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Mannie and I enjoyed the experience of the grand idea -a Community Information Centre, Museum and Gallery.  As this was a 150th Canada Birthday project for the town of Grand Valley funding ran out in December and was not renewed.  The Economic Development Committee will look at it further in relationship to its Tourism and Business potential. Hopefully Mannie and I along with our Riverbend Artists' group will be part of any new endeavour.

Mannie and I embarked on creating studio buttons for button collectors.  A friend of ours had asked us to do some samples to take to a button collector' meeting where they were well received and even sold.  So in our time Mannie and I created sets of studio buttons.  Me, I created a series around roses -wild, tea, bud, red, white, pink and yellow.  Mannie embellished material with beading, etc to produce her fabric art studio buttons. Base button is metal snap together with shank. These are 1" wooden buttons with added shank and signature. The images are first burnt onto the button then painted with fluid acrylic paints.

Manuela drew the Sun, the Moon and the Stars for a punch needle image for the cottage -or wherever. It is interesting how you punch the threads in through the back of the canvas and the image is on the reverse side.  The orange and yellow threads went through a number of changes to get the correct combination of colours that make up the image.  As usual, Manuela added beads and crystals to the canvas. The silver treads of the moon pick up coloration from the other colours in the image.

Manuela has just finished this butterfly work in punch needle.  As usual she has added mother of pearl beads to the butterflies.

As Manuela and I get ready for the up coming art shows and sales, she is working on a set of smaller coil baskets.  Have a look.

Once she has mastered one technique and pushed it where she wants it to go Manuela starts another.  Now she is corking to produce straps for her purses.  but, today, she added beads into the mix. As you can see, she has one thread strung with many beads and as she corks she manoeuvres the beads to become embedded evenly throughout the cord. And she can do this while watching tv. Me, I can hardly watch tv. String the beads loosely onto the thread. Determine the spacing of the beads as you cork.

Once Manuela started she just kept on going with making purses.  Note all her embroidery embellishments  -not unlike all those she puts into her "fabric paintings".  Also note the use of the quilted yo-yos -the new technique and addition for her.  The purses are in the 10" x 8" range. These would look great on the shoulders of our granddaughters.

Now Manuela had a plethora of Yo-Yos and began to look at how to use them in her work. As usual she used some of her hand dyed fabric, beading, embroidery, corked threads, found objects and now yo-yos to embellish some of her works. Book covers Purses and bags Now that she has this cache of yo-yos I am sure they will pop up in a variety of ways. I still have't figured out how she can make them so quickly -and watch tv.

Mannie makes many of her art/isan items while watching tv.  Quilting Yo-Yos became the latest endeavour. She started with a square-or a circle -or a hexagon piece of her own dyed material.  Then there is this folding, origami, quilting thing she does. And then, she adds a button, beads or thingamabob to the centre. voila!! Then she adds them to her other creations.  More later.

Minnie and I have been busy putting our work into Art Show and Sales all over the county.Here we are at the Orangeville Art Group Annual Art Show and Sale held at the Best Western Plus in Orangeville.  The show had diversity of media and techniques that has improved over the years. Mannie submitted a series of French dyed silk mandalas. I submitted my Ridge Rabbit and Gazebo Bunny Series which my granddaughters and I will make into a book. The day went well but artists continue to ask what has happened to the sales.  (Sales were made at this show but not in the numbers one had hoped for.)

I Start with a hand dyed background, then I gather lace, beads, embroidery thread and begin the process of arranging and manipulating the elements of the composition.  As I continue working the design becomes a happening, and this is a  completed work.

Manne just keeps on working.  Apparently inspiration is for amateurs  -you have to keep working each day to be a pro.  And so, Manuela has made a few more fabric flowers.

We have two shows coming up in July.  The Plant Paradise Country Gardens:  Delphinium Festival & Art in the Garden is July 4 & 5.  The Grand Valley Open Garden Show is July 11.    Mannie, therefore, has been busy making embellished fabric flower pins.  Each petal is made separately and then the  flower is assembled.  Even the button middle is hand embellished to create a unique flower centre.  The amount of time taken to make each one and the one-of-a-kindness (she can't make two the same)  makes each fabric flower a work of art.  

Mannie has a number of quilted manhole covers on the go  -with embellishments. (what would her work be without her embellishments?!)

Each day Mannie works a little on some new work of art, or fixes another or prepares one for display.  Presently she has yet another item to work upon in the family room, while she watches tv.  Me I can't do that  -I need to work in the studio and thus I don't accomplish as much. One secret to progressing in your work is to do something on your art works each day.  I will need to set aside the time -no matter what. Here is yet another of Mannie's works in progress as she works in the family room.

This week has been a time of gathering up art work from one venue and putting work into others.  Co-ordinating the changes is interesting -but do it we must.  These are the activities of artists that no one sees.  Our work just appears somewhere and a price affixed.  (We do have to pay for gas to move our work around and to participate in receptions, etc -all busy-ness.) The works in the Grand Valley Public Library will be taken out and a new venue found.   The works and our names will thus keep circulating -and that is a good thing. Mannie has now set up this cabinet in the Grand Valley Public Library for the next two months. Just as we are doing this, we removed works from the Orangeville Mill St. Public Library.    Now we are off to put a display of our work into the Main St. window space in Grand Valley.  Busy-ness, Busy-ness, Busy-ness!

Manne got out her gutta and French dyes for the first time in quite a while.  After working on these magnolias she noted an issue with the gutta. So... she cut out the magnolia pieces and will use them in a future work.  Me, I don't see the issue, but its her image. These magnolias are cut out and are lying on another cloth for background.

The clamps for the Quilting/Embroidery frame that I had first used kept falling off as Mannie moved the unit around to work on it.  And so the search began to find a way to secure the frame and leg together so that Mannie could work on it and move it about as she worked.  We used c clamps with not much better results.  What to do?  What to do?  Then I received a flyer from Busy Bee Tools and lo and behold I saw an Angle Clamp Bessey. I could drill a hole into the legs I had built, insert the clamp, add the frame and tighten down.  When we got them home Mannie wanted to use the bar part to go on top of her frame and work, and screw the tightener from below.  We tried that and it worked.  The clamps did not come off and Mannie could move her frame around at will.  Ahhh... Now, before these clamps went on, Mannie had tried velcro to attach the legs.  The velcro did not hold when Mannie moved the unit around.  But, we kept it on to decr...

Mannie has yet done another of her whimsical fabric art pieces.  As usual se has used dyed material, dyed antique lace,hand made thread fabric, embroidery stitches  and found objects (hardware items form Home Depot).  I'm never sure what she is thinking when she does her work; the images just appear as she works on the canvas.

Mannie is busy, busy, busy -all the time.  And then she takes time to do her art work. In this picture, French dyes are used in the background, then embellished with dyed lace, hand made thread fabric, French knotted embroidery stitches amongst others, Czech glass beads, pearls, etc. 9" x 7"