Uncontrollable cleaning urge

This is an important date to put down in your books, mark on your calendars or commit to memory. Mostly because when I get in this kind of mood, nothing is safe in the house.


My life has been so hectic for so long that I've had very little time to organize and keep things clean. I've now reached a point where I'd prefer to set it all on fire rather then look at it in their mocking piles any longer.


A while back I did a major overhaul of my studio when IKEA opened by my house. I admit now, openly and honestly, that I never completely finished it. So why have I decided that its time to make the final push?


Well, let me set the scene for you...


One week before the American Sewing Expo I was frantically working to meet my deadlines. Once again, no one's fault but my own for waiting too long. I was working on an assemblage doll and one of the main portions of it was the extremely long legs on it. I liked the distortion of this and really went at it.


I cut three legs out of dowels and was proud of myself that when I measured them (stop snickering, I do so own a tape measure and it has so seen the light of day) they were all the same length. I had decided to build the fourth leg out of little wood frames and small wood blocks.


I did all this and said doll appeared level. At least, it appeared level while sitting on my work table. I don't know what I was doing but I set it on the floor for some reason and my little friend promptly tilted to one side. The side where I had used the frames and blocks. I admit I was extremely unlady like and grumbling like a sailor.


And of course I was looking to blame everything/anyone but myself for this error. Heck, even the dog wasn't safe from accusations he couldn't have possibly committed. After all, he has no thumbs. I placed the doll back up on my work table and it was level again. Huh?


So either the house is completely crooked (which I'm pretty sure I don't walk slanted) or my work table was off. Oh yeah, upon closer inspection, I found a big bow in the middle of it. A leveler confirmed it and the sailor comments came out once again but I moved on because there were deadlines and no time to be concerned about anything else. Besides, I was in the middle of trying to whack off a couple wood blocks with a hammer, whimpering the whole time because I didn't want to knock the whole thing apart. (By the way, Weldbond is extremely strong glue. Ask me how I know....)


Now we are to the present. The majority of the heavy deadlines are done and the shipping out of the quilts from Breaking Traditions will be completed this weekend. Which leaves me time to turn my attentions elsewhere. Like back to that evil work table.


I have two tables in my studio and it turns out that both of them are bowed. They are now my enemy. I plan to turn them into dyeing tables and make them go live in the garage in between uses. Not polite, I know, but an artist has to be ruthless at times.


So I went to the IKEA website. Talk about more evil but in a totally good way. I want this table top, this legs and these little shelves:

I'd really like to finally get some kind of shelving up on the walls was well to display artwork and give the space a finished feel.

Luckily my friend Tom has agreed to come out and help with said activities which is good because they just released Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas as 3D back onto the big screen so we can go see that too. (I worship Tim Burton...drool...)

Ah yes, free time for me leads to much destruction in the house. But no worries, it all goes back together....eventually.

Autumn Twilight

Autumn Twilight
Originally uploaded by rckrawczykjr

I just had to post this since Blog Action Day was just yesterday. This is a photo from my brother, Ralph's, Flickr page. He is an amazing photographer and this photo is so outstanding.

Its of Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan.

Enjoy.

Making art & laughing myself silly

I spent this past weekend at the Fabrications retreat in Lewiston, Michigan. It was my first time attending. I've heard rave reviews from other attendees and put it on my list of must go do this. This year I was able to do that and I already put down a deposit to return next year. (I'm signed up for a class with Fran Skiles and I can't wait!!!)

Its held at the Garland Resort, which is absolutely stunning. And its also Color Weekend in Michigan so there was lots of really gorgeous autumn colors all over the place. And did I take pictures of this? Nope. Which at first I kicked myself for but then realized its a testament to how much I enjoyed myself that I was living fully in the moment. (Its good reasoning, right? Work with me here...)

Pamela Allen's class

I've never taken an art quilt class. I chose to take Pamela Allen's class because before this weekend I was allergic to using more then one print in a quilt and seemingly completely incapable of using more then one fabric for the background of a quilt. Pamela fixed that.

