Home and at Play

Home from Ecuador at 3am Saturday, up at 6am and straight to an experimental effort with 6 fiber artists and an exceptionally talented book author working with several of us to produce a book for mixed media quilters. Using multi media, some painted fabric (that would be me), some stamped, some silk-screened.... etc etc. There are new to the market acrylics that so far appear to work pretty well on fabrics. It will be a while before this product takes form and is published, but it looks quite promising. And such FUN!

Here, friend Sharla Hicks is 'constructing' a silk screen design.

Screen done, paints added, 1 print made, extra medium added to move paints nicely in preparation for a second screen printing.



The second print looks pretty sweet.




Before I left for home yesterday, I had to snap a photo from the inside of an orange silk umbrella sitting in the sun. Very cool.

Last Days in Ecuador

Such a humbling and rich experience in this country high up in the Andes. The group loved our downtime at the equator.

A little known and much appreciated fact. Shall I move to Ecuador?


Hard to leave. My final hour with sweet Aieesha.




Is she not an angel?

Maybe next year, I can return but til then I have learned I can sponsor a specific child. Choosing one will be hard. They are all so sweet

Latacunga and a visit to the ecuator

What an incredible time in this truly beautiful country high in the Andes mountains. We spent 4 days at the Latacunga Orphanage run by "For His Children" Part time painting te new building.


Part Time caring for the children. No time to put on makeup here.

Oh we all fell in love with little Clarita.


Later to the Ecuator where Ginny and John balanced a raw egg on the head of a nail. Es posible!!!!. Phenomenal. More about this later.

An open air market in Quito

Each Friday and Saturday, fruits, vegetables, and animals some walking, some otherwise are sale for barter in the open market place. We shopped for the orphanage on Saturday.. buying such things are 1oo lbs of potatoes, 75 lbs yuca, 30 lbs tomatoes, and on and on. Some of the group speak spanish, but not all... so we needed interpretation on the shopping list. The armed guard Alfredo helped us with names we didn't understand.

This marketplace goes on and on and on.

There is both beauty and sadness all around.

Late Life Love Affair

We have arrived in Quito and have met several of the sweet children. I have already fallen in love with a wee little girl


and toddler boy.

There will assuredly be more love connections here. There are so many children. This place is unlike my mental image of an orphanage. These children are loved and cared for by committed and loving Tias. Each child has their own special bed and toddlers are trained to make their own beds, put toys away. The help of many people and their donations keep this place going.

Ecuador, Here I Come!

Here we go... I'm just about packed and ready to head out to the airport later today. I'm taking lots of camera equipment as I hope to return with many subjects as possible art pieces. I hear Ecuador is beautiful. Two weeks of baby care at a childrens orphanage. I feel so fortunate to get to do this work. Dunnoh that I will get too many pics posted while there but we'll see. I'll be back on June 27th. If inclined, please include Ray and I in your prayers. I expect all will go fine, but love the good support thoughts as well.

We'll be serving at For His Children orphanage as referenced in the preceeding posting. Wish us luck and hope we don't get altitude sickness. This is ONE HIGH PLACE we are headed.

San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. With a population of 1,397,698, Quito is the second most populous city in Ecuador. The elevation of the city's central square is 9,350 ft, making Quito the second-highest administrative capital city in the world. The highest : La Paz, Bolivia.

For His Children

Okay.. how cute are these little ones?





I love my quilting passion... and I equally love serving those in need. This week I am busily preparing for a 2 week trip (starts Friday) to Ecuador to assist in childrens care at "For His Children", a residential ministry for homeless / abandoned children.

A little about "For His Children"
Supported by God’s provision of prayer, the hearts of an American couple, donations and encouragement, the ministry grew from one child in 1990, to now over 500 children who have been held in the arms of FHC. Currently, 50 to 60 children are cared for in three residential care homes in north-east Quito and a home in Latacunga, in the Province of Cotopaxi. The environment provides physical and emotional support, spiritual nurturing, and lots of tender loving care. The children at FHC range from newborn to 13 years of age.

Loving and attentive caregivers take care of four to five children. The family-like environment is warm, bright and cheerful. If required, a child receives language and physical therapy. Older children receive learning programs appropriate for their age and abilities. We provide encouragement and hope, helping each infant and child to know that God loves them and that He has a plan and a future for them

Approximately 35% of the children have moderate to severe special needs. Almost all have been abandoned by their families. If you'd like to know more about For His Children... here's a link:
http://www.forhischildren-ecuador.org/fhcmain.php?pg=01

Havin' a Ball.. a beach ball that is

I took a day off from quilting. I have a deacon meeting at church tonight and my service team has grub duty.... so it's summer at last and we're having a beach party theme. My hubby baked the cake ( 16" circular layer cake pan ) and I decorated it. We are a team at something.. yeah!!! Now.... if you are inclined... please say a wee prayer I get this thing to church in one piece as there is no cake box big enough to hold the 16" cake on an 18" circle board. I've tried but haven't come up with a funny prayer. Maybe.. Dear God... get this cake and me not unto the church on time, but in one piece. Amen.

I must say: "painting and quilting keep your kitchen a lot cleaner."
Late Night UPDATE: We MADE IT! They ate it! Grins!

Ride that Pony!!

This is an unfinished warm up portrait I did at last weekend's retreat. The original photo and young lady belonged to one of my students. For those over 50, remember those guys with a pony that used to roam neighborhoods for kid atop pony photo opportunities. This pale faced 'young lady' is 35 years old today.. What a fun attitude she shows here.
When painting a portrait of someone with an open mouth... the emphasis is placed on the opening of the mouth rather than the lips... and... paint individual teeth if the original photo showed VERY distinguished separations of teeth as shown here. Sadly, it's very easy to turn teeth into fangs so underplay the separations of them.

Last Class at Material Possessions

waaaaaaa! For those that asked... YES this is the Material Possessions shop in Lake Forest California. This beautiful shop and classroom are closing! Saturday last, we held our last painting with ink class there and I will say the results were fantastic. Fearless students accomplished and learned so much. Shirlee pictured here with her partially completed dragonfly.. is a biochemist by trade, and never painted before. She accomplished this in a mere 3 hours of painting. Way to go! Then we had a visit from retreat student Patty Seebold who dropped by to show us her Mama and baby giraffe done at the retreat. This shop has been the one I routinely taught at because it has beautiful/large classrooms. I'll find another way to teach locally other than with guilds and conferences. Stay tuned.