Posted 5/5/09

It’s up! You can see my work during the whole month of May 2009 at the Robert and Helen Griffith Library in Round Rock, TX.  Drop by and enjoy the show. The library is on Main Street in Round Rock, which has tons of good places to eat or have a cup of coffee.

The Robert G. and Helen Griffith Library, 216 E. Main Street, Round Rock, TX  78664
512-218-7000 | Circulation: 512-218-7001

Hours
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday - Thursday
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday - Saturday
1 to 6 p.m. Sunday

The library director, Dale Ricklefs, was kind enough to ask me to share my textile art at their new gallery space on the first floor. Thank you, fellow quilter, Dale.  Thank you to Said Horozovic at the library, Jason King, and my ever enthusiastic husband, Tyler, for helping me prepare and hang the show.  I neglected to take anything but my camera phone with me yesterday to put up the show, but I will go back and take some better photos later!

Posted 4/29/09

The Collage Mania preview is up! There are 383 collages available on May 5, 2009 for an $80 minimum donation. On May 6 and 7, 2009, they will be available for a $40 minimum donation. This is the last fundraiser for Fiberart for a Cause which benefits the American Cancer Society. Thank you, Virginia Spiegel and Karen Stiehl Osborn for all of your hard work on this project!

I donated 3 collages for the sale this year, which are located on page 15 of the Collage Mania preview. Take a look, find something lovely and donate generously.

Posted 4/12/09

This is my monthly journal quilt for April, 4/12 2009, 12″ x 12″. The way I figure it, April is almost over for me due to lots of things going on over the next 2 weeks, so I figured I better get to it!

This piece is created in the same way my small lines series is constructed. For this piece, I began with a background piece of fabric that I painted with blue/aqua paint with a handmade stamp. I then took a piece of purple fabric that I painted, cut it into strips and fused it to the background. I then sandwiched it with batting and backing and quilted it. Then, I cut it up into lots of pieces and reassembled them with a zig zag stitch. It’s a fun stripey puzzle to re-stitch together. I machine quilted over it some more and then finished it with a zig zag stitch around the edges.

This piece is for sale in my etsy shop.

Posted 3/23/09

This is my monthly journal quilt for March, 3/12 2009, 12″ x 12″, mounted to stretched canvas.

This piece started with a sketch from my sketchbook last month, and then took a different road while I was making it!  I started this piece with a purple piece of my hand dyed fabric for the background. I then used a foam stamp to print circles on the background with 3 colors of purple textile paints. I then added the two flowers by fusing fabric to the background. The purple circles are from a single piece of my hand dyed fabric that had tons of color variation in it. The green stems are from a commercial batik fabric. To finish the piece, I quilted it with wavy lines with a purple variegated cotton thread. I then zig zagged the edges and went to water the lawn. Happy spring!

This piece is for sale in my etsy shop.

Posted 2/9/09

Detail, Lines IV, 13″ x 13″

What a great opening! I attended the opening reception for the Copper Shade Tree Gallery on Friday, and met an amazing group of artists! This show includes work of many wonderful fiber artists, whose work is diverse and interesting. I am excited to find their blogs and see more of these artist’s journeys. It was a real pleasure to attend and have my work as a part of the exhibit. Artwork that didn’t get snatched up at the opening will be up on their website this week!

Thank you, Gerald and Debbie for a great show.  “It’s not a quilt…or is it?” will be available through February 28, 2009.

Posted 1/30/09

This a little new work, titled” Tin can, rusted”, 5″ x 7″, mounted on stretched canvas. It is for sale for $30 in my etsy shop.

Now for the quick departure. Both of my sisters, prague and provo, blogged about the following questions, and I found their answers surprising and interesting.

1. What book have you read the most times in your life?
2. What movie/tv episode/whatever as long as it’s a video of some sort have you seen the most times?
3. What person do you talk to the most?

My answers:

1. I really love reading non-fiction and arty things, so fiction and reading a book cover to cover takes a back seat. Currently on my bedside table is a gift from my sis-in-law, Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay. I think most read book hails from younger years. I’m pretty sure it’s Cheaper by the Dozen, by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank B. Gilbreth. A very funny book. If it was which “author” have you read the most times, it would definitely be Dick Francis.

