Out of the fog

I've been fighting a terrible cold. I've eaten zinc lozenges until my taste buds gave out and swilled various syrups to no avail. Yes, I've even done the vitamin C, chicken soup, and water. Every day for the last week I've been saying, "This is the worst of it and I will feel better tomorrow." Yesterday I collapsed (not literally) and had to stay home. Today, I'm happy to say, I believe I am substantially better. What an amazing feeling that is.

I've been catching up on friends' blogs (mostly Rayna's) and thought that it might be nice to at least drop a few words on my own as well.

The year is off to a brisk start, with lots to do at work, and lots to do at church, and lots to do at the studio. Don't worry, I'm not going to launch into an endless To Do list. Who needs to see that?

My big focus in the studio right now is getting my submission for "Quake" ready. Two pieces of art cloth (2-3 yds each) can be submitted for consideration. I'd love to see either or both selected. More importantly, I'd like to create something WORTHY of being selected.

Here's the first.
I think it's done except for preparing it for hanging. I like the complexity, but I feel as though I've been looking at it for so long that I've lost my ability to give it a real evaluation. Feel free to provide feedback if you wish.

...and a detail shot

And here's the second.
I like this piece. Again I have the same concern about how "done" it is. In this case I set my self the challenge to create the highest degree of complexity and layering that I could without washing the cloth. What I mean is that I printed and painted this cloth in about 8-10 sessions, but only washed it out at the very end. By contrast, the piece above was washed 3 times over the course of building up the surface design.