http://sherrilipmanmccauley.blogspot.com/


Judy Perez May 19 http://judyperez.blogspot.com/


Melanie Testa May 20 http://www.melanietesta.com/mtype/


Laura Wasilowski May 23 http://artfabrik.blogspot.com/


Kathy York May 24 http://aquamoonartquilts.blogspot.com/



My house is a 24 inches tall with a roof based on a Non La (Vietnamese word for “Straw Hat”, conical in shape).Each wall is composed of surface designed fabric layered with Timtex and lined in contrasting fabric. The fabrics I used I have screen printed or hand painted with fabric paints. Each wall is unique with cut out windows covered in colored screens. The roof was created by cutting out a circle of Timtex, then collaging the surface with pieces of yarns, ribbons, foil and recycled objects. By slashing the circle from the center to the edge, I was able to overlap the edges creating a conical shape with a point. The edges were then velcroed together to give the roof shape. The entry door is embossed metal with a contrasting metal latch glued on for security.

The construction of the house includes lacing the corners together with satin cording of contrasting colors. The walls are stabilized by lashing ¼” dowels inside each corner.

The Walls in Progress

The Roof