Monday, October 13, 2025

Montana Art Residency ... so far!

(Above:  Another strand for my Lace Forest, under construction.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

It's been almost two weeks since I've been here in Hamilton, Montana enjoying a one-month art residency through Open Air.  I've already blogged about the embellished wooden thread spool ornament workshop that I conducted last week but I haven't shared yet any of my own projects or the things I've been doing!This post will cover some of the ways I've been spending my time!

(Above:  A large box crammed with lace!

After taking Steve to the airport ... (he'll fly back at the end of the month to drive me home!) ... I went to an absolutely amazing non-profit called GAM ... which stands for Giving Art to Missoula. This place has very limited hours but is a fabulous resource for any creative person looking for art materials and supplies. Inside the very clean and extremely organized space, I found everything from paint to books, from jewelry supplies to pipe cleaners, from yarn to scrapbook stamps, from embroidery floss to tracing paper, from buttons to bolts of fabric ... but NOTHING WAS PRICED.  Then I saw the sign.  Everything was available for any level of donation (or even free for the taking!) My heart rate jumped immediately.  For several "small items", the suggested donation was a buck.  For several medium sized items, five dollars. Large items for ten.  The last line read:  If you really like us, how about fifty dollars.  I resisted almost everything (because I am lucky to have a giant stash!0 but I couldn't leave without the lace!  I removed the small amount of non-white and non-off-white lace from this big box and left a fifty dollar bill.  It was SO WORTH IT. There were miles and miles of lace in that box!  For the next several day, I stitched up five new strands for The Lace Forest.  There are now 51 strands, one more than my initial wish, a number pulled out of thin air but my personal goal.  I still have plenty of lace left but I've temporarily run out of the upholstery cord on which I stitch the strips of lace.  (I think I know where I can find more!)

(Above:  The Cook + Book Club potluck for October.)

Last week I was invited to the monthly meeting of the Cook + Book Club.  This group is one of the book clubs organized by the local bookshop, Chapter One.  Members of the book club buy, read, and then prepared one of the recipes which is shared at the next meeting,  Did I get lucky ... especially since I no longer cook, bake, or even do the grocery shopping?  Oh yes I did!

(Above: The Art of Pie by Kate McDermott.)
 
Every member raved about the recipes but also about the writing style. They were all quite impressed with the stories in the book ... and they got to tell the author their compliments over a Zoom meeting!  Kate McDermott herself logged on to talk to the book club!  
 
(Above:  Cutting the honeyberry pie.)
 
As for the potluck ... well ... not only was there a classic apple pie but there was a chocolate pie in a ground nut crust, a chicken pot pie, and a honeyberry/haksap berry (which substituted the recipe's call for blueberries by using the local fruit ... and it was definitely my favorite of the evening!) 
 
(Above:  A Ratatouille pie!)
 
As a non-baker, I learned plenty about various ingredients, gluten free substitutions, and how Kate McDermott secured a publishing deal.  But, I also was introduced to a ratatouille pie.  I'd never tasted one!
 
(Above:  A stone floor mat ... made by me!)
 
Later, I was invited to visit Jennifer Clothier, an extremely talented mosaic artist who creates artwork in tile, glass, and stone.  Her stone mats are incredibly unusual and most can be used outside.  She lives on a mountain top in a most glorious house overlooking the nearby, now snow frosted ridge.  The driveway is a series of hairpin curves off a hard-packed road.  Driving up let me know I was really in MONTANA, a wild western place where the outline of hills resemble a child's drawing and the fall colors are those on printed calendars.  She invited me to make a stone mat in her well appointed studio.
 
(Above:  Jennifer and her stone storage/sorting area.)
 
Before arriving, I assumed I would be making a little thing, perhaps measuring 12" x 12" or likely smaller.  I was stunned when she pulled out such a large mat.  It was quite fun but also a lot more difficult to master!  
 
(Above: Jennifer holding up the stone mat I made on an industrial metal tray.)
 
For a beginner, she said I did very well but it would take me a long, long time to approach the intricacy and detail she manages to put together!  
 
(Above:  Jennifer holding one of her glass mosaic animal skulls.)
 
Jennifer is an avid bicyclist and hiker.  On her mountain top walks, she often finds animal bones.  These are bleached and incorporated into mosaic masterpieces.
 
(Above:  Another skull mosaic.)
 
There's no doubt that nature and art collide in this artwork.  The wild landscape of Montana likely accounts for many of the styles and choices made by the area artists.  I'm excited to next be off to a natural dyeing workshop ... again, a nature inspired approach.  So check back to this blog!  I'll be posting again soon!

 

 

 

 

  
 

 

 

Thursday, October 09, 2025

Embellished Wooden Thread Spool Mini-workshop

(Above:  Embellished Wooden Thread Spool Mini-workshop at Explore the Arts in Hamilton, Montana.)

