Quadrat piece completed

Yay!  It's completed!

This is the needle-felted piece I've been working on.  Inspired by a call for art at the resident's gallery in the Franklin Arts Center where I work.  The theme is work that is exactly 12" x 12", and since mine is not an exacting nature, I had to ponder how I might be able to fit that requirement.  It wasn't until I started poking at some wool that I decided that I wanted to do a piece reflecting a portion of the landscape in my mind.  Like a quadrat, a tool scientists use to isolate a standard unit for study.

Though this scene is plucked from my imagination, it definitely has its roots in reality.  For example, my fungus here is influenced by the orange peel fungus by the duck pond in my backyard.

A sprouting plant with downy leaves is similar to the mullein by the driveway.

Waxed thread becomes my take on sporophytes that dot our back woods.

Pebbles and sprouting grasses atop mounds of moss and earth.

And pebbles, plucked from lakeshores, naturally.

This was a really satisfying piece to work on, especially since it allowed me to conjure up images of greenness in this otherwise winter-white landscape.

The frame was made from some planks I had in my workshop.  This piece hangs on the wall and I could see myself doing a whole series of these.  Hmm...

'Quadrat'

2014

12" x 12"

needle-felted wool, cotton thread

by Lisa Jordan

more progress

Almost done with my new piece!

If the light cooperates I should have photos to share tomorrow.

a work in progress

I spent the better part of yesterday needling away at some wool.  Forming stones and coaxing curly locks into moss.  I had the music on and my littlest needle-felting companion with me, needling on her own creation while the cat sat in a wood bowl and watched us.  Even though we clearly bored him.

Today I'll add some other shapes and hopefully a few sewn accents.  It's a fun piece to work on.  When I make my mushroom terrariums, I always take special joy in adding all of the details to the scene so this is allowing me all of that fun on a larger scale.

But speaking of scale, check out the mini scene my little partner created.  Momma is proud.

Happy Sunday, everyone.

let's pretend

Late summer at dusk.  The mosquitos have gone to bed and the fireflies hang in the trees like christmas lights.

Our ice cubes clink in our glasses as we sip on the last of the homemade kahlua and listen to the owls call to each other from the tall pines in the back woods.

We sit and chat about how the garden is coming along nicely, about how nice the day out on the lake had been.  We hear the guineas settle into the branches of the poplar.  The last sparks of the campfire lift lazily into the sky.

Our sandals dangle from our feet.  We start to think maybe we'll go throw a sweatshirt on over our t-shirts.  We catch the faintest whiff of impending autumn in the air.  And we feel content.

I'm not the kind of person that wants to live her life only looking forward to the next thing.  I'd like to embrace the present.  But I gotta tell ya, this snow-up-to-my-thigh and "today's high will be -10" is gettin' old.  So if pretending that I'm holding a chilled kahlua instead of a hot coffee is going to get me though this day, that's what I'm going with.

I hope you're in a good place today, no matter where that is.  Come join me for a kahlua.

a different kind of rhythm

It's been a while since I've done more "traditional" stitching.  There's something really soothing about the repetition of the blanket stitch through felted wool.  You just kind of get in the rhythm and your hands are doing their thing and then suddenly you're looking down at a finished piece and wondering how on earth that happened.

It's good to change things up every now and then, isn't it?

These are headed off to somewhere special.  More to come, soon.

I hope you all have a stellar Wednesday.  Go shake things up.

little stitchy 'bobs are here!

The other day I gave you a little peek at the Kit Lane pieces I collaborated on.  Well here they are!  They look a little shocked at what has happened to them, don't they?

They'll be headed to her shop sometime today

 but you can also see some other pics on her flickr page.

Psst...that little guy on the right, the sparkly white one, has a secret...

Hope you all have a great start to your week.

Happy Monday.

an art-o-mat kind of valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, lovelies!

I finished up my last little Art-o-mat stone yesterday morning (yay!) and I'll be boxing them and sending them off on Monday.  Hopefully they'll turn up in a machine near those of you that have been asking, soon.

