River Garden Studio

of golden threads, part two

The week begins... it is almost September here along the Klamath River.  

 

 

I have another group of beautiful responses to my question, "What is the thread that weaves through your art?" I begin with Shari Daniels, as it makes a perfect introduction to this post. 

 

I warmly smiled as I read through all these artists responses to what their thread is. Ralph Fletcher, a writer, tells writers to review their writers notebooks searching for the "golden thread". That piece of gold that is just too delicious to leave in the notebook. Lift it out and keep writing about it to see where it takes you. Many times, we do not know where the thread will take us. That is the beauty of creativity. This thread is a mystery. It takes us to the unknown. 

 

Shari Daniels

 

 

Dear Roxanne, I hadn't thought of connecting threads until you brought it up!When I look back at all I was doing over many years I realized that indeed there was a connection. From the time I was small I was constantly creating .The list is long - mini hats in grade school ,drawing, stitching, knitting, crochet,basketry, rag doll making and most recently , collage! I see three main threads: the joy of learning, the pleasure of meeting so many fun and talented people along the way and the happiness of being able to do all those things with my two hands! Thanks for asking ! Thinking about it has made me even more grateful for these hands!

lyle Baxter

 
Dear Roxanne,
What a wonderful idea for a book! I've been giving this a lot of thought over the last few days.
Thinking way back I would say the 3 most obvious threads that weave through my work are my love of nature and African art and my passion for gathering things.  Thanks for asking :-) I've just read your latest post and feel inspired. I hope you write a book!
Robyn Gordon
 
 
The Thread that Weaves through my art would definitely have to be colour, it's such a vital
part of my life. My paintings, journals, jewellery and surroundings reflect my love of colour.
I appreciate black and white but it doesn't make my heart jump like a burst of purple, blue
or magenta, I have no real favourite, (blue may just have the edge), all colours sing to me.

Ro Bruhn

OK- A common thread that binds my art is evolution... even to the point of overriding my preferences for layering, blending or whatever process strikes my fancy. The catch is that evolution itself is change; the thread then becomes uncommon. The viewer will experience a less static experience as my work evolves - making it unapparent where the typical is hidden.
Julie Prichard

What a lovely idea. I thought often about what I wanted from my art but I guess I came to the conclusion it is what art wants of me that dictates my path. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone, but it does for me, so here is the thread that weaves when it comes to me and my ways :)

 I always return from walks with all sorts of treasures in my "traveling bag": shells, stones, leaves and small twigs, driftwood and odd shaped things, sea glass and feathers, all sorts of them, delicate ferns and insect wings, old maps, vintage photographs, old keys and treasures from the past. I see and I collect. Then I reuse and reinvent them in my journals, my greeting cards, organic displays which link the visual and physical parts of my universe. It soothes and connects me.

Some are used right away, some linger and amount. I never carry them as weight, more as privilege - the privilege to hear them around me in conversation, a sort of song of yesterday's findings and today's treasures. The possibility of tomorrow's art at the studio, new life at someone else's hands.

 

Isabel Augusto

 

After years of trying to find my art voice, striving to be original, having an idea and finding it 'already done' and so I quit. I have found the voice within! Yahoo! Through giving in! letting go! And getting out of my own way. Allowing, listening, and believing. I quit trying to 'be an artist'. I let the artist emerge. And now I find myself dancing and singing a whole new tune. Painting from my intuition. Writing from the only place I know. My true self.

 

Sue Simpson

 

 

 

It is always challenging for me to put into words what my art means to me Roxanne, because in so many ways it has been my saviour.  Trying to keep moving forward and finding beauty come up for me again and again.  After my world crashed in 1999 with the death of our 16 year old son, it took a long time for me to be able to begin to find my way again.  I thought my creative days were finished.  Focusing on gratitude and the beauty of life are a big part of my healing journey as this hole in my heart will never heal in just one lifetime....  At a local and now closed stamp store they were offering a velvet embossing class.  That and reading Somerset magazines gave me hope and propelled me on a new creative journey of mixed media.

