Where Does New Work come from? Vacation?  Climate change?

Vacation is a bit different for me than many people.I don’t go for the hiking and boating, although I might do both. Well, maybe not the boating. My stiff knees makes getting in and out of my preferred watercraft, canoes and kayaks, hard.

When I go on vacation I look for ways to make new work in new locations. It helps that these locations are NOT my studio.  It shakes up my brain. I travel with “soft goals,” kernels of ideas. This year it  my soft goal was to begin finding ways to combine the embroidery with other media. A little while ago I showed you the Seed Pods that came out of beach combing.

I think I am up to 10 of them now! When I was up on Lake Superior, even before the fires, the ravages of climate change were more evident than I have ever seen.  Water levels were appallingly low.  Trees were dying from drought, infestation and disease.

These large mixed media drawings started in the cabin in Schroeder…in response to all the changes. Follow the link to learn more.