Blog

Inheritance

8/9/2025 12:41:56 PM | By ROA | Comment on this

With this piece I am exploring the intersection of our physical presence and the weight of inherited history.  Before we can progress, and at the start of every journey we have to take the risk - pull back the curtain that keeps us from seeing.  It's scary!  There is no knowing how the scenery will change; what will be exposed; how many new paths will confront us.   At the center I developed a stylized heart shaped face which acts as both organ and symbol: a vessel for emotion, memory, and survival.  The curtain of history, a translucent fabric printed with architectural motifs [...]

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Do Not Ever

8/9/2025 11:54:56 AM | By ROA | Comment on this

It all started with  a saying I had written down in my journal and grew into an honor of the woman who shaped me. I brought together memories held in my heart from each one of them.  I found lace used in the dress my mother made herself for my wedding.  Ribbon gifted me from a friend.  A small piece of flowered fabric came from my stepmother.  Grandma's broken necklace, a tea towel my mother-in-law gave me.  This work of art took literally years to finish - worth every stitch!  It reflects my experiences that  stillness is not submission, gentleness is not [...]

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Diana

8/9/2025 9:00:21 AM | By ROA | Comment on this

May is my birth month. It is a month of spectacular change in weather, temperature and the growing of life. Bright spring greens, flowers budding, trees creating hundreds of leaves on a single tree - no one leaf the same as the others. The Roman goddess Diana crossed my mind as I made this piece. She was a fertility goddess associated with new birth and crossroads. Diana is also closely associated with the moon, which is a powerful symbol in sacred geometry. She is the triple goddess - maiden, mother, crone. At 71 years I was finally able to make a commitment to making art, telling my stories, [...]

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Make A Mighty Noise

8/8/2025 1:19:47 PM | By ROA | Comment on this

This piece is a celebration of unapologetic expression, power, and presence. The embroidered figure, arms raised in a triumphant stance, embodies the strength of voices that refuse to be silenced. Bold colors and dynamic stitching create movement, echoing the energy of protest, joy, and resilience. Textile work—often seen as quiet, delicate, or domestic—is transformed into a statement of bold defiance and empowerment. The phrase "Make a Mighty Noise" is both a call to action and a reminder that expression, in all its forms, is an act of courage. Throug [...]

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Weeping Flag

8/8/2025 11:36:53 AM | By ROA | Comment on this

In this piece I sought to engage with the tension between American identity and democratic integrity. Using the flag as both symbol and material, I intended to physically manifest the struggle embedded within the ideal it represents. The wrinkles and folds are not just aesthetic-they are metaphors for conflict, resistance, and transformation. Abraham Lincoln's words offered a moral anchor, remindng us that democracy cannot exist alongside domination. How far have we come? How far have we strayed? The viewer is invited to reflect on whether the democracy we live in still lives up to its foundational promise. This is not just a flag, It is a question. A challenge. A hope! [...]

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ISIS

8/8/2025 10:11:59 AM | By ROA | Comment on this

Often night time dreams fade but this one stayed with me into the day.  I followed a song and walked out of my childhood toward the old oak tree at the corner.  At the top of a hill a man sat singing beautifully.  The song was an alien sound too amazing to be ignored.  It was magical and I felt the magic deeply.   I walk into the woods which quickly becomes a room with equipment and tools.  At the end of this room was a table with a round dusty window streaming what light could get through.  I was part of this [...]

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A Dog's a Dog...

8/6/2025 5:09:57 PM | By ROA | Comment on this

  The morning is crisp and a beautiful blue sky archs overhead.  I can hear a red-tailed hawk crying but am not able to see her yet.  The dogs bounce from spot to spot.  Milo, the smaller of the two runs in a focused head down way to where Oscar is busy.  Both are boys.  Both black and white with similar markings but very very different in size and physical apperance yet people will stop me to ask if they are syblings.   Last week I spent several days in Florida celebrating Thanksgiving early with my brothers. My siblings and I are not [...]

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Grandma's Doily

8/6/2025 4:01:53 PM | By ROA | Comment on this

Making art is an often an act of reverence.  Whether music, words, poetry, visual art or dance each effort embraces some unique moment in that artists life.  Over a very few short years the primary women of my life passed and I was gifted with bits and pieces they had saved throughout their lives. This piece is a tribute to memory, lineage, and the delicate threads that connect generations. Through layered fabric, embroidery, and vintage textiles, I weave a story of heritage—honoring the traditions passed down through women’s hands. The doily, a symbol of domestic care and artistry, merges with floral and [...]

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Washer With Nail

8/5/2025 7:46:10 AM | By ROA | Comment on this

One day some coffee grounds fell onto the counter and dried.  As I brushed them into my hand I wondered what type of textured surface could be made from them.  Over the next few days I saved and dried all the coffee grounds from the morning breakfast.  I’d been experimenting with color combinations growing increasingly fond of how the value of a color could change impacting contrasting colors.  In this case the yellow and blue were interesting but flat.   This was one of those frustrating moments where I always hear (internally of course) the music of the shower scene in the movie [...]

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Nail - Seeds of Change

8/5/2025 7:41:15 AM | By ROA | Comment on this

It was time to prepare seeds for the spring planting.  So many were old but I laid them out to sprout with no success.  I’d been recycling the packages in collage work which led me to wonder if I could use the inert seeds somehow.   As a lover of archeology I watch a lot of documentaries on the digging of ancient sites around the world.  Recently I watched British Time Team group dig up a burial grave hosting a basket with food offerings to the deceased that still held seeds from thousands of years ago.   Ah ha!  Imagine finding a strange artifact [...]

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