Number 9 and 10

I've done it! A little scary, yes...resigned from one of my positions out there in the real world so I can focus more on the business end of creating my art.

I'm working on the 9th and 10th pieces in my "hands" series. I wish I had a title for this collection, but unfortunately, it just hasn't come yet.  As I post more images and the adventures connected with these, if you have any ideas, please post a comment!

The ninth one is in honor of my dear friend, Bobbie, and will have the image of her hands on it.  It started out as an olive green batik to which I discharged some areas with a floral stamp.  I then did a paint wash with emerald green Setacolor and highlighted some of the "wisps" with a mixture of emerald green and turquoise Setacolor.  There's a little stitchery shop in Rockford that I go to for specialty threads, loving the Caron "Watercolors" 3-ply floss. In the photos below, you can see the dark gold/olive/bluish purple floss that I chose...

The tenth one is a little different - this was actually a fat quarter with a design that reminded me of a large apartment building in a downtown area.  I saw windows, and I saw "dark."  I had this black leather-like trim with grommets in my stash for awhile, but just didn't know what to do with it.  I knew it needed RED stitching!  It's reading "HOT" now - bustling activity (not all of it good, maybe?)...





Getting back to my headline, yes I have resigned my position at Emmanuel, to be effective after Easter.  I know it's not a great time to leave a position, but I'm ready.  The church is ready, I believe.  Now it begins, devoting more efficeint time on the computer. Getting my butt out of bed earlier in the mornings when I'm not at the store.  Photographing my work - I did finally get a new camera, so now I have to learn what it can do.  Going for a couple more art fairs, which I love doing.  Teaching, teaching, teaching. My studio is trashed, too, and desperately needs a major purge.

Chocolate as Inspiration?

Well, maybe it was the chocolate truffle egg that I enjoyed earlier today...

I've found myself looking away from the batiks for my "hands" series.  I was in a strange mood today and not sure why, and now it's too late in the day for introspection.  So, I'll describe what's going on with my 8th piece...

Can I finally say now that I'm in my 50's that I'm into "leatha?" 

The background piece is actually polyester suedecloth with this incredible texture, and was surprisingly pretty easy to hand-stitch through.  A smaller piece of copper home decor fabric on top makes a nice contrast to the dark brown suedecloth, and my "hearts in hand" stamped image on the black lexus vinyl finishes the stacked look that I was going for.  Now that I've photographed it, is it just me, or do we see CHOCOLATE?

Detail shot!

I'll be anxious to hear what Sherrie Loves Color! -  thinks, since she is the ultimate chocolate-holic AND the dear friend that got me addicted to iced mochas...Sherrie, are you listening?

The Beautiful Hands Series: Update

Delving into this latest series, I've realized this project IS a good one.  I'm focused.  And...unlike  my winter addiction to crochet where I was probably close to a intervention, I've actually kept up with a little housework, and to that end, I'm feeling less guilty.

This one has me fascinated.  I'm looking at every pair of hands that I shake, and I want to touch them.  No worries, I am asking first.  Then, of course, I have to photograph them.  Thinking about the caring, healing hands at Emmanuel started me thinking about who's fingers I wanted to have in my collection. 

The first on my list was Millie, 90+ years old.  There are stories in those hands...

I started on my 7th piece a few days ago.  This one is not a batik, or even a hand dye.  It was a cheap cotton print (read - 13" for 85 cents), but I was intrigued with the pattern and I think it will be good for including some masculine hands on it. Oh. Now I realize that that I can't upload a pic of it because I had to re-charge the camera batteries.  I'll share the next time.  I do have some others though...

This last photo is of my first experiment with a Stazon Stamp Pad.  I spied something copper, and my heart starting racing.  What I didn't know was that these are 19.99 each - ouch!  Thank goodness they were 40% off at the store, so the sale price combined with my team member discount made it much more appealing. I like the fact that since it is solvent based, it does dry fast and you can use it on more than just paper. Other metallic stamp pads do not dry very well, and always tend to rub off.  This is a sample of some very nice fake leather (vinyl) - it's name is "lexus" - go figure. I wonder which of my series this "hand" will be included on...

