Category Archives: Landscapes

Agate, Alpine Lake, Felt Work, Foundations Series, Foundations XXI Whipshock Hill, Foundations XXIII Water Marked Sandstone, Landscapes

Eliminiated

October 17, 2014 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

I want to talk about being eliminated from a judged show. I have entered three this fall and of the five quilts I entered and paid fees for, none was accepted for the shows. One never knows the” why “of such rejections. Even having been a” holder” for Scholastic art compactions and being in the same room as the Judges- I sometimes could not understand that “Why” question. Judges are people with tastes and biases of their own. One time I did hear one judge say” I never accept any art with a skelton in it.” Sense I as a teacher, had used a skelton from the science room as part of a still life with my own students, I felt that sure was an unfair feeling for a judge to carry. But they are people – not gods even though they are given lots of power. Perhaps the work did not go with the others selected. Or maybe the judge did not like the design or color combinations. The artist never knows those things. My Father often said” It’s not so much what happens to you, as what you THINK about what happens to you that makes the difference.” With that in mind, the whole experience becomes one of choice. I could be angry , hurt and sad by these developments, but I choose not be be. I still feel my work is good and I am proud of what I do. I

enjoy the process and that is the important part for me. It would be nice to have someone- a judge confirm my feelings- but that is not the case at this time. Lastly, I am the one who chooses to enter the competitions. I will let time heal over the feelings and try another competition that may fit what I do a little better next time.

I spent a couple of days working with Nancy on her sky again. She is becoming quite a good painter with a sponge. She built up more clouds and the work has some real depth now. I think that we are done with this step and the quilting will add even more demention to the final. I am so proud of all the chances she takes with her work.

Asurite Foundations XX 34" X 44" $1100.00 — Asurite Foundations XX
34″ X 44″
$1100.00

Progress Report: Asurite Foundation XX This quilt was finished in June, but I have not posted it because it was an entry for one of the shows I mentioned above . One of the limitations on entry to this show was that the work was not to be shown publicly before . This quilt was lots of fun to work on and I am quite happy with it even all these mouths later. I added lots of metallic fabric in this work as well as many silks and satins.

I used some fancy yarns and threads in this work as well. I find that when I pickup the actual rock that I used as inspiration- I see more possibilities for additional pieces . Only time will tell.

Whipshock Hill

Foundations XXI This is a second quilt that was part of the same entry mentioned above. I finished this work in June. It is based on a cut in the road along Route 279 nine miles west of bennington Vermont BO16-Whishock-cl3 . In actually it is about 500 yards long and a very humbling sight. I added lots of yarns and ribbons to the surface of the quilt as there were lots of little fractures and lines of thin deposited color changes in this rock face. There is also some silk paper in this work.

Alpine Lake

This is a new technique that I am developing that is a very college like approach to quilting. I am continuing to think more in the way of color for the solutions then the type of fabric I am using. I even used an old bit of a paper quilt that was the correct color and texture for the water in this work. I used some double knit on this one as well as silk, silk paper, organza and cotton fabrics. I even did a little free motion zig zag work to add more texture to the tree. I need more practice to get that under control.

Agate I am still adding hand work to this felted work to add texture to the surface. I may have given up doing Daily’s , but I still am doing lots of hand work.

WaterMarked Sandstone I started this new Foundations Piece earlier this week. This one is loosely based on an old black and white photographic of sandstone that has watermarke erosion on it. I know the typical colors of sandstone so I am trying to stay in that limited range with this first step. I really love the texture and I am having fun planning ways to show it in this work.

New work This is a pure play piece. I am not at all sure what I am doing and have no clear idea where I am going with this. The scarps had just been in the bottom of one of my baskets and I thought they looked good together…… Quilting, crumpling and following the directions of the work may or may not help this. But I am willing to give it a bit of time and freedom to see what happens. Giving myself permission to mess up is very freeing!

I like to hear feedback, post a comment.

Keep your eyes open to the wonders of the season.

Carol

Alpine Lake, Chrysamthemum, Diva Meetings, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Golden Weeds, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs)

Fall Leaves

October 9, 2014 admin

Hello,

I so enjoy fall, not just the color- and this year it it wonderful, but one of the best things is the sound of walking through the fallen leaves. The crunch, the swish, the crackel, all those sounds and the earthy smell always seems to bring me warm feeling of golden days and slowing down. A heightened feel of awareness of the wonder of the world we live in. I love it.

These beautiful flowers are a gift from my friend Noel. They sure bring the colors and feel of the season into my dinning room.

This was meeting week for me. Tuesday QuEG’s meant at noon. Everyone had lots to share. This shot is of some electron microscope images that Linda thinks she may use as starting points for some work. All of these are various liquors.

