textile nirvana » this & that

Hello Etsy (again)

turke3 — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:22:12 +0000

I get distracted-but I’m back on Etsy as of now !

image copyright Mavis Leahy

Putting the pieces together

turke3 — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:41:26 +0000

I have been invited to show at Topanga’s “Putting the pieces together” which runs June 22nd thru July 17th.

For more information please visit www.topangacanyongallery.com

Dog day afternoon at Poodleville

turke3 — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:45:57 +0000

Where the $%*@ are you Gilda? come get me.

Dog Day afternoon at Poodleville

Bone nests

turke3 — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 03:25:53 +0000

"Edith" one of the bone nest series image copyright mavis leahy

Beauty

turke3 — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:05:43 +0000

Dreaming of Joseph

turke3 — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 16:58:03 +0000

This piece is part of my Epitaph’s series.

In the 19^th century- infant mortality rate was heartbreakingly high, and it was not uncommon for a family to loose more than one child.

I try and capture the fragile existence and souls of these dead children -who were very much loved and missed terribly by those they left behind.

My piece at Viva La Vida The Rogue Gallery Dreaming of Joseph image copyright Mavis Leahy

lazy days

turke3 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:09:17 +0000

the lazy days of summer are at their pinnacle here-so hard to concentrate on “what should be done”. having fun with many projects-am trying to zero in on all my dia de los muertos art-as it is right around the corner! pictured is the newest addition to my los muertos series -food for thought.

we have a firm “no dogs on the furniture policy” – but that is not to say we don’t make exceptions. oreo-the new girl- came from a home where she was allowed on the furniture-as a matter of fact- she had her own full sized bed! so even though she has several pillows-both inside and out-as do the other 2 girls-it’s been a bit of an adjustment for her.

several weeks ago around 3 in the morning, my husband and i woke to a very large thud and crash in our bedroom. not unusual-through the years with animals and kids-one gets used to these things. i turned on the light and saw oreo looking very chagrined- a table was overturned next to the chaise lounge. not hard to figure out-she was sleeping on it and fell off. she slunk away-very embarrassed-retreating to her pillow. the new nightly scenario is-she starts on her pillow with the other girls- and about 20 min after i’m in bed i hear her try and quietly (virtually impossible at 150 lbs) creep up on the chaise. when betty comes in to wake me up at 5:30am-i pretend not to see oreo and she gets down-works for everyone! betty has her own chair in the den-again-i turn a blind eye. it is a chair i usually sit in-a smaller sized armchair. when i first saw her sleeping on it i couldn’t believe it. betty is a big girl-she isn’t as tall as oreo, but very muscular, she outweighs oreo by a few pounds (she will have to diet later in life.) she was curled up so tightly-that when when she saw me and tried to get down- whe was so wedged in it took her a couple of minutes to extricate herself. never a dull moment!

coloring outside the lines

turke3 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:04:26 +0000

i got absolutely nothing done that i should of this weekend-but i’m guilt free. i’ve been in an “exploratory mode” lately-and i’ve decided to indulge myself this summer . i’ll be experimenting with new mediums, methods and materials-not worrying about deadlines, websites and what i “should” be doing.

on sat i took my 13 yr old niece to patricia anders barbie workshop-the final one before her barbie redux show debuts on aug 7th.

what fun! i am definitely making up for lost time- i didn’t play with barbies as a child-but i sure am now!

appreciation of details

turke3 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:04:32 +0000

i recently saw some wonderful fabrics on morgaine le fay’s antique textiles and more blog-and was reminded of some of my “old friends”. as gardening and dogs are a personal passion-this is one of my all time favorites- the victorian square of a boy and his dog. it is circa late 1800, similar to “can you talk” from dr jaynes medicines trade cards. i also love the detail on this vintage silk embroidered piano scarf-the pagoda in the garden.

so many projects and so many marvelous distractions!

harpies & skulls

turke3 — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:41:24 +0000

i have been working on a piece for the upcoming folktree gallery’s two by two- noahs ark show. gail mishkin-the wonderful curator of the folktree gallery invited artists to create pairs of animals (same species), and/or some kind of ark imagery, offering their personal interpretations of the story and the creatures that populate it. there are only be two of each species in the exhibit-so there will be quite a diverse collection. i love mythology-and of course being the non traditionalist that i am-(plus the fact that gail gives us artistic licence ie:little rules and boundaries) i choose harpies. i choose a wonderful circa 1860 linen to showcase “the girls”. the vine and floral applique is cut from a vintage 1940′s batik-that’s as far as i’ve gotten-still embroidering and appliqueing-ouch!

angie is still very much in our thought’s-i do an altar every year for dia de los muertos at the hollywood forever cemetary. but of course i can’t wait til then-we have a small altar started-will add more as time heals. the lovely mosaic skull is done by an a oh soooo talented artist friend, mary clark camargo-you can see her work at http://www.eclecticcactus.com/artgalley/Mary.htm