Saturday, September 06, 2008

New Work and the Rejected Journal Quilt

So, first we have the rejected journal quilt...it was created as the San Francisco Bay Area was sweltering under high heat and a large amount of smoke in the air from fires both north and south of us. A double whammy. All I could think of was HOT!

I have finally given you an image to look at...

And now, the gratuitous images of the grandsons:
Ashton in our new stroller to take him out for walks...Doug brought it back from a Montana yard sale

And of course we have to have a picture of the two boys, Ashton and Jacob...Jacob has his power drill (without the bit) shinning in his face...it becomes many different things for him.

This piece is tentatively called Pathways and was done on Labor Day...I need to face it or bind it...not sure which. This isn't very big...about 30 x 24 or so
And here is a detail. It is all made from batiks but dark ones.
The same day I did this one which is a going back to my underwater world. Not sure what to call it yet. The black background is not quilted at all. It's only somewhere around 24 x 24"
Best of all...I have a new assistant! Rachel is a junior in high school and is now working for me for five hours a week. Yesterday she went through returned postcards and corrected addresses and deleted names that we don't have good addresses for and also got entered several mailing lists that needed to be added. That felt so good!

Today she went sorting through a bunch of my ephemera so I could be a little more organized. It also got rid of a box. I scanned 400 photos today of non-family for use with my collages. That got three big envelops down to one small box...at some point I will put ephemera packages up for sale.

I have decided it is time to get rid of a bunch of traditional quilting books that I haven't look at for years so will be posting those before long.

And, my Better Art by Design Class starts up on line on Sept 19! There is still room available! Sign up via the side bar.

11 comments:

Alison Schwabe said...

I have found passing on books such as you mentioned, and similar magazines, even fabrics if you like - all adds to your feeling of committment and a sense of being less burdened by the past. It might be an age thing, too, as I see we are in the same grouping and feel the same as you do. I passed on stuff fairly recently to a group of very traditional quilters here... a mountain of QNMs and several how-to books I thought I might use in teaching some time....

Linda Branch Dunn said...

Your journal piece is so full of life and movement. Maybe it is the start of a new direction for you. It illustrates passion, fire. Try more!

Tanya Brown said...

I saw your note on the QuiltArt list and thought I'd drop by.

Your journal quilt really does capture the sensation of crackling heat. Skeletal trees, angry flames; it's very passionate. Something tells me that the jurors had a rough decision in letting this one get away!

Norma Schlager said...

Your Journal piece certainly conveys the feeling of fire and smoke.
I like your Pathways, too, but have you considered rotating it to a horizontal orientation?
AND your grandchildren are adorable!

Sherryl said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sherryl said...

I like the 2 new pieces. The first one looks like an Aztec piece. Your JQ is hot!

Lora Martin said...

Hi Liz, I think the journal piece is great. It feels like fire and smoke and that irritable/jumpy kind of feeling that can happen when one is uncomfortable.

And, those boys! Don't you love it when they have toys that serve many different purposes? It's so creative.

Gerrie said...

Wow! Up close, that jq is realing burning hot. Not sure I am thrilled with it, however. I like your more abstract work, don't ya know!!

Like Pathways, the quilting is wonderful. I do like the underwater piece, too. I feel as if the bubbles are about to float out of view.

Carole said...

Hi Liz, saw your post on QA and had to have a 'see' why someone like you with your talents would join the ranks of the rest ofus in the 'released' category. I really like your 'hot' piece, it really conveys heat... exactly as your were feeling in your description.
I love the last piece you posted... the colors are just great, and your quilting on pathways....is superb.

Back to the JQ... I think a lot of us took the wording of the challenge literal... as in the whole and I am starting to think they were looking for an 'element' of each/all. If I did it again, I would probably do something 'earth'-y... maybe worms......mushrooms, toadstools...

Thank you for posting and the invitation to visit.

Sarah Ann Smith said...

Liz: for Pathways, I totally vote for a facing...definitely not a binding... or (one of my favorites) couch yarn on the outside edge. I like this chenille yarn (Lion Brand of all things, available at places like WalMart!)...it is round, fuzzy, just the right diameter for a quilt. I have a bunch of different colors. I'd use the cream on most of the quilt, then splice in dark on the areas where the stones touch the edges if the white doesn't look suitable all the way around. Or heck, a dark purple / plum might work, too........

Anyway, I'm sorry you didn't get in to the Journal quilt this year, but will confess I feel less bad when I'm in your company.....

Cheers, Sarah

Vivien Zepf said...

I like your JQ; I was in California in May during the fires and your quilt really conveys how smoldering it was. I love Pathways: the colors and the quilting. My indecisive vote is for facing. (Real helpful, huh?)