Zentangle

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Friday Favorites

Remember a few weeks ago when I was whining about being sick and tired of being sick and tired?  Now when I write my blog I think, "Another week of feeling good and being productive!"  That is so much better!  I have already posted pictures of my print series that I finished for my print class and the QAYG quilt for the service auction. Soon I will be posting my Carnival art quilt on the Art Quilts Around the World blog.  Happy, healthy, busy times!

Friday Favorites:

Do you know about deli papers?  I didn't know a thing about them till I came across this post by Jane Davies. She describes deli paper as dry wax paper that is "stronger than tissue paper but almost as transparent."  Sounds good, huh?  After reading Jane's post, I went looking for more information and found quite a bit.  It appears that some people find deli papers addictive.  Who am I to turn down a possible new surface design addiction?  Beth, are you ready to play with deli papers?

I am linking you to Heather's blog just for the eye candy there.  These two quilts are from the Kathleen Loomis school of fine lines. The piecing is complex enough but please do notice that she adds gradiations in color and size in her two pieces also.  For me, that takes Heather from a good art quilter to a master art quilter.  Very well done!  Those pieces can hang on my wall any day of the week.

While I added this post because of the eye candy trees, she does give technique information.  Don't you love the trees?

This is a great example how taking print classes can help me become a better surface design artist in fabric.  I particularly love Linda's  fractured mono print.  You will notice that she not only cut her circles in more than just 4 pieces, she did not put them back together again as independent circles.  There are gaps and holes and overlapping. That is what makes it interesting.  I need to do a construction project for my print class.  I had planned to make some accordion books with monoprints inside but her fractured monprint is very inspiring.  I will need to consider something like that as an option.

Here is a second example of the intersection between printing and fabric.  Karina shows you how to print on fabric without a lot of fuss and expensive equipment.  I am most interested in this because I think you can create yardage with this method--something that is difficult to do with many other methods.  And sometimes I want a yard or two fabric rather than just a sample size.

I will close with a new blog that I have added to my reading list.  Magaret Ramsay is from the UK.  She shows a fabulous art quilt, then indigo shibori, then her sketchbook and watercolors.  What more do you need to see?

See you next week!

Zentangle

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Exploring the Line

Here are 7 prints from my Exploring the Line series. I am pretty pleased by them. They are all 22 inches by 16 inches.

Finished Quilt-As-You-Go Quilt

I got it done just in time to give it away on Saturday. We are having a service auction--you bid using points you earned by doing good deeds to others. This is my donation to be auctioned off.

I am actually pleased with it.  I did not expect to like it but while I recognize it is not high art, it does look good on a twin bed. And the Quilt-As-You-Go (QAYG) method is not bad.  In fact I might use it to make one or two more quilts to use up a few more of my scraps.

Feathers

This post is now shared on Nina Marie's Off The Wall Fridays

Friday Favorites--results from blog hopping

Let me say that I was disappointed with the Quilting Gallery's blog hop. There were over 200 blogs to hop through, lots of opportunity to be excited, and yet ...I wasn't.

First, so many blogs seemed to be self-promoting their latest pattern, fabric design, book, etc. Really, rather than representing an artist, the blog was just an advertising arm of a business.  I was hoping to connect with some like-minded textile artists rather than to find a new source for materials. 

Second, so many required me to become a follower in order to qualify for their give-aways.  You know, if the blog shares my interest I am going to become a follower without a bribe and if the site does not share my interests then why clog my reading list with them.  Is bragging that your blog has two zillion followers (who don't read the blog)  really all that important?

Third, I was disappointed by the quilting-only focus of the blogs.  I will take ownership of this complaint since others blog hoppers may well be satisfied with the more traditional quilting focus of the majority of the blogs.   I think as I have gained experience and come closer to finding my own voice, I have become much more focused on the creation of ART rather than just making something.  I no longer follow blogs that focus only on bed quilts (no offense if that is your passion).  I like art quilts and doodling and surface design and printmaking and making books.   I want something more than the latest iteration of a traditional quilt pattern.  I want an art focus and I did not find much of that while hopping.  But then, it was a quilt blog hop so this really is my problem.

That said, I did find a couple of new blogs to follow and a few posts that, for me, were worth linking to.

Friday Favorites

I now follow Lisa's blog, Something about Nothing. She gave away a snow dye which I would love to win; it was magnificent! The previous post was about a shibori dyed scarf. The post before that was about stamping.  Yep, my kinda blog!

Karen at The Recipe Bunny upcycled a book and had a very good "recipe" with pictures for how she did it.

Jennifer at Another Jennifer made some fabulous stuffed birds--don't expect real bird looking birds.  I found her blog too late to sign up for the give-away but Jennifer says she is going to be giving away stuff for the next couple of weeks.  I'll be checking back.

Kelly at Kelly's Art has been giving away beautiful snow dyes all winter.  I think she is into her 13th week.  And she shows you some of her art quilts that have been accepted into shows.  You know, seeing them helps me to remember that entering a few shows each year is a goal I made and then forgot.  I need to spend some time not just making art but showing it!

Claire at Cspoonquilt is a woman after my own heart. She defines the difference between scraps and crumbs (fabric crumbs) and shows you a small purse she made with her crumbs.  How can you say no to something made from basically nothing?

