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.