Balance and trajectory

I listened to a podcast about speed yesterday (Radiolab). Not the kind we used to take in college to cram for exams, the kind that makes you move from one place to another. They talked about the speed of light, the speed of sound and how this era counts in microseconds and databits.

I experienced the opposite of speed on my travels back from Oregon and the wonderful Design Outside the Lines retreat I taught with Diane Ericson. (f you ever have a chance to study with Diane I highly recommend it. Her approach to garment design changes the axis of the earth.) The folks at the retreat were all hard-working, curious and talented artists. What a joy to work with them!

It took 3 days and 3 cancelled flights to get home. I stood in a lot of lines. I spent time on my phone waiting for help from American Airlines customer service (over two hours!). I had a lot of time to just think and observe. The sound of luggage carts traveling over tiled floors was my soundtrack. It was a test of endurance and one in which I challenged myself to see the humor in it all.

This image really does exist in the Dallas airport. It stopped me in my tracks. I couldn’t imagine why they wanted to show this woman with a lizard on her three breasts.

I saw this unique flower while waiting on hold with the customer service agents. It waved at me.

This little sunscape is actually the leftovers of a STAND 6Ft. APART sticker in the airport security area.

Just when we all thought that the worst was over all the phones in the Dallas airport started buzzing with weather warnings. The PA system told us to move away from the windows and shelter in the bathrooms. We were in the bathrooms for about 30 minutes (luckily I didn’t have to go as it would have been a bit embarrassing. I counted over 50 people in the bathroom I was in. Luckily no damage but the thought that the storm was traveling in the same direction as we were going gave us some pause.

I found a new artist to study—Phillip Curtis. This is his Travelers painting in the Phoenix Art Museum. They look like they are having a lot more fun than I was.

Listening to this podcast brought me around to the present and what I was going to do with it. I am energized, motivated and moved by the details of life — those little uncanny moments of wacko. It is spring in Memphis and my headless team greeted me at the door.

I think I will make more of these until they start making sense to me. You have to have a sense of humor right?

what a treat to join such great artists

Just returned from Rochester NY where I joined Pat Pauly and her husband Rob for a weekend. Pat, a hostess ranked up there with the best of them, took me to the Eastman Home (as in Eastman Kodak), the Susan B. Anthony museum, a Women's rights museum and a comprehensive tour of the surrounding areas. The public market was loads fun and we found many wonderful treasures. We had a delicious dinner at a place called the Good Luck.
I was there for the Art=Quilts=Arts exhibit at the Schweinfurth Museum in Auburn. Beautiful work, a delightful assemblage of wonderful artists and a good crowd to boot. My two pieces, Going Viral and Connecting Fantasy to Reality Proved Difficult, looked great in the space. I was awarded the Machine Quilting Excellence award. It took me by surprise since I didn't even know there were awards. And, it paid my travel expenses too! Pat was awarded First Place for her gorgeous quilt "Stacked Mummy Bags"
What fun. I want to do that again.