more on challenge - and an UPDATE

Lynn Mattingly just e-mailed me the piece in which she used my pink fabric. (approx 16" by 17") the quilt is a finger labyrinth. You can trace your finger on the labyrinth, one path in, which you turn and follow out again. the path is the background, the "walls" are formed by the lighter fabrics. Your fabric forms two arches into other spaces (VERY subtle) which is what labyrinths do. They can balance your left and right brains, and take you into meditative space.

It is, indeed, pacific and meditative. Thanks, Lynn!

Spurred on by the success of the challenge in my class (see previous post), I got busy in my studio yesterday while I was sorting through the mountains of cloth. Pulled out a piece I hadn't seen in ages and threw it at the wall. Then began auditioning. You probably know by now that this is how I work. On the wall, arrange, re-arrange, substitute, change proportions, and then sometimes, remove from wall and forget about it. Three of these fabrics have already been on the wall in other pieces which never quite came together. At any rate - to return to my original thought in the title of this post...looking at the first audition above, I realized I was working with only two colors (plus black, which doesn't count). "Hmmmm...," I thought, "what if I were to set myself a challenge to work with only two colors (plus black, if needed)? How crazy would I drive myself?" I think I'll explore the idea and find out. AND, to add to things, I have another piece of similar pink to the one I gave out and think I may (gulp) see if I can use it in a small piece. Am I biting off more than I can chew?? On another subject -- the other day I discovered the most elegant blog I have seen in a long time: Running With Scissors Studio. Running with Scissors Studio is a Canadian on-line shop (yes! Canadian readers- another beautiful source for fibre supplies and books) and this is their blog. There are engaging interviews with Linda and Laura Kemshall, as well as with Maggie Grey -- and I spent more than a bit of time reading them. When I clicked over to their shop, it was nice to see that they carry my book, along with some other beautiful and intriguing books I might like to get my hands on (as IF I need more books). Anyway, check it out - the interviews are fun to read! That's it for the moment. I have finally put the facing on my as-yet-unnamed blue and white (and black) whole cloth you all commented on recently. And I have another facing to do tonight while I contemplate what's on my wall. I brought it home because the rest of the week is fraught with appointments and I probably won't get to the studio for any length of time.

a couple of challenges

When I was teaching Jump-Starting the Art Quilt in Grand Junction last month (after 2 days of printing) one of our exercises was "working from the fabric." There are lots of ways to get inspired - and this is one of them: starting with a piece of fabric that has colors or design you want to use for a jumping-off place. Nobody in the class could decide which of their fabrics to use as a starting point so I offered a piece of my own fabric, which was greeted enthusiastically. I tore it into pieces and distributed it, with the request that the class send me pictures of the pieces they had finished. I promised to post the results here. So far, I have four finished pieces and if/when the others come in, I'll post those, too. This is a smidgen of the fabric.

from Carole O'Brien "No Birds Just Plaid". It's 17 1/2 " x 12". This was a fun challenge, and I really do like the fabric even though it's not a color I use very often.

From Terry Lee I really enjoyed the fabric challenge. I didn’t really tweak the design much from what I started. I decided to try going through different color threads that were in my color palate. Then added some Angelina Fiber and beads to give the flower some pizzazz. Again, thanks for a great class.

From Beverly Hart

Can't wait to see what everyone else did.

from Cathy Stewart

I was stumped by what to do with the challenge fabric. Pink isn't a color I use at all. It's just not me. I thermofaxed in gray on it, I used the screen print fabric from class and added another piece of fabric which I painted and printed on. I also used the pink challenge fabric as applique motifs. I find it very exciting to see how differently the pink (not my color either!!) fabric was used in all of these pieces. And since I have deconstructed another piece that is similar, I am going to challenge myself to use it. Thanks to all of you for meeting this challenge so beautifully and uniquely.

Saturday's output

Taking a break from filling trash bags with shredded checks and paid bills from 1994-9, I went back to the wall. I slashed this block (sorry for the fuzzy pic) a few times and sewed it back together.

