lots of pictures!

This is a photo of a joshua tree in the Tehachipi Mountains in southern California taken as we whizzed by on our way home.
And these are three pictures of the wind generators along the Altamont Pass about 20 miles from where we live, also on our way home. The sky was beautiful in its stormy state.

This is the piece I will be donating for the reverse auction at Fiber Art for a Cause to raise money for the American Cancer Society. You can find information about this at Virginia Spiegel's web site. It is 18" x 22".

It is a piece done with disperse dyes on to polyester...don't let poly fool you...it feels exactly like silk and acts just as slippery.

This is a piece that is really square and that I am in the process of quilting via small zig zag stitching around all of the shapes. This is also small....16" x 19"












And this is a piece in progress. I am using the fabrics I dyed a month ago. I also use Esterita Austin's Misty Fuse which I really like. I have ordered a large sheet of teflon that will be 72" x 36" so that I can iron the fusing on in large pieces and not have to pull off the teflon and then iron some more. I am having a lot of fun with this piece figuring out what to do next, cutting out little pieces, pulling out more colors and watching it grown. So far it is about 33" x 37"...if I give it water and food, I'm sure it will grow some more.

On Friday I will see my college room mate (another artist) when she flies in...I'll pick her up at the airport and we can visit for about three hours and then I return her to the airport so she can catch the van to her conference. But...I'm not done yet! I then pick up Gerrie Congdon who is flying in from Portland for Art Quilt Claremont where we are both taking a class from Jane Dunnewold. I had initially planned to be a day student since I live about 20 minutes from the Hotel Claremont. But then I started thinking about how tired I get and that I would be coming home after dinner and need to be there before breakfast...so I decided to get a room and asked for a room mate...Gerrie had also asked for a room mate and when I found out it was her I was very excited and emailed her right away.

I am very fond on Gerrie. Several years ago we were both in an Empty Spools seminar with Nikki Bonnet. When Nikki came in to the classroom, Gerrie asked to see the class list and then commented that "Liz Berg is in the class!" I didn't have a clue as to who she was and she obviously didn't know me in person, just my work. That was the first time someone had heard of me. So, being sly, I asked her how she knew Liz Berg and she replied that she was a great fiber artist whose work was just wonderful. Well, with my head in the clouds, I had to admit that I was she...what fun! She sure made my day!

Article finished

I got the second part of the Art of Abstraction finished today for Quilting Arts Magazine. What a relief! I did a number of small pieces to go with it to use to discuss the principles of design. I hope it is understandable.

I have been at work on this for the past three days solid. I had started the article while I was in Phoenix but was so sick the entire time that I couldn't get any of the work done and until I had, I couldn't finish the article. Got back and had to get everything together for the quilt show.

Now I feel like a big load is off my back!

Tonight is the opening of the Traditions Transformed Contemporary Quilt Exhibition at the Textile Center Joan Mondale Gallery in Minneapolis, MN. Jan Myers-Newberry was the juror and I feel so honored to be in that show. Work from only eleven artists was selected. Sure would have loved to have gone to the opening tonight!

But got another rejection for another show...you get accepted in some and some don't understand why they should have your work. Oh well, got to go through all those calls for entry to see what I should be entering in...such work!

Glory Daze

Well, I have finished vending at the East Bay Heritage Quilters Show in Oakland this week. I made major use of my quilt on the cover of Quilting Arts. My booth had hand dyed fat quarters, embellishing yarns and about ten of my quilts which were hanging on the walls, plus other small pieces matted and in the bin, framed or stitched on to cotton duck and stretched on stretcher bars.

One wall had my quilt from the cover hanging, the magazine up on the wall and the two small pieces, the mailboxes and the kelp, pieces on the same wall. Boy did that draw a crowd! I was just glowing in the positive thoughts and comments from everyone. Of course, I told everyone that that quilt on the cover was looking for a new home! Someone bought the kelp piece and hadn't seen the magazine so she was off to find a copy so she would have it to go with the mounted piece.

I must say, it was great fun! Both days! On Saturday, our list mom, Diane came by and said all sorts of good things and it just went on from there. And then people started telling me that Diane had written about the cover in her blog so last night I was reading everyone's blogs, starting with hers! That was so sweet of her to do! I haven't even gotten the cover up on my blog yet.

People would stop, look at the quilt, say they had seen it somewhere and then it would dawn on them when they saw the cover. I have received so many compliments on the quilt and the cover and even from the people who have read the article! Some have even said they can hardly wait to read the next one (guess I better get writting!)

