you just never know

There is a group of us called The Escape Artists that get together for weekend art retreats. We basically just lock ourselves up for the weekend and make stuff. One of the retreats was spent making altered books. I decided to make one that could be used as a journal. It was fun, not something I usually do.

Then I saw a call for entry for a book called 1,000 Artist Journal Pages from the same people that published 1,000 Artist Trading Cards. I figured, why not? I sent a few pictures in.



I got word the other day that three of the pages were accepted. :) The pictures in this post are some details of the pages, one from each page. I'm pretty happy about it, was a fun thing to do and now its being published! Just goes to show you that you never know what your projects will grow up to be.

Gretchen Kramp tiles

Gretchen Kramp is one of my favorite tile artists. I was in Northville last weekend for a SAQA regional meeting and a gallery there called Dancing Eye Gallery carries her tiles. I decided to pop in and see what they had. There were several tiles I hadn't seen before so I had a good time looking at everything.

In the end I chose a 4x4 size tile of a venus fly trap and one of her 2x2 mini tiles that has the evil eye on it.




Her style is somewhat sarcastic and I really like the glazes she uses. I picked up one of her mini tiles a while back and its got a fish tail on it. Eventually I'll have to pick up the mini fish head but I haven't come across it yet.

I love pottery. I considered giving it a shot but its not realistic, my wrist gets sore too easily. I'm not sure how much strength you need for tiles, maybe I could try that one. In the meantime, I'll just admire Gretchen's work and add to my collection one tile at a time. :)

I'll show you mine...

if you absolutely positively promise to never make something that looks even the slightest bit similar in any way, color, shape, material, fabric choice, bead type, embroidery thread, or molecule to it.

Huh?

The discussion has come around again about copyrighting one's work. Mostly due to the lawsuit going on over the Gee's Bends quilts. Now before I go any further, let me say that I agree that they should be suing. The people that have run rampant with their work and not given them their right due should be taken out back and smacked silly. (I'd like to say something harsher but will keep it clean.)

But as always, the conversation over this has spiraled into side discussions about how to avoid having people take advantage of your work/copy your work.

I'm no different, I struggled for a long time about whether or not I wanted to really show my work. Entering juried/traveling exhibits was step one. When I kept getting accepted, I figured a website was an okay idea. So that was step two. So then I started answering calls to be published in books/magazines and got into a few. So completes Step 3. (There are a lot more steps on my List but I'll share those another time.)

But I sit back and I wonder this...how do I know if someone who has seen some of my work in a book/magazine or on my website has made copies and is selling them or giving them away or using them for Fido to sleep on?

Easy answer? I don't.

Would I be pissed if someone was selling copies of my work? Sure. Who wouldn't? But the thing is, it'll never be the same as mine. Never. Ever. Period. More then anything people who copy other people's work disappoint me. Kind of makes me sad that they can't even be bothered to take the time to try to think of something original. I saw a lot of this when I was teaching and it really got to me after a while. And I'm not referring to following a pattern. I like patterns, got a few around the studio. I'm talking about people who copy work that has no pattern published for it.

So do I go and put a copyright on all my work? I guess I could but I'm not going to. Probably because I don't have the energy to. And I think that mostly people like taking a look at my work and then move on. There are a lot of artists out there who are far superior then me and some who aren't. I'm just one in a huge mix.

So I guess I'll keep showing you mine...and hope you enjoy what you see. :)

busy, busy

Even though I haven't been posting much about artwork, I've been working frantically on some new pieces. They aren't done enough to show but during construction, I took this picture. I thought it was pretty neat just by itself and it has given me some new ideas of what I'd like to work on once these projects are done.

I've got three more tight deadlines to meet for July and while I secretly chastise myself that I shouldn't wait until the last minute, the truth of the matter is that this is just how my schedule rolls. There seems to be no getting around it. I work at least ten hours every day at my day job and then come home, try to take a break for an hour or so and then drag myself into my studio. It just doesn't allot me a lot of time.