  Late night realization here: I like how my "hearts in hand" stamp has been doing something interesting here, depending on what I stamp it on. I know that, I guess I needed to post the photos for it to sink in.

Castaway - Not for Fabrics

I thought I had in mind where this new series of 12x12 pieces was taking me.  I was wrong.

From mixed media paper application and color to hand quilted squares of batiks, some commercial, some that I'm creating with thiox and stamps.  I think what happened was when I photographed my "Book of Repose" where I had embroidered the front with variegated perle cottons, the gears shifted, the planets fell in line...and I read about  JACQUARD Castaway Stamp Pad
- sounded perfect - a way to create small intricate designs on hand dyes, kona solids and...paper.  I ordered it and when it arrived, I tore into it and grabbed bits of everything to try it on. IT DOES NOT WORK ON FABRIC, JULAINE.
Who needs to read the instructions, I mean papers are natural fibers, fabrics are natural fibers. The info on the package says that it works on non-glossy papers, so I figured as long as the fabrics were washed well, it would work on them as well.  No luck.
If any of you have tried this and had success with fabric, please let me in on the secret!  Thanks...

So I give you some images of my pieces so far.  The 5 that I'm working on are in different stages of completion.  I'm looking for some interesting hands to photograph to add to the pieces, so I will try at church on Sunday - one of the dear ladies, Millie, is in her 90's and her hands tell a lot of stories...
and...that's what I'm going for - what our hands have done...how they ache sometimes...how they become gnarled with age and arthritis.


           

Paper and Color - The Hands and Hearts Series

We were given a gift, Jeff and I...with yesterday's blizzard keeping us in the house, there were so many things (chores) that we could've engaged in, but we talked and talked.

The sun was shining, the wind had calmed down, and we decided to clear the driveway of the too many inches of snow.  With that done, we headed into the house. Had a nice lunch together, watched a great movie.  A nice day. It was also the day I had been waiting for to play in the studio and make a mess.  Mission accomplished!

I first grabbed a piece of some old onion paper, and just started gluing down scraps of whatever was in one of my bins of "this looks interesting" stuff.  Alcohol inks dripped on.  Gold and copper stamp pads pressed in - one does not always need to use them with stamps.  Tomorrow after work, I plan on using my hand carved "heart in hand" stamp to add to this starter piece and see where it takes me.  

Starting with a Rubber Stamp

"But these thy fortunes let us straight repose in this divine cave's bosom."
Chapman

It all started with a rubber stamp - Woman in Repose - she is still available at the Jo-Ann Stores...

Last year for Rockford's Spring Artscene, our Art@Emmanuel's exhibit was entitled "People of the Book" - characters that have inspired us, challenged us, sacred or secular.
I had been working on some pieces that all started with the melting of ink from National Geographic Magazines using Citra-Solv, and I knew that I wanted to create a book of pages, in which the pages would be loose and could be framed if wanted. Since the book would end up being about 3 inches deep, I needed a way to connect the front and back covers, so I attached them with pieces from an old leather belt of Jeff's.

The process (I wished now I had photographed to share with you) was very satisfying. At least I can tell you the steps:  
*each page started with heavy cardstock wrapped with cheesecloth
*color was added with water soluble artists' crayons (caran d' ache)
*the altered Nat Geo pages were adhered on top of the cheesecloth
*the images were stamped onto different papers and color added with alcohol inks, then glued onto the pages (pvc glue, double sided tape)
*more color added, if needed, with markers, the crayons, inks
*sealed with a glossy gel medium (golden)

There are 10 pages all together...here are 3 of my favorites...

