December has flown by so far...lots of baking and visiting, concerts and reunions, decorating and preparing...in the fun, busy heart of the season it's easy to forget to slow down and just reflect.
Finding a moment, I looked back at this...and I still love it!
Snow is in the forecast - it just might be a white Christmas after all!
:)
Happenings from the studio of Karen Newman Fridy
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Hokies, Kitties, and Floor Plans, Oh My!
Within the span of about a week I have been commissioned to paint a 5' tall fiberglass Hokie Bird for someone in Virginia, I found out that I've been selected to paint a fiberglass cat for the Forsyth Humane Society's Art Unleashed 2010 (my third time with them!) and I just got a call for a 1,400 sqft space planning job. I'll find out at the end of this week how I did at Sawtooth's Deck the Halls holiday sale and I am scheduled to teach a surface design class there in January (16th and 23rd... covering rust dyeing, stamp making and stamping, discharge dyeing, and gelatin plate printing...FUN!). Some of my things had sold out when I was there on Friday and I took another load in on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to finding out how it all did.
All very welcomed good news!
All very welcomed good news!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
art + quilt
I'm so excited! I have received my signed copy of Lyric Kinard's fabulous book art+quilt Design Principles and Creativity Exercises...available at your favorite LQS or directly through her website or blog (where you can get a signed copy too! Just click the word blog and it will link you to it)
Lyric is a fellow PAQA-South member and one of the most talented, generous people I know. Her book takes you through lessons on the elements and principles of design, exercises in creative composition, and concludes with ways to effectively analyze and critique work, including several examples of her own pieces and where she sees her successes and lessons learned. Lots of great information!
Lyric is a fellow PAQA-South member and one of the most talented, generous people I know. Her book takes you through lessons on the elements and principles of design, exercises in creative composition, and concludes with ways to effectively analyze and critique work, including several examples of her own pieces and where she sees her successes and lessons learned. Lots of great information!
I'm particularly fond of page 99...I have 2 of my quilts published there! They are the result of an exercise in choosing a principle and an element, then creating a piece in 30 minutes. It was an eye opening experience for me...I usually spend a LOT of time on a piece and this showed me the possibilities in working smaller and faster.
:)
Monday, November 16, 2009
NQR
NQR...that's "Not Quilt Related" for my non-fiber art readers!
Though it was inspiring on many levels and I imagine there are elements that will make it into a future piece or two... guess where we were this past weekend?
Here's another hint...
Yes! Charleston!
Beautiful, elegant, historical Charleston, South Carolina.
*swoon and sigh*
:)
Guess where we slept?
That's right! Aboard the USS Yorktown! Our Scout pack traveled for an adventure weekend, and with several hundred other Scouts from other areas we learned the history of the ship and it's aircraft, saw an amazing movie about the Blue Angels, and even had a hands-on science lesson about the ecosystem of the area. The boys learned how to measure salinity and how the level of that affects aquatic life, and they gathered plankton and studied it under a microscope. Someone had even scooped up a tiny jelly - smaller than the tip of my little finger! We explored the ship,viewing the many artifacts and exhibits aboard, and yes, we ate and slept much like the original seamen would have done back in the day. Only 8 women came from our pack and we were given officers quarters...so we only had to share rooms that would accommodate six. The boys and men, however, got the enlisted quarters and slept 60 or so to a room, with bunks stacked up to 4 high with not much room in between. Quite the adventure!
The timing of the trip, being so close to Veteran's Day, made it all the more special. God bless our Service men and women! Because of their sacrifices we are free.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Woo Hoo!!
"Rising Above Adversity with a Clear Conscience" (seen on the right) just won 3rd place in "Uncommon Threads", a juried fiber arts exhibit at the Davie County Arts Council!!!
The award came with a check! That's a first for me. A fun first.
:)
The award came with a check! That's a first for me. A fun first.
:)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Big News!
In another one of my "why not?" moments I decided that if I'm going to design patterns for the classes I teach, I might as well publish them. Sounds like a good plan to me...see what you think!
My first offering: Falling Leaves
My first offering: Falling Leaves
Complete with photo illustrations of the process, this pattern is available for $12 USD.
