Summer is coming!

 Yes it is, and the temps are heating up, but we have also had some lovely pre-monsoon cloudiness with some sprinkles - a first for us in June since we moved here in 2003!

In honor of the season, I've been dyeing a lot lately, mostly t-shirts, but also some dresses and aprons:

And as promised in my last post, here's a picture of my Featured Artist window at The Artists' Coalition of Flagstaff gallery in Flagstaff Mall!

I really love how this turned out, and it seems to be drawing in shoppers, woo-hoo!  Yes, sales have picked up this past month, so I'll be keeping the ice made and bringing things in on Mondays when I work the first shift.  If you happen to be in the area, please stop and say hi - we're open daily!

Okay, back to the dye werks, happy June!

Lots to report!

 OMG, it's been almost 3 months since I posted here, time has been flying like a 747, lol!  And if you're too young to know what a 747 is, Google it!

Last post, our new roof was installed, and we were preparing to have siding installed.  Meanwhile, our refrigerator went out, and it took a couple of weeks to get parts to have it repaired.  So the next day we hit our local thrift shop and got a good used fridge that just needed to be cleaned out, and it's now our backup in the garage, woo-hoo!

Siding has since been installed, and the couple that did the job is now preparing to paint it, and then we can call the exterior "Done" for now, yaay!

This is a WIP shot, but it shows how great it looks!  The siding was primed, and I liked the color so much, it's going to be painted the same color.

 

In the meantime, along with dyeing and rope bowl making, I've added another new line of soft sculpture home decor items!  Here are my latest:

These are "Prosperity Hens".  And here is the back story:

Hens or chickens have been a symbol of prosperity in India for possibly thousands of years.  In the harsh climate of Northern India, people were considered abundant if they owned a flock of chickens.  That flock of chickens could mean the difference between poverty and living a life of plenty.  They have traditionally been given as gifts to celebrate life’s milestones.

Prosperity Hens can be placed anywhere you like.  However, traditionally they are placed near doorways to invite good fortune into the home.  Or, you can hang them in a drab corner of your home that would benefit from a little splash of color.  And every time you look at your one-of-a-kind strand or hear the melodic sound of the bell, you will soon attract the abundance you want to fill your home, heart and your soul.

And my latest obsession is fish!  Here's my "Catch of the Day"!

I love these hanging in a cluster, but I also saw an example of mounting them on a small dowel on a wood block, so that's on my "to do" list.

Now that it's mid-Spring, I hope to do some heavy duty cleaning around here, but it will be as time permits.  Now that the weather is warming up, I need to keep working on inventory for summer!

Oh, and one final note:

The Artists' Coalition of Flagstaff gallery where I sell my work has converted our window into a "Featured Artist" display, and I'm next up to be the Featured Artist!  I'll post pictures when my display is up - hope it brings in lots of visits and sales!  Stay tuned... 😉

Busy busy B U S Y !!!!~!

 I have indeed been a busy bee this past month!  And not all of it was dyeing or bowl making either!  

I had plans to have our siding replaced on the exterior of the house this year, and events ensured that we are going to have that done, not to mention a new roof!  Throw in a couple of plumbing issues, and you have an idea of how my month has been going, lol!

Here's the roof after the 4 day project.  And you can see that the siding definitely needs replacing.  We had new windows installed 2 years ago, so once the siding is up and painted, it will really transform the appearance of our home.  Meanwhile, my task is to cut back all shrubs an foliage from the house to let the installers have enough working room.  Good thing the weather is cooperating!

As for the plumbing issues - pinhole in the hose to our icemaker created a "mystery wet spot" on the carpet where I sit at my computer next to the kitchen!  What an ordeal it was to get the spot dry, but it finally got there.  No icemaker for awhile, so I may need to buy bags of ice or invest in some ice cube trays, lol!

BTW, all this "fun" is because we live in a manufactured home and the insurance agency we have had for over 20 years just realized it!  We've had auto and homeowners insurance with them all this time - sheesh!  No doubt, they're reviewing all policies in the area due to our proximity to forest and we have had to wildfires on that area since we moved here.  So in order for us to get a policy with another agency, it was necessary to upgrade the roof and siding.  It will all work out in the end, but it has definitely taken priority over my creative pursuits!

In spite of it all, I have still managed to get a few things done:

I've probably forgotten to include some others, but hopefully my future posts will be a little

more visually interesting!

Sock it to ya!