Liz is just home from a two week trip to Ohio to Nancy Crow’s barn and a workshop in using Graffiti and Lettering. She had a pile of altered fabrics that she has created that will keep her busy working all winter on just this topic. This one is called “Art Boys”. It sounds like she had fun.

Barb continues to work on her crazy quilts. I really like the Victorian feel this one has. She will have some great family remembrances when she is done and what a great way to collect and display the little bits one seems to collect from family members- like pins and such.

Angela is busy dying again. I love how she uses her abilities to get such wonderful work. This work has several layers of dye on it. These scarves are for the hostesses who are doing a baby shower for her grandson later this fall. She is so wonderfully generous with her work.

Sally is back at her embroidery machine creating wonderful cards for Christmas and fun family gifts. This strawberry is her own design and a family gift. She always give the kids $ presented in a unique way. This year the cash is wrapped inside the layers of the toilet paper inside the berry. She also went so far as to machine embroider the family’s name on the first sheet of each roll. Too much!

Sue Ellen and Corrine are both doing finish up work. Something about fall I think, we want to tidy up a bit before the confinement of winter. Corrine had three wedge cut baby quilts that she was finishing.

Sue Ellen had three distinct, but traditional quilts she had finished and this wonderfully fun Sea Horse piece she created. Each panel in the horse body is a different print and they are all connected with metallic cord that has been zig zaged in place.

Then I went off to the Diva meeting. Cheri and several others of us had spent a few days felting last month. Using materials she produced at that time, Cheri has finished a felted vest for her grand daughter. She used one of her jelly roll slices to create a pin too- its on the right. What fun!

Marty went along with me to the meetings and she showed one of her wonderful Nebula quilts. Everyone is amazed, myself included, in all the bead work and her tiny button whole stitching. She told us she used over 400 beads on one of the nebula pieces. I enjoy how she uses hand dyed fabrics too. wonderful images.

Liesa is working on her Map quilt. All the trees and buildings are in place now. She says there will be more quilts like this one of different locations.

Anne had lots of work to show- four pieces I think. She is getting ready for the Ithaca Art Trail that happens this weekend and next. I like this little whimsical piece the most. So much freedom and action here.

Noel had a wonderful little work that again displayed her techinque. She makes all the blocks and then can try out several arrangements before she puts them together. I like this layout myself.

Susan is getting ready to fly south for the winter. She sold one of her unique little birds that she showed us at the last meeting. Because she wanted to commemorate that event she did these four little paintings of the birds saying good bye. They sure project the happy smiling feeling that Susan always brings to every situation.

Then there was a FAB meeting yesterday morning. Nancy is making great progress on her Flower Bed quilt. She uses big prints and strong colors so very well. This is about one fourth of the top. I can hardly wait to see the full effect.

Patti is doing beading. I love this wonderfully designed small bead- it is only about one fourth inch long( that is the grid of a cutting matt it is setting on) This is the first for a bracelet that will have at least eight unique beads similar to this one .

Chrysanthemum 39" X 48" $675.00 — Chrysanthemum
39″ X 48″
$675.00

Progress Report: Chrysanthemum I am very happy with this work. I used lots of the wonderful silk that I had pruchased from Ginny – most of the reds and purples are her fabrics- and I used the fabrics I had printed on as well. I am still playing with the off square cutting and piecing with this work. It creates challenges when one is quilting and putting sections together, but I am enjoying the process.

I had a good time with the free motion quilting on this work as too. I started with the center most blossom and sort of followed the shapes and forms of the flower to unite the layers of the work. This photos shows how I extended the quilt lines out to finish the petals were need be too. I did total free designing of the flowers in various sizes to fill in all the spaces that remained. I enjoyed this project, but I will admit that I will back my silks with interfacing the next time I use them so I do not get quite so much uncontrolled movement of the seam lines.

Golden Weeds This quilt is having a second life- a sort of face lift. I thought it was done three years ago- and it was OK- but when I was considering work for the Man In the Moon show and I had pulled it out- I thought this just is a good background. Then it hung on the wall for a few weeks. While on a walk, I was taken by the beauty of the Tessel weeds along the road side and thought they were strong enough to stand on top of the old work. First I machine drew in the heads and stems of the plants in a variegated thread. Then I looked for a stronger unit to place on top of that work to make it appear as though some of the plants were even closer to the viewer. I found this copper colored woven ribbon in my stash and felt it would do the job. By adding folded satin ribbon for stems the job was complete. The work is a lot stronger now and I just added a second label to give info about the additions and name change on the back.

Alpine Lake I started playing with the idea of creating a landscape of a mountain setting with a lake. It is all created on top of buckram- so it will not wrinkle up on me – in what I am starting to think of as my college style of construction. I am not gluing anything down, but building from the sky forward with the image. I attach all the parts with machine drawing that adds texture and detail to the work. It is a process that I am enjoying.

