Disintegration II

Last night I finished this dyed, painted, silk screened, foiled and embroidered cloth that ended up being 13x9" when completed. I am more pleased with it than not - although I am my own worse critic and not a great judge of my own work. I would love to be in a small supportive circle of fellow artists who are able to establish enough support & trust (important, that trust thing) among themselves to view each other's work and comment on what works, what doesn't, etc. Does anyone out there have experience with a group of this sort? How well does it work? Is it beneficial?

Machine Work - Hand Work

My sewing machine and I were tight yesterday! This is a section showing the free motioned, background stitching on this painted piece - that, by the way, measures 17x14" (hip, hip hooray - well into the double digits!). If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you can see all the details.

Now I'm hand stitching accents on the flora. I wanted to finish this today but that's not going to happen. The hand embroidery is going to take hours that I can't give! We're going to friends for the afternoon. Would it be rude to bring along hand sewing? Talking and stitching....that works for me.....

Underdogs

Just a quick note this evening to share a link that made me smile and brought a tear to my eye. Click on this link and listen. Some of you will know about this success story, some of you will be as blown away as I was. I LOVE when quiet self-confident humility wins! (Especially when it doesn't involve pop music)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oxTy7KIAaA

FAMA

A cairns motif that morphed into a Garden of Eden image.....FAMA....Folk Art Modern Abstract. These pieces I'm doing may not have the sophistication of altered cloth art that features paints, foils, printing and inks but - darn - I like doing these. There's something about them that reaches deep down inside me....getting to the roots of something.

A Fall Sunday in My Life

A view from our backyard this morning....very special...

Deb Lacitiva's art quilt (upper left) hanging in an installation in Woodstock, NY...very special....
http://morewgalo.blogspot.com/

Husband person checking out a glass art installation that he thought was cool...very special....

Husband person inspecting and figuring out another art installation (and what a tres imaginative sculpture this was)....once a tool and hammer guy always a tool and hammer guy...very special...

OH! And I was tagged by Thelma Smith http://www.thelmasmith.com/blog/ I still smile when I remember how she contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in becoming part of PlanetTextileThreads http://www.planet.textilethreads.com/ . I am in such esteemed company on this website.

Anyway, I need to tell 7 things about myself that may (or may not) be interesting and tag 7 other people. I'll leave the tagging for later but here are the facts:

1.) I was born on 3/19 @ 3:19a.m.

2.) Music can transport me to other places and times.

3.) Growing up I never believed I was artistic but always wanted to be an artist.

4.) I am the happiest now than I've ever been.

5.) I am a bit of a misanthrope.

6.) I don't use a clothesdryer (ok - you have to admit someone who still uses a clothesline in this day and age is unusual but boy do those sheets smell great).

7.) I am quite intuitive.

Progress

Happily working away here in Shawangunk Ridge land. The top piece is a closeup showing the bit of foiling I added to the whole cloth I've been altering. Right now the cloth has been painted, dyed, printed and foiled enough - the next step will be to quilt it. Probably free motion machine stitching but maybe with some added hand stitched details - we'll see. The bottom photo is of a larger cairns inspired piece that seems to have morphed into a bit of the Garden of Eden. This one will definitely get hand emboidery added - and maybe a snake image or two...we'll see.

Time to get back to work!

Disintegration II

Today's creative work - hand dyed cloth altered with alcohol inks, textile & acrylic paints and a bit of screen printing. It should end up being in the double digits....12x12" or so.....still needs stitching and fabric rods. Have a dinner date with hubby and friends but want to keep working on this...patience...patience....

Facing Challenges

The creative spark is coming back – slowly but surely – as is the typical pattern. I have started work on one piece and have an idea for another. Hooray! I want to thank everyone who took the time to drop me a kind word or two about being blocked. A supportive community is so important to many of us.

The piece above is a mixed media deal I did about 2 years ago. It was an answer to a mixed media challenge for an online group of various (mainly collage) artists. I think the theme was crowns. I bet this was probably one of the most unusual answers to the challenge.

Happy day to all and I hope all your challenges are easily overcome!

Wired Up

Nothing new to post because I am blocked, stumped, at a standstill - and everything else descriptive of feeling drained with my imagination on vacation. This is a piece I did about 4 years ago when I was doing art quilting assemblages. I remember when I was painting the canvas that is the background of this piece. It just flowed and became what it is without a lot of thought. Those times when our hands are driven by another force are the best, aren't they?