So I've grown used to working under the gun. I sometimes think it makes me more creative. I've always said that there is nothing more inspirational then a deadline. But then I often wonder if I sell my artwork short and it could grow up to be something better if I had more time to work on it.

But in the end, I think it just matters that I'm working and that its quality. I just wonder what else is lurking in my brain that would work itself out if there were more hours in the day and/or I didn't require sleep.

So tomorrow I plan to bury myself in my studio to finish the last member of this trio I'm working on. Never mind the fact that my poor doggie needs a bath in the worst way (he's a little stinky right now), the weeds are up to my knees (I'm short but still, not good) and there isn't any food in the house. At least my art will get done!

Construction Cone Season

It is officially summer in Michigan. Aside from the lovely 90 degree days with high humidity, the orange cones are out on the road in full force. Its such a blasphemy of my favorite color. Unfortunately, along with their reappearance, the urge to drive like stupid maniacs also comes back for many people.

And so I bring you my personal top-ten-stupid-driver-pet-peeve list:

1) If you are at a red light waiting to make a left turn, don't gun it as soon as the light turns green and cut off oncoming traffic so you don't have to wait.

2) If you are behind someone at a blinking red left turn light, don't honk your horn at them every time you think there is a two inch gap in traffic that you feel the car in front of you might be able to squeeze through.

3) Driving is NOT a multi-tasking activity. This includes talking on the cell phone, putting on makeup, reading a book, folding laundry and eating. You can't do any of these and drive well at the same time so DON'T DO IT!

4) If you need to turn the music up so loud in your car that it vibrates the mirrors in mine, I'm going to be praying that you go deaf soon and put the rest of us out of our misery.

5) When there are signs for a mile that one of the lanes is going to be closed, here's what it doesn't mean: get in the lane that's closing, drive really really fast, cut someone off in the lane that isn't closing and slow traffic to a crawl so that you don't have to wait your turn.

6) Do not tailgate me when I am going the 25mph speed limit in a school zone. I'll only think bad things about you and most likely they'll come out of my mouth as you speed past me and endanger the children walking in the area.

7) If you have a fleeting moment of niceness when I'm walking across the street and decide to let me have the right of way (regardless of the fact that the law says you should), please don't inch the car up as I'm crossing until you are close to hitting me and then speed by with impatience once you are past me.

8) If you are going to take the time to rush to pull out in front of me and cut me off from wherever you are waiting to turn from (ie gas station, fast food restaurant, bank), at least make the effort to go the speed limit once you are there.

9) IF THERE IS CONSTRUCTION GOING ON AND WORKERS PRESENT, SLOW THE &$^&%$^&%$& DOWN!!!

10) If you own an SUV, please remember this when you are crossing a railroad track. The cars are built pretty tough, they can stand driving over them at more then 10mph. After all, SUV does stand for Sport Utility Vehicle.

Okay, I'm done now. Rant over.

Bragging....

I've mentioned in a couple of other posts about how much I love my brother's photography. But I really feel the need to brag about just how good he is. With his permission, here are a couple of my favorites.







He does a lot of photography with toy cameras like Holgas. I'm always checking his Flickr site to see what he has new. Check it out to see more of his work.

Fiberplay 2007 at The Creative Spirit Center

Four of my quilts, including the one above, are heading out to Midland, Michigan this week for the Fiberplay 2007 exhibit. The one above is "Release". The others juried into the show are "Restraint", "Seeking Zen" and "Interruption." You can see the others on my website.

Tomorrow I cut and paint hanging slats for the three little guys (the smaller quilts accepted) and then I can pack it up and get it out the door.

I just bopped on over to The Creative Spirit Center's website and found this on there as an advertisement:



The second image from the left is part of "Seeking Zen". How cool is that!

I'm very excited to be part of the show and am planning a trip out there to see everything. I've not been there yet - its a two hour drive - but it looks just wonderful!! Many thanks to them for putting on this wonderful show!!

0321-0325, page 100

Oh happy day! My copy of 1,000 Artist Trading Cards came today and its autographed by Patricia Bolton! How cool is that??

