Arts In Rhode Island

Just got back from a wonderful trip visiting family and friends in California and I couldn't help but take too many photographs of all the luscious colors out there. In LA we experienced some rain, some smog and then of course three beautiful sunny days in the eighty's.










Leaving there and heading for San Francisco we saw scenes like this unfold before our eyes. We wandered up the coast at a pretty slow pace. Pacific Coast highway is very winding and high on the cliffs so I got teased alot about how all the leaning I was doing didn't have much effect on keeping the car on the road. Oh, well, we made it there anyway, leaning or not!








Checked out the aquarium in Monterey and WOW!



Talk about color combinations!

Then we visited an artist friend who lives way up in the foothills of Gold country and got some time to spend poking around her studio, tasting fine wine, and exploring the town of Sutter Creek. I hear that you can still pan gold there in the creek that runs thru town.
It was a trip full of color, laughter and inspiration. One I'd like to return to right now on this cold grey day. I'm glad I have this inspiration to turn too. Between the warm wood stove and these pictures I should be able to figure out the next warp for my loom.

It began with a little guy and a favor.

Last year I got the opportunity to go on a sailboat transport running from North Carolina to Florida and as a result I would be missing an upcoming art show. My daughter, Jess, who grew up doing shows with me, was willing to cover it for me and so I was off, foul weather gear and all.

Jess covered the bases for me and while doing so fell in love with this little guy,one of my artdolls who is listed in my etsy shop, www.lodestarwovens.etsy.com


She asked me to make her one for her next birthday. It needed to be a girl clothed in pink with blonde hair and "glitz"! The summer flew by and I realized last week that I better get going on this new project.

I love how she turned out! What do you think?


While you're checking out Etsy be sure to go to our street team holiday shop and look at all the beautiful things there. Lots of Christmas gifts waiting to happen! www.artsinri.etsy.com

I don't know why, but every year as the summer weather begins to turn to the gorgeous autumn fare we are blessed to experience here in Rhode Island, I get a hankering for purple..... Not just purple though, I mean PURPLE!, in it brightest, boldest and most sincere forms. It can be a cool blue tone, a warm red one, or as royal a purple as in days of old. There's something about the color purple that tells me it's time to start meaning what I mean, saying what I want to say and looking out past my habitual horizons. It's a color of renewal and emergence. Therefore I start my annual production weaving with a warp of purple tones all laid out and ready to become the first scarves of the fall season.

Quite often I set myself up a small tableau for inspiration. Piling up fibers of all hues and textures can be a great way to get a feeling for what the combination promises as a finished piece. I'm up on ladders and benches in my over-full studio grabbing whatever strikes my fancy at the moment and tossing it to the floor for consideration. My husband has, on occasion, wondered if the roof timbers were falling. (let it be known that I am an admitted fiber junkie.....if I can't reach out and grab it when its what I have in mind, I will promptly find a way to procure it. As a result, I make many trips to my favorite fiber outlets to make sure that doesn't happen! My studio has a set of double tiered shelves at ceiling height and surrounding the perimeter of the room to hold all the cones of fiber I have amassed and they are always pretty near full. hence the climbing and heaving....!) I set up a bit of inspiration for myself and make sure to soak it up for awhile. A vase of asters, dahlias and artemesia from the garden got me going this fall.

Much ado later, I had a wrapped, wound, warped and sleyed "warp" ready to weave.
Fibers on the loom don't always appear as they do in my imagination or for that matter in the pile of fibers cast upon the floor of my studio in the midst of all my manic fervor! But luckily, this season's debut warp was right on target! I was pretty pleased with the results. And oh so PURPLE!

Alice Walker (of "The Color Purple") tells us "I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it". I agree with her. (Read the book or watch the movie to truly understand the sentiment!) Notice purple every chance you get! It's some of life's best. May you find it in every garden, sunset and Easter Egg of your life.... Go, PURPLE!




Just as a side note, Cotton, my dear, sweet 18 year old doesn't care what color it is...

just make it soft....

Recently, I was informed that I was accepted into the Twist show in Northampton, MA. SO exciting! Only problem? You only get a 6 foot table to display your stuff on! I am used to having a 10 foot by 10 foot area with 2 tables and 3 grid-wall panels. A 6 foot table is a MAJOR decrease in available real-estate!

What do you think?

It all began a few years ago when my very talented son, Brett Eves, started to sculpt. One thing led to another and before long he had one of his pieces published in Somerset Studio's Art Doll Quarterly. Only the beginning.....


The next year, just before Christmas, I received a box in the mail filled with latex puppet heads. They looked somewhat like naked baby somethings.





I gave Brett a call, asking, "what should I do with them?" and his easy reply was "anything you want!" That's all it took for this collaboration to find it's start. Now, many puppets later, we're still going strong and waiting to see the next character to emerge....
Tho I can't claim to understand how he takes a sculpted piece and through use of handmade molds, creates the latex
head he gives to me to embellish, I can attest to the fact that the molds lie in wait in my attic for each successive pouring. Here's what they look like when I get them.


At this point, I mix my paints and start the process of adding a little character to these guys.




All painted work is then sealed with a fixative. From there, I dress them in all the fabulous upholstery fabrics I can find. Each is unique. A few feathers and beads finish the process, taking
a piece of pink latex and giving it the personality it deserves! In truth, the little guys get kinda pushy, the closer they come to completion. I guess it takes all kinds....

Father's day is June 21! Since dads can be hard to buy for, here are some great ideas for unique, handmade gifts. AND, if you are in the RI area, you can purchase these items at the Providence Arts Festival this Saturday, June 13, from 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM (downtown on Westminster between Eddy and Union). There will be fantastic art, great food, and fun activities for the kids. Bring the whole family!!