Hidden Light of Desire

Can you see the hidden Light?  This is the beauty of a wonderful stone called Labdorite.  It looks greenish and maybe not stunning until it is tilted so that the light refracts into a rainbow of color.  This heart shaped stone is the focal point of his coiled Muhly Grass basket.  It is accented with large Labdorite pendants on the sides and smaller round faceted Labdorite beads.  Truly a hidden desire!

Approximate Size: 13 x11.5 x 4.5 inches

Class Project

I thought I would do a little updating on my class project photos.  This is the basic beginners basket that I teach in a class. Most students manage to complete about 5 to six rows in a 3 hour period.  That doesn't seem like much, but it takes some time to get the feel of coiling and managing the needles, leaning new stitches, and then what?  I have to shape too?  Sometimes a lot to remember and making the hands do it correctly takes a little practice.  Many students have sent pictures back to me and I appreciate them all.  They all turn out differently because that 's what coiling is all about: individual inspiration!

I have 2 classes set up so far.
Craft Expo at Cape Coral Arts Studio
4533 Coronado Parkway, Cape Coral, FL 33904
February 13, 2016,  1 PM-4PM,
Reservations 239-574-0802

Visual Art Center 
 2010 Maud Street, Punta Gorda, FL 33950
April 6, 2016,   12-3:30 PM
Contact:  941-639-8810

Demonstrations by the Southwest Florida Fine Craft Guild
Alliance for he Arts
10091 Mc Gregor Blvd., Ft. Myers, FL 33919
October 31, 2015 and March 5, 2016 9 AM-1PM

Sale and Demonstrations 

Creations from 6 Guilds on sale
FABulous Art Boutique March 3 & 4 , 2016, 10 AM -4 PM, March 5, 2015 10-3PM
Sarasota Art Center
Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL

Out to Sea

This two piece basket started from a class I was teaching.  I usually start with a walnut slice and pine needles.  Many times after class, I switch to Muhly Grass to finish the base basket.  This one I decided to add a Floida Long Leaf pine needle top and a carved turtle in stone. 

Approximate Size:  5.5 x 4 inches

First Kiss

I was thrilled to find this beautiful slab of Rose Quartz on one of my North Carolina Buying trips.  Just the right size for this basket.  I accented the base with Pink Quartz beads, while the larger pendants in the coiled Muhly Grass are Pink Zebra Jasper.  A total package for a person who loves pink.

Approximate Size: 10.5 x 8.5 x 4

Dur et Mou (Hard & Soft)

This is a wall hanging piece started on a 6 inch agate.  The construction involves sewing two coils at the same time with pieces of cane in between.  The coils of pine needles hold the cane firmly so that the coiled Muhly Grass can weave around leaving spaces,  These spaces now contain twined palm inflorescence, yarn, and wonderfully soft roving of award winning sheep of Michigan and cashmere/angora goats of Arkansas.  This triple wall weaving is difficult to sew because it must be done on a lazy susan set up rather than holding in your lap.  It's a difficult and tiring arm position to keep for a long time. This is my fourth, and may be the last!

This piece is one of my entries to Art Attack, a Southwest Florida Fine Craft Guild exhibit at von Liebig Art Center in Naples from September 18 (reception) until October 26, 2015.

California Surf

This is a stone that I believe is a Wild Horse Jasper.  It has the deep ochre reds, gold and white combination.  An artist friend of mine wanted me to make a basket on their stone.  I was lucky to find some perfectly complimentary pendants of Indian Conglomerate.  The smaller Muscovite beads at the bottom add interest to the coiled Muhly Grass.  It has a real western feeling.

Approximate Size:  11 x 8 x3 inches

A Web of Memories

This basket sets on quite a large size Picture Jasper that has superb depth in its line.  The one thing I like about Picture Jasper is the ability to turn the stone and see different views.  At one angle you may seem to be looking down a hill and in another perspective you are in a canyon looking up at a wall.  This one seemed to me that I was in a tunnel looking toward the open air in the lower left. The netting design adds to the sense of a webbed space, or memories.  The large Picture Jasper pendants and smaller Feldspath beads open the sides.

Approximate Size:  13.5 x 12 x 4.5 inches

Insatible Indigo

This was a basket custom ordered by a Kentucky resident who contacted by email.  She wanted a small Lapis piece basket and this is the result.  I started with a square Lapis tile, added Florida Long Leaf Pine Needles, Lapis beads, then coiled with Muhly Grass.  The pendants are Denim Jasper.  Since I was on vacation in New York this summer when I finished it and sent it off, I don't have the exact measurements. It's probably close to 6 inches round and 3-4 inches high.

Jack Frost

This agate basket has unusual agate formation.  This one has two orientations:  the layered part at the bottom and the round crystaline toward the top.  Since it has a blue line also it is called a Blue Lace Agate.  The pendants in the coiled Muhly Grass are a Pink & Gray Jasper.  the smaller beads are called Green Vine Jasper.  This is a muted color basket, small but stunning.

Approximate Size: 8.5 x 6.5 x 3 inches

Prizes at Extra Dimensions

 Extra Dimensions, an exhibit sponsored by the Southwest Florida Fine Craft Guild, showcased a variety of talent from our members.  Yes that's my basket, Color of Life, which won a third prize.  The Goff Gallery located in the Visual Art Center of Punta Gorda will host another of our shows in 2016.

Amethyst Glacier

This basket has a stunning European cut amethyst base surrounded with matching seed beads. I bought this base in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The coiled Muhly Grass that I grow accents the teneriffe pieces at one side.  I must admit that this is an redo of a basket I made years ago.  I was into dyeing needles and I have found the dye I was using just doesn't last especially with our Florida sun.  So I ripped out the stone, cut out all the seed beads, and assembled a new basket.  I like it better than the first one.

Approximate size:   11.5 X 4 inches