Forgot the fountain of youth - I'd like to bottle creative adrenaline and drink from it when necessary!

Hand Work is the Answer to a Motion Filled Day

Yesterday we had company - and when that company includes 3 children under the age of 11 it involves a lot of motion and kinetic energy. We fished in the pond, made a scarecrow, had a bonfire and ate lasagne.

After they left at about 7:30, I checked my email and saw that my Garden of Eden had sold (hooray) and then was able to to do a bit more hand embroidery on the abstract above before falling asleep in the chair at 9:00. Yes, kids can keep your spirit and mind young but - goodness! - they can suck you dry of any and all energy, plus dig into your reserve tanks.

Letting Go

"Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong." Lao-Tzu (600 B.C.)

The last day or two I’ve been thinking about controlling. Controlling as in trying to fix things, coerce other people into making the decisions I think they should make, trying to anticipate every ‘what if’…etc, etc, etc…ad naseum….

I always feel the most centered and in control (now there’s a paradox) when I keep out of situations that need to run their own course and keep out of lives that need to be lived by the people they belong to (for sure their lives don’t belong to me). A gentle touch, a soft smile or an encouraging nod is really all that’s needed in many situations where our loved ones are trying to find their way.

The first piece above is some free form stitching and embroidery I started doing one night. The second piece is the third in my cairns series that morphed into a symbolic image of an adult letting go of a child.

Productive

Worked on this all day...I'm not sure of the fabric auditioning as the 'frame' so I'm going to let it rest until tomorrow.....I must say I am happy with how the focal piece came out.

Nice 3 Day Weekend

This arrived on Saturday in the mail from a great textile/collage artist, Karen Stiehl Osborn http://www.karenstiehlosborn.com/ . We agreed to trade 4x6'ers and I think it was a WIN for me! Isn't this small piece of art marvelous? Lots of texture and depth. A really great addition to my growing collection. Thank you so much Karen!

I'm a Painter Wanna-Be so on Saturday I tried my hand at interpreting that squash photo I posted earlier in the week.

An artist's group I belong to was discussing Garden of Eden motifs....one painter had us in stitches (ha! only figuratively as I'm the only textile person in this group) over her thoughts on an image of an Angelina Jolie/Mother Theresa/Evil Snake image. Anyway, this discussion lead me to start this piece that will end up being at least 12x12" (double digits all around - yea). It uses all my hand dyed fabric and is hand appliqued. It's about ready for some free motion quilting and then the embellishments will start. It looks kind of cool in my mind's eye.

Not Bigger Than a Breadbox

Started working on this the other night. By the way, do you notice I usually talk about working on something at night???? That is one of the joys of having a day job - grabbing precious moments in the evenings and wishing you had more time. Anyway, it should end up being at least 9x12" (hee, hee....got into at least one double digit side) and will have a couple more appliqued orbs and - probably - a fabric rod or two. Artsy....

Second Cairns - Inukshuk

My first cairns inspired 4x6 art quilt was sold yesterday. This photo shows the second in this series of hand appliqued pieces using my own hand dyed fabrics and was inspired by the Inuksuks of the Canadian Arctic.

These markers vary in shape and size, and were (are) created to perform different functions. They are symbols with deep roots in the Inuit culture of the far north. Obviously they serve as directional markers but are also considered beacons and portals that signify safety, hope and friendship.

Fertile Veggies

I do have to say that my husband did look at me a bit oddly when I said (as I was snapping away with the camera at this buttercup squash) "This is very organic and sensual". Anyone out there agree with me?

Listening to the Spirit

As some of you know lately I’ve been struggling with the fact that for my painted, mixed media pieces I like to work small – under the double digit threshold. I opened up an email this morning from Tonya www.lazygalquilting.blogspot.com who is a fellow participant in www.planet.textilethreads.com Her note quietly encouraged me to ‘stay true to myself’ and to create the work that I am driven to produce. In other words, try not to control it (hey, there’s a concept for me).

Above is another 4x6’er I created last year. Maybe I could work on presenting these in a larger format – attach them to fabric frames then to painted canvases? This way I could have my cake and eat it too (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting please).