Mom's Birthday

My Mom turned 75 yesterday. I had knit her a felted bowl for a gift. I found a knitting book in Denver that had a new interesting way to knit. Moebius cast on - Cast onto a circular needle and get a twist in the loop - the top rim of the bowl.

Bowl before felting.

When I put the bowl into the washing machine to felt it one strand of yarn broke and unraveled. There was a big hole in the side of the bowl. I continued to felt it. Once it was felted it had shrunk enough that the hole was not so big. The color in this photograph is much closer to the real color.

Bowl after felting - hole on upper right of rim.

Then the decision - do I still give it as a gift with a hole? I thought, well it could be like the art projects I made when I was little, ceramic bowls that were lopsided and the glaze was uneven. Are we still allowed to make imperfect art projects when grown-up? After the bowl mishap I quickly knit a scarf for my daughter, the pattern was in Cat Bordhi's book, A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting. She was excited to get it, she said she had been thinking about a red scarf.

Note the twist in the scarf.

I decided that a painting would be a better gift. When I was in La Jolla this winter I took a picture of an agave plant. The leaves make the most amazing shapes. The image has been in the back of my head wanting to become a painting. I bought two 10"x10" canvases. I painted the undercoat and got started.
Photo and prepped canvas.

Since my birthday gift will be belated at least I did paint on her birthday.

Technicolor Agave

I painted another to donate to the Art Auction fundraiser at the Jackson Hole Community School.

Agave Too

Now I am ready to do one of these paintings on a much larger canvas. I have a 30"x 30" waiting to be used. I have been afraid to get going on such a large canvas. Doing the little has made me excited to get going.....