Seeds Sown Long Ago

Sometimes things done and seen long ago plant seeds that sprout in the future. That's what is happening to me from time to time. Although I haven't been exhibiting and teaching for the last two years, I still had my work noticed by a magazine, Art Quilting Studio, and was invited to write an article. "When Photography Converges with Dyes, Fabric and Stitch" is published in the Summer 2021 issue. No you won't find me on the cover, but you will find my article inside.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, it has been hard to locate a copy of the magazine. Yes, I should receive a complimentary copy for being in the magazine, but it doesn't seem that the mail has been reliable. I've searched out four Chapters/Indigo stores in my city, with no success. One sold out quickly. Another has a huge stack of the Spring issue, so who knows if they will receive the Summer. Most Chapters/Indigo stores have also reduced the number of magazine titles they carry. There is a mixture of old and new issues on display. Not to worry, I've ordered a few copies from the publisher. They will get here when they get here. In the mean time, I do have a pdf of my article so I can at least show you what it looks like. This is the pdf they sent for me to proof. I made no changes except to add the name of the photographer (Patrick Blake) of my sunflower triptych, "Fleur du Soleil".

It also happens that my international Crossing Oceans Textile Artists group is having their first exhibition since the pandemic at Farfield Mill, Sedbergh, England. Our organizer, Jane Rollason lives half-time in England and half-time in France. For a while our works were locked in her home in France without her being unable to access them due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. If you click on the photo below you will be taken to a nice spread of our work and information about the artists.

I'm nearing completion of my fourth coffee cup collage, so I will be back with that soon. I am now fully vaccinated, and wondering "what now"?

Back from Vacation, Wilma is in Print, and Knee News

Last week I spent a week relaxing in Costa Rica with my sister. We spent many afternoons sitting by the infinity pool, gazing out at the Pacific Ocean in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica. This was to be a restful holiday, and it was.

The rainy season ended the day we arrived, and we were lucky to experience nothing but beautiful weather, blue skies and warm temperatures the entire week. We spent many afternoons reading by the pool, although I also spent a fair bit of time walking in the pool. It extended a good length of the property, toward the ocean, and was 4 ft deep most of the way. Perfect for water walking sore joints. At 30 and 31 degrees celsius most days, it was also immensely refreshing.

We enjoyed this view from our room.

 

We took a couple of excursions. One, a riverboat cruise to see wildlife. We sure saw a lot of crocodiles and birds. The other excursion was a shopping trip to the town of Tamarindo, about a 15 minute drive from our resort.

Upon returning home, my Winter issue of the Canadian Quilter was waiting for me. I had been asked by Editor, Marcy Horswill, to submit photos of my studio for a series of Creative Spaces she was planning to feature in this issue. Although my studio is small (10 ft x 10 ft) Marcy was still interested :-) With a new colour of paint on the walls and new bookshelves I was willing to share.

It just so happens that on the day I took photos for the article, I found our cat Wilma sleeping in her favorite corner of my studio, and thus Wilma has made it into print! I'm very proud of her.

On Monday I had my assessment at The Knee Clinic. The good news is there will be no knee replacement YET. And the bad news is there will be no knee replacement yet, meaning I'll have to suffer for a bit longer. However, I agree with their assessment. I saw the X-rays from both knees, and the arthritis in the main knee compartment is mild on both knees, there is still lots of space between the bones so that means the cartilage pad is still relatively thick. However, both knees have severe osteoarthritis of the knee cap, and are bone on bone. In fact, she said the knee caps couldn't really be any worse and both are equally bad. She also said the fact that I am kinda knock kneed contributed to this. Given my age, ability to sleep without pain, etc. they don't recommend bringing out the big guns for knee caps.She recommends I continue with conventional treatment (physio, mild exercise, icing, and give the gel shot a bit more time to work) and of course try to reduce weight on my knees. She is hopeful this inflammation flare will settle down eventually, like the last one, and especially since it was preceded by an injury. She says there are two surgeons at the hospital who do knee cap replacements but she does not recommend it because at some point I'm going to have the whole knee done anyway ... however, she did say it might be soon and might not be for a long time. No one knows how long before the mild arthritis in the main knee compartment turns moderate to severe ... she said it can go fast in some people and slow in others.

So status quo ... keep working with conventional methods and try to get things back under control. Fortunately I have two quiet months coming up. I plan on taking care of myself and strengthening my legs to get me ready for my late winter and early spring teaching. I am also slowly working my way back into studio mode.

Hostaholic

Yesterday my copy of The Hosta Journal arrived in the mail. This is a quarterly Journal published by The American Hosta Society. I'm very honoured to be in this publication with my article "Hostaholic". 

A big thank you to quilter and hosta lover, Cheryl Clark, who drew my work to the attention of Editor Bob Olson. Thanks to Janet Mills for the design and layout of the article. I have uploaded the article in pdf format to my website, and you can read it by clicking on this link. Be patient, it may take a minute to load.