 

Have a great weekend!

flying high

Today I start a new journey, on a different path than the one I started in November.  One that leads me in an exciting new direction.  Starting today yours truly is the Executive/Artistic Director of The Crossing Arts Alliance, a non-profit in my town that promotes the arts and artists in our area.

You may remember me mentioning before how much I've enjoyed volunteering there.  To be able to turn this love of volunteering into a paid position...I don't even have the words to express how happy I am.  While I'll still be working outside of the home, and away from what I've built here, I get to work at something I'm passionate about...the arts.  The icing on the cake is that the hours I'll work will provide a better work/life balance than the position I've recently held.  I'm a lucky girl.

I'm flying high today, much like the fun frisbee I found in my mailbox (my kids have delighted in flinging my likeness around, by the way).

If you're curious about The Crossing, please take a moment to check out their website or come visit their facebook page (I'll be showing up there regularly).  If you're in the area, please stop in and see me in the office adjacent to the Sales Gallery at the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd, MN.

I look forward to seeing all of you here more regularly too.

Happy Wednesday!

we must

"Do we have to go out there?  It's so cold."

Words I mutter almost daily lately.  But yes, little 'bobs, we must.

These two are headed back to their talented creator, Kit Lane, after being visited by my sewing needles for a spell.  They'll show up in her shop soon, I'm sure.  One of them has a delightful little secret that I can't share yet, but it makes me giggle when I think of it.

Hope you're having a warm weekend.

Art-o-mat stone progress

I'm still working on those little stitched stones for Art-o-mat.  My self-imposed deadline of Dec. 31 went whooshing past but I'm trying not to beat myself up about it.  I'm making progress, slowly, but surely.  I'll get there eventually.

What are you working on this weekend?

squall stone completed

Thank you all for your kind comments on my last post.  I so appreciate your words of support while I manage this transition.

As I mentioned, I had time this weekend to stitch, and I did get out to the woods, and combined with your good thoughts, it has soothed my soul quite a bit.

This is what came from my fingers after hours and hours of stitching, a bit of a squall.

Winter has hit hard in the north woods.  The snow and brutal cold is enough to make one want to curl up tight and hold precious every bit of warmth you can muster.  When the storm withdraws it leaves us a little battered and nipped at the edges but at the same time with a landscape anew.  A white blank page glittered with hoar frost. 

This piece has a smooth stone from Lake Superior at its core.  Wrapped in creamy undyed wool from some hardy Minnesota sheep, it has been given many, many stitches (so many my fingers are too sore to hold a needle right now) and a jumble of icy glass beads.  A pebble is trapped beneath stitches, reminding us of the things we hold dear, even in the grip of a storm.

This Squall Stone measures approximately 2 1/2" x 3" and is stitched in shades of whites with touches of cream and iridescence.  It glitters in the light.

This stone has sold.  Thank you!

restoring the soul

Well, hello!  It's been a while, and oh how I've missed this, and all of you.  Life does get complicated sometimes, doesn't it?

[Personal details redacted]

It isn't all doom and gloom though.  I had the day off yesterday so I decided to spend it restoring my soul.  I put some bark in the dye pot (full of snow), and started some stitches on a stone.

I gave Goose a bath (with a snack!  Lucky duck!) and chuckled as he nonchalantly groomed himself in the living room while Charlie and Blackjack looked on like peeping toms.

Today I'll work on that stone a little more and get out to the woods to enjoy some of this above-zero weather.  Maybe I'll get a peek at the flying squirrels that have made a home by our basement window.  I'll fill up the bird feeder for them to steal from, just in case they're sick of the popcorn we've been offering.  I'll probably do some laundry, and I'll definitely cuddle the kids, and generally enjoy my time here at home while working on that footing thing.

Warmest wishes to each of you.  Enjoy your weekend.

Happy Holidays!

2013 is winding down and I'm still trying to find balance and time.  I'm not quite there yet but I'm working on it.

I want you all to know how much it means to me to have been able to share my work, my life, my journey with you all.  Your insight and input, words of encouragement and humor, have enriched my life in countless ways.

I'm looking forward to filling the coming year with so much more.

