Holiday happiness

The Holiday was very nice this year, gifts given were received with enthusiasm, gifts received fit and were things my daughter will actually wear, and we didn't even have trouble with traffic travelling!!

My Daughter received an electric guitar that she had been wanting very badly. Her best friend also got a guitar, acoustic. They have asked me to give them some lessons, so although I haven't played seriously in years, I have gotten my music out and cut off what little fingernails I had on my left hand. It feels good to play again, and the added bonus is that the best place to set up for the lessons happens to be in my studio, so over my long weekend I got it cleaner than it has been in a long time.

I have also been spending more time there, enforcing my new set of rules for myself, that includes 10-15 minutes minimum of stitch time every day. It definitely makes me a better person, and now with music therapy on tap too, it feels as if 2012 is going to be a great year.

Light the Creative Fires

Last night was the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice. As the wheel of the year turns to a new quarter I have made it a priority to spend at least a few minutes in my studio every day. Recently I am sad to say there have been entire weeks that I did not get in there to do anything, so this is a needed shift. I was successful in working last night, both starting and finishing a quilted holiday gift. All that was left this morning to do was bury the thread ends and now, to wrap it. Knowing that the light will be returning has helped me to rekindle the creative fires. Have a blessed and peaceful holiday.

Tis the season.

It has been a busy week, with the holiday preparation in full swing and several kinds of cookies to bake, several gift projects to finish, and still more shopping and wrapping, I have had little time to work on anything else. Oh and did I mention that DH is away for the whole weekend on business. Talk about bad timing. I have two different quilts to finish for customers who want them for gifts, and the bicentennial quilt really needs its final border and the "Hooks" added. Not something I am feeling inspired for.

On a much more positive note, I am developing two new workshops for the shoppe that I am really excited about, the first a "Stitched Meditation" mandala design in handwork, and for the Spring, an Art course in Fabric. That will be a multi week course rather than a project based workshop. I am pretty excited about both ideas and although I have not had time to actually work on them lately, I have done lots of the thought work.

Surpise!!

Surprising for this time of year, but my Black Friday Studio Day has sparked a huge burst of productive creativity. I am nearly done with a sample quilt for a workshop for this Spring/summer, finally figured out how to make Ricky Timms Rhapsody patterns work for my handstitchers club and started the sample, and had several other smaller breakthroughs on other things that have been rolling around in the background for a while. I will however probably spend much of this weekend making holiday cookies with my daughter.

The shoppe will be open late tomorrow for the lighting of the tree that just happens to be right across the street. I may bring the Rhapsody Mini to work on in case it is quiet, but I hope it is really busy.

Studio Time

I refuse to take part in the blatant consumerism that is Black Friday. I am not a shopper even on the best of days, and I just can't condone that kind of behavior. So I spent yesterday in my studio.

I have had a silkscreen ready to go with a freezer paper stencil for months. Silk screening ( or any series of printmaking ) in my sewing studio requires me to unclutter and clear my cutting table. The cutting table doubles as a printing table, but clearing it enough to get the print surface laid out is a rare event. Anyway, having not silk screened since college I wasn't sure how it would go, but it worked out and although I don't think any of the prints were perfect, I am going to over dye them anyway so perfection was not really a priority. I have about a dozen images of dancing jellyfish that are ready to be worked into more. I am thinking that a low water immersion or possibly shibori type process should be next in Indigo kinds of colors. We shall see, I have website work to get done today and I am not sure how long that will take. I will see if I can get a photo of my dancers up soon.

Critique

Seems that the Robert Genn post a few days ago caused more than one person to stop and think. The discussion has been really lively. There have been those who find that in depth criticism by one's self, and others is very helpful, and there have been those who have not yet developed the thick skin needed to handle criticism. Much has to do with how criticism is phrased. Using questions instead of statements invites a better response. I don't like that blue area could be construed as an insult. Do you think that blue should be a bit lighter to contrast with the area next to it a bit less? is much easier to take. Jane Dunnewold has a really good set of guidelines for giving a constructive critique on her blog. Can't get the link up right now, but it is on the tutorials page there.

Someone else has brought up the idea that in order to self critique, you should know what it is that you want to accomplish with the piece. Formal elements of art and design should function to reinforce the message. I agree with this in theory, but many artists, in many media may not be so aware of the thing they are saying. A consistent work ethic and honesty in the doing will often bring out a significant theme that the artist may not have been aware of. This is where I am having trouble. Although I work in my medium just about every day, I do not create art every day, thus I sometimes have trouble with getting going when I do have time to create "for me" I have a silkscreen ready and waiting to get played with for months now - so long that I don't even want to use the stencil/resist I prepared for it. We will see, I should print a few images from it onto fabrics just because, don't want all that cutting time to be lost.

Validatoin and critique

Yesterday Lesley Riley posted an article on her blog about finding validation as artists, and asking a few salient questions on that topic. I got home from work yesterday to find a card and photo in the mailbox of the quilt I made as a wedding gift to my sister and her new hubby, on the bed in the room that they have now redecorated to coordinate with this quilt. That is serious validation.

Then this morning, Robert Genn, in his twice weekly newsletter posted about self critiquing. Somehow my brain melded these two concepts, validation and self critique and now I am thinking about self validation. This is a tricky place for artists. In order to share our work, we must think it is valid enough to put out there in the world. We must also continue to grow and develop as artists in order to keep this validation current. Robert listed a number of questions he regularly asks himself as a form of self critique. I think that is my work valid, and to whom?, should be added. The answer should always include one's self as almost a prerequisite to letting the work get "out there"

Although validation is needed to keep the art making happening, Critique can easily de-validate work, and by default, the artist. This is why self validation becomes a critical issue. I know of no successful artist who really thinks they have no talent. To be successful in a fickle industry like art, you must find the mechanisms to keep up your self validation in the face of the rest of the world- whose reactions you have no control over. What is in your work that keeps it valued in your life, even if those around you don't agree? Finding this answer may just be the thing that keeps you going on a bad day. Today, for me it is this photo I got in the mail. What works for you?

great guild meeting last night

Even though it was a crummy night to drive down there, I am glad I went. The lecture was on Pennsylvania German ( Dutch ) quilt traditions, interspersed with bits of superstition and folk belief of the region. The quilts were beautiful. They asked that we not post pictures online in any way so I can't share them visually with you, but I can tell you about the Red work.

