Blackfoot River

   

 

Back in July, J and I took a long-awaited trip to Montana, a place I have been wanting to show him for a long time.  I've looked forward to returning ever since I spent a summer there in college - at the time my university's Forestry program included a 7 week field school at an out of state location, and Montana was the destination for my class.  This post just includes one stop off on the trip, along the Blackfoot River just east of Missoula.  We spent an afternoon sitting by the river, exploring along the bank and observing the various things that grow there.  Unfortunately, the weather was not warm enough to make us brave the frigid water for a swim-- next time.

I'll make additional posts from this trip, hopefully in the near future.  I haven't been blogging much lately, because my time has been monopolized by creating artwork.  This is a good problem to have, but I'm hoping to start writing more again soon and balancing this space of inspiration, reflection and updates with my art making practice.  Until then...

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I was really excited to discover what I believe to be showy milkweed along the river bank!  I had just begun my project, Missing Pieces, at the time and milkweed was pretty much on the brain all summer long.  What a beautiful plant!

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Wolf lichen is incredibly fascinating to me.  Driving along mountain roads up north, you'll come around a bend to see a dead tree just covered in fluorescent yellow fruticose lichen, one of those things that I'm amazed is real.  Wolf lichen has inspired some of my work this past year, both that I have shared as well as another project that I haven't posted about.  That one will likely stay under wraps for quite a while, but check out my wolf lichen wall hanging.

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Another type of lichen to inspire my work recently has been pixie cup.  I've knitted some pieces inspired by these for my shop, including terrariums, holiday ornaments, and a wall hanging.

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Tube lichen is especially fascinating - the texture and colors, the fruiting structures.  I recently created a piece inspired by this type of lichen for Cultivating Craft, an exhibition at 108 Contemporary in Tulsa that opens in December.  I'll share more on that soon.

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Lichen of the Wichita Wildlife Refuge

Lichen is my favorite thing to observe anywhere I go.  The Wichita Wildlife Refuge has a stunning array of lichen, and I'm always really drawn to the brightly colored crustose species covering the granite rock faces there.  So beautiful.  We went out and hiked for a day recently, and I spotted some beautiful foliose and fruticose lichens as well.  These are just some images of what I observed.  Happy Friday!

North Cascades Fungi || Part 1

Back in October, J and I visited a couple of dear friends in Seattle for a few days.  While on our trip, we drove into the North Cascades and hiked the Lake 22 trail in the Mt. Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest.  This day was really one of the highlights of my year, and I'm still feeding off of the inspiration and beauty that we beheld in the Pacific Northwest.  I know I say this a lot, but I really can't believe things like this exist.  It's mind blowing, really!  The hike up the mountain took about 3 times longer than the trek down, because of constant stops to observe and gawk (and photograph) about once every 20 feet or so.  I know it's excessive, but when the opportunity arises you just need to take these things in, you know?  Here is a sampling of the fungi I observed that day.  This will be a two part post, since it's pretty photo heavy - and there's part two to look forward to next week!  Can't wait to go back...

Warby Parker Half Decade Collection

I've been a fan of Warby Parker eyewear for a few years now.  Stylish, affordable prescription frames from a company that gives a pair of eyewear to someone in need for each pair purchased?  Can't beat that.  When I updated my prescription recently, I excitedly settled on the Holcomb style.  I went back and forth a few times between some more conservative styles and decided that I liked these sassy frames the best.  For the most part I wear them for computer use and desk work at my day job, but I like that I can style them in my off time to give my wardrobe a little more personality.  Personality is good, don't you think?!  With all that said, I was excited when Warby Parker asked me to help them launch their new collection!  It just so happens that they are celebrating their five year anniversary, and in honor of this milestone they just released a special collection of frames.

Here is what they have to say about this event:

The past five years have been busy— we’re not complaining—and we’re just getting started.

Since February 2010, we’ve grown out of five offices and set up a second hub in Nashville, expanded to 500-and-counting employees, rode across the country in a refurbished school bus, opened 10 stores (with more to come) throughout the U.S., and distributed glasses to over one million people in need worldwide.

We’re celebrating the occasion with the Half-Decade Collection, a group of five and a half shapes from our first-ever collection, re-released in a limited-edition spectrum of our signature hue, blue, and engraved with a 5 on the temple tip. Each pair arrives packaged in a specially designed box inscribed with all our frame names to date.

