Almost finished

Like Gerrie, I am getting ready for High Fiber Diet's show at the Japanese Garden. It occurred to me that the little test piece I made a couple of weeks ago might actually be used for something, so I finished the edges and mounted it on an off-white background. I will hang it in the show.

The bamboo piece laying at the top will be the hanging rod. I figured out a way to attach the bamboo that I like. I drill a couple of holes through the bamboo rod and attach it to the piece using heavy thread and a bead on each side of the holes. Here's a little detail shot.

Gerrie is finishing several of her pieces this way too. She says on her blog she "stole" the idea from me. Feel free to steal this idea if you like it!

You may also be able to see in this detail that I quilted the background by stitching over a piece of cotton cord, actually cotton loom warp. I also finished the edges the same way. I rather like the way that turned out.

The Japanese garden show is a fun one to do because we usually sell quite well. The change of dates from July to September this year may make a difference. It will be interesting to see. The pavillion at the Garden is really a beautiful setting for our work and it is always so pleasant to work a shift sitting the show.

The problem I always have with this show is that I try to hang work that is compatible with the Japanese Garden and the Japanese aesthetic without trying to mimic Japanese art. I'm not Japanese. That isn't my culture. No one in our group is Japanese, but some of the work looks very much like Japanese art. I ponder this every year and come to no clear conclusions except that personally, I want my work to be my own and come from my own vision and my own life experience. If it works in this venue, then maybe that is just a reflection of my admiration for Asian art coming through.