Another Little Crooked House

This month the theme for one of my groups was Contrast.  My mind goes first to the B/W I love but I wanted to stretch a bit more and not be too predictable. Lots of ideas and lots of thinking.  Finally decided on contrasting Color with the B/W. Figured I would design a cute house as the main bit. Remembered my favorite photo of a Crooked Little House and thought that would make a great inspiration for this theme.  I made the little house in B/W and then on with Colors (there is also a contrast in using the pastels for the backboards of the house and brights for the boards in front).  Here is one of the little crooked houses in contrast.  BONUS!! I also have another one!!! It is still on the design wall ready to be completed later today I  hope. This one still needs the binding as well.  Busy busy later today!!!

Crooked Little House in Contrast

Here are the two pieces before cutting them and stitching/quilting them mixed up.I just feel like there will be another one made and kept as the B/W...it is just too cute!

I'm linking this to Nina Marie's Off The Wall Friday! 

First of a New Series

This is the first piece of a new series I'll be doing this year.  The series is "Earth's Amazing Wonders"  OK...I know...it is not exciting so I'll just call that the working title.  There will be at least 6 pieces done in textiles which will depict (or suggest) places that I find awe inspiring. I have the first several in the list. The remaining couple or three I've not narrowed down as yet. Oh I have my favorites though, it will just depend on what rises to the surface when the time comes.

First up is Antelope Canyon in Arizona.  When you look at photos of this location, it seems like someone when nuts with their PhotoShop. The colors are amazing and the contours of curving rock are beautiful.This is a view inspired by several photos...looking through the jewel-tone rock to a beautiful clear sky.  I hope I did it justice.

It does not yet have a binding as I have been struggling with just what to do. My current plan is to do a pieced binding that will just fit in with each part of the fabrics.  This art quilt also has a lot of stitching on it. I haven't done this amount of quilting in ages.  All the contour lines are stitched. At first I thought it would be a bit boring to do but it actually took on a rather organic feel as I didn't work to make the lines exact but rather made the undulate on purpose to pick up the flowing feeling of the actual rock.

I am linking this to Nina Marie's Off The Wall Fridays. Click there to see the work of some amazing artists!

One that had to be done

The theme for November in one of my online groups was Cosmos.  I knew immediately what I wanted to do...but my life was in turmoil and chaos and didn't calm down until just this week. I'm now looking at current deadlines and putting on my thinking cap. (Some of them are quite a challenge BTW!!!) But while I'm starting over fresh for 2014 in this one group (I was WAY too far behind to ever catch up) I just HAD to do this one.  It was originally planned for a much larger piece but doing it in 12" X 12" just seemed to be what the doctor ordered since the larger one had its beginning a few years ago and then went nowhere.

So...here it is....Deep Space.  It was inspired by a Hubble photograph of the Orion Nebula. I just love the colors and found I could make just what I wanted with hand-dyed cheesecloth!!

DEEP  SPACE

I'm linking this post to Nina Marie's Off The Wall Friday!

More Great News!

Today brought an envelope with more great news!  Two of my pieces are accepted into the Art for God's Sake exhibition at St. Anastasia's Roman Catholic Church, Troy, MI, May 3-5, 2013.

The two pieces chosen for this exhibition are shown below.

Five Smooth Stones was inspired by the story of David and Goliath...a reminder that it is not always the biggest or strongest that finally wins.

"Five Smooth Stones"

Experience was inspired by the quote: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience..." -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"Experience"

Besides the excitement of being accepted in these exhibitions, all this good news is important to me because this year, 2013, I'm calling my year of "Investment". I want to concentrate on my art and see if there is really something for me in this direction. So far, I'm thinking I'll definitely keep investing!  There are so many of you who read this blog that have encouraged and advised me that I share all this with you as well.  None of us are on this journey alone. I'm just very privileged to be traveling alongside some very talented and wonderful people!  My deepest thanks to all of you.

What a week!!

This has been a strange week really.  Very sick so that was the downside.  BUT, at the same time, I found out that I was accepted in 2 more exhibitions!!

So in addition to Art on Main (my first public art exhibition) in the previous post below, I will also have pieces in the Fiber Arts exhibition at the Poudre River Gallery in Ft. Collins, CO, April 4-27, 2013. They accepted my small 12" X 12" art quilt entitled "Snow Tree".

