I have been really busy updating my web site and straightening things out in my Etsy shop as well as taking photos of new product. I am going to be really busy the next couple of weeks working at my day job and teaching, so I thought I might actually plan ahead for once. All to say that I don't have much to report here.

I did post a new blog entry on my Art Journal blog which I am pleased with, so you might want to head on over there by clicking here.

Here's a peek at the entry.
Also, in the spirit of outdoor festivals and sidewalk sales in town, I decided to have my own blow-out summer sale at my Etsy shop. Here are a few item to show you. Click on the image for a larger view or to access it in my shop.






I'll be adding new items every day. So stay tuned. Click here to see what I have posted on sale so far.

Pears on Parade

After my insistence with myself to give even my creative brain a break during my week by the sea, I came back into the studio excited, rejuvenated and most importantly - I do not have the foreboding feeling of being constantly overwhelmed.

So this is what I am working on. It started out as a way to use up some old soy wax batik fabric samples for a workshop I was doing. I wanted to show students what could be done with a reject piece of hand painted fabric. I tried to do a fabric collage on some commercial "hand woven" purple fabric I had on my shelves. Because this is not the way I usually work, so it came to a screeching halt just before vacation.

I decided to use my pear stencil. I had just cut it with my new Cameo Silouhette die cut machine.

I decided to continue to experiment with free motion quilting as it is still relatively new for me. I am using it as way of making sewn marks. A lot of fiber artists have been using the term"mark making" a lot lately. I think it's great! The term has been around a long time. Even in my days at the Museum School in Boston 35 years ago it was being used.

And because, at the root of all that I make is me the painter, I have also begun experimenting with using Golden Fluid Acrylics and Golden Textile Medium on the stitched fabric.

Click on the images for a larger view.

This is the full piece.
The bottom half is what I started stitching and painting on.
Click on the image for a larger view.
The rest are details of the bottom half in process.








That's it for now.
If you would like to see my latest art journal entry click here.

I've linked this post up with Nina-Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday where you can see what other fiber artists are up too.

Last Day in Maine

Okay. So here I am in Maine - my last day before heading home to my beloved Masaachusetts. The sun is shinning gloriously, the air is cool and filled with the scents of ocean roses and sea salt.

This morning, as I was still lying in bed I wondered - if I were a realist painter how I would paint the fire in the ocean that was the reflection of the rising sun? I felt grateful that I am indeed not a realist painter and could simply lie back and marvel at the visual mysterious of this earth.

Several days ago I finished reading the book "The Sparrow" by Mary Dorian Russell. I have to take back all that I said. It is so worth reading. It has taken me awhile to digest it all - taken me a while to figure out why I was actually grateful to finish it. I read the interview with the author an d that helped a lot. It is an important book. Here is a quote from Entertainment Weekly - "Smooth storytelling and gorgeous characterization...Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them."

I have learnt this week that I can make great progress on a project when I bring just one. I hope to continue in some way this practice when I am in the studio. Many people are constantly starting new projects because there is a certain thrill in starting something new as opposed to the druggery of trying to bring something to fruition. It is not unlike the thrill of a new relationship, as opposed to the supposed boredom of everyday life. For me the problem is too many ideas, along with the varied and different deadlines that face me on a given day. I realize now after this simple week that my practice of keeping all the projects I am working on out on tables or hanging on my design board while I work on one, may be overwelming me. If I had a large enough studio to keep them all in working mode it might work, or even if I had the room for 2 different design boards. But given the studio I have now I find that I am constantly moving things around to make room for the current, most relevant project. Wih every move and new pile of things I make I find that their state of incompletion ways heavy on me. I know what I have to do and what I want to do, I just don't have the time.

I think that when I return to my studio next week, I will try leaving out only the project I currently have to face for a deadline and a second project I can contemplate. Everything else gets put away or not even started. Jotting done ideas and sketches will be allowed. And of course my 15 minutes a day in my art journal.

This is the current state of my Gustov Klimt needle point kit. Maya Angelou is half read.

And the ocean is calling out to me for a final walk by the water's edge.

