Sally Ride Science

I bought a new shower curtain on Saturday.  The one with the PVC.  Not because it was the cheapest, but for the smell.  An olfactory trip back to the most highly anticipated day of my childhood year - Christmas!  The smell of new toys.  Plastic toys.  That just-opened burst of chemical off-gassing.  So many presents!  Big Jim and all his macho man accessories.  Tents, campers, motorcycles, race cars, tree stumps.  Each was individually packaged in its own plastic isolette, ready to serve a supporting role in my ever expanding action-adventure tableau.  Occasionally my sister would invite me across the hallway to play Barbies.  She’d already be set up in the largest open floor space of her lavender bedroom, between the foot of her bed and the double closets that spanned the north wall.  From the floor, the vertical lines of the closet doors shot up to the ceiling above her Lively Livin’ dream house like two colossal high-rise office buildings or apartments - like the kind where Mary Ty

Rose Garden, Lynn Anderson, 1970 Birthdays are bittersweet. Most holidays are. The awkward silence of family get-togethers; so much of me, unable to attend. Advent calendars were my favorite part of Christmas. Those little swinging doors, patiently opened one day at a time, marked my jubilant, albeit Protestant progression towards the Nativity. Immaculate birth. Virgin Mary. Joseph getting short shrift for his role in the matter. In March of 1989, I traveled to Montreal to meet my mother again.  We’d had no contact since our last on February 2, 1968.  I didn’t know I had a younger brother until just a few weeks before my trip. Lying on a trundle bed next to him on the first of my four-night stay, he told me that every year on my birthday, our mother locked herself in her bedroom and murmured sounds of crying would drift through the walls. The bathroom was the only room in our two-story house with a lock on the door.  It was a legitimately private space where Mom wouldn’t question my ab

Shortly after moving into my [former] studio at Prentiss & Burlington Streets in Iowa City, I started tuning into the pirate radio station broadcasting from the space across the hall. It featured everything from raw urban rap, to stories read by a gentle-voiced young woman. Without enough DJ’s for 24/7 programming, the station often resorted to long stretches of prerecorded sets and large doses of dead air. I rarely saw any of the other artists, musicians (including Iris Dement - how did I miss her?), or DJ’s that worked in the building. When I did, we exchanged little more than a terse, under-the-breath “hull-oh.” Eventually, I passed a young woman in the hall who offered me a flier advertising her radio show. It revealed she was the storytelling DJ I’d heard. She was authentically funky, far beyond the usual Iowa City fare, softened by her intoxicating smile. The daily walk from my parking spot to the studio led me under a concrete railroad bridge-cum-unsanctioned gallery of loca

Black Dog Black dog running in white snow, Turns his head to cross the road. What does this black dog know? Winter slows; Life is pulse and rest.

Some photo work of a dear dear friend and fellow Wash U photo major (1990). These images are so good it freaks me out! Frankie Holt's Time & Vision: Vermont/Santa Monica Metro Station : "The Vermont/Santa Monica metro station in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Designed by Ellerbe Becket Architects. Looki..."

Creeping Charlie My goatskin gloves match the yellow tines of my rake (bar code still affixed), And reduce to two the number of blisters on my tender palms. I had intended to rake the entire yard, But can only manage that which is in the shade. As shadows grow long, I fall further short of my goal. Creeping Charlie must love the shade; There's so much more of it here. It does not, however, tolerate the herbicide applied unsolicited by my neighbor to the east, Along our shared fence line. All around, cicadas sing a siren song; In the distance, fire trucks theirs. Heart attack or house fire - Either way, I'm glad it's not mine. My neighbor to the west comments wryly on my efforts. I'm not quite sure how to take it. The evening breeze brings such sweet relief.