"Snow Tree"

Then shortly after that, I received word that my two pieces entered for the Celebrate African Grandmothers were accepted.  These two pieces were made especially for this exhibition that will tour Canada this spring. Both are Mixed Media Textile art on canvas. The tour and subsequent auction of the works will raise funds for Royal City Gogos. It is a very worthy cause that, being a grandmother myself, I am  privileged to support.  For more information on Royal City Gogos, click HERE.  "Wall of Courage" was inspired by one of their promotional pieces in which the African Grandmothers were described as a wall of protection for the generation of grandchildren orphaned by AIDS. I imprinted the wall AND the clothing of these women to signify their solidarity in standing as protectors and support for the grandchildren they have chosen to raise. The symbols on Wall of Courage signify bravery and valor. The fabrics for their clothing are from Africa, as is the bark cloth in the background.

"Wall of Courage"

The second piece for Celebrate African Grandmothers is entitled "Tears of Joy" inspired by another comment in their promotional video that says these grandmothers prefer to look with joy and hope toward the future of their grandchildren.  Again the fabrics are from Africa as is the bark cloth. The many tears surrounding the main teardrop of a grandmother holding her baby grandchild, are crystal beads. The symbols in this piece signify unity, safety and security, and learning from the past.

"Tears of Joy"

Have to say...all this good news helped me feel better! Now I'm physically on the mend although still without a voice. 

More News!!

Received an e-mail this morning that my piece, "The Sapling" was accepted for Art on Main in Zumbrota, MN!!  The original art work had to be 12" X 22". Then, when accepted, it will be photographed and blown up to 24" X 44" vertical for banners to be placed on the lamp posts on Main Street in Zumbrota, MN!!

This is my first acceptance for Public Art!!

This is a very special piece for me. It became a kind of test/inspirational piece for my upcoming series "Pecans" that I'm doing in honor of my dad...who LOVED pecans and had planted his own orchard.  When he passed away, his ashes were buried under a HUGE pecan tree in what used to be their front yard.  While there for his memorial service, I took (with permission of the new owner) several twigs from that HUGE pecan tree and had thermofax screens made from them. Those are the screens I used for printing the "branches" for The Sapling.  The "trunk" is made from bark cloth from Africa (Thanks, Wil!!), a place my parents still held dear in their hearts after living there for a while.

So, Dad, this one is for you.....

Here is the piece that will be on Main Street -

THE  SAPLING

All fabrics are my own hand-dyed and surfaced designed fabrics. (except for the painted silk in the ground. That was a gift from a friend Canada. Thanks, Maggie!) The dark brown strip through the ground is hand-dyed yarn from a company run by my neice, Faith, and her business partner, TactileDactyl Fiber Art. Be sure to check them out!! Their yarn is luscious! And yes...those are real pebbles.

ACCEPTED!!

Just last night I received word that my piece "It Was A Dark and Stormy Night" was accepted for the PAGE TURNER exhibition at the Some Things Looming Gallery in Reading, PA!

"The digital era is altering how we read books so we wanted a challenge that alters the way we perceive books. Whether it be an altered book or incorporates pages of a book, we challenge you to create the ultimate...Page Turner.  Our major requirements for this challenge are that you incorporate fiber techniques and any parts or pages of a book."

As an avid mystery reader, I chose as my inspiration the iconic beginning line of a mystery novel - "It was a dark and stormy night...."  An angry gray sky, the storm crashing outside.  But a true fan of the page turner is cuddled up under her quilt. The light from the bedside lamp shining on the pages.  It is the dark and stormy night of her mystery novel that captures her attention.

I hand-dyed the background fabric so I could have the white spot for the big flash of lightening.  The house is made out of pages from ruined paperback books by 3 of my favorite mystery writers.  (The books had a run in with blue jello.....don't ask....)   I used gel medium to adhere them all together, cut out the house shape, painted it and added detail with stitching.  

I’m so excited!  Here is the piece:

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night

Ancient Cactus

In one of the groups my theme for 2013 is Up Close and Personal. I am using 6 of the most favorite macro shots I've taken and making them into art quilts. I'll be posting the completed art along with the original inspirational photograph.

And here is the first. The photo was taken on a trip to Texas. We were walking along and saw this scarred and beaten very old cactus. I got a very close up shot of a few of the leaves. I've always loved this photo and the resiliance portrayed. An old cactus, well worn over time, yet still growing. An inspiration worthy of an art quilt I think.

