Ghoulies and Ghosties

This custom piece holds all that was scary when I was a child. My mother ,use to read us from Grimm's Fairy Tales...she was amazing, acting out all the parts in different voices...we would gasp at some of the more graphic, scary descriptions, of things that definitely go bump in the night....
Our childhood was rich in fantasy , and sparked a love of literature from an early age without the need for Television and special effects....our imagination was enough to entertain us ...

Fun to paint

I so enjoy a custom piece in two colors, on being the white canvas....I like this type of design...
it concentrates on just pure form , balancing negative and positive space....I find it
very satisfying to create interest and movement with pure form without the aid of additional colors and shading ...

Very Masculine

This is a pillow on 13st for a man. I so enjoyed looking at the variety of walking sticks
that are available today. Who new...This is a nice idea for a man and would look great in his office on a couch or den at home. Incorporating his family , makes it very personal.

One of three....

I am one of three sisters, the oldest and by far the strangest in her profession.
My middle sister Suzanne , is a midwife, she started out as a coronary care
nurse, then worked in labor and delivery handling high risk pregnancies . She went back to school
and is now a midwife, that teaches nurses about high risk pregnancies. She is driven , bossy and
the type of professional that you always dream about, she can handle any medical emergency in her profession . She told us when she was three that she was going to be a nurse and has never varied from that course.
My little sister Kathleen , got her teaching degree, taught one year and decided that wasn't for her...she worked as an accountant and started her own accounting firm. My sister and I were not surprised, because growing up she was always tight with money...always frugal . She is also bossy , a family trait.
And myself...artists are not made , they are born that way, always drawing and doodling on anything and everything , even walls when I was little. I was very lucky to have a mother that came from a long line of creative people , always encouraging me to follow my dream .
Needlepoint was a surprise, but you can't plan everything...looking at this old photo, I can see how it all happened....it makes me laugh, because even at this age, we three were showing signs of where we would shine....
I was seven, Susie was four and Kathy was three....in 1957
What we use to laugh , the McGuire sisters, just like the old singing group ,that our parents had on old LP s. For some reason this would always make us laugh...sisters, very different but, the same sense of humor.

Squiggee in Space....

Ode to the Iris

Over the years , I have always enjoyed painting my favorite flower, the Iris ....these three canvases show different sides of a very graphic flower...

Springtime with Squiggee....

Squiggee lives in the country, but at heart she is a city girl, and must keep up
her image ......even if the other country girls get jealous...

Who let the CATS out ?...I did !

Everywhere there are little fishies

The top photo is the original child's drawing.........and the second is the canvas I painted for her mother...

A Classic Purse

This purse will keep the stitcher busy...just keeping track of all the colors....

not for the faint hearted....it is on 18st and has a gusset that is solid green with

and cross section of the flowers....

A special book...

A beloved book captured in needlepoint made a very special gift. This happens to
also be a favorite book of mine, so painting it was a double pleasure.......

Never a dull moment !

One fine day, a box arrived from the shop in DC, filled with custom orders....
this is business as usual, most weeks I get a couple of deliveries from the shop.....
as I was unpacking the box, I noticed a very elegant bakery box...I opened it up and inside were tea cookies....my first thought was how sweet, but then I noticed the label..... the bakery was in Florida ...... on closer inspection, I found an order sheet , requesting four cookies ... the customer brought the cookies up from Florida to be the models....and no don't eat them because they are stale....boo hoo...
this is right up there in the top ten of strange orders...not that cookies are strange, but I have never had anyone before send models.... the customer was very serious about the cookie
being exact...OK.... ...I can do that...a nice change from flowers....and I love laughing out loud, when I am alone........It did give me a good laugh....and yes the customer was so pleased she ordered a couple more...I never asked what she was going to do with the cookies...it was enough to know that she was pleased.......never dull here in Squiggeeland !

Pooch-A-Rama....

A Bunny Picnic with Guest !

A great way to spend a warm Spring Day.....and luckily the pooch doesn't have to share his
goodies with the bun buns...they are already too stuffed........to want any carrot cake!

This custom canvas is on 18st and not mind you for the beginner....
why dog dogs always look so cute in Bunny ears...

Granny's series

This is a great way for a grandmother to start a family tradition.....I have done three
for the families new arrivals so far....how great, for a child to have his name the center
of attention, and how it relates to the world around him ... also, the first word you learn to read and write...... children love to see their name in print....over and over and over again....what a very cleaver granny !

Designing with Type

In Squiggeeland, not everything has holes !

Just to show that I have another side as an artist....this abstract painting I did is a nice departure
from the controlled needlepoint that i design and paint.......I bet you thought I would paint pretty
little flowers...fooled ya !
my husband refers to this painting as..."Muffy goes amok"....Muffy is a nickname my husband has given me...........I paint in various styles, just like I do in needlepoint...I just might be crazy at that !