We did several exercises on line and color and then the unfortunate incident with my attempts at free motion quilting. Let's just say that the machine will be visiting the doctor because this time it wasn't my fault. Quit looking at me that way, I swear it wasn't. (Mary was in the class with me and fixed the machine so there is proof, go ask her if you don't believe me.)

I did several pieces but these have got to be my favorite. I ended up kicking out three quilts in a little series I'm calling "Acid Peace." Here they are:



The images are taken from the peace jacket I made for the American Sewing Expo a couple weeks ago. The one on the right came first and had a very acid feel to it, hence the name of the series. (I may rework the middle one a little bit but I'm not sure yet.) The other two came about as wanting to play with the colors to provoke different emotions. Note the patterned fabric, note the not-so-flat background.

The ironic thing is that I've never done series type reproduction work before this class. Poor Pamela, I had to take her class to do something normal. Sorry about that one.

Pamela is an amazing teacher. Really really fun and she really makes you think about why you add what you do to your compositions. I got a lot out of her class and had a blast doing it. I would highly recommend her.


A Critique

I had the opportunity to have a critique of my work from Laura Cater-Woods. I admit that I was a little nervous about it but the curiosity of what someone had to say about my work that didn't know me in the least was too much and it won over any apprehension.

One of the things that's been bothering me lately with my work is a shift in styles. Below is Fragile I, which is the first of two quilts I recently made. Which to me look absolutely nothing like my usual style.


Laura looked at this quilt compared with my usual style and had some very constructive comments. The biggest thing I learned is that it is obvious that these are from me, they are constructed similarly and bear the same marks. But one focuses more on mood while the others focus more on the objects on the quilt.

I think I've got a split style. There is such a large part of me drawn to the more abstract like Fragile I & Fragile II but I enjoy the mixed media aspect of my usual style. She also helped me to understand my feelings toward working in a series. The quilts that are created based on my mixed media/embellishment style say all that they need to in one shot. While the quilts like Fragile leave a lot of space for interpretation and therefore cannot finish their conversation in one piece.

I'm digging the split style idea. And I thank Laura for helping me come to grips with it. I bought more square beads and some appropriate moody fabric from Cathy Arnett to continue the Fragile series.

Laura also teaches at the retreat and will be returning next year. Just from the brief interaction I had with her, I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for insight into their artwork. She's got a way of doing that with such ease that you don't know what hit you. But in a totally good way.


Laughing Myself Silly

I went to the retreat with Mary and we are good friends with Cathy Arnett, the organizer of the retreat. Unfortunately we don't see her that often but when we get together, it is complete mayhem. I think I laughed so much this past weekend it could have qualified as exercise.



This is a photo of the three of us at Bead Haven in Frankenmuth. Normally I would be irked that the photo is a little blurry but I think it is so appropriate for us that I went ahead and posted it. Why is it blurry? Because we were acting so stupid that the poor girl we wrangled into taking the photo couldn't stop laughing. (And the camera was set on the Kids & Pets setting to help with my issues of having unsteady hands. It was obviously a moot point here.)
From left to right: Mary, me and Cathy.

And to give you an even better understanding of just how we get, I will end this post with some pictures that Cathy took of us using the PhotoBooth program on her iMac. (A quick explanation for those of you not familiar with this program: There is a camera built into the computer and the program has different filters that distort the images like a fun house.) Be warned, they are not flattering but beyond funny....

Here I am doing a hulk impersenation:


And here is Cathy doing an impression of a Dementor on Mary:


You totally have to come next year....

P.S. Cathy will have the information up for next year's retreat shortly after the new year. I can't recommend it enough. It rocked in so many ways its hard to put into words.

Blog Action Day - Support the Environment!

Today is Blog Action Day. The intent of this post is to be one of millions focusing on the environment. By so many blogs posting on the same topic today, we hope to bring the environment to the forefront of people's thoughts. I'm posting a picture I took while in Lewiston, Michigan this past weekend.

Admittedly I am a city girl at heart. Born and raised in Detroit, I went through a mild culture shock when we moved into the suburbs a few years ago. And its shameful to say but I don't go up to Northern Michigan very often. Actually that's an understatement, I haven't been up north since I was a kid. (And we won't discuss how long ago that was so don't ask...)