Patty Szymkowicz

My grandmother was a prolific seamstress and craftswoman -- her threads run through several quilts and afghans that I still use and enjoy,  through dolls that smile from chairs and shelves in my house, and even through hand-embroidered dishtowels used in my kitchen. Some of my earliest drawings were made as patterns she used in her work. Her threads bring comfort and warmth to me. I am a book artist, so quite literally, there are 4-ply waxed linen threads weaving through almost every piece I create. However, more than that, my art springs from memories and legend. I weave these into my books whenever I can in the form of photographs and treasures, and I hope that they will also endure when I am gone.
Leslie Marsh

The thread that weaves through my work is always my spirituality. This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with how I view the world and the people who share the planet with me. It has to do with protecting children, empowering women, and sharing what I know.
Cj McCoy


For me it is the constant exploration of the unexpected – the desire to create out of whatever I have on hand.  It is nature – often real bits of nature, joined together with my interpretation of it through paint, pencil or photography – and always the colour that nature provides. As I age it is seeing the beauty of nature not only in its prime but as it moves closer to an end of its cycle, readying itself for a new beginning. It is layering of bits and pieces.  It is used tea bags and botanical bits. It is earth tones and bits of rusty metal. It is the feel of something in my hand as much as the seeing with my eyes.  The thread is nearly always joy and peace and lately healing, as this is what creating gives back to me.

Kim Henkel

(this is a book made by Kim that contains her 'threads.'

 

 

 May you all have a safe and smoke free week.

 

of golden threads

 

Late one night last week, inbetween dreams,

I thought of a question that  has been on my mind...

 

 

Here is the question:

 

Dear Artists:

Most of you know that I am teaching a series of workshops called, The Thread That Weaves throughout the Pacific North West. 

The discussions that have emerged are wonderful and I am wondering if you could share with me, in just a paragraph, just what is the thread that weaves through your art?

And here are the responses I have gotten so far:

I have made "art" all of my life - most of my 58 years.  I have a Master of Fine Arts in painting and Art History.  I lived in Ivory Coast for 4 years in my 20's. The medicinal and the accumulative aspects of African Art create a warp around and through which I am now weaving the threads I most crave: spaciousness and light.  We are in the process of digging out our 100+ year old home in the woods.  I am letting go.  I am purging. What I fervently seek now is a clean well-lighted spacious room where visual noise has been hushed.  Thank you for asking - it was good to gather words to contain this somewhat overwhelming process.

Elizabeth Bunsen

 

 

 

The Thread for me is a sense of presence and history.  Old abandoned objects, weathered and worn tell a lot about the lives that

filled them, built them, and moved on.

Anne Sobotta 

 

 

The universal theme of connection underlies all of my work; connection to each other and the ways in which we express our humanity; connection with the natural world and the beauty that surrounds us; connection with the divine and a sense of something greater at work in our lives. 

My paintings are often created intuitively and I am often surprised at the finished piece. I am inspired by our travels in Mexico and the colours, exuberance of Spirit and magical experiences I have shared with my family there. 

I like to believe that we are all part of an intricate and breathtaking tapestry. Our only choice each moment is whether to be a part of the creating or a part of the unravelling. 

Tracy Verdago

 

the thread that weaves through my art is the need to express myself.  there's nothing fancy or showy about this thread, but it's strong, indestructible i'd say.   i think of it as a good friend - it's always there, providing me with a way to do something that's  meaningful to me.   i can't imagine life without this thread...

lynne hoppe

What a great question and basis for your workshop...hmmm, the thread that weaves through my art is...I hope...a connection to myth and mystery.  The current work with the Monarchs have been a blessing in dealing with my father's death and uncovering stories and myths and connections to cultures far and wide.  I know how important this thread of art is in my daily life and feel enriched every single day from it.            

Stephanie Hilvitz

What a great question and certainly something to think about. Here's my paragraph!

