daisies relocated by the gophers 

When I was in Estes Park for my guild lecture 10 days ago I had a lovely dinner with some of the guild board members. Talk meandered around quilting and art of course. One of the board members is involved in creating an arts program for a school in Oklahoma. We had a great discussion about the lack of art in many of our schools, what that means for future generations and what this particular school is doing to make things better for their students and community.

blooming despite the gopher attacks

It has been my experience that one of the key lessons of making art is learning how to get through the ugly stage. Most art has an ugly stage…that point where you can’t stand it and think it is hopeless and maybe you should simply give up and become an accountant! But, no matter how ugly you think it is if you keep working at it the art develops and becomes a thing of beauty. It is magical when it comes together! So many things in our lives have an ugly stage that just needs to be gotten through; kids, home remodels, marriages and gardens to name just a few.

marshmallow blooming in the rock path

My garden has had an extended ugly stage thanks to a plethora of pocket gophers who think my yard is a 5 star gopher resort! But I do have some stalwart bloomers who won’t give up and bloom despite the gophers. Today let’s celebrate perseverance in art, gardens and life. Cheers for the Ugly Stage!

OK, so maybe my TV debut doesn't warrant the red carpet but I am terribly excited to be here! Thank you so much for this award. I want to thank my mother, my grandparents, my brothers....Oh, Sorry! Got a little carried away...

I just received my copy of the Quilting Arts TV Series 600 and am happy to say that I don't sound like an idiot! I still can't get used to my face with make-up and my nails without paint and ink stains but I think my episode (604) turned out great.  Pokey Bolton is an amazing host and so talented too. Being on Quilting Arts with her was such a great experience. She made it so easy to ignore the cameras and just explain the technique I was demonstrating (Free Form Embroidery). I have only had time to watch a couple of the other episodes but I can tell you that this is a great series! I share the series with Jane Dunnewold, Mary Hetmansperger, Susie Monday, Terry Grant, Kathy Mack, Luana Rubin, Lindsay Mason, Andrea Bishop, Karen Fricke and more talented artists! You can order the entire series on DVD from Quilting Arts.

For those of you in the Monument/Colorado Springs area it will air on KRMA and KRSC on Sat Aug. 7 at 8am. Check out the Quilting Arts TV site for shows and times in your area.

Here are some of the links I have gotten from fellow artists who have taken up my Walk With Me cooperative project. Keep sending them in...it is so much fun to see what someone else finds intriguing.

Laura Cater-Woods: http://www.cater-woods.com/weblog/?p=1107

KB's blog was sent in by fiber artist Ruth Briggs. This one is a Bike With Me version: http://romp-roll-rockies.blogspot.com/

Facebook links:

Deb Prewitt: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14583&id=100000695021220&ref=mf

Linda Schwarz  http://www.facebook.com/?sk=ff#!/album.php?aid=20180&id=100000458180244&ref=mf

It seems we were about 15 minutes too late to see the bear. Not that I am complaining but it would have been fun to share a photo of a bear with you all! A couple of times a year I take my camera along on my walk and take photos of whatever catches my fancy. These photos become inspiration for art either as images, texture or line. I thought I would share my walk with you so you can see what inspires me and get a feeling for the area I am lucky to live in. Coloradois incredibly beautiful although sometimes you have to look a little more closely to see the beauty…we are a high plains desert after all. Generally our wildflowers are not showy. If you look carefully at the photo above you can see a tiny bit of red wildflower peeking around the penstemon. I thought this was a cheerful July 4th arrangement by mother nature. However, the wind was blowing so it was difficult to get the red flowers. I put the images in the order that I took them so you would feel like you were on my walk with me!

Barbed wire coiled around a fence post.

 Wild Geranium

Just one of the many beautiful views on my walk.

Rocky Mountain Penstemon

Scrub Oak skeleton branches. The past couple of winters have been hard on the scrub oak.

Wild sunflowers

Our destination-The Rock.

Wonder what this bush is.

Duke cools down in the pond--this is where the bear was about 15 minutes before we got there.

A closer view of the rock...it is big!

Looking up from the base

Don't know the name of this beauty! What a great structure

Interesting for use in collages and journals.

More coiled barbed wire. This is surrounding the Hot Shots Helipad.

Helicopter at the Hot Shots Helipad

tree bark what great texture and lines

Tree rows. This area was once used by the CCC as a tree farm so we have a lot of pines growing in rows. I love the lines.

I have tons of grass photos because I love them. I can be mesmerized watching them blow in the wind. These are about 3' high.

I have a lot of lichen and moss photos also. I love the different colors and textures.

A poppy on the way out...literally on the way out of the trail and almost done with its life. Still beautiful though. I love the seed pods.

Wild Rose in the parking lot.

I started thinking about all the different areas of the world people live in. Sometimes we neglect our immediate surroundings for inspiration and think things like: If only I lived in France or could visit India, then I would have lots of inspiration. Or, If only I lived in the city/country then I would have an inspiring environment.  I am sure people in France or who have visited India fill in the sentence with their own versions. It is easy to think that inspiration comes only with exotic locals. Truth is that inspiration surrounds us wherever we live. 

All this got me thinking about a cooperative inspiration exercise! Take your camera on a walk and snap photos of anything that catches your fancy. Post them on your blog or flicker acct. Then, e-mail me the link This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will post the links so we can all be inspired.