New Work blue This is just a background- done this time on purpose- that I want to play on top of. I have some vague ideas about where I am going, but I am still in the sketching stage.

New Work- wavy cuts This top is the same as the one above it. No plan other than to see if I could use wavy cuts in this piece. This too is pure experiment.

I am having a good fall and enjoying walking in the leaves, keeping my eyes open for ideas and just soaking in the sun shine.

Keep your curiosity alive.

Carol

Chrysanthemum, Hand work, Harmony, Sand Stone Church

Busy Two Weeks

October 2, 2014 admin

Hello,

It has been a very busy two weeks for me. I not only traveled to Ottawa for four days I took a felting workshop, spent a day with Ethel making silk paper and a day painting sky with Nancy. The world around here is starting to show its fall colors as well and the days have all been wonderfully comfortable. I spent the end of the first week doing a felting workshop. We played at all the techniques we knew with each one of the participants demonstrating her expertise in different areas. Victoria taught us about nano felting as she has been doing a bit of this with her niece. All of us come with a different design approach, so they all came out very unique. Cherri really liked this method of creating felt and she ended up doing at least three pieces in this style. I was told she is making a vest for her granddaughter with some of it. One of the gals did not do wet felting but started with wool that had been felted in the washing machine and needle felted little pins with this technique. By doing this method she had lots of control and created very detailed work. She was making pins and added beads and manipulated the felt as she worked to create various textures in her pieces. I really liked the way she manipulated little wisps of wool to add nice details like the soft line of green in the leaves of the red and gray green pin. The second day we did wet felted Jelly Rolls. Mostly we created flat disk like units – but Cherri also created some plant like forms with her green felted units. After lunch I tried making felted beads and had a good time with that too. I have no goal for their use and they may rattle around the studio for a long time before they find a home- But I sure enjoyed the process. One can also do three dementional felting using the dry method. This mushroom is a great example of that. I did a little seasonal piece using a wool base and dry felted roving into the surface were I wanted the different colors to remain. It was a fun time and I enjoyed it very much. I can certainly add this technique to my work.

Then I went on my travels to Canada. I love to travel and feel it is very invigorating. Travel can open ones eyes to look at ordinary thing and pay attention to the every day. I was especially taken by the wonderful gingerbread work on this house. I might have noticed it at home, but I probably would not have taken the time to look carefully at it or take a photo. The fact that it would not appear in my life again if I did not act then helped to sharpen my vision. We went to Ottawa with the intention of visiting the museums and did that. We visited all three of the major ones there. Our fiat stop was the museum of First Peoples. It is a wonderful mix of history and the current lives of the Native Americans of Canada. By building these mock up of Traditional Northwest Tribal buildings the museum presented the totem poles in their normal settings. Inside the houses were displays of artwork again showing historic works and contempary ones as well. I found the whole day very exciting and I am sure I will soon create a work using this influence.

The next day we went to the National Art Gallery of Canada. Again it was inspiring. I have always liked the work of the Canadian seven and it was great to see the work live.

Then on Friday we visited the Museum of Natural History. The building is beautiful although it looks like it was built in the early part of the last century with its stain glass and carved wood. Some of the displays show this same old flavor but most are very current. There are lots of interactive displays and each sections also had a play area for smaller children.

I spent yesterday working with Nancy painting a sky for her quilt. It was a beautiful day to paint out doors.

We had a good base to work on top of from the first attempt two weeks before. We agreed it needs one more day to get the finial effect she wants for this portion of her quilt.

Progress Report: Harmony

Harmony 24" X 42.5" $370.00 — Harmony
24″ X 42.5″
$370.00

This work displays the Japanise Character that stands for Harmony. That is where I got the title. The two orange silks are from Japan and I felt that this was a good way to celebrate that fact. I looked at many renditions of this character before I settled on this form. The black of the shape is all chain stitched in embroidery thread.

Sand Stone Church

I purchased Valerie Goodwin’s book “Art Quilt Maps” in the spring even before I took my second class with her this summer. I thought I should try to follow her instructions on how to build this type of map quilt and this project is the result. This work is based on childhood memories of a Sand Stone Church that was in the pasture next to the one my grandparents owned. My brother and I often played in the church and in the cemetery that was just up the hill from the old building. The church it’s self had no roof and the local natural stand stone was curmbeling away in some places so we felt safer in the cemetery- espiceally under the big old oak that stood in the corner. The branches were low and we could easily climb quite high in that tree. The second close up is an areal view of the gravel rural road that ran in front of my grandparents house and the farm yard around the house, plus the garage and barns.

Smoky Twilight I am enjoying using the many tints and shades of gray I have for this work. It is in the very early stages of assembly, but I think it is starting work.

Chrysanthemum I am to the free motion stitching/quilting part of this project. This work got away from me as far as size is concerned and grew quite a bit from my original plan, but that does happen from time to time. Again I am using some of Ginny’s silk in this project( the red show here)

Enjoy the colors of fall and keep your eyes open to the possibilities for ideas all around .