This book is very exciting to me because I'm thrilled to be published in it but I'm also extremely excited because several of my friends are in it as well!

Leann Meixner (who has an article in the latest Cloth Paper Scissors) is 0954-0955, pg 291.

Lora Disser is 0877-0881, pgs. 260-261.

Sidney Inch is 0887-0891, pgs 264-265.

Jill Hamilton-Krawczyk - also my SIL :) - is 0326-0330, pg. 101 and 0977-0979, pg. 300

Laura Brandon is 0922-0924, pg. 277

I recognize many other names that I have become friends with through the internet and I'm so honored to be among them in this book. Thanks Pokey! :)

Moooooooooooooooooooooo

These are the coolest things! I've been wanting some business cards that show my artwork but everything seems so ordinary. My brother got some of these for his photography and I really liked them so I ordered some for myself too.

They are called Moo Mini Cards. Its a UK based company. One thing that always amazes me is I can order something from overseas (Europe in particular) and I get it in a couple days. I could order something from Ohio and wait two weeks for it. Says something about the U.S. postal service.

Anyway, these cards are about 1" wide (28mm) by about 2.75" tall (70mm). They come in a pack of 100 so I uploaded ten photos of my work. Gives me ten of each card. Here's the front.



The backs are real simple but I like that too. Here's the back.



Aren't they great? My sister-in-law is really great at creating logos so she has agreed to create a logo for me as well. I'm excited for that too! It will be nice to have regular business cards that won't get dated from old artwork but also cards that are artwork based. Its the best of both worlds!

So why am I doing this? Because I plan to start selling my work. It will look more impressive to hand someone a card then to pull out an old receipt from my purse and write down my website address.

So that's my business card tale. On a totally unrelated topic, I just had to upload this picture of my westie, Dooley. He is IMPOSSIBLE to get a photo of. He is afraid of the camera and if I do manage to get a picture of him he usually gets a terrified look on his face. This was the best I could get, of course, waving a popsicle in front of him helped!



He's my little buddy. He's passed out on the sofa next to me - I took him for a long walk when I got home - so I'm going to go relax with him and look for a rerun of the Sopranos.

I'm talking to myself a lot lately...

Life is good. Everything is looking up. And I'm freeeaaakkkinnng out!!!

Okay, so I need a plan. I need a way to work through all the tight deadlines and get to the point that I don't want to tear all my hair out.

I know, I know. I do it to myself. But some things are far too good to pass up. I'm going to extend my three day weekend this week and tack on one or two extra days to it.

I've noticed that when I feel overwhelmed, I start obsessively cleaning and organizing. I'm getting the itch to do that again. Damn IKEA for opening a store so close to me. Not sure if its avoidance or if I'm just trying to create some kind of order to make myself feel better.

Whew...okay, feeling better. I'm going to come up with my plan, going to stick to it, everything will rock.

And then I'm going to go sleep for a month...

A beginning & an ending...

Okay, so I'm not saying I'm super fascinating or anything but if you like my blog, take a gander at the right hand sidebar. You can subscribe to it now. I got widget happy yesterday and added a couple, thought they were fun.

So today I went and visited a yarn store out in Ann Arbor called Knit A Round. I am a beginner knitter but have fun with all the really cool yarns out there and decided to try out socks. Here is what I picked up at the store today.



They have a better selection of sock yarn then the yarn store closest to my house but I still wasn't super impressed with the variety. If I continue knitting socks then I think I'll be hunting down an online source.

The woman at the yarn store said that since this is my first pair of socks I should start with a heavier weight and make monster size socks just to learn. I smiled and proceeded to put the above yarn and needles on the counter to pay. She has a point but considering the fact that I tat with sewing thread, I'm not that intimidated by a light weight yarn and small needles.

So what is my plan to learn socks? I looked at a bunch of books but none of them seemed that clear. So I spent some time searching the web and found this sock tutorial site called Silver's Sock Class.
Its got lots of pictures, explains every step and I think I can get a decent start off it. If I get stuck, I'll beg my friend Kate for help. :)

So that's my beginning. My ending is that I finished my quilt for the Altered Views show with the Kansas Art Quilters. Here is a small sneek peek at it.



