Whoooo Whoo!

Just got word that "Bisbee" was juried into the Art Quilts XII show for this fall!

This is really exciting for me, since this a class act show.

Beading interruption

Took time out for a beading day.

This is a long standing hobby that I started over 15 years ago. Needless to say, there happens to be a large selection of goodies now at my house. Now my experience is being sought so I am offering a workshop day at our local JoAnn's a couple times a month where people can bring in projects they have started and not completed. I am also starting a beginning teen class to share with teens how to properly use the tools and create a simple project.

For the demo I did on Saturday, I was wearing my Orphan Earring necklace. Got a fair amount of attention with it (will post an image as soon as I get a new camera.) Most of us lose an earring now and then, so what to do with the remaining one. After collecting them for awhile, it became apparent that colors and themes were appearing so I used them as "charms" and designed a necklace to present them.

In the meantime, some family and friends are joining me at home for a similar day. We are going to have the kids and guys catch up with us later for a BBQ and games. We should have a great time.

Chasing after Dragons

A delightful diversion for me this past year has come in the form of some wonderful mystical beasties. DRAGONS

Dragons have been a source of inspiration for a number of members in my family. I always thought them fascinating; my son has developed a couple of really awesome dragons in his artwork, and my grandson has been the recipient of a number of dragon items, largely handmade.

I could be found lurking at a wonderful vendor booth at several of the quilt shows for the past several years. Their name is Small Works and they have an extensive array of lucious fabrics, all kinds of doll embellishments and lots of patterns for all kinds of fancy tea pots, bird houses, witches, faries, and of course, several dragons.

I bought their Kells Wyvern dragon patterrn and the rest is history. It takes a while to work one up...truely giving birth to this creature. Mine have let me know when they weren't happy with one element or another and insisted on their own individual look.

And now their "cousins" are moving out of the recesses of my imagination and largely based on Small Works construction concepts, one is starting to take shape. My biggest problem to date is the sheer size he is taking on. I am now in my third downsizing and he is still huge. I have done a lot of the design work on the computer so conceiveably I should be able to overcome this. We'll see!

And another one is already taking on serious shape. Not to mention, my granddaughter is going to need some follow up mermaid imput. It is interesting that once again a similar look is going on. Keeps me busy.

Met the deadline!

Few things are as frustrating as facing a deadline and ALMOST being ready. I'm not supposed to place myself in stressful situations so I probably should have pulled back sooner. However, I was soooo close that I perservered. With the help of my dear Husband, photos were taken and processed appropriately and now all I have to finish is some paperwork. This will be sent in, along with Bisbee, to the Art Quilts XII show.

It is a juried show so I hope they make it. I am relatively new to shows so I am working hard at meeting all the requirements. Don't want to win prizes but I would like the exposure and priviledge of hanging alongside others in a show.

My newest (as of today) is called Autumn Canyon. I love trees and they frequently show up in my work. This design was calling me from some place way back...30 yrs or so actually. While working on the piece I stumbled across a pastel workup of this image that I had not remembered keeping. Amazing!

Tomorrow I clean up the studio. Somehow I find that really calming and restorative. Somewhere along the way in the past few years I have had to give myself permission to make messes when doing these quilts. So there are piles of scraps of yellows and golds, larger selections of blues and browns and fluffs of tulle (used for shading areas of the work) on top of every surface, under others and generally invading everything. There is order in here - some of the time. I just need to find it and get focused and finish some of my other projects within a reasonable amount of time.

Breathe!

Pet portraits in thread painting

At any given moment I seem to have 5 or 6 projects going. My personal theory is when you hit a bump in the road, go on to something else and let the answer push its way to the top. I mix up projects as well. Right now I have a garment that is nearly finished, a purse that is 75% done, a wall hanging that needs finishing SOON, and I am spewing fiberfill from a dragon all over the studio. Oh, and did I mention the free form crochet items on the design wall that I have to hide or nothing else gets done!

I'm just glad that, for the moment, I don't have a commission to complete.

I have had such fun doing different techniques. One of the most satisfying is thread painting. I have usually applied this to the pet portraits that I have been asked to do. Using a photo(s) of a pet and and working up a "portrait" is the typical artistic endeavor one would expect. I have taken it a step further.

Picking out fabrics from my stash, I try to find the color, pattern and value that most closely matches my subject. I fuse down the larger pieces and start defining the shapes with thread that usually matches the area I am working on. I do have to be careful so I don't overwork any one area or the whole image distorts. A smiling goldfish doesn't have much appeal. After many thread changes...whewww... I end up with an applique that I can add to any other item, like a jacket, tote, or additional fabric that can be made up into pillows. I can customize any of these to suit any decor. Here are a couple samples of how this all turns out.





Hope you enjoy them as much as I do when making them.

Photos of work

I'm going to try to upload a picture or two of early quilts and the one I have just entered into competition.



Little Mermaid, 2004












Vasuki, mover of mountains, 2004










Ode to Bisbee, 2007
Available for purchase

just getting started

Hi and welcome to my spot. I hope you will bear with me as I wind my through all this "stuff". I hope to be able to share some of who I am and what I am doing, and I hope you find it a bit entertaining and interesting.

For the past several years now I have moved from a strenuous career as a successful faux finisher and muralist to a much tamer combining art with fabric. Guess that makes me a fiber artist in at least one sense of the word. Because I can't seem to do the same thing twice, much less follow a pattern, doing one-of-a-kind projects seems suited to me.

To date I have done a number of twin sized, original quilts; a variety of wall hangings; some pet portraits with thread painting (mostly in pillow format); some wearables and purses; and dragons. As soon as I figure out how to publish photos I will include a few.

I have always loved fabric! Mom placed a needle and thread in my hand when I was 3 and I can't remember when I wasn't using it. Yesterday it was used on the current dragon I am creating. So much fun...such agony. I love the challenge and can be caught up for hours. Not really productive at times, but this is going to be a prototype so its all right to fuss with it.

I hope to share some of my excitement with you and most of all, encourage you to utilize your own creativeness in whatever way you can.

Blessings!