Now it looks like this. Maybe someday all these sliced/diced blocks will go into a zinger of a baby quilt; I certainly don't consider them to be art.

Going to an art opening last night was therapeutic; one of the artists worked in glass mosaic and paint and when my friend Sujata (also an artist) asked her what made her pick glass, her answer was "I needed therapy, so I started breaking glass." It made us smile, but she might not have been joking. It was dark in the café where the exhibit was so I really couldn't get any pictures. The other artist was my friend Ritika, who paints on silk and really does beautiful work. We all seem to be running in place right now, but I expect we will get ourselves moving in due course. Last night, after we got home, I was inspired to pick up this piece of paper I had waxed, dyed, and screened on about 3 years ago and mount it on a piece of some sort of fiber. We will see if it goes anywhere from here. Right now, we are off to pick up my mother and go to my daughter's where we will be fed at a mother's day get-together with her in-laws. I think I will take my two quilts that need the facings hand-sewn down: my hands need to stay busy. Hope all the mothers reading this have/had/will have a good day.

spring cleaning & playtime

I have a big green Rubbermaid bin in the basement which is full of scraps, blocks and UFOs from decades ago. What propelled me down there this morning? Perhaps the spring cleaning bug (HUH? ME?), or the desire to keep one step ahead of the housekeeper (nah - she doesn't go into the storage area). Maybe I am just retreating to therapy sewing to counteract the stress vibes that are buzzing in the air these days. At any rate, while I was pawing through the fabrics in the recesses of my basement, I came across these two before & after blocks and smiled. Then the light went on! This was a sample for a class I taught a number of years ago, called Reinventing the UFO All levels 2 days Get those UFOS out of hiding and bring them to class. Half-finished tops, random blocks and things you’ll never finish as they are. You’ll spontaneously slice, dice, add strips, and completely transform those stalled projects into beautiful quilts you never imagined you could make. What do you have to lose? The workshops were a big hit, but then my book came out and I've been teaching mostly surface design. However, this is such a fun class - and so appropriate for now, when we are tuned in to recycle-reuse more than ever that I've put it back into my class offering list. Now I have decided to do my own Reinventing project with the leftover blocks from the basement bin. Here are just a few that happen to work together. There are lots of others that don't-- this is another "what was I thinking????" piece that is godawful. I need to take it apart NOW. These last few weeks I seem to have have lost the ability to be playful; I've been too focused on making something "good" and as a result, the fun has gone away. So - fun, it is! I am not going to worry about serious art - I am going to reinvent these traditional blocks and see what happens! Here are a couple of blocks I did several years ago - I think I just sewed strips, cut them and resewed them randomly. Look at that energy!! I had a bunch of them but have used them in other pieces. This one, Forever Plaid, 18"x18" has a stimulus price of only $300. I used others in the piece I made for "Dwellings,"an invitational exhibit. I called it "I Walked my Feet off Looking for a Place to Live." It also incorporates fabric I printed with construction fence while I was on camera for Simply Quilts. Yes, it is for sale. 41"h x 35.5" and I have drastically reduced the price from $2500 to less than half of that. E-mail me if you are interested. Hmm...this post has taken on a life of its own. I was going to cut and sew tonight and instead, I have blathered on. Perhaps I should start cutting and sewing in the morning.

more on Thursday's wall

Today was a studio day, through sun, terrible thunderstorms and sun again - just in time for me to leave for home, thank goodness. Being away from the studio for a couple of days stalled my momentum (which didn't need a lot of help in that department) and I was throwing stuff at the wall. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that I am working on a tree series in every permutation. I figure that some of it will go toward what Sandy Donnabed calls the crap quota. I had put some discharged fabrics up on the wall and my friend and studio mom, Mona, who poked her head in for a minute, absolutely flipped. Please understand that she does not work with textiles and discharge was totally new to her -- and she thought these pieces comprised a body of work worthy of an exhibit. that's what happens when an artist coming from a different discipline looks with fresh eyes at our work. Here are just a couple of the pieces I had on the wall. I have a long way to go before I decide about these pieces. In the meantime, early to bed (well, comparatively - it is closer to 11:pm than to 2:am. My housekeeper comes tomorrow and I need to be up and about before she gets here so I can neaten up. Know what I mean?

