#wip wednesday: mending, meandering, meditating with a needle and thread.

'meditation one . . . '

Now that my 'tree of life' mural is finished and installed, my schedule has opened up a bit . . . 

As crazy as a deadline can be, it does give me some boundaries and the luxury of tunnel vision; for the past months it has been 'go to studio, paint the mural' 24/7 and I loved it.  

'meditation two . . . '

As is typical for this post-project period, I tend to founder, as I have much to do but not sure where to focus my attention.  Also I have oodles of pent-up creative ideas and energies which were not sated by working on the mural.  Meaning that I have started many projects while also dealing with my graphic design assignments and social media obligations.  One of these projects which is currently 'in progress' is my series of 'mediations . . . '.

'meditation three . . .'

Started a few weeks ago in response to some difficult personal events, I just began to embroider on anything I could find! I had no set design, idea or vision, I just wanted to/needed to sew.  

Sewing is meditative and for me it is healing, literally mending torn parts.  So here are photos of the 3 mediations that I'm working on.

detail of 'meditation one . . . '

I feel there are more to come and believe this could be a beautiful series.  only thing is that I have NO idea how to display works like these?!?! If anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them.  But for now I am just going to keep on mending, meandering, meditating with my needle and thread.

backside of 'meditation one . . . '

detail of 'meditation two . . . '

peace, va

#amazingmayamonday and other happenings . . .

“Love heals. Heals and liberates. I use the word love, not meaning sentimentality, but a condition so strong that it may be that which holds the stars in their heavenly positions and that which causes the blood to flow orderly in our veins.
Maya Angelou, Mom & Me & Mom

#amazingmayamonday,  on my dailydressinspiration blog

& other happenings from the studio of virginia fitzgerald:

dropped off two #fromthelandofdragons photos to Attleboro Arts Museum for their annual Flower Show!!! It was so great to see those wonderful folks there! It has been such a long time since I have been involved with an exhibit there. 

And to add to exhibiting in the show, I will be one of the artists who are participating in the 'Live Art-making' demo at the show. 

I will be either drawing or painting or collaging (who knows) Thursday March 12 in the afternoon.  I am so excited to see the Flower Show as I have heard it is spectacular and to have an allotted time that I know I will be doing ART!!!! 

Also this weekend I replenished my dressproducts at the lovely shop, Uni-T at the Natick Collections.   The owner, Eujin Kim Neilan, does such a great job finding and promoting talented artisan and artists.
And I love how she has displayed my dressphotos!

And then, in my free time I am continuing my 'meditations on . . .'

not sure where these pieces are going but I know I NEED to do them!! 

and there is nothing better than the meditative act of sewing on a cold winter eve.

here is how I described them on instagram . . .

"this past week i have taken up my needle and anything that is near at hand! In embroidering these meditations . . . Maybe it is the mounds of snow outside or other issues inside but these are my saviors right now"

now off to the studio to finish(?!?!?) my tree of life mural . . .  peace, va

seeing double & being inspired

I am still trying to wind down after going to the wonderful & inspiring opening reception of the Attleboro Arts Museum's show 'seeing double'. I did not get a piece in this show :(, however i did have many friends who did & I always try to get to my friend's openings, because I know how nice it is to see a friendly face at these events. So off I went to Attleboro tonight and what a treat it was. The museum's space is quite lovely ~ open and light, and the theme was open to any and every interpretation. There was a myriad of media represented, each speaking to the theme of seeing double. Friend and colleague, David Lang, has his piece, 'The Philosophers', in the show. This piece is interactive ~ when activated by the viewer the light bulbs start to flicker as if they are speaking, or heatedly discussing an issue. Jodi Colella's piece, Undercurrent (cutwork embroidery with aluminum window screen and steel wire 6 ft x 8 ft 6 in x 7 in) graced one of the gallery's wall creating a world of shadows and double visions. There were MANY diptychs, as you may have guessed. My friend and fellow artist, Jane McKinnon Johnstone, has a lovely trace monoprint in the show. I was also taken by two embroidery pieces, one by Jan Johnson and the other by Leslie Schomp. But that is just a sampling, I believe there are over 90 some pieces so if you are in the area it is definitely worth a stop.
Now besides just being wowed by seeing this wonderful exhibition, my inspiration buzz continued even as I returned home. Since everyone at my house had gone to bed I thought I'd look at some of these artists work on line ~ basically surf the web. (not really a good thing to do if you want to go to bed soon ~ but alas) I found many interesting sites and one in particular that i wanted to share ~ Little Yellow Birds, the blog by Joetta Maue. She is an artist and yoga teacher in Brooklyn, NY and I really loved seeing her work and reading her blog so I wanted to share. I love when artists that i like and admire share blogs, articles, etc... that they find interesting. In fact one of my fav.s, Mandy Greer, has an entire blog, a quickening...(totally love the name), devoted to things that inspire her. As she explains on the blog "things that get my heart rate going, a way for me to keep things organized and share with others." Now I know I couldn't maintain another blog, however I do hope to put more inspiring links on this blog, to aid us insomniacs surf the creative and inspiring web!! and now off to bed @ 2AM!!

sweet dreams to all and peace!!!

It is official....

I am obsessed...

I can’t stop making valentines for the Artists’ Valentine!! Luckily the due date is upon us so I may stop. It has been so fun to explore and create these little treasures & I love working with words and quotes ~

'There is no remedy to love but to love more.' Thoreau

'There is only one happiness in life, to love and to be loved.' George Sand

The fabric hearts are a real passion for me, as well as many who have seen them. When I ask my eldest why she liked them so, she said because of their homemade-ness and I believe she hit the nail on the head. I love the fraying edges and the randomness of the patches. I also LOVE the sewing and embroidery. This reminded me of a piece that I made in college. It is about 4x6 and completely rendered in embroidery floss – using the floss like paint. It has always been a favorite of mine. I can see myself continuing working with this path…
peace