The August Artwalk saw over 100 people come through the studio doors. Adults and kids made over 61 circular motifs for the RoundUP mural. Children's Museum board members were there to join in the fun and talk about the museum's progress. If you missed the August event you can be a part of the fun this Friday from 5-8pm.. The fun is happening at Blue Door Arts located at 1608 Capitol Ave.  

,What's ARPA you ask? It is the American Rescue Plan Act funding. The Wyoming Arts Council, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Wyoming State Legislature are the entities that funded and/or handled the grant. 31 Wyoming artist received grants of various amounts to implement a variety of projects across the state.  My project, of course revolves around textiles. The RoundUP mural is interactive in its construction and play value. The first RoundUP WindUP event is tonight, Friday May 13th at Makerspace 307 in Riverton WY. If you are nearby, stop in for some Antelope Chili and a fun night of art making! Event starts at 5:30 but stop in when you can. I'll be here working late. This is such a great space to be creative in!

 Susan Grinels is an animal lover. Her Lander WY studio is dedicated to making art and caring for stray cats. She works with local veterinarians to neuter and spade the cats, then uses a portion of her studio building as a recovery and care unit. Susan recently received a Doris Day Foundation Grant to help in her mission to care for Lander's homeless cats and to control the population. 
 Animal's have been a part of her life since a child, (ask her about how she won a pony and convinced her parents to keep it)! It's no surprise that her depictions of dogs, horses, cows, sheep and more are sensitive and humorous!  
Blue Door arts will be exhibiting Susan's pastels and collages for the month of April and May. Opening reception will be during the Thursday April 14th Cheyenne Artwalk with a closing reception during the NEW First Friday Cheyenne Artwalk on May 6th. Both receptions are from 5-8pm, other hours by chance or appointment. If no one is working at the studio you can contact Georgia at 229-546-5183. ​

Small Business Saturday was started by American Express in 2010 to help promote locally owned businesses nationwide. My gallery has participated in the past and will be open again this year. The space at 1608 Capitol contains the studios of Katrina Vermillion with Indigo Arts and Dave Rowswell's Rawhide Studio. We three artists will be on hand to talk about what we do plus there will be many specials to take advantage of. Hours are 10 till 5....but wait, that's not the end of the fun. Going right past my gallery windows starting at  5:30 is the 31st Annual Cheyenne Christmas parade . 
So- Shop Small on the 27th then bring your camp chair, a warm blanket and a thermos with your favorite hot beverage and you will be set to enjoy the parade.
      Happy Holidays from out West!

​Artists residencies happen all over the world in all kinds of situations, cultures and climates. With a little bit of Spanish and a lot of excitement, I embarked on a personal residency  at 360  Xochi Quetzal in the Fall of 2016 to work on my year long  Leap 366 Life Ring project. 

Residencies are all about giving artists the gift of time. Time to work on current projects and time to incubate new ideas. Fast forward to my February 2021 residency in the  High Plains of Ucross Wyoming, population...25! Ucross Foundation for the arts was started by philanthropist  Raymond Plank in 1983 to, " foster the creative spirit of deeply committed artists and groups by providing uninterrupted time..." Surrounded by snow and a few days of temperatures that dipped to -22 degrees, I was able to spend hours in my beautiful studio working on projects that revolve around textiles as storytellers. Today I continue to work on ideas and artwork started at Ucross in my downtown Cheyenne studio while applying for my next residency adventure! 
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Interested in an artist residency? Here's the website I use to search for opportunities around the world, Alliance of Artists Communities  

My big, little sister, Nancy Quinn, doesn't really like to make things. She would rather support people like myself who do which is just fine because It takes both kinds to make the art world go round. Even though there were a few sighs, Nancy graciously agreed to add a few embroidery stitches on segment #7 of the, Crazy- A Contemporary Quilt about Fashion's Pressing Problems project.
n town for a family wedding, Nancy stayed  with us for a week before the wedding. During a book purging before she left Virginia, she found a Crazy Quilt Stitching book that belonged to my Mother. Knowing I was working on a project that involved stitching, she brought it with her. Together we spent time at my studio stitching and talking all while our Mother, Dot Stiefler, was present through her long forgotten book. 
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PS We had a great time at the family wedding in Denver! 

Putting on your clothes for the day can bring you in touch with people from around the world. Our clothes are almost exclusively made overseas. As an interesting and informative exercise, look at the labels in the clothes you put on in the morning, then when you have a minute look up something about those countries. What's the story of its  people, traditions and environment? For instance, today I am wearing a hot pink, velour sweatshirt made in Cambodia. I Googled Cambodia and the first article screamed this headline:

• Cambodia has closed markets in its capital and extended a two-week lockdown, designating some areas red zones and prohibiting people from going out
• This has created a food emergency for many textile and other workers, with a labour analyst calling the government’s response ‘out of control’ South China Morning Post

Cambodia's garment workers have been hard hit by the Corona virus. Life has always been hard for underpaid garment workers and now it is even harder! 

What else did I learn in just a few minutes? Built in the 12th century, Angor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world by land area. It's one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists around the world. A line drawing of the temple appears on Cambodia's national flag, and it is the country's main tourist attraction.