They had two stunning examples. I was sitting close enough to one of them that I did sketch out some of the motifs so I can reinterpret. A corner motif and a border element that are sort of welsh quilting designs. The other was a collection of nearly 250 farm related motifs on 4 1/2 inch pieces of feed sack. There were initials and a date in the four larger squares in the center, and they were all embellished at the seams with a fine herringbone.

The other thing I came home with was the great urge to catalog my growing collection of antique quilts and tops. I have been meaning to get to this for a long while, and the inspiration to actually do it has been trumped a few times by other tasks that bring in more immediate cash flow. Perhaps I can begin that this week.

More Ideas than time

Yes, it's true, My wrist is still sore, its a dislocated bone in my wrist that needs to settle back in to its correct spot, so I can only do so much in a day. Creative time when I can't be creating has left me with LOTS of thinking time, and a whole bunch of new ideas that I would just love to be able to get going. I have tried to get enough done in my journal to be able to pick up again when time and physical restraints allow, but this is so frustrating.

I did get the guild challenge piece done by machine, not at all what I had planned, but it didn't turn out too bad. I'll post after guild. That meeting is tomorrow night, so you wont have to wait too long.

Scary!!!

So today I have a brace on my stitching hand. I have been doing a great deal of hand embroidery lately to finish the hand work on Beautiful Valley, and unfortunately, with other stresses in life, it seems I have been aflicted with some kind of stiffness in my hand/wrist. I hope that some gentle support and rest will restore it. However, the prospect of not being able to stitch is scary. I can work at a machine, and typing does not seem to affect it, only when the tendons are stretching do I feel it. I hope it goes away soon.

Having said that, I guess I wont be doing the hand embroidery on the Art Challenge Piece for guild. Baste and machine quilt is going to be the thing. The theme is Positive and Negative. I used a paper punch to get a bunch of spider shapes, and holes the same shape, then used them to sun print on white fabric. Wasn't quite as clear as I had hoped, but I can work with it. I had wanted to use soem metallic threads to put in a web after the other work was done, but now I'll have to do it by machine. Wont have the same dimension, but I guess it will be ok. Have to have this done for Wednesday's meeting.

Electricity

We take it for granted, but it is a modern convenience that we depend on. Since about midnight on Saturday there has been no power at my home. Our well has an electric pump, so when the power goes, so does the water. Happily there is power at the school, and here at my shoppe. ( Exciting to be able to brush my teeth!) We even brought the dog with us, who is very confused by all this.

My poor hubby is trying to set up a painting studio in the classroom here. He is on a very tight deadline, and trying to make the best of a situation that seems to be spinning out of his control. Who knew that we would have this kind of snowfall and power outages at Halloween. Boy did this change the nature of this day.

Even though we are in a place with power, I am still glad that my work is not so power dependant.

inclement weather stitching

I have a minute or two, so I want to let you all know that I have been doing tons of hand embroidery lately. Beautiful Valley is coming along pretty well, and I am almost done with the block for the Red Hook Quilt. I also finished the sample for the Annual Red work Ornament. I like this one alot. With whatever kind of precipitation it is, coming down I will likely get lots more done on one of these projects tonight. It would stink if this is snow, Hubby is driving home from the city tonight, and it's a long dark drive to make at the end of the day by ones self - and worse if it is inclement weather. I'll just pour myself into my stitching and hope he gets home asap.

Quality, not Quantity

So I have been thinking alot lately about my artistic past. I cannot live there though. That crazy busy active part of my life really defined my sense of color and design. That will come with me no matter where this creative journey takes me. Having looked in detail at those old paintings of mine, some going as far back as High School, I can see the beginnings of my fascination with texture, threads, and low level relief ( can you say quilted surface? ) I can see evidence of the color pallette that I love emerge. What we have done, and what we have attached significance to will always be there in our hearts, memories, and sometimes even deeper in our unconscious.

I have also realized that even though I was so productive then, what now do I have? - a handful of paintings in a storage area. When you consider that I made 3-4 paintings a week in those days, what I have saved as worthy or important is a very tiny percent. Even then much hit the trash as soon as the paint was dry, or the critique at school was over.

Now, with a slower and more deliberate medium, I do very little that lacks significance. So, Quality is higher, the quantities are smaller, but actually, the output of significant work ends up being a bit higher now. And, even better perhaps, much of what I do is displayed and/or used. That beats being in a storage area any time.

What to hold on to??

After this strange weekend, with the water, the potential loss of the last remaining paintings from my past, and my beloved dog undergoing emergency surgery as I type, I am left wondering about what things, memories, or beings I should really be holding on to.

This morning I was still feeeling what I guess was nostalgia for those crazy days of being a bohemian type artist, riding the NYC subway with wet canvasses at rush hour, wearing paint smudges even on my underwear, slightly high from turpentine and linseed oil almost all the time and totally buzzed on coffee at all hours of the day or night. There was a focussed and frenetic energy to life then. My responsibilites were few, my energy was really high, I was about 50 pounds lighter, and I painted all the time. I went through a sketchbook a week.

I learned then what is was to work really hard. I learned what it is like to feel so compelled to create artwork that sleep and food no longer matter. I learned how to put my deepest emotion and darkest feelings into the paint, so that even now decades later, I look at the paintings and am immediately transported back to the moment brush met canvas. Happliy the joys still speak louder than the negative emotions.

My life now is very involved with raising a family, keeping a store running in a terrible economy, and tyring to keep my house from showing up on the "Hoarders" TV show. Creative pursuits are relegated to evenings when the kitchen has been cleaned and the laundry folded, if I have the energy- which I frequently don't. Like any muscle, the creative ones will atrophy if they are not exercised. I think I should have fought harder to keep that energy alive. After I get photos of all that art, I hope I am able to let it go. I made it, learned from it, and maybe it's not the actual art I should hold on to.

Leaking in from the past.

We had some water leakage in our basement over the weekend. Not that much, and the repair bill to the plumber was under a thousand, but some of the things that got wet were my few remaining paintings that I had done when that was my go to medium. Good sized canvasses, mostly oils. We moved them from the basement to the garage, spread out, leaning on every surface we could put them up against. Moved my car out and used the sawhorses. I think they are all ok enough to keep.

