a day in the city

I caught the bus this morning and when I got out of the Port Authority terminal, here is what I saw across the street. I had seen this building a million times but somehow, this morning, the light caught it in a way that made it look spectacular.

I walked up 8th Avenue from 40th St. to  57th St.  It had been a long time since I had walked up 8th Ave. (as in, never?) and I was glad to see that some sleaziness remained.  I passed a couple of "Gentlemen's Clubs" and was gratified that not everything has been made "family friendly" and Disneyfied. Grit is essential to this city's character; there are plenty of clean, homogenized, boring cities around the country and we don't need one more.  My story and I'm sticking to it!

With a few extra minutes to spare before my appointment with the VP of PR for Hearst Magazines, I dashed into the gift shop at the Museum of Arts & Design (formerly - and more appropriately named the American Craft Museum). Didn't have time to see the exhibits but will get back there at some point.

This may not be art, but it is iconic and I had to take a picture because it is on every corner.  Man walking (or hand, as the case may be).

I have a friend who thinks this is the most ridiculous pose; that nobody walks that way. True. Have you ever seen anybody walk with his arms that way and his body leaning forward? of course not!  Try it next time you cross the street.  But oops,  evidently only men cross the street; have you ever seen a female represented on any of these crossing lights?

'Nuff said.  Tomorrow, I pack.

more studio time

Yesterday saw me in the studio again. Today I was home taking care of various chores, including putting labels on a box full of scarves that I will take with me when I lecture and teach at Empire Quilters over the weekend.

 

 this one amuses me.

Some are crepe de chine; others are chiffon and a little narrower than the crepe, but much longer - around 90".  Yummy.  I have scarves left in the studio that I won't have a chance to dye till next week.

I finished sewing down the facing on this piece, last night. At the moment, it is known as photo-73. No name.  It is 17"h x 14" w (give or take).

I also started stitching a piece I made for the book, which remains one of my favorites.  It is approx. 12"x 12". I suppose it will be finished next week., since tomorrow I will be in NY all day and ditto for Saturday and Sunday.

I was going to finish it tonight, but I am going to bed, instead.  A no-brainer.

Back in the studio

I am posting from iPhone and haven't figured out the photo posting yet. Spent Sunday & Monday dyeing/printing silk scarves, then steaming and ironing at home. Open studios May 6 so I have to have inventory.

Also had a private student who wanted to do something with an old seersucker suit. He did a great job with the jacket, which now is perfect with jeans. a great idea for a small studio class-- transform that useless garment! Any takers???:-)

wordless Wednesday - in case I don't have time to post today or tomorrow

even dark chocolate didn't help.

I was going to blog last night but nothing could revive me after another hectic, whirlwind weekend at Fiber Philadelphia. Happily, I had a chance to go back to Outside/Inside at the Crane and look at the art again without hordes of people. Right off the bat, ran into my old friends Linda Colsh and Cathy Kleeman.  There wasn't a lot of time to catch up, but we did manage to get our picture taken in front of Linda's big piece. (not that you can see it here).

  These life-size figures were made of film. Quite wonderful, I thought.

Since this piece was so large you had to walk around it, I was surprised to have missed it altogether last time I was there. 

Jason Pollen's wall of faces was simply amazing; my camera couldn't take it all in, but these few will give you an idea of his exhibit.  No two alike. 

The artist in residence at the Old Schoolhouse,Kay S. Lawrence, drew with her sewing machine on photos she had taken and printed out. 

In another gallery this fiber work captivated lots of people. Nails and string! Amazing. 

Just as captivating (to a bunch of surface design people) was the wall on which she was hanging. It looked like a piece of fabric that had been discharged and almost upastaged the art.

 

 

 

Most of the conference attendees had already been to the Highwire gallery by the time we got there for the official opening, but the show looked beautiful and the feedback was great!  Karen Cooper did a terrific job of curating and hanging the show and my work was in good company.

