Author: jackiekeirnanhale

I just came back from an awe inspiring trip to Alaska. All I can say is WOW!

This being my first trip to this wonderful state I think my senses are full of the wonder of nature. Very hard to express in words. I took a walk along the shore and I kept getting the feeling I was just an ant in the midst of tall, tall trees. I stopped to breathe it all in and found this.

It looks like I took this from ground level but no. This is moss and small ferns that have sprouted on top of a post. The background is the shoreline across from the walking path I was on. This reminds me of a magical fairy forest. I have to admit I only think of snow in Alaska. The lush depth of green colors, all the ferns and mossy fungi everywhere! I was correctly schooled by my tour guides this is a temporal climate.

As I continued to walk I found this cute cemetery. I am familiar with the blue spruce but the different rocks and bright green weeds is just singing out to be recreated in a landscape.

I then took a gondola ride up the mountain. The trees seemed closer up but just as impressive. Can you see all the “happy little trees” as Bob Ross used to say? His painting style certainly came to mind when I got this shot from the gondola.

Oh wow, this trip has sent my artistic mind to a whole new altitude indeed! Now to get busy creating.

I am on a new adventure, visiting Seattle, Washington for the first time for a few days before I head to an Alaskan cruise.

I began my day with a walk on a nature trail close to my hotel. It is a trail along the Green river on one side and office buildings on the other. An oasis of nature within the city. I found the landscape interesting and very calm.

As I wondered along I found a crack in the walking path that was amazing. Something caused two ruptures in the asphalt base. They had been circled in white to show a need to repair this. But wait who or what painted the center red making them appear to be mini volcanoes? Just me but it made me smile.

Move on down the path and I find bends in the river, full of lush green over growth. Lots of trees, some different weeds and a few ducks that kept moving so I couldn’t photograph them. Looking across the river I am intrigued by some stumps in the river that have bright green growth poking on the top of them. The reflections on the calm water is interesting, too. This will be stored in my expanding group of possible photos to start a new art quilt

I was so into the moment I lost track of time. Checked my watch and saw I needed to turn around and make a bee line back so as not to miss the shuttle. Made it on time for my next new place to explore. A new path to follow with different air for certain.

If you know my art work though it is not photo realistic, it is based on nature. I have dealt with what I have started calling artist’s block, like writer’s block, due to the gloomy feeling from lockdown. I found if I just got outside for a walk or sit on a park bench I was able to shake the dull drums. It got me to start exploring the many, many different parks in my part of the country. I could stretch my mind into what was around me by getting out of my four walls. I highly recommend a walk in the woods especially if you have never been on that path before.

Last month after what was a very cold week the weather broke into a sunny, sunny warm day. Getting my morning errands done early I decided to check out a local park in the area. I started the walk, looking at the bare trees along the pavement when I came to a raw path leading into a a forest. I am sure it was set up as a bike path but I was intrigued as to what was new to discover, a path not yet crossed. I put on my favorite classical music playlist and started my journey.

Instantly it was about 10 degrees cooler as I started on the dirt path. The trees were tall and the path was well tended but with no new leaf growth on the trees. I love being able to see these “skeletons” of trees. To see what is underneath before the green leaves appear gets my creative juices running.

After the deer moved on I continued with my walk going deeper into a ravine that then lead uphill. Thus making the trail a loop. I continued to take in the twists and turns of the trees but then found an area of felled trees that had been down for some time. Long enough to have moss growing on them. To think we believe we have the idea of recycling as humans. This bit of nature, coming from something that is rotting is true recycling.

I did enjoy seeing things like this on this new path and am happy to say my artist block is gone, gone, gone. These pictures will be added to the overflowing file of ideas for another piece of art. And an added bonus is the built in exercise.

I have two art quilts accepted at the Jones gallery for their April group show. The first is Holmes Street Sunrise which is the banner picture for my site and Holmes Street Sunrise #2.

If you happen to live in the greater Kansas City, Mo area you can attend the opening on April 2, 2021 from 5:00-9:00 pm. It will be at the Jones Gallery located at 1717 Walnut, Kansas City, MO in the Crossroads Art district. You can also see the show from Wednesday, March 31st to Thursday, April 29th daily 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The gallery is closed on Sundays.

