Santa Fe Retreat 2017 - And all the rest

Once again Radiant Light Art Studio has worked its magic on me.

From the first step through this lovely weathered gate,  

 the energy and warmth of the place can be felt.

Storm clouds have circled the studio all week, providing breathtaking views as well as

much needed rain for this dry land.

One of the noticeable differences between fall (our usual time here) and spring, has been the ceaseless wind. The week was ushered in by strong winds that the neighbor's flag totally unfurled and acting as a weather vane.

Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, detail of work in progress, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

At some point, I wondered if it were possible to stitch the wind.

With so much zigging and zagging happening, my machine decided to have a bit of fun and throw in a tangle of threads every now and then.

Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, detail of work in progress, 2017

The story tiles and studio muse chatted 

Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, detail of work in progress, 2017

and filled me on what to do next.

Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, detail of work in progress, 2017

Sewing breaks were spent doing asemic (or arsenic as the auto-correct on my phone thought best on an Instagram post this morning) writing on paper and cloth. One such break lead me wonder if I could make the zig zag stitch resemble writing

Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, detail of work in progress, 2017

before returning to stitching the wind

Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, detail of work in progress, 2017

and circles.

52 story tiles were sliced, rearranged, stamped on and stitched with 48 of them making the cut.

One of the highlighta of this visit was meeting Marianne of Over the Rainbow blog. Back before Pam and I ventured to Santa Fe for the first time, Marianne was kind enough to recommend restaurants and places to visit. Each year since has had her traveling while we're here. Thankfully, our schedules finally coincided. What a lovely time we had!

All is now packed and the studio feels a bit empty, wistful...or maybe it's really just me. Time here is special and I am thankful for it and for being able to share it with Pam. Until next year...

Santa Fe Retreat 2017 - Madrid

Yesterday, Belinda, the owner of Radiant Light Art Studio, invited Pam and I to join her for lunch at a little restaurant in Madrid (pronounced Mad-rid) which is an old gold mining town turned art/food haven.

We dined at The Hollar, which is a funky dive of a restaurant with eclectic art gracing the outside and old photos of (what I assume is) the town during its gold mining days. Don't let The Hollar's exterior fool you - the food, which is Southern food with elegance, is amazing. And this is real Southern food - fried green tomatoes and the best crispy shrimp and grits that I've ever had.

 quilt on display in The Hollar

As yesterday was still very windy, we opted to eat inside. Those dining outside were treated to Madrid's own Cactus Slim and the Goat Heads. Their Facebook page lists the group's genre as Eastmountain boogie rock. Smooth voiced, songs reminiscent of the old rock standards, it would be fun to sit and listen for a while.

As we set off to stroll through town, we pondered the shoes hanging from the electrical line over main street.

And then the mailboxes caught my eye

 as did the thriving cacti,

murals,

fun signs

and the zebra on the roof.

Santa Fe Retreat 2017 - The first few days

Greetings from the land of endless sky. Pam and I are back in Santa Fe, having our annual retreat a bit early this year as I'll be teaching a class during our usual week in October.

We've discovered a few differences between May and October - the wind has been relentless so far and the sun rises earlier. I have managed to miss the glorious sunrises so far and am considering setting an alarm for tomorrow morning. 

The landscape itself seems greener and more energetic than in October. Roads and paths are bursting with color. A lot of the blossoming plants are very low to the ground - to be safe from the wind?

I must admit that my first day here was one of self-indulgence (read that as pure laziness). The couch beckoned and provided the ideal spot to read and watch the sun play with the tree outside the studio door.

Their frolicking combined with the sun sneaking in through the skylights provided quite a light and shadow display. 

At some point, I mustered enough energy to do a bit of asemic writing in my travel journal

which lead me to wonder what would happen if I wrote on one of the story tiles that I'd brought to work on.

And with the rolls of Canal Paper that had been purchased from Artisan on our way from the airport patiently waiting for me to put them to use...well...

the call to create 25 feet of asemic writing was just too strong to ignore. Over half of the roll has been written on and I am pondering what type of marks to add. Stay tuned!

Santa Fe 2016 - Wednesday

Numerous discussions took place between Pam and I as to just what it was that we thought we wanted to work on or with during this year's Santa Fe retreat. I kept coming back to paper and books.

So yesterday morning while all was quiet, I cropped and re-cropped the red and gray thread drawing from Tuesday (sorry...no photo of the full piece). It was my least favorite of the large sketches, but had potential. Cropping allowed the flowing lines and arcs to become the focus.

Not wanting to glue the sketches to the backing...and not being patient enough to wait for the glue to dry properly...I stitched the pages to the black backing. 

The inside of the book is full of color and energy, while the back is more subdued. 

It needs a holder, a container, a pocket or envelope to keep it safe. That will be made at home. 

After stitching the original thread drawings on full sheets of paper, I wondered what would happen if I used smaller squares. Two sheets of Rives BFK lightweight yielded 12 eight inch squares and provided the basis for what I hope will be a daily practice. Only time will tell...

Santa Fe 2016 - Sunday-Tuesday

What a week it's been so far! Pam and I are back in one of our favorite spots, Radiant Light Art Studio in Santa Fe, for a week of creating, experimenting, relaxing, enjoying being together, eating great food and then getting up and doing it all over again the next day.

This is one of my favorite views. It means we've arrived and will soon be passing through the gate and stepping in the studio.

horse sculpture at Cafe Fina 

The light here is amazing...from sunrises and sunsets

to it streaming through the door 

in the morning and 

creating amazing shadows.

Belinda, who owns this glorious studio, told us before we arrived that there had been more rain than normal so we'd find the land greener than usual.

The flowers are blooming more than usual also.

Sunday was spent beginning a new tea bag work using a photo from Pittsburgh of the bridges reflected on the river. It will be a very large piece when completed - 12 feet x 9 feet. This seemed the perfect place to work on such a substantial piece as the ceilng is 15 foot high and display boards are equally large. All day Sunday the sewing machine hummed along.

Lotta's post about making time was such an inspiration that I yearned for my own customized planner/journal to keep notes and found things in so Monday morning found me constructing mine. The printed pages are from Maylem Made. Extra blank pages as well as pockets are strewn throughout.

The sky here is vast, as is the land. There are magnificent views everywhere you might want to look.

My planner/journal complete, the studio spirits had their own ideas as to what I should creating. 

Circles. 

Thread drawings.

While I've been stitching away, Pam has been painting calm, peace, tranquility.

By the way, Pam can now be found on Instagram and Facebook. We've both been posting to Instagram so stroll on over to our feeds to see what we've been up to. Just click on Instagram in the previous sentence to go to Pam's feed and here for mine.

lines and dots by Pam Sullivan, photo Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

circles by Pam Sullivan, photo Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

asemic writing by Pam Sullivan, photo Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

waves/lines by Pam Sullivan, photo Jennifer Coyne Qudeen