Management From the Top Down

I am not a hair chick.  Never really have been, probably never really will be.  My one foray into hair chick-ness was back when I worked at Wendy’s in Bryan/College Station, Texas.  My running buddy Mike talked me into having my hair done by his friend who worked at the cosmetology school.  I ended up with a beautiful, body-permed, burgundy mullet, which he would do each day before we went out (I also bought my first curling iron at his urging, and yes, occasionally I did my own hair). 

Fast forward too many years later, and I became frustrated with trying to find a good hair style (I have a natural wave and no matter what the haircut I seemed to end up with Farrah hair) so let my hair go, and as they say, I also had “let myself go”. 

My good friend Diane bought a piece of artwork from me, and as she handed me the payment she said “I want you to use this on yourself”.

Well, Alyson Hannigan (Willow from “Buffy”) had just gotten a cute bob with a slight wave.  I thought it might work on my hair.  I lucked into finding Amy at Regis, and was happy for many many years.  The hair was also part of a “top down” makeover at the time, which ended with me over 100 pounds lighter and much healthier.  I thought I was an “after with a vengeance”.

Life intervened, in the form of hormone upheaval (mine) job upheaval (my husband) and just general upheaval.  In the middle of not knowing when the next regular paycheck would arrive, my hard-earned new regime slipped a little.  Instead of tomatoes and brown rice, I found myself nibbling on the cookies I was baking for the local coffee shop; and instead of walking five times a week, I found myself sitting on the sofa or at the computer.  Haircuts also went by the wayside, as I chose to use what windfalls came my way on other, longer lasting items.

Today, I got a real haircut and style.  Tomorrow I am buying a packet of funky stickers at Target (part of the weight loss/getting in shape regime involved the very simple yet satisfying act of putting a cool sticker on my calendar each day I worked out).  My friend Lucky bought me a basic yoga DVD last year for my birthday and I have already been laying down some stickers. 

Here I am with my new haircut:

(I also bought some of that makeup Ellen has been advertising for, as I swear by my Oil of Olay Regenerist Serum; did I also mention I am not a makeup )

Who knows? Maybe I will look into some hot rollers next!

How to Get Ahead in Life

Well, one can work hard, put in long hours, make sacrifices and difficult choices.  That’s one way to get ahead in life.

OR, you can get ahead from eBay.  A dozen of them, in fact, for only $48, including shipping and insurance.  Here they are, waiting for their debut as part of my upcoming hat exhibit at The Canton Museum of Art.

Back to work!

Gocco, My Gocco or The Rewards of Patience

Several years ago I received a Print Gocco for my birthday.  It is a device that flashes small silkscreens to make cards and other fun stuff with.  I made several screens of various designs for projects as varied as mermaid ornaments to individual doll panels to surface design on fabric for quilts.  Then the company who makes the Gocco decided to quit exporting it to the US and I hoarded my remaining bulbs and screens (I have since found suppliers, but I still have to have a Very Special Project to pull out the screens and bulbs).

While quilting the quilt that never ended (it finally did, yesterday, yay!) I had lots of time to think about what I was going to do next.  This piece is about 50” x 80” and there will be a lot of blue sky in the background of the wonderful red and white checked tower.  What to do with that space, beyond the basic quilting, I didn’t know.   However, I figured since the quilting was taking forever I could, like Scarlett O’Hara, think about it tomorrow.

The answer came while changing bobbins at one point (I went through a LOT of bobbins).  Make a Gocco screen from my reference photograph and screen print the quilt with lots of little white water towers (I knew that they had to be white, to help with the “realistic sky” feel of the background).

Yesterday, after I had done my happy dance upon completing the quilting, I dug out my Print Gocco.  I scanned the photo into my other computer and printed it out.  Then I drew on the printed image using an Ebony pencil (they have enough carbon for the Gocco to work), flashed my screen, and…

Could not find the stamping accessory attachment that I received with the Gocco.  No clue if it was where the Gocco was, and the bathroom/storage room is kind of full right now due to almost every book’s projects having come home from the publisher.  So I had to do it old school, using an old credit card as a squeegee.

The tower, in full and you can see the legs of other printings in the corner.  It is not as detailed as the original photo, but I am still happy with how it’s turning out.  I probably wouldn’t have thought of doing this had the piece not taken so long to quilt, so there is something to be said for working on big pieces that take forever to make.

Next up, heat setting and binding.

Published!

