Sandhill Cranes ... on silk

I know you've been wondering if I had any time to shop at the Bad Girls show over the weekend. Yes and no. I really didn't have time to do any serious shopping (what a shame, I know), but I did have time to make a purchase.

On our way back from a brief vacation in Homer last summer, we stopped at the Dragonfly Gallery in Soldotna, owned by my dear friend Chelline Larsen. Rick and I both fell in love with this pair of sandhill cranes. Chelline painted them on silk and also did the quilting.

At the time, I told Chelline that if they had not sold by the time of the Bad Girls show in Anchorage, that I wanted to buy them. And I did just that.


Aren't they beautiful? This photo shows some of the quilting detail.

Year Round Begonia

My dear friend Chelline is a very talented artist. She creates amazing works of art on silk. And she does it all freehand. I know this because I've seen her do it.

This past year, she has ventured into metal art too -- as if she didn't have enough to do keeping her gallery stocked with silk scarves and wall hangings. We stopped by her gallery for a visit during the summer and I had to have one of her metal begonias. Chelline cuts the metal and then she pulled out the center of the flower to give it dimension, like a real begonia.



This is one flower I will enjoy year round!

Words

I've never been interested much in poetry ... until recently.

While at Artfest in the spring of 2007, I was was busy with workshops that resulted in finished products. I hammered, I bent and twisted wire, I glued, I cut, I bound a book, I applied patina and I set rivets.

While I was busy creating tangible objects, my friend Chelline attended a poetry workshop. In the evenings, we sat around sharing stories of our days. I was intrigued by the poems Chelline wrote. She read them out loud. One of them made me cry, others brought a smile to my face. The instructor of her workshop was Susan Wooldridge.

It's taken almost two years, but last week I purchased Susan's book Poemcrazy. This book was the foundation for the worshop Chelline attended. I'm loving the practice exercises in the book.

During my walk with Xena this morning, I said words aloud ... random words, words describing things I saw, things I felt, words that sprung forth from other words. What a liberating experience.

I'll keep you posted on my poetic journey ...

Silk Art

One of my dear friends is a fabulously talented artist by the name of Chelline Larsen. She paints on silk and is inspired by the beauty and wildlife that surrounds her in Alaska. Several pieces of her art adorn my home.

This first one is a small wall hanging that is a beautiful underwater scene. Chelline quilted this piece and embellished it with lots of tiny seed beads and real shells.

This next piece is hanging from the rafter in my home that separates the living room from my studio area. Again, it is an underwater scene that features a huge octopus. The color scheme is among my favorites -- blues, purples and greens.
The last piece is another small wall quilt that I bought for Rick. The raven image is hugely popular in Alaska and these colors are ones that Rick feels strongly about.
My photos do not do justice to Chelline's talent. Visit her website to see more of her beautiful work.