If It Moves Paint It !

As you can see.....paint is a bit of a problem in Squiggeeland....on the right is a picture of the current drawing table light....one in a succession of lights over the years that starts out in pristine condition , and over time becomes an abstract painting....now this light hoovers above the painted canvas...so how on earth does the paint get on the light, you say....well .....I have the nasty habit of holding a paint brush in my mouth...when I am in need of a third hand......It is an unconscious act that I have done from day one...I never remember even touching a light with my brush...but as you can see...oops...I should have taken pictures of old lights that have died over the years ...this is maybe light #7 or #8......and you can usually judge as to how old the lamp is by the amount of paint..........................................now for the other photo...a Jackson Pollock painting?...no.............it is a section of my painting apron, that I have to replace at least twice a year, because the apron becomes so heavy with paint and a stiff crust forms over time...being acyclic...it has a rubbery texture...yuck...rubbery crust.......I have always wiped my brush on my apron bib...... I can't paint without an apron, because I will wipe my brush on my shirt..... apron or not...... an unconscious act......I have seen the puzzled look ,of a new postman, when I have answered the door wearing my apron...they have an alarmed look...thinking.... "what a messy cook !...what is she cooking ?....boy am I glad she isn't cooking for me !"....they are always so relieved when I tell them it is paint.......
of course all my clothes , drawing table, chair, my painting cart, phone, DVD control, scissors handle...rulers , drafting tools ,stapler, pencils , markers... everything and anything that comes in contact with me ...brandishing my loaded paint brush...is fair game !!! even the dogs have on occasion sported paint...
I laugh when I see those painting classes on PBS, the artist , in his very tidy studio and all equipment shiny , nothing has a trace of paint ....my studio reminds me of the inner city, covered in graffiti...so beware...enter at you own risk......

A Great Find....

This morning I was looking in my box of bits and bobs...filled with

notes ,sketches,odd photos,a catch all for anything that doesn't have a particular home in the studio, and I came across

this picture ....... one of my first large Church custom pieces .

This was a rather large piece ..... the church wanted the feel of an old world Madonna and child , but an original piece for their church. The design was

around 40 x 45" on 13st.

When the piece was completed , the church sent me an invitation to the dedication. I was to be their honored guest.

I was young and very faltered and proud that the church was pleased.

When I came across the picture today, it brought back a very sweet memory.

But alas, it was so long ago and I have painted so many pieces ,for various churches in the DC and surrounding area, I can't remember the name of the church. How old lady does that sound?.... I have a memory of the church itself, but the name is a blank. As long as I can still remember that yellow and red make orange, I guess I am safe for the moment...I do believe with the advent of menopause, a small memory part of my hard drive has gone bad...

along with my body thermostat ,that is oh so broken...

Oh well , you have to laugh and just take it as it comes...thank goodness for spell check, because even on my best day, when all my parts were new and in good working order, I was a terrible speller...English to me ,makes no sense...never has...i before e...the k is silent...then why have it !....

In grade school , it bored me , so I dismissed it...spelling B's, if you can't spell a word one paper , how on earth can you spell in the air......please.....my vocabulary has always exceeded my ability to spell ......as long as ,I was bright enough to use a dictionary, what was the point...I remember , relating my sentiments to a 4th grade teacher, and watching the vein in her neck stick out....yikes

granted my spelling improved with age, but then, I still do not trust myself ....I always double check .......

Did I get off the subject or what......"you are rambling babe !!"...as my husband will say..."just part of my charm" I say...we are a matched set!

The Needlepoint of Kings

Perfect for Needlepoint

These two canvases show the hard edge graphics of Needlepoint.

I enjoy designing in this venue. I painted these two custom canvases in the late 80's, and I still find them to be fresh and rich in colors.

The classics , are timeless, and I myself enjoy the lack of shading, that sometimes blurs the

hardness, that makes needlepoint so strong . I have a strong background in the graphic arts, silk screening and lithograph , along with photography. This along with my fine arts training , has made me able to use all sides of my creativeness to produce needlepoint , in many styles. My husband says ,when you look at a cross section of my designing over the years, one might think I have multiple personalities...not sure if that is a compliment, or just reinforcing how nuts I am... I am not the kind of artist that likes to be pigeon holed into one subject, color or style...oh my I believe that is a character flaw , that makes me well suited to custom work, which runs the gamete from soup to nuts!!........well at least we artists aren't dull !

TNNA IN COLUMBUS,OHIO

my little bunny basket is being offered in a class at the TNNA

MARKET SHOW IN COLUMBUS OHIO , JUNE 7-9, 2008

so all you little stitchers that are looking for something to do.....!! lol