Then this morning I did a demonstartion of surface design with found objects (yes, Rayna Gilman, I know that is your thing!) for a hour and a half. That was lots of fun. I had recently found a really neat drain trap to print from and of course everyone loved my plastic hot pad with the waves...they also come with bubbles/circles! Had lots of fun showing how to do the monoprints and pull off textures with all the items, too.

Didn't sell very much, did make my expenses but not alot more, but did make lots of contacts and had lots of people talking to me and wanting to know about classes. I was smart and brought my teaching brochures with me! Smart for once!

Gwen Marstan and Freddy Moran were both there doing a demonstration on their work and talked about their new book coming out. Gwen spent a lot of time looking at my work and talking with me...made me feel important!

Got my postcards off to Virginia yesterday.

After taking my dad around for his errands tomorrow, I start making art for the new article...have part of it written so the rest is about the art and how to use all those principles of design! I'll make artists out of everyone yet!

Here I Am!

Just got ten postcards finished for Virginia Spiegle's Art for a Cause for the American Cancer Society to sell at the Chicago show. They are all "Study in Orange" and were done with a monoprint, then rubbings, stamping, fused shiny organza and then satin stitched.

I've been in Phoenix for two weeks and have been really sick with a cold. So, things that I had planned to do while I was gone I wasn't able to do except to take new work to the Textures Gallery in Scottsdale.

The past two weeks

Spring has sprung but this is two weeks ago when we were having 70 degree weather. Now we are down in the 50's. I know that isn't very cold to those of you who are still in the snow but it is cold to us here in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Couldn't do any dyeing outside because it was too cold and I don't have the space inside to do flat dyeing so it was low water emersion dyeing...about 100 yards as I have a show where I am vending....why do I do this?

The dyeing part isn't so bad...just the wasing out and the ironing...oh the ironing!

Piles and piles of cotton, silk, rayon and linen. Love the textures and can hardlyl wait to play with them.


And then I have about twenty things I have been playing with with disperse dyes...these two are only 8 x 11 but I do have one that is about 30 x 40 that I still have to quilt, as well as a lot more that are all in-between sizes...just having fun with this. The photos are really bad and out of shape as I just took snapshots of them.

















But this is what I have really been doing...discharging various black fabrics and this is the first piece I have done with the discharged stuff. It is a piece of fabric with lutradur behind it which has become a support for the very heavy satin stitching. Then, I stitched cording with the same thread as the satin stitching and added it on after the entire piece was quilted. But it is sewn down in places so is three dimensional and is really cool! This has been so much fun to do! This piece is about 40 x 30 or so.

So, got to go pack and get ready for a trip to Phoenix...

Super Stoked

I am so super stoked today!

Last night I finished my brand new piece and will post it in a day or two...very different and really cool, if I do say so myself!

My dh is gone for the next three days so last night I didn't go to bed until 1:30 am as I was busy finishing my piece and ripping fabric for dyeing which is what I am doing all day today.

Sent out a query to a gallery and got a reponse that they would like for me to come in to show them my work.

Then, this morning Pokey Bolton of Quilting Arts emailed me that she had received her advance copies of the next issue of QA and that my work looks wonderful on the COVER, did I say COVER??? Not only is the article six pages with one piece filling an entire page but on the cover!

Peel me off the ceiling right now...I have dyeing to do!

Running Fence Update

Well, the two running fence pieces have been picked up. The first is now titled Rainbow on the Running Fence and the second one is Blowing in the Wind.

If you are interested in purchasing these, you may contact Diane M. Smith, Curator, through her website.

Diane's website also provides further information about the project. She will be going to a gallery soon where she hopes to place the new pieces. Of course, I will be making more and will post them here, first.

Twice in one day

Here is Running Fence 2 which has been colored with disperse dyes and satin stitched. I can't believe how well this takes the disperse dyes!

Next piece will be much bigger...
This piece is 16 x 16".

The next one is 14.5 x 17.5"

Long time no see

It has really been a long time since I updated my blog. I have really enjoyed seeing my work
show up on Sonji's site and Melody's site as both went to the opening at Art and Soul of Quilting. It looked like a wonderful show, I sure wish that I could have been there.

Although I haven't been on my blog, I have been busy. Still working at organizing my studio but got out my disperse dyes and started playing with them. Boy, it is ever fun! The colors I am using are just vivid. I'll post a couple of finished pieces in a day or so.


Did go to our chapter of SAQA and saw everyone there and got updated on what is happening in the chapter.

