Fun with Ink!

I've been having the most fun!! My guild - Forsyth Piecers and Quilters - booked a Tsukineko Ink workshop with the brilliantly talented Judy Perez, held this past Saturday. I've been wanting to learn what to do with these inks for a while now, and have been looking for an opportunity to have Judy here for a class ever since we met a couple of years ago when she was in Winston-Salem on a personal trip. When I saw Asheville on her calendar I jumped at the chance to book a class in Winston-Salem, only 2 hours east of Asheville.

It was 6 hours of bliss!  :)

In this class Judy teaches two different methods for working with the inks, and she provides images to work from so you don't have to get bogged down in trying to think up something. It was a relaxed, really fun day! Look what we did!.....

Judy (right) giving tips to Joanna White

OK, we didn't do these...Judy did! Aren't they amazing?

This is my first test piece...learning to get the feel of it using the Fantastixs

My second pieces, done mostly with the Fantastix. I call them "Alien Fruits"  I was in a playful color mood :)

This is Fred, my seahorse. I love him madly! He is what I created in the afternoon using paintbrushes in the second technique Judy taught. Be on the watch for Fred to turn up in a future art quilt...

Asheville is hosting Judy's Ornamental Fiesta class and I'll be heading up there for that this week, so tune  in later for more pictures!

What Can I Say...

...it's baseball season! Which means between eldest son being on the school team and a travel team, and youngest being in Little League, not much else is getting done around here! We have games pretty much everyday at one place or another. I  do love it and I know these days will all too soon fly by and I'll wonder where they went.

I have been doing some major cleaning and reorganizing in the studio (I know, I know...again?? Will it ever end? LOL). The nature of my interiors business has changed and evolved over the last few years. Where before it was necessary to have a big library of samples, now everything is available on line. I can pick specific items per project and have just those samples sent to me as needed. I just don't need all that stuff taking up space to do what I do in that part of my life.

So, I've been purging and rearranging, making use of that shelf space for fibers classes supplies, and dyeing supplies, and beads... the net result being that everything is about to finally have a place and my worksurfaces won't have to be a catch-all anymore! It's a miracle!! With past clean up efforts I've gotten it to a workable point and then jumped into a project and messed it all up again before I really got it all the way clean, This time I'm pushing myself to GET IT DONE...all the way. I might even be able to take and post some pictures soon. :)

Hannes, the Amazing

What a wonderful surprise this morning to read this post by Hannes. He is truly handsome...and he has a big heart too. Thanks Hannes!

:)

Creature Comforts workday

Yesterday the lovely and talented actress and comedienne Sarah Barnhardt of The Dueling Butter Knives virtual comedy blog joined me and my CSE (Chief Sorting Executive) Holly during our workday for Creature Comforts. We had a great time, well...cutting up!

Thanks Sarah, for helping get the word out! You are now a rotary cutting expert. :)

A new class has started with New Leash on Life and I'm behind on production! My goal is to get 5 beds to them ASAP. The chopping-fabric-by-hand-thing is quite time consuming and slowing me down. I know they make industrial fabric shredders but that's not financially feasible, and I've already tried using my paper shredder. That didn't work! Embossed the fabric, which might come in handy at some point for an art quilt, but it was no help for the task at hand. So, if any of you out there have ideas, I'm listening!

A special thanks to Sew Original for hosting this first open workday and being a scrap collection center, to Shelby, the most beautiful Shih Tzu ever, for modeling the pet beds, and a HUGE thanks to my bee-mates from Miss Bee Havin for having not one but TWO chopping parties for this project so far!

The next workday is scheduled for April 15, 10-12:00 at Sewingly Yours in Lewisville. It's tax deadline day...bring your rotary cutter and mat and take out your frustrations! Or, celebrate, if you happen to be getting a refund! :)

Teaching the Teachers

On Monday I had a wonderful opportunity to teach a Fusible Fabrics workshop to art teachers in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County school system. It was so much fun! I took in tons of fabric choices, some already fused and some not, a bolt of fusible web, some examples of my work and several issues of Quilting Arts flagged with sticky notes of some of my favorites. A couple of them had used fusible web before but it was new to others. As always, I love seeing how people react to using fabric as an art medium! One of them said she felt like a kid at Christmas! That's how I feel about it too :)

Here are some shots from the day. I didn't get a picture of all of the pieces, but everyone did really good work! What's really exciting for me is that they will take what they learned back to their classrooms and the love of fiber art will spread.

Enjoy!

Guess What!?!

I'm on page 26-27!!!!

http://62.128.151.219/Library/A1rgo4/AsheboroMagazineMarc/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=


VVBG!  :)

Hurry! Don't Miss This...

Time is almost up! PAQA-South has made the "receive by" date a "post mark date" to give as many people as possible an opportunity to get their work entered.


The Professional Art Quilters Alliance-South (PAQA-South)announces its eighth Annual Juried Exhibition of Innovative Quilts: ARTQUILTSmovement

Movement evokes moods as varied as the individuals contemplating it. Rhythmic strains of music, the flow of language, lithe dancers, or public change and social advocacy; all are examples that encompass the meaning of movement. Are you startled by a sudden movement, drawn in to the quickly moving plot of a good book, or feel the pulse of your heart as bloods flows through your veins? Military maneuvers, the inner workings of a watch, and a well-oiled machine all portray this basic necessity of life: movement. We invite you to share your interpretation of Movement in quiltart form.

Exhibit Opens: May 20, 2011

Postmark Deadline for entry: March 19, 2011

Entry Fee: $15 for PAQA-South members, $25 for non-members for up to three works submitted.
Prospectus here: http://www.artquiltersouth.org/

Size Limitations: No larger than 40 inches wide and 60 inches high.

Contact: AQtransitions@gmail.com with questions.

Note: ARTQUILTSmovement will be judged via unenhanced digital image, only.

The PAQA-South International Juried Exhibition: ARTQUILTSmovement will open in the Allenton and Siemens galleries of the Durham Arts Council of Durham, NC.

May 20 – July 24, 2011: Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC

http://www.durhamarts.org/facility.html

It is possible that the show will travel, so please be sure to check the entry form as to whether or not you give permission for your piece to travel with the show, should it be chosen.