Happy New Year!
     I always love New Year's Day. I realize it's a day like any other, but it just feels different to me. We always put the Christmas stuff away a day or two after Christmas, and clean the house (we don't like starting off the new year with last year's mess.) so everything feels fresh.
      I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions though, because I feel like we should try our best every day God gives us breath. Instead, I try to look for new opportunities to serve and bless others, to grow relationships and to use my God-given talents and abilities to glorify Him. Sometimes, I get so busy with "life" and what it entails that I see these opportunities as burdens instead of blessings.
      So as 2012's door slams shut and 2013's door bursts open, I'm going to try my best to be looking for all of the opportunities in my life! 

     I hope you and yours had a  blessed Christmas and are happily anticipating a New Year! 2013 is going to start off pretty busy around here, with my solo exhibition at the Doss Heritage and Culture Center (dosscenter.org) opening on February 12th. The photo on the left is one of the promotional images. Great, isn't it?! The folks at the Doss have done an awesome job pulling everything together!
    The exhibit will run through May 12th, so there should be plenty of opportunities for those of you in the area to see it. And the timing couldn't be better, because it runs during the Texas wildflower season too!

      Hope you have some exciting plans for the New Year!
      I decided to begin the year by experimenting with dyeing some cotton batting scraps.  At left, the background is actually a plain piece of cotton batting so you can see the "before" color. I used a similar process to how I dye my fabric and I am pleased with how saturated the colors came out. The lower two pieces show some visual texture which is a result of how the batting soaked up the dye.

     This photo shows the back of the darker purple piece in the picture above. I think it is interesting how the the grid pattern appeared as it absorbed the dye. All of the pieces I dyed have this effect to some extent, but this was the best example. When this batting is made, it goes through a bonding process and I believe that this grid forms as a result, but that it is usually unnoticeable. Some more great visual texture though!