road trips | Beth Emmott

This is the archive for the ‘road trips’ Category

Sweet Gum Prints

July 23rd, 2018

Spent the afternoon a few weeks ago in the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. Didn’t have a lot of time but we walked around, some photography and I collected leaves of Sweetgum Trees. I love their long pointy shapes and when I got home I made this little book of leaf prints.

I haven’t made the cover yet but I’m thinking of a series of leaf books from travels this summer. We’ll see…

In the mean time I did make a sketch book from watercolor paper… and did start working in it. Small sketch of hostas in our back garden.

A simple cardboard cover, closed with a rubber band, with accordion pages of Archers Watercolor paper. My plan is for the simple cover to contrast with a plethora of sketches inside. This is a start.

Weaving on the Road…

June 28th, 2018

Off to Virginia to stay with Fletcher and Cooper while their parents were away and I took my Hokett Loom, yarns and design materials. I knew the boys would have their noses in the World Cup and I would have time to indulge in weaving.

I pack my weaving supplies in translucent bags that all fit into a larger bag. One for my Hokett with the tray I use it on, one for a selection of yarns and one for little bits of equipment. My design supplies go in a small shoulder bag with watercolors, sketchbooks etc. With these two bags I could set up a little studio space and was set!

Got out my sketchbook and watercolors and came up with my design. I’ve been sketching trees and leaves lately so decided on stylized leaves. Next to warp my little loom and prepare my weft yarns. I did bring the little spinner thing that I got from Rebecca Mezoff to un ply my Harrisville yarns. BUT… my design called for black and I forgot that while I needed to un ply the blue and green yarn, I needed to double the black and didn’t bring enough… You can see where I ran out of black yarn in the image above!!! Always something!!!!

I did have more black at home and was able to finish!!! So all is well with one part of my world, at least…

Summer Sketches

November 22nd, 2017

Never posted about our trip to VT this Sept. We had put off figuring out what we wanted to do for our anniversary. Finally it was a few days before and we decided we should do something and we didn’t want to go south as there were terrible storms etc and reports said they could effect the north eastern coast so we figured we’d go to northern VT. Bread and Puppets were having a last of the season performance and that could be fun. We headed to VT and it turned out they had a heat wave—in the 90’s—but we stayed in Rochester VT and saw Peter Brooke’s exhibit at Big Town Gallery and one evening headed south to see Susan Abbott’s exhibit at Gallery North Star which were both great! BUT…Bread and Puppets on a 90 degree day… Once the sun goes down things cool off quickly and the evenings were lovely but that heat and a hot mountain sun… nope!

I did these sketches early in the morning before Bob woke up from the window in our room—well not the berries—they were done on a little hike we took. I think they might turn into a print design…

This morning was very foggy and this sketch was done as the fog was burning off.

So, we left Sunday and headed home and since we had planned on taking off Monday—we did—we went down the shore—to Cape May Point and the weather was perfect and we had a most wonderful end of summer day!!!

Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving and as much as I love fall, I miss summer!

Where is the Summer Going?

July 8th, 2017

Been a while… trip to Chicago for Bobby and Liz’s wedding – beautiful wedding and got to spend time with my sister, Nathalie, which was a treat as she lives in FL and we don’t get to see each other very much! Did a lot in a short time, visited Fermi Labs (that was a treat) and photographed bison, got into Chicago which I haven’t been to since I studied at Lake Forest many years and another life time ago… Did an architectural boat tour and to the Museum of Science and Industry to see their train exhibit which was on Bob’s list. Saw Hope and Cindy coming and going in Columbus… so that was a major quick trip…oh did I mention it was a road trip!

Wedding and Fermi Labs

Bison and Bob

Been working on a web site for a neighborhood group which is coming along but taking longer than it should due to my eye surgery…but that’s been fun working with the members of the group. Other stuff here and there but… WHERE’S THE SUMMER GOING… Getting ready for a trip to Colorado – visit Mary and Estes and then study tapestry with Rebecca Mezoff – this is not a road trip! Once I’m back, we hope to get in a trip to Maine and then school will be starting. I will no longer teach at Philadelphia University but at a hybrid called “Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University)” – I’m not to say “…formally Philadelphia University” so I won’t – I’ll say “…formally Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science” which it was and still is in some hearts!

Taste the Ocean

December 29th, 2016

Every year between Christmas and New Years I like to taste the ocean – sort of touching the rest of the world and reminding my self that there’s more to life than the day to day! Not that I mind my day to day—I love my work and I enjoy teaching but by the end of the year I need recharging and there’s nothing like an empty beach – or nearly empty beach with endless waves to do that.

The light keep changing – sparkling off the waves. Almost every image I took had a different feeling.

Treasures!

At first it looked like the beach had very little on it but there are always treasures if you keep looking—this single leaf, a broken shell here, another there. My gift for the day was Orange, orange stones, orange shell bits, stripes and patterns of all sorts! These will show up in studies of stripes, of curves in my little tapestries, perhaps even paintings…they fill my dreams!

More textures and patterns.

It was a beautiful day—not too cold for late Dec. Sun in and out—always changing— clean, crisp fresh air—this will keep me working for a while!

And we like to end this yearly tradition with a crock of chili and a beer at Charlie’s in Somers Point, NJ. Oh, and the ocean tasted salty!

Musings at Green Cove

August 2nd, 2016

We’ve been away on vacation—a whirl wind road trip to Cape Breton and back. Hiking and sketching and eating and driving and driving…
After a long hike we stopped by the ocean and Bob took pictures while I sat and wrote the following in my sketchbook…

I did take this picture.

Musings at Green Cove, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 2016

water
waves
wind
rocks

young boy hopping rock to rock. I used to do that—like a mountain goat. But now, not so much. So I watch the young boy…

Bob goes rock to rock, not like the young boy but slower, watching, looking, seeing pictures in puddles that the young boy jumps over.

Saw a lot of birds at the end of our hike. young woman—not so young 53 but full of energy and friendship—works for the park—stopped to talk. I know her life history—her parents married, left Cheticamp for Toronto and returned. Her father loved the woods. I know all about her cheating husband. They were musicians, embarking on her perfect life, but… and she told us a lot about the birds.

Blue flowers hiding between the rocks—bright green leaves. Rocks with stripes—cracks and magma—each a painting.

Saw a seal swimming today!
Saw Canadian geese with a gosling.
Saw cormorants and lots and lots of sea gulls—

Tide waits for no man—nor woman for that matter.

We come and go and have hateful presidential conventions and the tide comes and goes—comes and goes—comes and goes.

The birds are on their rock, and the seal swims in the sea and we go about our petty lives—but Bob takes pictures others miss.