Yesterday was so much fun sharing my method of making ornaments.  I provided all the material and supplies:  yarn, embroidery floss, ribbon, buttons, beads, and ... of course ... wooden thread spools.  Almost everything available came from second hand stores, auctions, thrift shops, and as donations to my stash.  This mini-workshop is really about giving second life to what had been cast off by someone else.

About sixteen people attended, including one of the staff members of Open AIR Montana, the organization through which my residency was made possible.  Everyone made at least one ornament.  Several people left with two or three and another one started!

 Conducting this mini-workshop was a wonderful experience.  Yet, being in a workshop might be even better.  I've signed up for two fiber art workshops myself.  Soon, I'll be experiencing some natural dyeing and also gelli plate botanical printing!  I've never really done either but having this art residency has made it possible!  Keep scrolling down for a few more pictures of happy participants and their ornaments!

 



 

Wednesday, October 08, 2025

The start of my OpenAir Montana art residency

 

(Above:  Explore the Arts in Hamilton, Montana.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

It's hard to believe that I started this one-month art residency last week.  Time is just flying by! I'm here in Hamilton, Montana at Explore the Arts, a super cool art center on Main Street.  This opportunity came about through a selection process by Open Air Montana, a non-profit partnering with all sorts of other groups to bring writers, poets, visual artists, and even researchers to Montana. 

The building itself is a visual delight.  All sorts of sculptures and mosaics are featured outside along with sidewalk chalk drawings, and a beautiful garden.

Barbara Liss owns the building and runs the non-profit from her studio inside.  Her medium is concrete sculpting.

Her work is displayed inside but also on the building itself and even on several trees!  I love the masks best of all. 

I was given this area for my temporary studio space.  It's right off a larger gallery area.  I've got 24/7 access, good lighting, and a strong Internet connection!  I've met plenty of new people and even attended the local Writer's Circle meeting and a weekly "Open Studio" session that invites anyone to bring their own projects for conversation and time to work while talking to others.

This residency has provided a furnished apartment in this nearby house.  When I write "nearby" ... I mean it!  It's literally less than a block away!

 
This is the living room ... hung with original art!  There's a great quilt on the sofa too!
 
The kitchen is perfect!
 
I've adjusted to the new time zone and am sleeping soundly in this ideal bedroom.  Today I conducted a mini workshop:  Embellished wooden thread spool ornaments.  I'll blog that tomorrow and soon will also blog the work I've been doing independently during this residency!

 

Tuesday, October 07, 2025

The adventure to MONTANA

(Above:  Selfie outside the Minuteman Missile National Park.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

For months Steve and I were looking forward to the drive to Hamilton, Montana for my one-month art residency through Open Air MT at Explore the Arts in Hamilton.  The trip would take us to several unique places, and it would be the first time either of us stepped foot in South Dakota. God Himself seemed to smile on the trip as the weather was picture perfect for the entire week!  Our first sightseeing stop was the Minuteman Missile National Park.  It was an eye-opening experience.  I don't remember much about the early days of the Cold War but Steve remembers the Cuban Missile crisis.  He once fell asleep under his desk during a emergency preparedness exercise.  I do remember standing on a platform in Berlin, looking over the wall into the eastern side of the city. Emotionally, I couldn't help but to cry for joy when that wall came down.  At the Minuteman Missile National Park, a piece of that wall is on display with a sign encouraging visitors to touch it.  I touched it, holding back more tears.  

 
(Above:  Landscape in Badlands National Park.)

The exit for the Missileman Missile National Park is the same one used for the eastern entrance into Badlands National Park. From flat prairie lands, the landscape changes dramatically.  There are all sorts of rather short hiking trails into the vast wilderness.  We did several: Doors, Windows, Fossil Exhibit, Cliff Shelf, and Notch.

(Above:  Steve on the floating ladder along the Notch Trail.)

We had an absolutely marvelous time on this floating ladder along the Notch Trail.  During the day, we saw a lone buffalo, a couple mountain goats, and lots and lots of cute prairie dogs.  

 

The next day we went to Custer State Park.  Luckily, we weren't a day earlier.  Sure, lots of people wanted to be there for the annual Buffalo round-up.  In fact, more than 24,000 visitors were expected.  It would have been a sight to behold, seeing cowboys and cowgirls herding approximately 1,300 buffaloes into corrals for vaccinations, branding, health checks, and to be sorted into groups to be released back into the park are readied for the upcoming auction.  We, however, didn't want to fight the traffic!  We did see plenty of buffalo but we also saw a big horned sheep, wild goats, and these free-roaming burros.  Although signs cautioned against feeding the animals, it was obvious that these burros were used to being fed!