This is the portion with the teeniest stamps that goddess Leann carved for me. I'm revamping my website right now so you'll have to wait to see the whole thing until I've got it redone. I took lots of pictures of it so there will be some good shots to look at.

And yes Leann, I've not forgotten that the botany quilt is due in a couple weeks. I have an idea brewing that I plan to begin tonight. The socks will be for when I'm feeling ambitious and all else is done. Ah yes, its a lovely thing being a fiber addict.

stitched textile art??

So here's a question for you...does it make a difference if something is called an art quilt or stitched textile art?

Its been on my mind lately. I think I've identified one of the things that doesn't seem to add up about my art lately.

My work is stitched, yes. It has two to three layers of fabric held together by stitching, yes. It meets the basic definition of a quilt, yes. But that's about where it ends...

I use staples and saftey pins and nails and sticks and polymer clay pieces and just about anything else when I'm creating. The fabric serves as a canvas, as a place to put everything else. Its more a means of necessity then it seems the focal point. I really struggle to do just fabric and thread. It seems to nag at me that its not finished.

Now before I start getting yelled at that there is nothing wrong with art quilts, let me say this: I agree. Art quilts rock. I'm in awe of a lot of them, I love so many of them. My problem lately is that I'm not sure that's what I'm doing anymore.

It seems like such a small thing to change the name of what you do but at the same time, almost a relief. Its like no longer trying to fit that square peg in the round hole and hoping no one notices that you've been smashing it with a hammer to make it work.

I don't know if I'm just babbling or if I'm actually on to something here. Stitched textile art. Has a nice ring to it, huh?

Gapingvoid cartoons

I subscribe to a couple of blogs, one of which is The Layers of Meaning. She did a post not too long ago about a blog from Hugh MacLeod and his tips for on how to be creative.

I added a widget to the side bar of the cartoons that he draws. They are cool, and I really enjoy them.

His list of how to be creative can be found here.

My favorite part of the whole thing is under #24 about Finding Inspriation. He says "If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough."

The whole list is worth a read. The guy knows what he is talking about.

Another thing I don't get...

I'm not one for musing on the great merits of what art is and what art isn't. My feeling has always been, if it makes you happy, then do it. I still remember when I was teaching at my store and I would say that to my students and they would look at me like I was an alien. It still blows my mind how many self-imposed rules we throw at ourselves when it comes to making art.

So why in the hell am I not following my own advice?

They (you know They, They are very smart and know everything and always have something to say) say that that the best way to develop a style is to work in a series. They say it makes you look more professional, more developed.

I say They can shove it.

I tried following Their advice. I've determined its not for me. I made two of the same concept and am totally in love with the first one. I'm dreading working on the next one that is started and very similar to it but just a little different. Its boring to me, feels too much like a production. So what does that mean? Do I lack commitment? Do I lack professionalism? Will I never be taken seriously because I do one-of-a-kinds? I don't care what it means, its sucking the joy out of the process for me.

Its not making me happy. So I guess I won't do it.

I've been spending a lot of time lately trying to figure out why I even make art at all. I'm going through an angsty period right now about it. I feel like I've lost my nerve when it comes to doing stuff that makes people go "Huh?"

Somewhere along the lines my work became polite. It became self-censored and I started toning it down so that more people would appreciate seeing it. I don't know why. And its making me unhappy lately.

I feel like I need to re-evaluate my style, make it more meaningful. Maybe embrace the deeper issues I spend so much time thinking about. Why don't THOSE things show up in my art? Why do I spend so much time doing abstraction rather then just saying what I want to? Why don't I just say it already and be done with it? When did I start worrying so much about what other people think? I make art for me. No one else. And I've always said that I please myself first and if someone else likes it cool, if not, then that's okay too.