Nine of us decided to go out on Saturday night after classes were over to a very popular local restaurant. Being the brilliant people we are, we didn't think to call ahead and make reservations so we had a little while to wait and went outside to kill time. This lake was such a surprise (to me at least ) when we walked around the back of the restaurant and found this. There were little steps going down to the water edge and a shallow strip of beach. I was completely in awe of the beauty.


And while admiring it, I was also struck by the irony that we (meaning humans) spend so much time destroying things like this. Things that were here long before we were and are basically just minding their own business. And things that with one glance, can wipe clean all the stress in your life and make you still for a few delicious moments.

I plan to spend more time stopping and looking at the nature around me. Its time we all spent more time living in our environment rather then just on top of it. Enjoy the photo, enjoy the day, and keep on standing up for the beauty of our world. Peace.

My quilt is on the Skull-a-Day blog!

I'm back from Fabrications and I have many wonderful things to tell you but my brain is the equivalent of jell-o right now so I can't put too many words together into those things called...um...sentences. Yeah, that's it...

BUT while staring blankly at the 357 new emails in my inbox (and no, that was not a typo, there is still a connection from the brain for the typing), I realized I've gone through blog withdrawal.

Not only being able to prattle on to you all out there but also all the ones I like to read. So I started to bop around and my last stop was the Skull-a-Day blog. I think I've mentioned this one before. It makes me all warm and fuzzy to know that my obsession with skulls in a fairly normal activity. I collect them, I doodle them, I have them hanging around the house, I zero in on them in stores like a mosquito to a bug zapper. Not to mention the fact that the blog is one of the most creative things that I've seen. The guy running it makes a new skull everyday and he really works hard at finding it in everyday objects as well as making them from scratch. You should totally subscribe to it and then we can oooooohhhhh and aaaaaahhhhh together.

So imagine my delight when I found my quilt, Vida, among the reader submissions in the second to last post. Woo-hoo! I am clearly easily amused, just go look at it and do a little "woo-hoo!" for me.

Fiber Arts ADD

Not too long ago I purged my studio (but you wouldn’t know it to look at it now) of all the things that had been accumulating over the years. My primary goal was to clean out the stuff that I no longer do to make room for the stuff I do do.

I got the brilliant (note the sarcasm on that word) idea to just pull everything out of every box and every drawer and start to clean. The idea was to really make myself get rid of stuff so I could buy new organizers (translation: IKEA had just opened near my house and I was looking for any excuse to got shopping there) and really get my act together. Its been a while since I did the Big Clean and now still periodically go through mini cleaning rampages but even with the smaller scale cleans, I’m starting to see that its quite possible I have Fiber Arts ADD.

Now don’t be alarmed, its not a deadly condition. (Although the house and family do suffer a bit for the sake of my art but the family has to – they love me – and the house has no say in it so I’m not that concerned.) I seem to travel along from one type of fiber/needle art to another. I do stick around for a reasonable amount of time on each one (usually the minimum has been a year) but then I realize that when it comes to fiber/needle arts, there is just NO way you can limit yourself to one type of creation. It simply comes in too many forms.

So I sat down and wrote a list of all the types of fiber/needle arts that I’ve made my way through over the years. (And all it did was reinforce the ADD theory…) Here they are:

CRAZY QUILTING
This one began my fiber art career. It should have been an early warning sign. You pretty much have to have a somewhat frantic attention span to do crazy quilting. The amount of things you have to learn for the embellishment side of it would keep anyone enthralled.

EMBROIDERY
All types from three dimensional brazillian to just plain old flat chevron stitch with DMC perle cotton. This one is especially good for the attention deficient. There are endless types of threads to embroider with from cotton to silk to wool to rayon to blends. And let’s not get started on the silk ribbon embroidery – its an addiction that can’t be explained.