on the wall

If you live in Wisconsin...

jessica kleiman's latest tweet - and she is a foodie who knows whereof she speaks - so listen up!! Anyone who lives in WI: Go to the Hartford Bistro. It's delicious French food and I fear it won't stay open!

what was I thinking? and more

In early April I gave a workshop for Sisters in Cloth at the Guilford Arts Center in CT. Among the pictures I took was this fabric printed by Diane Wright. I thought it was stunning and as you can see, it is layered - the leaves are Thermofaxed from a screen I brought with me for the class to use in case they didn't have Thermofaxes of their own. As I always do when I teach, I ask the class to send me pictures of anything they made with the fabrics they had printed. I LOVE to see what people do next with their raw materials. Periodically, I am rewarded and this is one of those times. Today's e-mail brought a picure of what Diane did with this fabric. Not only is it drop-dead gorgeous, but to fully appreciate it you must go to her blog and read the back story. It adds another layer to this piece of art.A few years ago Diane was in my Jump-Starting the Art Quilt class when I gave it for her guild and her work has just gotten better and better since then! (I'm not taking credit for her success - she just needed a jump-start and she was off and running). I'm teaching Jump-Starting as a 3 day class at Quilting By the Lake in Syracuse, NY in July and there are still some openings, so if you're even remotely thinking about it - don't wait. Looking at this piece, which uses log-cabin-like construction and hand quilting, made me wonder what ever happened to a couple of tops I made eons ago and never finished. I opened the steamer trunk and lo and behold, there they were. Lest you forget that I began with humble origins... WHAT WAS I THINKING? #1

It was probably 1976. My next door neighbor's mother had worked in a garment factory and Connie, seeing that I made quilts, offered me STACKS of these leftover polka-dot fabrics in red and blue. Being the bicentennial year, it seemed appropriate to use them. TA DA!!Don't you want a closer look at this wonderful piece of op art??

I was still cutting every piece out with scissors (there were no rotary cutters) and I was hand-piecing, although I did put the poly/cotton border on by machine. Oy! So what do I do with this thing? All that hand work - not sure if I can bear to slash and redo it. WHAT WAS I THINKING? #2 This was later - probably early 80's because by this time I was piecing by machine. Mauve and brown. Good grief - a wonderful combination but so dated! I actually like it but not enough to finish it. This one I could probably cut up and redo without much pain,but is it worth it? I am blocked these days and need some therapy sewing - but not sure this is it.

Just look at all those ditsy prints. Oh, dear. What next?

I had to stay home today to wait for Comcast to show up and fix the tv so I puttered around, cleaning my sewing room (what else is new?) and actully had some stuff on the wall before I got distracted by these "vintage" beauties. Back to the wall and we'll see what transpires.

art redux

Yesterday's art exhibit in the Valley was split into two locations: the second was a gallery and the back lot behind it, several blocks away. We walked through the neighborhood and along the way, there was art in some unexpected places. You had to be looking for it. This assemblage was on the door of a rather run-down building. You can see the graffiti - typical of the neighborhood. You really need to click on the picture to see it well. Marty and I had a discussion of whether graffiti is art or not and decided that lots of it is, except when it is defacing or covering up other art that is there. I didn't take a picture of a wonderful mural that had been spoiled by some spray painted graffiti. Boo, hiss. Here is another door with art attached: I forget the title -- something about a witch. When we passed this window, I thought at first it was art but then decided it was not meant to be part of the exhibit; it is authentic street art, which I frankly preferred to the assemblages. The gallery had more of the cut tyvek pieces and this piece of art which was actually making a social statement - but you had to read the notebook that was part of the installation to understand what it was about. Too long to go into. Visually, however, this was another of my favorites. As we walked back to our starting point to make one more walk through the first exhibit, we ran into a couple of guys from the neighborhood standing outside the gloomy-looking corner bar owned by one of them. The bar-owner was excited about the arts district, hoping, no doubt, that it would bring business into his watering hole and persuade new customers to eat his meatball sandwiches and fries along with their drinks. Uh - maybe next time. He also told us that this building on the diagonal corner of the next block, was going to be rehabbed and turned into a restaurant. (I had actually shot this picture before we knew this). I love the idea of all these dreams coming to fruition - although it will be a long process. By the time we were ready to leave the original exhibit, I had decided I was going to drive away with my own found object. Earlier, as we had explored the factory's compex's nooks and crannies, I spotted an object on one of the brick sills at the right rear of this picture. I do not know what it is or what I am going to do with it; however, I had no choice but to liberate it from its lonely perch. For the moment, IT (because I haven't decided on a gender) is in the garden, leaning up against my wall. Frog prince? Hooker? Yard art? Sculpture? Or just another piece of junk? I don't know -- but he or she makes me smile. And smiles are always good!

