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!