TATTING
I truly believe that this is one of the most masochistic forms of needle arts on the planet. That’s not to say I don’t love it (which may say something about me), in fact I taught if for several years while I had my store and am still quite attracted to it. I'm a shuttle tatter, which is more traditionalist then needle tatting. You work for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours (you get the idea) and you end up with something 50mm big by the time you are done. The only other type of needle/fiber art that I think beats it is bobbin lace. Good Lord, those people possess a patience that rivals saints.

TRADITIONAL QUILTING
Well, to be honest, this was more of an attempt. This is the only one on the list that lasted – at the most – maybe a month or two. I got so frustrated by all the rules and the long drawn out patterns that I vividly remember standing over the trash can with some pitiful pieced blocks laughing hysterically as I snipped them into tiny bits. Needless to say, I was reluctant to repeat the experience for fear some kind of “happy” pill might be forced upon me.

CLOTH DOLLS
This one had a somewhat similar outcome as the traditional quilting. But it wasn’t quite as maniacal. I struggled to paint realistic faces on the cloth dolls and in the end just produced freakish looking semi-human objects. Although Dooley dog was happy with all his new toys.

ART QUILTS
I’m still hooked on this one. No patterns. No rules. The possibilities are endless because now you are getting into hand dyeing fabric and using non-cotton materials on quilts. Add to that the fact that I don’t feel any art quilt I make should ever be 2-dimensional, and you gain the added fun of hunting down find objects to attach to your work.

ART DOLLS
When I discovered these, the heavens opened and the angels sang. (And no, I still don’t need medication.) There is a whole group of people out there like me that can’t do cloth dolls. Or should I say, have opted not to do cloth dolls. We still make freakish looking semi-human objects but the difference is that we mean to do this. And we are happy because at least it looks like what we want it to.

CROCHET
I like this one, still do a bit of it. I’ve got an absolutely gigantic granny square afghan working right now in autumn colors. And yes, I’m aware its autumn now. But I never specified autumn of which year. So I’m still good…

KNITTING
This one is kind of recent. I’ve dabbled in knitting (meaning I’ve made one scarf) and found it pleasant but lately I’ve been bitten by the Knitting Bug. Actually, it would probably be more accurate to say the Bug is gnawing off my head. I blame the Yarn Harlot. I’m obsessed by learning all I can and this thrills me to no end because it means that I can go visit all the yarn stores and instead of just petting the yarn, I can buy it and know what to do with it. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

That’s the end of the list. Probably not that long compared to other people but I’ve only been at this for about seven years so I think I’ve become pretty skilled at bopping all over the place. I’ve got my eye on weaving and felting (shush up Leann, I know I’ve still not done anything with the little table top loom nor the roving) so its obvious the trend will continue.

I think its one of the joys and pitfalls of being a fiber/needle artist. There is so much to try out and not nearly enough time in the universe to do it.

If I could just stay home and continue to receive a paycheck, I’d get a lot more artwork done. I’ll let you all know if I ever figure out how to do that one….

Pondering the UFO

Yes, I'm still around. I've had an allergy attack this past week that has turned me into a human booger factory. But thankfully the doctor gave me some stuff that has me feeling only half crummy so its back to business as usual...

I still have more photos of expo to post but I'll do those later, because I have a much deeper topic to ponder with you dear reader....the UFO.

No, not little silver saucers floating in space. You know what I mean, after all, if you are reading this then you are most likely an artist as well. And if you are like me, you have a well trained innocent expression whenever the topic comes up that says, "What? Me? I don't have any UFOs laying around." Nice try.

Since I've been not feeling so hot and entertaining myself by laying on the sofa with Dooley watching bad T.V., I've had the pleasant opportunity to stare at all the half finished projects laying around the house that need attention. Unfinished Objects (UFOs) get no respect, it seems.

In my defense, much of what currently has UFO status is due to a lack of time, not enthusiasm. But if I creep out of the denial that often leads me to pretend I have no UFOs in the house, I have to admit that a lot of the times its that I just get seduced by a new project and abandon whatever I am working on.

What's even more odd is that a lot of the time I drop something when its almost completely done. I'm done with it emotionally so it doesn't get done physically. And then I start to resent it so it really doesn't get finished.