Intaglio Printing

Before Beth and I started to make our hard cover books, we tried some intaglio printing. Intaglioo printing is when you ink up a plate, wipe off as much ink as possible, and then print. What appears on the paper is the ink left in the recesses of  the plate.  Here are the collagraph plates (one front and one back) I made using cardboard from a Girl Scout cookie box and modeling paste.

We inked up the  plates, wiped off the ink  using first pages from an old phone book and then a tarleton.

We tried printing it with my pin press but we could not apply enough pressure to print the recesses. Beth then tried her pasta roller.

 That totally worked! See the great lines?

I got a new book!

I got my new book!  After I ordered it I was afraid that I had ordered a second copy of this book, also by Alisa Golden.

I love the "Making Handmade Books" but having 2 copies was more than I really needed.  I had decided if I had ordered a second copy then I would just have to give it away on the blog.  But (sorry) the new book is a different book from Alisa so I am going to keep it and make lots and lots and lots of new books.  I think I am coming up to a big number of posts on my blog.  Maybe I will give away some of my new handmade books.

Accordion Book

Using the failed itaglio printing from my last play date with Beth and the paste paper from the play date before I made this accordion book.  Once I got over the disappointment of the failed itaglio, I was able to like the relief print.

Book Review--Inspired to Design by Elizabeth Barton

 I have been looking for years for a good quilt book on design.  I can't tell you how many times I have been disappointed!  When I saw that Elizabeth Barton had written a book I was ecstatic.  I have long been a follower of her blog where she gives wonderful design information.  I have often thought I should copy all of her posts and keep them on hand. And now she has written Inspired to Design  with some of that wonderful information.  That is going to save me a lot of work!  LOL

First Hard Cover Book

Last time Beth and I got together we made paste paper. This time we made hardcover books with the paste paper.  I have made some other books but this was my first using paste paper.

Here is the cover before I added the six folios of blank drawing paper.   The binding is a Belgium technique. 

I was going to give it away as a gift but I might end up using it as a new zentangle book for myself!

Lots of News and Friday Favorites

I mailed off my 4x6, Monolith, to the Brooklyn Art Library today.

Here is the latest work on my line print series. These are 22 x 30.

Signed up for a fabulous week long series of workshops offered this summer by the University of Southern Maine.  They are called Book Art at the Stone House.  Here is the link if you want more information.

Beth posted a video of our paste papers in YouTube.  Here is a link.


Friday Favorites

I love these art quilts by Kathy Loomis. The best part is that they were "free." For me that means they came from leftover scraps that were just too good to throw away.

Even though I like to add stitching to my art quilts, I generally like to use basic stitches.  I want the stitching to add texture not draw attention to itself.  However, the Sailor's stitch Sharon shows in this post is a stitch I am going to try.  I think it will add great texture without being too showy.

 Be sure to check out the Quilting Gallery's blog hop in the next couple of days.  Over a hundred sites all offering give-aways!

Making paste paper paste

I wanted to try making some paste using Beth's recipe.  I went to the pharmacy to ask if they carried glycerin and this is what they gave me. Do you think it will work?

Paste Papers

I have wanted to make paste paper for a couple of years and finally Beth and I were able to get together and play.  She had done it before so she was my guide.  Not that I listen well so I struggled in my first attempts.  I hated them. But you know what they say about surface design, just add a layer.  So I added layers till I was satisfied. These will be turned into book covers on our next play date.

Line Print Series

Here is the beginning of my line print series. The paper is 22 inches by 30 inches.  As you may be able to tell, the top is a cognate or shadow print of the bottom. If you look closely you can see the yellow lines beneath the blue. They were made from a fixed matrix and printed and allowed to dry before the blue layer of lines was printed.  Since I used a fixed matrix this series is a monoprint rather than a monotype series. They are not finished by a long shot but I am pleased with the progress so far.

Friday Favorites

Another couple of weeks of being sick, tired, and stressed. I am sick and tired and stressed about being sick and tired and stressed so much!   I gotta build up my immune system so that I am not the pathetic victim of every virus and stressful event! I so have better things to do!

Here is my latest doodle.  It is related to what I am producing in my print class-- lines.
Here is the beginning of my Artist Statement for this print series. 

"Art History (http://arthistory.about.com/cs/glossaries/g/l_line.htm) defines line as “a basic element of art, referring to a continuous mark, made on a surface, by a moving point."  A line can “define a space, create an outline or pattern, imply movement or texture, and allude to mass or volume” I am interested in using a simple straight line to see what I can say." 

We'll see if I have anything worth saying. 

Friday Favorites

Are you familiar with the Brooklyn Art Library? They  have many art projects including The Sketchbook Project.  I have just signed up for the 4 X 6 Exhange for the The Sunday Swap.  I will mail off some unique 4x6 inch art work to the Brooklyn Art Library and they will send me back one from someone somewhere in the world who participated. Pretty cool.  Deadline March 8.

Sujata Shah at the Root  Connection is a quilter after my own heart. She tried to throw away her scraps and just couldn't so she is making ...something...with them.  How about you?  I have more scraps in my stash than I have yardage.  I have about finished my quilt-as-you-go quilt and everything, front.back and middle, was in my scrap bins.

I have printing on my brain these day and look for it everywhere for inspiration in my own work.   Jane posted a beginning session of printing on cloth that was inspired by Jenny's day of printing on rice paper. Don't you love it when your friends share?