To order, please visit my website at www.kfridy.com
Sunday, October 4, 2009
How I Dyed
A few people have asked how I got the results with my adventures in dyeing, so I thought I'd post it here.
First, the color dye....I used Procion dyes and you can see in the set up photos a few posts down that I just used a card table in my garage, some quart size zip-top plastic bags, an old shower curtain pole suspended over one of my kids sleds (a trick I learned in Robbie Joy Eklow's first book) and bottles I picked up at the beauty supply store that are supposed to be for hair dye (long tip squirty bottles). First I pre-soaked my PFD fabric in a soda ash solution, squeezed out the excess back into the soda ash bucket (use gloves!), then either bunched it up in a bag or draped it over the pole. Next I mixed my dye colors using all the necessary safety precautions - respirator, gloves, etc. - straight into the squirt bottles, then proceeded to squirt the colors of choice either into the bags which got mushed about to distribute the color(s), or across/down the fabrics draped on the poles. I even threw one FQ into the sled (drip catcher pan), which turned out to be one of my favorite ones! I left it all to batch for a few hours, then did the 'rinse,repeat' until the water ran clear, at which point I gave it all a good hot wash in Synthropol (colors separated), more rinses and then dried and ironed it all. I know there are dyers out there who have controlled formulas for achieving consistent results. Fascinating to me, but I'm not one of them! I think it's fun to just say 'what if'...that's how I approach most of my work. I mixed the colors until they looked yummy and from there I played.
For the rusting...the first few photos were done by fan folding the fabric, wrapping it around a decorative, unfinished metal stair picket, and then wrapping that with unfinished floral wire. I covered it in plastic wrap and left it outside for a day or two. The last photo was done with metal washers in various sizes tucked into the fabric folded multiple times. In all cases I pre-soaked the fabric in a white vinegar/water solution, mixed about half and half, squeezed out most of the liquid, then proceeded as described. I washed the final products in hot water and Synthropol. Sometimes I soak the end results in a salt water bath before I do the final wash.
It doesn't take a great lot of space to do. Time, yes. Which is why I only processed about 6 yards in this session. But it's all really easy and fun to do!
Give dyeing a try!
First, the color dye....I used Procion dyes and you can see in the set up photos a few posts down that I just used a card table in my garage, some quart size zip-top plastic bags, an old shower curtain pole suspended over one of my kids sleds (a trick I learned in Robbie Joy Eklow's first book) and bottles I picked up at the beauty supply store that are supposed to be for hair dye (long tip squirty bottles). First I pre-soaked my PFD fabric in a soda ash solution, squeezed out the excess back into the soda ash bucket (use gloves!), then either bunched it up in a bag or draped it over the pole. Next I mixed my dye colors using all the necessary safety precautions - respirator, gloves, etc. - straight into the squirt bottles, then proceeded to squirt the colors of choice either into the bags which got mushed about to distribute the color(s), or across/down the fabrics draped on the poles. I even threw one FQ into the sled (drip catcher pan), which turned out to be one of my favorite ones! I left it all to batch for a few hours, then did the 'rinse,repeat' until the water ran clear, at which point I gave it all a good hot wash in Synthropol (colors separated), more rinses and then dried and ironed it all. I know there are dyers out there who have controlled formulas for achieving consistent results. Fascinating to me, but I'm not one of them! I think it's fun to just say 'what if'...that's how I approach most of my work. I mixed the colors until they looked yummy and from there I played.
For the rusting...the first few photos were done by fan folding the fabric, wrapping it around a decorative, unfinished metal stair picket, and then wrapping that with unfinished floral wire. I covered it in plastic wrap and left it outside for a day or two. The last photo was done with metal washers in various sizes tucked into the fabric folded multiple times. In all cases I pre-soaked the fabric in a white vinegar/water solution, mixed about half and half, squeezed out most of the liquid, then proceeded as described. I washed the final products in hot water and Synthropol. Sometimes I soak the end results in a salt water bath before I do the final wash.
It doesn't take a great lot of space to do. Time, yes. Which is why I only processed about 6 yards in this session. But it's all really easy and fun to do!
Give dyeing a try!
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