Quilting Time

I recently got to make a baby quilt for a good friend's baby girl.  The fabric was collected from a mix of thrift stores and fabric store remnant piles.  I had most of the squares cut out long ago, and then they sat in a box waiting for just the right moment.

This is the third quilt I've ever made.  I've got a couple more baby showers coming up, so I'm hoping to be quilting again soon.  Because of their size, baby quilts are way less intimidating, so it seems like a good place for me to experiment with color and patterns.  I'm sure I'm doing things all wrong, but I'm having fun with it, and I'm pretty happy with the end result.

Growing in the Shadows

Growing In the Shadows

Acrylic on wood panel

6' x 4'

For several years now, I have had the opportunity to create an art piece for the Burning Brush Pilgrimage art walk at Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, Illinois. Above is the piece I created for this year's art walk, and here is the artist statement that goes along with it:

The inspiration for this piece comes from the idea that God is at work in our lives even when we can't see the evidence right away.  Often in times of darkness or pain, all we can see is the darkness of our immediate earthly circumstances.  Yet even in these times, God is at work producing growth in our hearts... slow and steady, still, quiet... His presence is there.
This painting is a monument to the way God is constantly at work, in my life and in the world as a whole, bringing beauty from ashes, life from death, joy from pain.

I did some preliminary sketches, and restarted the painting a few times.  I had so many ideas of how this painting could work.  The final product was only one of many possible solutions.  Because of this, I want to continue working with this idea and create a series of smaller works, sticking with similar shapes and themes, exploring the possibilities until they become exhausted.

Several months before the painting was even a thought, I designed this poster for a church women's retreat.  This is where the simple leaf shape first appeared in my work.

l also made bookmarks for the ladies to take home.  In this design, the leaf shapes start to overlap, and things begin to change...


I'm excited to see what's next!

Blog update

Since the new year began I have been thinking a lot about updating this blog and starting to blog more consistently. It is already September and I am just now getting started! Better late than never I suppose.

My goal from here on out is to update this blog at least once a week. I'm hoping it will encourage me to create more often, to be more thoughtful about the things I am creating, and to inspire others who may stumble across this blog and see what I've been up to.

Here goes nothing!