I am as busy as ever, but I have taken time to listen to the birds sing and enjoy the beauty of the summer season. Yesterday I went off to visit with my friend Ethel and we used the beautiful weather to spend a day dyeing out side. This shot shows one of the fabrics I dye painted. I can still feel the influence of the rocks and the water on what I am doing. Along with dyeing is the batching step. This small shot is of some of the fabric under plastic so it will not dry out. The last step is the rinsing out- a project for later today. I worked on 10 pieces of fabric so that will take me a while I am sure.
Fossil Bed 23″ X 32.5″ $ 188.00
Progress Report: Fossil Bed This quilt is complete now. I have enjoyed doing all the stencil work here. The last bit of embellishment that I did, was the addition of gold foil shells and then the little round stamps that I created at our last play day in May. In this second closeup the circle stamps are shown in orange and blue along with a second foil section. I also did quilting in gold thread. Susan told me that she want to see more images of the finished surfaces and so there is a third closeup of this quilt.This last closeup shows the brown stryophone stamped area with the quilting in gold too.
Red Nebula I think that I am done adding to this work. I need to decide now how I want to finish it. One of my works is off being framed now. I may want to do that to this work as well. I will know better when the framed work comes back to me.
Green Nebula I have only just started my hand work on this second felted work.
This piece has a hand dyed fabric backing. I am enjoying that hand work as always and this time I am using some antique pale green sequins on the surface.The sequins are from my great aunt’s sewing box.
Rock Face This is my newest top. I got so inspired by my trip to Idaho and looking at all the rocks, that I just had to do a work on that subject. I got to use my newly developing skill with slender curved inserts too. I think this is just the start of a new series.
I hope that summer is treating you well and that you are enjoying the great out doors .
I have been out doing my walking in the early morning to make sure I really follow through. It seems so easy to put it off and then get
involved in other things. So I was not walking in the afternoon at all. Much better to start the day with the walk and it will soon be hot in the afternoons as well. Anyway it has been a glorious feast for the nose of late. What with blooming Honeysuckle, Lilac and a beautiful Dog Wood to mention a few I have really enjoyed starting my days with a walk. I seem to be more aware of the world in the morning as well so I am very glad that I have made this switch.
Friday last week I went to the Turquoise Street Studio and meant with some of the gals from the painting class from the weekend before. Deb had gone back in and did additional work on this painting of limes. I really think it works. This picture is of a new painting Deb did based on the class work too. The class effected all of us. This next images is of Beth doing a value sketch in preparation for a new pastel. The teacher had suggested using a gray paper sketch book so one only needed to do the tonal work by drawing in black and white. Beth is doing just that. I did hand work as I seem to take longer to digest the Value idea into my work. Yesterday I went to Ethel’s house to spend a day playing with silk paper. This photo is of Ethel mixing dye in preparation to the silk. Pam was also there and she did some fine silk paper too It was great fun and I created four different new sheets to use. I went with an eye to make the paper for a specific task and the results were great.
The gold sheet and perhaps the cream one as well are destine for one of the canyon painted surfaces I painted last week. The blue and purple paper I created because I wanted to see if one could add bits of yarn to the surface too. I think it will work well in a meadow idea I have in my head. It is always so much fun to work with others I always feel like I get so much more from these events then I contribute to them.
Before the Bud 17″ X 26″ $110.00
Progress Report: Before The Bud
This quilt is completed now. I really enjoyed doing all the free motion work here. The colors really work for me as well. With this quilt I am changing my policy a bit. I am adding the price of the work to the image. After reading a third article were a buyer stated that she did not like having to contact the artist to find out about the price of work I decided to include that info in the image. Selling my work in not my goal, but I need the space so I will gladly do so. Besides for me, the act of creating is the most important part of the process. The Problem solving if you will.
Excavating the Ruins 21.5″ X 31″ $168.00
Excavating the Ruins I have enjoyed working on this project due to all the great textures. I really like all the wholes here and that contrast adds a lot of interest to my eye. The map in white organza is of one of the cliff dwellings in Canyon de Chelly National Monument. In looking over it I though it needed a little more punch so I added a little petroglyph form the canyon for further interest. I found this little figure very fascinating.
Greek Butterflies 17.5 ” X 25″ $ 105.00
Greek Butterflies I am very happy with how this quilt finally resolved its self. The lesson on Value came to play here when I took a second look at the distribution of darks on the week end. I had to take out some of the piecing and insert some more dark near the bottom before I was happy with it. I also realized I need to add something to the light block in the center of the quilt. So I drew in a butterfly of my own using the photos as direction. I added color after I had out lined the image. I was concerned with how to quilt this work. I knew I wanted to out line the butterflies but had no idea beyond that. I toyed with the idea of making the rest of the quilting a reflective of that outline pattern, but was not sure. So I then it hung on the wall for several days before I saw a photo of moth trails in Pinterest. Then I knew that was what the quilting patterns should be. I find this quilt to be very up lifting and the quilting pattern adds to that idea in my mind.