Last Week's Workshops

Friday I taught Session 3 of my Dye Happy class at Wabi Sabi. The topic of the day was Shibori, so students learned how to wrap a pole and prepare an immersion dye bath. In addition, we continued with some bomaki shibori. Students brought Show and Tell from the previous class, or sent photos after the class.

These are Sylvia's stunning navy and white shibori pieces.

Marion's two colour run (using the opposites of green and violet).

Marion's tray dyeing.

Sue's folded and clamped piece (looks like eggs doesn't it?).

Oh wow, Sue's tray dyed piece!

Sue's parfaits and value gradations.

Nancy's bound bean piece.

Nancy's folded and clamped work. I adore blue and white!

Nancy's flour paste resists.

Chris' value gradation.

Barb's parfaits:

I put together a colour chart of the dyes I most frequently use. All the brightly coloured swatches on this chart make me very happy :-)

Barb focusing on painting a bomaki shibori piece.

Saturday I taught right in my own community, for the Common Thread Quilt Guild. A bright and beautiful day in a nice spacious community centre.

The topic was Liberated Radial Piecing. That seems to be popular lately.

This piece by Johanna.

This one by Laura.

Sometimes I get so engrossed in the teaching experience that I forget to take many photos!

Meet Robert C. Olson, Editor of The Hosta Journal and the Hosta Named After Him

Today I am making a very special post that is a little different from my usual. As you know from my February 23 post, Hostaholic, I have just written an article for The Hosta Journal. In the last couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of meeting (on-line), and working with, three people involved with The American Hosta Society. It was the Editor of their Journal, Dr. Robert Olson, that contacted me about the possibility of an article. Cheryl Clark, a member of the Society who is also a quilter and hosta lover, passed along my Quilting Arts article to Dr. Olson. Thank you Cheryl (who, by the way, is a reader of my blog!).  I had the pleasure of working with Bob (Dr. Olson) and Janet Mills on the article. Dr. Olson and I have had some pleasant and educational (to me) chats about a variety of topics, including how one gets a hosta plant named after them. 

Dr. Olson wanted to leave a comment on my blog, but he wanted to be sure that all my readers would see it. That might not happen with a comment left at the end of my post. So he asked me to pass along the very kind and gracious message to my readers.

We at the Hosta Journal are delighted that Elaine consented to write a piece for us. Over the years we’ve displayed works by Botanical Art Schools and had photo contests, but this art form will open a whole new world to many members. We’ve seldom had an artist so adept at both photography and writing which makes her article all the more enjoyable. We look forward to sharing it with you.

And if some of you have some questions about hostas, or problems with them, please feel free to contact me. Elaine will provide you with my contact information.

Bob Olson, Editor The Hosta Journal

I thought I would give you the pleasure today of seeing Dr. Olson's garden, especially the hosta plant named after him. He says that his hosta garden "is small by collector standards".

Here is a photo of the hosta, 'Dr. Bob', "emerging and unfolding in the spring, a time of year that we all love to admire them."

This next photo is of the 'Dr Bob' hosta "in mid summer when a wild geranium chose to intertwine itself with the hosta. A concession to Nature in an otherwise rather formal garden."

I asked Dr. Olson to provide a bit of information about himself for readers. Here is a list of his accomplishments and a bio with his story about his involvement with hostas.

Robert C. Olson, MD

Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Gastroenterology 
University of Minnesota Medical School.
Past President American Hosta Society
Editor The Hosta Journal

Bob began gardening with his mother as a young boy, but didn’t return to it until he returned from service in Vietnam with the US Navy. Friends at the Minneapolis Garden Club introduced him to hostas, and it was love at first sight. At one point he had over 500 varieties of hostas, but began downsizing when his wife said the garden was looking like a “stamp collection”. She was right, hostas like other perennials look best when properly displayed. 

In 1995 he led a group of hosta aficionados to Japan (almost all hostas come from mutations or hybridization of a few species from Japan); there they hired plant hunters to take them into the rugged mountains and remote islands to search for species hostas growing in the wilds. They successfully found and brought back scores of native plants.

Now retired he enjoys his garden and corresponding with hosta lovers all over the globe as the editor of the AHS Journal.

Thank you Dr. Olson (Bob) for being a guest on my blog today. It is an honour having an article in  the spring issue of The Hosta Journal.

Hostaholic

Someone passed along my Quilting Arts article from June 2014 to the Editor of The Hosta Journal, published by the American Hosta Society. He (Robert Olson) invited me to write an article for their spring journal. I submitted it last week and will advise when it is published. I included a list of some of the hosta gardens in Ontario that I have been privileged to visit, and I hope they also get some exposure from it. 

Apparently your typical "hostaholic" loves to search for the rarest of hosta hybids.The angle I'm coming from with my story is that I too am a hostaholic, but unlike most I am more interested in the study of value, line and curve. I know very little about hosta varieties or growing conditions. I talked about the art end of hostas, what I look for and what draws me to them, as well as how I make my work.

The Journal subscription is available to all Members of the American Hosta Society. If there is some way I can share this article with my readers at a later date I will surely do so.