I've noticed that I'm asking for opinions while I'm working lately. I don't normally do that. Its causing me to pause, making me realize that something isn't right here. Something has shifted and I'm not sure what.

These are the thoughts running through my mind. Quite frankly, I'm getting tired of hearing them so I guess its time to go do something about it...

Leann the goddess

With every new quilt I make I learn something new. This past one I've been working on for a show has taught me in a very loud way to NEVER WORK ON QUILTS WHEN I AM EXTREMELY TIRED.

I've done countless image transfers onto fabric using matte medium and inkjet transparencies. I even taught a seminar on it at the American Sewing Expo a couple years ago. In other words, I consider myself pretty familiar with them.

So why in the world did I iron one with an iron set on the highest cotton setting and on steam setting? Not paying attention. Said image transfer is now peeling off and it is not salvageable. So back to the drawing board and really no time to waste here.

I try to approach it like I do the problems at work.

Identify the problem: how to get text onto fabric.

Various solutions: matte medium image transfer, print directly on fabric, draw with a marker, screen print, use stamps.

Limitations of solutions: I've already trashed one matte medium transfer so I'd like to take a different approach, printing directly on fabric is okay but it would have to be done in several sheets and I'd like it to be a solid top, I don't draw that good, can't get a screen fast enough and...stamps...hmmmm...now that one might work.

I get excited at the possibility of stamps. And then realize that an eye chart has different sizes of text. $^%&#*(#&. Not something you can waltz into the craft store and buy. And then it hits me...L E A N N. She carves stamps, does an amazing job, does 'em quick and is a great friend. I send her a desperate email, begging her to help me. She agrees to take a look and see if she thinks she can do it.

I drop off a print out of the text on wednesday night after work and she says she thinks she can do it. I tell her that I need them by the weekend if I'm going to get it done, she says she'll let me know right away if she thinks she can't do it. I get to work the next morning, there's an email that she's done. My jaw drops, I go pick up said stamps and get these:




Leann has saved my butt. I'm going to test out some new ink pads that claim are good for fabric tonight and then stamp my heart out. THANK YOU LEANN!!!!

I'm it...

Julaine tagged me. So the rules are that I have to post seven random facts/habits about myself. I'm supposed to tag seven other people to do the same but not sure who to tag yet so I thought I would at least post the facts now.

1) I am sewing machine challenged. (Not so little known since I started the blog...)

2) I read magazines backwards. (And no, I don't have any kind of learning disorder.)

3) I didn't pick up a needle and thread until I was 25.

4) I'm addicted to watching corny craft shows with my dog.

5) I love comic books/graphic novels and most of the movies that are based on them. (Go Spidey!)

6) Before choosing to become an engineer, I wanted to be an FBI agent. (A decision made easier by watching "Silence of the Lambs".)

7) I wish everyday could be Halloween.

I'll tag people soon! :) Thanks Julaine, that was fun!

Maybe the search has ended...

I've been making art quilts for about six years now. And just started doing machine quilting this past year. One of the new things I'm finding is that batting does not behave the same when quilting by hand as it does when you torture it under the machine.

So what do you do when you are being tortured with a quilting question you can't seem to satisfy on your own? Ask 2000 of your closest friends...I posted to the Quiltart list and asked what everyone uses for batting and got tons of answers.

Among them were:

Wool felt
Warm and natural
Stiff interfacing
Fusible fleece
Quilter's Dream Cotton

I've been experimenting but a lot of people insisted on the Quilter's Dream Cotton. I talked to my friend Mary and she said that's what her really big batik quilt has in it and I love the feel of that one.

Okay, I'm starting to become convinced...called around, found it at a quilt shop only ten minutes from work and of course today is the only day of the week they are open late. Ah yes, the stars are aligning.

So I decided to give it a shot. After all, my studio is beginning to look like the place where various batting goes to die. Why not try one more and see if it takes care of my woes? I entered the store, walked up to all the samples hanging around, asked the clerk what kind of batting was in them and got the answer "Quilter's Dream Batting." Okay, its looking like what I want. Its very light weight, almost non existent. And then there is the sample card. The Request weight looks lovely, almost like a dream. (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun.)



