Edwardsville Watershed Park September 14 2014

Sherry and I walk here frequently and have used photos taken at the Park for several art shows and the Butterfly in the site slide show

 There are many birds and an occasional deer or beaver. The woods around the ponds nicely show the four seasons of the Midwest. By Joe Galbraith

Liz's Garden September 14 2014

“I eat local because I can” was printed boldly on the front of a tee shirt surrounding a clutch of Mason jars; that just about sums up my summer. When my husband and I purchased an old farm house and some acreage, I reverted back to the habits of my childhood. The first harbingers of spring are not robins (they are here all winter anyway), but the arrival of the seed catalogues. It all looks so alluring; I just want to grow one of everything.  But time, the most patient of teachers, has gradually led us to plant a reasonable amount of things that allows us to supple the table and the tables of our friends and permit me to stock our cellar with homemade pickles of many varieties and sauerkraut. 

Perhaps our must interesting crop is an heirloom pepper. The grandparents of a friend emigrated from Hungary in 1912. With them they brought the seeds for a variety of pepper particular to Hungarian cuisine.  The family has grown these peppers every year since that time and we have developed a repertoire of recipes for them.

I sometimes think I was born in the wrong century, somehow sewing, growing vegetables and canning does not sound like a modern, theoretically liberated woman. I have decided a pox on liberation, at my age I can do what I want. By Elizabeth Edwards

Mother Earth's Milk September 14 2014

I, Katie Turpenoff, had a lot of fun creating my cow. The cow is life size, made of steel, and filled with 1226 baby bottles. I came up with the idea so that I could enter a competition at my school, Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville, called Sculpture on Campus. The piece revolves around the idea that cows are treated like literal milking machines and we as people have forgotten that a cow is a living creature. The use of baby bottles talks about the importance cows’ milk plays in human lives from when we are very young into adulthood. The baby bottles also talk about the fact that dairy cows are artificially inseminated so that they will constantly produce milk. Most dairy cows only live up to three years because they are one of hundreds that have few caretakers. The baby bottles serve an even greater purpose they make people look at the piece, the cow, and think. That is all I want people to do. I want them to think about the cow, and when people start doing that it means the cow is being noticed again instead of just being a milking machine. By Kati Turpenoff

Welcome to our website where we feature art to celebrate, wear, gift and enjoy! September 13 2014

We are excited about sharing our art, inspirations and plans. Much of our group’s inspiration comes from nature. Its forms, colors, beauty and spirit scenes such as this picture of the Doe and Fawn taken in our backyard. We want use the blog to provide you the customer with information on current and future products, more in depth information on all of our members, art shows, special projects and in the future a means to obtain your feedback/appreciation of our products and recommendations for future products and site plans.

Our artists are a family and friends group who have a passion for the creative arts in quilting, fiber arts, photograph, jewelry, sculpture and painting. The artists in the group include, Darla Andree (fiber arts), Elizabeth Edwards (fiber arts), Katie Turpenoff (metals art, jewelry, sculpture) Sherry Turpenoff (fiber arts) and myself, Joe Galbraith (photography). By Joe Galbraith