Me & Ellen at Cirque Du Soliel! Woot!

Merry Christmas!

The "Corteo" show was simply amazing! Of course no cameras were allowed so we got pic of us before; in the car & after when we got home. It was so much fun!!! I'm holding a backpack/purse I got there. My christmas present! woot! El got a tshirt jacket; so adorable. The food was wonderful! It was totally all I expected and more!

*Fiber Freak Artist Alert~if you don't want to read lengthy descriptions of the costumes ... too bad! LOL*

We entered in the "Tapis Rouge VIP tent" and found the coolest atmosphere possible to whet your appetite before you go to see the show in the big tent. Inside there were big screens that had shows past flickering on them. The music was wonderful. Also, (my favorite part) in acrylic boxes around the tent; there were all these different masks!! Most with feathers and beads & OHMYGOD you can imagine me being in heaven looking at all the detail... If I was rich I would have my own collection of masks & I would start every single one of those! They were absolutely gorgeous! Of course they were all for sale; the one I simply adored was a rather small comparitively; vibrant blue crushed velvet with all these wires (coated in metallic blue & gold) going out from the entire top where they spiraled all over. The face part of the mask was beaded & lovely ; it was only $325.00) :) but just looking at it made me happy!

There was food at several stations and people were walking around serving lamb chops; fried shrimp & the like. It was all 'finger food' and an open bar! I managed to drink two glasses of cab before the show and it's a good thing they were serving food! We were certainly the belle's of the ball I can tell you that! People in our tent stopped me and would comment on my jacket and ask me questions about it. When we (our VIP group) walked into the big tent to be seated (all the other folks had all ready been seated) I could see people watching us & looking at Ellen and her stinkin' cute turquoise striped tights and boots. One lady just stared and literally pointed at me, I could tell she was saying something to her friend about the jacket. Later she did come up and give me a compliment. El was sooooooo cute it wasn't funny! (We lived my motto: Better to be looked at; than looked over!)

We wound our way to the big tent to see the show after an hour of noshing. This Cirque show was Italian Renaissance and the costumes were simply stunning! The show centers on a clown who envisions his own death and the 'funeral cortege' that follows. The costumes were sumptuous works of art with Angels flying all over in their lovely wings! (These were not the stupid, giant Victoria's Secret wings but finely shaped, elegant long slender feathers with just the slightest hint of gold trim~ each pair Angel's were all different!) There were three giant chandeliers that the performers did aerial manuvers on. The beads on the chandeliers just added to magnificence as they spiraled in circles so fast & the way they changed shape while moving. It was breathtaking! There was one sequence near the end where there was the long narrow trampoline going from one side of the stage to the other. The 'angels' would start at one end in their lovely off white long dress like costumes and do back flips (or front flips) all the way to the other end. They did them slowly so you could see the fabric just move in big arcs catching the light! There was one performer who did backflips from one end to the other so fast I don't know how they stopped her from flinging out into the parking lot! El & I were just stunned! We kept nudging each other; neither wanting to look away for a second to see what the other was seeing! I am always awed by the physical prowess of the performers and Corteo was no exception!

During intermission we were free to go back to our VIP tent where they were serving dessert! It was mostly all chocolatey things. They had the little pastry bites full of custard with that lovely dark chocolate on top! I don't think El nor I moved from that table during the entire intermssion except to go get a couple diet cokes. We did try nearly all the deserts but the eclairs were our favorite. ( the next day I paid for my indulgence with a class A migraine but it was SO worth it!-- I was able to go later in the day and get medication so that helped) The the finale was spectacular! El and I agreed that while our seats were 'the bomb' it would have been good to actually sit a few more rows back to be able to take in the entire stage without having to look right or left too often. But we sat through the whole thing saying "WOW!" and "OHMYGOSH!" and when I saw this guy hold a ladder (not the home depot kind. just the two verticle sticks w/ some horizontal sticks joining them) walk up and down it and swing around on it and do a handstand from the top of it I was like "JEEZ! I can't even get up on a step ladder without my knees going all wobbly". Oh it was phenomenal! As we were exiting our VIP tent after the show (they held our purchases there till it was over) on the way out we were given our complimentary CD's of music "The Best of... Cirque". We listened all the way home in the car & when we got home too!