 I've been having such fun so far this year!  Normally, following the end of the year, I'm pretty much out of creativity and need a break, but something is different this year - SOCKS!  Yep, been seeing some dyed by others and I just had to give it a try, so here are some that I've dyed so far:

The first batch are Bamboo socks, the rest are cotton.  So far, I like the ones tied with stripes better than the ones I just scrunched up, but I'm hoping to come up with other patterns I can create.  All of these will be at the Artists' Coalition of Flagstaff Gallery (formerly known as Arts Connection), in Flagstaff mall.  But, I will also be offering them for mail order - no web page with a "Buy Me" button, but that may change very soon, so stay tuned!  Meanwhile, if you want to order a pair or more, they come in two sizes:  Small (6 - 9) and Medium (9 - 11), and either cotton or bamboo, just e-mail me at judysalloriginals@gmail.com with your choice.  Colors:  Rainbow, Blues, Earth tones, and I will also be offering Purples and Greens for now.  I'll post pix of them when I get them dyed.  Price is $8.00 a pair plus s/h, and I'll be taking payments via paypal so I'll send an invoice for any orders I get .  BTW, at this time I can only ship anywhere in the Continental U.S.  

Meanwhile, Happy 2025 and Sock it to ya!

OMG, the holidays are coming!

 I'm losing it... seriously!  I can't believe it's been more than 2 months since my last post!  My only defense is that I've been busy dyeing and bowl making to get ready for holiday shoppers!  And at last, my racks are full, the bowl table is groaning, and I have a minute to catch up, if I can remember what I've been doing!

Here are a few things:

Tried a new dye on this hoodie... love the color splits and flow

Did a series of these jackets, aiming for lighter, more pastel colors

Made more bowls - love the fabric on this one!

Made a bunch of Keeper Peepers - great gift items!

Brought in a bunch of stuff for Black Friday sale!

I also completed some custom orders, and have 3 more to complete.

Now that I have a full inventory at Arts Connection, I decided it might be a good time to clean my studio, so that' what I'll be working on for a week or more, then I might take a day off, lol!

I hope if you're reading this that you had a nice Thanksgiving if you're in the US, and hope you have a lovely holiday season if you celebrate.  Thank you for reading my posts, and I will be back in 2025!

What's new?

 I've been a busy bee since my last post - ramping up my dyeing to turn out some hoodies, jackets and a custom order:

On the weather front, the temperatures are coming down, and our area is blanketed with brilliant sunny yellow flowers!  Here's a shot I took several years back, but it looks the same this year too:

And here's one bowl I did recently after seeing someone else's creation using this fabric:

With that, I wish you all happy Autumn, coming up later this week!

Flagstaff Open Studios is a wrap!

 What a great event we had this past weekend!  Our 26th annual Flagstaff Open Studios tour was a great success, with 8 artists at our location - my friend Cinde's lovely home!

Above is our group - Phil Goldblatt, Wesley Ayers, Sky Kremer, Mike Frankel and Leandra Pearl in the back row: next to Phil is yours truly, Ann Rice and my friend Cinde Dalhover.  

Here are some shots of the amazing art we had at the event:

Ann's beautiful clay creations - note:  the hanging on the white wall in back will soon grace Cinde's living room wall!

Some of Cinde's amazing bead creations - not shown here, she also creates wall art which will be back at Arts Connection in Flagstaff Mall later today.

Joey Rhue did a wonderful job catering our snacks!  He's an up and coming food artist, hoping to do some small event catering as a side job... delish!

Leandra with her amazing photography!  It's so clear, you feel like you're right there!

Mike Frankel with his recently published memoir of his photographic adventures and experiences in the 60's - he was at Woodstock, and also got to take photos of the Beatles' first tour in the USA!  So many great stories, and the photography will blow your mind!

I had a full rack of tie-dye along with a mess of rope bowls - the main bowl display is just to the right of the clothing rack.  Didn't bring home nearly as many as I brought, thanks to all who came and bought!

Phil Goldblatt's wonderful landscape photography - many from our area, but also some taken in Iceland and other locations.

Sky Kremer, with some of her whimsical artwork - she also creates magical sun catchers that bring rainbows to you when the sun hits them!  And yes, she is wearing one of my dresses - looked great on her!

Wesley is an accomplished painter and illustrator - great imagination and wonderful use of color to create very unique scenes!  He had a lovely array of fine art prints with him, along with some holographic stickers.

Thank you to all who came to our event, we loved having you and if you took away some of our art, we really appreciate it, and hope you enjoy what you purchased!  BTW, many of us are regular artists at Arts Connection in Flagstaff Mall, so if you're in the area I hope you'll stop in and see us and the other artists there!