House Sanctuary

I'm back to sewing on paper for a time.  I suppose I'll continue to juggle these slightly different bodies of work, as they all have a different emphasis and allow me to play with different processes.  The 5x5" mixed work based on the seasons will continue with a couple more for Spring, before moving into Summer.  The watercolor/pen & ink pieces that play with pattern against pattern are fun as they allow for more direct drawing.  But the more I worked on those, the more I missed sewing on that lovely handmade paper that my husband, Johntimothy, makes...I use it for almost all my work, except the watercolors.  So now I've started these new pieces that combine acrylic, embroidery, collage, beads in that house/sanctuary shape that allows for so many possibilities.  If only we had several lifetimes to explore everything life has to offer!  

Pictured above is House Sanctuary, listed yesterday on Etsy.  Below is shot of a section of the embroidery thread in one of the baskets in my studio.  People who saw some snapshots of my studio somehow got the impression that I am quite the neat-nik....so I took a photo of the chaos I keep in my baskets of embroidery thread!  I could keep all the colors separated and in order, but really, isn't this jumble of color and line a delight to behold?  That is, until you need to get at that bit of yellow thread that is ever so tangled up with the blue and the red!

Heading downstairs to the studio for the day, with some time in the garden this afternoon!