Time goes by and then you arrive at a standstill., not knowing how long it has been and how you got to where you are today. I have not written for sometime but have been occupied by how 2020 has changed my everyday life and my artistic practice. My last post was this year, a week before a lockdown in my area due to Covid-19. Yet I know we can all say it feels like it has been at least a century since March 2020.

My standstill came with the lockdown, not being sure what was happening, how it may affect my everyday and the total oppressiveness of uncertainty. Being shuttered inside was not very different than my everyday life. Being retired from “normal work” and being an artist full time means you stay inside to create, create, create. However, I do use nature as my muse and without being able to take my daily walks took me down a path of numbness.

After way more binge watching TV shows than I care to admit I pulled out my picture files on my laptop looking for inspiration. I did some sketches, then began a few small works to get my squeaky joints oiled in my embroidery skills. I then set to work a large landscape bigger than my usual 11 X 14 size. Get myself out of the funk by trying something new.

I wanted to show a field of crops in the front, a dark middle field with the contrast of a bright pink , red and yellow sunset. Picking out the fabric to start with was fun, I have enough to last me at least 10 years it seems. Then I went over the colored fabric with fabric markers and Inktense colored pencil. Picking out various threads, I set up a large quilting hoop in my stand and started stitching. Now I am not saying I wasn’t still binge watching TV but at least I was stitching while watching.

So this was a beginning of what I did to work thru my creative slog. I see stitching as another form of mark making for my art quilts. This picture shows the foreground up close. I used fabric makers to indicate the rows of crops, using the orange color from the sky for highlights. The needle is long because the fabric is dense and layered.

I started the the sky color after I completed the crop rows. Sunset and sunrise are often in my art. There is a beauty and brightness from nature during these times that I am trying to capture. To show the joy of the new day and celebration that the day has ended in beauty. I began with a batik that has a pink base. The color is all over with no breaks in the clouds, bright and ranging to a yellow at the horizon. I added brighter pinks, yellow and orange to the sky fabric. I then wanted to darken the pink color so picked up some dark pink tulle. Cutting it up and using gel glue to put it on the sky area simulating colored clouds. Backing away from my table it all seemed too much, so as a good friend of mine says I “put it in time out”.

A month later I pinned it to my wall and looked with a critical eye. There were blank areas that did not add to the picture. It had areas of marks that were very interesting leading to dullness. The middle area was fine in the tint and color but needed something. Yet the most upsetting thing to me was it was TOO big. Out came my scissors with a renewed vigor. I know many would say this was too drastic but I was sure I could save it. Or if I couldn’t then I would know what not to do.

I cut down one side and the top and part of the bottom. I then found some printed fabric images of different sized barns and glued them to the middle. They were also adjusted in color to go with the sunset mood. This helped to give a visual hint to the depth of the dark field. I must have done well for I am happy to say it was accepted for the virtual show of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Tx. for 2020. “Sunrise Crops” will be part of the In My Mind exhibit and can be viewed from December 3-5, 2020 at http://quitls.com

Sunset Crops 36 X 26 Fiber collage, fabric marker, Inktense colored pencil, tulle and hand embroidery. $600.00

For an artist who wants to enter art shows this is the time to get busy. Honestly I have looked over so many calls for entry since January, that I am getting a bit dizzy. For those who know me personally they can’t tell this from my “normal” way of being. No comments from the peanut gallery.

Part of being an artist is the desire to be accepted for your art. That can come from acceptance in a prestigious gallery or a well known national show. An artist has to keep up with current trends and colors that are wanted. I understand that 2020 is the year of  blue and the llama. I can work the color into my art work but not sure about that llama. However maybe I should consider this subject for the wool on a llama is very curly and interesting. Also you want to show a consistent growth with new work. This means a lot of the show listings ask for your work be no older than two to three years.

This can be a challenge because it is hard to just keep coming up with new art. I do have a storeroom in my mind and computer memory of new ideas. More ideas than I believe I will be able to create. Yet life and eating does become necessary. I have also wondered why the age of the work is so relevant for art shows. Honestly you can do your masterpiece one year and if you have the opportunity to show that masterpiece comes about 4 years later it is too old to be considered for some shows.

