For several reasons, I am usually working on more than one artwork at a time. For one thing, the cross stitched pieces take a lot of time. Once the design is complete, I will do the stitching in the evenings while listening to the TV or an audio book. Meanwhile back in the studio by day, I will be cutting wood for frames or lattice work, peeling bark off branches and roots, gluing, sanding, finishing, etc. Many of these steps require drying time in between, so it’s good to have two or three things in progress.

The two pieces in this post are from two different series, but the first led directly to the second. I was in search of a branch or root to use in “Orchid with Lattice I”. I found a grapevine root in my stash that had a long, awkward part jutting out. I cut it off and it worked perfectly. But then I noticed a lot of movement in the rest of the root (the larger element in “Root Dance II”). I sanded the bottom so it would stand on it’s own and left it on my workbench. Later, I found a second, smaller piece of grapevine that worked with the first. After some fussing and finishing, both were mounted on a piece of sample quartz countertop material and another piece was born! One thing can lead to another.