Out of Eden

Out of Eden is my art quilt for Interpret This! 

 Here is a corner. 

Check out the rest of it on IT!

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday!  My week has been full of work on my Interpret This!  art quilt.  You have to wait till Monday to see it but I am liking it a lot!

Here is my list of blogs that I learned great stuff from during this week:

This is perhaps the best explanation/instructions I have seen for how to put a facing on a quilt rather than a more typical binding.

Chris at Dye Candy is starting a new blog specifically for art quilts.  I will let you read her description of the site but it sounds like a good site if you want to connect with other art quilt artists or those who want to buy art quilts.

Ever try to take a picture of your quilt so that it looks as gorgeous as it really is?  And how did that turn out for you?  Mine always is wonky.  Here are some instructions for how to straighten the perspective problems using Photoshop Elements.

Quilter Beth had a wonderful day of screen printing using freezer paper, glue stick resist, and  thermafax. She had problems with the thermafax screen because they did not frame it.  I agree.  Little thermafax screens seem to do well with just duct tape edges but the larger screens need more stability.  I got to burn some screens last Saturday with my SAQA group.  Here are my pictures of my feather screen print.   I know they are really hard to see--the colors of the paint are close to the color of the dye.  What was I thinking?

Monoprinting with SAQA

One of the workshops I attended last Saturday at our SAQA was on monoprinting.  My goal was to play rather than to try and turn out a masterpiece.  The technique was one that I had not tried before.  The paint is spread on a piece of plastic sheeting, manipulated with various tools (e.g. combs, wire whisk, potatoe masher, hair picks), then the plastic is inverted over the material and rubbed to transfer the pattern onto the fabric.  You then clean the plastic and start over.  Here is one monoprint that I made using this technique.

The next pictures I am showing you are a slightly different technique.   I used a pear shape stamp to paint on, then scribbled the paint with a hair pick before printing it on the material.  Here are some of my monoprints on cotton and organza.

And here are my clean up rags. They are kinda nice too!

ATCs for my September trade

The theme for Veronica's ATC trade was Bedtime Stories and Fairytales.  Here are my 10 ATCs.  Because my joke is on the back, I am showing the front of 5 cards and the back of the other 5.  The series is named "The Monster Under the Bed."

I am becoming a Fiber Artist

art·ist

–noun

1. a person who produces works in any of the arts that are primarily subject to aesthetic criteria.

2.a person who practices one of the fine arts, esp. a painter or sculptor.

3.a person whose trade or profession requires a knowledge of design, drawing, painting, etc.: a commercial artist.

4. a person who works in one of the performing arts, as an actor, musician, or singer; a public performer: a mime artist; an artist of the dance.

5.  a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill.

6. a person who is expert at trickery or deceit: He's an artist with cards.

7.  Obsolete.  an artisan

This weekend I had to proclaim myself an artist.  DID NOT WANT TO DO THAT!     I have thought about that for the last couple of days. Why the resistance? I  mean, I have under other circumstances been willing to say that I am an artist.  I looked up the definition of artist and that kinda answered the question for me.   You can be an artist if you play with art stuff, work at art stuff,or excel at art stuff.

So, am I an artist?
1.  Well, as my husband, budget, and home can attest, I play with art stuff so I am an artist in that sense. 

2.  I do not make a living at art but I certainly do work hard at learning and practicing art--would that make me a student artist?    I spend most my available hours (and many I should be doing laundry and housework) and many of my dream hours on producing or designing art.  I am starting to produce a body of work.   

3.  As far as excelling, I do have a few pieces that I like well enough to say that I am an artist but the body of my work is still too small and my personal voice still too vague for me to claim that I excel with any conviction.  I plan and prepare to be this type of artist but it is still a little in the future. 

I think when others push you to proclaim yourself an artist they are looking at the term as one who does art type stuff.  I want the term "artist" to mean more than an 18 month old with a crayon in her hand.  I want it to mean more than someone who produces lots of art type stuff or spends lots of time doing art stuff.   I want it to mean to excel, to have exceptional skill, to have worked at  producing something with a unique voice.

I would rather proclaim myself an artist to others when I have more than ambition to show and tell.  Maybe next year.