Hugs

Carol

Charlotte's Shadow III, Daily's, Foundations VII Fragments, Maya's Tee Shirt quilt, Shaving Cream Printing, Tee Shirt Quilts

January 23, 2014

January 23, 2014 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

It is cold here in the north east and that has kept me indoors more than normal. I really enjoy the ice crystals on the storm door and I tried to take a photo- but they are not at all satisfactory. So I will use the old fashion method and just keep the selected sections of the patterns in my memory. Staying inside means I worked a lot in the studio however.

Charlotte's Shadow III 19 " X 30" NFS — Charlotte’s Shadow III
19 ” X 30″
NFS

Progress Report: Charlotte’s Shadow III This is the last of the quilts made with Charlotte’s fabrics. I even used her stuff on the backs. These quilts are not for sale as I intend to give them as gifts to the three gals who were her sweet mates at Quilting By the Lake for many years. I feel I got better and better at doing free motion flowers by the time I reached this third piece too. One does hope that is what happens at any rate. I did start out copying the printed image and then progressed to creating my own flowers and leaves to fill the rest of the quilt. I did take creative linces and created some of my own flowers near the end too- mostly due to the space limitations and I did not want to compete with the images too much. I also did lots of swirl and free curves in the quilting to cross over areas and pull things together. The whole process was pleasant and I enjoyed myself.

III Foundations VII- Fragments

Foundations VII-Fragments 38" X 40" $535.00 — Foundations VII-Fragments
38″ X 40″
$535.00

I am happy with how this quilt looks. The full shot does not show how it flows for me but the color patterns are very visable. This quilt has yarn, silk paper, organza and nylon netting on the top of a base built with cottons, parts of a wool jacket, a section of one of my husbands shirts and some very old taffeta. I really enjoyed mixing all these fabrics to get the colors and textures I was seeking with this piece. The back has been dry brush painted to seal the threads created by all the free motion work. I did the free motions work with nylon threads and cotton ones to get the colors I wanted in this area too. The more I practice sewing with the free motion the easier it becomes. I am espically happy with the ability I am building sewing down the yarn without trapping it under organza first. It means that I must move very slowly- but it is worth the effort.

I also did some used some colored pencils in different areas of this top to add more texture and detail to some sections. There is a little paint on the surface too. This new direction makes me I feel like I can employ any tool to create the texture and colors I want with these work. Very Freeing!

Maya’s Tee Shirt Quilt I am starting to build the units for this quilt. Yellow – for Yellow Jackets- is the main color. I have various patterns and shades. Then for interest I have inserted narrow bits of black patterned fabric at random locations. The process is very slow- but I think it will be worth the effort.

Stenciling with Shaving Cream I spent a few hours on Monday afternoon using my stencils to create some new images on fabric. I created these and several other screens in October. I like to do the printing of them in the winter when things slow down a bit at this time of year. I am espically pleased with the white print on the dark fabric of these thisel inspired images. I mix ink with shaving cream and push the mixture through the thermo fax with a credit card. I like the slender lines of branches in the gold on the white fabric on the left too. That image is older- but I always find it very useful in my stash. I will print a second color on top of some of the images in a day or two.

New Work I decided to do another collage quilt. I started out with a drawing based on a photo of fungus growing on a rock wall. Then is the source of the colors. I also decided to work smaller this time and the work is only 18″ X 24″. The fabric is somewhat pinned to the burckrum and I will start free motion work to tack it down tomorrow. The fungus will be added at a later date.

Daily’s I was surprised to realize that I was at the end of my fifth mouth of creating Daily’s. Well perhaps it is more accurate to say my fifth set of thirty blocks. I finished the last red circle with a black L last eve and the next series is a half red circle and two black strips. New challenges await me.

Keep Creating

Carol

Charlottes Shadow 2, Daily's, Foundations VII Fragments, I'd Reconsider, Pomegranate

Moon Light January 16, 2014

January 16, 2014 admin

Hello,

Tonight is the full moon, but last evenings moon light was beautiful too. The light was so silvery white through the sky light that I had to go to the window and look out. Most of the snow had melted, but there was still one drift in the back yard. The tree limbs cast beautiful blue gray shadows across the snow and my mind catalogued the colors and patterns for a new work. This morning I did a sketch of the idea so I would not lose the feeling. I can hardly wait until I have time to begin this new project.

Pomegranate 33" X 46" $535.00 — Pomegranate
33″ X 46″
$535.00

Progress Report: Pomegranate I am quite pleased with how this quilt ended up. All the shadow quilting around the fruit did have a pull on the seams- but I minimized it as much as possible by sewing in one direction all the way around and then doing the next pass in the opposite direction. All this action made for very slow work. I also added a spike every now and then to the pattern so there were some strait sewing lines too. I also tried a little experiment with the paint on this project. To give the fruit a little more “punch” I painted clear fingernail polish over some of the red seeds. I really like the transparency of the paint on this piece. It adds to the interest of this work for me. The paint is fabric paint.