Wishing you and yours much love, health, and happiness in the coming year.

xo

Lil

aka

Lisa

card giveaway winners

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, but my youngest has picked two winners from the hat and came up with 

Elizabeth who said: "I love them all!  But my favorite is A Gathering of Stones.  I'd be so happy to win!"

and

Marlene who said: "I've always admired your creativity with stones.  I love stones also.  My favorite set is Gatherings of Stones."

Ladies, please email your addresses to me at lilfishstudios(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll get your sets out to you.

Thank you all for playing along!

a card giveaway

It's fun at this time of year to open the mailbox and find handwritten holiday greetings from friends.  I was thinking how nice it would be if I could, myself, send more handwritten notes out throughout the year.  Email is nice, but there's just something about an out-of-the-blue letter to hold in your hand, isn't there?

So with that thought in my head, let's have a little giveaway, shall we?

Here's what you need to do...go to my shop and look at my card sets and come back here and leave me a comment telling me which is your favorite. 

This giveaway is now closed.

I'll draw 2 names on Monday evening (Dec. 16th, 2013) and the winners will get a set of cards of their choice.

Thank you, everyone, and good luck!

sending the sniffles packing

The sniffles have found me.  I've been trying to outrun them but alas, they were faster than me.  I'm employing the healing power of my foraged teas, some raw local honey, a warm blanket, and a handmade mug and hopefully those sniffles will be sent packing in no time.

Moments like these make me very happy that I spend the time gathering and drying all those helpful herbs (commonly referred to as weeds) from the yard.  Stinging nettle, mullein, yarrow, dandelion root, pineapple weed, raspberry leaf, blackberry leaf, strawberry leaf... they're all here to help heal in one way or another, even if only in their ability to get one close to nature.  I personally think that sort of medicine is incredibly powerful.

Wishing you all a warm and healthy weekend.

it comes through

A stone completed.  Less a meditation on nature and more a reflection of my current state of mind.  I'll leave it up to your interpretation, but it had a working title of 'it comes through'.

Grey wool and thread courtesy of some acorns, twigs, and leaves gathered from the woods and given an iron afterdip.  Shocking red glass beads surrounded by little glimmery stitches of silver.

In my shop.

making acorn ornaments with the kids

With the weather so dreadfully cold, and the kids getting squirrely from cabin fever already, I thought we'd do a little crafting to help keep their fingers busy.

I had some of these acorn caps left that I had painted with metal paint a few years ago and a bag of beads that I thought would make good acorn bodies so we put the two together to make ornaments.

I had hoped to sew through the beads and cap but the kids found it a little too difficult to manage so we compromised.  First, I drilled holes in the caps and put a hanging loop in.  Then I sewed the tiny bead on to the bottom of the large bead, a step I could have skipped but I liked that it made them look more finished, and the kids glued the bead into the cap.

The results are pretty cute, I think.  They each made enough to hand out to some of their friends, with a couple left over for the tree.

I think that glass marbles would work well too, in lieu of beads.  Wouldn't they be pretty hanging in front of the window like this?

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  Happy Sunday.

a quick check-in

I saw that Lark is sharing several free felty craft projects over on their site, including my very own penny rug bouquet.  There are some stocking plans, ornaments, a wreath, and more.  If you need a little crafty inspiration, you might want to stop by and take a look.

Thanks so much to those of you that have taken some of my new greeting cards home.  I'll continue to offer them in the shop so if there are any images of mine that you would like to see in greeting card form, just let me know.

I'm still trying to find my footing with my new job.  My days are long and there isn't much time for art once I get home so I've taken to sewing on my lunch break.  I'm working on my third batch of Art-o-mat stones and though I'm working at a snail's pace, my goal is to get them done before the new year.

I hope you're all doing well and staying safe and warm.

Happy Wednesday.

greeting cards are in the shop

Just a quick note to say that my new greeting cards are now in my shop.  They are available in sets or singly.  Each is professionally printed with one of my images of my work on them and are blank inside for your own sweet note.

Want to have a look?  Click HERE.

Thanks, all!  Hope you have a great start to the week.