 

Mid-week

My vacation is coming along nicely. It has become progressively easier and easier for me to relax. I finished the book "The Sparrow" and have moved on to "I know Why the caged bird Sings." The characters from "The Sparrow" still haunt me, but all in all I am not so sure I liked it. I am not even up for talking/writing about it.
I am turning to Maya Angelou's book because even though I have read all of her poetry books, I have not read any of her autobiographical works. Her recent death saddened me greatly. So it is a kind of personal homage to her that I read this book now. Her voice echoes in my head. Her rich tones and careful, slow selection of words that punctuate the air.
Tonight the setting sun cast a beautiful, long grey, pink cast to the sea. It's beauty was subtle and almost meloncholy.
I always thought I would live out the end of my days by the sea, but my husband has turned me into a woods woman of sorts. It makes me giggle a little that after 20 years I still don't know the names of the trees, but I can tell you the shape of their leaves, the color and texture of their bark and the many shades of green they turn from early spring to deep into late fall. I can point out to you which are healthy, as well as those that perhaps do not have many years left. In just several days I will return to the woods, my busy life, the studio and the glorious acts of creativity I hope to accomplish.

Sunset
The Sea
This one is my favorite
I have been thinking a lot again about the differences between these three words: artist, crafter, designer
Any thoughts?

Vacation

My family is now all settled in for the week on the coast of Maine. Every year we rent the same cottage. Every year I wonder which of my growing boys will not be able to make it next year and thus will relish every minute I have with them. This year even the eldest son, who happens to live and work in this area, took the week off from work.

Yesterday, I worked right up to the last possible moment and threw together a few things when the kids were practically already in the car.

I actually take very little these days - a few clothes, a camera for family snapshots, the book I am in the progcess of reading and a needlepoint kit. Some people thing it strange that I would work on a kit. But the goal here is to rest my brain as well as my body. So I don't sketch, draw out plans for the next big project or even take artful photographs. When I was little my Dad used to say that I had an idea a minute. A slight exageration but not really too far from the truth. My brain always seems to be in over drive. So this is almost a form of meditation really.

When we arrived and as soon as I got out of the car, I saw an interesting flowering plant. The leaves were so much tinier then the flowers. It was an interesting design concept. So I started an immediate and almost uncontrollable train of thoughts that I would come back later to draw it. When I remembered that I did not bring any drawing tools with me, so I thought I would come back with my camera. But I am not going to do that either. This is supposed to be a time to visually live in the present. To simply experience what I see.

I believe strongly that as a visual artist there comes a time when I need to replenish my internal, visual bank. I can' t really do that well if I am always interpreting and reinterpreting what I see, the moment after I have seen it. I also see this as a time of mental and verbal reflection.

Working on a needlepoint kit keeps my hands doing what they need to do, but my brain is not trying to figure out if what they are making has value or if it has a design flaw. It occurs to me that perhaps if my style of creating art was to completely design something before making it, I might not need this time. But my method of creating is fluid and has a tendency to evolve as a work.

Plus I happen to really enjoy needlepoint and love the end results! Something about the texture and simmetry of the stitches appeals to me. This kit is a take off on a Gustov Klimt painting. Here's photo. I'll get closer later after I have more finished.


This is the view from the couch in the living room of the cottage we rent.

Oh, and the book I am reading is The Sparrow by Mary Dorian Russell. It has an interesting story line, hitting on many interesting ethical questions, Although it doesn't really address any of them and there isn't much to say about the actual writing - how the words are put together. It I isn't lyrical. But I am totally drawn to the characters.

More later...

 

Something New

Just a little something I am working on. Not an art piece, but perhaps a lap quilt. The brain is percolating!





The light colored green fabric is silk broadcloth that I hand dyed. It was pretty ugly so I stamped on it with green oval shapes and made it even uglier! After throwing it across the table in disgust I noticed the back side and how lovely it was!

So I did some more stamping in the dark maroon color. Then I stamped on the solid green "home spun". Now I am collaging the 2 together. At first I thought pillow covers. But now, think about what I was saying at the end of my bog the other day, I think a lap quilt will be lovely. I just need to figure out what the sashing will be. Hmmmm...

Shiva PaintStiks Surprise!