I'd Reconsider 16" X 25.5" $145.00 — I’d Reconsider
16″ X 25.5″
$145.00

I’d Reconsider I spent a lot of time looking at this quilt before I started quilting on it. Titles are always a difficult thing for me. I had been calling this work Sunshine and Rust- but looking carefully at the surface-working out the quilt pattern- I noticed the eye shapes in the printed fabric. I decided to use those shapes as a starting place for the quilting. The shape was so easy to quilt and just seemed to flow across the surface of the work. Then when I started altering the size of the eyes to fill in the space it was even an easier process for me. It took on a life of its own and I went with that feeling. When it was all done the title of Sunshine and Rust seemed to be a major miss fit. “I’d Reconsider” seems to work a lot better for me. I have learned that I will not title a work until it is totally finished from this point forward.

Charlotte’s Shadow II I am to the quilting stage of this work now too. It is going to be more in the nature of the fabric that is the main material for this series. I have started adding leaves and finishing flowers on the top at this point. I will keep working away in this type of style until I have completed the work.

Charlotte’s Shadow III This is the third and final quilt in this series. As this shot shows I have only begun to pin some parts to the wall. I will shuffle them a bit before I begin to put it together.

Foundations VII- Fragments I am still quilting away on this work. It was pinned to the pin wall and when I came into the room before I turned on the lights yesterday morning I looked at the piece. With all the color washed to darks and lights by the laque of light I suddenly saw a section of the quilt that was not working at all. I had created a whole in the upper left hand side by surrounding a section with darks. When I turned the light on it was still there. My eye is still drawn to that flaw so I will begin the correction today. That is one really paint/college like quality of this construction method. I will build over the area that I find offensive a with layers of organza so I can keep the texture. This shot shows how I am building texture with yarn in one of the areas of this quilt.

Tee Shirt I have a new commission piece. It is a tee shirt quilt. All the images have been mounted on inner facing so they will remain square when they are seamed together. Sewing on double knit fabric is always tricky. I am now ready to lay them out and add the sassing to them so they are uniform in size- like building a log cabin block. That step will make assembly easy and simple.

Quilt Daily’s I believe the daily’s are getting more complex with time.

Keep your eyes open to the beauty around you.

Hugs

Carol

Anastasie Ruin, Charlottes Shadow 2, Daily's, Pomegranate, Sun Shine and Rust

Were Do Ideas Come From? January 9, 2014

January 9, 2014 admin

Anastasi Ruins 18" X 24" $ 110.00 — Anastasi Ruins
18″ X 24″
$ 110.00

Hello-

The New Year is starting off cold in this part of the country- A feeling that makes me want to hibernate. But I have just stay indoors and worked away instead. Last week I said that I was going to choose a word to be my guide for this year. The word I selected is “EXPLOIT”. I intend to fully “exploit” my materials, stash and potential for new directions. Like so many others I have a lot of gadgets and stuff that I have saved for just the write project- but I will not be doing that anymore. I plan to go ahead and use them now- with out fear or worry. That is not to say everything will be a big success, but that idea is an illusion anyway, I have given myself permission to “exploit” what I have and enjoy every bit of it. Saying that I was asked by a friend were do my ideas come from? After careful thought I decided there are many sources for me.

First Pay attention to what interests you. When one is interested in something they look at it and think about it more then other items. When I was teaching middle school every September when the students all had their new sketchbooks I would ask them to make a list of all the things that they liked in the front. My lists change and grow from sketchbook to sketchbook as my interests change. Together my students and I would use the list as a starting off place for new projects when we needed it. I still use this practice.

I love to travel and pictures from my adventures can be starting points for work. Like the quilt above.

I also doodle and that can be the beginning of work for me. I used this doodle as a starting place for a stamp that I created and printed this week. It is not a quilt yet, but I think the graphic is good and I am sure I will use it in the furture. I find myself searching out items that I have interests in and the list helps me remember. Pomergranates are one of the things on my list. So when I saw this shampoo bottle it caught my eye. I then purchased the fruit when I saw it again the grocery and I did a little sketch to make myself more filmier with it before I cut a series of stencils of this subject. I am enjoying using the stamped fabric that I created using this idea. So those are three sources of ideas for me. I will try to pay attention over the next few weeks and mouths and note were the ideas come from and point them out.

Progress Report : Pomegranate I This work is still at the quilting step. I have learned that I do best if I only work for about an hour before I stop and go to something else. That way I do not hurry and mess up. I am nearing the end, but I am not there yet.