Mummy Cave Ruins This shot shows a possible layout for the additions that I am planning on adding to this painted top that I started last week. On the far left is some of the wonderful silk paper that I created yesterday. In my origional photo there is a wall of stone that is in the foreground and I wanted to capture that feeling to some what frame the ruins. Hanging on the right is some painted inner facing that I may add to make the rocks a bit more colorful. Again I have added the oil stick stencil drawings to this work surface. I need to do some free motion work on the parts I am sure of before I know what will go where and if the places where they are pinned at the moment is the final location for them. Make visual decisions – Visually.
Urban Beauty – From the Pavement I was doing hand work on this at the Turquoise Street Studio last week. I am enjoying building up textures on this surface. The base units are lutador that has been painted with Lumiar paints and the white is gesso. ( lutador is a type of spun ground cloth that can be found at some hardware stores this time of year) I then melted it a bit with the heat gun to melt and distort the surface. I have done free motion drawing and the hand stitching to add to the complexity of the surface. I am not sure of were the work is leading me so I hang it often an look at the progress to know what I want to do next. This makes the process very slow, but worth it I think.
New Work This is an attempt at a new direction. Sense I seem to keep getting hit over the head with this Values idea( even read about it in a book this week) – I thought I better pay attention. So I designed a block ( Check the light blue section in the lower right) . I tried to keep light med and dark in the same area- and did three different size variations on the block – small ( lower write) a little bigger ( lower left- this one is also turned 45 degrees) and large( look at the turquoise section) This is all new territory for me when it comes to designing and I am not sure it will or does work at all. But I want to stay sharp and open to new “roads” so I will keep playing- the challenge is the thing.
When violets appear I know spring is really here. My mother always put violets on my Birthday Cake when I was growing up. I celebrated this week.
Here is the same branch as last week. The leaves are two and three times as big as before. Mother Nature sure moves things along this time of year.
This week has been a very full one. I started out by going to the opening of the Recycle Show at the Art Center in Rome NY last Thursday evening. I am so delighted to report that my friend Barbara won “Best of Show” for her piece. She even mentioned me when she accepted the award as I had contributed some of the stuff she included. Our mutual interest in Rust helps. Last Friday I went off to the Turquoise Street Studio and played along with the gals. Both are pushing them selves for new work for two different shows that are coming along in the next few weeks. Beth was finishing up work and Barbara was starting a new work. They both work from personal Photo graphics, starting by first drawing in Charcoal and then adding the color on top. I printed some of my insects stencils in preparation for the workshop I will be directing on Friday. I like to do all the processes again before I teach them. I learned that I want to encourage my students tomorrow- to work toward openings that are under three inches wide. The back wings of the crickets were challenging to fill with the oil sticks and I do want the students to be successful without difficulty.
Rain Run 21 ” X 31″
Progress Report: Rain Run ( formerly Golden Rain) I changed the title of this work because as I stitched the wrapped pipe cleaners to the surface, I felt that the idea of rain running down the window was not represented with the title of golden rain. I like the way the “drops” like they are moving. But it is really hard to keep this quilt flat as the wire has a memory and every time you lift or shift the surface it does not go back to flat without pressure. The copper ribbon really reflects the light like the setting sun was doing on the window the day I noticed how rain ran down the glass. It is a great memory and I am glad to have captured it with this work.
Before The Buds This quilt has gone through some major changes sense last week. First of all I made a stencil with this quilt in mind. I drew it on the back of a piece of handy cardboard as I was not in the studio.
I did the drawing with a marker and kept the positive of the cut as well as the portion I used. My thinking was that I could use it for a stencil too and just add the growth around it. I stenciled five trees on the surface of the quilt . Then I got our some “Solvy” a corn starch material that is a water soluble stabilizer, and drew a tree with a permanent marker on the Solvy. Then I drew the tree with the sewing machine and lots of thread. When I was happy with the appearance a I washed out the stabilizer and had my thread tree. I will use the machine on free motion to attach the tread tree to the surface. I did the the majority of the drawing on the stabilizer because all this thread work on the surface of the quilt would cause a lot of distortion of the fabric. This way I can quilt and add the tree to the surface and stand a chance of the final product being flat. I have not done any of this “drawing” in a long time and it felt good to use this technique again. I am sorry that the shadow makes the picture look a bit fuzzy, but feel it will look fine on the quilt.
Brass Bits
I have been working away on the hand appliqueing of the brass units on this quilt for several weeks. I feel that part of the process is now complete. So I trimmed it and placed it on a backing fabric. The yarn is pinned on the surface and that will get machine stitched down and become a part of the quilting on this work. I will have to see how much additional quilting the piece needs to be stable after that point. It was a personal challenge to add all of the brass pieces that Sharron sent me on the surface of this quilt. I enjoyed another chance to do some fancy hand stitches on a piece as well.
DMC Challenge – Dawn’s fabric. This was only a bunch of triangles pinned to the wall last week. I decided that I could use the challenge fabric with it and make the idea work. It is OK and because the challenge is meant to be an exercise as much as anything I am satisfied with it. After talking with Marty about the challenge we agreed not to complete the projects before we got together. It makes transport in the suit case a lot easier as I will be flying out to meet them. Now I need to go back and see if I can save the other two parts of this challenge.