Now I was prolific in those days, so the ones I have kept all these years are only the most significant ones. As we moved them out of the water, I faced the possibility of losing the material proof that an important part of my life actually did happen. The person who painted those pieces doesn't exist anymore, I have changed much, but that artwork still stirred deep feelings. When the current set of crisis calm down I will have to photograph them - at least a few of them have never been officially done, and several others are only documented in slides, or 4 x 5 transparencies.

The saddest thing is that I am not sure that my art has actually progressed since then. That stupid leaky valve opened a floodgate of difficult thoughts. If anything cohesive surfaces I promise to post it.

thoughts about the show.

The Show this weekend was really a good one. An art quilt won the Best in Show ribbon, and as it turns out the maker is new to the art form and lives only one town away from here. I did get myself some lovely hand dyes from the booth next to me, and a few toys to play with that I will tell you more about after I have had the time to play with them.

This was the first time the Guild made a CD of all the quilt images, so of course I bought one. Now I will be able to really look. When you are vending, getting a fair look at all the quilts can be tricky. The ones that catch my eye are much more likely for me to see, and the few that I can see clearly from the booth, but there is always a bunch of great stuff I miss when I vend.

I am feeling inspired, but tired. A new floor was put down in my classroom on Thursday, so not only do I have to finish the accounting and unpacking from the show, I have to get the classroom set up for a class tonight. My hubby is supposed to be coming in to help move stuff, I hope he hurries up and gets here.

Oh yes, I did have two quilt entries, they got only positive comments but no ribbons. I didn't expect any, and my apron entry was popular too.

New Quilt to make its face known!!

This weekend at the Dutchess Heritage Quilt Show, in the Village Fabric Shoppe booth, see the exclusive designs for Beautiful Valley. This quilt will the be Block of the Month in 2012. It has 12 of my original drawings as the twelve block designs that center on flora and fauna that is significant to the Hudson Valley. You may embroider them, color them with Inktense pencils, tsukineko inks, or acrylic textile paints, photo transfer, use TAP transfers, or any combination of the above. I have not yet finished the embroidery, but I have gotten them all colored with the Inktense Pencils and the top is together. The monthly meetings will develop you skills with Inktense pencils and embroidery. The instructions for the string pieced alternate blocks and borders from your own stash will also be included as we progress through the year. We will work with color in a very hands on manner. If you want to use the same fabrics as I did the sample in graded blue and green, you can purchase a kit while supplies last. I love this quilt and the first place you will be able to see it is at the show this weekend.

I will be in the booth with demonstrations of embroidery and working with the pencils ongoing as time and manpower allows.

Stitched, the Movie

Well, I am gearing up for the First Dutchess Heritage Quilt Show. It happens Columbus Day Weekend, and I have a few pieces in the show and am vending with my shoppe. My hubby is usually my muscle and second vehicle for transport, but he will be away so that part of it could get really interesting. I am nearly done the quilt top for next years Block of the Month. But that is not what I really want to talk about.

Yesterday, I watched "Stitched, the Movie" It follows three quilters as they get ready to attend the Houston Quilt Show. What follows is my own opinion, your mileage may vary. The artists in question are some of my personal favorites, and honestly I wanted more about their process, Given that they are art quilters, I expected some discussion of the art of quilting. As they had several traditionalists speak their own opinions that if it wasn't hand quilted it isn't a quilt. Comments like, you couldn't wrap a new baby in that, and I wouldn't want that on top of me ( I thought that comment was really funny since it was referring to Randal Cooks large male nude and the speaker was female ) The featured quilters were not given a chance to present the other side of the Art/Traditional debate. I felt that if you were going to go there at all, both sides should be evenly represented. On the whole, I was entertained by it, but it did not enlighten me any farther.

Real Studio TIme

This past weekend I actually got to spend the better part of both days in the studio. I did some wonderful rubbings and stencilling with paintstiks to make the sweatshirt jacket I have been wanting to do for the whole summer. The key is to put it on the schedule at the shoppe and then I can justify ignoring the housework, since I NEED to get the sample done! I also got the quilt for the FDQ Guild show finished, bound and hanging sleeve and all!! And wait - There's more, I even got work done on the Beautiful Valley Project. Although there is much yet to be done, I have great satisfaction at the amount of time I was able to devote to my work. I am trying to keep up the momentum, and the jacket is now much farther along, but the realities of running a store are interfering today. How easy to be border by paperwork when a great project is calling.

Drying out

Well, I must say it has been a wild ride, starting with the refrigerator dying the day before the earthquake. Then the hurricane, with a half finished and un tarped metal roof on the building that houses my shoppe. Then back to school with my daughter starting at the middle school, and thankfully, some new flooring and ceiling tiles yesterday. There is alot more cleanup to go, but I did not have to close for any unscheduled time, even if I did have to reschedule a few meetings due to my entire office needing to be housed in the classroom for a couple of days. Happily that was the only trouble, we have only minor inconveniences compared to what many have been going through. Several schools in the area had to close today due to more rain last night.

I can't go to those badly affected areas to help cleanup, but I can use my skills to make something useful, beautiful and colorful for all the locals who need to re build from scratch. We have done the Pillowcase Challenge before and it is a wonderful way to reach out and let the flood victims know that someone cares. The Village Fabric Shoppe will open its classroom and have machines and donated fabrics ready for anyone to come in and make a pillowcase for this cause, On Saturday September 10. 10-5. If you would like to clean out your stash and donate fabrics bring them, if you would like to sit and sew come on in, and if you want to bring a friend even better. It is a shame that this is a needed activity again, but last time we had a ball and it is all for a good cause. There is more information at Villagefabricshoppe.blogspot .com Join me to dry out Upstate New York.

Its in the details

This past weekend I spent a very stormy day helping judge the needlework section at the local fair. I was not judging quilts, and let me share with you an insight. No matter what the specific category, finishing details that are well attended to, and good presentation matter. No yarn or thread ends hanging loose, make joins or stops and starts as invisible as possible, and please be sure that there are no pins left in, pet hair, or odors. As a judge facing the need to choose a first place ribbon from a category of up to 20 or more entries, any of the things mentioned above can remove the piece from ribbon contention almost immediately, especially in a show that is weighted to the technical side of things. In an Art Show, a hanging thread on the back may not cause elimination if the aesthetic is strong, but at a traditional quilt show, or the fair, work those ends in and make them disappear.

