Thinking of my Dad on Veteran's Day

When I want to express myself and be creative, most of the time, I'm working with fabric, needle and thread. I like to work with materials that are familiar and cross-stitch especially appeals to me because of its grid, structure and inherent organization.


Earlier this year when I was invited to join the wonderful women of the Beacon Collage Crew in their monthly collage gatherings, I was really nervous about working in a new medium, especially collage, which felt so open and flexible to me. At first I had trouble focusing and reigning myself in with it, and producing projects that I was really happy with.


But a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give collage another try with a particular subject in mind, and that was my dad, Howard Moore. My dad was a Vietnam Veteran, and his army service was on my mind, so I dug up some old photos and stuff, and got to work. It's a small piece, but I'm happy with how it turned out and happy that I pushed myself to be a little more experimental.


And since today is Veteran's Day and I'm sending my gratitude out to all of our veterans, and thinking about my dad's time in Vietnam, it seemed like a good time to share this project here. 

Thank you, veterans! And Happy Veterans Day, everyone.

Blumenthal Gallery, Post Number 1

I have been feeling so much more motivated to create and craft since we moved upstate last year, and I can't help wondering if some of my inspiration comes from the gorgeous original artwork that we've hung in our home. Most of the art we have displayed was created by members of my husband's family, and I feel very fortunate to have married into such a talented group of people! 


I thought I'd share some of these beautiful pieces, starting with the first one we put up, an abstract painting that hangs in our living room:

This painting was created by Jack, my father-in-law, and I love its bold colors and striking angles. Keep your eyes here for more work from the Blumenthal Gallery in the coming days!