Last week was a bit of a bummer, I know. What with the art show rejection and all.

BUT.

The silver lining of that raincloud was that since SAND and SEA and SKY was not accepted to be in the show, I got to deliver her to a new collector and friend of mine on the other side of the island!

Close by, in fact, to the shorelines that inspired her.

And you know what? She looks GOOD on the new wall!!

Of course, she looked great on my wall, too, ha ha.

But the collector has a vision to create an entire gallery wall full of beach themed artwork and other treasures and it's going to be amazing. She already has a good start on her collection, too, with some other local gems she's picked up over the past few years of living in Hawaii!

Letting this piece move into her forever home, one of my largest fiber works to date, was bittersweet, I admit.

But it was also one of the greatest joys!

She gets to keep telling her story of the land and sea that inspired her creation, sharing that beauty with others, offering quiet little moments of peace or awe or whatever emotion is evoked by the recalling of memories of being by the ocean for each person who stands before her.

Art is kind of magical like that, don't you think?

It has ripple effects.

And right now we need SO many more good and positive and beautiful ripple effects in the world!

More quiet moments of peace.

More gentle smiles.

More laughter.

More awe.

When was the last time you truly felt AWE??

If that feels too big, how about a little spark of happiness?

For me lately, (besides the big artwork delivery, of course!) I've been getting lots of little sparks of joy from working on a new collaboration project with Ethan of Refracted Light Fiber Arts.

Last time, I shared the newly arrived yarn with you, a beautiful trio of fine merino wool all in shades of green. They are Sprout, Verdant, and Peat. Which one is your favorite??

They're all caked up now, as you can see (and I'm probably going to be sore from doing all three at once!) and I've begun swatching.

I have two skeins of Sprout, the lightest shade of green, so that's what I'm starting with.

And I'm riffing off an older design, the Herring Gull Wrap, which was my first bird inspired design!

Here's a first look at my first swatch:

There's no guarantee that I'll stay on this path, but I've got a little bit further to go before I decide yay or nay. Sometimes a four inch swatch just isn't enough to go on! Especially when there are still two other colors to add in.

So wish me luck!

I'm looking forward to settling in for a while with this one. I mean, I've got... over 1700 yards here to play with!

Speaking of which, I think I'll go do that right now.

Cheers!

-Connie

P.S. These kids don't sit still long enough for a decent picture right now, so this is the best I have for you this week!