Having said that, the work submitted was generally really stunning. If you can, go check it out at the fair, or after the fair, The Village Fabric Shoppe will have its annual "Get a Closer Look" show for anyone who had work entered and would like to display it. There is a viewers choice award this year, so check it all out.

Current projects

On the Quilt art list Jamie Fingal regularly asks, So what are you doing Art Quilt wise. I have a few things going. I am doing applique for the medallion on the Bicentennial 2012 Quilt for Red Hook. It is coming out nicely.

I am also working on a small landscape quilt based on photographs my sister took of Laguna Beach, while she was on her honeymoon. I was just going to use it as an example for the local landscapes workshop I am teaching, but in the process I found a totally perfect fabric that I had hand painted that IS sun on the water as in the photo so perfectly I can't believe it. Now I need to take this piece all the way to done. I will give it to my sister when it is done.

I am also designing a quilt called Beautiful Valley that will be the Block of the Month at the shop. It has a dozen motif blocks with images of flora and fauna that are significant to the Hudson Valley. They are based on my drawings, colored with Inktense pencils and enhanced with hand embroidery. They are separated by Mountain Star, a string pieced block that forms a wonderful framework that blends into the colorings of the swag border. I have done several of the drawings and written the instructions for the Mountain star block. I have also worked a few samples in the alternate colorway to be sure that my instructions make sense. The hardest part of this process is the writing. It is a hard balance between enough instruction to make it work well and so much instruction that it appears too complicated. I would dearly love to have the full quilt ready to show at the First Dutchess Quilt Show this Columbus Day weekend.

New quilt design

I have been busy with the Red Hook Bicentennial Quilt project and haven't been able to do much else. I am working on a repair job for a customer and that too has taken much time. The new design for the Black of the Month is coming along, I do have an even dozen natural resources or significant wildlife chosen now so I can begin to get the drawings done. Just finding the time to do them may be a challenge, but I have gotten re-inspired in the last few days so I hope it will move along now. I would love to have the top ready in my booth at the guild show in October. If I stop typing and get to it, it could happen.

Zarkana - Cirque de Soleil

We saw it Sunday. My hubby did some artwork from them and so they comped our tickets at Radio City and arranged for us to go backstage before the show - I guess they liked what he did for them!!! As a textile person I was amazed at the costume department of course, and more on that another time, but the whole thing was fantastic. Radio City is not the usual venue for them and all the rigging, lighting, projections and movable sections of the stage had to be built specially. Apparently the only other theater that can use this exact setup is in Moscow. Radio City is on the Historic register so they had to be very careful what they did.

I can tell you they did a great job. This show was different that other Cirque performances I have seen - since it was in a theater and not a tent in the round, Radio City seats almost six thousand, so it was a bigger audience, and the lyrics were in English. They rose to the changes in grand fashion. I wont spoil it for you all, but it was stunning, they achieved some amazing effects using the projection capabilities of a theater setting, the acrobatics were death defying, I held my breath through several. The cast includes a world record holder on the Russian Bar, two Olympic gold medal winners, and several multi generational circus families. -- Isn' t it amazing what you can find out backstage? It was an unforgettable evening.

A busy Exciting time

Well, I am exhausted. First, at the Bicentennial meeting yesterday, Eleven block kits were handed out to be appliqued and embroidered. I have one left that is made up, and four more applique pieces to finish designing and hand out.

Then let me tell you about the wedding. Last time I gave a quilt at a family wedding, the family made me open it at the reception and show everyone. I was a bit awkward. So this time, knowing that there might be a few tears ( and there were ) I decided to present it to them the night before. Several family members were there and she couldn't read the inscription on the back to us without a sob. Then she unfolded it and there wasn't a dry eye in the room as I told her about the fabrics in it that I had used in other projects for her, and then she noticed the starfish and hearts, and declared that it was so beautiful she might hang it on the wall so the dogs wouldn't shed on it. She laughed and thanked me for putting washing instructions in it. She has a black lab mix, and a white Eskimo dog mix, so dog hair is always an issue.

I also saw a niece who now lives in Ohio, who I don't get to see very often. She told me that the quilt I made for her when she was born 10 years ago, is her favorite, and that she brings it whenever she travels. She travels between Ohio, Florida and New York frequently due to a family divided be divorce. I am happy that something I did brings her warmth, comfort and happiness. That is why we give quilts. You may remember my post a few weeks ago about giving quilts as gifts, and I was feeling a bit jaded and cynical, but this and my sisters reaction have restored my enthusiasm for sharing.

Technology to the rescue!

Sometimes, technology is terrific!!

I have been working hard on getting the patterns ready for the bicentennial Red Hook Quilt. It seemed to take forever to get the reference photos, and I did end up taking some myself, but converting the photos to line work and getting the drawings to size are so much easier using a good program and a printer. It has been a huge time saver at just the right time. With a family wedding this weekend, and the kickoff meeting at which at least a few block kits need to be handed out, I have very little time to mess with and even five minutes saved is something to be thankful for.

I will share more about the wedding and the reactions to the wedding quilt when we get on the other side or the event and I can think clearly again.

Last and NOT Least

Well, two weddings are now history. My sisters is this weekend. Once that is over and they are happily on thier honeymoon, I can get back to my own things a bit. Red Hook Can is having a Pop Up Gallery on the 15th here in town and I hope to have a few pieces ready. I will mount some of the Journal quilts on canvas so they can be hung with a normal picture wire, and hope that a few of them sell. I do need to talk to the committee and find out what thier requirements are. Of course, they have not done anything that reaches beyond the Insiders yet. Have not seen any announcements and the link from the chamber of commerce is not to be found.

In the meantime the 2012 Red Hook Quilt is finally moving along, and I even have plans for next years block of the month.