We sat on the couch in our jammies & took oodles of pic's of us being silly (neither wanted the night to end or have to take all our pretty make up off) I think we finally got to sleep around 3am. What a fun experience!

It was the best Christmas present ever!!!

Book Signing at Soft Expressions

Cindy Cooksey, Jamie Fingal, Terry Waldron & Me!

Book Signing at Soft Expressions in Anaheim, California on Saturday, December 1st. Exhibition of our embellished quilts in the upstairs gallery in December and January: Mon-Fri from 10am to 4pm . Thank you to everyone who came to see us! That lovely piece behind us is Terry Waldron's "When Trees Dream". It is simply stunning!

JOURNAL QUILTS 2007 IN HOUSTON!

This one (center)was displayed in 2005 in Houston. It was also included the Creative Quilting book. I was asked to return it this year for a special exhibit. I'm so stoked it's right above one of my favorites! The Jennifer Beaven one with the crow.

THANK YOU JAMIE FINGAL FOR TAKING THESE!

We are all in good company!

Journal Quilt 2007 on Display @ International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas

I'll post the story behind this piece 11/2 when I get to work where I saved it.

Title is "Water Tiger"

17" x 22"

A Page from My Book:
Journal Quilts 2007 Journal Quilt Project

Water Tiger

Creative Quilting techniques used: painted fabric (p. 152); couching fun fur yarns (p. 81); pieced background in color values (p. 79 & 130).

In April, my boyfriend who had so recently come back into my life (we were high school sweethearts in 1980) died suddenly of a heart attack at the tender age of 45. Our short two year romance had begun 4 months after my painful divorce. He called me out of the blue, not even sure he had the right person as he left his message on my answering machine. I called him back and our relationship started by catching up over the past 16 years of our lives since the 10 year reunion. The time we shared was so wonderful & meaningful I’m glad I had it at all. I would have never made it through 2005 or 2006 for that matter without his constant affirmation of me as a person, lover, friend, business professional & in his words 'a terrific mom'. I gained much needed confidence & self esteem. His constant reassurance of my inner strength & light really helped me reveal it and it shows in my personal life, professional life & most especially in my art.

I chose the Great Blue Heron as my subject; my own "Water Tiger". To some Native American tribes Heron medicine teaches us about solitude; and--if we let it--grants us the insight to rise above the water and tall grasses to view our surroundings; to see our future clearly; to quietly move towards our goals with diligence and patience. I no longer have my teacher, lover and friend, but his lessons are clear and I must now give myself my own affirmations and recognize my own capabilities. If I must be solitary; I will handle it with grace & humility.

I continue to experiment with the Asian aesthetic in my art. I machine pieced the background; fused the heron, fish, reeds & water onto it. I stitched everything down with various threads including, but not limited to, metallics, rayons, variegated rayons, silk and decorative yarns. The piece is bound with silk ribbon in place of traditional binding to give it a lighter feel; sort of a 0 horizon line. On the back, the Chinese symbols for Water Tiger were painted by me & the Koi was rubber stamped.

Sunday; October 14, 2007

These are roses from my garden: Double Delights.

a mother's day gift from my daughter 3 years ago.

Is that a Red Tail?

I decide to take my lunch in the backyard today. I gather my tuna sandwich; apple & caffeine free diet coke & head for the screen door. As I exit the house, my four cats who have been cloaked somewhere all disengage their selves to join me for a bit of fresh air and sunshine; although truth be told; they prefer the shady spots.