I have been working on a rayon jacket for a custom order. I had already dyed the fabric a couple of years ago. My client really liked the fabric, but we both thought it needed a bit of embellishment. So I cut out the individual pattern pieces for the jacket and set to work using some iridescent Profab paint from Pro Chemical and Dye Co. and some Shiva Paintstiks. 

I started out using a simple stamp of a square that I made with craft foam using Probrite paint in Old Rose.


Then I decided that the cloth really needed some texture. So I used a piece of this textured cloth that I
purchased a while back for just this purpose. I bought it in a large fabric store called Osgood's Textile that is located in Springfield, MA. I don't know what its intended purpose is, but it works great as a rubbing plate. 

You can see it on the left of this photo. It has a kind of honey-comb design. I used the silver and pewter iridescent Shiva Paintstiks with the honey-comb stuff under the fabric and rubbed with the Paintstiks ontop. I moved the honey-comb stuff around so the design wouldn't have a regular pattern. This helps the viewer's eye travel around the piece without getting stuck on a rigid grid pattern.







I rubbed the paintstiks right over the painted squares. But even after all of that, I felt that the fabric still needed a bit more of something that would pop. So I used my square stencil and worked with the iridescent dark blue Paintstik right over the painted Old Rose colored squares. I thought it would simply cover over the silver and pewter paintstiks I had previously applied, along with the Old Rose paint, but much to my surprise and delight the honey-comb pattern did not cover. It actually became even brighter! Only the paint covered.









I am sure it had something to do with the fact that I waited a couple of days for the initial honey-comb rubbing to set before adding the blue, but in any case, I am always thrilled when an old tool becomes new again!

I can imagine so many possibilities for this discovery. Especially since I have recently acquired a Cameo Silhouette stencil cutting machine because of a new obsession I have with layering stencils.

But more about that later! For now, I had better get back to work sewing this jacket together!

If you'd like to see my latest Art Journal entry click here.

My next couple of teaching gigs will be:

Textile Paint Extravaganza - Monday June 30 - Friday July 4 at the Fletcher Farm School for Arts and Crafts in Ludlow, VT
Batik Basics with Soy Wax and Textile Paints - Saturday July 12 and Sunday July 13 at A Notion to Quilt in Shelburne, MA

Considering Options

I spent the weekend at the 
I am scheduled to teach several workshops there this summer.

So get this,
the entire state of Vermont had open studios complete
with brochures and maps of all studios participating through-out VT!
Wow is all I can say.

At any rate, at the Fletcher Farm School
they had instructors set up to be working or demoing in their main barn.

I had a lovely time. 
People signed up for my workshops (yeah!),
and I created several samples that I am very pleased with.
I was trying to work out designs that would appeal to a broad range of tastes.
I wasn't trying to create fabric for my own work.
It was fun, relaxing and Ludlow, VT is only about one hour and 20 minutes from my home.
So the commute was easy.
I spent the time in the car thinking about the additions I need to make to my latest book proposal.
So even the driving time was productive.

These are the 4 samples I painted.
Don't forget to click on them for a larger view.

good for quilters
love my crows
people are always attracted to pears in art
the back side of pears - just as lovely
I wasn't sure about this one. It is just so far from my own imagery.
But it did seem to have a broad appeal.
I am always trying to think up products that will sell on my Etsy shop.
I thought for awhile that I would make some hand-dyed, silk lap quilts.
But the quilting over powered the silk and made it looked like something from Target.
So I axed that idea.
This quilt here is one I made for my book.
It measures 50" x 70" and has 6 panels on the front that are similar to this one.
humming birds

It never made it into the book, but I take it around with me when I teach and demo.
People really love it.
So I am thinking that perhaps I should be doing more like this one.
Not the same imagery, but the same layout and design.
I left the samples above with the Fletcher Farm people to have on display.
But they are giving me ideas.

Some would say that I should just be making my own art,
and stop doing all this other stuff.

But I am having success with the hand dyed silks on Etsy.
(You can see them by clicking here.)

So perhaps I would have success with these as well.
I am intrigued on a design level.
I feel that I have to follow through on it, 
so I spent some time today calculating out what my materials costs would be.
It seems very doable.

I think I may put the humming bird one up on Etsy and see what happens.
I'll just need to take a few photos.