Charlottes Shadow 2 I had just pinned this to the wall last week. I am building away on the top now. The quilt is taking shape. I use the tape measure to help me keep my sizes what I have in mind when I am working. I want all the pieces in this series to be the same size and this method really helps me do that.

Sun Shine and Rust I really love the print fabric that is in this top. That is the real starting place for this work. I also wanted to work with a sunny color this week when the sky was so gray and it was so cold. This project did help me feel more cheerful.

Foundations VII I still have not settled on a title for this piece, but I am enjoying the process. There is so much wonderful texture here and the free motion work is so very calming to me now that I have done so much. This close up shows the use of waded green organza, wool fabric and wool yarn. There is also a little bit of colored pencil drawing in the lower left hand corner here. I am exploiting all my knowledge and talents on this work!

Daily’s I am still going strong on this project.

Stay worm and keep creating.

Carol

Cascading; Foundations VI, Daily's, Ebb Tide; Foundations V, Splits

New Camera Dec 19, 2013

December 19, 2013 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

As this picture shows I got a new camera. When it took the broken one to the only shop in town, I was told it would be $25.00 just to look at it before the repair started. What with the cost of new ones be as cheap as they are now days, I decided to go that route. It is a Cannon Power shot and I am quite pleased with it. I would have gone for the same type of camera as my old one, but as the local photo store did not carry Sony’s, I did my research and selected this one instead. There is only one camera store in town now and I am sorry about that. When I was teaching photography there were four shops as well as all those funny little booths in parking lots were you could take film to be developed and get yur pictures in an hour. Times have changed.

I did a few house hold things in the studio this week. I covered my rolling chair back and seat as it was looking a bit shabby. Then I got busy and made a hanging waste/pin cushion unit for next to my machine. It is made from the scraps of the chair- the other side of the fabric. The pin cushion part is filled with sand to give the unit the weight it needs to stay on the desk top while I stuff the thread and fabric bits in it as I sew. The sand helps keep the pins sharp too. There is a hand bag handle in the front of the bag to hold it open. That is also why the shape of the unit on the desk top is arched; it fits over the opening if I need to close and transport it. This is not my idea- I saw it some were and made up my own version.

The third bit of housekeeping was a altered box. I needed a place to store the Daily’s. I took a substantial corrugated cardboard boot box I had and glued it all over with bits of old lace. Then I painted it with black gesso on the out side and white gesso on the inside . When that was dry I applied green Lumiar paint to the surface to highlight the lace. I now have a very attractive box for the storage of the Daily’s.

Progress Report: Ebb Tide- Foundations V As the new title suggests I now have a name for this work. I am having a delightful time with this piece. I have tried lots of ways to add texture to this top. The first shot shows roving and yarns that I stitched to the surface. Then I tried using a course sort of thread(the sea green). There is also some chennelle yarn (gray) that I chrocheted to add more texture in this close-up. By using the buckram as a foundation there seems to be no limit to how much sewing machine work one can add on top and I really love that.

The third close-up shows organza that is wadded as well as old lace. Some is captured under the organza and some is free.

There is also some orange trim that I cut and added to the surface shown here. All the textures come from the images I saw in a second photo of a tide pool that I took in Maine last summer. This piece will surely be finished by next week.

Cascading -Foundations VI This little piece is also near completion. I mixed silk paper and an old silk shirt and a failed silk scarf in this work. I think is needs only a little more free motion work and then I can paint the back.

Splits I started this top this week. It really flew together under my fingers- almost had a life of its own. I had premade the diagonal cut blocks before and have tried twice to lay out an effective arrangement. I am delighted with how this finally came together. I will need to think carefully about how to quilt this one.

Daily’s I can not believe I have nearly finished my fourth mouth of Daily’s. There are only a few more pieces with black circles and red triangles in the box. I will need to plan my next layout this week.

Keep Creating

Carol

Daily's, Flight, Swallows, Transversing - Foundations #4

Dec 13, 2013

December 13, 2013 admin

Hello,

I hope holiday preparation and events are just what you want and need. At this time of year it is so very easy to get drawn in to doing too much. As I looked at my calendar for this week I realized there was an event of one type or another every day. I also knew I could not keep that pace up and enjoy the season so I really have cut back. Next week is much simpler and I am sure I will fill it none the less with little things that make the holiday a wondrous one- but this time I will choose with care what I do.

Last Friday I helped Cheri put up a new show in her shop Imaginings Art and Antiques. It was a delightful way to spend a winter day. This first picture is of Alice Grant’s curtain frame fiber work. Cheri put it around a mirror and yes that is me behind the camera in the reflection. Most of my work hung together. For this event I am displaying only work that in a stretched or framed fashion. The show will be up in Cortland on Maine Street until the middle of January. It was an honor to be asked.

