Demonstration at Wild Child Gallery, Dec 10, 2020

            It's demo time at the Wild child Gallery on December 10, 2020. 

Look who will be joining us! His name is Riley and he was born Nov 23.  He is feeding from a bottle because Mom has two other babies to feed.  Riley somehow got isolated and now she won't accept him as hers.  Oh well, Nature. I'll be bringing extra baskets other than those in the gallery.  Stop by at 4625 Pine Island Road, Matlacha, FL .  Riley and I will be there from 10-3:30PM.

 

Exhibit time

 The Common Threads Exhibit at the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda, FL is about to close on Dec 7  It was a happy time for all of us that have social distanced for so long. We didn't know how many of our members would be able to exhibit in November for many members had not returned to Florida for the winter, so we each took a spot and set up our pieces.  Some had several, like me, and others had two or three. 

The month of December will be an exhibit by the Southwest Florida Fine Craft Guild in this same gallery. The Guild is another group, but has very accomplished artists in jewelry, wood craving, clay, mixed media, photography, glass, and fiber.  All the artist work in 3-D art so expect to see some unusual pieces. The Exhibit runs until December 23, 2020.  A shorter time than usual for an exhibit but Covid again changes the schedule.

Lavender Sea

What do you do with a favorite necklace that broke?  Restring it? Or make a basket?  I hated to throw away all those drilled shells so instead I incorporated them into a coiled Muhly Grass basket.  The base stone is a dyed agate as are the shells.  I just happened to have some agate beads on hand.  Some netting on the ends was a perfect place to add the pearls. 

Approximate Size: 12 x 9 x 2 inches

Flight of the Butterfly

I just love this stone.  It's called Butterfly Jasper.  The colors are so vivid and pattern so interesting.  I've never seen an ugly one!  This basket is another basket inside a basket.  The inside is coiled Florida Long Leaf pine needles and the outer basket is Florida Muhly Grass that I grow and harvest.  The inner basket is accented with Picture Jasper beads, while the outer basket contains some distinctive Leopard Jasper pendants.  The fibers are intertwined and then joined with netting. 

Approximate Size:  11 x 10 x 4 inches

Contemporary Fiber Exhibition/St Petersburg, FL

Florida CraftArt of Saint Petersburg, FL is hosting an extensive fiber exhibit.  It was to be open to the public from March through April, but due to the virus closures, it is only available in a virtual show.  It can be viewed on their website.  The exhibit is going to be held over until late August with the hopes that businesses will be open by that time.  It's well worth the trip if you are in the area.  Otherwise watch it online and look for my baskets at the very beginning. 

Waves of Sunshine

This is another of those base stones called Honeycombed Calcite.  It's a soft stone and yes, the light comes through!  The combination of Florida Long Leaf pine needles and Florida Muhly Grass that I grow and harvest work wonderfully with gold colored waxed linen thread.  That's what makes the checkered design.  I added some Yellow Jade pendants for accent and an extra pine needle design on the rim.

Approximate Size: 11 x 10 x 4.5 inches

Friendship Ties

This is a special basket for it was made for a very special person.  For many years we have made baskets together at Spanish Point in Osprey, FL.  Our guild tries to have a weaving group demonstrating at the "The Point" every Tuesday from October through May.  The tourist attraction is a cluster of homes built in the early 1900s  famous for one of the homes which was built by Bertha Palmer.  The White Cottage has a wide screened porch overlooking Little Sarasota Bay and has been a perfect spot for the Venetian Society of Basket Weavers make baskets and greet visitors from all over the world.  My friend and I have been members of this group and have spent many wonderful afternoons here.

Approximate size: 10 x 8 x 3 inches