New Work: Dates in a Life Walking Project 2024

The Dates in a Life Walking Project 2024 is a year-long painting documenting the number of steps I walked each day. I have documented my steps in paintings since 2016.

I prefer to walk for exercise, as time permits, outside in addition to whatever other walking I do as I go about my day. My goal is to walk as much as I can every day. I use the Pedometer app on my iPhone to document my steps.

I use a system of symbols to represent each thousand steps. Instead of showing exactly how many I walk. The black icons represent up to 9999 steps walked each day, red represents 10,000-19,999 steps and yellow represents 20,000-29,999 steps.

The base monoprinted grid is violet. The Silver background paint shows the days I didn’t have, or make, time to walk for exercise, which lowered the number of steps I walked each day through June. In July, I switched to using Bronze because my work schedule and lunch break changed, which also affected my opportunity to walk at lunch time.

Underneath some individual days, there is a painted line of color to represent reasons that may lower or raise the number of steps I walked that day, such as snow, rainy, extreme hot or cold, illness, and vacation.

For April 8th (the second row on the left and to the right of the yellow icon for walking over 23,000 steps the day before), I documented when I saw the total solar eclipse in Watertown, NY by visually representing the 3 minutes and 22 seconds of totality.

I also walked 20,285 steps when visiting Seattle on November 25th and I walked 23,442 steps on December 31st, which also have yellow icons on those days.

The green dots in the middle of the icons indicate time healing from a foot injury which happened in May 2023.

I had Covid for the first time in June, and documented that by painting an overlay of positive Covid tests over the icons when I was sick or contagious. I did walk around my neighborhood those days but stayed away from other people.

The painting is created with monoprinted textures of a construction fence as the background, handstamped rubber erasers on fabric which are collaged on the background grid, as well as handpainting and stitching on stiffened fabric. 

New Work: Mauve

 

New work in my Wordle series: Mauve.

The colors in the grid represent the results of six of my completed Wordle puzzles, finished in the six rows or less.

The dates of the puzzles are December 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 2024.

The words those days were: Mauve, Crypt, Shove, Hilly, Flung, and Patio.

Mauve is mixed media on board and measures 6" x 6".

New Work: Brown

The Xs (not the letters) in the squares are from the results of my finished Wordle puzzle on November 25, 2024, handstamped on a corner of a very large appliquéd tablecloth that was gifted to me. The word that day was Brown. 

Brown is mixed media on fabric and it measures 11” x 15.5”.

New Work: Sometimes Right, Sometimes Wrong

Sometimes Right, Sometimes Wrong is about being successful (or not) on the sixth row of Wordle. I’m guessing not many people would share when they didn’t get a correct answer, but for me, it’s all about patterns no matter which way it turned out.

The dates of the puzzles are from July 19, August 12, 17, 23, September 1, 6, 7, 27, October 5, 6, 11, 15*, 19*, 23, 24*, 25, 28, November 2, 3, and 10*. The words those days were: Refer, Skiff, Storm, Leech, Mushy, Rerun, Owner, Beaut, Miner, Lager, Gusty, (Corer), (Fiber), Goofy, (Bossy), Frown, Bawdy, Snoop, Blaze, and (Inner).

* The words in parentheses are the correct answers on the days I didn’t answer correctly.

Sometimes Right, Sometimes Wrong is mixed media on fabric, and measures 26” x 27”.

New Work in my Wordle Series

 

I finished these two Wordle themed paintings a few months ago but forgot to post them.

 

I monoprinted a gridded construction fence pattern on the back side of two different upcycled antique embroidered hand cloth knowing that the grey paint from the grid would soak through to the front. The Xs are handstamped rubber erasers.

 

The above painting is entitled Force, Bevel, Quite, Storm. The Xs in each square are from the results of four finished Wordle puzzles on Mar 30, May 26, Jul 17, Aug 17 2024. It measures 10.25" x 18".

 

The painting below is Finch, Manga, Refer, Skiff. The Xs in each square are from the results of four finished Wordle puzzles on Apr 6, Jun 10, Jul 19, Aug 12, 2024. It measures 10.25" x 18.25".

New Work: Mushy, Camel, Faint, and Many More

 

New work in my Wordle series, Mushy, Camel, Faint, and Many More.

The colors (not the letters) in each of the squares in the grid are from the results of my finished Wordle puzzles. 