If you would like to see my latest Art Journal page click here

Appreciating the Task at Hand

I have been working really hard at changing my stress level. 

I can't change a lot of what is stressing me but I can change my way of being and how I look at my world on a day to day basis.

This all came to me while I was away teaching a week long workshop at Snow Farm in Williamsburg, MA where the pace of my life came to a screeching halt and I found myself strolling down the paths to meals, the fiber studio and to my simple room.

So here are some of the simple changes I am working on:

In general, whatever I am doing (except art making) I have a tendency to run through all the things in my head that I still have to do. It is a fast paced, frenetic loop where I hardly have time to breathe before mentioning the next thing on the list.

Now I am trying to run through the loop only once, then I have to completely focus on what I am doing. Because the reality is that I don't really mind cleaning house, grooming the dogs, washing the dishes, folding laundry, racking leaves or working at my part time job in a copy center. There is always something new to see and the chance for artistic growth to happen.

Also, when I walk up the stairs to my front deck everyday I am only allowed to run through the loop of endless outside chores (including tending to my gardens for the first time in years) once. Then I have to find something lovely outside to focus on like the hardy flowers that have continued to grow despite my absence!

I guess what I am doing is forcing myself to live in the present a lot more. The reality is that all that hyper, crazy, mental energy is actually slowing me down and bringing me down, while the simple beautiful aspects of day to day life are passing me by.

So this morning when I had my cup of coffee I didn't look at emails, I didn't even read or knit - I simply drank a fabulous cup of coffee and looked out my windows on this beautiful spring morning.

Then I noticed the lovely shadows playing on the shed wall. Hmmm, how can I turn that into a stencil or silk screen?


If you'd like to see my latest finished Art Journal page click here.


Student Work

I am always so amazed by what my students create.

Teaching at Snow Farm last week was no different.
Five lovely women opened up their vulnerable and creative selves to each other
and to my teaching and guidance for 5 glorious days.

Most of them had some experience painting on fabric.
Their focus and commitment was unwavering.
And the work they produced was monumental and beautiful.

Here is a sampling of what they created. Keep in mind that they are all works in progress.
And don't forget to click on the image for a larger view.

By Carolyn Haddad

By Carolyn Haddad
By Carolyn Haddad

By Deborah Kaup

By Deborah Kaup

By Gail Tease

By Gail Tease

By Gail Tease

By Kathy Shollenberger

By Kathy Shollenberger

By Kathy Shollenberger

By Nancy Masters

By Nancy Masters

By Nancy Masters


Last Days

The week here at Snow Farm is coming to an end. It has been an amazing week. It has been an amazing week. I now totally understand the schedule they have built in for the instructors. Thank you Snow Farm.

Here is how it works - studios are open for students 24 hours a day as long as there are 2 people there.

Formal instruction is from 9-12 and 1-4:30. Instructors can be there any other times but it isn't required. I am usually there from about 8:45 to 12:15 and from 1:00 - 5:00 or 6. I might stop in in the evening just to say hi and to see how they are doing.

Before I got here I thought I would just be in the studio all the time. Nope. You definitly have to pull back and recharge. I spend my off time reading or knitting in the common room, going for a walker resting in my room.

The week has been perfect. Today we need to cleaned up by 4:30. There will be an art exhibit of work accomplished through the week, dinner and then an auction to raise money for the farm.

Now it is time for breakfast!

 

 

Day 2 at Snow Farm.

 

Just a couple of images from day 2. Everyone is having a great time, including me.
I have been fortunate to have 5 students who are fairly similar in the level of experience they have brought with them to class. Friday evening will be a gala to show off student work form all the studios.
The food is wonderful and it is time for breakfast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Day

First day teaching at Snow Farm went wonderfully, without a hitch or a hicup. I have 5 great students! The staff is wonderful and supportive. The environment is heaven. Although it is true that I live in a similar environment, I often hardly have time to enjoy it.

The morning air is cool and crisp. The birds are chirping and bright green buds are just now appearing on the trees.

Here are some pictures of last night' studio tour.

These are a few pictures from our day in the fiber studio

 

Time for breakfast!

