Archive for the ‘news’ Category

a break from the chores

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

We are clicking right along here. Keeping the gardens watered, the studio a mess and slowly clearing the desk. It’s hard to say which is a bigger challenge (the watering or the desk)  but easy to say that the studio work goes well. Painted silk organza is my new favorite thing to layer.

There’s nothing to show you at this stage but soon…

My Etsy shop is open again.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lcaterw

The new booklet: “Just For Today: A creative nudge…” is being listed. Quotes, reminders, suggestions to support your creative journey. More covers will be shown soon. Next up: collages and very small artworks.

A revision of the workbooks is in process too. It would be nice to get them down to half size pages for ease in use. Some of the material should be updated and I am considering consolidating them but haven’t decided. If you have the workbooks, I’d love your opinion about this. What would you like to see in the new edition?

With the recent heat, the gardens are in between waves of color but the lilies have begun! The day lilies are budding, and the weeds continue to flourish despite my efforts to keep them pulled. My morning starts at 5:30 and there is never enough time for it all. Balance is needed..

Coming June 21!!!

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Episode 613, Mixing it Up

It was great fun to tape, and will be interesting to see how it turned out.

what do you do when…

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

…it is simply too cold to be out and about?

w_e_e_l_l_l…

Beau

My helper and I worked in the office, we worked in the studio, put up an Etsy shop and more.

It is not enough for an active puppy boy.

He doesn’t care how cold it is (or remember that his feet have issues at these temps.) He wants to be out and DOING STUFF! Granted, he and Sam go out with M twice a day, but it is too cold for Sam, too cold for M, and Beau, being young and a shepherd mix, needs more to do. We are working on basic commands. He and Sam “mouth wrestle”, play tug with the “snake” and Beau tries to herd the cats on a regular basis – they do not like this. He’s only trying to find a job to do. Cats always know that it is not their place to do the work – that is what the staff is for.

Beau is certain he has opposable thumbs and can carry for me. He knows he could drive, if I would only provide an appropriate set of keys.

Ah well, what else is there to do. it is not even Winter yet.

november 30

Monday, November 30th, 2009

well, the website updates are moving right along. I have dropped prices on a couple of older pieces (they really need new homes!) have listed Stelliscript for sale, for the first time. It is a favorite of mine but perhaps it will find the right wall to live on, sure beats staying rolled up!

the Winter Suite and Fall Suite photos are up and more… have fun cruising through!

later this week I will blog about portable work walls.

have a great Monday.

the state of the studio

Friday, November 20th, 2009

Not long ago, I made this quip to a friend: “Do you remember the line from Jaws?”

She said: “We’re gonna need a bigger boat”?

I’d been thinking of: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water.”

That must have been the ad for Jaws 2, if there was such a thing.

Anyway, as some of you know, it’s been a couple of years of challenges and heartbreak around here.

ceiling and wallceiling

Now my Contractor says, the only way to make the necessary repairs to my Studio Ceiling is to first empty the space. This is a huge challenge for me. I have a lot of stuff, no place to put it and renting an off-site studio space is not an option right now… a year’s lease??? I don’t think so.

If I can get the space emptied, it can be gutted, the sheet rock and taping/texturing done as the external repairs are completed.

Otherwise I have to live with it through snow season and the Spring moisture season, risking damage to the materials, which so far, (thank you , thank you!) has not happened..

I don’t even want to think about more leaking causing more damage and, worse yet, ick, molds.

How does all of this have any impact on you, you may well ask.

Here’s the deal:
I am stuffing USPS Priority Mail boxes with fabric and odds and ends. You get them at super low price, just to get them out of my space.

total cost:

all prices include shipping

Small box or envelope: $17.50

Medium box (11 x 8.5 x 5.5″): $27.50

Large box (12 x 12 x 5.5″): $42.00 includes shipping

Contents will vary. Mostly what I have in terms of fabric is batiks, but there are some nature based and novelty prints mixed in.

For some reason, WordPress will not allow me to add a Paypal button here.

To order:  email me .

***

I am also updating the galleries on my website. Gallery 4 will soon include works on paper and photos on fabric, matted and ready to frame – just in time for the Holiday Season!
Thanks for helping me clear the space and lighten the load!

what day is it???

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Monday.

and  not a gov’t holiday as near as I can tell. Sunny but chill. A lot of yard and garden clean-up was accomplished yesterday but no bulbs planted yet. Must get that done this week.

I am frustrated with my electronics. Cannot seem to get things formatted and printed properly.

Maybe it’s time to get back into studio where at least the materials and repetitive hand work are their  own reward.

On the “store page” of my website: new materials and leftovers.

More to come in the next few days.

Meanwhile the proposal for the Textile Reference Book goes well. It is a slow process. We are, of course, up against the slump of the economy.

Who would buy such a big book? and so on… I am optimistic. I feel that we need this book, that the Textile/Fiber Arts are morphing slightly but not going away, that more and more people are entering the field daily. So, I persist…

of to the north room…

october 21

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

New on my web store page, Fabric Stash Bags! Although it sounds slightly illicit, it is a great way for you to add usable bits to your stash while I continue to reduce my supplies as my work is changing. Each bag is unique and reflects the pallette I’ve been using for the past several years.

stash bags

stash bags

The next round of private coaching begins on the 28th of this month. Again, see my web site for details.