The new Harbor Blue, Striped Indigo, and Atlas Blue round out a crew of perennial favorite colors Eastern Bluebird Fade, Blue Slate Fade, and Blue Sapphire. They give the frames—Huxley, Roosevelt, Nedwin, Wiloughby, Fillmore, and our Colonel monocle—a fresh look.

As always, for every pair sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need.

I like the sassiness of my Holcomb frames because of the shape, but color is an area I have not ventured into with my eyewear.  Talk about personality!  I think my favorite pair from the new collection is the Roosevelt in Blue Slate Fade.  Here is a sneak peek at the Still Light Tunic that I just finished (a hint at what is to come on the blog soon).  Normally, as you may have noticed if you follow my knitwear posts, I like to make with (and wear) a lot of color.  As a result, my accessories are a little toned down or nonexistent.  However, with a neutral outfit like this one, little pops of color really bring it to life.  Paired with some frames in that Blue Slate Fade hue or the Harbor Blue for a bolder touch, some brightly colored tights... good to go.
Or... I suppose we could get a little matchy-matchy.  This Ruckle tunic I finished over the summer would look great with any of the frames in the Half Decade collection, but I especially like these Huxleys in Eastern Bluebird Fade.  Still mostly neutral, with just a little colorful accent.  Discreet, just right.
Those blues, can't get enough.  I'm seriously tempted to spring for some!  You can check out the full collection here.
Warby Parker provided images and information for this post.  However, interpretations and opinions are my own, in supporting a great company that I am fond of!

A Place For Discovery

Discovery Park in Seattle is the urban nature lover's dream come true - right in the middle of town, trails to get lost on, a view of the Puget Sound, plus a beautiful forest.  I could have spent an entire day there! Here are a few photos from the time I got to indulge.
No matter where I am, I find that there is so much to be seen.  The Pacific Northwest contains some of my favorite ecosystem types so it's easy to be amazed by what's present there, but even in my own backyard I find that nature inspires me.  Always keep your eyes open… you never know what will move you.

All The Little Details

I never cease to be amazed by the texture in these amazing little organisms.  The cap on this little guy was only about 3-4 inches across, but check out the level of detail in the underside.  J found him when cleaning out the flower bed a few weeks back.  It's unfortunately been too warm lately to do much hiking, so sometimes inspiration from the yard must suffice.  The bottom photo is from an excursion to our favorite hiking spot in town last month.
September is here - I always sigh a bit of relief when August is gone.  The heat will gradually subside and I will take a deep breath and suddenly crisp fall air, colorful leaves and seasonal yard decorations will appear.  I live for this season.
Happy Weekend.

Unpacked Studio!

Summertime, always a busy time, has seemed to fly by this year.  I've had multiple projects going, although not a lot to share just yet.  One big milestone occurred this weekend - my studio is finally fully unpacked and set up.  I've figured out an effective yarn storage method, bought a comfortable chair, and prepared my space in a way that is very minimalistic, inspiring to me, and open to a variety of uses.  So far, I'm pretty happy with it!
Last week I entered my 31st year, a pretty low-key event.  The chair was a birthday gift to myself, so I can start out this new year of life with vigor (and comfort) in my artistic practice.  Beyond that, life is full of ripe tomatoes, hot yoga, and finally making some headway on our home projects.  I'm looking forward to this fall and some possibilities on the horizon.

Black Swallowtail Larvae

I'm growing dill this year mainly to use in pickling, so I don't mind so much that the little patch of fragrant herbs are being consumed by these beautiful black swallowtail caterpillars.  At least, I won't mind until I go to make pickles, in which case… bummer.  So many of these little guys are hanging out that I'm thinking another round of seed sowing is in order so they won't run out of food-- I would love to see some black swallowtail chrysalises in the garden!  Now to figure out where that seed packet went...

Tangled Up

J and I went hiking the other day in an area that was totally overtaken in some parts by wild grape vines.  He spotted this snake skin tangled up in some of the vines - some little dude decided that was a good spot to shed his skin.  The ants seemed to think so too.  I love the texture of it.
If you're in the US I hope you're having a wonderful Fourth of July holiday.  My initiative for the weekend - find an ice cream maker (if everyone else didn't have the same idea and buy them all up) and make use of those blackberries and strawberries ripening in my garden.  Cheers!

