A peek....

This is a peek at a quilt I am working on for a competition so I can not show you the whole thing but as you can see it is colorful!  It must be this dreary winter making me burst out in color as a protest against perpetual gray.  When I look at this quilt it makes me smile.  I still have quite a bit to do on it.  All the pieces are sewn on and now it is time to highlight and shadow the fabric to give it more depth.  Then will come a checkerboard border (I think) and some thread embellishments.

working on more smalls....

I really enjoy these smalls...it is a chance to dance with little leftover pieces of fabric and create my own world full of color and pattern...and then of course the embellishments/inks are just frosting on the cake....I am so fortunate to love what I do....it is play

Special Order Done...

This is a request for a friend.  I do not have a final title for it yet but am thinking, 'Thanksgiving, Prayer, and Praise', not sure yet.  May let her name it. She wanted warm colors and long and narrow...so here it is.  I used bleach discharge, inks, chenille embellishments and an applique technique. 

As usual I have to wait a week or two before I am sure it is done-but I do like it.

Carry on and play it forward....  :-)

Working on smalls....

Am currently (among other things)..working on making some small pieces to sell. I need  something that people can buy without it being a major purchase.  Normally, I make some ornaments but I really do not like making them as they aren't as artsy to me. The problem is I do not know what the framing costs will be yet..so we shall see if I can keep the prices low.  Below are two compositions that I have just done without the stitching, hair, embellishments..etc, done yet.  I am enjoying making these as they are fun composition exercises and I get to play with colors and my vast stash of scraps!  Will post when I get a couple framed.  I like to think of them as mini art quilts.  Their sizes are under 10" and more then 4", so they are quite a manageable size.  I am liking them....

PS: Note the pink floor.....

 

Here is one with the stitching, hair, buttons....

One more goal accomplished for January!

Quite awhile ago, or if  you prefer 'Once Upon a Time", I traded some of my quilted/collage yardage for some of a talented friend's  felted wool/mixed media yardage.  I have been 'meaning' to make a coat/vest out of it forever.  Well, on my January list of things to do was to make this vest and I am thrilled with it!  (though I am not sure I put the button on the correct side :-)...I am left handed what can I tell you!)  The fabric is just drop dead gorgeous thanks to artist Geri Forkner...who happens to be in Thailand having a show and teaching fashion/textile students.  Just thought I would drop that tidbit.  Now back to some art quilts.....

"Urban Dreams"

Last spring, I was looking at our lovely backyard gardens and I thought how someone living in the city could only dream of having all this beauty surrounding them.  That  thought was the beginning of this piece entitled , "Urban Dreams". 

Am also working on two other projects that are nearing completion....should be able to post them in the next week or two.....keep tuned!

I am in and I am working......phew

 

I am sure everyone is tired of my talking of my 'studio' but it is a dream realized and now it is ready for all sorts of wonderful things to be created in it.  I promise the next pictures will be of art!  I am so happy to have this space...it is actually bigger than I thought it would be.  My husband (the engineer) says it is 532 sq. ft..  Didn't sound like a lot of space but it is more than ample.  Of course you know it will fill up with lots more stuff because that is the law of nature (and quilters).  I have to admit it is a little bit of a pressure to have this space because I have to use it and not be a slacker.....SO-here it is, pink floors and all.  I still have some valences to make and some area rugs to buy...but it is 98% done!!!

Progress

I have no idea how these pictures are going to line up or why I have underlining under my words.  I can't seem to remove it!  But I wanted to share how my studio is progressing.  It is almost done!  Two more days and I can start loading it up.  When I get everything in there it will of course look much different.  The top picture is the room I am moving out of so you can see this will be a marked improvement.  The fact that my computer is intent on underlining all this is driving my crazy so I am going to stop now.  Will post after I load everything in and am functional again.  It has seemed extremely weird not to be able to hide out and create....

(the underlining isn't showing  up in the preview....hmmm)

My studio, my studio...it is finally happening....

 

So it is finally going to happen.  After the small building I was going to purchase fell through we decided to find a way for me to have a larger studio at home.  For two months we have been building a new garage for the cars and NOW we are going to remodel the old tandem garage into a studio for me.  An 'art cave' if you will call it.  I will have room for painting and my textiles.  I can not wait.  And yes the concrete floor is going to be hot pink.  This is my space and when I enter I want to smile.  Thanks for my poor husband who has been emptying all the stuff out of the old garage so that they can start in two days.  Projected time to complete the project is three weeks, hmmmm, we will see if that can happen....Until then I am happy dancing....

Asheville Show...

Show is done and the year is wrapping up.  Next project is remodeling a garage into a studio.  This is starting later this week and I am really excited.  Everything in the studio is on  hold until probably the new year.  I am sure there will be some small projects in order for me to retain  my sanity but no serious sewing until January.  The holiday season is upon us and it is time for family and friends!

Last Quilt for the Show, and then...

