#60. 'Waltzing With Bears / Uncle Walter' 2021.12 66.5 x 60 Very lumpy and bumpy. American fabrics. Bears gifted from Missouri. SOLD 11/2023

I was contrasting these dark bears to light flowers and kittens; when I stumbled upon a song. 

My ukulele group sang 'Waltzing With Bears', written by Dr. Seuss and later interpreted by other musicians. I was inspired to learn that this song is an anthem for some gays and lesbians. 

Our Uncle Walter's not right in the head 

He's been that way all his life, my mother said

 Its not that he's violent or falls down the stairs 

Its just he goes waltzing, waltzing with bears 

 He goes wa wa wa waltzing, waltzing with bears 

Raggy bears, shaggy bears, baggy bears too 

There's nothing on earth Uncle Walter won't do 

So he can go waltzing, wa wa wa waltzing 

He can go waltzing, waltzing with bears  

Repeat #58. Appalachian Moose / Hawaiian Plastic Lei. Finally finished binding in December. 51" x 41". Tennessee thrift store and "silk" scarf from Economy Shop. Has been accepted in the 'Excellence In Quilts' by artist Sue Benner. It will be in the Fall 2023 issue of Fiber Art Now and will be eligible for exhibit at the Texas Quilt Museum May-August, 2024.

Exploring artifice.

A painted portrait of a moose in his natural habitat is printed on a piece of fabric. Why? He is hiding between candy cane stripes. Some areas are purposely exposed and not hidden under a weave so that viewers have enough visual input to actually see the moose.

A scarf was printed with a photograph of real flowers laid in a mandala circle. I wove it with a Hawaiian fabric of stiff plastic print of plumerias.  Surrounded and woven with a summery madras. 

A Beach Boy's vibe.

#59. Fae's Bear Hides in Honolulu. 7/2021. 46-47 height x 34.5-36 width. Honolulu sourced fabrics. Flower print sarongs from Costco and tapa design cloth from Central Union Thrift Store. Of course the bear came from the mainland.

Difficult fabrics. The tapa print is a woven twill which did not allow me to tear into strips. It may unravel despite sewing into place because some threads are cut along the edges. The large floral design is a loose woven fabric. The small floral print is a slippery synthetic knit which I used to patch "holes". All of this made it difficult to keep "square". 

 

 

#58. 'Appalachian Moose / Hawaiian Plastic Lei' 51" x 41" 2021.6 Moose hides while the other side dances the hula.

 Moose print was found in a thrift store in Tennessee. Lace printed bed sheet is from a thrift store in N. Carolina. Plasticky print of plumeria was salvaged in Hawaii. Scarf of photo printed flowers and camouflage fabric is from the Economy Shop, Oak Park, IL. Who knows where I got the plaid, not exactly a tartan but I think of it as such.

 

Scavenged from a thrift store in Tennessee. Can't wait to strip the Moose.

https://karm.org/karm-stores/    

(Cancer) "IS RELENTLESS. SO ARE WE". Advertisement printed on warp. "HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A REAL INDIAN" is printed on weft going horizontal.

Paper is easier to manipulate and weave unlike flexible fabric. It too spreads apart on the edges and weave tighter in the center. 

 

With vaccines come house guests. My studio gets shoved into boxes and turns back into a guest room.

 

#57. 'Dolly Parton's Christmas Present' 2021.2 58" x 55" Mostly American with some Japanese, Hawaiian, African, Indonesian fabrics; some left over from making Covid-19 masks. NFS. Gifted to Dolly 2021.3.18.

 A podcast hosted by Jad Abumrad led me to Dolly Parton's song 'Coat of Many Colors'. This inspired me to make as traditional a quilt as I could. It's worth listening to 'Dolly Parton's America'.

 https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dolly-partons-america

Christmas wrap the exterior of the many colored and faceted "coat".