Shows, Shows and More Shows

Over the past week I’ve managed to put in some good studio time.  Some of the work has been for specific shows, while others have been play/spec.

First, the play.  I have a set of Liquitex Basics 22ml acrylics, and I’ve been practicing my painting:

Cow Bird in process.  This painting is based on my quilt of a similar cow and bird couple.  Right now I’m still building the layers of color.  I love how the table underneath is its own piece of art with all the layers of old paint on it.

Bunny Pierrot II, one of three rabbit pierrot paintings I’m planning.  This one will be on the far right.  The full piece will be 8” x 24” when finished.

I also committed to sending a shoe piece to a show at Ten Women Gallery, so I applied some of my painting practice to this piece, still in process:

I drew the shoes using a regular #2 pencil, then began layering in colors.  The fish are a silkscreen I made based on a stamp I carved several years ago.  This piece is 10” x 10”.

And finally, I mixed the media up in this piece for the Art Quilt Network Fire and Ice show at Galleria Evangelia:

 

So far it’s untitled.  It’s based on the bead drawings I did last month, and I used hand painted paper which has been screened with the fish print.  I sewed fabric onto that to fill out the image.  It measures approximately 15” x 15”.

Detail of the painted paper and fabrics.  I really like how this piece came together and want to play more with the painted paper concept.  I would love to be able to get such painterly colors and crisp images on fabric.  Maybe Jane Dunnewold’s new book Art Cloth: A Guide to Surface Design for Fabric will have some good ideas.  We do have several dry days coming up and there’s nothing like painting in the yard. :)

Tomorrow I will share images from my work for The Sketchbook Project. 

All in the Family

This wonderful poster for Izzy’s upcoming show just arrived in my email.  It was created by Ryan Spellman at the Athens Public Library.  If you’re in the area, stop by and see the show.  We hang it next Friday (July 30)

Books in Bloom

Here in Southeast Ohio spring has definitely sprung.  I can see the neighbor’s magnolia filled with the creamy pink blossoms of the season, and the violets are beginning to fill my front lawn.  It’s a riot of color and texture, yet as recently as two weeks ago, branches were still bare and the grass was barely green.

An art career is somewhat like this, growth can be going on just beneath the surface and from an outsider’s perspective it can seem as though nothing is ever going to change. 

While I have been working on entering shows, creating work for sale, and updating my Etsy shop, the seeds I planted over a year ago have started to bloom.  Two books have recently been released which feature my work.

The first, “500 Art Quilts”, is the kind of survey of the contemporary art quilt scene which I looked at with longing when I first started making art quilts and entering my first shows.  It is one of the wonderful Lark “500” series which showcases the best in contemporary craft, and two of my works have been chosen to be included. 

“Marilyn”, 2008, shown above, and “Bird’s Eye View”, 2007  were the two pieces chosen for this wonderful book.

The second book is an instructional book, and I designed a project for it, in a patchwork and applique style. “Pretty Mini Little Quilts”  contains designs from 25 artists, with the main theme being that the quilts are under 36” in any direction.  You will be amazed at how much creativity and visual impact you can fit into a small space.

Here is a photo illustrating how to sew the elephant to the pieced background.

A detail of one of the elephants from the quilt.

I am proud and pleased to be included in each of these wonderful books.  The editors have done a great job, and I highly encourage you to check them out.

Stuffed is Here!

Carl, plush alligator, patchwork, crochet, machine embroidery. He's about 30" long and is one of the plush featured in the following:




















Stampington & Co's new publication, Stuffed, just hit my mailbox yesterday, so it should be on a newsstand near you soon. I have an article on three of my plush, Carl, Ally and Olivia, they are on pages 76-79. This publication is full of lots of cool plush, well worth finding.

Every Bunny Loves Somebunny Sometime

Rabbits have been an influence for quite some time. When I was a child, my mother painstakingly embroidered this lovely growth chart for me, using a stamped kit from Lee Wards.

(Evil Bunny, detail)

While I admired the work and the colors and that it had my very own name on it, the eyes on this rabbit always gave me the heeby jeebies. They just seemed wrong to me and I was very happy when I finally outgrew the growth chart and it went into my mom's drawer of memories.