I used a commercial batik for the covers and hand-quilted the front with perle cotton, adding a few french knots.  I love hand-stitching along the lines on batiks.  The stamped image on the cover is in front of a painted piece of interfacing using one of my hand carved stamps.

Today, with the impending blizzard, this "Woman in Repose" is all I need for today's studio work. This is after, of course, planning a little outing for needed supplies - food, prescriptions, maybe some extra batteries for the flashlights...it might be 2-3 inches of snow per hour tonight.  Jeff just called and said the church is closed until Thursday. Maybe I'll pick up a movie or two and some popcorn.

Art Quilt Commission

"But this is only a start. Beyond lies the mystery of time, a new beginning."

Words from a poem written by a dear friend, who will be celebrating his 70th birthday in June.

He has commissioned me to create a wall hanging for him in honor of this milestone in his life.  I accepted and am thrilled.  The poem is just wonderful and I consider it to be the perfect inspiration. He wants to have a small party in conjunction with an art exhibit to celebrate the day.  We laughed when he said that he wants an "unveiling" of the quilt.  It will be a first for me, he's serious! We joked about what type of fabric to cover the quilt and how to "light" it just right. Oh, the drama...I love it!

I would love to post the entire poem, but that would not be appropriate at this time, but he's okay with just one line...

If you have any thoughts on how to make the "unveiling" extra special (or a little kitschy), please let me know! 

Extreme Mixed Media

Or...extreme madness?  That's okay, isn't it? We creative types are always looking for ways to expand our repertoire!


Last week, I took on a new challenge at the store - I'm actually on the "task team" that is responsible for receiving weekly shipments (a small one is 100+ boxes). The boxes are loaded onto a mechanical conveyor and we move them along, open each one and remove/sort all the merchandise into bins or onto carts, depending on whether it's crafts and notions, etc. or fabric.

I used to think it was dangerous for me to stock new fabric, but that's nothing now compared to the wonders of stocking the craft aisles.  Yes, there are wondrous things to behold in that department... I'm even looking at those cheap plastic beads in a different way...

I have always loved Beacon glues, so I got a bottle of their "Zip Dry" that's not supposed to wrinkle paper.  Stocked scrapbooking paper and it was 6 for .96, and took home some cardboard discs that held elastic by the yard.

Desperately needed a new ironing board cover, and this one was clearanced to 4.97.  It has a very thick pad, a silicone pad for resting the iron on, and a huge pocket on one side for, you know, other stuff. I may use it for scraps.

Today I stocked yarn. Oh, my...considered it a real victory that I only purchased one skein of it.




After tomorrow, I'll have 3 days off, so I'm planning on getting into lots of trouble in the studio - maybe I'll even do some art...

Alcohol Ink Adventures

 
I have put the crochet hook down!


All it took was for my Dharma Trading order to come today...actually Jeff had to pick it up for me at the post office - could not believe that Mr. Postman didn't leave it yesterday (maybe he's on vacation).  In the order was my yardage of black silk chiffon for Wednesday's nuno-felting class, and...one small bottle of Pinata Alcohol Inks.

I have most of the Adirondack Inks, but never found a nice mixing blue, so I thought I would try one of the Jacquard Pinata Colors.  This paper started out as a page from last year's boring kitchen calendar - and the process begins!

1 - Citra-solv cleaner spritzed on the page
2 - Alcohol ink and copper metallic mixative (adirondack) dripped onto my special pad (make your own from a small plastic container, cover it with a little piece of hook and loop tape - the hook side - sticky back type, then place a square of cotton batting on it, remove when icky, save it because you never know...and replace as needed)
 
3 - Swirled the drops onto the page
4 - Sprayed rubbing alcohol onto the page
5 - Held my nose and blew the colors around - this was weird, but the effects
are nice.

Plans are to alter some Nat Geo pages in the same way, seal them, back them with muslin and do some quilting.  I'll let you know how it all works out...