I suppose its a universal problem among artists. Maybe we should start a 12-step program to deal with it. But then if everything was done, we'd be buried underneath tons of art with no hope of escaping. Oh good, that means I shouldn't finish those up....onto new projects....

Fiberart for a Cause

Linocut by Virgnia Spiegel

I've done a few posts about Fiberart for a Cause but to be honest, I simply can't say enough good things about it. Its a project that I find extremely inspiring for a number of reasons.

First of all, I've experienced first hand how cancer can impact a loved one's life and the effects on the family. My father passed last year from cancer and it was clear that the advancements in the types of treatments he could have helped him to be with us for a longer time. How could I not be grateful for that?

Secondly, FFAC has shown a generosity that just makes my heart melt. Donations from fiber artists around the world, Virginia Spiegel's tireless efforts that just don't seem to end and the willingness of people who have never met each other to give away their art for a worthy cause.

I loved the postcard project that Virginia coordinated for FFAC. And I'm equally awed now by the e-book that she is releasing to continue the project.

Virginia puts out a newsletter that I've subscribed to for some time, I just love it. The e-book she is releasing is a compilation of this newsletter and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy!!

The release date for the e-book is coming up soon: Monday October 8. It is available for a minimum donation of $25 to the American Cancer Society. That's right, all of the money donated goes to the ACS, Virginia doesn't get one single penny from it. I urge you to donate more then the $25 when you order your copy, every little bit helps offer hope to patients and families.

Here is the press release Virginia is putting out about the e-book, I hope you will support her in her absolutely outstanding efforts that she puts forth for ACS and everyone affected by cancer:

From Virginia's press release:

"My eBook "Art, Nature, Creativity, Life" will be released on Monday, October 8 with all proceeds going directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause.

"Art, Nature, Creativity, Life" is an expanded version of the best of my e-newsletters. There are 19 chapters stuffed with essays, art, photos, annotated book recommendations, and poetry.

Make a cup of tea, settle into your favorite chair and wander through the issues at your leisure. You can spend ten minutes and be refreshed or spend several hours enjoying art, nature, poetry, photography and my take on the life of an artist. Enjoy and be inspired.

My goal is to raise $30,000 to join the more than $130,000 that Fiberart For A Cause has already raised for the American Cancer Society."

Cloth As Canvas Exhibit

This is "Cloth As Canvas", an exhibit from expo put together and showcasing wearable art from members of Running With Scissors. We are a local group of fiber artists that meet once a month in Livonia, MI on the last wednesday of the month at Scrappy Chic. Please join us if you are interested in meeting like minded artists! We are comprised of art quilters, art doll creators, knitters, weavers, costumers and every other kind of fiber art there is!

Below are individual shots of each garment that was in the exhibit. A very special thanks to Sidney for the amazing job she did on the stands for the exhibit. THANKS SID!!!

Felted Fairy Jacket Ruth Miller

Climbing the Vine Sidney Inch

Initially Speaking Johanna Mills

Seanchan Royal Kate Lebowsky

Voodoo Cape Leann Meixner

Everything and Anything Jackie Lams

Serene Cloud Jacket Barb Darnell

Graffiti Wisdom Lynn Krawczyk

Felted Fantasy Jacket Mary Geldhof

Business Bling Patrice Smith

Perception Joan Potter Thomas

Check back for more exhibit photos in the next post! :)

Exploring Art Dolls exhibit

Here is another exhibit from the American Sewing Expo from a group that I belong to. It is called "Exploring Art Dolls" and consists of dolls from the Looking Glass Dolls group. We are an art doll group that meets in Livonia. If you think you might be interested in joining us, we are at Scrappy Chic beginning at 6:30pm on the third Wednesday of each month and are happy to welcome new members all the time!

If you click on each picture it will enlarge. Below are group shots of the dolls and their titles as well as the artists (listed below each photo). Enjoy!

And check back soon as there are more exhibit photos to come!!