The thread that weaves through my art is my energy. I think it binds all of my thoughts through words and images via my painting and mixed media works.  The synthesis of objects I find, colors I use, and the  layers I create  form  a woven tapestry of my soul- a mosaic wiith reflections of meanings, connections between events , people and the awe I see in everything around me! 

Jill Zaheer

The thread that weaves it way through all of my artwork is history. My own history that I bring to each and every piece and that has led me to a place of creativity to begin with. The history that I create with every layer of gesso, paint, paper, or other material that is added to an artwork. The history that is part of the many found objects that I seek and find, and repurpose in a new way. And the history that unfolds as soon as a piece leaves me and finds its way into the hands of another.

Seth Apter

 

In answer to your request:     I have many threads running through my art making. Memory is one, real and imagined. This thread leads me to research modern to ancient subjects such as astronomy, archaeology and myth. All this and my daily journal writing weaves together into my images and stories.

MaryAnn Lehrer-Plansky

 

 

Roxanne - An interesting question that's made me wonder what is the thread that weaves through my art.

I spent the last twenty years as a clay artist making mostly functional work and have only been creating 2-d stuff for about 2 years. Looking back to clay as well as paint/collage - I think the thread that weaves through all of it is texture & my choice of earth-toned colors.  My love of outdoors - gardening, bird watching and a love of old barns and buildings has shown up in all of my work whether it's just in my choice of surface treatment or in a more realistic image. 

It's interesting to me that folks can recognize my paintings from knowing my clay work or vice versa.  I am drawn to express an emotional response to what I see. It’s not always realistic, but the feeling that touches my heart that I want to portray in my work no matter what medium I am working with.

Judy Shreve

 

 

Roxanne explained that she will be teaching a series of workshops entitled "A Thread that Weaves" and asked an group of artists if we might like to comment on our own thread.  It was a fascinating exercise to wonder, just what was my thread?  

As you can see my thread is woven out of many delicate threads and at the center is love.  I had a hard time learning in school, but there lay my gift, because I developed ways to figure out how to make things without instructions.  The act of creating is like breathing and it is always pleasure to be in the process of making something new and then a joy and surprise to behold the finished product.    To me it's the same energy whether I paint, give a party or play my guitar.  Something that is created by my imagination and two hands, seems to capture the unique essence of who I truly am.

Constance Muller

 

This is Constance's art...Wings of Golden Threads

(please click on the photo to see the beautiful details)

 

I hope that these responses have moved you as much as they have moved me.  I feel blessed to have received each one of them.

I would love to hear what the thread that weaves through your art is! Please leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Roxanne 

 

Bandon by the Sea

 

Today I am catching my breath.

A few days ago we got home from my second workshop.

 

 

By now most of you know I love to stop by rivers and creeks

as we drive over the mountains.

 

 

And I love to pick a few wildflowers on the way,

to draw or press in the back of a book.

 

 

The beaches at bandon are long and sweeping.

 

 

And I go over my notes for the workshop.

We are part of nature's palette.

 

The bridge into Bandon stands tall and proud.

 

 

And so does the dandelion as it goes to seed.

 

 

Fishing boats rest in the gentle water

tired from their adventures.

 

 

This flower remembers another day.

 

 

And this sinking boat,

still beautiful.

(I wish someone would rescue it.)

 

 

During my workshop we take a walk on the beach.

 

 

And make art, just for us.

 

 

 

And the pages of our books come together.

 

 

The studio table becomes a canvas,

a still life of found objects.

 

 

Spashes of color appear.

 

 

All is unique.

 

 

 

Sometimes we hope for a day at the beach,

or a day for art.

 

 

Just like this day.

 

 

I found the little bottles in an antique store,

dusty and forlorn.

Just look at them now.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Joan and this is her story.

Her Artist Book.

 

 

And now part of mine.

 

 

Thank you so much, Anne, Joan and Faith, 

Sage Place Gallery

and Bandon by the Sea.