Art Quilts, fabric collage

Everything you can imagine is real. 

Pablo Picasso

I can say I image all kind of things throughout the day. I wonder how the small animals survive the violence of a thunderstorm. Do the birds hang onto a branch with all their might as the wind and rain whip them about? Do the racoons hunker down in their nests waiting for the storm to pass? 

Or does what ones real experience become mixed with what is imagined? I was on a camping trip once with the Girl Scouts. Nice day back packing into the woods. Broke to make camp for the night setting up our tent’s. Dinner, then tired as heck so all of us made it to our beds. 

Just as I fall asleep, a bang of thunder and the rushing slap of torrential rain. Drip, drip on my head, dang a drip from above. As I fervently move to avoid getting wet I hear noises outside. Everyone else has woken from the thunder. Yet when your imagination is involved it doesn’t know what is real or unreal.

Everthing has an opposite. Whatever is unreal can become real. It all depends on what your vision is at the time. If you focus on what is wrong or frighting and can’t see the beauty of the moment then you can only see fear. Be grateful for what you have in the moment so you can appreciate what is real. 

I can remember as a very young artist I was so grateful for a box of 64 Crayons with a sharpener included in the box. Life evolves but that was a very pure feeling. No matter what I can use to execute the image in my head now, I want it to be real. I want the viewer to see what I have imagined. To perhaps feel what I am amazed by with my art. 

Last night after a stormy and cold day I was witness to an amazingly wonderful sunset. It took my breath away with the glowing colors against the dark silhouette of trees. Taking pictures as fast as I could I just could not get enough of this beauty.  This is a favorite subject for me with one art quilt already done. I do think I should make this subject a series now. It will be fun to do another but challenging to capture the pure feeling of bliss I had taking these pictures. What do you think? 

In any line of work to be done, it is good to see the reward. The prize or accomplishment from that hard and steady push forward. I have been creating art full time for a year now and am happy to see the fruits of the seeds sown this year.

I have had a crazy quilt piece accepted for publication in the 2017 Crazy Quilt Calendar published by Pam Kellogg of Kitty & Me Designs. The art was submitted thru a themed contest for the calendar. The theme was “My Secret Garden” which makes me think of a brick wall covered in ivy and a iron gate just open enough to see a small view of a lush flowering garden.

After chatting with a friend about this she mentioned that most people would see just that scene. This contest would select a block for each month of the year. My friend suggested that I consider a autumn or winter garden instead. Well that turned out to be a good idea my friend!

Happy to say here is the November page for the 2017 calendar.

If you want to purchase a calendar for yourself go to http://www.magcloud.com/user/kitty-and-me

I also have been accepted in another local juried show, State of the Arts 2016 in Prairie Village, Kansas at the R.G. Endres Gallery.  The show will run through the month of October with an artist reception on October 14th.

Here is the art that was accepted, one of my underwater seascapes. 

 

As I have done quite a few of these seascapes I have toyed with moving on to a whole different subject. Yet that shows that I am tied to the idea of always looking for something new. This can be the bane of the new world, we want instant gratification and new and shinny things each moment of the day. However with one seascape sold in June and now one in a show I do believe I will continue to work on this series. They are so different from my landscape work but I am still happy with the results.

As I celebrate my continued success I do see that I need to produce more work on a regular basis. Just as the farmer pauses with the glory of a good crop while also knowing that soon new seeds will need to be planted. I too need to get back to work so I will continue to see the fruits of my labor.

I have written on this subject before but I have been having some very vivid dreams lately. I know most would consider this “normal” for artists but I honestly don’t recall a lot of them. The dream was disturbing but as I write this I see that my mind is telling me to not forget my family as I move closer to my dream of an art career. Or it might just be that the stormy, humid weather we have had lately got into my dreams. I then ran across this quote that made it all better.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

The beauty of dreams is a wonderful thought. I see images either live or online and if I hone in on the beauty of even just part of that image I begin to imagine what I could do to create a piece of art work. So I guess you could say I am always dreaming, dreaming of art, dreaming of colors and how I can translate this into a piece of art. I am day dreaming, something I got into trouble for doing as a child in school. Yet it was this habit of finding something from nature and seeing how I could show that beauty to others that makes me who I am.

All art is some form of communication. Sometimes I want to show the viewer what I was feeling at that exact moment. Sometimes it is to show the viewer what the wonder of nature really can be if they were to take the time to look. I am an open book most times so I am not good at hiding the meaning of my work. I do believe that the wonder of nature is closest way I can feel one with the universe. I know that other artists see landscapes and nature as passé’ for subject matter. I on the other hand think the more modern we become the more we need to seek out nature. To slow down, just breath and see natures beauty and wonder.