ANCIENT  CACTUS

original photograph

I used simple quilting so as not to detract from the scars on the leaves. All the scars are reverse appliqued.On the largest scar, I pleated the light gray fabric before doing the reverse applique on the black for the deeper cut (see below).  I even let the fabric pucker as I stitched it because I felt it enhanced the age of the cactus.  The "thorns" are hand embroidered. All the fabrics are my own hand dyed cottons.

Ancient Cactus - detail

 

Productive Day

Just checked on my ToDo/Done list and it has been a very productive day!!

Block printed 3 wolves, 3 apples, 3 rice 

Cleaned off Island 

Prepped Brown Snow-dyes 

Cut muslin for an upcoming art piece

Decided on images for that piece

Cut muslin for Pecans – Sapling and marked off boundaries 

Chose concept for SAQA Text Speak 

Set Snow-dyes for batching 

Evaluated Show/Exhibit CFE schedule 

Stitched first piece to Up Close and Personal 

Overdyed green experimental piece 

Blogged and blogged and blogged

Here is my latest on the Minneapolis Manhole Cover Project which is one of my three series I'm working on this year.

Block cutting completed on Wolf

Background fabric (a snow-dyed piece made especially for this project. Seemed appropriate for a Minnesota project!)

Wolf printed onto fabric with Speedball Block Printing Ink.

I use an oil base printing ink so Woflie has to dry overnight

While I had the ink all out and ready...I also printed the Apple and Rice manhole covers for this project and two other prints of all three of them for two other projects.  Now I'll be ahead on those!!

Finishing out 2012

Yep...I'm a few days late (and after Christmas.....more than a few dollars short!!  LOL!!) but this one is my last piece to complete my challenges for 2012.

A Burning Passion - This is my last VoyageArt piece for 2012 where the theme was to be Who Am I?  After such an amazing year, I seem to have discovered that art is definitely my Burning Passion.  So what better way to complete my self-disclosure?  It also is a great catapult into 2013 because I will be concentrating MUCH more of my time on my art this coming year.

Fabrics in this piece are my hand-dyed ruching and pole shibori and a few other hand-dyed fabrics from my stash.  Size is 10" X 20".  This isn't the greatest photo....cuz I took it.  I can hardly wait to have it done professionally by Shawn Nielsen (see link in right sidebar!!) later this month!!  LOVE the difference it makes!

A Burning Passion

Now onto all my fun plans for 2013...unencumbered with any unfinished projects!! I'm so excited about my series, etc for the coming year I can hardly wait to get started!!

And the Snow Tree is done!

FINISHED!! Have to say...this is one of my favorites. The theme for this challenge was Snow.  After receiving a foot of the beautiful white stuff. I was inspired both for the technique (snow dyeing) and the subject matter.

I cut the tree out of a white-on-black commercial fabric, I had a stone fabric which made a perfect wall. The snow is cut from all black-on-white commercial fabric. Each piece is individually applied to the background as raw edge applique.  I love the feel of a cold gray day the background gives, with big clumps of wet snow clinging where it can.  I also like how the wavy cut of the woven fabric background gives a feel of the cold winds of winter in the frozen northland.

The front fabric is folded to the back and stitched instead of a usual binding.  I didn't want to break up the tree or distract from it.

SNOW  TREE

12" X 12"

Snow! Glorious Snow!

In abundance and just 2 steps out of my door!

Did a snow dyed backing for the gray woven background piece.  Continuing with my addiction to have a backing that goes with the front whenever possible!

Also did three snow dyed pieces for the Pecans series.  I LOVE them!! And I know they will be very useful to mix in with all the others since I used the same dye mixture.  Also, decided to add a couple of my favorite rusted pieces to the pile of available fabric for Pecans.  Think they might add an interesting bit once in a while.

Snow Dyes

Rusts

Now to see what other trouble....I MEAN...creativity I can get into with this series.........

Pecans - the beginning

Pecans - the series.

A couple of the online groups I belong to are doing art pieces in a series as part of the challenge for the year.  For one of the groups, Free Spirit Artists, I decided to do a series on Pecans.  This fall my dad died. He was a wonderful man and a great loving dad. And one of his passions was pecans.  They had a HUGE very old pecan tree in front of their house and he even planted a pecan orchard.  He subscribed to magazines for pecan growers.  Oh and he enjoyed eating them as well!!  (something we had in common!!) So, I decided to do this series in honor of my dad.