I forgot about it for a long time, and then late last year I began doing some sketches with a Bic pen in a Canson sketchbook:

Carnival bunny with cathedral window headdress.

Always being a fan of picture in picture stuff, I gave the rabbit a "rabbit on rabbit " look.

The next piece in the progression, a jester stick design.

And combining a rabbit and a bat in a pastoral setting ( I always loved the illuminated manuscripts' images I'd find in our Time-Life collection of history) with a bit more whimsy.

Detail of the memento mori collar and the crown, this rabbit has a secret.

And finally back to fabric, where I drew the rabbit onto a piece of canvas, painted it with Setacolour paints, and then embellished with machine embroidery, beads and sequins. Still in process.

Closeup, Evil Rabbit grows up.

It's funny how I forget about that rabbit wallhanging until I am cleaning in the studio and come across it, but obviously it has never been too far from my thoughts.

Volume Four

I have been doing plain drawings with a black BIC crystal stick pen in one of my sketchbooks and I decided to take it out of the book and onto the wall.


Full bunny so far, Setacolour paints and machine embroidery on cotton twill PFD.

Detail of mushrooms and holes.


Detail of bunny eyes and cloud.

Once the machine embroidery is complete, I plan to put him on a quilt sandwich and bead him. Then, who knows? I'll keep you updated!

The Joy of Color

In the service of keeping the creative fires burning during the course of a long project, little things get played with. For instance, today while I was searching for the symbolism of the octopus (they have been appearing in my personal journals for about two years now, and I have been seeing them out in the real world during the past few months), I came across a link to the work of Judith Cornell. I have her book Drawing the Light from Within, and in it she talks about using prismacolor pencils on dark paper to bring out inner world out to view. This is the mandala I worked on this morning. A full shot is at my flickr, this just had a better angle on the color and detail.

I had intended a lotus in the center when I began, but it morphed into the dragon or octopus-like figure seen here. I had thought perhaps a golden sun at the top, but the bird is what happened. I think it is appropriate, in that deep way of knowing something belongs.

And this is the big project. Some would call the mandala avoidance, I would call it sanity saving. This piece is for the local Hillel and will hang in the lounge above the loveseat. The green will be divided into hills by strips of opalescent batik that will have fruits embroidered on it, and three buildings symbolizing the local communities will be nestled among the hills (those are what is intimidating me right now, though I know once I start they will go quickly). The base is the bricks that the local streets and buildings are covered with, and will contain a quote about being blessed in our homes and our communities. It's only 36" h by 54" w, I don't know why I'm so intimidated (after all "What Lies Beneath" is 69" x 42" and Bean Gildorf's Rambler quilt in Rice's new book is only 544" long!).

It's been raining a lot here. Good weather to stay in and work!

Skully Stella and Friend

While preparing stuff to take to Wholly Craft tomorrow, I came across this unfinished giraffe mini quilt, which was crying out to be finished. So after I found the proper machine threads, I embroidered him right up. I am unsure whether he is a stand alone or a part of a multiple component piece (after the dream I had last night I think I have an idea...)

And then I made Skully Stella, friend to Skully Stan, also machine embroidery. Both pieces are on my own hand-dyed twill (ie twill I dyed myself, not purchased myself). What is the proper terminology for that? Artist dyed cloth?

Details of each image are at my flickr.

Ok, I Was Wrong

Carl has been sitting in the studio for maybe 7 months, waiting for me to get brave enough to give him eyes and legs. After my success with Tiki's eyes (which will have to wait for another post) I decided it was time for a gator.

Here he is in all his glory.

Here I am, thrilled as all get out that the eyes worked even better than I'd thought (I was planning on pancake eyes lying on his face, but they wanted to stand up, which is what I'd originally intended and which I didn't think I'd be able to pull off).

And look at the delicious little alligator piggies. I had no idea how to do these until after I'd finished his eyes. Of course having made an elinor peace bailey pattern about seven years ago did help (the chicken shaman has two part legs and I used that concept). They are so cute. They are so gargoyle-y and ogre-y and I think I may need a bigger box (of stuffing).

