Can this be art.....AND art quilting????

OH YES!!!! I'm currently working on a project for a group I belong to and just wanted to post a quick peek to kinda capture your curiosity. This bit WILL be part of a new art quilt shortly. I should be posting photos of the completed quilt by the first of next week. So I hope you have subscribed for e-mail updates so you will see it when it goes public!!!
Only a small warning.....I think of anyone tries this technique, they should be sure their tetanus shot is current!! LOL!!

Yep...I'm weaving metal. Rusty metal at that! Things were going a bit slow until I discovered that I could us a popsicle stick as a shuttle! Went much faster after that!!



OPEN ROAD

Finally completed this 12"X12" piece for one of the internet art quilt groups I am part of.  The challenge theme was DREAMS. Had a bit of a think because the things I dream of are mostly very difficult to express in a tangible form. However, one morning over coffee with my husband, he mentioned the topic which immediately struck a chord with me and I KNEW I had my DREAM art quilt. 

One of my great joys was riding my motorcycle with my husband and often groups of friends who ride.  Off we would go on the open road hunting down beautiful back roads to explore.  A few years ago, due to circumstance beyond my control, I had to sell my "baby". It is something that is difficult for me especially every spring when up here in the frozen tundra we finally have nice weather and the bikes are out in droves!......but I'm not with them. I miss riding more that words can say but any rider would understand. My dream is one day to have a bike and take off on the open road once again. Hence the title of this piece: OPEN ROAD.  This is my view from my bike on the open road with hills and lakes and beautiful sky....

OPEN  ROAD

12" X 12"

raw edge applique, embroidery



And now for something a little different

While working away on a couple of art quilts (one of which will be posted tomorrow) I took a break and did several watercolor and ink. These are ATC size (2.5" X 3.5") and are inspired by several of my favorite photos I took of doors and windows and the bridge.

Crooked Little House

This little house used to sit at a local nursery. I'm glad I got the photo because it is no longer there.

Weathered Shed

This is a shed on a farm not far from where I live.

Missing Door

From a trip to Texas several years ago. In a very small town there was this very old shell of a building with several missing doors and windows.

Stone Arch Bridge

A landmark in Minneapolis its curved arches cross the Mississippi. Now a footbridge.

This is a new medium for me and I have to say...I'm begining to really enjoy it!

Works are in Progress

Ok I have several works currently that are in process but since a few of them will be completed by next week, I'll just wait until they are done to post about them. But there is one that will be more of a long term project so I will post progress on it periodically.

Wil, my friend from the Netherlands, is currently here and we are playing daily in the studio. And planning handwork to do while watching evening TV.  One project is a shibori embroidery piece. Started with a piece of shibori that I already had and now am doing the hand embroidery to make it something totally different.  Now I can't tell you just what it will be like in the end because I'm just letting it develop as it pleases one step at a time. 

Step one is to embroider around one of the shibori circles.  This is how it looks after three evenings (told you it would be a long running ordeal!!) Here are the photos.

The Whole Piece

And a close up



Hope to have at least one other piece to post tomorrow for another project!!

EXPERIENCE

This piece is for one of the art quilt groups I belong to. The theme for this one is Who I Am.

I was inspired by the saying, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." This is a concept that struck a very deep chord with me and I knew it wanted to be a quilt for Voyage this year. It took a while to come up with the technique for expressing such an ethereal concept but it finally came together. I chose a rather non-descript woman (no facial features, etc) because I didn't want that part to be the focal point. I chose a slightly shiny bronze tulle to express the lightness of a spiritual being. I placed the "spiritual being" just inside the "human being" to give the feeling of the spiritual being living through the human being.

EXPERIENCE

EXPERIENCE - detail

The next insallment will be Where I Am Going. Now if I only knew just where that might be!!! A few concepts floating around in my head just now. Have to wait and see where I end up!



Directions

Funny, when I dropped by today to post one of my latest art pieces I realized I must be on a Black and White theme lately!  (see previous post) Hadn't noticed really.

Anyway, I was in one of my "I wonder what would happen if...." moods recently and felt inspired to try something similar to a piece I saw somewhere (can't remember where at the moment - it was just in passing). So I got out my black printing ink, black pigma pen, white ink and a credit card (art is about the best use for one I think!)  And here is what I ended up with. The title is "Directions". Some of the directions of the ink smears seemed headed in all different directions so I just extended them. Then the texture of the swiped ink needed extensions of the black lines or even new directions of their own. I'm very happy with the results. Only problem....printing ink when applied in this manner takes FOREVER to dry completely!! And those of you who know me are familiar with just how much patience is NOT one of my sterling virtues! But I managed...this time!

DIRECTIONS



Latest Piece

In Sky-Is-The-Limit group the most recent theme was "Inspired By". I was inspired by Victor Vaserely. This was a significant moment in my artistic journey because it was the first time I FULLY realized just how much I appreciate other kinds of art!! I saw a presentation of his work (online) in an old church. The juxtaposition of pop art on ancient stone walls was so intriguing. Then I found I loved his work on its own. Found his two zebras next. Now I do love black and white so these were especially delightful to me. Then I found Markab which he did about 1956 or '57. It isn't as much of an optical illusion as some of his other work but it grabbed my attention big time. So I decided to render it in fabric (at least as much of it as I could in 12"X12"). I've wanted to do this one for a few years. In fact...had already started it and got distracted by other things for a bit. But this theme afforded me the opportunity to complete it and enjoy it all over again. Markab in Arabic means "something to ride". And since finding Vaserely opened up a whole new vista for me, I titled this piece "Enjoying the Ride". As for the process, let's just say I'm extremely glad someone invented those really sharp and tiny scissors!! The white fabric was stitched onto black Kona and then trimmed according to how much black was to show through. Required a bit of patience but I'm happy with the results. It still needs a binding (which will be in black Kona) but at least it is done enough to post.

Inspired by Victor Vaserely

"Enjoying the Ride"



Markab by Victor Vaserely - 1956 or '57

Oil on Canvas

Still working on catching up on several projects but at least this one is MOSTLY done and I'm ready to move on.