Sundancers, Wild Women and DreamWeavers

Other Textiles Weblogs

Just a quick note today... It's springtime in Pueblo and, for a change, the wind isn't blowing (small miracle)! Thought I'd show off a bit of Pueblo's unique culture and art. This part of the Flood Wall by local potters, Ken and Judy Williams, in partnership with a local brickmaking company. Ken and Judy have several public sculptures in town. This one is located on Historic Arkansas Riverwalk

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Today's great link: Sharon b's textiles blog In a Minute Ago, has compiled a list of textile weblogs. These are now categorized into easy-to-find, cross-indexed groups. Why reinvent a great wheel? Go check out Sharon's extensive list!

While you're there, also see Sharon's newly posted 5 photo albums! These are a super addition!

Orthodox Novo-Tikhvinsky Cloister - embroidery revival

Arghhh! The Chinese have a wonderful curse: "May you have an 'interesting' life." Life has been all too "interesting" lately. I had a mild heart attack last week - that, in addition to the newly found Reactive Hypoglycemia, (the stuff puts diabetes in the shade for difficult-to-manage) is putting me way behind in the articles I have in progress. You can expect, I hope, one decent article a week and a boodle of links for a while.

I've begun putting together what I can for the Colorado Nework Project. It begins with Pueblo, Colorado, my home town. There are a few interesting references there with links - Pueblo has excellent websites - pop in for a tourist moment.

On to today's great link: The Novo-Tikhvin Womens' Monastery located in the Urals of Russia (or whatever it is called now). Novo-Tikhvinsky, a Russian Orthodox cloister was revived in 1994. Bygone traditions are gradually being revived at the monastery, including icon painting and what they term as "the new embroidery". This consists of "traditional church vestments for clergy, canonicals for churches, monastic clothes, and everything necessary for this big household." All these are traditional patterns, but done via computerized machine embroidery. "The cloister tries to revive the relics of the Urals land as best as it can."

It's a lovely website, full of information, history and pretty decent pictures. Every page is packed with fascinating insights into what was hidden from the world for all too long.

Colorado area Events, Summer '04

If you're passing through Colorado or New Mexico area this summer, there are some exciting things happening in 2004. This is a textiles "jackpot year!" Information/registration for the events can be found with the links

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Govenor's Art Show Invitational - Loveland Museum/Gallery, featuring 33 Colorado artists. Loveland, Colorado. April 25-May 23.

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Denver Art Museum - Changing Seasons: Coverlets from their Collection. Denver, Colorado. Opens May 22.

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Mesa Verde Country Indian Arts & Western Culture Festival - Indian Art Market, rug auction, concerts, outdoor drama. Cortez, Colorado, May 28-June 6.

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3rd Annual San Luis Valley Quilt Adventure, June 19 - July 6, works created by local quilters featured in downtown Alamosa stores. Presented by Gray Goose Fabrics, 614 Main Alamosa, (719) 589-6982.

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Santa Fe International Figurative Art Festival - art dolls - Santa Fe, New Mexico - May 21-23.

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Estes Park Wool Market - Sheep, llama, alpaca, Cashmere & Angora goat, and yak fibers, animals for sale, competitions, demonstraions, fiber related: classes, vendor booths. A major Colorado fiber "spendfest" - Estes Park, Colorado - June 10-13.

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Enchanted Doll Artists Conference - Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 24-27.

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Handweaver's Guild of America, Convergence 2004 - Denver, Colorado, June 27-July 3.

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Denver Doll Artisans Club - guest teachers and information can be found at this link. Guest teachers in 2004 are Patti Culea, Christine Shively, and Anne Hesse.

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"Just Stuffed", a cloth doll club, meets at 12:30 on 1st Tuesday of each month at Ruth's Stitchery, 4440 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Guest teacher June 21-22 is Mimi Winer on needlesculpting. Contact me for information. There is also an evening meeting.

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I'll be adding to this list, so check back from time to time.

Bernie Leahy, stitched drawings

Images © 2000-2003, Bernie Leahy


Bernie Leahy, a prominent textile artist from Dublin, Ireland, is a new presence on the web with her new site, efiberart.com Her focus is
fiberart as line, most often as beautifully executed portraits. These are accomplished by a combination of free machine and hand stitchery.


The stitched drawing at right is entitled "Elsewhere", size: 30cm x 25cm, technique: machine stitched "I Wonder", executed in 2000 for a group show, is a panel 4'x6'.


Leahy's artist statement: "I am interested in Embroidery as mark making, as undecorative & defined line:
The line or mark often delineates the space around the forms, allowing them to emerge out of a tangible ground. The defined line or mark has a hole or point from which it decidedly begins or ends. Currently work is mostly in black and white.
Subject matter is often the portrait, used to convey fleeting moods, glances, moments. Landscape themes, abstracted through a profound interest in colour, also feature in these textile drawings.


If you are lucky enough to live near London or are passing thru in June of this year, Leahy has a solo exhibition June 2-12, "Line" opening at Fabrications Gallery, London (nearest tube Bethnal Green.)

My Story - Celebrate with me!!

After 15 years of being locked out of my studio by my own body and an incredible amount of unawareness in the medical community, I've just found out that the culprit is untreated hypoglycemia. This diagnosis came from a caring, observant woman friend. Why am I not surprised? I've been walking around in some sort of sugar shock for 15 years - unable, usually, to balance a checkbook.