The dates of the puzzles are from September 1-11, 14-16, 20-24. The words those days were: Mushy, Camel, Faint, Stern, Widen, Rerun, Owner, Drawn, Debit, Rebel, Aisle, Broad, Recur, Honey, Smoke, Seven, Teach, Sea, Handy, and Torch.

Mushy, Camel, Faint, and Many More is mixed media on fabric that measures 33.5" x 33.5".

New Work: Wordle in Hungarian

Hungarian: Elemi
mixed media on fabric
27.5" x 28.5"

The squares (not the letters) in the center squares are the results of my son's finished Hungarian Wordle puzzle on November 19, 2023. They are painted in Hungarian Wordle-like colors on an upcycled antique embroidered tablecloth. 

I monoprinted a gridded construction fence pattern on the back side of the fabric knowing that the blue paint from the grid will soak through to the front. I purposely wanted an unevenly colored grid. The lines of the grid are stitched.

New Work: Occur, Tempo. Cause, and Many More

Occur, Tempo, Cause, and Many More

mixed media on fabric

28.5" x 30.5"

The circles and dots (not the letters) in each square are from the results of my finished Wordle puzzles from various dates between October 20, 2023-January 9, 2024* They are handstamped on an upcycled antique appliquéd tablecloth that inspired me by its Wordle-like colors. 

I monoprinted a gridded construction fence pattern on the back side of the fabric knowing that the grey paint from the grid will soak through to the front. I purposely wanted an unevenly colored grid.

* The actual dates are: October 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, November, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, December 24, 2023 and January 9, 2024.

New Work: Wordle Patterns Paintings

Here are two new paintings with the results of two different completed Wordle puzzles. 

The Wordle patterns and colors (not the letters) are painted in the grid of a monoprinted construction fence pattern, with collaged pieces of an antique crossstitched embroidery. More Wordle patterned paintings are coming soon.

Wordle Feb 4 & May 27, 2024

mixed media on stiffened fabric

8.5” x 11.5"

2024

Wordle Nov 9, 2023 & Feb 15, 2024

mixed media on stiffened fabric

8” x 11.5"

2024

New Work: Boundaries and Fences

 

Starting with an upcycled hand embroidery, a square construction fence pattern was monoprinted and painted in the center. Handstamped shapes and dots are added embellishments.

The handstitched lines are a visualization of real estate property lines that define a homeowners space. The monoprinted fence pattern symbolizes how I protected myself from negative family relationships.

Boundaries and Fences is a mixed media painting that measures 31” x 34”.

New Work: Not Aligned

 

There was a time we were on the same page with the desire to go together in the same direction. But stories change, feelings change, and people change, so much so that they will never be in alignment again.

The “holes” of a small construction fence pattern were monoprinted on an upcycled antique linen embroidery. Machine sewn stitches follow the grid of the fence pattern, with color painted inside sections of the grid on alternate rows from the “holes”. The outer edges of the fabric are painted as well. The space in the center, between the shift in alignment, and radiating outward symbolizes a wound that was slow to heal, but did.

Not Aligned is a mixed media painting that measures 44” x 41.5”.

New Work: Boundaries Were Necessary

 

Boundaries Were Necessary to help protect me from negative family relationships.

A small square construction fence pattern was monoprinted over a small upcycled hand embroidery. Machine sewn stitches follow the grid of the fence pattern, and hand embroidery is inside the vertical and horizontal machine stitching. The outer edges of the grid and the square intersections are painted.

Brightness Were Necessary is a mixed media painting that measures 16.5" x 16.5".

New work: X's and Kidneys

When I bought a tablecloth, with embroidered abstract kidney shapes and small x’s in the corners, on eBay, I saw it as the beginning of a visual story.

Through his DNA, my father passed the gene to Dent Disease, a rare x-linked kidney disease, to me and I passed it to my son.

While I have series of kidney donation paintings, I decided to include X’s and Kidneys in my Loss series because my father and son lost kidney function which resulted in both of them having kidney transplants (many decades apart), and I donated my kidney indirectly to my son, so I “lost” a kidney but in a good way that was my choice.

X’s and Kidneys is a mixed media painting that measures 30.5" x 36". Monoprinted construction fence fabric with hand stamped x’s and machine stitching are surrounded by a section of a hand embroidered tablecloth.

New work: Brightness, Boundaries and Time

 

I always try to see the bright side of life, even when it doesn’t feel bright. Setting boundaries has helped protect me from negativity, though maintaining boundaries can be very difficult. Healing from the difficult times happens over time.