So I got one. Its in my studio looking at me. I think I'm going to fuse the quilt top directly to the batting. My concern with doing that is that I would have a hard time hand sewing through it. So maybe quilts that are done with this batting will be machine quilted only. *gasp!* I never thought those words would leave my mouth!

I'm not completely happy with the quilting on the Altered Views entry. The batting is poofier then I would like (hence the obsessive search for a FLAT batting) and I did long vertical stitches along the length of it. I joke that it looks like a swimming pool raft. LOL! Its not that bad although it does need some hand stitching (hey, if I'm not adding embellishments, at least let me hand stitch all over it) and then I think it will not look so raft like. I'll post a photo when its done.

And I'll let you know the results of my Dream Batting. I am optimistic about it, its thin, looks flat. And wonder under should be my friend in helping to keep the flat look. FLAT FLAT FLAT. Muaahahahahahahahah!!!!

Another thank you....

Its spring cleaning time and the studio is no exception. It helps that the fiber art group I am in, Running with Scissors, is having our second annual art supply garage sale. Its funny because I've been going through everything in my studio and showing no mercy.

And as I go through everything, I realize more and more just how hard the past few years have been. For those of you who don't know, my dad passed of cancer late last year. He was sick for two and a half years and it was the hardest thing I've been through - ever.

Healing is coming along, but its slow and when I sift through things like my studio, I remember how little time there was to do things. I tossed stuff in boxes and didn't think twice about it. In the midst of the chaos at home, I closed my fiber art store, Lost Arts Stitchery. Many of the things that came home from the store closing were never dealt with and I feel like I'm drowning in STUFF.

I also found the nice pottery bowl I purchased from the Plymouth Potter's Guild last year for my Fiberart for a Cause postcard collection. I was a little startled at just how many postcards I had obtained through the course of the project. But when I looked at all of them in the bowl, I was touched again at what the project had accomplished.

My dad's cancer wasn't beatable, we knew that pretty much from the very beginning. But the truth of it is that he lived much longer then people in the past with his type of cancer and he had a much better quality of life. So when I look at that bowl full of postcards, I feel like everyone involved in the project helped to give even more hope to a family in the same situation.

Its a comfort to walk into my studio and see it and to know what Fiberart for a Cause was able to accomplish. On the very top of the collection is a postcard
Virgina Spiegel, the organizer of Fiberart for a Cause, mailed to me when things were particularly bad. It was such a bright spot in my day when I received it and I don't think I will ever be able to thank her enough for all the sacrifices she made during the course of the project. She is truly an angel.

Putting it in writing...

...can sometimes make it even scarier....DEADLINES.



Although I bought a nifty dry erase board from IKEA so at least I have fun writing all of them down. I liked this one because the frosted glass let's you put a poster or large print photo behind it so you can customize it. My sister-in-law, Jill, took this really cool shot of a zillion rubber duckies when she and my brother went on their honeymoon to Hawaii. Ralph and Jill are awesome photographers (click on their names to visit their Flickr sites.)

Here is one piece that I am working on crossing off the deadline list. I joined the Kansas Art Quilters and they have an upcoming show called Altered Views. Its a spin on the eye exam chart. I'm procrastinating quilting it. My goal is to get it done this weekend and after all, its saturday envening. I have a whole another day to the weekend.



This one is different for me. For one thing, its white. I had to go buy the fabric for it. And yes, I HAD to go shopping for it. White is not a color strong in my stash.

Another thing that makes it different is that I don't plan to embellish the heck out of it. I'm trying to do some more quilts that focus on surface design. I have it up on the design wall right now and I'm thinking once I quilt it I will start to like it more. I like it, just keep feeling like it is naked.

But I promised myself that this one will be surface design and quilitng. Yes, ma'am, I mean it. No embellishments, not even beads. Nope, I swear. Only fabric and thread. *whimper* Wish me luck on this one....

Something New...

This probably doesn't look horribly exciting. But it is...and let me tell you why...