Time, and Significant Ephemera

In my last post I talked about Time, a resource I have had very little of lately. With three weddings in three weekends, two of which demand Art gifts from me, I have been really busy. My sisters quilt just needs the label now, and the other "Significant Ephemera" piece is done too, just needs hanging wire. Unfortunately Blogger is being fussy about photos right now so I will have to put it in the gallery later. I have had such a good reception to these Significant Ephemera pieces that I am now taking commissions. The little bits attached to important events tend to land in boxes and drawers once the event is over, and then years later get discarded. I use these pieces of paper, announcements, invitations, ticket stubs, photos, and other Significant Ephemera provided by you for the piece, to create a wall size quilted artwork that is then canvas mounted for hanging or framing. A Gift of Significant Ephemera will preserve a moment in time for all time. Those ticket stubs might just be from a great show, but if they were from the night on which you proposed to your wife, how much more meaningful they are. If their significance is honored they become part of your personal symbolism.


I am a symbolist at heart. The storyteller in me loves to find the hidden meaning behind an image, the use of a color, motif or style. As an artist I am happiest when creating work that is full of hidden meanings, like plants that have medical uses, Animals that are symbols of certain character traits or abilities, colors that create a certain reaction, you get the idea. I love to look at artwork of all kinds that includes this kind of content. When we put a heart in a wedding quilt, or a Forget Me Not on a Memorial, then you have not only enriched the piece visually, but in terms of content also. As I have gone through my life, I have embraced different symbolic images as life has changed. Ultimately each of us finds their own meanings for the symbols in our lives, What are your symbols, and have you quilted them? -or can I Create a Significant Ephemera Piece for you?

QN and Time

Well, there are now pictures online of the quilt national '11 quilts -at least the award winners. Once again it was my goal just to get an entry done in time ( which I didn't), can't imagine how excited the award winners must be. The Dairy Barn website has all the info on this years show. Unfortunately, it is not yet touring anywhere near me geographically, so I will have to be content to search online for photos until I can get a copy of the catalog. And maybe for 2013 I will make the deadline with a piece I think is good enough.

I have been thinking about time and creativity alot lately. Time is a resource we cannot get back, that spends no matter what we do with it. If we do nothing, time passes, if we schedule so much in our day that we can't find time to sleep or eat, time passes. Like any non-renewable resource, we should keep our eyes on the big picture when portioning it out. And what is worse is that for many women, time for creative activities is low on the priority list. Much of my sewing time is centered on class samples and other shop related needs. Portioning off time for working on an entry for a show gets pushed down lower on my list on a regular basis. I have at least ten projects in various stages that need to be worked on before I get thinking about a QN entry. Of course I do have some time before the deadline for the next one in 2013.

And so it begins.

I began the free motion on my sister's wedding quilt last evening. It is going OK, but I cut out a bunch of the border motif from the Golden Threads paper, to pin down and quilt around and didn't realize how much they would blend in with the color of the border fabric. Transparent Yellow on Sand, after dark. I had traced the top one and cut out a stack at a time so many of them didn't have any drawn lines. They were really hard to follow, so for the rest I will have to trace them individually. Even if the paper blends in, the lines will show up. I think I will also need to make more than I originally thought. They look really good on the wool batting, the motifs stand out very nicely. I still may hand quilt the center motif if I have the time. It will be easier on me physically than trying to get to the center of this large piece on my standard home machine.

Her bridal shower is tomorrow. I know that she knows I am making a quilt for them, but she will get her first glimpses of the colors and fabrics. I hope she likes it, it is way too late to change it now. I will also go very well in the newly painted guest room if she doesn't want to let her dogs Who sleep on the bed, jump on it. I hope she knows that I won't be insulted if it goes in the guest room.

Old Fashioned Bed Turning

Last night at guild, we did a Bed Turning. It was really fun, and quilts that wouldn't get entered to our show got to be viewed and the story shared. To me, it seemed to go right back to the roots of this craft. Mostly women ( the custodian at the school was the only man in the room - but he was amazed at the work ) getting together to show off the work of their hands, and share their heirlooms. There was a quilt made from the husband's ties after he passed away, another that was found in a barn keeping hay off equipment that turned out to be a treasure, several accomplished quilters shared their very first quilt and how they came to make it, every single quilt shared had a great story. We viewed over fifty quilts, and could have taken a whole night on any one of them to hear about conception, fabric decisions, construction, finishing and history.

The enjoyment of these quilts was enhanced by hearing the story of it, which is why it is so important to label your quilts with at least the date, better to include your name and town and if you are ambitious a bit about its origin. Some day, some total stranger may have it, and be thankful for and value it more for knowing it's story.

Another way to help preserve the story is to begin and keep a quilt journal - A central place to record each project as it is being made. You can include pattern sources, fabric swatches, technical notes on batting and thread choices, even the actual templates if used. Each step of the wedding quilt I am making for my sister is in the Quilt Journal Altered Book that began as a sample for Art Camp this summer. I have posted about this project before, Altering books is fun, and keeping it as a quilt journal is fantastic. Some day I will share the whole process with my sister so she can see how much work goes into a quilt. She is an athlete, who insists that I got all the sewing ability in the family. For now I need to concentrate on getting the quilt itself done. Last night's bed turning at guild has me all primed and ready to go sew.

Sketchbooks

Last night I went to the opening reception for the seniors graduating from the IB art program. I was impressed. Although most of the work was thoughtful and well executed, the thing I keep thinking about this morning was the sketchbooks on display. They were left out on tables near the work. each table had 3 or 4 books, one each belonging to the artists whose work was displayed close by. Guests were encouraged to flip through them.
You could tell that these books were an integral part of the creative process, perhaps even the more important part. There were elements collaged in, drawings, journalling, altered pages , and they were jam packed. Some had art history and color theory notes, some had lists of museums to visit, they were works of art in and of themselves. I spoke to one girl about it and she said that her book was her whole life.
I miss that practice. The intensely personal interaction with ideas and media breeds better art. I think that is why I am having so much fun and am getting a bit obsessed with the altered book I am working on for Art Camp this summer at my shoppe. Obviously it is themed around quilts, specifically, Art quilts that inspire me. The pages of a well worn book are naturally warm and comfortable, it is thick and takes paint really well, stitches as well as any paper I have worked on, and there is no fear of messing it up, or trouble with facing the blank page. The book can serve as a record book of completed projects, a repository for ideas for future projects, and a central place to keep frequently needed reference materials. Yes, There is an appendix in the back that holds lots of charts.