Yes,there was time for art

This evening - an art opening of Uncharted Territory. -- a site specific exhibit. Several years ago I was part of a preliminary planning committee for creating an arts district out of the "Valley" - the eastern part of West Orange and the Western part of Orange, which come together there. The area, which used to be highly industrial -- was home to the Berg, Stetson, and NoName Hat Factories and Monroe Calculator (among others). Long story short: Today, thanks to grants, funding, and hard work by the nonprofit HANDS, INC, Valley Arts is becoming a reality (s-l-o-w-l-y but surely). Tonight's opening in the back section of the old Monroe Calculator building, now Harvard Printing, was an invitational to about 20 artists to create site-specific installations. Food, wine, and plenty of people - although the space was so vast that it didn't look like there were as many as were actually there. Enormous cut-paper (well, actually, Tyvek) pieces hung from the rafters. Debby Ugoretz, one of my studio mates, does this kind of work, but smaller. However, it is her livelihood, not necessarily anything she wants to do as Art. Here is a closer look at one of the pieces. It was really hard to get a picture of these.

but I love this view of the same piece, taken without a flash.

My personal favorite was an installation called Us in a Box by the artist Evonne Davis. This was only one piece in a huge installation on the floor of railroad spikes arranged differently in boxes of different sizes, filled with sand. I couldn't get a picture of the whole installation unless I flew above the show and my other pix came out fuzzy (what else is new?)-- but the variation and harmony (and "repurposed" found objects, of course) spoke to me. . more art... Ah - an interactive installation: a hair braiding lesson chages the look of the art.

to be continued in the morning.

end of a long week

We spent yesterday doing errands and and came home with a thick stack of forms that have to be filled out and returned to their respective locations. We have our weekend cut out for us! We had to go to Newark to take care of some business so we parked at the museum and after all the business errands we treated ourselves to an hour or so of ART!! There is a wonderful exhibit called: Unbounded:New Art for a New Century. My favorite section was called Mixed Messages -- if you read the description, you'll understand why. The exhibit included work by Martin Puryear (at left) a woodblock print by Willie Cole, and paintings by Wosene Worke Kosrof, whose work captivated me enough to buy a book. There was much more, too - including a couple of quilts; one of which I thought was a poor choice because it was a pretty ordinary string quilt made by someone who used to own a fabric store. The quilt included a lot of African fabrics - which does not make it art. But the decorative arts curator at the museum happens to like traditional quilts. Last night I was up fairly late putting the facing onto this now-stitched piece which still does not have a name I am happy with -- although some of you have given me an interesting perspective of what you see. Would like to hear from the rest of you who were too reticent to say.I also started attaching a facing to another piece that has been sitting here for months, so I feel that I am making progress. Sleeves are another matter. Speaking of quilts, I have to remember to send out X-Post Facto, which will be in an exhibit at the Columbus, OH Cultural Arts Center from May 18-June 20. If you are in the area, go see the exhibit, which promises to be top-notch. I wish I could be there but I have another commitment. In the meantime, it must have rained last night because my postage stamp garden in the front of the house is looking pretty lush this morning. Signs of hope. After I post, it's back to filling out forms, going to the supermarket, and visiting my mother. Will there be time today for art?