From Concept to Finish

I am in the process of going through my studio in preparation for a potential move.  My husband graduates in November, and we are not sure where his next job will be.  We’ve lived here for 17 years, which means there is a lot to go through.  As part of the winnowing process, and to help support the family while he finishes his education, I have decided to offer a “Feature Quilt of the Month” for sale here on the blog.
This month’s quilt is my piece “Elephants in the Garden”, which was designed as part of a project proposal for Lark Books.  I like working with this whimsical style of creating animal images, and relished the opportunity to return to my old stomping grounds to create this piece.

Most of the time a piece begins as a sketch in my journal.  I play with colors and composition before scissors come near fabric.  This is a sketch for “Elephants in the Garden”, done with Crayola Pipsqueak markers.  I used my trusty black Pilot pen to outline the figures and to indicate the lines of the patchwork, etc.  This is the image I submitted to Lark to propose a piece for the book “Pretty Little Mini Quilts.”

When the proposal was accepted, I began the quilt.  Here you can see it in process.  The background has already been pieced and the elephants appliqued in place.  The metal yardstick is in place to help me confirm that the piece fits in with the 36” dimension requirement.  You can see the sketchbook with the initial concept in the background, and my Iris carts full of pieces parts under my working table.

Elephants wearing their blankets and ears now, and the tree trunk is in place.  I won’t bind the quilt until all of the pieces are appliqued into place.  I embellish once the piece is bound, so as to not catch the threads from the binding process on the bulky embellishments.

Detail of the eye, which is a larger button layered with a smaller button, and the tusk, which is a dentallium shell sewn to the piece.
Detail of the palm tree.  The shiny fabric in the leaves is cotton lame, and the dates in the center are three-dimensional, made with hand-dyed fabric from Judy Robertson of Just Imagination.

Detail of one of the feet, with a detail of the machine quilting and hand stitches using embroidery floss.

The finished piece, which measures 20.5” x 35.5”.  After completion, I sent the piece to Lark, where it was photographed for the book.  It returned home to me earlier this year, about the same time the book was available for sale. 
This piece can be yours for $425.00, which includes hanging rod and shipping within the US.

Drawings Drawings Everywhere

I have been reading The Confident Creative  by Cat Bennett , which is a different kind of drawing book.  Unlike most books, which go through the mechanics of drawing, this book talks about the spirit of drawing, with a few prompts and suggestions at the end.  She talks about embracing drawing as a daily practice, similar to a daily workout or yoga routine, as a way to connect with yourself and your world in a deeper way.  Product isn’t as important as process, though, as with any practice, daily application will show results over time.

With that in mind, I got out the giant clipboard and pad of paper from art school and drew this:

Jumbo red crayon on “Biggie” sketchpad, it is about 18” high by about 16” wide.

In this detail you can see the rough quality of the crayon on paper.  Sometimes drawing is as much about the tactile nature of the process for me as it is about the results.  Cat talks about this in her book, suggesting that the artist vary the drawing instrument or the surface on which one draws.

Birds are also showing up in my journal drawings.  This is pen and ink in a Moleskine sketchbook.

Another prompt talks about drawing objects from your daily life.  I still love exotic beads and have made several necklaces for myself in the recent past.  These offer portable still lifes, and I can sit at Donkey Coffee and create a new world.

 

You can see my to-do list under the drawing.  This practice isn’t about Art, it’s about seeing and focus.  Later I can develop Art from these beginnings, if I choose.

 

I made this necklace for myself for my 40th birthday.  It’s made with cool blues and greens, like so many of my necklaces.  The sticker is from an organic cucumber I purchased at Whole Foods.  I just love the farm’s name.

This year’s birthday necklace, including a note where I just phoned in the shape of the bead rather than giving it my full attention.

Whether or not these drawings turn into larger pieces isn’t the point.  My intention with them is to spend some focused time doing something I love.  So far I’ve really enjoyed it.  Sometimes the simplest tools give the best results.

How to Display Your New Art Quilt

 

One of the most common questions when selling fiber works is  “How do I display this piece?”  As you can see, hanging your new art quilt isn’t much different than hanging a print or a painting.  When I ship an art quilt to its new home, it comes ready to display.

Smaller quilts (30” x 40” and under) come with a wood display rod.  I use either 1/4” pine or poplar, which is drilled and sanded, ready to use.

Each quilt comes with a 4” sleeve on the back to facilitate display.  There is an ease in the sleeve so that the piece will sit smoothly on the wall without unsightly bumps. 

The piece can be hung using either 20 lb test fishing line, pulled taut, as seen above, or picture wire, as shown below. 

Alternate options include nailing the piece to the wall through the holes in the hanging rod, or making one loop of monofilament through each hole and hanging from two separate nails or clips.

Pieces larger than 30” x 40” hang well on 1/2” pipe.  Holes are drilled at each end and the piece is displayed using the two separate loop method.  This is the way “Marilyn” and “Route 33, Summer Morning” were exhibited at the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Competition two years ago, and I have used it for subsequent exhibitions with great success.  Shipping costs for larger pieces will include an extra charge for shipping a longer hanging rod, or you can elect to buy your own hanging device and waive the extra shipping fee.

Below, the small piece “Night Watch”,  11.5” x 11.5”, shown displayed using the picture wire and rod method.

Of course, no art should ever be displayed in direct sunlight.  Should the piece become dusty, I clean the smaller pieces by shaking them out, while larger pieces can be gently vacuumed using a piece of window screen between the vacuum and the piece to prevent anything being sucked into the hose.