I have finished the first of two of my running fences pieces. I have been given fabric from Christo's running fench which was in Sonoma County many years ago. My job it to use it in art so that it can be sold. Then I split the profits from the woman who is doing the marketing. This should be fun!

Art and more art

I've been doing a lot of different things lately. I haven't done my entry way for EDM (EveryDay Matters) but while I was waiting at the dentist's office, I did manage to sketch a little of their entry way...maybe this counts!

However, much to my dismay, I realized that the moleskine book I had gotten was not the sketch book and as you can see, the ink shows through from the other side.

So, Thursday, after spending part of the day with my dad and running him around for his errands, I stopped at the Dick Blick store on the way home. They didn't have any of the sketchbooks in the black cover but, at almost twice the price I could get one that supported the Van Gogh museum and was covered in lucious silk...well, the colors were absolutely wonderful...blue, gree, yellow, purple, orange, etc. Since I couldn't decide, I just had to get two for myself. Now I just have to decide if I want to carry around the purple one or the orange one.

And then the other day I was sketching in my regular sketchbook and did some blind contour drawings of my phone along with a pencil sketch. I haven't used pencil in forever and now I remember why...it seems so namby pamby (techinical term)














But, least you think that is all that I have accomplished, I did get my new quilt sandwiched and ready to start quilting...however, couldn't start because I had to finish a painting I had started.
So here is Angel in a Pear Tree.

And, then, here is the quilt sandwiched, ready to go and since I think I have finished the painting, I can start quilting!

working on new work

Saturday I taught a class on design for abstract quilting at a guild. What fun it was! I really put everyone through their paces and had them working pretty hard. The picture on the right is of mock-ups using geometric shapes and the one on the left is using organic shapes.









I really wished that I could have had time when I got home to get to work as I was really jazed about what they were doing. However, went out to celebrate Robert Burns' birthday at our church with pipers, dances, drums and haggis. Lots of fun.

Then Sunday was busy so didn't to get started although I puttered around and found myself doing a lot on the computer to avoid working on art.

Monday I puttered some more...really procrastinating about doing this...having feelings that my work just isn't very good, Melody is really on a roll, why can't I do beautiful stuff like hers...whine, whine...she got three big pieces done in the past two months and I haven't gotten anything done.

So Tuesday comes and I spent a lot of time fusing webbing to my fabrics. I really need to do a major dye job and get some clear colors done...I am so short on so many colors! So I worked with a lot of tones which seems to be where I am lately...issues around my father are keeping me down and bright colors are what I should do but just don't feel up to doing.

Finally got some stuff put up. The picture above has a center, paler piece changed to a darker piece which I like better.


This piece has the paler piece just below the lower middle...I don't think I like that. I have auditioned a couple of circles and think I like this one more which is more cheddar than the first one.

Well, today had to go off and do my song and dance to try to drum up some lecture and class business. My classes aren't for everyone...traditional quilters just aren't interested. Those who take the design and color classes come out with a lot of knowledge and feel much better about what they are doing then before they started. But got to have a class full of people who want to do that. Well, they came out with some good stuff.

Came home and caught up on some blogs and then futzed around with this piece, and actually did the blue and red swaures and lines today with several color changes and then did the circle. Still thinking about it all.

Well, at least my class Saturday will pay for my insurance for my business. What joy!

It's Getting Real!

Just got an edited version in the magazine set up for my article on "The Art of Abstraction" for Quilting Arts. This is about abstraction from a photograph and discusses the elements of design.

Oh, my goodness, they sure make me look good! It is so exciting to see what it will look like when the magazine comes out...this is for the spring issue of Quilting Arts.

Didn't know I could write so well!!! And they didn't even have to change very much! And the layout is absolutely wonderful...did I say...six pages? Yes, SIX PAGES!

And now I have to get started on the second article which will be about principles of design. And come up with some work for it!

I'm so excited!

Tagged

Getting tagged right now is the best thing to happen to me this year! That says a lot for this year, doesn't it?

Still can't find the missing piece...the Carnegie said to keep on looking and if I find it to let them know...that is so nice of them.

Tagged

4 jobs I've had: box office person at the theater at Trinity University when I was attending there, sales cleark in Macys, children's photographer in Macys, probation officer

4 movies I could watch over and over: none...I get really tired of seeing the same thing again...same with books, etc.

4 places I have lived: Hawaii, Texas, Japan, Virginia, California (and even more)

4 TV shows I love to watch: just getting in to Desperate Housewives, House, Monk, and....and....and...I'm not sure what else...there is one but I can't think of the name...and I really don't watch very much TV...maybe an hour or so a day, if that.

