Snow!!

I remember having them growing up in Virginia, but I can't remember one since I've lived in North Carolina...a White Christmas came to us!! It poured all day and through the night. Beautiful!!

The boys spent a good bit of yesterday out in it sledding, building snow forts, and having a snowball fight between our yard and the neighbors to the side. I stayed in and made hot chocolate :)  And...preparations...

Today it's my turn to play in the snow!

Results in a few days.....I think I'm going to like this winter. We rarely get this much snow and never this early! I'm thinking I'll get a good bit of snow dyeing done this winter.

Christmas Wishes

As the year winds down I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has stopped by here to share in my creative journey. It has been a year full of blessings and opportunities, of cherished friendships and new discoveries. I'm looking forward to working towards some new goals for 2011 and hope you will continue to visit and see what fun stuff I get myself into!

From my studio to yours, I wish you the best blessings of the holiday season!

Let the Festivities Begin!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...and with it comes a blizzard of activity! Since my last post I have had LOTS going on...

First, an exhibit opening with the Cosmic Cow Society at the Gallery of the Arts Underground Theatre in downtown Winston-Salem. What a great evening it was! Not your typical art opening...we had a band - West Trinity - play music sets (not just background music), had a "Small Talks" session where each participating artist had 28 seconds to discuss projected images of each of their featured works, and we had door prizes too. It was a fun event! This exhibit runs through the end of December...stop by and enjoy some wine or coffee and of course, the ART!

Then came a rush to finish up and deliver items for Sawtooth's annual Deck the Halls gallery showcase. I had to laugh..the lady checking in my inventory asked me if my sewing machine ever catches on fire! I'm a little surprised it didn't....I had over seven pages of inventory! The sale runs through the end of December and there is something there for everyone....pottery, fiber, jewelry, paintings, ornaments, you name it. All made by local artists and very affordable!

Here are just a few of my things...



5 x 5 Minis

Wool geode, fabric and glass beads

 necklace

   

              16 x 20   "Rest" and "Relaxation"

                               

(details)

These pieces are painted and distressed Tyvek, paper clay faces, glass beads, and hand stitched silk mounted to painted canvases. The overall pictures are the best color...my camera evidently wasn't in the mood for detail color!

Then of course there was the yumminess of Thanksgiving to celebrate...I roasted a turkey, made sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole and my mom's famous rye biscuits, along with chocolate ribbon pie and pumpkin pie (OK, I bought that one ready made)...DH made his famous boiled custard, which for you non-Southerners is like eggnog without the spices and bourbon, very vanilla-y and sweet ...a family favorite. And, despite having set a beautiful fall table at my house, we hauled all of this yumminess to the in-laws to feast! They made all kinds of things to add to the bounty. It was a great celebration...one that earned me a trip to Quiltville to have a sew day with Bonnie and Lisa on Saturday! Woohoo! I got lots done and had a blast!

Then the kids got sick and so did I...ugh! But we won't dwell on that. Everyone is on the mend. :)

Meanwhile,  Lisa and I made it to Sawtooth's Deck the Halls preview night and it was AMAZING! I did take my camera, but was so busy drooling over all of the wonderful offerings and filling up my basket with Christmas presents that I never got it out! I will share one of my purchases though:

Gorgeous blue and white pottery...and I'm sorry, I don't know the artist. If someone will email me I'll add it to the post. These are for me...the rest of my purchases are gifts for other people, so no peeking!! :)

And so December begins...with lots more to do! There are halls here to be decked (almost done), cookies to bake, parties to attend, presents to finish (stay tuned for some future postings on this...once the recipients have unwrapped!), and the list goes on...

I love December!!

:)

Of Heart and Hands

Once again I headed out to a wonderful event sans camera, so for your viewing pleasure may I direct you to Mrs. Goodneedle's blog to see the beautiful quilts on display at the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center. These quilts are the works of our bee, Miss Bee Haven and the exhibit is quite beautiful! Thanks Nane and Lisa for all your work putting this together!