New Work I am auditioning these fabric pieces for the possible next Egyptian quilt. At the moment I think it needs a new ” star” stencil fabric to do the trick. So I will think on that and keep you posted as to the dynamics. I guess all this prep for the stencil class is really pushing me forward.
Drawn by the sound of crow calls I watched the birds take there flight in the early dawn this morning. They were commuting against a strong gusting wind as they departed from Oak-wood Cemetery were they roost in the winter, to each of their respective hunting grounds. The flight is powerfully beautiful in its grace of movement as it was contrasted against a silver gray sky that was dotted with little blown snow flakes today. Living with the daily routine of these creatures has made me pay attention to their existence and has enriched my life. I have made several quilts with crows as the stars. Their simple dark forms show up so very well against so many surfaces that I always find it to be an enjoyable task to build a work around them. Sense they are present so much around were I live I have many opportunities to watch them in their daily routines. At the moment with the fresh snow they stand out quite sharply as they dance around the ground in there search for food. I like too how they cluster together in the evenings as they gather for the night. All heads facing the wind and raucously shouting to one another filling first one tree top then another. Then taking flight at the same time without a seeming signal as they then move a bit closer as a cluster toward the final roosting place. All the time the numbers increase as they move toward a movable base and the sound becomes louder and louder as more birds stream back. I have tried to walk to the center of were they gather for there night roosting- I have never been successful. But that is the fascination of it for me.
Progress Report:
DMC Challenge Sphere System-
This challenge started on my is visit to Marty in Oct. I spent a lot of time this week working on the DMC project.
This was one attempt with two partial copies of were I thought I was going. I experiment by pinning things up and this is an example of that process. As it turned out I hated the layered X- cut fabric on top. I like the texture- and the idea – but it is not the place to use this idea.
So what I ended up with is this:The irregular edges are proving to be a challenge, but I think I will work it out.
I had originally though that this quilt would be done as machine drawing of Golden Rod. But the silk thread was too heavy for the machine and kept creating a mess on the back of the quilt so I took it all out. I could not look at or deal with the work for several mouths. Returning to it, I found I really like the fabric lay out, so I looked for a new subject matter. I came across this card of Chamomile and used it as my inspiration instead.
I have only completed one of the plants in this photo. I have sense put in two more- one on each side of this one. the additional quilting adds to the final effect quilt nicely. I am in the process of adding the facings to this work and I am sure I will complete it this week.
Twinkling Tracings
I have continued to work on the commission too. It now has a title and is called Twinkling Tracings. This is the first panel in the series. It is currently being pressed flat under my big cutting matt with half of the books from my shelves resting on top. The two other panels will get the same treatment and then I will be done with the studio part of the job.
Twinkling Tracings-
ISIS Quilt
IsisIsis- close up
This is the Isis quilt all finished. It came out quite quickly for me . I think this will be the last of the Egyptian quilts for a while. I do not think I even would have done this last one if I had not been reviewing my goddess series and wondering how I could go forward with that idea. The question remains what will be the next goddess quilt?
Fractured- paper quilt and Fragments
We all have times when what we thought would work is a failure. Well such is the case with this piece. I started out making a quit that would feature a three dimensional tunnel shaped addition. The back got created and the tunnel got created- but they did not work together at all.
Fractured
So I created a cracked paper quilt to put the tunnel on. They did not work together either……. So I played with the paper quilt . cut some triangular wholes- added some paint and gold ribbon. Fractured was born and I like it all on its own. OK- so this exploration has lead to one more project.
I took the fabric quilt back that I had originally made for the tunnel and applied the flattened beads I had created with play dough to its surface. The beads were made as a play project with my grand son a few weeks ago. I had stamped them with an Egyptian stamp and though they might be used on one of the first Egypt quilts. But they did not work there. Too much of a color contrast for those works.
FragmentsFragments- close up
This detail shows a close up of one of the beads. The surface was brushed with a white paint to high light the presses images.
I still do not have a home for the tunnel- but it may be like the beads, something that just has to shift around in the studio for a while before it finds a home. I will be OK with it if that never happens because I know it was an experiment and there are bound to me miss fires when one is playing that way.
I have had a good creative start to the new year and I hope I can continue to work successfully solving the problems as they come my way.
Hello everyone,
I worked on 10 pieces of fabric so that will take me a while I am sure.
In this second closeup the circle stamps are shown in orange and blue along with a second foil section. I also did quilting in gold thread. Susan told me that she want to see more images of the finished surfaces and so there is a third closeup of this quilt.
This last closeup shows the brown stryophone stamped area with the quilting in gold too.
Red Nebula I think that I am done adding to this work. I need to decide now how I want to finish it. One of my works is off being framed now. I may want to do that to this work as well. I will know better when the framed work comes back to me.
Green Nebula I have only just started my hand work on this second felted work.
The sequins are from my great aunt’s sewing box.
Rock Face