4 places I've been on vacation: all over the US, Japan, Scotland, Austria, and England

4 websites I visit daily: I don't have any that I go to daily. I visit some blogs regularly but not even daily on those.

4 favorite foods: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate turtles, and See's bourdeaux chocolate

4 places I would rather be: a new studio, Scotland, England, and New Mexico

4 albums I can't live without: well, let's just name the musicians instead: BBKing, Etta James, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker

Well, what have I learned from doing this? I can't count, I don't follow the rules, and I don't know much about what is happening on TV.

Gloom and Doom

Friday I called the Carnegie and told them that I could not find my piece that had been accepted. I told them I would call on Monday to let them know for sure.

Well, it is Sunday night and no quilt.

I have gone through the piles of quilts three times (where it should be) and so have two other people (well, at least once each)

My studio is almost absolutely clean. Everything has been gone through.

I have gone through all of my fabric drawers, pulled lots of fabric, given it away to four friends, put my hand dyes into drawers, filled up two bins with more hand dyes, tossed out a lot of scraps, put bigger scraps into a bin instead for eight different containers, got all my paints, glues, textures thingies put away. Put all the canvas and extra batting pieces together where they belong and still...

no quilt.

I have gone on a roller coaster ride of emotions during the past week. On Monday when I first started looking I thought, oh it must be under a pile on my drafting table. On Wed. I was still looking and starting to panic. On Thursday I felt resigned. On Friday I called and continued to clean and got people over to pick up fabric and get it out of the house. And Saturday I cleaned some more and last night and this morning I went through all of the quilts again, opening every one up, refolding, stacking old quilts in the closet, keeping newer pieces on the bed flat and still no quilt.

I just want to cry. Well, in fact I have. Partly because I don't like being this disoriented and not knowing where something is, and this is the third thing I have misplaced this past year that was very important to me and I still can't find, and because I really wanted to be in the show, and because I don't want to be blacklisted because I couldn't produce when I had told them I would.

I have followed everybody's advice. prayed to St. Andrew, prayed to God, searched high and low, looked where it should be, looked where it shouldn't be and still no quilt. Tomorrow, I call.

MAJOR PROBLEM

One of my pieces was accepted in the Form, Not Function: Quilt Art at the Carnegie. Yeah!
However, the piece is due to them tomorrow and I can not find it.

Anywhere.

Not in the pile of quilts where it should be.

Not under the pile of stuff on my drafting table.

Not under piles of fabric.

Not under anything.

It isn't even on top of anything.

I even had a friend come over and go through everything and she couldn't find it.

I haven't sold it.

It isn't out at another show.

I can not find it.

I have been doing serious cleaning in my studio as I have had to go through absolutely everything looking for it. It still isn't clean but I have gone through everything. I still have piles of fabric, etc but they are sorted...now I just need somewhere to put them...time to cull the stash again.

It's not in my quilt storage room, AKA the guest room, AKA the paper arts room. It isn't in an boxes for shipping.

I know I looked at it when I got the acceptance letter back in October.

Where oh where, has my little quilt gone?

To make matters worse, it is only 22 x 16"...I know, if I had made it bigger I could have found it.

I don't want to call the Carnegie tomorrow and tell them I can't find it.

Boo-hoo.....

2006--Here We Are

I look at other's blogs and I feel jealous...everyone seems to working away. I'm stuggling to find my studio again. Things have gotten so out of hand that I just can't work and I don't like that. So today I actually found my desktop where my computer sits...did website updating etc the other day having to lean over piles of papers. Had to go downstairs to sort the boxes of slides that I had picked up just before Christmas so that I can find them when I need to enter shows. I've also shredded tons of paper...mostly old bills etc that I don't need to hold on to but it freed up room in the file cabinet to put other financial papers that were sitting on top of my drafting table (which got there from my desk so I could work at my computer) and now they are in the file cabinent.

Next, find the drafting table. I've put away a bunch of fabric that I had piled around, got paints etc put away from their various totes, having gone to several retreats, etc.

I've gotten the article done, sold a couple of pieces, have to ship those off on Tuesday, and hopefully by Tuesday, I will be ready to rock and roll. I have several large pieces in my head. I have started working on one of the Christo fence pieces which I am doing by hand, and as I work, I come up with more ideas.

I received my disperse dyes which have been waiting for me to finish up that big batch of work I just did. Boy, am I glad those are done...just can't leave things uncompleted...can't have too many things on the burner at once although I usually have a couple of things.