The other fun adventure was to take this vintage gift bag that held a birthday gift and carefully take it apart. Check out that incredible texture and all the gold leafing!  It is very heavy paper and was made in India.  After a little research on the internet, I'm thinking it might be made from banana paper and maybe a little silk.  It smells of my MIL's basement and when it was disassembled, it became a 16x25 inch piece of wonder...


 
Karen Davis, aka Seamless Skincommented on Facebook that I should scan it to save the design for collage work - what a wonderful idea!

Classes, Classes, Classes

Okay then.  My Nuno-Felting on Silk class is now filled for next Wednesday at Unique Yarns Inc.
so we've added another offering in April.  I told Becky, the owner of the yarn shop, that my brain was filling with possible other classes that I would love to teach there!  She has the perfect classroom, and the fact that there is a utility room with a large sink in it right by the classroom is perfect.

The class offerings at the Rockford Art Museum are coming up next month and will run throughout the spring semester...and...I had to send in my proposals for the summer semester last week.  They have this wonderful program for children called "Whiz Kids" that's been around for 25 years now, and they were looking for week-long classes for the summer.  Wasn't too painful to do that since I've been working with the children at Emmanuel for 10 years, and the curricula that we use there is a rotation (multi-intelligences) program.  Last year we hosted two "Five Buck Art Clubs" for when the children were on breaks from schools...

One of the week-long class proposals I came up with was a kids' quilting week that is mostly put together with fabric adhesive (i know, it's a little scary).  I will do the final quilting and sewing of the final piece and then we'll donate the quilt to a childrens' organization. I'm excited about this, since it will force me into that mode of which I have been away from for awhile... 

Nuno Felting 2011

What a fun class this was on December 1st! The ladies quietly knitting at the table at Unique Yarns Inc. were wondering if there was some sort of high impact fiber exercises going on in the classroom...

No, just learning and laughter, and maybe a little tightening of the upper arms (we can only hope, right?) during the rolling process. Who knows, this could be an added benefit from creating what I call "Of Wool and Silk Bondage"...

I just heard yesterday that my upcoming class on January 19th is now filled, and since there are two more opportunities for nuno-felting coming up through Rock Valley College's Spring Semester 2011Community Ed springce-2011.pdf (application/pdf Object) , I'm hoping that others can come and experience this wonderful process.

Speaking of laughter, my fabulous friend, Bobbie, treated me to a birthday lunch yesterday at a great little place downtown Rockford...Bamboo is the place for the best spring rolls.  Should've taken a photo of the artful plate before I started digging into the feast.

Healthy OCD?

Light is on. I am definately home. And...these are fun on a hook!

The rhythmic movement of crocheting is healthy, just like almost all other handwork. I am determined to keep my hands from looking (and ouch, feeling) like so many of my female relatives. There's so much rheumatoid and osteoarthritis is my family, and I'm hoping that by this creative form of regular hand and finger exercises, I won't suffer that pain, stiffness and loss of motion. Please don't tell me that it could possibly bring it on and/or make it worse...

When I found out earlier last year that both my knees are "bone on bone," the orthopedic surgeon told me to continue walking and to take up water activities (I hate pools, so you'd be surprised what I can accomplish in the tub). He's right - whenever I've missed a few days of walking, the knees are worse.

I found the link for the pattern from the Ravelry site: Crocheted Heart Pattern « Hinzpired

Oh, and there's always relaxation and clear thinking involved, especially after you have a pattern memorized.

On the New Year

"Reality runs up your spine, and the pieces finally fit."

Those words woke me up some months ago, and I've been trying to figure out what it means. The words are actually from an Elton John song called "The One" that I've always loved listening to. So it's in my soul somewhere. I hadn't listened to it for a long time because I had lost the CD that it was on. It's probably buried in a stack of Jason's music somewhere.

