Archive for January, 2012

new work…

Thursday, 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!

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really love the work…

Tuesday, 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…

Saturday, 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…

Sunday, 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 »