The past two years have been very difficult, lots of stress, lots of family things going on. I've managed to keep creating throughout it but I can't say that I've been super thrilled with the results. In fact, I've been letting that little voice in my head (you know the one that tells you how much you stink at art) run rampant lately. I managed to squash it today.

I've got lots of deadlines looming on challenges and projects. I decided to try to get one out of the way today. And I took a different approach to doing it:

1) I went back to working with a general idea and just going with the flow.

2) I pieced the background. (Yes, I've never done that before. Quit looking at me weird.)

3) I used nothing but the sewing machine to do #2. (If you know me, you know this is my shameful little secret. Me and the sewing machine don't always get along well. But we are working on getting to know each other better and I'm not sure who its more painful for - me or the machine...)

4) I used a rotary cutter. (Again, something I don't usually do.)

5) I made this one two friends. I'm finally making good on my intention to work in a series of at least three quilts when I start a topic.

Now, don't get too carried away. Does this mean I measured anything? Nope.

Does this mean the sides are straight? Never.

Does this mean I'll finish the edges with binding? Most likely not.

And of course these were created with a 3-dimensional embelllishment as the inspiration point so they won't be flat for long.

It seems like the creativity is slowly creeping back in. It might seem small but its a relief to know its still there and brewing. I'm hoping it keeps going!

Kat's Art Show

My friend Kathy Campau has a show of all her artwork at the 212 Arts Center in Saline. It opened last weekend and I was excited to go out and see it with my friends Leann and Mary. We got a little lost on the way there but it was worth the little goof we made with the directions!

I'm a bit bummed because some of the photos I took were a little shaky and not worth posting. And of course one of them is the photo I took of Kat in front of one of her quilts. *sigh* I have to work on steadier hands when I photograph things. Kat gave me permission to take some photos of her work to post on my blog so here goes.

Kat does everything - and does it VERY well!!! She had such a variety of work on display, it was fantastic to see everything in one place! I first got aquainted with Kat's work through her flower quilts. Here is a photo of one that really caught my eye, its a giant red lily.


Another thing that blows me away about Kat's quilts is her free motion quilting. Here is a close up of another flower quilt showing her quilting. I just love it!!


And here is another quilt from Kat that I just love, she does these most awesome mask quilts. I took a class from her on it and it was so liberating. I'm one of those people that has a hard time wrapping my mind around using lots of patterns together and have always been impressed by Kat's ability to make everything work together. Of course, my quilt from that class isn't finished yet (shhhh....don't tell Kat!) but I learned a lot from her and it has made me braver with patterns. I particularly like this mask quilt.


Kat also had her art dolls and her mixed media work, including this shrine, on display.




Kat also had an amazing display of felted purses that she made. Of course that photo didn't work out well so I don't have one to post but take my word for it, its fantastic!!

I find it so inspiring to go to fiber art shows but I have to admit that it is so much more fun when you are friends with the artist being featured! :) I'm so happy for Kat to have this show, its much deserved and just wonderful!!!

Useless Trivia

Okay, so I'm looking up weird and useless trivia for a new project that I'm starting. I'll post pictures of it when it is finished.

I've spent lots of time looking up useless trivia, there are tons of sites for it online. And I have to admit that it get addictive. Some of these things are gross but some are kind of interesting. I'm pretty easily amused. :)

Here are some of the ones that caught my eye:

-The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.

-Cats have more then one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs have about ten.

-Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.

-All polar bears are left handed.

-Powdered non-dairy creamer is flammable.

-A cockroach can live nine days without its head before it starves to death. (I have no desire to find out how someone figured this one out...)

D-onald Duck was banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

T-here are more plastic flamingos in the U.S. than there are real ones.

-Slugs have 4 noses.

-A sneeze travels out of your mouth at over 100mph.

-Months that begin on Sunday always have a Friday the 13th. (This is true! April and July this year are the only two months starting on a sunday and they are the only ones that have a Friday the 13th. Never noticed that one before!)