I start to eat my sandwich and remind myself that I made a good choice by not getting fast food while I was out when I see a shadow cut across my overgrown lawn; a large bird; circling under the sun; enjoying the day also. I don’t look up; it’s most likely a Turkey Vulture. But then I see a second shadow closely following the first, now I am compelled to look. I stand up to see the oncoming offshore mist coming in. That thankfully cuts most of the glare from the sun as I stare upwards. I see them now; a pair, I can tell by the red glow of their tails what they are and my heart leaps! My favorite! Red Tail Hawks! And before I can blink; I see there are not just two but three. They start talking to one another. I can hear those calls & tears well up in my eyes. I am seeing what appears to be a family maybe; then; from the far north; another joins. Now there are 4 of the most glorious Red Tail Hawks circling over my head calling to each other. Their calls must awaken some long forgotten part of my soul too because my spirit seems to explode from my body to join them; I stand there unable to breathe. I watch them for a long while; then one breaks off and heads north; soon after, another goes back south while the remaining pair go ever higher until I can barely seem them. They are so small against the bright blue that only by not looking directly at them do I see them. They are heading west and on their journey.

There are no words.

© Bill Schmoker

BOOK SIGNING/QUILT SHOW

Embellished Mini Quilts

**************************

When: Saturday, December 1st from 10am to 2pm.

Where: Soft Expressions

1230 N. Jefferson Street, Suite M

Anaheim, CA 92807

714/630-7414

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Who: Author: Jamie Fingal

Contributing Artists: Cindy Cooksey, Stacy Hurt & Terry Waldron

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The Upstairs Gallery will feature embellished works of art

from the book, as well as other pieces.

Friday September 21, 2007

i got up at the usual 5:30am to get El up & ready for zero period. ( light stretching; breakfast at 6; then shower & drill team practice at 7:00am) it's not quite light out yet; it's overcast and drizzly (my favorite). i walk thru the living room to go to the slider & open it for the cats when I realize someone's dog is in my back yard. i only see the back half of the dog because it jumps up on my back fence (which is only 3 ft. up- my next door neighbors yorkies can jump up there). But then it does something a dog wouldn't do... it jumps to the 6 ft fence dividing our properties in half and cat walks across it. I realize it's not someones dog; it's a gorgeous coyote! i call for ellen as loud as i dare (the door still not open) and my voice is muffled for him because even though he stops dead in his tracks in the middle of the fence; head up; ears forward, eyes intent: he's looking in the wrong direction.




el never get's her lazy self out of bed; (i partially understand this; it's warm there; under the fleece blanket and who in their right mind would trade that for a cold, drizzly morning staring out a plate glass window at that God forsaken hour?)


I stand transfixed and watch him as he jumps down (there are no words really to describe the movement of coyote here... to me they appear to be connected more to the sky with invivisble threads like a marionette than mere earth creatures bound to its gravity...) he lopes to the other end of my yard where he simply elevates himself to the top of that other 6 ft fence; searches the area with his eyes one last time & he is gone.

of course my older wise cat Stella, refuses to set foot outside the back door when i open it finally about an hour later. the other nimrods bound out the back door practially tripping over each other; completely oblivious to the danger they didn't see and apparently can't smell either. if Stel could speak i imagine her saying something like... "Oh ya sure; you guys go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute..." while she lurks out the back door waiting for someone else to be picked off and confirm her valid suspicions.

for me; it was a great way to start the day, i felt honored to see him and was glad all my cats were locked up.

COCO!

My Art in Print!

Two of my quilts were chosen to be featured in this book! I'm so excited to see it coming out soon! The two quilts are "Lionfish" and "Green Dragon". This is such an amazing thing and when I got to see the 'sneak peek' I was astounded to see my Lionfish on the opening flyleaf!

The photography is outstanding! The publishing company Lark Books worked with Red Lips 4 Courage to compile this wonderful work. The other artists are: Frances Holliday Alford, Cindy Cooksey, Rice Freeman-Zachery, Terry Waldron, Deana Hartman, Susan Sorrell, Larkin Van Horn, Janet Ghio, Lisa Corson and Kathy York. The book was authored by Jamie Fingal. Can't wait to get my very own copy!