I am making a metal quilt using etched copper and stainless steel. Instead of stitching pieces together, I will rivet the square onto vertical and horizontal strips of copper.

Here the pieces are positioned over the strips of copper waiting to be punched for riveting.

I got into working in metal by trying to harden fabric to look like metal. Sometimes I use roofing tear-off, sometimes shiny new copper and stainless steel. Visit my site and look at the quilts gallery. http://www.LindaLeviton.com

This spring I have a student working with me from Linworth Alternative High School. At the end of their senior year (second semester), each student has the opportunity to have an experience in an area of their chosen field or interests.

Eos Chu is here is the studio. We are working on patinas for the “Patterns of Nature” series.

I just returned from Italy. Here is a picture of me on the bridge in Florence. I was wearing most everything I had on at this point. I had a wonderful week but when I think of Italy, I think sundried tomatoes, not fresh frozen.

I saw tons of art but my favorite piece was this painting by a Dutch artist Abraham Mignon at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. This picture does not do it justice. It was refreshing to see an intimate piece after all the grand frescoes and monumental sculpture.

At the modern art museum in Rome, ” Maxii art” the artwork was terrible but the sofas were very cool.

This could be my next car. I will have to look for one in the U.S. at Toys are Us.

This is proof that the Italians are better at gelato than at snowmen.

Nothing like a good flea market. It really tells you a lot about the culture. I did not purchase anything at this booth.

Well just showing you another side of Italy. Anyone can take a picture of the Trevi or Vatican, but did they ever show you this? Next time I am visiting in warmer weather but at least there were no crowds to contend with.

How do you hang a piece of art that is not square to the wall or floor. This was my challenge in hanging a recent commission for Michigan State’s new addition to the Superconducting Laboratory. My challenge was to hang the piece consisting of 36 separate panels hung as three rectangles at three different angles and keep a consistent space of 1 inch between all the panels.

My solution was to use a template that spaced the cleats attached to the wall and allowed me to move it and use the cleat positions as guides.

Here we are at the 25 ft wall with the template finding the center point of the wall and the template. I marked the center point in my studio, so I had a vertical and horizontal measurement. We used the level to make it precise.

We have the center cleats up and are checking to see if the lower right panel installed is the correct height. Some of the cleats are short to accommodate the smaller skewed squares.

Here we have the center 12 squares installed. We are checking to see we have 1 inch between each panel.

This photo shows how we turned the template to mount the next 12 at a different angle. We had to mount from the bottom up in order to reach the security screw behind the panel which is hidden by the standoff frame.

The last set of cleats is being installed. The yellow tape is holding the template in place to position the last set of cleats.

Finished!

January started out on a fast pace. This week I installed two pieces at the Adena Cancer Hospital in Chillicothe, Ohio. For the entrance of the lobby, I made a large ribbon out of white wire.  This is for friends, family and patients to tie a small cloth ribbon on for good wishes and prayers of healing. You can see some small ribbons that have started collecting. At some point the ribbon will be full of colors. The ribbon is 7 feet wide and 5 ½ feet tall.

For the chapel down the hall I designed and fabricated a cross. Here is a detail and view.  It is made from laser cut wood painted and assembled in multiple layers and colors.  The dimension is 50 inches high by 40 inches wide.

Here is a detail to show the dimension of the cross.

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This past weekend I entered a beard contest. There was a category for women that I entered called “Most Creative Beard.”  View photos of the contest and my competition.

Living in the woods is great. It brings me closer to nature. Nature isn’t always so nice and sometimes it surprises me.

This cardinal flew into my studio and hung out in the rafters.

My husband is holding up a frame from the hive of bees. I found 2 queens which is unusual. Several weeks later all the bees died. I sent 100 bees to the USDA to analyze the bees to see what killed them. Insecticide from a neighbor’s yard? Collapse syndrome? Two of my trees were hit by lightning. They were also ravaged by the Ash Borer. So in came the tree experts to take them down. I didn’t need another tree falling on the studio next to my house.

I just returned from Chicago where they held an artwalk for the new Fountaindale Library in Bolingbrook, IL.  Here is the piece I completed for the 2nd floor of the library.

This piece is from the “Patterns of Nature” series.

I have finished the large painting on copper for Michigan State’s National Superconducting Laboratory. Here is the finished piece shot in my studio.

 The next image is a picture of the mockup for presentation. It is pretty cool to see how it translates to the larger painted image.