The city of Philadelphia is as much a work of art as anything else and I managed to get a couple of good pictures.  Here is one that inspires me.

More tomorrow.

it gets worse before it gets better

When I was writing my book, I wrote and sewed at home.  This was for my convenience, so that if I wanted to work till 2:am, I could.  But this also meant that I had to bring home bins and bins of fabrics from my studio.  I finished the book, then had an article or two to write, then had to get things ready for the DVD and the tv shows - so the piles of STUFF just got worse and worse as I worked.

Yesterday, I started to sort the thousands of strips of fabric so I could organize them -- at least till I start to work again.  I untangled and disengaged all of the hand-dyed strips and put them into plastic bags, sorted (more or less) by color. Since Helene Davis' hand-dyes are often layered with more than one color, this is not as straightforward as it might seem. But I coped and filled giant baggies with the strips I so dearly love to use in my work.

 While I was at it, I had to separate the hand-dyes from the strips of my own handprints and commercial stash fabrics -- some of them -- like the Kaffe strip on top of the pile -- from the Year One.  I will never use them all.  No matter; at least they are contained...till I start working again.

Along the way, I accumulated a pile of teeny strips - smidgens and trimmings and who-knows-what.
I (gasp) threw them away.

It will be no surprise to you that this is just the teeniest tip of the tip of the iceberg.  On my portable design wall (aka a bulletin board with batting) are a few strips I have already sewn together and have put there for temporary safekeeping.  I have separated the smaller, more varied strip sets and they are waiting their turn to be put into their own box.

Then there is the box that contains a collection of units I have made from strips and squares.  Do you think I need to make any more of these?

I am not yet  ready to tackle the bins of commercial stash, which I need to neaten up after having cut strips and used them with my other fabrics.  No picture of that pile - it is just too repulsive to look at.

But lest you think this is totally hopeless, these three small pieces - all having used a variety of strips, squares, commercial, hand-prints and UFO blocks, were on the same bulletin board last week. I have added facings and have started to sew them down in my spare moments.

Given the number of spare moments I will have in the next week, as I spend the weekend at Fiber Philadelphia and then continue cooking for Passover -- I should have these facings done by summer:-).

Cheers!

spring is sprung

More than a month early, the famous cherry blossoms in Branch Brook Park are in bloom. The park in Newark was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park and there are more of these beautiful trees in Newark than in Washington, D.C.  I had not been there since I was a child and had forgotten how magnificent these blossoms are.

The scheduled festival will supposedly go on in mid-April,despite the fact that the trees will probably no longer look like this by the time they get to it.

Yesterday's mail

brought this into my mailbox because I have an article in the April/May issue. Coincidentally, this follows on the heels of our discussion about magazine content.

I have not subscribed to Quilting Arts since very early days because I saw a gradual change that did not appeal to me.  However, I have to say that based on Vivika deNegre's inaugural issue as Editor, I am seeing another gradual change -- for the better (and that is not because of my article - LOL).

I have just written to Vivika to let her know that I see a difference, and what I would like to see more of....and while I don't expect a sudden and drastic change, the difference is just enough to make me hopeful.

If you have seen the issue and think you see a positive difference, it would be good if you were to email Vivika and let her know what it is you like about the articles/profiles/content in this issue and what you'd like to see more of.  It is true that book and magazine publishers need feedback from us because we are (or are not but could be) their audience.

And honestly, my two books might never have been written if it had not been for my students, who took my classes and kept saying "you need to write a book about this!"  Bottom line: input and feedback are vital to keep things dynamic and interesting and to meet peoples' needs.  When my brother owned a restaurant, many years ago in another country, he was always stopping at people's tables and asking "how is everything?"  He really wanted to know because if something wasn't meeting his customers' needs and he could change it, he did. 