I was classed as borderline in 1967 & again in 1975, told "not to worry" - no cautions or information. The "good doctors" fluffed it off, so I did, too. After all, I was 30, energetic, still believed I was immoratal, and had 2 busy kidlings at home. I just continued to almost drop to my knees every afternoon at 2:00 and grab the nearest Twinkie.

In brief, this is what happened:

I began to suffer bouts of depression, thoughts of suicide were not uncommon. Finally had the good sense to divorce joyless husband #1.

Began having mini "blackouts" - loss of consciousness - at busy intersections & was told by my "good knowlegable" family physician: it's probably "Just Stress", but you have all the classic signs of a brain tumor. Let's check it out. (That thought was soooo relaxing!) No bloodwork was done or any reference made to any other possible condition.

I endured 3 weeks of cat scans and waiting for results. Then was sent home with a well known tranquilizer they assured me was non-addictive. Well, people, it wasn't addictive when I swallowed it. It didn't turn to qualudes until it hit my stomach.

In total panic, I ran away from Colorado. I was divorced and suddenly had no insurance. My parents were retired and comfortable. They'd spend their last penney for me... I knew there was something terribly wrong with me - and I wasn't about to put thier hard earned security in jeaprody.

Fact: During medical training, the current curriculum calls for only 36 hours of drug & alcohol training. The standard PDR is not a drug analysis reference book. If you want to really know if a Rx is addictive, ask a pharmasist who has time to look up! Every pharmasist has the correct reference book within arm's reach.

Beware of drugs that are coated to protect your stomach, many have addictive drugs in the coating.

If there is any history in your family of drug/alcohol abuse or dysfunction of the metabolic system, be very careful about giving addictive drugs to your children, especially codeine. There's no alcohol history in my family, but many diabetics.

Fact: Addiction in some places, (including Denver, Colorado) is being treated as a physical metabolic disease that can be helped (not cured) by adjusted nutrition. The diet appears to be almost identical to diet for low blood sugar or diabetes. There is every chance that the elusive "addiction gene" is related a family history of glucose related conditions.

If you have tried unsuccessfully to quit smoking, if you or someone you love is in addiction recovery, enduring terrible cravings or trying to find the door, you need to read "A Better Way to Treat Alcoholism", ( or any addiction) an article in the February, 2004 issue of Alternative Medicine Magazine.

This does not eliminate the need for AA! The idea is: body first, then the wounded soul.

This a link to About.com's Hypoglycemia information page.There's a list of symptoms there - most of which look pretty unimportant. It takes some medics forever to catch on..."duh!" (Walk in and tell him/her what you think you have.) One common sign is missing from About's list: if it takes you 2-3 groggy hours to wake in the morning & 3-4 cups of real java, you very well may be low blood sugar! You should know that the standard 8hr. glucose test is not valid for low blood sugar. Spend $100 in your own favor and do the one that requires a glucose meter and sacrificing your finger for 1 or 2 weeks.

The story got uglier and wilder, so let's cut to finish:

Today I finished testing to determine how best to treat my glucose condition - the scene's been somewhere between mayhem and murder. I'm a very lucky lady, hypoglycemia is controlled by diet. I also now have a really good reason to break my nicotine addiction.

Last September I celebrated 10 years in recovery with the help of AA and the loving friends I met there.

I've been in loving care of my "Witchdoctor" (phychiatrist whom I met in treatment 12 years ago) for Van Gogh's condition - manic depression. A lovely, creative condition to have, but grossly heightened by use of alcohol.

My devoted companion and gentleman guardian angel for 11 years, Skip, is getting "geriatric", needs my care. I am "really here" and able to give it. Kewl Beans! The old bum is getting 2 massages a day & developing an addiction to my medicinal peanut butter.

**April 29 - diagnosis is now diabetes (also treatable with diet in my case). Diabetes is what happens when low blood sugar is untreated for too long... Oh, well - it's still a lovely good ending to the story.

The Colorado Network Project - art travel guide

I have "Great Expectations" and goals for this weblog

1. to focus on building a travel guide of contemporary fiber-related arts, artisans, and subjects of possible interest to any of us.
2. to begin my Colorado Network Project

Our state doesn't begin at Colorado Springs and end at north Denver! Many of very best events, exquisite embellishment finds, sources of indiginous dyestuffs - i.e. the really good stuff lies off the beaten paths of I-25 and Hwy. 50

I have long wanted to develop a complete travel guide / reference list / library / calendar of the when, where, who to contact, and what lies off the beaten path: events, resources, call for entries, "shopfests", "where to find", and locally known happenings (including monthly meeting schedules) in Colorado to include the small towns of of our neighboring states that are within day trip range. I'm especially interested in the Eastern and Southeastern areas and relatively isolated communites.

I believe will serve 2 valuable functions:
1.) to make sure I and other regional designer/artisans don't pass thru your wonderful "No Where", Colorado or "No Where" Kansas and miss a great opportunity to buy strings of rattlesnake bones to use as embellishments, or a top notch quality but small quilt show that isn't touted in the Denver Post, and especially a chance to visit a textiles group meeting and connect with kindred spirits. I live in Pueblo, Colorado It qualifies as a "NoWhere".
2. To make sure that other kindred spirts passing thru "No Where", Colorado or "NoWhere", Kansas don't zip right by the best stuff because there's no listing / reference in existance.

Obviously, I will need your input!

1. Please spread the word via grapevine and your newsletters. 2. Contribute what you know of your local shops, events, dyestuffs and items with embellishment possibilities indigenous to your area and/or off the beaten paths of I-25 or Hwy 50, kindly leave it in comments so it is immediately available. I will eventually get it compiled and cross-referenced.