 

 

Snow Farm - The New England Craft Program

I thought I would get myself back in the a wing of things this week because I am at Snow Farm - The New England Craft Program for the week teaching a workshop I call Textile Paint Extraveganza. This will be my first time teaching for a full 5 days. And although I live only 40 minutes away, I made the decision to stay overnight for the week. I have a simply, space dormitory room that I love. The walls are bare except for an up framed mirror. There are 2 twin beds and a shelving unit made out of pieces of wood. My jacket and robe hang on a hook by the door.

The only negative thing is that the mirror is hung so high that I can only catch a glimps of the top of my head - which may not be a bad thing after all.

This evening all the instructors made a presentation with a slide show. I had the most images and the shortest presentation by far! LOL

I marvel at the comfort level the other instructors had. I think I may always be nervous! I drank a cup of camomile tea in honor of my step-mother but I don't think it did much good. I am glad it is over. I know that once I get through the first couple of hours in the morning I'll be fine. Time for sleep.

 

 

 

 

Working in a Series

Before I got any further along on this art quilt,
 I made the decision to cut it into four separate pieces.
I had been considering it for quite some time.

This is what it looked like before cutting:


At one point it had a landscape orientation like this:


But now,
Here it is with 2 of the 4 panels.

The one on the right is finished.

Over all finished dimensions are 15" wide x 33" long.



Some detail shots.



.
I'm feeling pretty good about it.
Now, I just have to make sure that I finish the last 3.

But I am also thinking how I did this once before -
cut a large work in progress into 3 smaller pieces.

Here is one of the finished panels.
The dimensions are 21" x 42".


Its an interesting way to work on a series.

I'm linking this up to Off the Wall Friday.
Pop on over to see what some other fiber artists have been up to this week.

finished

This art quilt came together for me with relatively no angst. 
It started with simply doing some practice with free motion quilting
since it is a fairly new technique for me. 
I really discovered the joys of free motion quilting when I bought  new foot for my
Janome sewing machine. 
I had been using my Baby Lock machine, but it just wasn't going very well.
When I found out that the new foot I was wanting to try was only available for the Janome,
I decided to switch machines even though I had always preferred the Baby Lock.

The difference between the 2 machines was like night and day.
I was shocked and amazed as well as very, very happy!

Starting this piece is what untangled me from the intense feeling
of being overwhelmed several weeks ago.
So I ponder,
how is it possible for a new project to quiet the tornado in my head.
It seems to be a dichotomy at best. 

But I suppose it does really make sense.
You know how it goes,
piles of unfinished projects overtaking your work table,
looming house work,
family needs,
dinner plans,
the day job...
and for me - writing deadlines.

A new simple project brought me into focus
 and helped me settle into a nice comfortable work zone.

So much so that I was then able to cut into fourths a large art quilt that had become static.
But more about that/those pieces later!

Please, please, please click on the image for a larger view.

Finished size is 24" x 30"
Here are some detail shots.





All the fabric I used was hand painted white cotton.
The center fabric with orange, green and yellow leaf shapes
was a piece of batik fabric I made
using soy wax and Dye-ne-Flow.
If you want to see an earlier version of this piece click here.

Now here is the big clincher...

I need help with a title.
What do you all think?


I am linking this post up with http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/.
Pop on over to see what some other fiber artists are up to.

Earlier this week I was having coffee with an important new person in my life.
We were brain storming about what my next book should be. 
During this conversation I spoke about my blogs and how difficult it is to post everyday.
I had to admit to her that I tend to be an all or nothing kind of gal.  
As in everyday or not at all.
This tendency does not always help my cause.

Her advise to me was sound and simple.

So here goes:
you can expect to hear from me twice a week.
I will post on this blog Monday mornings and Friday mornings.

On my art journal blog, which you can find here,
I will also post twice a week,
 but on Wednesday mornings and Sunday mornings.

Yipee 
this feels so much more doable - while still being someone you (and I) can depend on.

OKAY

Now for something much more interesting:

Many of you know that I have 2 students who come to my studio every week for 2.5 hours. 
They have been doing this since June of 2013. It has been amazing and wonderful process. I feel so honored that they have chosen me for the task
of guiding them through this particular stage of their art making.
The truth is that they give to me in so many ways as well.