The thing that seems to hold me back a bit is that this is for a workshop, and so I need to be able to demo every technique I play with. For me, that changes the flow of the working, I am conscious of how to explain the process as I am working, sometimes I even speak out loud to hear how it sounds. That awareness of how others will see it as I am working changes the level of involvement with the process. Time is also a constraint at the moment. I MUST finish the quilt for my sister, and I have several sewing jobs for customers to do, so I need to squeeze in the book at the end of my day. Here's to getting through the stuff we have to do so we can get to the fun part.

Now for the Quilting

This morning, I finally got the wedding quilt for my sister basted. I laid out the back and batt yesterday, and by the time that had gotten done with that my back had begun to hurt so badly I had to stop. I am wearing a support belt today so I could get it done. Now to try and get the quilting going. Her shower is a week from this Sunday, no way it will be done for then. Have another idea anyway for that event. I also got the invitation to a good friends wedding the weekend before my sisters. That one is a second marriage for both of them, and her kids are the bridesmaids. They are not getting a bed quilt, but might get a photo transfer of the invitation quilted into a wall hanging. It all depends on how busy I get and how much the back trouble interferes. I could get them a waffle iron if I run out of time.

For my sisters quilt, I took the starfish and the seahorse that graced the invitation and used my computer to enlarge them so I can use them as quilting motifs. I will quilt in the ditch by machine and then do some fancy things by hand ( as long as I still have the time ) As usual, I have grand ideas of what I'd like to achieve with this project, but I warn all of you to not hold your breath. I may have to show it to her unfinished and promise to have it done when they get back from the honeymoon. I think I will also have to ask to borrow it back for the guild show. Especially if all the plans work out, it may be ribbon worthy.

It's too Short

My Deep Spaces entry that is, - what were you thinking? There was way more take up in the quilting than I expected. I don't usually quilt this much, it is very dense, and even though I had added extra length for that reason, I didn't add enough. Do any of you have a good idea of how I can add another inch without it looking like I did? The background could be described as string pieced, and I have thought of even possibly adding a short fringe that would give it the needed length. I guess the other question is how carefully will they measure. Having not entered this show before I don't know if the inch would even be noticed. I don't know how strict is it. Let me know what you all think. - and no I can't post a photo until I am sure I wont enter it.

last night was great

Bonnie Hunter was the guest speaker and she was fab!! I knew I would enjoy it because she is a scrap quilter and does some string pieceing she is a kindred spirit. I brough two of my vinatage string quilts to share with her and she flipped, and photographed them. Purchased one of her books so I could have her sign it. She inspired many last evening, traditionalists and art quilters. I have gotten a few really good thoughts on things to do at the shoppe as a result of Bonnies talk, and the reactions to her work that I saw happening all around me. The reveal of the challenge showed a great variety of work, with a bolder feeling than last time. It seemed to me that there was less of a need to keep it looking like the photo, and a sense of more freedom of both technique and image. The next one is a lovely photo of a pair of Zinnias ( I think that's what they are ) and the challenge is to interpret in black white and grays. I think I am going to do it entirely in thread work. I am so happy that the idea has already come to me. This time I may get the piece done the way I envision and actually have time to get the hand work onto it. Exciting, ideas are flowing hard and fast today. Lastly, but not least, I got my center for the round robin back and they did a great job with it. They didn't add much in the way of new fabrics to it, but did a great job working with the bright color palette and dealing with the asymmetry of the design. I wanted to put them up to a less technical, more aesthetic challenge and they rose to it in a wonderful way. I now need to decide if I want to add to it and then quilt it. The official reveal is in June. I will get photos of my challenge piece and the round robin as soon as I get new batteries in the camera.

big night at guild

Tonight, at our guild meeting, Bonnie Hunter is the speaker. She is a scrap quilter and I am looking forward to her lecture. I have a vintage scrap quilt that resembles one of her designs so I will bring it along to share with her. Sharing inspiration is what guilds are all about - even sharing inspiration with the guest speaker. When I go out to lecture I love it when members share things that they know I will like.

It is also the reveal for the second Art Challenge. Got my piece mounted yesterday and It is pretty nice. Had planned to do a bunch of hand stitching on it, but I ran out of time. Of course, I had made the original piece way larger than the requirement, and it turned out that I had enough quilted to make two, so I will do the hand work on the second one.

It is also ( I told you it was busy ) the last trade off of the round robin. This time we get back our own center. I can't wait to see what they have done with what I sent around. Based on the other pieces that have come through mine will be a challenge. The strong color, the hand painted fabric, raw edge applique without fusible behind it, Should be interesting. Just in case you don't remember, here is the piece I sent around. I will post it again after I get it back for comparison. I am wondering if the sawtooth lady will put one here too. Of three pieces not our own that came around, she put a sawtooth on two of them. I really can't wait to see the results.

lots to do.

The Art Challenge piece got a coat of viridain All purpose ink last evening. It ran into the stencils a bit more than I had expected, but the colors are good. I am now thinking some thread painting in some shiny threads within the designs themselves, and perhaps some more surface design. Getting the motif and then not looking at the photo anymore has allowed more to happen that I expected from this design. I want to work with a few more layers so the almost Asian feeling of the motif isn't so strong. I like the exotic association, but it is not where I am at, and I don't want that to confuse the issue. Now that I have a base motif to work with, I have found a small piece of lace trim that has the right kind of motif that I could do rubbings from, and two different rubber stamps that also have the right feel, one of which I had carved for another project. The piece is due one week from today, and in the meantime, my hubby will be away, I have to get the taxes done, and my daughter needs the PowerPoint for the backdrop of her solo ready for dress rehearsal on Tuesday. SO we will see just how far this piece goes.

