Orphan

When my Dad died several years ago, his sister cried that now she was an orphan. My Aunt was in her 80's when she said this, and it occurred to me every one of us has our own very personal relationship with someone who has died, whether it be a parent, child, sibling or friend. We have experiences unique to that relationship that no one else can share.

When someone close to us dies, a connection is lost. We are the only one left with those memories, the jokes we shared, the not so funny times we got through.

The thing is, we all have gone through similar experiences, we've all felt loss, grief, pain.

There's a golden thread running through this work, connecting our individual grief with the rest of the world

Open the Window

 I'm continuing to explore the concept of personal loss, how it affects the people left behind, how it affects those on the periphery, the coping mechanisms we all employ to deal with it.

We all want to be available to help someone suffering from loss. Often, that person isn't ready to receive this comfort. While a window may be open, they construct barriers and roadblocks to prevent our help. Maybe they are angry, maybe numb, feeling guilty, or just uncomfortable with sharing what they are feeling personally.

We need to persevere.

"Look for the helpers in times of tragedy" Mr Rogers advised. "If you look for the helper, you'll know that there's hope"

The sixth installment in my Loss series is called "Open the Window". It's 7 feet tall, 32 inches wide and 32 inches deep. Made of strips of silk organza with windows stitched in them, wire, and rusted organza with hand stitching.

SOFA

Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design was last week in Chicago, and Ted and I went to see what's going on in the glass art world today. It was a quick trip and we were able to get into VIP night thanks to my membership in Friends of Fiber Art. So here are my favorites, down and dirty, for you to enjoy.

 My favorites in the show were the glass houses

Browngrotta had several pieces from a few artist that paved the way for modern fiber art, including those below

The show was about 75% glass by my estimation. Ted was in heaven, he was able to connect with a few former teachers, fellow students, and artists he admires.

Chicago was fun as it always is. Good food, great museums, and the weather was perfect