A second event this week was the FAB meeting. FAB is a mini group of fiber artists- and although we have agreed on the title there is still dicussion as to just what FAB stands for… could be Fiber Art Bunch, could be Fantastic Artistic Babes or any other set of words that can be plugged in. I am not going to worry about that too much, I am just glad we are getting together to grow and support one another. Nancy was the big winner this time as she has finally completed her quilt for her daughter. It is chinnal and flannel with a post card type message in the center to her daughter. She even found a fabric with a stamp on it for the corner of the post card. Nancy and the quilt are off to India for Christmas.

Progress Report: Flight

Flight 35.5" X 37.5" — Flight
35.5″ X 37.5″

I feel this quilt really flows across the surface. The quilting was especially enjoyable on this work as I added extra swallows that are in just the quilting. I tried adding eyes on the birds with embroidery thread, but somehow that looked to flat to me so I added black glass beads instead. Their sparkel adds a feel of life to the work.

There are some quilting lines that are just flow lines that could be interrupted as wind or flight lines.

This last shot shows the center of the quilt and also shows how I did not use a pure brown for the birds in some cases, but added a modeled brown to the work.

Transversing- Foundations Series IV

Transversing Foundation Series IV 34" X 39" — Transversing Foundation Series IV
34″ X 39″

I am so very happy with how this quilt finally turned out. There are lots of different materials represented in this piece. I showed the painted back last week. I used some rust dyed fabric, lots of apolistory fabric, silk paper, wool and eye lash yarn on this top. It is fun for me to play with all the textures.

I did lots of free motion work on this one too. I think that adds to the flow of the work as well as holding all the fabric to the surface.

There are lots of little units on this work and I feel it is one I can look at a long time.

Foundations Series V This new member of the Foundations series still does not have a name of its own. The images I am using has water flowing between the rocks so I think a title will come out of that the more I work with the top. This one also has some rice paper in it. What a different texture that adds.

Foundations Series VI For this one I wanted to work a little smaller- its 28″ X 23″. My friend Tanya gave me some small fabric bits last week and I really like them. So I used them as the jumping off point for this. The fabrics plus a second section of the water and rocks photo work well togehter. I also used part of a silk shirt she gave me at the same time( the cream green fabric at the bottom). This is still in the pin up stage without any stitching so it may change a lot before I get to that step.

Swallows Last week the shot showed the quilt still in the construction stage. I took this close up of one of the sections as I have started to quilt it. I am out lining the birds first and will build the rest of the quilting out from those points. There is not full shot of this work because I dropped my camera and it landed on the barrel of the lense. Now the shutter will not work. I had not put the wrist unit on and for that I am paying dearly. I am not at all happy with this new development, but have no one to blame but myself. I will not post next week unless I get the camera repaired. If the cost is prohibitive I will have to ask for a new camera for Christmas. Please keep watching.

Daily’s As this shot shows I am still working away on the Daily’s. It is good to have a little daily required to work at this time of year. That keep me on track so when I can get back into the studio is is easier to get going again.

My hope is that all find the joy and peace this season has to offer.

Keep Creating

Hugs

Carol

Daily's, Diva Meetings, Flight, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Swallows, Transversing - Foundations #4

Dec 6, Holiday Happenings

December 5, 2013 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

Thanksgiving is really the beginning of holiday season for me. The QuEG’s group started the week off with a Holiday Potluck as a part of our meeting. We also added to the craziness by having a cookie exchange too. This first shot is of Liz and our hostess Linda with the gift that Liz brought her. We all were in top sprits and the food was great as were the cookies.

Friends always make my life full and this day was no exception. We did the ususal show and tell and there was lots of both. Linda started us off with her beautiful Baltimore album squares that she had unearthed when she moved. They show excellently exicuted hand applique’ work on this old project that she now feels she is ready to complete. She suggests that doing a UFO is a good way to get back into the creative process in her new space.

Angela was the next power house to show her work. She is framing her felted works now and they look wonderful. Her Hawaiian dased petrogliphits are wonderful. She is also experimenting with felting, hand stitching and dyeing. Sometimes in that orderis her order. She then goes back in and stitches even more .

I really like the color combinations she is using too. This work is also based on her petrogliphic series.

Sally continues to blow me away with her thread drawn Computer / Quilt work. She mixed and manipulated five different programs to create this holiday quilt. She also had some stunning little works that she had made into cards- her other specialty. What a gal!

I then went off to the Quilt Diva meeting the same evening. Alice was a busy this last mouth and she shared four finished and one work in progress. The work in this photo is called Guardians.

Ruth is continuing her work with on blocks that are based on Guyana symbols. This symbol is used to purmote Versatility, Intensity and Dynamism. She asked for ideas about how to quilt this work. What a strong graphic! I am impressed with her work.

Donna’s busy getting ready for her solo show. She is using found wood pieces and found objects as starting points for her new spirited figures series. She says she needs to make 27 by February. So she will be one busy gal to meet that self created challenge.

