Book of Leaves: Work in Progress

Book of Leaves WIP- 2 layers and more to come
Silk and wool

The Book Leaves Page 10-11

Mulberry paper leaves


Connect the Dots



The Morgan Library and Museum in New York City has a show called
The Diary going on right now.

The Long Good Bye: Book of Leaves

Page 1 Vanishing Point


Page 2 Puzzled



I knew when I began this project that I would need to draw lots and lots of leaves to perfect my larger drawings. Suddenly, as I tore down sheets of print making paper, ideas for experimentation with media and ideas began to really pop! "Leaf" is also a book binding term for what's sewn together to create a book and form the "pages". So here are few early pages from the Leaf Book.



Page 8


Worth Seeing:

My friend Claudia sent me a link describing a wonderful exhibit by the late photographer Vivien Maier on view now at the Chicago Cultural Center. Again, too bad an artist has to become famous after her death.


The Art Insititue of Chicago is free this month and there is a beautiful exhibit onContemporary Fiber Arts right now. Very much worth the trip!

Re-Entry Into Blog Land

Des Plaines River Trail January 2011

It's been an anxious 8 month dry spell. After completing the Tools of the Trade Project I did not feel the relief some might expect. The pressure to make the work (over 30 drawings in 18 months), have it funded, framed and presented represented a huge leap of growth.At the end, I felt hollowed out and anxious about what would come next. "How could I make better work that this?" was the sort of question that paralyzed me.

Stepping on the heals of the opening were family health issues and preparation for our youngest child to leave for college. I felt bereft last autumn.

Then, miraculously, after the thunder and jungle of the holidays, a single branch of oak leaves suggested a humble project: The Long Good Bye. Oak leaves hang on,some of them until Spring. The sturdy connection forged all through the green Summer turns into a protracted grasp. This is a small detail of a large idea sketch: a work in progress.

So, Dear Readers, Happy New Year and Happy Beginnings to you all.


Detail:Long Goodbye
22" x 30"
ink and watercolor