just start…

February 22nd, 2012

This afternoon I took time to go into the studio and just start. My wise friend Miriam Nathan-Roberts says when the muse is dormant just start! She is wise because it works.

Soon I was engrossed in the process and created this square from a linen dinner napkin for the  2012 SAQA fundraiser auction. Designing a 12″ square block is a great exercise in spontaneous creativity….at least for me.  I imagine there are some who carefully plan  theirs but I am more prone to spontaneity so other than fuss over contrasting curved lines it was all play with this piece.

Stay tuned…the auction is this fall. You too could own a wonderful piece of textile art while benefiting our professional organization.

Posted in new work, SAQA, surface design, textures, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

what good are excuses if we do not use them?

February 20th, 2012

Holy smokes…its been almost a month since I blogged! I have some really great excuses in honor of an old soul who once said what good are excuses if we do not use them?

As usual I have been immersed in the business of art-making  instead of the art-making. One thing to my credit is when I am in the studio I am prolific. So much so that I worry a lot about what will happen with my work when I am no more. Talk about the ultimate control issue!  My husband suggests it will not be my problem but rather my daughter’s.  As one who has cleaned out homes of two others that  is not a viable option.

So I continue to do a semi-annual cull of my studio passing along  treasure from my stash to others at The Legacy. This regional thrift shop which benefits a senior center handles only arts and crafts supplies. It is a veritable treasure chest of goodies and the challenge always remains to deposit more there than what is brought back. Rumor has it a  quilter/teacher/author stops in every Tuesday!

In the bag to go this time are several packets of HP postcard size print paper, some yardage I will never use, various small pieces of fabric that I can’t stomach, and yarn. I finally made peace with some yarn remnants I was knitting and ripping over and over again for 20+ years. It is time for a proper burial…into someone else’s stash!

Additionally we have been dealing with some hubby health issues. The jury is still out on the prognosis and so that makes for a bit more preoccupation than usual.

I believe as humans we are an addictive species. We all have addictions whether they be destructive or productive. We find ways to erase days, months and years from our life.  It simply amazes and amuses me that I choose to spend so much of my precious time doing art-business when in reality I could be making art. Seemingly I enjoy one as much as the other so it is a fine balance. Or is that just another excuse?!   I continue to be a work in progress.

 

 

 

Posted in procrastination, time management, Uncategorized, wisdom | No Comments »

new work…

January 26th, 2012

Today I managed to get to the basement to photograph two new pieces. I accessed the lower portion of the house by going out the front door and around the side to the back door with only two steps that direction.

I returned via the interior staircase, 13 in total which I managed easily one foot at a time. It was exhilarating all the same to manage the 13 stairs three months after a total knee replacement.

These two details are from the Keeping Up Appearances series which is a narrative study of mid-20th century etiquette.  KUA#4 was finished all but the stitching and hanging on my design wall when I went in for surgery as incentive to get back to stitching  as soon as I could push the pedal. It worked!

KUA#5 was but a figment in my imagination. The cloth was painted and prepped and also on the wall as incentive to design again.  It underwent several transformations in my mind before I actually picked up the rotary cutter. It was challenging to construct with layers of tule between a thick cotton tablecloth woven with metallic threads and various fused layers but in the end it all worked out and I like it..what more can you ask?

So now the wall is bare again.  I must get in there and put up something if only just a piece of batik. A blank wall does not inspire!  It’s nice to be back in the saddle!

Posted in knee surgery, new work, surface design, textures | No Comments »

really love the work…

January 17th, 2012

 

 

 

Today we made a leisurely drive up north to remove my work from a co-op gallery I joined six months ago.  This gallery has potential for growth but I chose to not stick around to see it as the monthly fees far exceeded my proceeds.

As a rule I keep a  inventory spreadsheet of my work showing in any gallery. I have been a member of  another gallery since 2009 and this spreadsheet helps me keep track of what has shown there, what has sold there and what has come home from there. It is essential to my life as an artist member.

So armed with my trusty spreadsheet I signed off my inventory at the northern gallery noticing  I was a couple items short. Then I noticed at the bottom of their inventory sheet were those two items listed as THEFT.