Watering, Phillips Ranch California, 1983, Joe Deal Remembering a dear teacher and mentor a year after his passing. Joe's work is on par with the greatest landscape photographers that come to mind. I was thrilled to be able to view an online exhibition of some of his work at the Robert Mann Gallery website. Along with David Hockney, I would site Joe Deal as one of my biggest artistic influences. Deal became dean of the Washington University School of Fine Arts my junior year. He was the crowning jewel and saving grace of my Wash U experience. He once described a large-print photographic portrait series I did my senior year (1989/90) as being like "maps of faces." Being that Deal was one of the pioneers in the New Topographic movement, I guess such an assessment comes as no surprise, but high praise, indeed.

This is one of my favorite songs of all times...it captures so much of what I feel about my life's journey up to this point. Everyday, I am a little less incomplete.

Iowa City Press-Citizen article, July 14, 2011   Why you should know him: Erick Wolfmeyer, 44, is a professional quilter living in Iowa City. The Quincy, Ill., native moved to Iowa City to expand his quilting practice after living out West  and has been here ever since. Wolfmeyer has made more than 70 quilts in his career, each of which takes about six months to create, he said. Wolfmeyer will be hosting a quilt design class at Home Ec. Workshop at noon July 23 and 24. I got started in quilting when: I was living in California and my then-boyfriend and I went on vacation to see friends in Sisters, Ore. They have a huge outdoor quilt show there. We were there a week after it happened, but it was still in the atmosphere. Our friends just had a baby and I always liked quilts, so I bought my first pattern and (made a baby quilt). After I finished that, I just went crazy. I sell my quilts: In Kalona at the annual Quilt Show & Sale and at a store in south Amana. But I'm happy to say

Original article (English) by Linzee Kull McCray : Erick Wolfmeyer thrives within limitations. Unlike most quilters, he has a modest stash of fabric and uses what he has before buying more. He lives in a small dwelling, just 565 square feet. He’s chosen work that pays his basic bills and little more. He has no television, no pets, no Internet connection at home. For him, quilts are a metaphor for this life. “I’m piecing it all together, with what I have to work with,” he says. Yet there is abundance in Erick’s life, too. His quilts are intensively pieced (Turning Point, which ultimately became two quilts, has 4,608 pieces) and his color choices are strong and vibrant. His creations stand in rich visual contrast to the simple weathered barn boards and picket fences against which he chooses to photograph them. And once finished, he doesn’t hold them close; all his quilts are either given as gifts or sold immediately. “They come from inside of me and when I’m done with one, I’m on to the

I am thrilled to announce that Bruce Carter has invited me to be a guest on his hour-long radio program, Art Talk . Art Talk is broadcast Sundays at 1:00PM on WVIK 90.3FM - Augustana Public Radio, Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. (The program follows another one of my Sunday musts - " On Being " with Krista Tippet). My interview with Bruce will air Sunday, August 7th at 1:00PM and will thereafter be available for listening at the WVIK website for about a year. Meeting Bruce and taping the interview was so much fun! Thank you Bruce and Dave for making it all happen! Congratulations on 20 years of Art Talk, Bruce! Very impressive!

David Hilliard, photographer I love this work. He tells a story with each block - a story that could not be told with just a single image. Amazing...

Above: the inspiration piece: "Sea of Japan in Winter," 1983 by Shizuko Kuroha I have not yet titled my latest quilt in process (inspired by the Kuroha quilt above). Rather, I've had a series of title possibilities: Arab Spring > Blackout > Revolution > Juneteenth > Portmanteau. Almost done with the top, I'll have to make a final choice soon! I'm leaning strongly towards "Revolution." This piece began when I bought a quilt book at a used book store here in Iowa City. So focused on the images, I didn't pay much attention to the written content. I later realized it was the catalog for the premiere exhibit at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. (I visited the IQSC for the first time summer 2010). Of all the quilts featured, I was particularly drawn to (see above) " Sea of Japan in Winter," 1983, by Shizuko Kuroha (this link will take you to IQSC database search page for more detailed info). I planned to ma