Elsie had been busy creating new bird blocks for Christmas. I enjoy her cardinals. They are so chipper and bright. They really make me smile.

After spending a day with all these intense creative folks all working in their own directions, I always go home with a mind full of new ideas and images from these two wonderful groups of gals.

Progress Report: Transversing Foundations #4 Because I am not a real fan of numbering art works I now have added to the title of this quilt. I added lots of machine drawing on this quilt this week and now feel it is complete. This morning I painted the back and so that is the image presented here. I will add the sleeve this week and the piece will be done. Using the bobbin thread colors as my guide I tried to paint in similare color and patters as the front. I know this is a lot difference, but it still works for me.

Foundations #5 I continue to work away on this piece. Everything here is quite fluid because so much work needs to be done on this piece before it is were I want it to be. I did try adding paper to the surface of this piece to get the color and effect I wanted. I will do almost anything for the sake of texture.

Flight: This quilt was called Swallows last week. I do not think that is accurate any more so I changed it. I am going to use that title on another piece where I used the swallow stencil on a more traditional piece. I worked on the quilting portion of this work this week. I am going to try to add some shadow(only machine drawn) swallows into the flight pattern to add interest and more texture. There is one small one drawn in the lower center of the flock at the moment. Can you find it?

New Swallows: Here is the new work that will carry the Swallows title from now on. I am still in the construction stage, but that is almost done. I find that I really like this stencil and may even do some more work with it.

Daily’s – This project continues. I have two more weeks of squares with red circles and black triangles to work with before I change the beginning lay out units.

The season is full of visual images and lots of action. Keep Creating.

Hugs

Carol

Daily's, Oak Leaves, On the Raod to Dry Falls, Truquoise Street Studio

Open Studio November 21 , 2013

November 21, 2013 admin

Hi ,

Welcome to all the new followers that have signed up this week. 32 new folks were added to the subscription list and I am quite flattered.

This is a shot of the Turquoise Street Studio wall with work by Beth Houston Barholdt and Barbara Vural. They are having an open studio this eve as a part of Third Thursday. I was asked to join them and I have work for sale as well. I know I should have posted this bit of news last week- but I did not think of it. I will try to keep my eye on that ball in the furture. So as that bit of news suggests I have been busy getting ready for that event. Tagging, matting and framing of little works really take a lot longer than their size suggests.

On Tuesday, I went along with the other gals who are part of FAB- our mini group, to see the Quilts= Art= Quits at the Schweinfurth Art Center. We spent two hours looking and talking about the work shown there. It is always so inspiring. Then on the way home we stopped at Patchwork Plus and did a little shopping. Nancy and Victoria both purchased material, while Patti and I purchased other things. We had a good full day and I went home with my mind spinning in many directions.

I started working on Christmas Cards this week too. I stitched down green silk scraps from the Oak Leaves project on top of green triangles. Then I added a star and squeezie paint balls to the trees. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Oak Leaves 45" X 30" $ 350.00 — Oak Leaves
45″ X 30″
$ 350.00

Progress Report: Oak Leaves This quilt is complete now. I had shown it to the gals in FAB at the last meeting and they suggested that I add something to the bottom left hand side. This work hung on the design wall all week and finally yesterday morning it hit me that what it needed was a little bit of suggested green leaf fromation from another branch. So I added it. I really like how the silk leaves are fraying with time on this piece. That added texture plus the wonderful shadows created by the overlapping leaves, especially were they cross the frapped branches, are enjoyable to me. I have never used silk in this fashion before and think there is more exploration for me in that direction. I do not have any more silk at the moment so it will have to stay at the dream/ imagination stage for now.

On the Raod To Dry Falls 29" X 39.5" $290.00 — On the Raod To Dry Falls
29″ X 39.5″
$290.00

On The Road to Dry Falls This is the lost top that I mentioned last week. I had started it at QBL. I used some very old material here- the yellow, orange and white in the center and left sections- and some more recently altered stuff. The cream and green at the top on the right and lower left is from the discharged play day I did with Marty last spring. I also used some of the silk paper on this work. I am enjoying the process of free motion attachment of yarn( the white lines) as well as the sewing/quilting lines for texture. I am getting better at stretching the silk out to create more of a web like effect too.

This quilt also has some hand painted fabric in it. Well that many not exactly be hand painted as this light sections is really a wipe up cloth- but I do not know how else to describe it. Nothing is trash to me I guess.

Daily’s The Daily’s continue to be joy for me. This week’s collection seems to be a mixture of crazy and control…. I am not even going to guess what that says about my mind. There are only a few more prepared blocks using the black circles and red squares….. So there will be a change in something by next week.

Keep Creating

Carol

Cre-8

Category Archives: Landscapes

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Creative Fiber Collage Artist Carol Boyer