Theft? I queried.  When I hung my work there initially I was concerned about shoplifting as there are so many hidden rooms and passages that sales staff could hardly monitor. Then I never gave it another thought.

It is sad really.  Just think someone liked my work so much they stole it.

Posted in gallery | 3 Comments »

on jury process…

January 14th, 2012

Yesterday I had the privilege of being a juror for “Out of the Comfort Zone: New Directions in Quilting” which will exhibit March 2-July 29, 2012 at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, CA.  It was a wonderful process, a lot of fun and an interesting observation of my own artistic process.

Much of the work submitted for the exhibit was designed by quilters who had made the transition from traditional to ‘art quilts’  but not to professional presentation. With no desire for being so, early on I became the ‘quilt police’ as the borders and bindings choices and constructions drove me to distraction often being so wrong for the piece.  Beautiful design and imagery were completely lost when misshapen, poorly sewn and often bizarre color choices were attached to the outside edges with the idea that each piece must have these. They need not!

The finishing alone separated the women from the girls in this exhibit with just one male entry. Those whose work bore neither  bindings nor borders and those whose work did but completed with precision and professionalism really stood out for me.

As I wrote my jurors statement I pondered how truthful I should be! Should I write all pretty and rosy as some do or should I be straight with them?

The truly gratifying part of the experience is how far I have come and how much I have learned and implemented in my own transition from quilter to visual artist. Yes, honesty is important!

Posted in exhibits, teaching, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

making progress…

January 1st, 2012

Happy New Year!

When I went in for a knee replacement in October I left two pieces of cloth hanging on my design wall with the intention of inspiring me to get started again with my art-making. One piece was already designed and pin-basted to be stitched. The other was simply a painted metallic thread cotton tablecloth remnant in need of divine inspiration.

About 3 weeks ago I began to think more about the design for the painted cloth. This is for an invitational exhibit with a theme which I kept in mind while painting the many layers. And yet I wanted to create something that aligned somewhat with my usual work.  After said exhibit is down I want to be able to show this work along with other work of mine.

I had an idea in mind but after weeks of observing the cloth on the wall it was just not ringing my bell! So instead of using whole cloth, I began to cut it and arranged the new geometrics on top of tulle netting so they would appear to float.  This  complicated the construction process immeasurably  which I chose to look at it as a challenge and not as defeat. After two attempts to align the tulle on the batt behind the cloth I had a design epiphany and changed course again! And I love it! It is simultaneously different yet similar to my other work.

Now that the design part is done, this too is pin-basted to stitch. What I learned in the past two weeks is it is going to take me a while to do that. These babies will not be my usual afternoon stitching project. It may take me several days to stitch each one.

My husband commented on the irony that the sewing machine pedal is a tighter spring than the car accelerator. Who knew?!

This image is a preview. The entire piece will go up on my website when it is complete. There’s my next challenge: to get down 13 stairs to photograph it!  By the time I finish the stitching I should be up for it. Making progress…

 

Posted in knee surgery, new work, surface design | No Comments »

art goals…

December 26th, 2011

This is the time of year when I record my art goals for the new year. I don’t call them resolutions because there is nothing to resolve. To me resolution eventually equals guilt! Instead I set goals.

The practice of writing them down seems to have a large effect on meeting them. I may not even look at the list again during the year but when I do I am always surprised by how many of the goals have been achieved.  The other thing is I don’t share my list of goals with anyone. I want to keep to myself  the energy connected with making and achieving them. I work the same way. I never share work in progress as my enthusiasm for it leaves.

As I reflect back on my 2011 list I did well. The list was not especially long but I have switched my volunteer toggle from auto-pilot to conscious. I have many gifts and talents which are in demand by non-profits. Too often I have found myself working hard  for a cause and feeling  nothing but dread and regret.  There has to be something in it for me, which I believe not to be selfish but living  consciously.

Every year ‘spend less time on the computer‘ is on my list. I suppose it is true this year. I did spend less time on the actual computer, because I spent more time on the iPad!

Make larger work: slowly I have developed larger work. Because I stitch with a machine designed for the home, I am not into 80″ x 80″ yet!  I have considered buying a long-arm machine but not thrilled with the idea. I am more into the get rid of stuff stage of life than the acquire more stuff stage.