One of the things they have been working on is to create an arsenal of surface design tools and images. This way when they are in the heat of creativity,
they will have an inventory or bank of things to draw from and use,
without having to stop and make something.
Or worse yet, try to figure out what to make and then loose their way in the process.

Silk screening is something brand new for both of them.
I had them create 3 screens with images that relate to each other that are of different scales,
giving them an array of choices as they work.
They have been extraordinarily productive over the past 6 weeks or so.
I thought I would share with you what one student was doing this week
as she was using her silk screens for the first time.
She used them on her own hand painted fabrics as well as some commercial fabric.
















I love how they are coming along.
Fresh, alive and so vibrant!

I recently started a new sketch book.
I already have several: 
an art journal, an inspiration and idea book, a true sketchbook and now
a book that records my hand made stamps.

I love all these sketchbooks. I love having different ones for different categories.
I love holding therm and just running my hands across their well used pages.
I love the funny, crinkly sound the pages make when I turn them.
I adore how organized they are!!

They really help to quiet my overwhelmed mind. 
They give me cause to pause and breath.

My art journal now even has its own blog. You can find it here.

Below are the first pages of the Stamping Journal.
It is a record of the stamps, but it is also a place to try out some ideas using the stamps.
I'm using ink pads for these pages.
Something new I thought I would try.
As you can see  
I am starting to explore layering the stamped images.

























It has been over 10 days since my last post. Its not that there hasn't been anything going on, quite the contrary actually. I realize that I tend to write only when my head is clear and focused. Unconsciously I have been in teaching mode. And although I may talk about the feelings of being overwhelmed with students, I don't ever display it.

So it remains to be seen how I decide to go forward with this blog, and more importantly what I determine the act of blogging is for me. I have to be honest, I am not so sure I want to expose my heart and soul to all who choose to read and/or follow my blog - this blog.

Of course the fact remains that I not only exposed my inner feelings but also offered them up for all the world to see when I exhibited my figurative collage works. You can see them here. So why is this so different? I am not sure exactly.

But I do know that over the last handful of years I have explored the idea (and tangible items) of art (and crafts) for the sake of beauty alone. I have come to embrace what a difference living with beauty (and handmade) makes on our day to day existence. As an example, the experience of a morning cup of coffee from an ordinary store bought, mass produced mug and that from a hand made, expertly crafted mug that was thrown by your favorite potter is incredibly different. Don't get me wrong, I have always appreciated this fact, I just didn't think that those everyday items were mine to make. I had a higher calling. I made fine art!

My journey with fiber art, the onset of middle age, the need to make an income and life as a whole have changed that perspective. I'm turned inside out now. I'm standing on my head. I'm walking backwards while twirling in a circle. In other words, I'm having trouble pulling it all together - trouble making sense of who I am as an artist. All those puzzle pieces of who I am don't fit so cleanly together anymore.

The good news is that none of this has stymied my art production! If in my youth I was overwhelmed with emotion and finding purpose, I am now overwhelmed with my own production of ideas and work. However, now I have to grapple with questions like: Is it a fine art "art quilt" to hang on a wall or are these elements throw pillows for someone's couch? Am I invested in creating high end, sophisticated contemporary fine art or am I going to allow myself to make fiber art "products?"

You might ask, What kind of question is that for someone with a fine art training from one of the top art schools in the country? I guess an important one.

Okay, so the truth is that for the past 10 days or so I have been very busy making art, teaching, working at my part time job, mothering, wifeing (is that even a word?), writing for Stitch-It...Today, dyeing fabric, maintaining my Etsy shop and generally living my life with a tornado of thoughts constantly whirling around in my head. I am indeed confused.

The solution for now is that I am going to try to share more of this on going creative process here on this blog - both the good and bad - the beautiful and the ugly.


In the meantime - here is what's on the design board.
It currently measures 25.5" wide by 29" long.









Art Journal Post February 7?

So I thought this page was done on January 26th.
But I guess not.
Click here to see what it looked like before today.
Perhaps it was better then.
But I must move on. 
This is what I do - continue to work on a piece until it is just perfect.
But this is my journal. It is about progression and doing.
I am supposed to just move on.
And so it goes...