blue and green

As I lounged with my legs in the sun after a dip in the pool I was struck with how blue the sky is today and how green the trees are. The big old pines have a different green than the catalpa trees.
I have used the two colors together in several quilts. Here are two of my favorites: "Deer Meadow"

and "Birdfeeders from Another World". The latter I started in a class on isometric perspective with my friend Dianne.













DAILY HAIKU 2009

June 25, 2009

I traveled with Ila and Anne to Dartmouth College in Hanover to see the exhibit on Native American baskets at the Hood Gallery. We also saw some lovely textiles from Indonesia.



I used a postcard from the exhibit cut into fragments. I used text from the brochure for the Haiku:




visual dailogue
Maine Wabanaki baskets
Tapis from Lampung

The background has edges of ink pads and a border of X's.

today, yesterday, last week, next week, last year

Two weeks ago today we were well on our way to Gainesville, Florida. We left about 4:00am and drove to St. Paul's NC - just south of Fayetteville- to stop for the night around 6:00pm. Last week I was recuperating. I had left school on Wednesday feeling really lousy and since I had had the hospitalization, I decided to take it easy until I felt completely rested.

Today it's overcast and thundershowers are predicted. I'm meeting a friend to walk around town shortly. I hope to get more weeding done, since I'll be away next week.

A year ago, the 24th was our last day of school and it was raining:

DAILY HAIKU 2009

I used a stencil for the lettering and shaded the letters.

Scraps of tracing paper and a dark green commercial paper add some interest.

My crooked writing works for this entry

more rain fell today

it's difficult to imagine

so much rain falling

and it balances the dark green paper.The border repeats the words"last day of school".

Next Thusday is the last day of June and I'll be in Manchester. I packed about half the supplies I need for the workshop yesterday.

rainy day - finally !!!

It's a rainy day, the first in a long time, and I'm organizing the supplies for next week's Summer Institute in Manchester at the Institute of Art. I'm signed up for a single workshop all day for four days. "Book Arts Gone Wild" is the title. The list of suggested supplies is a whole page; luckily I have most of them. I'm taking "365 DAILY HAIKU 2009" to share.

This is the kind of day I needed to get some clutter dealt with in my studio, also. Several small pieces and some fabrics that I had at school need to be put away. A pile of papers, which includes the artist signs that denote which table kids sit at, and old notebooks wait to be stored or tossed.

Of course, I'll probably get side tracked on some Art Journal pages and the photos I took this morning. The oriental lilies are lovely. The Japanese irises in garden #1 have gone by, but the white ones in garden #7 are at their peak. The daylilies are blossoming also. The changing blossoms signal the passage of time.


DAILY HAIKU 2009 June 23
With so many days of rain, I came up with new ways to make the word. This was done by rubbing over the letters with pencil then outling them. I used tracing paper. I accented one side of each letter for depth with a black marker. The text is written with a calligraphy pen on vellum. The border of thin rectangles is with pencil and marker.




another rainy day
slugs and bugs invade gardens
chewing and slimy

rain, scraps, gardening

Today is a lovely day, sunny, dry and warm. Deezel and I walked 3 miles. I then watered some transplants and cleared more of the trees that slowly fill behind the shade garden (# 2). I like to see the outcropping of rocks. I came across a large jack-in-the-pulpit with a shiny green seedpod. It will be brilliant red in the fall.

I moved a digitalis from an odd place where it had survived. I have pink ones already. This one is a creamy white. It'll look good in its new spot in garden #1.
A quick dip, a little pool cleaning and I'm refreshed for some afternoon relaxation.


The flower pots are looking good. I trimmed the coleus and pushed the cuttings into the soil. I have to keep the soil wet for them to root.
DAILY HAIKU 2009
June 22
Rain being the overwhelming theme for the month, I used the words in "bubble" letters and used the usually first line as the last one for the text.
foxgloves standing tall
deep pink bells on pointy stalks
rain, rain, go away

This entry consists of a pile of scraps with a random feel. It has a scrap from another sketchbook- where it's on the spiral binding - a piece of tracing paper with some purple ink on it and a commercial scrapbook paper. Tiny lines create a textured border.

