Virginia A. Spiegel

Boundary Waters 7

Boundary Waters 8

These two artworks have joined the Katherine McNeese Collection.

After Katherine reported their safe arrival, I shared with her that I consider Boundary Waters 6,7, and 8 to be the “babies” of this series as I was still working out how I wanted to portray my journals and what the format of the pieces would be. I’m glad they arrived safely and thank Katherine for her ongoing patronage.

You can see all the Boundary Waters series on my website here.

The roadsides are full of chicory right now. Blue is not a very common flower color and this is one of the most tenacious of wild plants; we have it at the edge of our lawn and can mow it and it comes right back. Of course, chicory roots can be used as a coffee substitute, but I’m not in a hurry to try it.

Please note on the sidebar that I am now linked to a Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) web ring. A great way to visit the blogs of some great fiber artists.

Enjoy your weekend!

Whew! At long last, all nineteen of the Boundary Waters series pieces are posted here. It’s a very personal series of artwork, focusing on water, tree, rock and sky, based on the canoe journeys my sister and I take each year in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness along the Minnesota/Canadian border. This fall we will reach 100 days in the Boundary Waters in just five years.

Many of the works are very long and narrow; they are meant to be read as scrolls or as the pages of a journal, stacked and full of interesting images and data. Enjoy!

The garbage trucks came before the lightning storm stopped, but, hey, that’s why I have an archive of photos. Check it out at
The Garbage Day Project.

Website update tomorrow: The Boundary Waters series gallery will open tomorrow on my website with all the work from my solo show plus a few more pieces. Here’s some scenes from the opening.

Today’s bonus photo is a photo of bark manipulated in Photoshop.

I’ve had some big canvases (36″x48″) around for quite awhile and decided to take one out for a spin yesterday. Above is what it looked like until I decided the top part was too dark. Straight downhill from there - now I have a green muddle. Fiber art, in its own way, is so much easier. But since I have a muddle, I’m now free to really go murky with this one and try again on another canvas.

On a happier note, two wrens decided to carry on with their courtship right above my head. They love the woven basket nests I have hung from the deck up above. Wrens fill all available nesting sites with twigs before the female chooses one for her eggs.