Day 8 stone

Day 8 stone. Capturing a certain palette, rather than a form, I think. Fluffy clouds or speckled eggs? Definitely the color of budgies.

We took the kids to Safari North, a wildlife park near us, today. Our favorite part is always the budgie enclosure. You get to walk in with a stick covered in bird seed and a hundred sweet little budgies land on you and eat the seed. I love seeing the kids grinning with birds lined up on their arms. These wild, unruly children of mine are so soft and gentle with these feathered gems.

We also witnessed a mama kildeer defending her nest full of speckled eggs. When we approached she got all dramatic and pretended, pretty convincingly, that she was injured as she tried to lead us away from the area. We gave her space after getting a quick peek at her lovely eggs and she wiggled back down on her nest.

The weekend has drawn to a close. 2 more days of my challenge left.

found the color

I finished that stone I was working on.

I was looking for color...I definitely found it.

I hit a point with this stone where I had "just enough" going on, then barreled past it, and you know... I'm totally okay with that.

I'll work on the "less is more" concept another day.

cocoon stone

 

I had a few hours in the house alone yesterday.  That may not sound like a big deal, but let me tell you, it's a rare event around here.  I enjoyed the solace and did some stitching.

 

 

 I included a few glass and stone beads under the stitches.  When you push on cocoon form you can feel them move beneath the surface.  That's really appealing to me because one of the things I love most about creating this kind of art is that the observer is not only allowed to interact with the work in a physical way, but is encouraged to do so.

This piece will be available in my shop shortly.

I hope all of you are staying warm.  We're anticipating a *high* of -10f tomorrow so I may be cocooning myself.  In blankets.

Enjoy your Sunday.

completed stone - smph in Alaska

 

A stone completed.  In the aftermath of the holidays, the quiet act of finishing this stone was soothing to my overstimulated soul.  This stone came to me from Sherry on the shores of Larsen Bay, Alaska.  That view on the postcard?  That's her yard and her stone was gathered from there.

 

 It's little wonder her stone was so soothing to stitch.  I think it carried some of its beach-side calm with it.

 

 

I used a golden yellow wool on her stone and let the blues of the water and the pebbly texture of the beach inspire my stitches.  I was also inspired by her island location and found myself stitching an island of yellow amidst the blue.

 

The gathering of stones grows.

I made a mail run the other day and oh how I love opening up the PO box to see packages of stones waiting for me.  The stories some of you are including with your offered stones have moved me so.  I only hope I can do justice to them.  Now that the holidays are over I'll be able to work more consistently and I'm eager to show you more soon.

Thank you to everyone who has sent a stone off or have helped spread the word.  If you or someone you know would like to send one to me, you can find the details HERE

Thank you!