Art Challenge Underway

So sorry about the rant of a few days ago. My back has been out all week, and with yet more snow in the forecast I was feeling really grumpy. I have gotten over it, I think, and last evening I got down to work on the Art Challenge piece for guild. I enlarged the inspiration photo and took a good look. The challenge is to choose an element from it and repeat it with variations to produce an 8 x 10 quilt. OK so there are lots of little bits in it, and I found a semi abstracted flower that seemed interesting. So I got out my circle templates and sketchbook and started playing around until I got something that resembled the bit in the photo. Now to decide how to repeat it with variations. Well, there are lots of surface design techniques that would work. I settled on a stencil, which I then cut. I have used paintstiks in warm metallic colors to stencil it numerous times onto a piece of fabric that is much bigger than I need. Once they have set I am going to use water based media to paint around them. Hopefully the result will look like a resist. Sometimes it actually does resist, and sometimes not, but that is the look I am seeking. The organizers have asked us not to reveal the images until after the results are presented to the guild so I wont show you any photos yet. Challenges like this are wonderful for letting you experiment, and get a jump start for the creative engines.

Rant about elitists.

I just spent some time catching up on the Digests from the Quiltart list. Apparently this weekend, there was a huge discussion about the content of Quilting Arts and other magazines. As a shop owner, artist and amateur textile historian, I truly believe that we should not look a gift horsed in the mouth. Many of the regular posters on the list are by all accounts successful artists with an established style and methods of working. How many more quilters are out there who do not fit that category and are looking for more help. If that vast majority of people stopped buying then we would lose the magazine. There are many reasons to buy/subscribe to a magazine, and no one magazine will always be the perfect fit for everyone. We should embrace the needs of all quilters, art, traditional, or some where in between. Personally, it is the only quilt magazine I subscribe to. I enjoy the good photography, celebrate the more contemporary outlook, and often refer customers to information contained within its pages. Honestly, sometimes I resent the "artists" who forget that everyone has to start somewhere, and look down their noses with an elitist attitude at articles that present a technique, or give a pattern. There is a place for it, for many an article is the beginning, and a place to jump in. How many of us could have learned our craft without publications containing actual information. Ideas are great but they wont show us how to begin.

Inspiring Crocus

This past Sunday, the Spring Equinox, and I got really inspired by the single crocus that appeared in my yard. We didn't have any last year so I though they were all finished, or their bulbs eaten or something. The rich purple petals and the nearly fluorescent orange stamens were just so proud to be there. Then Mondays weather happened and it snowed in the morning and turned to freezing rain and then mostly melted by nightfall. Not too many living things are happy with those kind of quick changes. Yesterday wasn't too bad, but now I fear it may not survive the 6-10 inches of snow expected today, But I know it is there.

At first I was really angry at the weather, but that is just silly, I know that there is little I can do about that and getting worked up is just a waste of time. One thing I can do is create art about this. I had been waiting for the next flower in the herbal series to call to me, and now I think it will be crocus. This plant has been known as Saffron for ages, and certain varieties are still very valuable. (Just check the prices for genuine saffron for cooking and you will see what I mean ) It has been used as a colorant, flavoring and herbal cure, and in my life, seeing it means that Spring can't be that far away. I may have to buy some potted to draw from, but that just means that next year there will be more than one in my yard.

You can see the last herbal quilt, Lily of theValley on the gallery page of this blog

Plankton

No, not the Spongebob Character, that is the title of one of my recent Art Quilts. In the photo, it is not hanging flat, but the top is being pinched by the makeshift hanging system. The shaped bottom makes it look even less square, but rest assured that at least three sides are. The improvisational background includes silks, satins and assorted found fabrics. The Plankton themselves are hand embroidered and raw edge appliqued by machine, after the quilting had been done. Its about 36 x 48, and I tried out the new Deco Bob Thread. I did all the quilting on this piece, a sample of spiral couching and two bed size pillowcases before I had to change bobbins. It handled great and I have a new favorite thread. ( I have a Viking Rose - with a standard size bobbin by the way )

I am fairly happy with this piece, It feels like an idea I can explore alot more, the little hand worked plankton are addictive to work, and I already have a whole pile of new ones for the next piece. Last night I laid out a possible string pieced background for them that just might work for the Deep Spaces exhibit. Don't have the link handy for that, but the Prospectus is on the website of Jean Larkin Van Horn. It has some very specific size requirements that I need to remember to work within.

If you like the background of this quilt, come learn how to piece in this manner with the workshop I will be teaching at my shoppe, on March 17 & 31. There are more details on my store blog, www.villagefabricshoppe.blogspot.com It is so much fun, and allows you to use lots of seemingly random bits. I often make a large piece like this from leftovers of more traditional projects that are samples. It helps keep the scrap box from overflowing too badly and puts loved bits of fabrics into a project where I can actually look at them instead of having them buried in a big messy pile.

I think I have a cold coming on. Last night I was supposed to go to a meeting with a friend who was going to give a small talk about her quilts. I should have had plenty of time to have a nice dinner at home with the family and get there, but I sat on the couch to hear my daughter play her flute solo and totally fell asleep. She didn't wake me, but turned off the lights and covered me with a quilt. When the dog woke me it was too late. I am also really congested this morning. Lots of fluids for me today. I hope I have enough energy this evening to get a little more done than last night. I wish I had the time at work today to take it a little slower, but I have a big repair job to do on some vintage curtains for a customer and it needs to get done. I hope there isn't some strange dust on them that is making my nose run. Could make the job really unpleasant. Oh well, break is over and time to get back to it.

Productive Studio Day

I took yesterday as a studio day. With Presidents day and my daughter off from school, I was able to get to work on MY schedule. I got the new silkscreen taped, and developed a design that will work as a freezer paper stencil with it, and finished the latest quilt except for the edges.

The bottom is shaped, and so it will need a faced edging. It has improv piecing, and is quilted with the Deco Bob Thread, I like this thread alot, very thin so it can disappear, but with a little sheen so if you choose a contrast color it has a nice spark. Plus, I quilted the entire top with a single bobbin!! So nice to not have to stop and change out the bobbin so often. Once the quilting was done, I used padded raw edge applique to add the plankton, which had been hand stitched. I will post a photo when I get the finishing done. I have two curtain jobs to finish at work, so the quilt is relegated to evenings until I get to next weekend. Too bad because I got a good momentum going.