Ample Moisture

Oklahoma saw a late spring this year, and just in the last couple of weeks have we started receiving some of those "April showers" that supposedly bring on the "May flowers" and henceforth.  I planted my garden weeks ago and have relied on my trusty garden hose to keep it watered, but for several days we saw some continuous rain amounting to a few inches in the end.
I've seen some inky cap mushrooms pop up here and there since my entire garden is covered in a nice thick layer of wood chip mulch, but as the rains kept going they really seemed to find their happy place.  One morning I came outside to witness this - an entire area of the garden covered in these little shrooms.  It's odd how quickly they change.  I took these photos about 30 minutes to an hour after I first spotted them.  Initially, they still looked fresh and the caps were not curling upward yet.  By photo time they had started to deteriorate some and A noticeable change in color was apparent.  I came out an hour later and they had disintegrated into a mere memory.  Had I not seen them earlier I would not have known of their presence, save for a close observation of tiny black fibers across the mulch.
I love the textures in this top photo - this is one of my favorite attributes of fungi: the textures.  So intricate, despite how small they are.
And now it's raining again...

Feeds I Love || #1

As you may know, Instagram is probably my favorite social media tool.  Sharing your life in a visual way and gaining a peek into others' perspectives is inspiring, fascinating, and beautiful a lot of the time. It has a much more positive vibe than others where people just go to air their complaints or push political agendas, as well.  I've met some very interesting people and discovered a number of favorite artists and makers through this network, and I thought I would share a few of my favorite feeds here and there.  Here is the first  group! From top left:  michelle_morin  ||  lilystockman  ||  ffrench  ||  heatherbuchanan

 

I've become enamored with Michelle and Heather's paintings and love following their progress.  Lily's aesthetic really stands out, and we share a common love of desert landscapes.  Cait French is a fiber artist who forages for her own dye material in Vancouver.  She has a book coming out later this year!

Lichen Inspiration

Lichen is becoming more and more of an intrigue for me.  I've always observed it, although not necessarily all that closely and I never really knew much about it.  The more I learn, the more I want to know about these tiny symbiotic organisms formed by the coming together of a fungi, cyanobacteria and  algae.  The closer you look at them and the more you learn about their habits, the more amazing they become!  The delicately intricate medulla, and teeny apothecia.  The fact that they are used as indicators of air quality.  I find myself consistently inspecting lichen when I spot it, and feeling inspired to explore it with future work.  The collaboration that I worked on with Sarah Hearn was just a taste, and it definitely left me craving more.  One of my favorite parts about my artistic process is the amount of information that I learn about each organism that I make.  While I'm no expert, I know so much more about mycology than I did before I started replicating it with fiber.  I'm looking forward to researching and experiencing the same with lichenology in the future!
Here are some specimens observed at Martin Park Nature Center when I was out there scoping out installation spots for Niche.  On a side note, the collaboration that I mentioned above is still on exhibit at START Norman in the Old Lumber Yard on Main St until May 10th, in addition to Succession.

Spring in the New Home

The first spring in our new house, it's been fun watching the yard come to life.  Between finding the golden currant and more recently some lilac out there, I'm always intrigued when I spot something new for the first time.  We somehow have tons of wild violets lining the back porch, and new plants are sprouting in the bed along the side of it.  I can't wait to see what else shows itself, and to add to it myself.

Snow Days

Some winter weather hit us last week, so I spent a few days stuck at home.  The dog sure seemed to enjoy it - she's still on a high of having her own yard and it was fun watching her sprint in circles in the snow.  Plus, winter brings the most amazing sunrises/sunsets, don't you think?

Foggy Morning

It's a foggy morning over here today.  These are some images from the front part of my back yard.   We are moved in, and finally finished cleaning up at the old place for the end of our lease.  Most of our stuff is in the garage, but we're gradually starting to unpack and figure out where things will go.  Since the weather was so nice this weekend, we (Emma included) were able to enjoy the yard a little bit and get the bird feeders filled up to watch for little winged visitors.  With all the huge pecan trees in our area, there are a ton of wild birds hanging around.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  I will have a small announcement at the end of this week...