Oliver's Run Part Two


All of the old garden fencing is now gone, everything is mowed and removed save for a few native prairie plants which will be transplanted sometime this week.



Half of the run is up, we will set up the rest of the run tomorrow evening.  I'm just too tired to do so tonight, cleaning up the old garden area also meant trimming back the trees, removing volunteer trees, and the like as well as more mowing which hubs did for me!

Oliver's Run Part One


Before, this is my garden that literally went to seed and to the weeds, this summer.  John mowed almost everything down, and now there's room for the new, to Oliver, dog run.  Our neighbor, Praise God, is giving us their dog run to add to our dog run so it'll go from being 12x16x6 feet to that size plus another 12x8x6 feet, I think it may actually be larger than that, we'll know for sure tomorrow once we have it all set up.


After, a few native plants were spared the lawn mower blade. Specifically the milkweed and the two white plastic buckets, which have their bottoms removed, are protecting my prairie dye plants.

Will post more photos tomorrow once we get the dog run up and usable.


Artist Interview with Brenda Backman

Brenda Backman 
 
 

I began my current series, Lines Threads Connections,  working within the parameters of a challenge which limited the size of the piece.  While stitching the felt and seeing the stitches interlock and connect with one another, I thought of how we are all connected.  The connection of living on our planet and being from our beautiful Earth, and the connection of our DNA and being made of stardust, all draw us together.  I’ve enjoyed exploring the different aspects of this idea with different colors and textures.

I’ve been making art and stitching since I was twelve and started making my own needlepoint designs.  I’ve been hooked ever since.  In 2000 I graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA and began my professional art career.  I’ve shown my work all over the US and internationally as well.  My work is characterized by a lively use of color and a heavily detailed surface which gives an intimate quality to the pieces.
 


Lines Threads Pebbles
 
Q. How did you get your start as a professional artist?

Brenda:   I've been working on my art since I was a teenager, and have been sewing since I was a child.  I developed a love of embroidery and fibers from my mother and grandmother who both sewed.  I further developed my skills at Iowa State University and have been working as an artist since graduating.


Q. How long have you been working as a professional artist?

Brenda: I've been working as a professional artist since 2002.

Q. What are you currently working on?

Brenda: Currently I'm working on my Lines Threads Connections embroidery series.  The series explores how we are connected to each other and our environment.

Q. Your current body of work depicts?  

Brenda:  My current body of work is abstract and uses color and shape to depict connections.

Q. What materials do you work with and why?

Lines Threads Ripples
 
Brenda:  I'm a fiber artist.  I work mainly with embroidery threads, felt, cotton and silk fabric, and beads.

Q. What excites you about using the materials you work with?

Brenda:  I love the textures my materials can create.  They seem endless!  Fabric is so versatile, it can be soft or stiff, the beads give shimmer, and threads have so many textures to work with.

Q. Tell us about some of the processes you do in your work

Brenda:  I work in machine and hand embroidery, combining the two to create a dense textured surface.

Q. When you make a piece where does the inspiration come from?

Brenda:  I take inspiration from my materials and sometimes from dreams.  I find the textures and colors of the fabric, threads, and beads to be inspiring.
Seeding

Q. Do you make art every day?

Brenda:  No I don't make art every day.

Q. What other artistic interests do you have?

 Brenda:  I'm also interested in painting

Q. Tell us something that most people don’t know about you thatthey would find interesting.

I enjoy cooking and creating new dishes.

You can see more of Brenda's work here.

On My Desk 081313


Before - See the media trays on both sides of the table?  Well Oliver noticed them as well, turns out he has expensive tastes loves those soft paint brushes and those spendy colored pencils.  Sooooo...


Hubs made me a shelf last night, out of mdf, for my media trays and other supplies.  One of the perks was a spot for my sketch books on each shelf, now they are close at hand.  The biggest perk is having a larger work area and a spot at the left hand of my table for my large sketch books!


Oliver, Oliver, Oliver - Day Five of Puppy Madness

Sooooooo I locked Angel in her crate, and Oliver is in the kitchen laying on the floor in front of her crate.  Looks like I might be able to get some stuff done today after all!

In other news (ION) Oliver has taking to pushing Angel down the stairs and such and this is not acceptable.  So in a plea for help I brought this up on FB late last night and got tons of suggestions the best of which was to tether him, on his six foot leash, to a very heavy boat anchor! 

So today I will be out and about shopping for a boat anchor!  The second best suggestion was to tether him to a very old very heavy sewing machine.  I will have to test this one because I'm not sure if my sewing machine is heavy enough or not, what it is is large enough, it's in a cabinet, to not make it through my office door.  It is mostly when he's in my office that he feels the need to herd Angel out the door and then push her down the stairs with his paw.

I still feel that this is a dominance issue, everyone else thinks I'm nutz!

Day Four - Evening Four of Oliver's Adventure!

The difference between tonights dinner, for us, and four days ago is 180 degrees!  Four nights ago we had to crate him because of his surfing, tonight he laid on the floor in the kitchen next to us, and Angel, while we ate.  He got up once to give me that look like I'm really cute and you want to feed me right?  Well actually NO! 

He has spent most of today out of his crate and this I definately call success.  He likes his crate enough that he goes in there when he wants to rest, also a success!

We're still having issues with chasing the cats.  I hope that this will work itself out and soon too.  I had a confab with Pepper, our oldest orange tabby, telling him that if he quits running from the grey ghost then it's no longer fun and the ghost will stop chasing him!  Thomas is holding his own and Oliver remembers those claws!