Big Little Roses

painting by Joe Max Emminger

Today my friend Julie Little left a big beautiful bucket of roses on our doorstep. Swoon. I emptied the bucket and filled vase after vase. Now the house is overflowing with roses.

I will share this year’s bucket with you. Here are red roses on a red mola.

Yellow roses in a yellow jug on a yellow tablecloth.

White and pink roses on a piece of Russian embroidery.

Purple roses on orange Mexican oilcloth.

Pink and red roses with a stuffed animal from Peru

Roses outside – on a bench painted by Joe Max Emminger.

Roses inside – on stripes, in light and shadow.

This post is light on fabric and heavy on flowers. It’s summer: time to smell the roses and savor life.

Ice Cream by Julie Paschkis

Julie Little has given me roses for several years. In 2014 I wrote a post about the roses that she left. I wrote more about fabric in that post: here is a link. I didn’t include her name then, but I am now because I want to thank her out loud for her buckets of generosity.

 

painting by Joe Max Emminger

 

 

 

Sarah Jones

The Bitters Co. barn is about an hour north of Seattle. Katie and Amy Carson (sisters) have created a design workshop, warehouse, and occasional event space there. Come now to see a wonderful show of work by Sarah Jones (textiles and multi-media) and Jasmine Valandani (glass, installation).

I’m going to share Sarah’s work with you here.  She works with fabric, old lace, paper and ephemera.

The work is layered. Threads hang and the fabric is torn or stained in places. The damaged materials are treasured and honored with careful craftsmanship and with attention to detail.

The work celebrates the beauty of flaws and irregularities.

“Her work examines what is barely there. One must look hard to see it. She focuses on transparency, lightness and whiteness.”

The work looks out at the world.

And it looks in.

One piece is a diary, created each and every day for a year. Each 3″ square is a record of one day – of days lost and found, celebrated or forgotten.

The barn is dark with many shades and textures of rough wood. It is also airy. It is pierced by shafts of sunlight. Swallows fly through. It holds memories.

Sarah’s art and the barn are in a conversation about the passage of time, and about the beauty found in imperfection. These ideas are whispered not shouted.

And there is a conversation with Jasmine’s installations of glass and light.

Here is Sarah’s writing about the show.

Come see for yourself!

July 8- 23rd. Monday – Saturday 12 – 4 PM at the Bitters Co. Barn, 14034 Calhoun Rd., Mt. Vernon               http://www.bittersco.com