Late last month I received my contributor's copy of the new book Stitched Jewels: Jewelry That's Sewn, Stuffed, Gathered & Frayed, by Marthe LeVan. I designed a lotus choker and a set of earrings, based on the flower piece I made for an earlier book, and was eager to see what the other artists had come up with.

The book covers everything from the very basics on how to do hand-stitching and machine stitching, to the properties of different fabrics and what to expect when using them. Since the focus is on jewelry, there is also a section on findings and jewelry construction, all presented in a simple, easy to read format. Gallery images of fabric jewelry are scattered throughout the book for inspiration. The projects range from simple to sophisticated and I am very proud to have been included in this book with the other talented designers. It's a great book to have on your shelf, and if you have even a small fabric stash and the desire to make something fun with it, this is a good book to start with.

Crafty Chica's Latest Book

In between all the mad dash to finish Winter White for the Parkersburg Art Center show, this wonderful new gem arrived in the mail. Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing has all the elements I've come to expect from the enthusiastic and inspiring designer/author: bright colors, funky images and textures and most of all an encouraging "you can do this!" attitude which infects everything she touches.

The projects in this book include wearables, items for your home and a great section on purses made from anything from a funky towel to an Indian placemat. Throughout Kathy offers tips, techniques and anecdotes from fellow crafters, all with the result that even those who were intimidated by the sewing machine will find themselves happily scouting the dollar store, yard sales and thrift stores for items to alter, and fabric stores for the fabrics to make their projects sing. A list of suppliers is included in the back, including a list of sewing machine manufacturers, to help you find the right tool for your new sewing adventures.

I was really delighted with this book, but I must admit I love everything Kathy does. Even if it is a project I probably will not make, I can take ideas away from it and apply the ideas and techniques to something else. Congratulations on another job well done!

FAQ

The Parkersburg Art Center show is hung and the opening over, now I am playing catch up with a bunch of things I let hang while I was in the studio. For instance, getting flyers out to local businesses about sponsoring the Studio Art Quilt Association conference in May, reviewing Crafty Chica's new book (it's a great one!) and revamping my website.

With that in mind, I am putting together a FAQ for the website that has more to do with my art and processes and a little less about where we get our beads, etc. So I am asking for questions that you are curious about, things you may want to know about how I make the work, processes, materials, etc. I am curious to see what someone else would want to know about these things. Since I am the one making the work, sometimes it is hard to step back and see the big picture. Thanks in advance for sharing your questions with me.

More blog later, as I have photos from the opening, a book to review, and lots of fun stuff to catch up on!

Portrait Commissions

While finishing up the final piece for the Parkersburg Art Center show, I have also had to clean the studio to search for fabrics and yarns for that piece.  As usual, cleaning and finding things I’d forgotten I had has proven to be a huge inspiration.  I realized that I miss my old smaller embellished pieces, and would like to do some more of them.  So in that spirit, I am launching a new venture, commissioned portraits, based on old family photographs and/or family treasures such as old baby dresses, etc.  Here are a few examples of what I am talking about, to whet your curiosity while I get the official page up at my site.

April 7, 1967, based on a found baby dress from a thrift store, and a photo transfer of me on my third birthday.  This piece was done for the “It’s My Birthday!” show, and was exhibited at Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine.  The work is embellished with crocheted flowers and beads, and the crown is stitched with perle cotton and embellished with shisha mirrors.

“Mom-Mom and Me” photo transfer fabric journal.  Velvet cover embellished with mother of pearl, bead and thread embroidery, using a photo transfer of my paternal grandmother.  Inside pages include more photo transfer, applique and embellishments, all telling stories of activities I remember sharing with my Mom-Mom.

“Ophelia” made with a found baby dress from a thrift store, and embellished with photo transfered images of my daughter.  This piece has a lot of work, the entire background is covered with shisha mirror embroidery, and there is a beaded heart in the center of the bodice.  This piece was featured in the FAVA Artist as Quiltmaker show, and the image was used on the tshirts from that show.

I can also do pet portraits in this style.  “Study for Dita” was based on the photo of my friend Lisa’s beloved cat, Dita.  This piece was all hand and machine embroidery, embellished with beads and set in a quilted frame.

I am really excited at the opportunity to be able to work in this way again.  I will post the web page as soon as it is up, or you can email me at andiandmarty (at) gmail (dot) com to talk with me about arranging your own personal piece of artwork.