So far the series will depict the  different stages of the pecan.  1) sapling, 2) a grown tree, 3) mature pecans on the tree limb, 4) pecans on the ground at the base of the tree - ready to harvest 5) a barren tree after all the pecans and leaves are gone 6) pecans harvested and halved, etc and 7) the piece honoring my dad - it will have his photo in B/W transferred to silk organza, pecans, perhaps other photos, and my mom's pecan pie recipe.

Well....I have done a bit on this series already.  Ordered screen prints, cut out templates, etc.  But dyeing the fabrics felt like the project is actually underway.  After a couple of days of dyeing....here are the basic fabrics I will be using in all of the pieces in this series (6 or 7 planned)

They are all dyed in a 6 step gradation.  Here is one of the brown all set up to batch.

And here are the completed dyed fabrics --

Browns (yes I know some of them don't look brown but they are named "brown" something) -  From left to right...Tobacco, Cocoa, Golden Brown and Dark Chocolate Brown

Greens - Left to Right...Emerald, Dark Green and Forest Green

And Blues - Left to Right... Well actually they are so close it is difficult to tell the difference even in person! But I used Cerulean and Intense Blue.  I took these down a couple of gradations because I wanted some light blue sky with "clouds".  I'm very happy with the results.

Ordinarily this would be the end of dyeing...however after just completing the snow dyeing for another challenge...I HAVE to do some pieces for this series!! Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow if not starting some today.  

Snow Dyed Woven Background

One of my challenge groups has the theme "Snow" for December.  Well.....I mean I HAVE to snow dye the fabric for that one right????  AND we DO have enough snow!!!

First I have to prepare a place to put the whole snow dyeing process.  I like the melted snow and dye to drip below the fabric so that the fabric doesn't bathe in the dye.  One thing I say...."the right tool for the right job".   I'm so glad I picked up those big tin snips when they were on sale years ago!!!  The metal mesh is for a leaf shield on gutters.

Then I just placed the scrunched up fat quarter of PFD that had been soaked in the soda ash solution onto the screen and covered it well with snow

I had mixed up two strengths of #44 New Black from Dharma.  Also added in just a smidge of blue dye in one and a smidge of purple dye in the other for just a bit of contrast.  Then just waited for the snow to all melt.

GOING...

GOING...

GONE!!!

Results side by side

A while ago I had done a woven background like this one with an abstract tree. I wanted to do something very similar for this challenge.  So on to weaving the background.

First I cut each piece to the appropriate size - this time 15"X15". I ironed MistyFuse onto the backs of each of the pieces. Then I use my rotary cutter to slice the pieces into wavy lines.  (NOTE: On one piece, leave one edge in tact to make weaving easier to control) Also...it is important to keep these strips in order so they will fit snugly when woven.

Next I started weaving the horizontal pieces into the vertical strips. I just go ahead and set this whole weaving part up on the batting so when I iron it in the final step...it is ready for the rest of the process without having to pick up the woven piece on its own. You can see the black MistyFuse on the back of the strips that are flipped up ready for the next strip.

It may be necessary to futz with each strip just a tad to be sure it is in there snugly.

And finally, when all the strips have been woven in (you probably won't have room for the last one or two pieces of your horizontal strips but it doesn't matter).  I iron it to fuse the strips together and the whole piece to the the batting.  I love the subtle play of the color in this muted background which will depict a gray winter day.

And here is a detail shot.

Now it is ready for the tree and the snow!!

Post Reception Calm

Well, the Artists' Reception at the gallery is over but the exhibit goes on....until the end of December.

OK....I get to really enjoy this one because it is my very first GALLERY exhibit!  And with other media of art...not just art quilts!

Drove down yesterday afternoon.  I was a bit nervous...I think just because I've never done anything like this and had NO idea what to expect. The big snow wasn't due until evening so we had a great trip down to Zumbrota (about 2 hours from our home).

Have to say...it was really fun to see my work hanging and with all the other artists displays.

Rust and Found

 Fig Branch

Golden Figs

The owner and staff of Crossings Gallery were wonderful to work with and it was a very fun and comfortable afternoon.  Some snacks and some very talented people!  It was fun to meet other artists who work in other medias...AND some art quilters as well.