Well, it is the beginning of the new year. We finally got notice that the property next door is actually going to be developed as hearings have been set for the area advisory board to okay the plans, and then the final hearing at the planning department. That means the land swap will take place and we can actually start the planning for our new gargage next to the house... The only reason I care about the garage, which will house the motorhome, is that I get half of the upstairs for my dream studio. I thought when we built this house that my studio would be big enough but it sure isn't. At the time, I wasn't painting and dyeing fabrics and doing all this surface design, which of course, needs more space. My new studio, if it gets okayed by the planning department, will have an outside door so I can participate in open studios, and will have a dry area and a wet area. It will be about 15 " x 45" or maybe longer...depends upon how big my husband goes with his garage part. Oh, I'm starting to drool! I figure at least 30 linear feet of table space for dyeing and painting. And none of that near my sewing stuff. Storage for fabrics, storage for quilts (not on the guest bed), storage for all my paints...I just drool thinking about it.

Wishing you are a Happy New Year!

Every Day Matters

As if I don't have enough to do in my life, I have taken up the challenge of Every Day Matters on Danny Gregory's site and have done my first recent contour drawing of spools of thread and then did a drawing of the thread, looking at them.

I've needed to get back in to the challenge of drawing again and back in to the real art world...the other yahoo group that I am in just doesn't seem to offer what I need.

Feeling Good

My son has just left us on his way back to Ohio. Five days is not enough but we spent a lot of time with my daughter, son-in-law, grandson and son and had a wonderful time. It was really nice not share my daughter and her family with her in-laws this year...just somuch more relaxed...last year they flew to PA and flew back on Christmas day so they were tired and everything seemed so rushed. Much better this year.

I am so excited! My first article for Quilting Arts will be in the spring issue so this month has been spent getting the article written, doing the art work for it, documenting it as I go, etc. It's there...they are doing their editing and I can hardly wait to see what it looks like when they finish. It is an article about the ART of art quilting and is abouting creating an abstract piece that is somewhat representational. I'm going to do another article on doing an abstract that is non-representations. The first article discusses the elements of design; the second will discuss the principles of design.

This is way too much fun! Hard work but really neat.

Goals for this year:
continue entering as many art and quilt shows as I can
find an art consultant
get my work on the east coast
set up one woman show
create, create, create

That should keep me busy!

Busy, busy, busy

I can't believe it has been so long since I blogged. Just too much going on.

I've finished an article for a magazine, got the art work completed, got all the other pictures that went with it done, and shipped off other work to be included. I've been working on this for three hard weeks and I'm really glad to have it out of my hands. Now I am waiting for the final word from the publisher.

Meanwhile, got all those new quilts off to be photographed, picked up the slides and CD disk for the digitals and dropped off the slides for duplication. Now, I just have to come up with titles for all those new things, catalog them and get them on my website, along with pricing.

I've being told that my prices are too low. Way too low...I guess in January I will have to go through everything and take a serious look and consider raising some prices. Have had a couple of small sales this month which helps but sure would like some more!

Last week my dear priest suggested that he could buy some purple fabric and maybe I would hem it for him for the altar frontal. Oh, he knows me so well...knows I would not be satisfied doing something temporary like that. So out came the white silk fabric, the paints and I cleared off the table and painted the beginning of an Advent frontal. It goes from rose to purple to blue from the bottom up. Put it up on Sunday last, took it down after service, took it homel, painted a big black movement of silver and then returned it to the altar. So, tomorrow it comes down for the other frontal I made to go up for Christmas and then I will continue to work on it during the year until Advent again...at least now I have time to do the rest of the stuff like the chasuble, veil, stole, etc. I've wanted to do an Advent one so I guess he just lite a fire under me.

Almost finished with his sheppard's costume for our Christmas pagent...first time we are doing one in years and years so we don't have a collection of appropriate robes for Mary and Joseph and all the others so people have been busy...I got to do the priest's stuff. Pretty plain!

Advent has been very special this year. It is a time of waiting and anticipating and thinking. I have been more in to the Christianity of Christmas this year than all the decorating and gift buying. I know on Thursday I will go absolutely crazy when I realize Ihaven't shopped for Christmas dinner and still have presents to get. But I have been working on my cards and Christmas letters and am almost ready to get those sent out...didn't get around to it last year!

Well, got to do the hem on this sheppard's robe....see ya!

The Rest of the New Work

Well, I have finished all the pieces of "Where Have All the Children Gone", at least the ones I had already started. So I will post them:

I have no idea why these are appearing into the last posting...it did this before...