2010
Since today is totally lovely, I'm taking a magazine, some sewing and some ice tea to the back deck. Later, I'll get some new garden photos.

summer starts,

My last day of school was last week, but I'm going in today to finish the summer cleaning. I was just exhausted on Wednesday and, after my experience the week before, since I felt lousy,decided to come home and get some rest.
We have some loose ends to tie up from the event also; the hotel's insurance company hasn't been very accessible. We did give a summary of the event to the home office.
I finished Susan's gift "book box". It came out very well. I didn't have time to photograph it, sadly. I used a gift box from Coldwater Creek. It was a perfect size and shape, about 3" x 5" and 3/4" deep. I'm not sure where I can buy plain boxes with those dimensions. I think I'll create a series over the summer. After today's chores are done, I'm planning on finishing some long "in the works " pages in my art journal.
Next week I'll be in Manchester at the Institute of Art for a week. I'm signed up for a workshop called "Book Arts Gone Wild". They hold this Art Educators' Summer Institute every year. I went two years ago. The workshop I'm in this year is all day for 4 days !!!
Of course, I'll be away when some of my flowers will be at their peak. The oriental lilies have opened as have the Japanese Irises. I'll get photographs. My own work for the summer will include a watercolor sketchbook of the flowers in my garden.


DAILY HAIKU 2009 A year ago today ....


We got together for Susan's birthday, so I used a portion of the stamp I'd used all year for get togethers. And of course the weather kept me inside so no walk, no gardening...
Rain, rain, go away
Heavy drops collect and hang.
Where is the blue sky?


When I bound the book for 365 Haiku, I inserted mat board pages to help stabilize the slippery pages. I placed them at the seasons' change. This is the one for summer. I tried to photograph them after the book was bound - not the greatest plan. I used the leaf and bird stamps. For a frame, I used a portion of the gold ink pad.
This solstice marker has some summer and spring elements.

last day of spring

It's warm, but overcast today. Showers are predicted. We took a shorter walk than usual, we all felt the heavy air. Deezel's tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth. I watered our fledgling cukes, tomatoes, lettuce and the bean seeds.


I'm working on a box book for my sister-in-law's birthday. I'm using some lovely papers with burgundy and gold as the color scheme. I made an accordion book of heavy paper. I'll attach each end into the box - one end into the cover and the other into the bottom of the box. Each page or spread becomes a canvas. I've made them as gifts before. I admired the one I made for Anne before I realized it was my work !!!


DAILY HAIKU 2009
June 20
The text is self explanatory - we had so few sunny days in June of 2009.
Each was a celebration. I drew this sun making it similar to the spiral stamp. The green is the edge of a square stamp pad.

still on catch-up mode

Well, a week ago I woke up in Shands Hospital in the cardiac unit, with a heart monitor in my johnny pocket and a growling in my belly. The coffee and graham crackers were meager, but yummy. I knew I was fine and would be at Aaron's wedding, even though it would be in the mid 90's.

The Kanapaha Botanical Gardens were lovely. I took quite a few pictures.

This is one of the koi in the pond.

At home, today, it's 67 degrees, with 80's in the forecast. I plan to weed gardens # 1 & 2, plant annuals in pots , one for near the mailbox and one for the steps. I also have fuschia and impatient cuttings to plant.

This is garden #1. Luckily, the weeds are green and blend in with non-weeds.

I'm sure I'll be in the pool.

DAILY HAIKU 2009
June 19
This visual says it all. I used the first two words of the poem as the artwork with one a reflection. I made them with a stencil. The vertical lines are thin pieces of a vellum. I made a textured border with pencil.

A break in the rain allowed Deezel and I to walk through the woods.
The white spokes on this Japanese paper reminded me of umbrellas. I continued the curved bands of color and the flowers with colored pencil.