I monoprinted a construction fence pattern over the stitched starburstlike shapes on an upcycled embroidery I bought on eBay. There are multiple layers of fabric paint on the both the front and back sides of the fabric, and some of the paint on the back side seeped through to the front. This was done intentionally. Following the grid of the fence pattern are machine sewn stitches. I also appliquéd hand stamped and painted circles in the spaces that did not have embroidery.

Brightness, Boundaries and Time is mixed media painting that measures 22" x 22".

New Work: Father Figure

My father-in-law was my father figure.

When we were children, my mother kept us from our father after he moved out when I was 6. My mother’s next husband was not a good father to us or his own birth children.

When I met the father of my then boyfriend, now my husband of many decades, I immediately grew fond of him.

I loved my father-in-law. He was brilliant and funny, he spoke dead languages, loved to cook, garden and water garden. He loved the early years of technology, knew about “The Google” before any of us did, he loved setting off fireworks on his birthday which was on Independence Day, and he loved the color green even thought he was red and green colorblind.

More than a decade after he died, I learned that his mother’s mother was somehow related to my mother’s mother, which makes us cousins even though we shared less than 1% of our DNA.

Father Figure is mixed media on a fabric embroidery I purchased on eBay. It measures 33.5" x 34". I monoprinted the pattern of a construction fence in the center of an embroidered circle of flowers that look more like fireworks. Then I stitched the monoprint following the lines of the fence pattern, and painted inside the “holes” of the fence, and at the intersections of the stitching. Additional monoprinted and painted squares are in the corners to balance it out. The embroidery was purchased on eBay.

New Work: Mending the World (and Myself)

 

In Judaism, the words Tikkun Olam are typically translated as “repair the world,” or “mend the world.”

As time continues after the loss of my mother, and milestones come and go, I find myself feeling stronger because I am not anticipating the next uncomfortable situation anymore. I am mending myself by sharing my story and listening to others share theirs so they can also mend.

Mending the World (and Myself) is mixed media on fabric that measures 44" x 60". The fabric is a tablecloth I purchased on eBay. On the edges of the fabric is a cross-stitch embroidery. I monoprinted a construction fence pattern inside the embroidered area, and then stitched red thread following the grid of the fence pattern in the top half, and the grid around the “holes” of the fence pattern in the bottom half. Finally, I fractured the pattern by shifting it a little and then repaired it with stitching and highlighted the lines with gold paint.

New Work: Home Is...

 

New work in my Loss series: Home Is… is a companion piece to Welcome to Our Home, about creating a home full of love (and art), which is the opposite of the home I grew up in.

This painting is mixed media on fabric and measures 31" x 29". Monoprinted and painted construction fence fabric, four round embroidered coasters, and an embroidered sampler are machine appliquéd on a larger embroidery. All of the embroideries were purchased on eBay.

New Work: Three Words I Never Heard: I Love You

 

I saw a meme on social media entitled “8 Things Your Child Needs to Hear From You.” I don’t recall ever hearing “I Love You” ever being said to me or my siblings as we were growing or as adults.

Three Words I Never Heard: I Love You is mixed media on fabric and measures 37" x 38". Monoprinted construction fence fabric and hand stamped x’s and o’s surround hand embroidered fabric (from an antique decorative pillow case), all machine appliquéd on a larger antique embroidery. Both the pillow case and the background embroidery were purchased on eBay.

New Work: Welcome to our Home

 

During my teenage years and before I married in my mid-twenties, I fantasized about creating a home that was filled with art and was welcoming to all who entered. Welcome to Our Home is about creating that home, which is the opposite of the home I grew up in.

This painting is mixed media on fabric and measures 32" x 33.5". Monoprinted and painted construction fence fabric, a green cross stitch, and an embroidered sampler are machine appliquéd on a larger embroidery. Both the sampler and the background embroidery were purchased on eBay.

New Work: Not Twins

My sister was born fourteen months after I was. Our mother dressed us as twins most of the time until my sister grew taller than me before I turned four, maybe five. She continued to grow much taller than me through our growing years, and our mother continued to raise us as though we were twins. When I was in fourth grade my sister skipped from third to fourth grade. We were then in the same grade, and sometimes classrooms, until I graduated from high school after the eleventh grade. My sister and I have very different personalities, interests, and body types. When I became a mother myself, I learned that that raising us as twins was not a healthy way to raise us.

 

Not Twins is mixed media on fabric and measures 32" x 33" with a pattern of a rounded construction fence monoprinted on an embroidery I purchased on eBay. It also has stitching following the lines of the fence pattern, and hand painting.