Month: May 2010 | Crazy for Fiber

May 2010
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Archive for May, 2010

New Art Acquisition

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

This is a wood block print by Diana Flack that I bought at the show this past week-end. It is titled, Annie’s Quilt, and is an homage to a Gee’s Bend Quilt. She put a little replica of the original quilt in the corner. Be sure to click the images to see them larger.

You can see the original here.

Yesterday morning, I helped to take down the show and get art work organized for the artists to pick up. I got an attack of vertigo and a horrendous sinus headache and had to come home. I have not accomplished much for two days. Lisa and Clay are coming tomorrow. I need to clean up the house and get some vegan food in the fridge. So, I hope I feel better tomorrow.

Mr C has been painting away down in my studio. We have changed the woodwork from a bronzy brown to this off white. I like it so much better. It makes the whole studio seem lighter and airier.

I started quilting the aspen background fabric and ran into problems. I didn’t get very far and I ripped it out. I think I might have to go on a thread buying trip!

Posted in Art in our home, My creations, studio | 4 Comments »

Take a Deep Breath

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

It has been a whirlwind few days. Lots of up time and some down time.

We had a great time having brunch with M & M and their parents. Mia managed to consume the Farmer’s Waffle Special and a hot chocolate. I think she is a growing girl. Today, I got phone calls from Mark and Lisa. So, mother’s day was great. Mr C and Scooter gave me some awesome striped Smart Wool Socks in two different color ways.

After checking in at the show, we went to the nursery to get some plants. The sun has come back and I was itchy to do some planting. I planted my herbs in the new kitchen garden bed, but decided to wait to plant the “farm” down below. We may still have a couple of cold nights and then I think I can plant them.

In my quiet times, I have been cutting yellow aspen leaves.

I was able to get the tree fabric misty fused this afternoon before Mr C came down to do more work in my studio. I am so excited because the drywall work has done and he has started painting. I love it.

As you can see from the first photo, I cut a strip of tree fabric to see how it looks on the background. I love the background! I think the tree fabric is working, too.

Tomorrow, I have to go back to Trinity and help take down the show. That has been a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed showing my work and getting lots of questions and nice comments about it. However, my sales were very pitiful. People were not really looking at my small items. Most people were after the traditional art forms – photography, paintings, etc. The last time I was in this show, I said I would not do it again. When they asked me to be the featured artist, I thought I would give it a go again.

I did get a lead from another vendor for a newish gallery near me that she thinks would love my small wall pieces. So I am going to check on that.

My daughter Lisa had a two page spread in the SF Chronicle today, about her collecting. Click on this link to read it. Be sure to check out the slide show of photos of her home.

Today, I found out that the husband of a frequent commenter who is a long time online friend, passed away. He was recently diagnosed with cancer and went very quickly. Christine, you are in my thoughts.

Posted in Family, Holidays, My creations, The Farm, Trinity Arts | 15 Comments »

Aspen Progress

Friday, May 7th, 2010

This is silk shantung organza that I have splattered and dribbled with paint. I usually fuse the organza to another layer of plain organza. But for this larger landscape, I think I may fuse it to muslin or white cotton to give a more opaque look.

Here is a detail:

I hope that I didn’t overdo the paint, but usually when I cut a strip and then stitch it, it magically becomes a tree.

I pulled out several yellows and yellow-greens which I fused for making aspen leaves.

I have leaf shapes printed on freezer paper which will be used as templates for cutting leaves. I have several sizes and shapes.

I would love to go down to my studio and prep some fabric and start cutting. However, we have been out at the opening reception for Artists Among Us. The food was fabulous. I think there were more than 200 people there. Most were the artists and their friends. Not a lot of shopping tonight, but I did sell one scarf. The big shopping day is Sunday, but I think we will get quite a few shoppers tomorrow.

I received many nice compliments on my work. And lots of how do you do that and how long does it take you and is that hand appliqued – (ha ha ha ha)! One lovely young woman, daughter of a member of the parish, came all the way from Walla Walla, just to meet me and see my work. She is a budding art quilter. So lovely to talk to her. Actually, I got most of my thumbs up from the younger people.

Tomorrow morning, we are celebrating Mom’s Day with Steph and family. We are going out to brunch since I need to be at the show on Sunday. We have had a sense that warmer weather is on the way. It was sunny most of today. That is making me happy. I am going to start planting the gardens. I hope we had our last freeze last night.

This was also the opening of the Bird’s Eye View show. I was sorry to miss that. I hope to get out there next week to see it.

Posted in Bird's Eye View, My creations, painting fabric | 5 Comments »

A Creative and Fun Day

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

I painted this background for an Aspen landscape piece. It is about 56 inches by 40 inches. I had so much fun doing this.

Yesterday, Mr C asked me if I could move everything out of one end of the studio so that he could start fixing the dry wall and then give the studio a fresh coat of paint. It has been a year since the office was finished. It is hard to find time when I am not busy in the studio, so we worked side by side.

And Scooter kept an eye on every thing.

After I took the cotton painting outside to dry, there was lots of paint left on the plastic so I did a monoprint on silk fabric. I put it front side down and rolled it with a brayer.

Here is a detail:

Here they are hanging on the line:

Tonight, we went to the Artists Among Us reception for the artists and volunteers. My friend, Diane, asked me to grab some stuff from my studio. She added some sewing supplies and make a really cute arrangement on the food table.

Here are a couple more shots of how the hall looks.

Notice the labyrinth on the floor?

We got to vote for viewer’s choice. The piece I voted for won. I might have to buy it. It is $450. If I buy it, you will get to see it.

Posted in My creations, painting fabric, Trinity Arts | 4 Comments »

Artists Among Us Show Prep

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Today, Mr C and I went to Trinity to hang my quilts and set up my area. This is the view as you enter the hall. You can see my quilt, Urban Sunlight, which is the poster child for the show, straight ahead.

The rest of the show is in the midst of being hung and arranged. Here are some overview shots.