(left to right) Green Fairy, Purple Fairy & Mermaid Kate Carras ; Woodland Fairy Sara Melton Keller



(left to right) Zucca Shelly Lampshire ; Kingsley Shelly Lampshire ; Mother Nature's Son Emily Smith; Pinky Ruth Miller




(left to right) Mawu Carolynne White ; Spoolie Girl Vivian Lonetto ; Inside/Out Lynn Krawczyk




(left to right) Mind Your P's & Q's Vivian Lonetto ; Frances, Autumn Star Lenea Howe ; Woman of the Wood Emily Smith

Vi Carious Lenea Howe

Roberta, Hugh & Dawn Leann Meixner

(left to right) Lovey Carolynne White ; Granny Ruth Miller ; Elfie Misty Ruth Miller ; Gilda Shelly Lampshire





(left to right) Helen, the Witch Watcher Lenea Howe ; Dream Catcher Joan Potter Thomas ; Funny Peggy Thomas

Breaking Traditions 2007: "Connections"

I am extremely pleased to show you more photos of all the quilts for Breaking Traditions 2007: Connections as they hung at the American Sewing Expo this past weekend.

First up is a photo of the exhibit favorite. This is Family Tree by Joan Potter Thomas. Joan will receive hand dyed fabric from Cathy Arnett of Harmony Fibers, Nancy Eha's book "Bead Creative Art Quilts" and a $25 gift certificate to Dharma Trading Co. Congratulations Joan!



Here is a shot of Joan, standing proudly by her artwork.

There were a total of 54 quilts in the exhibit this year and Theresa, our judge, found it extremely difficult to narrow it down to just one quilt. When I caught up with her on Saturday she had chosen her top three. So we chatted about that and decided to honor three quilts from the exhibit. So she ranked Joan's quilt first and the following two received 2nd and 3rd honors.

Next up is a photo of Ren Vasillev's quilt, How NOT to Mend a Broken Heart. Ren's quilt received 2nd honors for this year's exhibit. Congratulations Ren!


And here is the quilt that received 3rd Honors. It is Block by Block from Jennifer Solon. Congratulations Jennifer!

Ren and Jen will receive some batik fabric for being chosen as second and third.

Here is our esteemed judge, Theresa Mertens - artist and owner of Bohemian Element. She graciously posed for me next to Joan's quilt.


I had the pleasure of taking photos of a couple artists next to their work. Below is Vickie Boteler next to her quilt, Under the Sea. (Vickie had a most excellent suggestion for next year's exhibit so stay tuned for more on that! Thanks Vickie!!!)


Next up is Jackie Lams, with her quilt Who Can Sucessfully Conceal Love?

The next seven photos are shots showing the groupings of quilts hanging in the exhibit. Each quilt has been individually photographed and will be in an online gallery on my website by the end of October.

Before I leave you with the photos from the exhibit, I'd like to give special thanks to everyone who so generously shared their work for the exhibit. I feel very fortunate to organize this exhibit. And I especially thank Joan, Mary, Sidney and Leann for their assitance hanging and taking down the artwork for the show. And to the wonderful people at the American Sewing Expo for the opportunity to hang this show! :)

So without further ado, here are the quilts as they hung in the exhibit. Thanks again everyone! :)







This exhibit is an open call show so if you think you might be interested in participating next year, you can join the yahoo group for all announcements concerning the exhibit. I'm planning on something a little different for next year to keep things exciting and fresh. Details for 2008 will be posted in January '08!

A Sneak Peek!

Here a couple quick shots of Breaking Traditions, the art quilt exhibit hanging at the American Sewing Expo this weekend, Sep 28-30 here in Novi, MI. (If you click on the photos, they enlarge quite a bit and you can see the quilts better.) I have many more shots of the groupings of the quilts but I don't want to post those until the show is over. But these two shots give a sense of how big the exhibit got (it covers about 60 feet!!!) so be on the lookout for the online gallery (which I plan to finish and have up on my website by the end of October) and more shots of the exhibit after the show closes.




Check back soon for more expo photos!!! :) (Please consider subscribing to the blog if you'd like to be sure you catch all the reports about expo, it will cover several posts as I will have shots from other exhibits as well. All you have to do is enter your email address and click "Get Email Updates". Its in the right hand column at the very top.)