Upcoming workshops include an extended studio in Iowa, the Textile Evolution Retreat in Colorado and Fabrications in Kalamazoo, later in the year. For details, see the next Museletter due to mail out in the next few days (to subscribe, go to my home page) or check my website early next week. I am in process of updating everything, but it is slow going.

the high country

I went to the high country only once this Summer, for the 4th of July to spend time with my sister and her husband. He passed away exactly a week later. Now, thinking of going up there breaks my heart. M and Sam are there now to winterize the cabins for both our families. It should be beautiful! Crisp temperatures, some snow, but warm during the days.

We totally missed Indian Summer here in the low country. There was a sustained, record breaking freeze while I was in Chicago and all the green leaves just dropped. No color changes this year – I rather miss that. Beau and I will be working in the gardens the next few days, raking, pruning, putting in a new rock path and planting daffodils. I love the thought of investing in color for a season yet to come. Yet another idea of sanctuary and sacred space.

I appreciate everyone’s thoughts on that topic. You have helped me clarify my own.

be well!

do some studio work.

keep in touch.

it’s been a long strange ride…

Friday, September 25th, 2009

The colors and temperatures are gradually shifting here in the lower Yellowstone Basin.

Fall?

Late September?

Already?

It isn’t difficult to remember where this year went, but oh, it seems to have passed so quickly.

Perhaps things have settled down in the family. Perhaps not.

Meanwhile, I am back at work, writing, making things, planning ahead – in no particular order. Well, actually, given the fact of deadlines, the writing is coming first.

Since July and the passing of family members, this last long whiile has been consumed by professional obligations: teaching (Fabrications, Columbia Fiber Arts Guild), then taping for The Quilt Show – what  a gas. I’ll let you know when the segment airs (sometime next year). All I can say, is it was fun working with Ricky, geting him to totally improvise, and that if weren’t for Liz, I couldn’t have done it at all <G>. The tech crew was wonderful to work with and I am forever grateful to my sponsors: Mistyfuse, Pellon, Artistic Artifacts and YLI. The thank you notes have been slightly delayed, but wlll go out.

Meanwhile, back on the home front, the cats have settled down (3 weeks is a very long time for me to be away!), Sam is himself but aging quickly, and Beau has not only started school but also skipped a grade! He began training last week but was immediately moved up to the intermediate level. I have high hopes he will pass quickly through that, into “Good Citizenship”, and then on to bigger and better things. Truth be told, I am hoping he has the temperament to be a service dog. We’ll see. There are lots of hurdles between here and there.

Apologies for the long silences. I am hoping to get back on track in the next few weeks. Drop a note if you are out there. What should we talk about?

.

the end of Spring

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

peoniesThe ancient peony I dug , divided and moved two years ago is blooming profusely now. It is  fabulous. (helpful hint: peonies don’t like being moved, need full sun and when divided and replanted, need ot be very close to the surface of the soil and then left alone for about 30 years.

Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice here in the Northern hemisphere. A turning of the year, of the seasons. Days will get slowly shorter. Right now we are enjoying very long daylight hours here in Montana. it’s wonderful. Warm weather has finally settled in, the gardens are going well and color is good. My perennial beds are a riot of color and texture (I”ve decided to embrace the texture the weeds and grasses provide, since my capacity for pulling is limited right now).

The studio work goes slowly, lots of napping is taking place and that slows me down. Tomorrow I will drive up to Bozeman to see my youngest sister and her family – these are difficult times for them, I want to spend as much time with them as I can. it isn’t easy. Wednesday I fly east for a three day workshop at Artistic Artifacts – it’s going to be fun!

Home on the 29th, back to Bozeman on the 30th to see another niece.

If you do not subscribe to my museletter, here are some images I shared in the current issue.

moon-side-1 b-side-1-detail2a-side-2

It’s all experimental work in process: translucent, free form, odd materials. Definitely a departure from the work in fabric but perhaps more closely related to the older work on paper and canvas.I’m not sure. All I know is I am loving the possibilities and am having fun. As the work develops in terms of process, I am beginning to see how it can be used to explore certain ides that have haunted me for years.

5/5

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

what an amazing several days it has been!

Learning about Insurance laws in Montana, negotiating for what I want/need with people who do not really care, (to be fair, it is the property loss people who don’t care, they wanted and got immediate settlement; the health and so forth people, OTOH have been great). The Insurance Commissioners Office has been fabulous, answering my questions and some I didn’t ask, giving me information I needed, and reminding me to keep track of all of this, so that when the “pain and suffering” issue comes up, I have anecdotal documentation if nothing else.

My primary care doc is great! she gave me a prescription for daily massages (and one of my students next week just happens ot be a massage therapist!).

I feel like I’ve lost a week. Still need to pack for next week’s workshop at Greenville Arms – need to check my list, see where i am and get on with it. I begin the drive tomorrow, will stop along the way to see friends and family, and am picking up a “Studio Assistant” on Thursday.

this is all good but only if I am packed.

Onward.

PLEASE: wear your seatbelts. Drive vehicles that have airbags. Be a defensive driver, do NOT turn in front of someone who has the right of way, especially if you are talking on a cell phone. Pay attention.

If I’d been going 3 miles an hour faster or not wearing my seat belt or in a vehicle without airbags, I would not be typing right now.

photos? not today.

Be careful out there. Watch out for the idiots and don’t be one!