Alley With Daylilies

 A system of alleys starts and stops, offering a quiet place to walk on a summer day. The alleys offer a quieter place to mosey along, with a peek into back yard gardens. Flowers spill over fences and birds chirp on low branches. When the sun is out and the daylilies are in bloom, I can almost trick myself into believing that I am on a country lane.

June Garden

 Every neighborhood has one: a favorite garden that encourages you to walk that extra block or two. Stop for a few minutes and enjoy the colors and textures. Notice the birds and butterflies that have also found it. Gardens such as this are nurtured by people with the greenest of thumbs, earned through trial and error, careful research, and the diligence of daily weeding. This particular gardener has the eye of an artist, mixing colors, considering the height and foliage of each plant, carefully planning for a succession of blooms. Right now, her front yard is a painting by Monet come to life, a source of beauty and inspiration.

Mother Nature's Cloth

 There are many methods for dyeing and printing fabric. Most people use procion dyes that allow you to achieve bright colors. Lisa Binkley is an expert in the ancient ways, dyeing and printing with colors drawn from roots, bark, flowers and even insects. This week, her students at the Quilt & Surface Design Symposium soaked cloth in mordants, then dyed with madder, weld, cutch, and logwood. They wrapped and steamed fabric "burritos" that held fillings of foraged leaves and seed heads. Each unwrapping was a delightful surprise: subtle, sometimes unexpected  colors, leaf silhouettes, delicate patterning. The old ways may be labor-intensive but the results can be elegant and dramatic.. 

Plate Installation

 Finally, we are all gathered in Columbus for the Quilt & Surface Design Symposium. When we arrived to set up at the Columbus College of Art & Design, we found this strangely ethereal sculpture hanging in one of the larger class spaces. Dozens of paper plates move and sway as people walk by. The piece changes as the sun rises and sets. Who would imagine that paper plates could be transformed into an enchanting installation? Art students, of course. For me, the recycling bin that stands right there next to it is the icing on this proverbial cake.