Smell the roses: I certainly have done that the past 2.5 months since I had knee surgery. My post-anesthesia short attention span seems to be fading as I am now enjoying studio time once again.

There are two items on my 2011 list that I did not achieve so they go to the top of the 2012 list. In August when my October surgery was scheduled I gave myself permission to advance these two to the 2012 list as I was busy making art and did not want to switch to the left brain for these marketing tasks.  As I am coming round to working in the studio again I still don’t want to work on them. The time will come when I will…in 2012.

Happy New Year!

 

 

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blog delinquency…

December 18th, 2011

I have been blog delinquent!  I continue to recover at a good pace from a total knee replacement 8 weeks ago. I am now back in the pool, walking with a cane in the exterior world and less so at home, driving, prepping some food, minimal shopping, clearing out  and  loading the dishwasher etc.  In my mind I have  a few  more hurdles ahead: doing the laundry, buying groceries & schlepping them into the house, house-cleaning, making an entire dinner, but most importantly getting back to art-making. Perhaps I should allow my mate to continue to shop, cook, clean and launder so I can use my energy to work!

This week I sewed several art postcards to sign and mail to the galleries and consultants who represent my work; an important end of the year task. It was a short immersion into sitting, sewing and standing at the ironing board and cutting table.

Before surgery I left two pieces on my design wall to inspire and motivate when the time came. One is a painted vintage cotton/metallic tablecloth and the other is #4 in the Keeping up Appearances series which is pieced  and pin-basted ready to be stitched.

Every time I open the studio door I am met with wonderful energy that beckons me inward. The time is coming, the time is near when I will go there in earnest and begin. As a colleague says I just need to start...

Posted in knee surgery, new work, surface design, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

act without thinking…

December 5th, 2011

As I have entered week seven post-op from a total knee replacement my thinking cap has been relocated and is now in full operation!  Now that I have regained my ability to drive the car, and walk with a cane my brain has gone into overdrive with all the things that should soon follow. Of course getting into the studio to make art is one of those things.

I continue to be hounded by these thoughts that I should get in there soon and pick up where I left off. Where I left off actually was with two pieces pinned to the design wall with the intention of inspiring me to just ‘start’ again. One is designed and ready to be stitched and the second  has been painted but remains in need of design.

As the remnants of 3 types of anesthesia began to wear off during week four I became aware that not much had filled up my creative well during those 3 previous weeks.  I had been magnetized to the iPad for entertainment and communication. As anyone who has spent too much time online knows, it sucks the life-force out of you; it just does not replenish at all. I read ONE book and countless magazines, played hundreds of games of scrabble but not a lot of creative energy went in aside from sleeping 11-12 hours a night producing great healing results.

So just as I got the nagging thoughts that I should be back in the studio making art I happened upon these words in the Tao…don’t think so hard, don’t think so much…act without thinking. I THINK I will do that!

Posted in knee surgery, procrastination, wisdom | 1 Comment »

winter solstice…

November 20th, 2011

Most of us know winter solstice to be in the deep darkness of December. While we barely notice it in North America I had the extreme delight to experience it in Sweden in 1999. Our family escaped to the hinterlands in an effort to avoid the Y2K  mania here in the States. It was such a treat to spend the darkest December days in the far northern part of Sweden, very near the Arctic Circle and to experience the Aurora Borealis as well.

So I am particularly excited to tell you about a Winter Solstice fiber exhibition in Palo Alto, CA Dec 1-Jan 25, 2012. I will have three pieces in the exhibit including the one on the postcard.

Unfortunately I will not be in attendance at the opening.  I continue to heal from knee surgery 5 weeks ago.   I continue to stretch, ice, strengthen, walk, rest, sleep and eat my way back to independence and mobility with my eyes on the prize of making art again by year’s end.

If ever there was an excuse to pull out of all the holiday stress, fuss and muss this is it. I am doing nothing this year to decorate, shop, cook, whatever.  My gift to all dear this year is one of being fully present.

Posted in exhibits, knee surgery, seasonal | 3 Comments »

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