Stripped Double F
Not quilted yet but about 36 inch square at this point
Commercial and Hand Dyed Cotton
First it was all about quilting and then dyeing and then I started making books and zentangling and drawing. Now I have given up on limiting myself and this is all about my creative journey. Hope you'll join me on my journey and invite me on yours!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday Favorites
I have been really busy this week. I've been working my way through Rayna Gillman's new book. You will need to go to And Then We Set It On Fire to see my progress. I have also started to add more needlework and beads to The Center of the Universe. I hurriedly finished it to enter into a show earlier this year. When it was not juried into the show, I simply set it aside for awhile but I was never really satisfied with how encrusted it was. The center of the universe should be much more dense with shiny things. So, now I am adding more. Pictures later.
Friday Favorites
I have some of these Mystery Foam blocks but have not used them yet. Judy in the Dyes show some real inspiration for what you can do with Mystery Foam. I ordered some during the summer but have yet to use it. Maybe this will inspire me.
Constance Rose is giving away a 10 x10 quilt named All that Glitters. You can see it here and leave a comment to enter for a chance to win it.
Lynn Krawczyk gives a review of the Gelli Art gel printing plate. She likes it. I haven't tried it yet because I generally don't really care for monoprints. I agree with Lynn's sentiment that monoprints generally need several more layers to make them presentable. I am less likely to try it now that she says the instructions caution the artist from using dyes with the plates. I wonder what happens? Does the dye eat through the plate? Do the dyes just bubble up and give a poor impression? That might be interesting in itself. Perhaps the problem is that the dyes are thin but then the artist could thicken the dyes. Does anyone know the answer to these questions?
Two thought provoking pieces were written this week. The first is by Arlee on the creative process. The second is by Elizabeth Barton on why quilts have not been accepted into the main stream art community. Both are just opinions but are well thought out opinions with explanation about how they got to their decision.
And let me close by sending you to Ink Spiller's Attic for a New Year wish from Neil Gaiman. It is beautiful and I wish it for you!
I have some of these Mystery Foam blocks but have not used them yet. Judy in the Dyes show some real inspiration for what you can do with Mystery Foam. I ordered some during the summer but have yet to use it. Maybe this will inspire me.
Constance Rose is giving away a 10 x10 quilt named All that Glitters. You can see it here and leave a comment to enter for a chance to win it.
Lynn Krawczyk gives a review of the Gelli Art gel printing plate. She likes it. I haven't tried it yet because I generally don't really care for monoprints. I agree with Lynn's sentiment that monoprints generally need several more layers to make them presentable. I am less likely to try it now that she says the instructions caution the artist from using dyes with the plates. I wonder what happens? Does the dye eat through the plate? Do the dyes just bubble up and give a poor impression? That might be interesting in itself. Perhaps the problem is that the dyes are thin but then the artist could thicken the dyes. Does anyone know the answer to these questions?
Two thought provoking pieces were written this week. The first is by Arlee on the creative process. The second is by Elizabeth Barton on why quilts have not been accepted into the main stream art community. Both are just opinions but are well thought out opinions with explanation about how they got to their decision.
And let me close by sending you to Ink Spiller's Attic for a New Year wish from Neil Gaiman. It is beautiful and I wish it for you!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Happy Holiday and Friday Favorites
My mother, bless her heart, is disgusted by the "Happy Holiday" greeting that is now common. She thinks that it takes Christ out of Christmas. I have thought about that. While I celebrate Christmas and think Christ should be the focus of Christmas, many of my friends celebrate other holidays. Should I not wish them a happy whatever holiday they celebrate? So, I will celebrate Christ's birth and you can celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Kwanza, or just getting up alive one more day.
Enjoy the season and may your heart be light.
Margeeth has cut two interesting but not complex cloths and combined them into something much more interesting. Reminds me a bit of Rayman Gillman's technique that will be featured on the "And Then We Set It On Fire" in January. You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the post for the English translation.
Wonder what to do with your beautiful hand stamped, dyed, stenciled, painted, printed, foiled, and otherwise embellished fabric? You might want to make some fabric boxes for Christmas presents.
Now that I am getting pretty good at one layer of techniques, I am paying more attention to those folks who layer the different techniques to turn out art cloth. I really like what Margaret Applin did here with gesso, paint, several thermofax screens, watercolor paints, and hand and machine stitching. Each step was thoughtful of the step before so that it did not overpower what was already done. She is "taken" with the results and so am I.
More Christmas Wish List for Quilters and Dyers (like can we ever get enough? LOL)
1. Want some free fabric? McCalls is having a scrap bag give away. Enter here.
2. Colorful Thoughts. What an absolutely perfect name for fabric paints. Kim has started to carry them.
3. I am still pretty clueless when it comes to machine quilting freehand. I need a pattern for my freehand. Fortunately there are books for that and HERE is where you can sign up to win one of those books for free! Hurry! You only have to Dec 26 to enter to win. Oh, the name of the book is Modern Quilting Designs.
Once again, enjoy the season. May whomever you pray to bless you!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Book Review: Visual Texture on Fabric
Here is an advanced reading copy of Lisa Kerpoe's new book sitting on MY cutting table. I can't tell you how excited I am! The book is coming out in June 2012 and I think it is a must have.
I have been following Lisa's blog forever and have often referred to her posts on my Friday Favorites. Now all her recipes and processes are in one place. Before I got all excited and told you that the book is a must-have, I checked Jane Dunnewold's books, Complex Cloth and Art Cloth. Those are kinda the gold standard of all things surface design for me. Jane's books barely cover water-based resists so Lisa's book is a wonderful addition to them. Lisa's book is not an entire dictionary of surface design techniques like Jane's are but it does not pretend to be. It is a book all about resists--recipes, how to apply them, how to apply color after the resists, how to remove the resists when you are done, a troubleshooting guide, and resources for the supplies. Resists from the beginning to the end.
Guess what I'll be doing during my Christmas break? Resistance (to the resist) is futile. LOL
I have been following Lisa's blog forever and have often referred to her posts on my Friday Favorites. Now all her recipes and processes are in one place. Before I got all excited and told you that the book is a must-have, I checked Jane Dunnewold's books, Complex Cloth and Art Cloth. Those are kinda the gold standard of all things surface design for me. Jane's books barely cover water-based resists so Lisa's book is a wonderful addition to them. Lisa's book is not an entire dictionary of surface design techniques like Jane's are but it does not pretend to be. It is a book all about resists--recipes, how to apply them, how to apply color after the resists, how to remove the resists when you are done, a troubleshooting guide, and resources for the supplies. Resists from the beginning to the end.
Guess what I'll be doing during my Christmas break? Resistance (to the resist) is futile. LOL
Saturday, December 17, 2011
And the Winner Is... Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
My random number generator (my husband) chose the magic number. Mary Helen at Art Saves Lives is the winner of the hand-dyed fabric. Mary Helen, send me an email with your address and I will mail your fabric to you. Enjoy!
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