So it was with great surprise that when I entered a show that had no “age of work” restrictions, my work got accepted. One of the two art quilts accepted is what I consider as a masterpiece.  I completed this work in 2016, it really isn’t that old but happy that the juror saw the wonder in this work. It is based on a picture I took on the way to my bus stop one morning in the spring. Sunrise and sunsets have fascinated me for  many years. The bright colors, the stark contrasting dark silhouette of trees against orange, red, purple and yellows in the sky. All this just gives me joy and true wonder in our amazing nature.

This is what I saw that morning, pulling out my phone to snap as many pictures of what I was seeing unfold as quickly as I could.

I was intrigued with the bare branches in dark silhouettes in contrast to the colors blooming in the sky. I was taking enough pictures that a curious neighbor approached asking what I was doing. When I pointed to the sky she mumbled ahh, I thought you were casing my house! I chuckled and went on my way. Looking thru the pictures I found these three to be most intriguing. I then set to work using all as a stepping off point to get to my impression of the colors and joy I felt seeing this unfold.

Here is what I now call my masterpiece – Holmes St Sunrise.

You can see the bright color thru the trees with the foreground all in shadow. I used many strands of black embroidery thread in ever decreasing thickness as I stitched further and further up the tree branches. I used some gray and blue thread too but as you can see mostly black. Yes that is many hours of stitching, the straight stitch, on this piece. Yet it became very meditative while I listened to my T.V.  As I switched to thinner and thinner thread, I realized that I would need to go even smaller in my mark making.

Out came my fabric markers and I lightly sketched in the smallest of limbs on the tops of the trees. I just loved working on this piece so much so it is the background on my home page. I thought it would stay hanging in my studio cheering my day of ever ending new art. Much to my surprise it was accepted to be included in a group show based on scapes, landscapes, seascapes, cloudscapes, skyscapes, riverscapes, or cityscapes. Yea!

I also have one of my seascapes accepted-Lime Green Seaweed. This has a lot of hand embroidery also as the stitching I use mimics fan coral and seaweed.   I just love how the beads look like spotted minnows.

On another note, these two pieces of art were not accepted into a totally different exhibit that had no created age limits, along with my most recent art quilt. As my art teacher mom used to say, “All they can do is say no”.

The show I was accepted in is here in Kansas City, Mo, at the Hilliard Gallery. It will open with the Crossroads First Friday on March 6. The show runs through Earth Day on April 22, 2020. I will be there for the opening so come by and say hi if you can. Opening Reception March 6, 2020,  5-10 pm,  Hilliard Gallery is located at 1820 McGee, Kansas City, Mo, 64108.

“It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit.”

– Antoine Rivarol

I am back after way too long. My life has been very busy with new art, group shows, personal and family developments but I am back here to share my progress, my art and my joy for life thru my art with you.

Create has been a defining word for me all my life. To create what is always swirling in my mind. To create new and wonderful art and the theme for me in 2019 is to create the life I have always dreamed of for myself. This creation of a new life included a move to a new living space that has room for a studio along with living space. I had to declutter and decide what to move to my new space. That took more time for me than I thought. It is hard to decide what to toss and what to keep. As a quilt artist that collages many fabrics, thread, yarn, beads, charms and what ever else I can use I had a lot to sort through. Add to that there is meaning for those personal things that you have kept in a closet for 30 years or so. Yet why are they still important when they have been stored for that long?

I had to be judicious in my selections for my new space is thankfully smaller. Besides the question of why I still needed to hold on to that high school scrapbook, I had to be real with myself asking if I still had a need to keep that scrapbook. I am a lover of history but honestly if I no longer remember the events that are kept in the scrapbook then it is time to let it go. Life is so much lighter and free for me now, though I honor the path that took me to this point.

I also was busy creating new art for a group show with my fellow fiber artists that was on display for May thru July this year. I still am in love with the wonderful colors in the sky of sunrise and sunset. I decided to do a series of smaller pieces in this style for the show. Such fun to take the bright and intense orange, yellow and purple in a sky scape. Then show trees, boats and landscapes in shadow so the bright colors are sparkling.