These wild goats weren't the least bit interested in the cars.  It was fun waiting for the herd to munch their way across the road!  Steve and I drove all the scenic loops, marveling at nature and enjoying the great weather.

There are several very narrow and short tunnels cut through the mountains.  Most could only handle one vehicle at a time. In our cargo van, we just fit through them but one was particularly tight.  To amuse people waiting for their turn, this Star Wars stormtrooper was on site for selfies and and photos.  As it was Saturday, many were wearing their college football team t-shirts.  We weren't but we saw many Ohio Staters.  There were plenty of shouts:  O-H followed by I-O!
 

Our next stop was at Mount Rushmore National Monument, likely the best known landmark in South Dakota.  Plenty of people said we'd be disappointed, that one just looks for a couple moments as if Chevy Chase at the edge of the Grand Canyon in the movie National Lampoon's Vacation ... a few nods of the head, done and over.  We weren't the least bit disappointed.  

The monument is glorious.  The movie inside the Visitors Center is first rate.  Parking was easy and plentiful.  Despite the vast number of people, it never felt crowded.  Seeing Mount Rushmore was on my bucket list and I'm glad I got to go!

Our next stop was Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.  This amazing formation is truly sacred and absolutely magnificent.  We took a well maintained, paved 1.3 mile loop around the tower.  Plenty of others were out walking too, but everyone was captivated by the nearly one dozen climbers who were scaling the cliffs in three different locations.

On a day like we enjoyed, a bad photograph was impossible!  I would return here in a heartbeat.  There were so many other trails I would have liked to hike!

Our last full day on the road was in Yellowstone National Park, a place bigger than either Delaware or New Hampshire.  We'd been to this amazing "first national park" before, going to the typical sites that most first time visitors seek to see ... Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic ... in the southwestern section.  This time, driving in from the east, we decided to check out the northern section with its amazing waterfalls and massive canyon.  The hike along the north rim was gorgeous.  The steaming plumes and hot springs in the Norris Geyser area were out-of-this-world. Again, I would have liked to hike more, see more, smell more trees, and listen to more birds ... but my art residency was calling!  Steve and I arrived last Tuesday afternoon.  Orientation was the following morning. I've been stitching and getting acclimated ever since.  Next post:  The start of the residency.  Meanwhile, please scroll down for some of the dozens upon dozens of photos I snapped at Yellowstone.

 

Monday, September 22, 2025

Getting ready for a Montana art residency!

(Selfie with SAQA Shipping Director William Reker.)

A couple weeks ago, I titled a blog post "First Trip for the Month".  I never wrote one for the second trip despite how very successful it was!  Steve and I went to Ohio!  We went for three important reasons!  First, we delivered artwork to Chaos Contemporary, a downtown gallery in Columbus that now represents me!  Yet, before going there, we dropped off the giant crate containing The Gown's Story at the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) shipping center outside Dayton.  Believe it or not, it was less expensive to drive it there than to ship via FedEx freight.  (The Gown's Story is part of SAQA's  AI:Artistic Interpretations global exhibition ).  Finally ... our third reason to travel to Ohio was the opportunity to visit with our friends who took us to the Columbus zoo for the Lantern Festival. It was AMAZING to see so many LED interior lit, fabric-covered animal and plant sculptures scattered throughout several sections of this giant zoo.  We arrived just before the 7:30 PM opening and had to leave three hours later when it closed.  We also rode the restored carousel and touched manta rays.  What a blast!

Now ... back to the SAQA shipping center!  William Reker runs a tight ship (pun intended).  He showed us all the space, time, and financial saving features used to ship out the organization's artwork.  We even got to watch a small machine that instantly created bubble wrap from a specialized, layered film.

We admired the rolling containers that have been used for overseas opportunities.

For smaller art quilts, these flat files are used.

For larger art quilts, this unit can store them rolled around acid-free material or hung from a suspended system or grid.

On this pallet, the annual charity fund-raiser, 12" x 12" art quilts were stored ... but many have already been sold, including the one I donated.  Unbelievably, it sold on "Diamond Day", the first day of the event when any one piece can be purchased for $1000.  I'm totally over the moon that someone decided to assist SAQA by providing a permanent home for my miniature Found Object Mandala.

Nearby were the boxes in which the auction quilts will be shipped.  Everything was ready for the bidding and the shipping!  Everything about this shipping center made me proud to be part of SAQA.

So ... now I'm sort of caught up with my blogging (though somewhere I have photos from the zoo!)  Today and tomorrow are busy ones!  These days are earmarked for my "hunter-gatherer" and "load the van" tasks.  Before dawn on Wednesday, Steve and I head to Montana where I'll be an artist-in-residence at Explore the Arts in Hamilton, MT.  This trip is the third one this month!  For me, retirement means many things ... among them TRAVEL!  Next post, the adventure begins!