Last weekend, my husband Steve was itching to "go someplace" ... especially if that "someplace" meant we could use our annual, National Park pass one more time before it expires at the end of the month (We have a trip to Glacier National Park planned in just a few weeks but apparently Steve wanted to use the pass "one more time"). So ... off we went to Shenandoah National Park. Of course, I was a bit nervous about leaving. I generally spend weekends in my studio. I've got so much WORK to create before the Philadelphia Museum of Art Show and my solo show at City Art ... both in November. Yet, I had an idea!
(Above: In Box CCLIX, in progress ... stitching while riding in the car!)
Instead of self-guided, free-motion embroidery linking all my little "boxes", why not stitch one totally by hand! It was fun ... and only took about twenty-two hours to complete ... as compared to an hour or two by machine! Truthfully, I don't know exactly how long any one of my pieces require to complete. There's no way to figure all the prep work. I generally construct more than one piece at a time. The time with my soldering irons and industrial heat gun ... melting the holes ... varies a lot. The only thing I can calculate is the time under the sewing machine's needle. Doing it by hand, however, takes LOTS longer!
Because of the extreme difference in time, I will not be making more of these pieces any time soon ... but it was a joy to see this project through. It is a unique variation on my "normal" In Box process. I like it very much!
So ... we made it to the Appalachian Trail ... and went hiking for a whole mile! LOL! We saw a bear cub foraging for food alongside the road and we went to Luray Caverns.
Luray Caverns is AWESOME. The shallow bodies of water create perfect mirror reflections of the stalactites above.
The tour was fun even though there were too many people in a single group. We couldn't always hear our guide but it was fun to watch others snapping photos. It was fairly hilarious to watch others searching for Pokemon inside the caverns too!
Personally, I think the columns that look like tree formations are the most beautiful, and there were lots of them at Luray Caverns.
Across the street from the caverns is the Luray Valley Museum. Steve and I loved the various architecture on the buildings, the antiques, and the museum displays.
There were farmland and garden exhibition areas and ...
... plenty of beautiful details.
(Above: Stained Glass LXXV. Inventory # 3801. Unframed: 56" x 16". Framed: 63" x 23". $1,200.)
Since returning home I've finished melting, mounting, and framing Stained Glass LXXV. I've got other work in various stages of construction and will be posting more soon.
I am linking this post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber arts.
1 comment:
Oh I SO understand the need to use the Annual National Park pass just one more time!!! You certainly were right on top of "time management" by utilizing travel time as stitching time. And to work is absolutely stunning! Soon, you will qualify for a life-time pass and you won't have the time crunch!
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