2. As my linguist sister noted, The Philadelphia Story is a movie I saw so many times as a kid that I have the words memorized. However, as an adult, I often keep the tv/movies on while quilting and making art. I don’t “see” a lot of the movie, but I hear the words and music over and over. I get stupid every time The Italian Job is on tv, and can’t turn it off, so I’d have to say it’s a huge contender. As my husband says, “You love a good caper.”  However, for the lifetime win, I’m going to give my full vote though to Grease, for most watched. It’s classic.  I do have a feeling Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog will top the charts one of these days though.

3. If talking on the phone counts, then my other half, who is only half here.

Posted 1/28/09

This is my first monthly journal quilt of 2009, 1/12 2009, 12″ x 12″, mounted to stretched canvas.

I really enjoyed the surprises that happened in this piece, and aside from the colors, I didn’t have a specific plan before I started painting. I’m really interested in a brown/turquoise/deep red color combination right now, so I knew I wanted to work with that scheme.  I started with a piece of fabric that I rusted this month, using some new-to-me rusty bolts and a rusty can that were gifted to me (thanks d & j!) I used a thermofax screen that I made to make the turquoise “flowers, and an eraser stamp to create the red dots, and I hand painted the greenery. I machine quilted it with a rust-colored brown thread. It is mounted to stretched canvas, so it is ready to display! This piece is for sale in my etsy shop. 

So, for my new 2009 journal project, here are my few simple rules: Create a piece monthly, to total 12 for 2009.  Size: 12″ x 12″, mounted to stretched canvas. That’s it! I’m really looking forward to the challenge of a square shape and a new size, all good things to work my brain harder.

Posted 1/15/09

I’ve been exploring some new ways to present smaller work. I had a local gallery show last fall, and I was unimpressed with the way that my small pieces looked in that setting.   I attached hanging sleeves to some of my smaller work, and I don’t like it for the really small stuff.  I really enjoy working small, and the pieces are much more affordable for buyers, so I really need to find a way to present them!

I attached my journal quilt 47/52 2008 with acid free YES! paste to an archival artist’s panel. I then used a “shadow box” frame from Michael’s to house the panel so that it had some space between the artwork and the glass. This solution cost me about $11.00 for the canvas panel and frame (with the frame 40% off).  I definitely like the way it looks framed, and I like that the work is ready to hang for the buyer, but this solution is a bit expensive.

This piece just went to the Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top, Texas for the “It’s not a quilt…or is it? show in February.  I’d also like to send a shout out to my fab husband for dropping them off on his trek to work, which saved me several hours of driving!

P.S. Don’t you just love the little bit of green wall peeking out the photo? I heart our house paint colors.

Posted 1/13/09

Lines IV, Lines V, and Lines VI - 13″ x 13″ each

Lines IV is off to the Copper Shade Tree Gallery tomorrow for the “It’s not a  quilt…or is it?” show, along with several of my other pieces.  The show and sale is February 6- February 29, 2009 in RoundTop, Texas, with 18 textile artists represented. Come and join us for the reception on February 6th, from 6pm-9pm. Food, wine, and art. How can you miss? Come on out and buy something lovely to take home with you!

Posted 12/7/08

This is my weekly journal quilt 47/52 2008, 6″ x 8″. This was a really fun piece to make. I had no plan, and just took it as it came. I started with a full cloth background of the yellow batik with limey green spots. I added leftover pieces from cutting the leaves on 46/52 2008. (Those leaves create a lot of leftovers!) Then I cut a sponge in the shape of one of the tiny teardrop shapes on the batik and stamped on the piece with orange paint. I then used an eraser tip to paint green dots on the piece. I knew it needed something else, so I started painting branches in green, which turned into tree shapes. I finished the piece off with quilting in yellow and green variegated threads. I put a plain back on it and zigzagged the edges.  My husband says it looks like an underwater view of coral and seaweed, which I can totally see.

This piece is for sale for $30 in my etsy shop.