Off my soapbox.  Last night finally sewed on two facings and am almost finished stitching a third piece. They are all small pieces, but since they have been sitting around here forever, unfinished, I feel as though I am finally accomplishing something. I'll post these when I am ready.
Rayna

the usual suspects

have been complaining again about my lack of blogging.  Well, my last 10 days have been filled primarily with sitting and staring into either space or the computer screen, depending on circumstances. Did you really want to hear about that every day?  A one-liner.  I stared into space today. Then I coughed. Then I resumed staring into space. I could have cut and pasted it every day, but somehow I didn't think that needed to show up on Facebook 11 times in a row.

I really wish I could invent something exciting, but the past 11 days of my life have been sadly lacking, putting it mildly.

Monday night I had an urgent need to bake scones, which was a short-lived good sign.  Not having baked any in decades and having no recipe, I scoured the Internet and found a recipe for cream scones from Alton Brown that sounded reasonably decent.  Since most of the 5 zillion comments complained they were not sweet enough and they had had to increase the sugar, that seemed like a plus.  WRONG.  I  should have realized these were American taste buds and cut the sugar by half. 

When my friend Rachel showed up for tea and crit on Tuesday, we managed to eat a few - but we both agreed they were too sweet. Is there a Brit out there who can give me a really great recipe????  PLEASE??

 Since our crit group couldn't get it together for this Fiber Philadelphia month, Rachel and I had our own meeting -- which we both needed.  She brought a piece she was struggling with and I gave her my not-so-humble opinion.  I showed her a piece I had just cut in half and she had some great advice. Our day was pleasant and a great success!

I'll skip the non-activities of yesterday and today.  Was planning to do therapy sewing today but didn't get near the machine till tonight, when i put the last few rows of stitching on a small piece.  Tomorrow, if I am lucky, I will put the facings on and get busy doing the same for a few other small pieces that have been languishing.  I am not sure what the weekend will bring.

the restorative power of antibiotics

Cocoa is fine, but the doctor didn't think it would help my bronchitis vanish.  So, z-pak to the rescue. It works much faster when it is followed by some homemade frozen yogurt; working on that part of the treatment as we speak.

Thanks for all your great comments on the ideal art quilt mag; wish I had the wherewithal to start one.
But it's nice to dream, isn't it? Maybe some deep-pocketed publisher will read my blog and decide we are onto something. (and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you).

In the meantime, hope springs eternal.  

the restorative power of cocoa

I have been drinking chicken soup, miso soup, and tea for several days. But tonight I had a yen for hot chocolate, and it has made me feel better already.   Real cocoa, made with Valharona and a little sugar and milk; not that instant stuff that is too sweet and filled with god-knows-what.

When I was a teenager and came home from a date, if my mother was up we made cocoa and cinnamon toast and I would tell her about my date (with a few omissions, of course).  So there is always a comfort level with those two foods. I grew up with Droste's so it is easy to see why I am a cocoa snob.

One of my favorite readers has radar.  Every time I have not posted for a while, she picks up the phone to see what is wrong. She's got a good record!  This time, a wretched cold -- just when I thought I had gotten through winter feeling fine.  I probably picked it up on the plane, but who knows?  Tomorrow, if it is not better, I'll see about getting it checked. Chicken soup hasn't done a whole lot to help.

Meantime, I have been sitting and staring into space all week; too tired even to do therapy sewing, if you can imagine that. And I have been working on revamping my website: a daunting task that may or may not get done soon. While I've been staring into space (and reading posts on several lists) I have noticed mention of the late-lamented Art/Quilt Magazine.  No point going into the reasons for its demise (which had nothing to do with the high-quality of the magazine) or whining about how our subscription renewal funds have vanished.

Instead, I'm curious about what those of you who are serious art quilt people would like to see in a magazine.  What kinds of information/features/visuals/ articles/profiles/interviews/ would make you supremely happy that your needs were being met? What would you like to see omitted? What kinds of articles do you not want to see?  Given your 'druthers - imagine a new magazine!

I hope you'll think about it and post your ideas because I'm really interested.

Now I'm off to sleep with the hope that I'll be somewhat better in the morning.