Here is Spring Trees. I used layers of batik fabric fused to a stretched canvas, color adjusted with Inktense water color pencils then stitched in the trees with embroidery thread in various colors and thread types.  This piece is small, 18 inches long by 6 inches tall but it was challenging to keep to this minimalistic style.

I had taken some pictures of a tree in early spring. The twist and turns of the limbs just fascinated me. This tree had been thru many thaws and freezes making many marks on it’s shape. I used this tree with a bright yellow orange sunset for this piece Spring Beauty. It is 6 inches wide by 12 inches tall with various thread colors and weights. I am so amazed by the light lavender colored silk thread. It changes color based on the color it is laying next to. It appears gray and soft with just one strand but you can still see the purple within the thread.

This last piece, Purple Spring, I have shared before. I was honored to have it accepted in this years International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas in the landscape special exhibits. I had not planned on going back to Houston so soon but just had to see my first acceptance for this acclaimed show. It is 36 inches wide by 38 inches tall. This is my largest art quilt so far therefore no hand embroidery at all on this piece.

So you can see I have had a very active year behind the scenes of this blog. It has now extended into 2020. I am very happy to announce that I will be teaching an embroidery class May 1, 2020 at a conference, Fiber Fusion, here in the Kansas City area. Coming from a family of teachers I love sharing my knowledge and showing how I use basic stitching to create art. I approach teaching embroidery as a technique or method to express your desires to create. If you can thread a needle and make a mark with that thread you are creating.

In my class, participants will learn several embroidery stitches which can be incorporated into art quilts and other fiber pieces as a way to add design and textural elements. I will teach you how to do the feather stitch, chained feather stitch, French knot and colonial knot, honestly they are different, drizzle or cast-on stitch, lazy daisy stitch, chain stitch, stem stitch, buttonhole stitch, fly stitch, and bullion stitch. Boy you will have a full tool box to use.

Once students have a handle on these stitches,  I’ll show you how these stitches can be altered to your own artistic vision. You will see how beads and thread thickness can effectively be used to add texture. I’ll have several examples of my work to share. I will  provide students with muslin, embroidery hoops, needles, scissors and thread to use in the class. I will be more than happy to meet you in person and share the fun and create with you. Below is the link for the conference. Check it out the link below and let’s create together.

https://ezregister.com/events/30937/?fbclid=IwAR37Ujh1bjQY-fAmaqifwOtD2dg1_dnfsqp0S-amPjv788AOy1BkvggfIgc

I realized the other day that I had not posted much to the blog this year. I have had some changes to my life that have taken me away from my regular routine. Change for some is scary but I find it to be constant in life. You can use those changes to grow or decide to take a different path down the road of life to just see what happens.

This weekend I am away with some friends enjoying good times at a lake house. Always invigorating to have no real agenda and just “be” in nature. Last night we went out to the boat dock to see the lunar eclipse. It was not late enough to actually see it eclipse but the moon was so bright and beautiful. It is amazing how small you can feel when you look up to watch the sky. Yet that feeling doesn’t scare me it actually makes me look at nature in awe.

I believe it is the smallest things in life that can easily be dismissed or ignored that once looked for can add true wonder to life if you stop to look. I was weeding in the yard the other day and found some interesting patterns in the grasses I was pulling up.

The heart shapes in the leaves are what first caught my eye. Then seeing the spread of the grass underneath all from the center in a wide circle made me stop to take this picture. I pondered how wide and far reaching the patch on the side walk looked from this view. It is a world in itself, sprawling out to the depths of its own universe. Yet if I had not looked down, I could not have appreciated the beauty and connection to me.

So I stopped longer to look for even more small wonders.

As my day continued I found even more wonders in the grocery.

Just look at the patterns and swirls in this cauliflower. Of course the bright green caught my attention first but this truly is amazing to look at. But before you think I have gone way too far into weird thinking I will share this for a laugh.

A very tasty cherry butt? I just had to share.

I also want to share my next art opening with those in the greater Kansas City area. It is a group show with eight other very talented and diverse fiber artists. This group has been very supportive, encouraging in every way and fun. The show will open on Thursday August 2, 2018 and run the whole month of August. Here are the details check it out if you can.