...the Holiday season attacks and there will be a slight pause as the seasonal decorating etc...kicks in!
As for now, I will be participating in the Southern Highland Craft Guild Show (October 17-20th, Ashville) which is always a great time.  Come by booth #420 and say hi if you come to the event.  The quilt in the picture is going to be about 40"x40" and will be the largest piece in my arsenal this year.  It is a fun, whimsical piece, which I am liking a lot - at the moment.  All is good, creativity is a high...and it is not even illegal!

"Angels in My Garden"

This is the sister piece to "Dreaming with the Angels", it is called "Angels in My Garden".  It is 14"x29" and is a really sweet piece.  Now onto an optical illusion piece in primary colors and of course I have a lot of busy work to get ready for the shows.  Including pricing my pieces, something I really hate to do.  I know what I would like to get for the wall hangings, I just do not know if they will sell.  We shall see....
 

On schedule and happy, happy, happy!!

This piece is called "Dreaming with the Angels" and I am doing a sister piece right now called "Angels in the Garden".  Both of these pieces will be at the Southern Highland Guild Show in Ashville, October 17-20th.  I have been working steadily since April making a body of work to present.  The usual self-doubts are not surfacing yet and I am happy with everything.  Of course, there are little things I would have done differently if I were to do some of them over.  

The summer was hectic as I had a lot of company (some unexpected!) but all is well and it is a good day......it is a blessed day.....(isn't it nice when things are on track)

piles of this and piles of that!

Just came back from a wonderful visit with my son and his family and now back to work before more company comes.....still working....The studio building that I was hoping to buy fell through the day before closing so I am back to looking for a space.  Life!

creating printing block...

I am gearing up for the Southern Highland Craft show in October and I have to have some smalls so that I will be sure of paying for my booth fee!  I just finished making a printing block so that I can print angels for ornaments again and again and again.  Then I will paint/ink, embellish etc.....I only need about 100 so that will only take me FOREVER!....This was the first run and I have some adjustments to do...then on to making them irresistible....hopefully!!

two panels ready to go.....

Have been working with bleaching/color discharge and decided to go with two vertical panels for the next projects.  Discharged the tops and left the bottom the original prints.  I am seeing a dark city scene for the left and gardeny for the right.

I also want these to have my little angels dancing in the skies or hidden in the scenery.  We shall see what progresses....

Company coming...finish up for now and thinking

So, have been working on these and they are done...love them, hate them....will evaluate them in three months.  They are evolving and I am really liking the triangular angels...

Somewhere on facebook was posted a saying to the effect that " an artist's job is not to evaluate their work, their job is to create it.."  .I have taken that saying very much to heart and whenever I start to critique my own work, I stop myself!

If a creator/artist produces and produces, their style and viewpoint becomes more evident and technique will improve just by the repetition of the processes.  So it is a win/win for an artist to show up everyday and work, work, work.  That is exactly what I do....everyday. 

Sooo..saying all that, I am not judging my work, I am just "evolving" although sometimes it seems more like revolving...but that's a path I am not going down...lol

So much going on.....

a dream of a lifetime is trying to come true..I am about to put a contract on a small studio!  Time will tell but I am ever hopeful.  As for my day to day, I am still working on small art quilts.  The latest two are below....the top quilt is created with silk dyes and the lower with inks....

 

The next ones in queue will not be faces.  They will have stairs and figures.  I need at least 10 more smalls and then I can concentrate on a large piece.  Experimenting with all sorts of products is helping me to identify what processes work best for what I want to accomplish.  A lot of little chores await on my 'to do' list, such as setting up an ETSY store, ordering labels, etc.  Marketing/selling is so not what I want to do..  With a studio on the horizon, it is time to start promoting myself again and justify the expense of my own space.  I have dreamed of a space that I would not have to leave or pay someone's  mortgage off for them and it is just at the edge of my fingertips....wish me luck....d

I just read this and I do sound a little 'harried'...oh well, life

Silk Art Quilts...

Just finished my first trial with the silk paintings for the center of the small art quilts....I have done silk painting in the past but it has been a while.  The time it took for these was much longer than anticipated due to my having to remember steps, etc.  I am reasonably happy with them and will do some more.  The next piece I want to do will be a larger piece using the silk techniques, hopefully, it will be a success!  Onward, I go.  The purpose of all these quilts are to get ready for a show BUT also to build up a portfolio of current work and experiment for a  fresh new look for what I have been doing.  I am enjoying the process...so, I think that is what ultimately counts.   Back to work.....

New Approach...

So this is a year of experimentation and I am continuing the small art quilts but now I am experimenting with creating my own image, ie silk painting/dying, and then I will explore how I want them finished.  Silk has such a beautiful sheen and it makes the whole piece look so rich!  Will probably be using some hand embellishment, ribbons, and textile paints.  We shall see.  I am already thinking of  another technique in the next batch that will rev the look up quite a bit.  Hopefully, when I try my idea out it will look like what I have in my head.  Always a journey...

Just came back from visiting two of my precious grandaughters in Colorado and guess what we did!  My eight year old is learning sewing and we made....you will never guess....American Girl doll clothes....it was a great trip....

Happy creating....