When this group was formed, it was my hope to work alongside brilliant fiber artists from many places around the globe, and that we would share our brilliance and grow from the relationship.  I’m delighted that this is what’s already happening!

We’ve chosen unusual inspirations for our bimonthly prompts.  The first one was about sound, and every artist was quite different in their interpretation of that prompt.  We made versions about: song, music, childhood memories, lack of sound, cacophony, movement, sound waves, sounds of specific places, sounds made by objects, harmonies, rhythms, emotions brought about by sounds, noise, regional sounds, scientific and emotional references.  We also used a variety of techniques in our first projects:  collage, painting, screen printing, fusing, piecing, applique, dyeing, photos on fabric, machine and hand stitching, and upcycling.  What a treat to see eleven different thoughtful responses to the first idea given!!

And now, for our second prompt, Lisa has challenged us to brainstorm about touch – another topic that is wide open to interpretation. 

My first thoughts went to my aging father, and all the caring touches (and sometimes more harsh handling) he has been receiving.  But instead, I have settled on a plan for a quilt about how yet another hurricane has touched our lives.  We in Florida have many experiences with hurricanes.  It is generally a LOT of work – from preparing ahead of time, to managing without power and water during and after the storm, to the many clean up and repair tasks in the aftermath.  In our case, it always means days and days of raking and picking up yard debris that has fallen from the trees. Often, the cycles of our everyday lives are greatly affected, or touched, or slammed by hurricanes that pass our way.

I once did a paper collage about how our normal routines are disrupted when we host visitors in our home.  It’s something like this, only worse, when a big bad storm comes through.