There are two other pieces at the show but they will be displayed when wall space becomes available.

Thanks to all of you who sent good wishes!! Your support means the world to me!

When Inspiration Hits!

The latest challenge for the 12 X 12 pieces is the theme - OPPOSITES. You might think that would be an easy one, right? Perhaps so. However, I struggled with it for weeks now and was just not coming up with something that excited me.


Until today. At my wit's end, I decided to google OPPOSITES just to see what might show up....maybe an idea to work from...or maybe even inspiration! One of the first selections was a list of opposites. Well....that sounded promising!! And sure enough, the light dawned, birds sang, euphoria filled the studio!!!

I decided to use a few of the opposites in one art piece!! Well....when I started looking and thinking, I came up with more than a few.

So here it is...I had a black and white piece I did for a project a couple of years ago. I started with that (the Picasso-esque man and woman in the woven textile background. Then I cut and added the strips for the left side and top.

FOURTEEN OPPOSITES

Yep...you read it correctly!!! There are actually 14 opposites in this one piece. Can you find all of them? I'll get you started....one of them is Black/White. The other 13 are up to you to find. That's why I put it on this post as a large photo. Some of the opposites are perhaps not as easily seen as others. A couple of them are a bit subtle. But they are all visible!! One I ditched (natural/synthetic) because it would not be discernable in a photo.

Good luck! I'll publish the list on November 1 so you can check your list!

The Finished Piece

Just completed it....binding, sleeve and all.  Even added some real watch parts.

The Sands of Time

10" X 20"



And it grew and grew!!

This is the quilt top made from the map fabric I made last week.  It was supposed to be for a 12 X 12 art quilt but I was having so much fun adding in the fields, etc. that it grew to what is now going to be a 20 X 20 quilt!! This is just the top. It still has to be quilted and bound. It doesn't fit the size for any group quilt requirements I'm currently working on so I guess this one will just be in my collection!

And it came to mean a lot more to me after driving round trip to Texas in 4 days!! Maps maps maps.

Now, can you see the fun things I put in here?? 

A vineyard which backs onto a dirt road. (purple on lower left)

A forest just right of center on the bottom

A marsh near the upper left top (kind of a mottled green)

Two plowed fields (left edge just top of center and bottom right quadrant)

A corn field just up and left of center above the little pond in the center of the map

Two green fields - probably soy beans

A brown field which is fallow dirt this year

And finally, a golden field - waves of grain no doubt!

Oh and the river, of course

TAKING THE BACKROADS

I named it Taking The Backroads because whether it is on a photo safari or on motorcycles...I LOVE the backroads!!

Besides the map fabric I made, I used my own hand dyed fabrics, rusted, rouched nad painted fabrics. Only commercial fabrics used were for the roads (both asphalt and dirt). I chose them because they look like....well...asphalt and a rutted dirt road. Here is a detail photo so you can see what I mean.

I had a blast making this top. Of course, now I have to come up with another idea for the 12 X 12 challenge this was meant to be!

Weekly Creativity - Week 2 - WonderUnder Image Transfer

The 12 X 12 group that I participate in has a new theme for September - Road Map.  So I figured I would work with actual road maps! Hey, why not! I had seen this method of transferring images to sheer fabric and wanted to give it a try. So I'm doing something for my Weekly Creativity Goal and at the same time accomplishing an art quilt for the September Road Map Challenge Theme! MULTITASKING!!!

I happen to LOVE maps so I collect them from all kinds of publications. Glad now to have such a diversity. I picked out my favorites and arranged them to the size I need. It is larger than a 12 X 12 because I will need that extra for the technique I'm going to use in Step 2.

Then I covered it with a sheer silk. No idea what kind of silk it is...just found it in my stash and checked to be sure I could see through it.  First I ironed WonderUnder onto the maps, peeled off the paper and put the silk down onto the top covered in WonderUnder and ironed to down.



Next step is the big messy part. I turned the piece silk side down and thoroughly wet the back side of all the maps. Then the labor intensive process of carefully peeling the backs off the paper so only the images remained on the silk.

A final rinse to remove all the tiny tiny bits of paper still clinging to the back, and hung it up to dry overnight.

This morning, it is dry and while a bit more opaque than I had preferred, you can still see the maps through the silk. Hopefully this afternoon I'll get started on the next step of this art quilt!!  Got ya curious???