birdieopolis

come visit the kitsap county fair where my very talented 4-h needle arts members have some lovely creations on display this week and WON some great prizes for their needlework! yippee! great job girls!

geekie:i just figured out how to make a collage in photoshop and had to post my first try at it. i can see all sorts of possibilities with this new toy!

dog days of summer:what better way to spend the waning days of summer than to make flower leis? mine aren't nearly as fragrant as those from far away tropical isles but they are rather colorful and delightful to wear. i have been wanting to make leis for quite some time and finally got around to doing it. i have a lei needle somewhere hiding in the recesses of my tools and equipment, that i bought as a teenager in hawaii, but where oh where is it now that i want to use it? so i just used a chenille needle with quilting thread and gathered up lots of dahlias.this is how one of my leis looks after drying for a few days. that 85 degree heat helped the process along quite a bit.


the abundant gardenafter gorging on raspberries, currants and blueberries it is now apple time. the gravensteins are dropping faster than i can pick them. they are really beautiful this year. not much damage from scab since it has been quite dry during the growing season. i've got to get a ladder out to reach the lovelies way up high. that has to be the happiest tree! near the manure pile, it has a steady flow of nutrients throughout the year to make for incredibly vigorous growth. can't wait to make my favorite ginger apple crisp recipe!i love how the poppy pods mature to mauves and buff colors. they are nearly ready to harvest for cooking needsthis is consistently one of my favorite dahlias, "david howard", year after year. it has purple leaves and such delightful flowers. with many more dahlias planted this year the bees are kept mighty busy. i need to try to take some pics of the hummers that are so profuse this year. they relish my fuschias.

the reluctant modelthe beaderoil on canvas9 x 12"i had to paint quickly as the models had other things to do

coppicing:there's a gardening practice called coppicing that i employ for a variety of reasons. the ancient practice entails cutting back the plant each year to a stump. basket makers use this method to make straight rods for their craft. i do this to my eucalyptus, some of my willows, and a big leaf maple. why? on the euc it encourages the juvenile foliage to grow, which are primarily used for flower arrangements. euc foliage matures to a very different shape than the new young foliage as the tree grows. i like to keep a pussy willow in bounds and encourage straight new annual branches for cutting when the pussies are blooming by coppicing. i chop back the maple to encourage heafty straight branches for garden structures and art projects (as seen on my latest works on display this month). see this web site to learn how to coppice.

detail from three graces of the strawberry field, unfinishedlast night was the opening to the latest showing of my work and it's always nice to hear pleasant remarks about my stuff, but what really intrigues me at these events are the unexpected sort of comments that make me pause and think about the impact my work has had on someone. one such comment followed a description of the intent of one of my pieces called three graces of the strawberry field. i mentioned how in greek and roman mythology the three graces were an allegory for joy, beauty and fertility and that these qualities embodied a life on bainbridge. the response was that with all that is going on in the world that it was interesting that i could delve into a side of life that often is overshadowed by current events, and how nice that was for her to hear at that moment. now i am an active progressive participant and yet i have to set that part of me aside sometimes so i don't get overwhelmed by the enormity of that passion. i think that much of my work is a reaction to ills in the world by trying to still find the interstices of pleasure + simplicity. anyway i thank viewers for sharing their insights with me to remind me of what art is all about.


today's fashion show:dahlia chilson's pride
artichoke petals
a new echinacea