beach

Wedding Day Weaving

In celebration of my of 14th wedding anniversary, I wanted to share with you a weaving I did a few years ago honoring our wedding day.

My husband & I got married on the beach of Lake Michigan at sun set.

I love the idea of honoring special textiles in our lives by including them into art pieces.

[] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: []

I’ve also written about a dream catcher that I made last Valentine’s Day using strips of fabric from my wedding & bridesmaid dresses.

What are some ways that you have preserved special textiles from your life?

Round up: Beach Bags

While spending summer days in 50 degree weather up north, I was thinking about the much warmer days I would enjoy when returning home, and dreaming of the beach days that were sure to come!

1. Rue Mouffetard Bag by Pam Allen

2. Montauk Beach Bag by Suzy Allen

3. Missing Piece Hobo Bag by Norah Gaughan

4. Not a Sandy Bottom by Dorothy Dean

Which is your favorite?

Hand Painted Alaskan Beach Stones

After a full day of hiking and exploring, I have enjoyed spending my evenings making these painted beach stones.

Seward, Alaska

I spent the last two days in Seward, Alaska. When we arrived it was raining. I jumped out of the car in between rain showers to take some pictures.

I first came across this image on the internet a year or more ago. I was instantly inspired by it and used it as a desktop image for a long time. It got my wheels turning, as I thought about ways I could do something similar on our favorite beach.

It only seems fitting that I share some of this artists work with you here as I begin looking at driftwood in the Creating with Nature series.

The artist creating these art installations goes by NeSpoon and is from Warsaw, Poland. Much of her work is street art, but she also enjoys bringing her urban touch to the beach. Her work can be found all over the world. Here is an installation she created in Goa, Indiana.

Mr. Sajid is a homeless man living on the beach in the Sinai. Here, the two of them are working to add some art to his home. More pictures of this installation can be found here.

I am a long time admirer, and avid scouter for street art. I am the only person I know who actually enjoys waiting for a train to cross. When you live in rural America surrounded by small towns, trains are the best place to find awesome street art! Anyway, I am greatly inspired by this artist in her way of combining street art with fiber art.

. . . and this is just awesome. . .

Beach Stones, Driftwood, Blue Skies

In my studio recently, I have found myself being drawn to raw, natural fibers that are sturdy, strong, and coarse. My hands have been reaching for hemp, silk, and fibrous handmade papers. Inspiration has been drawing from my beach stones, drift wood, and bright blue skies.

It’s April, my children are on Spring Break, and the weather has been warming.

In response to these early stirrings of spring, we packed up for the day and drove to my most favorite place on this Earth – the Lake!

[] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: [] :: []

I love coming to this place anytime of year. The summer, of coarse, is fantastic with the soft, sandy beaches, and cool water. The cooler weather of fall makes hiking the sand dunes MUCH more enjoyable, and in the winter, there are amazing ice flows. Springtime, however, has come to surprise me. In recent years, I have found myself spending more and more time here in the spring. The beaches are,for the most part, empty of human beings. There is sand EVERYWHERE. Every year, I am amazed at the amount of sand that the winter winds bring. If you come early enough in the year, the park is almost unrecognizable and half buried in sand. It is this phenomenon that I can’t get enough of, because along with the sand comes all sorts of treasures. I could spend days combing the beach for colorful stones, driftwood, beach glass, and bones.

As I walk the shores, my mind just swims with ideas of things to make. “This could be an awesome necklace”, “These should be tied into a dream catcher”, “This is so straight, it could be added to a weaving”. I collected quite a pile of colorful goodies before my kids were done.

Their hungry bellies were grumbling, and they informed me, the beach just isn’t fun if you can not go swimming. So after 4 hrs of beach combing, we went to go hike the dunes. I guess 4 hrs is long enough. Although, I am secretly plotting another trip someday soon while these guys are in school. shhh! 4 hrs is not really enough for this momma.

nature + fiber art = seasonal inspiration

>>>> I came across this beautiful installment this past spring and was inspired to do more outdoors knitting this summer. I didn’t get as much of it done as I had hope. The summer seems to have gotten away from me as it always does. I get to this point in the year and panic. I realize autumn is upon us and I still have a list of summer activities yet to do. This summer, I couldn’t get enough time at the beach! I am still hoping to get at least one more trip in before the weather turns chilly.

I did get some knitting in this summer, and on our last trip I found this lovely drift wood! I have some ideas brewing for next summer, or maybe this autumn yet. I make a vow to myself to slow down, empty my date book, and enjoy the coming season.

>>>> Happy Labor Day my friend! <<<<

Tag: beach