  Composition with Theme & Variation Join me 12-4pm on Saturday July 23 & Sunday July 24 for a quilt design class at Home Ec Workshop . Together we'll explore working from a basic block idea, then making that block your own either through color choices and/or design modifications. There are no expectations of finished projects, rather this class is meant to provide a healthy start to a project of your own design, increasing comfort levels with breaking away from patterns and making meaningful color choices. Selection from Home Ec's marvelous array of fabric is encouraged, but also ok to bring a variety of small cuts of fabric from your home stash as well. This is about play and exploration to see where it leads you... This class was really enjoyable - thanks to my great students - Amber, Gerri, Kirsten and Nancy! They all produced totally original ideas based on an inspiration. It was so exciting to see how each student's project was a reflection of her own individu

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7:00PM - "The Road Home" presentation with Q&A session/trunk show First Unity Church of St. Louis, 4753 Butler Hill Road, St. Louis, Missouri

John O'Donohue is one of my new favorite writers. Sadly, he is no longer with us, but his beautiful, thought-provoking work lives on. Here is a piece from his book Beauty I find very meaningful, particularly in my relationship with quilting. But beauty interrupts restrictions in every place and thing. - Stephen David Ross This is one of the sacred duties of imagination: honourably to imagine your self. The shortest distance in the world is the one between you and yourself. The space in question is tiny. Yet what goes on in this little space determines nearly everything about the kind of person you are and about the kind of life you are living. Normally, the priority in our culture is to function and do what is expected of us. So many people feel deep dissatisfaction and an acute longing for a more real life, a life that allows their souls to come to expression and to awaken; a life where they could discover a different resonance, one which echoes their heartfelt dreams and

7:00PM - "The Road Home" presentation with Q&A session/trunk show Home Ec Workshop , 207 N. Linn Street, Iowa City, IA   photo courtesy of Randy Wolfmeyer Thanks to all who attended! Another full house! Special surprise guest - my cousin Randy Wolfmeyer (Platteville, Wisconsin). Was also thrilled to meet Patti Zwick, celebrated Iowa City quilter and fellow former Quincy, Illinois resident. Also met the parents of one of my favorite (formerly local) artists, Meera Gessner. I was very honored when another audience member showed me the quilt her late daughter made, stitched together and quilted with dental floss. An all-around wonderful night - only wish I'd had more time to visit personally with everyone.

7:00PM - "The Road Home" (debut!) presentation with Q&A session/trunk show  Park United Methodist Churh, 2335 Palmyra Rd, Hannibal, MO   With my cousin, Susan Scholz holding a quilt I made as a wedding gift for my neice, Jeny Fausset. The fabric is all hand-dyed and printed in West Branch, Iowa by artist Susan Shinnick . Native Iowa flora and fauna are featured in the designs. Shinnick mostly makes women's clothing with the fabric. The hand-quilting was done by one of the last remaining Amana (Iowa) quilters, Caroline Trumpold. Traditional Amana quilting uses embroidery thread, and quilts are typically whole cloth (no piecing, other than perhaps one or two seams to bind panels of the same fabric into one).     photos courtesy of Ellen O'Bryan I was honored for the Hannibal, Missouri Piecemakers Quilt Guild to be my first official launch site for "The Road Home". About 70 members were in attendance, including extra special guests: Hallye Bone (St. Louis,

Quilt: Sink Exhibit: Quilters Guild of Dallas, Dallas Texas; Men & the Art of Quilting Special Exhibit

2017  |  2016  |  2014-2015  |  2012-2013 2010-2011  | 2008-2009 | 2006-2007 2004-2005  |  2002-2003  |  1999-2001 Birthday Quilts 2010 - 2011 (Click on image to view larger.) Portmanteau (aka Revolution) 93 x 93 2011 Rapture 90 x 90 2011 Forget Me Not 88 x 88 2011 Sink 87 x 87 2010 Smokehaus Rose 90 x 90 2010 Lincoln Log Cabin 93 x 93 2010 “It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable.” - Maya Angelou