As a child I did a lot of exploring outside. I know that this was the root of my love for nature and landscapes. I would spend hours running thru the lower bramble of the blackberry patch as a child. It must have been at least 5 foot high and had been on that hill for many years. I would see if I could catch a baby rabbit who lived there, then get frightened by a screeching crow above the bramble. I would stop in my tracks then search above the twisted limbs to find the crow. I almost always got distracted by a spider web or two. The interlacing strands would be stretched out with such beauty of precision, yet there was always a line or segment out of place, not even or attached. I know many don’t like spiders but I didn’t consider the spider an issue. I was more fascinated by the pattern, the beauty of the spider web.

There is a tradition with Victorian crazy quilts that you include a spider web. They loved anything exotic and ornate.  They had a great love for nature.  Not only that, they considered spiders in their homes to be a sign of good luck. This has continued on to modern times for crazy quilters though not sure it is for the same reasons other than tradition. My latest crazy quilt block does include a spider web in a dusty pink. I used it like a trellis to hold a vine of green leaves and small pink flowers. Then came the spider using a pink bead and the same dusty pink silk thread as the web I added the legs. Honestly those eight legs were pulled out a couple of times so I could get the angle right. I was free hand stitching them and kept getting them off. Should have penciled them in first.

I do believe it finally worked out but I should remember that there is nothing exact about nature and just stop worrying about getting it perfect. Here is the final crazy quilt block for your review. I do hope you enjoy my creation.

P.S. A good friend of mine likes the wonder of spider webs and took this picture. Thanks Michele for this wonderful picture taken right before the night rain crashed it down. I love the reflection of the water coming down and the spooky glowing spider.

 

 

Have you ever gone to an art exhibit and left wild-eyed and amazed? I had just that reaction at the Metropolitan museum in New York City recently. The show was Manus X Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology. 

This show included more than 170 examples of haute-couture and avant-garde ready to wear from the 20th century to the present. It was an intriguing exploration of the ways in which designers are reconciling handmade and machine-made in their creations. 

This first dress has insets of silver-blue silk and metal lame with machine-picot edging. The hand appliqued white silk tulle and silk ribbon flowers just sing to me. It is French made in 1928. 

In fact this picture was what enticed me to see the show in person. I have taken a few classes from ribbon artist Candace Kling to learn how to make those large roses. I have lots more practice to even get close to these beauties. 

Here is a detail of a Christian Dior dress from 1953. It is hand embroidered on silk organza using what looks like silk thread in green for the clover and grasses. As I looked closely I see the purple and pink flowers in silk floss are the bullion knot. I can do that stitch but it is masterful here. 

As I wandered thru all the displays of masterful stitching I see something completely different. It is almost a piece of sculpture all on it’s own. This is a 3D pleated piece made of white polyamide. 

Polyamide is a type of synthetic fabric that contains sweat-wicking and water-repelling properties that make it an ideal material for outerwear and sports clothing.  For this use the strength and flexibility of this fiber shines in the machine pleating and manulipuation of the fabric. 

This last dress definitely has a look of hours spent creating it. From the Alexander McQueen collection designed by Sarah Burton. It is hand and machine sewn nude silk organdy with hand embroidered red orange glass beads, freshwater pearls, pieces of coral and dyed shells. 

I took so many pictures from this show, it really was one of the best I have seen in a long while. I can see using several of these techniques but to see the attention to detail and use of new methods and technology has my mind swimming with possibilities. I left with a smile on my face that will last for years. What a way to get energized! 

We all love the long lazy days of summer, well except when they are too hot to even touch the car door handle.  I have been stifled by the heat and humidity lately making it hard to do much more than sleep and eat. This has led to a habit of napping each afternoon. A luxury of being retired I do enjoy. You get tired, you lay down and nap for a bit.

One recent nap had me dreaming, no really remembering in a dream a wonderful summer evening spent years ago. My large family did a lot of camping during the summer in my early years.  I find that my connection with nature is where I believe I am connected to that higher power and feel at peace. This began without conscious thought as a young child, thanks mom and dad.  Nature also was when we had a lot of fun and adventure, got our feet wet and enjoyed ourselves as a family.

With seven children my folks were hard pressed to make time for each child as we were wandering thru life. I may have said this before but I do remember asking to learn to draw from my mom at an early age. Mom being an artist and teacher this gave me “extra” time that some of my siblings did not get. My parents also made a tradition of making each of our birthdays special. On that day the birthday kid got to pick out what the family would eat for dinner. We of course chose our favorite flavor for the home made cake too. I do recall that one sister always wanted strawberry flovored cake. Mine was and still is chocolate. However I do short cut and buy the most luxurious chocolate cake I can find.

