This section contains a representative sample
of pieces from different collections.
The examples here will change (at least) seasonally –
so please come back from time to time and see other images
‘Playing Tag‘ is my first mixed media piece in several years. It consists of 34 fiber tags cut to the size of an old luggage tag. Each tag contains a picture or collection of found objects on one side and on the other the phrase “—– is It” (for instance, Love is It, Approval is It, Success is It…)
The majority of the tags are mounted in a wire storage bin; two wooden artist’s manikins at the top hold additional tags.
The question that intrigues me is ‘What is It?’ — the mysterious ‘It’ that will make our (personal) world perfect? What is the ‘It’ we keep chasing? And why do we play this game at all?
The invitation to change is simply the energy of life seeking its fulfillment by renewing our creative potential. Accept the invitation and live!
The design of the labyrinth is from Troy Town on the island of St Agnes off the southwest coast of England. The actual labyrinth is made of rounded sea rocks. The waxing moon, the oak leaf and acorn, and the glass vial of seeds are symbols of transformation which have inspired me on my own journey. Malachite is a stone associated with transformation and growth; it is also used to protect travelers.
The piece is named Change. It is 10″ square, created from batiks, hand-dyed merino wool, distressed silk, polymer clay, wool felt, found objects, and malachite beads. It is mounted on artist’s canvas and backed with batik.
Change sold through Etsy on September 19.
Between the lines are
all the stories that have not been told,
all the alternate universes
to be dreamed.
Between the lines is all the
the love unspoken,
the visions uncast,
the hopes unrealized.
Between the lines are
infinite possibilities.
The lines contain
useful knowledge, practical advice,
everything we know.
Between the lines is
everything else.
‘Judging by your genes,
you’ll have to come to terms
with curves someday,’
my mother informed
my baffled adolescent self.
I didn’t, though –
so my collar interfacings never
lay smoothly,
and geometry remained a mystery.
Then, one day, I fell in love
with the curve of my daughter
in my belly,
and the arc of the Milky Way
across the sky,
and the glory of the moon
at the full.
Beaders call it bead soup:
the jar or bowl that
gradually fills
with the ones and twos
that are
left over
when a project is complete.
It would be neater and faster
to throw them away, of course.
But someone once cared enough
to gather twelve baskets full
of bits and pieces
as a living lesson
that scraps and broken bits
are important,
that every atom is worth cherishing,
that one matters.
These three pieces are part of my 21-Day Art Journey. Each of them is 8″ x 10″ mounted on student artist’s canvas with a wooden frame. The poem-reflection is printed on the back. These three are all in private collections, but others from the 21 days are available through my Etsy shop. I am also willing to consider a commission for similar pieces. Since each is hand-made, they will not be identical. Custom Orders are available through Etsy or contact me here to begin the process.
Greetings Maize Mother
Greetings Holy Gifter
Greetings Seed Bearer
Your heart furrowed with love
blossoms with sustenance
blooms feasts of plenty.
Your fingers drip living gold
to nurture the Creatures.
We dance to your drum,
to your heartbeat pulsing life in earth
we dance uncurling tendrils
we dance tall growth
we sing the sweetness of the kernel
we sing thanks
we sing thanks
–2014
[Click on the image to enlarge it.]
This icon is adapted from Our Lady of the Sign [see Cosmotokos below for another one.]
Her name is Maize Mother: Woman of Abundance. The piece measures 16 1/2″ square and the smaller drop with the ear of corn and the grinding stones is 8″ x 6″. The background represents a southwest landscape made of hand-cut chenille and pieced batiks with my first attempt at hand-dying in the fabric of the sky.
She wears a necklace of turquoise, coral, and silver and holds one of the most prevalent Native American symbols for corn (the three stacked triangles). Her clothing is hand-painted, gathered and embroidered. Her halo (or glory) is created from chips of mica that come from a jar full that my mother-in-law collected over her lifetime.
Healing
This is Healing. It is 9 1/2″ x 13″, created from pieced fabrics (Asian inspired, gilded, and batiks), Miyuki and glass beads, Swarovski crystal, found objects, vintage lace and buttons, hand-dyed silk rods, and gemstones (coral, jasper, carnelian, citrine, amber, aventurine, jade, malachite, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and amethyst).
The goddess figure is marked with the seven chakras. Around the figure are found objects and gemstones on hand-dyed silk rods, representing the energy of each chakra. Light rays radiate from the sahasrara indicating unity.
Being whole is accepting that you are one with the universe — just as you are.
Healing sold through Etsy on September 23.
The call is out, a journey into blessing;
the spiral winds in, to find Soul Blessing at the center.
The call is out, a journey into faithing;
the spiral winds in, to find Soul Faith at the center.
The call is out, a journey into questing;
the spiral winds in, to find Soul Questions at the center.
For the Pilgrim of Renewal
the path turns and turns and turns again –
outward and inward.
[Click on the image to enlarge it.]
This piece is Renewal. It is 9″ square and made from pieced batiks, silk, hand-painted and hand-dyed fabrics, distressed felt, organic wool fiber, a pewter Celtic Knot drop, and Czech glass beads. It also includes a gulf coast shell and tiny Oregon starfish. The large image is a chambered nautilus, symbol of an ever-renewing life.
Renewal sold through Etsy on 24 February.
Discovery launches us out of the comfortable gravity of the known into the free fall of infinite possibilities. – Andrea La Sonde Anastos
This 9″ square focus piece is called Discovery. It is pieced batiks, painted and hand-dyed fabrics, hand-dyed wool fiber, Czech glass beads, and malachite chips mounted on artist’s canvas and backed with batik. The labyrinth image is a geoglyph found on the plains of Peru. It can be “walked” along the couched fiber, entering from the lower left and exiting at the lower right.
[Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Discovery sold through Etsy on 1 April.
This piece is the first I made based on a traditional icon: Our Lady of the Sign.
It is currently on long-term loan to a congregation for use in a chapel setting.
Cosmotokos measures approximately 12″ x 15″. The background is gold silk and the robe is rayon, edged with braid and folded, painted and hand-embroidered. The face and hands are hand-painted pure wool felt and the halo is created from pieces of mica bequeathed to me by my mother-in-law (this is more clearly visible if you enlarge the image). It is mounted on artist’s canvas with a batik backing.
[Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Cosmotokos
Hail, Cosmotokos!
O Hail, Bearer of the Universe!
We hail you Mother of darkness and light,
of cosmos and chaos, of heights and depths.
Hail, Mother of earth and fire, of water and air.
O Hail, Mother of birth and death.
You inhale and we are gathered into love.
You exhale and we are released
to dance the measures of our lives.
Hail, Cosmotokos.
We sing back to you
the joy of our creating.