The Evil Queen

Yesterday I was trying to get rid of a headache and found that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was on one of the family channels. I hadn't seen it in ages, and it was a really clear print. The Evil Queen is a fantastic bad guy. She isn't ugly at first, and that is part who she is, but the inner ugly comes through and she gets exactly what she deserves in the end. Her death is not actually shown, but there is no doubt about the outcome. The life lessons in traditional fairy tales ( this one is based on a Grimm's tale ) is actually lost when they are watered down to keep them from being scary. Being scary is exactly the point. If the bad guy isn't bad, how can we take satisfaction in the triumph that is the happy ending? It is so sad that the recent stories reworked by Disney are so polite and nice. The whole point of these tales is lost, and sometimes the story itself is nearly unrecognizable. Even my daughter was impressed with the Evil Queen. ( She is never given an actual name ) A good adversary makes for a good story, a wimpy one just doesn't work. Just my opinion, I'll take the Evil Queen any day.

Finished

So I actually did finish my daughter's quilt in time to get it on her bed for her birthday - put it on her bed while she was getting her teeth brushed for bedtime, but she was under it on her birthday. If I can get her to let me, I'll borrow it back and take a photo. In the meantime it has snowed lots more, and I couldn't get out my driveway yesterday to get to the Shoppe - but when I got here today there were no footprints so I would not have had any customers anyway. So what did I do to cure the terrible jitters I got waiting for the plows? I finished another quilt. ( that makes two totally done this year already ) This one is smaller, about 18 x 24 inches, but it had been sitting on my design wall taunting me in a half finished state for over a month.

Lilly of the Valley. .

The semi string pieced blocks are embellished with decorative machine embroidery, the Lilly is drawn on muslin with water soluble pastel and pencil and hand embroidered, then raw edge appliqued in place by machine. It is a little bit brighter than the image shows, but I am happy with it. It feels very Spring, and that is a wonderful and hopeful way to feel with all the snow around. My usual February craving for good bright colors is right on cue. Let me know what you think.

Beware of Sugar Free Gum

Last night was long and scary. When I went to bed last night, my dog followed me as usual, but was restless. I let him back out of the bedroom thinking that he needed to go out, and my husband who was up late working on a project would let him out. I dozed off and at some point the dog came back and was curled up on the bed when my husband came in and woke us up. He had found a chewed up box from Orbit gum under the dining room table. Now my dog gets into things once in awhile, but sugar free gum is dangerous. The sweetener Xilitol can cause their liver to shut down and they pass into fatal hypoglycemic shock. We know this because we had to have his stomach pumped once before for this very same thing.



Anyway, we discovered that the wrapper had come from my daughters backpack, so we had to wake her at one am to find out if there had been any gum in the pack. Thank goodness it had just been an empty box he took out of the open front pouch. He regularly inspects her pack because she carries lunch in it and he must have found it. Although she assured us there was no gum only cardboard, I simply couldn't get back to sleep with the thought that I might wake up with a dead dog asleep at the foot of the bed. Happily that didn't happen.



So if you have a dog or two, be extremely careful, xilitol is in gum, toothpaste, and chap stik type lip balms. All of which my dog is very attracted to, I swear he can tell when it is there as good as if he could read the label. Even small amounts can be fatal.



To bring this back to Art, it has me thinking that I should do more than a small sketch now and then about my dear doggie. My last pug didn't get onto a quilt until he was gone, I shouldn't let that happen to this one.

Highly Prized

The theme for this month is Highly Prized. I posted some drawings and thoughts on this subject in my last post, but the theme has me thinking on what things I really prize in my life. One thing that has come up is the enjoyment I get from sharing the creative process with others, teaching. Especially with kids, as they have a fearless kind of energy and enthusiasm that the more grown up student often suppresses. As an example, I did a sewing project with my daughters girl scout troop. These worry worts are based on the ones in Socks Appeal. It took them the entire meeting to get them done, but they did it and as you can see in the photo, the resulting creations had lots of personality. The girls really had fun making them and their response was so good that I am now working out a possible after school program for upper elementary level kids. I think it could be a good thing for the neighborhood youth. The ability to make things is something that is being pushed aside in the wake of the technology based world we now live in. By the time this young generation reaches adulthood, the ability to actually make things will be highly prized, so I feel that it is my obligation to pass on what I know to them. My skills that I highly prize, may just get to be highly prized skills for them too.

Sketchbook Challenge

The theme announced for the Sketchbook Challenge this month is Highly Prized. My first thoughts are, my hubby and daughter, and my dog. Well, I almost never work figuratively, so I guess the dog is my subject. He was very obliging to take a nap in the middle of the living room floor so I could sketch. I used a graphite stick for this, it makes big smudgy marks that allow for tonal drawing. When getting the drawing muscles going again, not having to commit to a hard edge is comforting.

Ok, so I am reasonably happy with this. So next I started thinking about other items that I find fascinating, and are for me highly prized. The stuff that I collect. One thing I have a really nice collection of is entomology specimens, - bugs and insects. so I did a quick sketch of some beetles. This was done with a mechanical pencil, the more linear material forces you to be a bit more decisive. Even though you know you can erase, you also have to make your marks with a bit more commitment. ( It is also the most common tool at hand in my life )

SO here you have three beetles. They are all in the same specimen box. The large one is a giant Dung Beetle, it is 2 inches across. The other two are much smaller, but both bright green metallic. The color is stunning, and eventually I will do some color drawings of them. Right now I am busy getting the lead out and simply drawing with no real other need than drawing. You know, for a topic that had me stumped at first, ideas are starting to flow.

I am also interested in fossils. I have a slice of an ammonite that I find intriguing. One side is rough, as you would see it if you found it in the ground, the other has been polished and you can see the structure inside the shell. The actual shell part has been replaced with a mineral that looks alot like hematite, and the soft parts of the organism have fossilized with other minerals. I didn't have it to hand at first, and based on my memory of it I did the top drawing. I think it would make a great stamp, I may have to carve it. But then I got out the actual object and did a "from Life" version. I used a black brush pen for the hematite part, and pencil for the rest. Interesting differences between the imagined drawing and the from life versions. Notice also that I felt strong enough to use an unforgiving mark maker like a brush pen for some of it. The biggest part of getting back to drawing for me is getting back the fearless factor. A sketchbook is a private thing, it will only get shown to whom, and when I decide to share it. There is no need to be afraid to make a mark. There is no need for perfection. The value in the sketchbook practice is in the thought process that happens when you draw. But more on that at another time.