My dream had me remembering a summer camping trip along the shore of a beautiful lake. We set up camp on the day of my birthday and no I don’t recall what we had for dinner that night. However I do recall the taste of the wonderful chocolate cake my mom made in the camp oven on our Coleman stove. I was amazed that the two layers came out so high and even. The sun was just beginning to set with bright yellow and reds in the sky. My dad asked if I wanted to join him and my mom for a short canoe trip on the lake.

I jumped at the chance to have special time with the two of them. I also knew we had to wait for the cake to cool before any icing. As we got away from shore the sky seemed to just light up with brighter and brighter colors, yellow, peach and stark red here and there. I was fascinated with the change of colors reflected in the water of the lake too. Then all of sudden music, a carillon from a distance shore was playing from a tower. This is one of my most powerful memories with both my parents one that I have treasured.

A few years ago as part of a crazy quilt round robin a member of this group asked each of us to recall a family memory to use in our block for her quilt. I had to replicate this wonderful memory. I started the block with the sky, using hand dyed silk in crazy patch. I used a variegated dyed cotton thread to emphasize the searing bright colors of the sunset. I then placed strips of batik fabric for the lake at the  bottom. I machine quilted the strips leaving raw edges in flowing shapes to mimic the light waves of the lake. Green spruce trees were then done in layers of feather stitch on the shore line. Last I added the canoe, a bright yellow one. My dad made two canoes in this bright yellow fiberglass. I had to have that to complete this memory.  Yet I see I forgot the bell tower.

As I look at this picture I am transported back to that moment, remembering the wonder and connection to nature that moment was in my life. I hold to the memory, it did come back to me in my dream and I find myself just as happy as I was floating on that lake.

 

 

 

Do you remember the lazy days of summer during your youth? Growing up my brothers and sisters would run all day long during the summer. We would spend hours swinging trying to see how high we could go by pumping our legs harder and harder. Seemed hunger or tuckered out was the only thing that would get us inside. 

I always wanted the night to come during summer. The most amazing array of color in the sky would happen then. Blazing yellow and red one night, purple and pink the next. I still love summer nights, looking at a clear night with all the stars but wait they are too close. To my amazement they are the first signs of summer, fireflies.  The yellow and green fluorescent twinkling bugs that seem to make everyone smile. 

Fireflies landing on the dew dripped grass of the early evening, it makes me happy. Holding my hand still in the air they land and tickle as they crawl around. I was thinking of this joy as I started a new art work. 

I am a member of an art association called MOFA, Missouri fiber artists, who are a wonderful mix of fiber artists including weavers, art quilters, knitters, felt artists and paper makers to name a few. We are having a member show this fall and I decided I wanted to try and capture the fun of fireflies in the summer for the show. 

The show requires the use of a stretched canvas, 10 X 10, museum wrapped. This style has the corners mitered with the sides wrapped around to the back. A new venture for my work but the size would make the work go fast. I found a black painted canvas at my local art store that would be a wonderful start. 

The next morning while watching a morning show I saw a clip on amazing swarms of fireflies that light up the woods of the Appalachian mountains.  Folks will line up in their lawn chairs hours ahead just to be in position to see this summer wonder. That cemented the idea but how would I be able to capture those twinkling glowing lights? 

I started with a dark tree fabric, colored it darker with a variety of gray and black fabric markers. These were glued to the canvas to represent a forest of trees. I had green fabric backed with fusible adhesive cut in a fussy way to represent leaves from a prior project. Using a variety of green fabric markers I made some a very dark green. Laying the darkest leaves down first, out came the mini iron. Pressing them down made it go fast, no need to wait for glue to dry. Besides canvas is just another fabric. 

The rest of the leaf clumps were then layered on top. I decided I needed some contrast so added  embroidery using French knots in several shades of green along with a purple. Also added blades of grass in silk ribbon but they were too light in color. Out came the green and black fabric markers that adjusted the brightness just perfectly.  These were really easy to work thru the stretched canvas using a very sharp Japanese needle. I picked an extra long one so I could wiggle it between the canvas and the stretcher bars.  A bit tedious but well worth the effort. 

Now how to represent those twinkling lights of the firefly? Taking some time to research images of fireflies flying around,  I decided that small round sequins in floresant colors would work. Put in an order for 6 mm lime green, light yellow and clear sequins. Once they arrived I used a smoke colored Mylar invisible thread and started laying them on top of the trees, leaves and grass. It was fun to position them in a circular pattern. As I look at the end result from some distance I know it hit the mark. Yes I am smiling and dreaming of sweet summer evenings in the backyard. 

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Jim Ryan 

This is true for most things in life. You get motivated to diet, exercise, remember those New Years resolutions? I stopped doing that years ago but I have to say it is habit that gets things accomplished. My journey to full time artist has happened mostly by habit or regiment. 

Regiment of my day, get the paper, breakfast and of course coffee, check email then start working on my art. Now this may mean looking thru my ever increasing photo file for ideas. Sorting thru fabrics and other supplies to use. I see I really need to spend a couple of days organizing, note to self. Or going thru art show entry options on line. 