Take Me to the River

Last week, we actually had half a day to take a ride out to Marietta and follow the Ohio River back down into Parkersburg.  When I was a kid, we used to come down to Athens to visit my grandparents, and each trip included a ride in the country.  I didn’t get it at the time, and spent most of those rides with my nose buried in a book.  But time (and glasses!) happened, and now I love to go out and see the verdant hillsides when they are in full summer bloom.

Here’s Izzy, balancing on a piece of driftwood at the banks of the Ohio.

We took some bread for the geese.  Here they are figuring out what’s going on.

The white geese were really persistent.

Marty was watching the boats on the river.  We also saw several fish leaping out of the river.  I have never seen that before, and found it really cool.

Sometimes when we are riding out in the country, I imagine what the insides of the old farmhouses are like.  (Pilot Precise pen and Inktense pencil in Moleskine sketchbook).

And what the wildlife thinks.

And then I design pieces incorporating the colors, textures and feelings of those trips.

And finally, I go into the studio and create my own “ride in the country”:

“Safe Harbor”  15.5”  x 15.5”  Reverse applique, fusible bias tape, hand beaded, machine quilted.

“Midnight Snack”  16” x 18” (measurements approximate)  Reverse applique, machine embroidery, machine quilted, fusible bias tape, hand beading.

“Summer Joy” 20” x 16”  Reverse applique, fusible bias tape, fusing (in black circles), machine quilting, hand beading.

The progression of inspiration isn’t always this obvious to me, but each piece holds something of a place I have experienced, even if it is just a color that reminds me of the sky over Mound Road by my grandparents’ homes, or an object, such as a colander or water tower, that I remember loving since I was a small child.  It’s always a surprise to have these flashes of memory in the middle of the long production process.

What shows up in your work without you realizing it?

A Little Bit High, A Little Bit Low

Yesterday was a studio day.  Lots and lots of sewing ensued.  Even a little wackiness (Lilo and Stitch on the DVD player, earlier McCartney on the turntable, some Shiva Nata in between to loosen up and calm down).

Butter and Egg Road, still in process, the photo print and the fence sewn in place.

A view of the printed out journal page, embellished with machine embroidery.

Detail of the stitching on the image.  I outline stitched the main images once the piece was sewn to the quilt base with satin stitch.

The apron sewn down and the piece is complete with the exception of the sleeve and label.  I really like how it turned out.  When I was in college, my watercolor instructor told me “you really like to work high key”.  I am embarrassed to admit, I didn’t know what she meant at the time, but I can see that in this piece.  It’s very pale, with just the hints of reds in the apron and hollyhocks to make it pop.  No embellishment needed.

And now on to the next piece:

“Day of the Cichlid”, machine embroidery with bobbin drawing, and reverse applique.  The piece at the bottom is auditioning.  When it is complete, it will also have cutouts like the top sections.

Detail of the bobbin drawing.  I used crochet thread for those passages.  Looks like this will be another high key piece.

Back to work, I have circles to cut out!

Moving Right Along

Floral Medley is complete, including sleeve and label (usually the very last thing that gets done, ok well it is always the very last thing but sometimes it is months after the rest of the piece is finished).

Final measurements, 26.5” x 35” (67cm x 89cm)

Now it is on to the next piece

Butter and Egg Road, inspired by the colors at my Mamaw’s house.  The apron was a thrift store treasure, and the hollyhocks are from a journal page that I scanned and printed onto fabric.

I am machine embroidering in the image to add a bit more color and texture.  When that is complete I will either satin stitch it in place or use the black bias tape that I used earlier this year on a different piece.

The Pellon interfacing fence that I’m going to applique onto a piece of off white batik fabric.  This will sit in the lower right of the piece and behind the apron.  I may also apply the apron to a backing piece of fabric, using the same method I did for the doilies on Floral Medley.  This makes it much easier to apply the threadwork to the quilt sandwich, and I’m really happy I stumbled upon this method while working on this set of work.

Back to the studio.  Have a great weekend, y’all!

The Best Part of Waking Up

Is getting to go to the studio and play! 

This piece has been in process for enough years that I don’t remember when I made the yellow base.  I have been purging the studio and came across it, and when I saw the colorful textiles in the Wavy Gravy movie, I knew it needed to be a floral scene.

The butterfly is an extra machine embroidered butterfly left over from the piece I made for The Artful Storybook.  He’s sat in the pile of in process works for two years now.  Doesn’t he look pretty flying above the flowers?

Here’s a detail of the picking process.  I made these fabric yo yos when Izzy was an infant, they come in handy for so many embellishing chores.  The crochet pieces are found objects from second-hand shops.

A different detail of the yo yos set in the center of pieces cut from the white doily.  If you look carefully, you can also see the machine stitched detail on the poppies.  I used crochet thread in the bobbin for that effect.

I chose to back the orange doilies with this African brocade from Becky at St Theresa Textile Trove.  It will help with the contrast against the bright yellows.

And another detail of the doily as finished flower.  I am going to go back in and add some veins in the leaves, either with beads or sequins, once the piece is ready for its final embellishment.  The poppies were sewn separately and beaded separately before being appliqued to the background, and the stems are zigzag stitch done over rattail satin cording for extra dimension.

I love when a piece comes together like this.  Everything here has been in my stash for quite some time, just waiting for the opportunity to be made into art.  The finished piece will be on exhibit at the High Road Gallery in Worthington OH as part of the upcoming FABRICations exhibit.