Okay, I'm done now. I'll have pictures soon of the project I gathered all this stuff for. At least it was fun to research! :)

Shrine Retreat weekend

"Let Peace Begin with Me" by Lynn Krawczyk

This is the second art retreat weekend that a group of us have gone on. Mary is the brains behind the organization and we are now calling ourselves "The Escape Artists." (Thanks to Joan for the snappy name!) We take a weekend, run away to the Comfort Inn in Livonia, and gorge ourselves on art. We chose to do shrines this time.

We were inspired by Carol Owens book, "Crafting Personal Shrines." Its stuffed full with inspiration and the photo above is my attempt at using the techniques in her book. I asked everyone at the retreat to write down their wish for peace on a slip of paper and hung it from the ceiling of the shrine. I also used a tile I purchased at the Plymouth Art Fair from an artist of the Village Potters Guild (forgive me because I don't remember the name). Leann was so good to me and carved me a pair of rubber feet stamps for the shrine too. It was the perfect touch.

I did like making this shrine but have to admit that I found cutting the foam core board for it tediuos. Its the whole making sure all the measurments are exact thing that started to drive me batty. So I reverted back to using wood boxes for two other shrines, one of which is "Broken" shown below.



I did one other one with a piggy in it but the picture didn't come out good so you'll have to wait to see it until I can take proper pictures of it for my website.

I wasn't the only one hard at work! Here is what everyone else was up to:

Here is Leann's shrine, showing off her specialty: skulls. The skulls in the paper are from a rubber stamp she carved herself and she made the larger skulls inside the shrine too.




Julia's shrine was really colorful and cool! She painted the papers she used to decorate it. I loved the texture of the papers, it really made the piece fun.



Joan was REALLY busy! She got FIVE shrines done and plans to hang them on her wall. I am so impressed with everything she got done and they all look incredible!!! From top to bottom they are: Peace, Lust, Hope, Passion and Joy.

Cynthia has done a phenominal job with the techniques from the book. She done a beautiful shrine as a wedding gift and a garden shrine to her passion for her gardening hobby. Here she is hard at work. :)

Emily was really kind to stop by the retreat and drop off a box of frames that she thought we might put to good use. (Thanks Emily!!) Here is one of Ruth's shrines featuring the frames, looks great!

Stephanie is a fellow engineer, you can kind of tell from the concentration when she is working! Her shrine is very cool, unique angles and really fun! Wish I had taken a picture of it when it was farther along to share but trust me, its cool!



And here is Sidney's shrine, again at an early stage. She has really added a lot of detail to it since I snapped this photo. She keeps insisting that she hates purple but for some reason I think she is lying to me. ;-)



There was a lot more going on throughout the weekend and I didn't get many more photos. I had my nose stuck in my work. Finally the artist coma is over!!! :)

We are planning on doing another one in June, maybe something fabric this time. Can't wait!!!

2007 Invitational Reverse Auction

Well, I was the last one to get my artwork in but I made it. Here she is, "At the Heart of It." Its my donation for the Fiberart for a Cause Invitational Reverse Auction whichi is being held on March 12-16, with a pre-sale on March 9.

I'm really excited that Virginia asked me to take part in the auction this time. I was a little worried that my doll might be too weird but I decided to just go with it. :)

My dolls have really taken on a more assemblage/shrine feeling to them. Its a style I plan to develop more over the course of the next year. I have two other dolls kicking around in my mind that I'm going to start in on and they too will be box dolls. I just feel like you have so much more freedom when you don't have to worry about the arms and legs and making everything look realistic. Just not my style.

At any rate, I hope the doll does well. I hope ALL the pieces do well! Its such an awesome cause and I can't thank Virginia enough for all the hard work she has put into this project! :)

After IKEA came to Canton... :)

Well, here are some pictures of my new and improved studio! This is so cool!! I still have a little more organizing to do and need to do some decorating but its hard to believe what it looked like before. I may eventually get new work tables to match the rest of the furniture but the budget has been spent and I'm loving every bit of it! :) Hooray for IKEA!