I found a long forgotten piece in the stack of fabric last week. It was just the start of a landscape yet I had completely forgotten this work. The background is a yellow brown brick pattern, dark barked lilac tree along the right side. There is a window with a window box over flowing with flowers. 

I painted this scene years ago and must have decided to try it now in fiber. As I considered this as a start, I realized the window was wrong, most likely why I had set it aside and hadn’t touched it for some time. Pulled that window off and started again but salvaged the lace I had used for the curtain. I found a very fine weave cotton batiste in my stash that works for window panes. Now I see it needs a border to anchor the window to the wall. Digging thru my stash I find a scrolling trim that looks like decorative ironwork. 

I decided the tree needed a rambling vine that hangs over the top of the window so stitched some vines in black. Then added a mix of red brown and black floss for vine also.  Next were leaves in silk ribbon embroidery using two colors of green. I left areas open knowing I would be adding purple silk ribbon for lilac flowers. 

The brick looked too flat so out came the colored pencils to add depth and darken the color along with highlights on the shingles of the flower box. I also added a light gray in the corners of the window panes holding back not to add too much. 

The real fun came working on the lilacs. First because purple is a favorite color of mine but mostly because once I started this part it really made the tree and window pop. I love the way this is working out especially when I think I had originally given up on this piece. 

At this point I had to stop to run an errand, got to stop to feed myself sometime. Yet I would have stopped anyway because I was so happy with the lilac flowers that I began to worry about the rest of my plan. What colors should I use? Should I consider complentary colors for the flowers in the window box? How about the leaves for the vines that will trail down to the bottom of piece. 

On my way back home I passed a new home with a wonderful blooming window box. Didn’t have the time to take a picture so focused on the image to imbed it in my memory. Lime green trailing vines steaming down the window box, large blooms of fushia and purple and small but light lacy white dots for contrast. Okay that solves that problem.

I took that memory and started with trailing vines in light greens from the top of the window box. I added large blooms of pink, fushia and a darker fushia. The last were small dark fushia blooms to look like Shasta daisey for contrast. I decided no other flowers were needed because a white would distract from the cleanness of the colors. Picked up the light green in a tube bead for the staimen of the large blooms. 

So the motivation on this piece was to show my love of pretty colors. The capture of a moment of beauty. By using the habit of sticking to it and working thru what I thought was not working I know I have succeeded with this piece. It goes towards my goal of two new works each month, though this is two weeks late for my June goal. 

 

Some of the greater things in life are unseen; that’s why you close your eyes when you kiss, cry or dream.

It is often thought that artists dream their creations, they have an active mind and the subconscious mind is the most creative. I can not say if this is true or not but I rarely have a dream about a piece of art. Maybe because I often start with a photograph and try and represent what I am working from. Perhaps it is because I studied graphic design, basically a form of communication and I want the viewer to be able to know what my intention is with my art.

I am so into that process, imbedded in my psyche, that the work of starting a piece goes beyond conscious or unconscious thought. I do some sketches if there is something that needs to be placed in a particular space. Otherwise I start sorting fabrics to see how they work with each other and with the photo I am working with. I want to be sure the process meets what I am striving for in the work. We all approach things in different ways, but reading the quote made me think that perhaps I should try and let go sometimes. To close my eyes to picture that scene I have in my head and not obsess on trying to make it look exactly like something.

I have written about this before but it is a constant in my thought process as a full time artist now. I do not think this is a problem, just something that continues to challenge me, something to figure out and strive for. I do believe I have so many ideas on new work that I just may never get all of it done. However, it does make me happy to know that at this time I don’t believe I will loose my muse.

I am bursting with happiness that my art work is fueling my everyday now. Going into retirement around a year ago it was my hope to do art full time and get it out to the world. That has happened and I do keep coming up with new ideas for artwork. I recently sold the seascape posted to my last blog and I continue to enter and get accepted in art shows. I do admit this made the transitioin easy. So perhaps I should close my eyes and breath in the wonderful air of acceptance. Who knows what will come from that happiness? Perhaps a new pathway of art, or just an appreciation of the path I am running onto at this time.

So I want to document in a way the work that has lead me to this path. I am sharing one of my first art quilts given to a dear friend as a wedding present. He married a lady who has direct links to Ireland, my family’s homeland too. So decided to do a cottage scene with a lake near by and a bramble of grasses. Rocks and yellow flowers called gorse found everywhere in Ireland on the side of the road. These were done in many French knots but I just had to add some other color so added red fuchsia in the same style. This was a small piece about 5 X 7 and as I look back very basic compared to my most recent work. However it is good to see the beginning, the foundation that one uses in order to appreciate how far I have progressed. Life as an artist is good for me.