a lot i know...

i thought that when i drew with a blue watercolor pencil on a scrap of fabric, i was drawing a blow. but no...it apparently was a feather and that little feather wanted to be the basis of today's quilt:

11.30.2012

be light on your feet
like the feather that floats by
the breeze calls your name

there's little chance of my ego getting out of hand these days. these little quilts have a way of keeping me humble...

: : karen anne

hmmm...

some days i seem to be covered in the wisps and bits of thread that cover so much of my studio. i end up feeling very much like this:

digital drawing. 2012

do you ever feel this way?

my studio is such a tangled mess right now. i should think about straightening it up this weekend...

: : karen anne

looking back, looking forward...

i was going through some of the photos i've taken this year and found these of a lovely rose:

such wonderful layers and shading...

good to have these memories of last spring and to be full of anticipation for the many springs to come.

but today i'm going to throughly enjoy all the beauty that winter offers because before i know it, it will be just a memory - like this rose...

: : karen anne

something about bowls...

i don't know what it is about bowls, but i'm really drawn to them. maybe with this second quilt about bowls a little series is in the making, but i guess i won't know until/if more appear.

11.28.2012

three bowls are waiting
the past, present, and future
which captures your heart?

do you have a favorite bowl? what draws you to it?

: : karen anne

imagination...

i was not allowed to be bored as a child. instead i was encouraged to use my mind and develop inner resources to banish any boredom that might dare try to ensnare me.

being brought up that way helped me develop my imagination and is responsible in large part for my being an artist.

an empty space in time is so rich with possibilities - how will i fill it?

11.27.2012

an empty rice bowl
feeds the imagination
a feast awaits there

thank you, mom and dad, for the many lessons you've taught me, but most especially this one...

: : karen anne

collaged paintings...

i've started a series of paintings that use pieces of discarded student oil-on-canvas paintings i've been collecting. the paintings were pretty bad to say the least, which is why they were discarded, but there are areas in some that have wonderful color and texture that have been begging me to use them in some way.

i cut the pieces and arrange them on a deep canvas that i've painted first. this painting has a gloss finish to seal and protect it:

this painting is 12"tall x 4" wide x 1.5"deep.

i like the moodiness of it.

and i like that something discarded has been totally transformed into something that gives me pleasure.

: : karen anne

home...

wishing everyone a happy thanksgiving filled with all the love and good food you can handle!

i'll be off until after the weekend to embrace all that i am grateful for. 'til then, here's a quilt that sums up what home is for me:

11.21.2012

to be home at last
a place where love flows freely
a place that is safe

: : karen anne

voices from beyond...

sometimes when i'm making a quilt, it feels like those who i've loved in this life, but who have passed on to another, are offering me their wisdom as a haiku take shapes. sometimes they embrace me, and then sometimes, like today, they push me:

11.20.2012

stay just as you are
or embrace your potential
it is up to you

i guess they know i need a little bit of honest, tough love every now and then, huh? they know i can sell myself short and let things ride.

augh.

: : karen anne

surprises...

i'm always surprised when i notice a new recurring pattern in my work. of late it's been a curved line - sometimes by itself, sometimes combined with others...

11.17.2012

for seekers of light
an open heart is required
let the light shine in

11.16.2012

to be one with clouds
a free agent 'midst blue sky
untether your dreams

i like that it dances. i like the movement it creates.

i like the optimism in these recent quilts, too. they just feel good.

i'm in a good place these days.

: : karen anne

healing...

the emotion behind this quilt has been with me for quite a while.

all of us put on a brave face. all of us have screams that no one can hear.

how do we heal if we don't share the terror/s that hold us hostage?

veteran's day, and reflecting on all that my fellow veterans have gone through (and are go through even as i write this) has stirred me...and so, today's quilt:

11.14.2012

they said she was brave
she showed her fear to no one
there were no screams left

may you open your heart to someone close. may you heal.

: : karen anne

mountain mist...

we drove home from rochester yesterday, through low mountains that were swathed in a fine mist...

there's something so magical about mist - and i half expected to find myself transported to another world and time.

i took the photo with my iPhone - through the windshield while we were speeding along, and in between swipes of the windshield wipers. amazing little camera, huh? i love the graininess in this shot.

: : karen anne

yes, please!

one of my favorite design blogs is emmas designblogg the work of swedish designer, emma fexeus. today she featured images of a vicarage that is for sale in sweden. built in 1904, the vicarage has been completely redone.

it is my idea of heaven turned into a home:

isn't it spectacular???

and there are even more images on the site that originally posted about it here.

okay...off to vote. have you voted yet??? GO!!!!

: : karen anne

thank you, john o'donohue...

a lovely poem i came across while doing research for a presentation i'll be giving on having a daily practice:

For the Artist at the Start of Day

May morning be astir with the harvest of night;
Your mind quickening to the eros of a new question,
Your eyes seduced by some unintended glimpse
That cut right through the surface to a source.

May this be a morning of innocent beginning,
When the gift within you slips clear
Of the sticky web of the personal
With its hurt and its hauntings,
And fixed fortress corners,

A Morning when you become a pure vessel
For what wants to ascend from silence,

May your imagination know
The grace of perfect danger,

To reach beyond imitation,
And the wheel of repetition,

Deep into the call of all
The unfinished and unsolved

Until the veil of the unknown yields
And something original begins
To stir toward your senses
And grow stronger in your heart

In order to come to birth
In a clean line of form,
That claims from time
A rhythm not yet heard,
That calls space to
A different shape.

May it be its own force field
And dwell uniquely
Between the heart and the light

To surprise the hungry eye
By how deftly it fits
About its secret loss.

- John O'Donohue

For more about John’s work visit www.johnodonohue.com

: : karen anne

learning from mistakes...

i've had the "mistake" that's central to today's quilt for several months, wondering if i would use it or toss it and which, not being able to decide, i have kept - but where i've seen it everyday. it was a piece of fabric that got tangled up in my printer when i was printing labels for some quilts. something about it was appealing; the negative space, the way "listen" was the one word that was whole and readable, the color range from black to grey to just a hint of lavender...

today it asked to be used.

11.3.2012

mistakes will happen
they are teachers in disguise
embrace the lessons

i've made a lot of mistakes. a lot. 

they have been my very best teachers.

odd as it may sound to some, i am quite serious when i say that i am grateful for mistakes.

: : karen anne