Challenges in the workplace...Jason's engagement to Ashley...end stage arthritis of both knees...gallery representation in Chicago...full time messes in the studio (too many projects started, never finished), going back to teaching art classes for Rock Valley College...learning how to crochet and having it take over my creative life (why? because it's easy, color filled and I can sit on my butt and watch "Mad Men" on demand)...frustrations over enabling others with volunteer projects and doing the work myself just so it gets done and makes for a satisfying outcome (why? because I was always taught to be nice to others, even if it's makes you miserable)...I haven't quilted anything in many months (a year maybe).

One thing I am sure about is that I need to develop and define my artwork and be disciplined with the business of marketing myself at a more professional level. I have the perfect photographer, but need to get it all arranged. I need to get away from checking e-mail and Facebook 3 or 4 times a day when it's mostly junk. I am such a night owl and would be perfectly happy creating all night, and sleeping till noon every day, but the rest of the world doesn't work that way.

I could've written this in my journal, but wanted to post it here on my blog in the hopes of being more committed to it. What comes along with this is reading others' blogs that I haven't checked in a long time.

The photo is of my quilt "Together" - it was my very first piece that was published - The Houston Quilt Festival catalog in 2003.

Rag and Retro

Years ago, I was part of a women's group that met about once a month and we called ourselves "The Rag Group"...sounds kind of silly now, but it all started because most of us seemed to have our periods at the same time. Okay, so if you've ever heard the expression, "on the rag," you know where that one came from.

I've taken what I've spun on the drop spindle and have knitted about 1 1/2 balls into this wild piece. I used size 35 needles (Jason's comment: God Mom, can they get any bigger? Why yes, son, wait until you see me working with the bright red size 50 ones), and it knitted up very fast. I'm now thinking about making purses out of these pieces, since I'm getting ready for Emmanuel's upcoming "Bohemian Holiday Bazaar" and in the past, my funky bags have been popular...

Yesterday, I was at the store looking for fabrics to make pillowcases out of, and I found this wonderful retro print. The memories came in a flood! Not sure what to make, but you know, I had to get a couple of yards before it's gone. Since I work at the store, I know that some fabrics are not replenishable from the warehouse. The second photo is of a coordinate...
Remember a couple of years ago when I made those 3 piece fleece socks? Well I finally bought the pattern (Green Pepper) so I can make them for children and men. Next week's creative adventures will include power sewing multiple pairs...

Art Yarns

I recently treated myself to a beautiful drop spindle from Golding Fiber Tools . This came after purchasing the new book "Get Spun" by Symeon North. I hadn't read enough of the book to know that the author only used a spinning wheel to create her art yarns, so I thought that I was out of luck and could only refer to the luscious pages as eye candy and would not be able to create anything with this seemingly simple drop spindle that could only be used to spin roving into boring solid color yarn.

I had e-mailed the company, and the owner responded to my questions of what to order. Tom Golding recommended the perfect weight, size and type of spindle for what I wanted to do...not 100's of yards of thin yarn, but a few yards at a time of wild, wooly, silky, polyestery (?) and whatever else I could get my hands on in the studio to ply together. I either dreamed that someone told me that these were the best, or I read it somewhere. Anyway, I am so pleased with my beautiful top whorl drop spindle...

It's taken me 3 weeks, and 3 episodes of "Mad Men" and "Project Runway" to spin 3 balls of my version of art yarn...I've started the fourth ball even though the season's over for my favorite shows. I have no idea of what I'm going to do with it afterwards. I always think that I will end up some day with a sweater or vest, something more substantial than a scarf (I have many).

Coming up soon on the horizon is a holiday art show at Rockford's Womanspace and the "Bohemian Holiday Bazaar" at Emmanuel that our art group is hosting. I'll also be teaching a nuno-felted scarf class at Unique Yarns Inc.
on December 1st. Thanks to Becky Maselli, the owner, for the opportunity...
I so look forward to teaching and being a part of creative events...
Wishing I could do my art full time.