Old Tyme Day

Yesterday my friends Martha Claire Henzler and Bonnie Hunter very graciously volunteered to help me with the quilting station at Lewisville Elementary's Old Tyme Day, a day of hands-on Early American history lessons for the third graders with things like candlemaking, blacksmithing, tin punch, and of course QUILTING! It was a fun day!

Bonnie was smart enough to have a camera on hand...hop over to her blog to see what we did!

Ooooohhh!!.....???

I bet you're thinking....ooooh! She's been rust dyeing again...how pretty!!! You know I love to rust dye. I love the uncontrolled, serendipitous results...I love how adding tannin to the mix makes color changes happen...

BUT NOPE!

I'm not rust dyeing....



EEEEEWWWWW!!!!!



This is what happens when water fountains go bad...and no one knows...and it's summertime...and really, really hot. I got to measure this 3,000 sf space to draw up plans for a total gutting and renovation. Thank goodness for the laser tape!! And you thought interior design was all glamour! Heehee! Not this time.

But you know, if you get past the ICK factor and look at it really up close, it is fascinating....and pretty. I would love for my rust dyed fabrics to look like this. Just, not with all the ICK!!

Circa Gallery

Yesterday I drove to Asheboro, NC to pick up work from my Cosmic Cow Society group show at Circa Gallery. It's a really fun gallery with an eclectic mix of works from North Carolina artists and I'm happy to report that I am now one of the artists they represent! They have a good assortment of my small works...perfect gift items for the upcoming holidays. So if you are in that area, stop in and have a look. There is something for everyone there...you will love it (all of it, not just mine)!

 :)

Taste of Art

Tonight I taught silk scarf dyeing at Sawtooth's Taste of Art. This class is a 2 hour make and take where participants can bring in snacks and beverages and enjoy a creative, fun night out. I'll be teaching it again on October 22 ...come join me!




Aren't these great?



This group knows how to have fun!!!

Oops!

I knew I was behind on posting, but gracious!! AUGUST?? It is October now, right? ;)

Well, as usual I've been booked solid with all kinds of fun and the last month FLEW by in a flurry. I taught a Shibori class, got my latest interior design client open for business (pictures soon!) and started drawings on 2 new projects, had 4 art exhibits - 2 solo, 2 group - with one more on the way, one art fundraising event, several baseball tournaments and homework with my kids, and I even had a birthday which seriously, I forgot until I was reminded!

No wonder I'm humming the tune to "The 12 Days of Christmas"...and re-writing the lyrics...

Ah, but it's all good. And I promise, I'll get back to something that resembles regular posts. With photos even!

Meanwhile, news of the upcoming:

* This Sunday, October 10 is the opening reception for "Uncommon Threads"...a juried fiber art exhibit at the Davie County Arts Council, 2-3:30

* Taste of Art at Sawtooth - silk scarf dyeing, tomorrow night and October 22...a fun, relaxed 2 hour make and take class. You can bring wine...everything else you need is furnished. See Sawtooth's website for more info.

*Old Tyme Day at Lewisville Elementary School is coming up in November. This is always lots of fun! The third graders get to experience hands-on activities all relating to life in Colonial America, and of course, my station is quilting :)  Groups of 8 rotate through each station. I give them a brief talk about quiltmaking from that time, show them my antique quilts, and then they get to work around the frame adding their own stitches to a whole cloth. It's sometimes hard to get them to quit when it' time to move on to the next station! Seeing their enthusiasm makes my day.

* In January I will be presenting "Color Works" at the Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild (my guild!) on 1/10. I'll be talking about how to use the color wheel when planning projects and showing examples of what works and how to punch things up when something just seems "missing." I'll have a mini trunk show as part of the lecture too.

There are a few more things in the works, so stay tuned. I'll be back before a month goes by this time! (And if I forget, hop over to Facebook and remind me!)

:)

News of the Day

I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself here today!

Pat's Jacket

Last week I taught the afternoon "Funky Fashion Redesign" teen classes at Sawtooth and Pat Mauck taught the morning session. Pat is an excellent weaver and seamstress (she teaches weaving there BTW!). She took my Surface Design class back in January and on the last day of classes last week she brought in this GORGEOUS jacket that she made using fabrics that she discharged. I had to show it off...(covet, covet, covet...)