And finally, a view from above, to show off the lovely soft sculptured nose. His face is made from the most yummy dupioni silk I bought from Becky at St Theresa Textile Trove, and many of the fabrics that make up his body also came from there. His legs are my hand-dyed twill.

I am so happy. Now I think the dragon can be finished! :)

Down to the Wire

Still madly working on Donkey prep and an article on milagro/lotteria themed pins. This piece is Tiki Toad, and will be the last fiber piece I complete for the Donkey show (hanging Friday evening). Lots of stash fabrics, he is based on a lino-cut I made during my tenure as not quite art student here at OU. I am going to give him a realistic eye, thanks to my VanDyke taxidermy catalog. (machine stitched, not enough time to order a real eye set). You just never know what will come in handy during the making of a piece. :)

Miss Nancy's Midnight Parlor

In process, I finally got up the guts to actually put the back on and start quilting. The white lines are actually very pale sage and are the base for Miss Nancy's web. I am unused to wrestling something so large on my sewing machine, several items in the vacinity went for an unplanned trip. I am still pondering how to create her visitor. Flies used to come in all kinds of colors when I was a kid; I remember bronze ones and green ones and deep blue-violet ones. I want to pay tribute to that memory, and working out the best way to represent the colorful fly. I already have the most wonderful "fly eye" buttons..... :) I'd best hurry, Miss Nancy is going to Donkey in a week.

Upcoming Books I'm In

I designed two projects for this one, both beadwork and both very cool:



And I am not sure who will be in this one, Chauncey the alligator, Plurtle the turtle, or Swanson the fish.

They both look really cool, I can't wait to see them!

Ms Spider

I may call her Nancy. She is bigger than the other creatures I've been making , primarily because I wanted a large area to explore the lovely purple fur I used for her body. She'll be lounging in her web soon enough, chatting with a friendly fly who stopped by.

And closeup of body and head.

I am skipping out on a bra meeting at the moment. It's too cold to be sociable. Grr.

Donkey Show Preview

So I finally came up with a plan for my upcoming show at Donkey Coffee. The theme is "Jardin Fantastique" and will comprise of art made about the denizens of my garden. These two are still in process, though "Koi to the World" does have a title, little honeybee does not (I like to call her Queen Bee).



Honeybee, stash fabrics, approximately 18" x 18". Sequins in the wings and iridescent fabric for the crown. Silk flower and button complete her look.

And Koi to the World, more stash fabrics. Holographic quilting threads for the water and around the body of my little fish. This piece is approximately 18" x 22". I also used holographic sequins for some of the scales and added a few shisha mirrors for pizazz.

Detail of the scales and fins with machine drawing. Both are made on a patchwork base, the main image is reverse applique my way (involves the use of Pellon and making a big drawing).


Just two of the fantasmagoric pieces that will be hanging at Donkey Coffee May 26-July 1 2007. Y'all come on down! (or up, or over....)

Quilt Sunday

Cleaning the house for company, everyone has to go back to the studio:

And today's work in the studio. Two months til I hang the Donkey show and then I also have a group show at the Athens Public Library with my local art group so new things need to be completed:
Detail of single sun and various greens pieced together.


So far today I managed to get the green upper-ground pieced and applied to the sun quilt base. It measures approximately 40" H by 45" wide at the moment. I am thinking reverse applique flowers to fill the ground. Lots of oldies but goodies, including several greens in the Lunn Fabrics Pointillist Palette.

It's a very warm sunny day out, what am I doing in here?

Journal Page Fun

I got to go to Donkey and spend an hour realigning with an iced latte, slice of gingerbread cake (so good, wonder who made it? ;) and my paper and pencils.

Colored pencil on Fabriano paper, Souffle pen outlines and details.

Closeup of gator.
Close up of flower.

And from a few weeks ago, a study for red shoes. Scrapbook paper cutout shoe, magazine images of shoes and flowers, base of Golden Paints Pyrrole Red and highlighted with Souffle pens and oil pastels.

Etsy Update

I just put a bunch of animals and the turtle handbag up at my Etsy shop. Thanks for looking!