I'm not sure exactly what I did over the weekend but I was really busy doing it and I have a variety of things to show for my efforts. None finished, but there are some interesting balls in the air. I did get Door #3 designed and up on the wall…

The door is layered and won't be this wide. Since I know what it is supposed to look like I can tell from this that it will work. 

I'm still stitching on Door #2 (in the middle). There's a plant that isn't on the block yet. I did take this photo before I took them all off the wall. I think they are going to be really fun together!

I've looked up and it's Friday – again! How does that happen? I know I was out of town teaching but I did fly home on Wednesday. I know I've been busy but it's a blur. I should be able to look at many things marked off the list but I didn't make a list.  I really need to write things down…

I know I've made progress on Door #2. I have more leaves for the tree and a whole other plant that will go on the ledge above and to the left above the door. I've got the pattern for Door #3 ready to begin working on. 

I've about decided to make each of my doors a separate quilt. I think it will be fun to be able to move them around. 

I did run across this photo of radiators that I took in the first classroom I taught in in Moline. The building, and others used often by the guild, are owned by John Deere. Many of the buildings used to be residences of various members of the Deere family. These are amazing properties and it was fun to get to teach in one of them.

I love the repetition of the design on each 'wing' of the radiator. I should have taken more photos.

Have a good weekend – may you, and I, get some sewing done!

When I teach I am mostly too busy working to take photos. But on my morning walk I have my phone with me and can snap an interesting image. Moline is a pretty city and I enjoyed my time there. There are some lovely buildings but right now I am noticing doors. I've masked off the many stickers on the glass door below….

As I looked at this door and so many others I realized that in the US, we may preserve the interesting parts of a building around a door, but we most often replace the door itself. Think about it. How often do you open a really interesting door? Do you make note of it when you do?

I know why we replace doors. We want more energy efficiency and that is a laudable reason. Businesses want glass so that people can see in. But after looking at so many wonderful old European doors, I wish we had more of them in our lives here in the US. Maybe those of you who live in the first 13 colonies have those doors. Here in Texas, not so much.

What caught my eye here were the areas of red and brown and the contrast between the solid colors and the texture of the bricks. Yes, these are doorways, but I was stopped by the way the colors and shapes worked together on this wall, not by the fact that these are doors.

These metal fish made me stop. What are they for? 

There were many of them, folded over this concrete edge near a restaurant and barand a couple of other businesses. The Mississippi river was a half-block away. Fishing is big here so I know that's why fish are an image that is used. But these guys are just lying there, on the edge of the concrete. The same fish, repeated many times, next to each of the supports for the handrail. Here's a close-up:

They are decorative metal fish with no purpose that I can see. If they were on a climbing wall they'd be a good hand-hold. It is stuff like this that stops me in my tracks and makes me wonder. Why? Honestly, I like things like this to make sense and/or to be wonderful to look at. I guess it's good when something makes me stop to wonder – but then I want an answer and I don't have one with these stupid fish! What are they for?

In other news, Steve is now a blogger! You can see his first two blog posts here. I'll add a link to his blog in my Links area very soon. It's fun to see what he posts – so different from what I post. Isn't it great that we are all so different?!

Some years ago my very good friend, Karen Stone, showed me some of the wonderful paintings in her house. As I was ooohing and ahhhing, she told me that they came from antique stores and garage sales. They weren't 'Art' with a capital 'A'. They were paintings that had been painted by someone and that ended up owner-less, discarded. The thing is that she loved them (and so did I).

Since then I've bought a variety of discarded art paintings myself. This was my first one:

(FYI – click on any image and it should open up larger.)

I absolutely love this painting. I took it to Kim and Neva at The Frame Team here in Sherman – the best picture framers I have ever met. Both of them are incredibly good at choosing the right frame for any project. What you see on this painting is a liner frame in green with a wider, cherry-colored outer frame. Perfect.

Neva and Kim have, over the years, collected similar works. They have a good eye and they get out more than I do. I was in their shop this week and had a chance to see, and photograph, these…

The sailboat painting on the left is calling me. And then there are these…

Look at the cow up close. Goodness gracious, I LOVE this cow (and I don't like cows all that much). The problem is that I have run out of walls!

FYI: Kim and Neva have an etsy shop (click here) where you can see much of what they have collected and have for sale. 

I recently bought one of their finds that we titled Nuclear Sunrise (this was before the cow came in, so to speak). I love it because of the colors in it. It is perfect in the spot above this green cabinet, which lives behind a door in our bedroom. We went with a smaller, less expensive frame for this one. It's a deep violet/raspberry that is really good with the colors in the painting.

It's not a painting I see all the time, but it's an interesting surprise when I happen to be in a spot to see it. 

I could show you more of Kim and Neva's collection here but it's probably eaiser for you to go to their etsy pages. 

So back to the original question: Art or art? When I go to a museum and look at the art, I sometimes ask myself: If this was in a garage sale, would I buy it? Many expensive and respected works do not, for me, pass this test. Once I took that to heart, I find it much easier to find works that I love in the most unusual places.

I've also found that I have much more of a sense of the artist in these discarded paintings. Someone felt the need to express her or himself and they just did it, most likely without classes or training. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but that feeling of the artist is a large part of what makes these pieces more special to me.

The same thing is true in quilts. I find that I am personally very attracted to quirky quilts – and I am looking forward to working more quirkiness into my own quilts in the future. 

NOTE: if you go to Neva and Kim's etsy page, and if you fall in love with something but don't live here and you want it framed… if you do not have a good option where you live I can attest to the fact that they can choose the perfect frame for any of these pieces.