Jacket by Pat Mauck - front

Jacket by Pat Mauck - back

Thanks Pat for sharing your work!! (Did I mention how GORGEOUS this jacket is?!?! My photos don't begin to do it justice)

Summer Art Honors - Part 2

In the previous post I shared the work of my first set of students in the Summer Arts Honors program at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art. I also taught the second session and this group was just as much fun.

Once again we

Rust dyed...   Stamped...   Discharged...   and Gelatin plate  printed... 

                                                                                                                                    

and then the students used their fabrics to create art quilts. At the end of the session they exhibited their work in the student show. I think you'll agree...they did a great job!

This piece is by Xavier, a combination of 2 rust dyed fabrics with the roses cut and fused.

 He had never sewn anything before but looking at these stitches you would never know...

He also did some really cool discharged pieces that he wanted to keep whole

(the view is looking down into the vignette we had...the darker piece is laying on the counter and the red one is on the wall)

Next is Phoebe's piece, which she did as a two sided piece. I really like the discharged image

This is Emma's piece. I love her black and white cat stamp!

This piece is by Grace. She wanted to create the feel of water. I thought it was a timely piece, in that it speaks to me about the oil spill in the Gulf with the rust dyed bubbles, the paw print, and the discharged streaks. Not sure if that was her intention, but that's the beauty of art...each viewer finds meaning.

This is Alex's piece. I love her composition and the edge treatment she used.

It was so much fun to watch everyone's creativity at work. At the show one mom said her student started out hesitant about my class as it wasn't her first pick, but that she came home every day and talked about nothing else...it turned out to be her favorite one! Seeing people get excited about the possibilities of fiber art is what it's all about.

2010 Summer Art Honors at Sawtooth School - Part I

From June 21 to July 2 I had the pleasure of teaching 'Surface Design - Fabric + Art Quilt' as part of the Summer Art Honors program at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art. This program, coordinated with the Forsyth County school system, is for artistically gifted middle and high school students who have been nominated by their art teachers for participation. Classes in every conceivable media are included in the curriculum and I was thrilled to be able to share my love of surface design and art quilting.

During week one students learned:

Rust Dyeing...

Several methods of Stamp Making and stamping on fabric...

Discharging...

(and this first one I found particularly interesting...it started as a solid pink fabric but when discharged it became this blue line banded by white that I thought was just the coolest thing ever!)

They learned how much fun it is to do Gelatin Plate Printing...

And they learned the tips and tricks of using fusible web.

During week two each student evaluated all of the fabrics they created in the first week, and selected what pieces they wanted to use in their art quilt. We used fusible web and fusible batting so minimize the amount of sewing required. Some of them had experience in sewing and some did not, but everyone learned some basic hand sewing skills. Since we met in the fibers studio, there was a wall full of every colored thread and weaving yarns to choose from for stitching materials. My only criteria for them was size limitation (based on the piece of batting they received, about 18 x 22), that it be constructed of three layers held together with stitching, and that a recognizable piece of fabric from each of the surface design techniques that they learned be incorporated. Beyond that, their vision and imagination was the limit! They all did a great job!!

This is Lynda's piece...love the hand bead work and the discharge pattern. She loves to do hand sewing and actually pieced her fabrics together.

This is Nicole's piece...love the coffee cups, indeed, music to me! She did a nice job of balancing the use of her fabrics and color placement.

This is Rachel's piece...love her use of color and depth of image layering on her stamped fabrics

This is Kati's piece...her rust dyeing turned out very cool as did her alien stamp, and she did a great job using hand stitching to create texture

This is Clarissa's piece...an experienced sewer, she used some machine stitching in her piece in addition to hand work. Love how she used her fabrics to create this landscape (And she plans to hang it in her dorm next year when she goes off to college)

At the end of the session all of the student's work was displayed and an open house reception was held in their honor. It was so inspiring to see what everyone in the program created!

It really was fun to work with these kids. I'm thinking there are some new additions to the art quilt world now, don't you?