Category Archives: Uncategorized

Blanket Statement

These last couple of weeks, I’ve frantically been working to complete the fusing portion of the center horseman panel before other, looming responsibilities interrupt me.  The body of the rider has taken a lot of energy.  There were many tiny pieces and a lot of confusion in sorting out what was what in the photo, but I finally put him together.

The big design decision here was the color scheme for the blanket.  The overall scheme for the piece is a double compliment: red-green, blue-orange.  Currently, a very dark orange is brought into the composition through the horse. I really wanted to work in some lighter warm orange in the blanket, but couldn’t visualize it.  Several photocopies of the pattern were made and filled in with colored pencils.  In the end, it was a red, white, blue, and gray scheme that worked with the rest of the composition. See the progress below.

A portion of the original photo

A portion of the original photo

Audition colors on paper. Orange isn't working

Audition colors on paper. Orange isn’t working

Blanket in progress in red, white, blue--and grey.

Blanket in progress in red, white, blue–and grey.

Finished rider.

Finished rider.

I’ll tell you about the background in a future blog.

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Sharing Student Successes

The reward of being a teacher is to experience the success of one’s students.  In recent weeks, I’ve been sent photos of finished work from several students.  Some of these photos have come from other states and other continents.  The magic of the internet is that it bridges great distances.  Below, please enjoy some of the work that others have done using my lessons on fused appliqué.

Work by Paula Tuaño, Bayberry Quilters of Cape Cod (disregard the dates in the corners of the photos.)

Asleep in the Car

Asleep in the Car

Three Bums from South Ferry flophouses, Battery Park, NYC 1941

Three Bums from South Ferry flophouses,
Battery Park, NYC 1941

Work by Joan Musick, Colorado Springs

Oscar

Oscar

detail of Oscar

detail of Oscar

Work by Marie Glover, Yeelanna, South Australia

title unknown

title unknown

 

Portrait Quilt by Marie Glover,

Portrait Quilt by Marie Glover,

Thanks for sharing, ladies.

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I’m Making Water

Finally, it’s time put start fusing fabric.  For my next piece, The Four Horsemen”, I’m starting at the bottom and working my way up.  That means creating the river that the horsemen are crossing.  Hand-dyed fabrics in cool blue and a slightly warmer blue-green are chosen.

water1Looking at the pattern, I see that there is a lot of value change and small pieces needed to get the effect of flowing, swirling water.  After studying the pattern, the best course of action seems to be to establish some larger value areas with big pieces of fabric and then apply smaller lighter and darker pieces over the top.Water 2

 

The process involves lots of tedious cutting, with sharp curves.  However, it worth it when I step back and can see the pattern of the ripples change as the water flows around the horses legs.  I’m pleased with the contrast of light-dark, and warm-cool.  It’s a good start.water-full

 

 

 

 

 

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What to do with Leftovers

Boxes of leftovers

Boxes of leftovers

Part of preparing for a new piece, is cleaning out the studio to make space for the work. A significant by-product of my process is lots of scrap fabrics with fusible on the back.  These scraps come in unusual shapes and sizes.  I have trouble throwing them away, so I sort them by color and store them in small bins.  After completing Panning for Gold and Bike Boys, my neutral bins were over flowing.  It was time to act.

I sat down with my bins, some fat quarters and leftover pieces of muslin next to the ironing board and began to play.  The rules of this game were to use only the scraps in the bins, to act impulsively, and let ideas develop spontaneously.  There were no patterns, no preliminary drawing, and no end in mind.

It was quite cathartic, and once I got started, I couldn’t stop.  I created a new series that I now call “Remnants”.  Take a look.

 

Remnants I

Remnants I

Remnants II

Remnants III

Remnants III

Remnants IV

Remnants IV

Remnants VI

Remnants VI

Remnants V

Remnants V

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Embracing Limitations

I shake.  Most notably, my hands shake.   Some days are worse than others.  I have a condition called “Essential Tremor”. The diagnosis came back in the 90’s and after trying a couple of medications with side effects that were worse than the condition, I’ve resigned myself to live with it.

My photo of nephew Jake at his commissioning ceremony.

My photo of nephew Jake at his commissioning ceremony.

The condition has been both a curse and a blessing in my art. The tremor makes it difficult for me to take good photos.  I have a new camera that has an anti-shake feature, but some days, it’s just not enough.  I like to work from my own photos so that I don’t have to worry about copyright issues, but am finding that increasingly difficult.  This is a contributing factor to my working from historical photos.

stitching oops!

stitching oops!

Another reality is that I have difficulty sewing a straight line when stitching with my longarm machine.  If you ever see my work on a traditional quilt design, you would not be impressed.  The up side is that it led me to thread painting.  My style of free-motion stitching doesn’t rely on the same kind of precision.  When it is necessary to be precise with details, I must slow down.  Sometimes, I make one stitch at a time: needle up, needle down, needle up, needle down. Sometimes, I despair, wondering what will happen to my art if and when the conditions becomes worse.

I just found an inspiring TED talk by an artist with a similar condition.  It applies to anyone on a creative journey and I want to share it with you. Phil Hansen TED talk

 

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What’s new? It’s cold.

Finally! I’m starting on my next big piece.  Like Bike Boys, it is based on an historical photo from the archives of the History Museum in Denver.  The photo features a group of Native American men, I assume to be Lakota warriors, on horseback, crossing, what I suppose is the Platt River.

I’m changing the figures around to create a more pleasing composition.  In the original photo, the main figure sits tall on a horse looking directly at the viewer.  He is flanked on either on either side by figures in side or back view.  My plan is to flip these figures around so that the new figure on the far left is looking over his shoulder back toward the viewer and the central figure, thus bringing the focus back to the central warrior. I’m auditioning a couple of options for placement.

Option 1

Option 1

 

Option 1:  The size of the figures works for their placement, but the depth of water is wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Option 2

Option 2

Options 2:  I like the diagonal flow of the composition, but the figure in the foreground is too small.  Enlarging him will throw off the balance of the piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The problem this creates has to do with the depth of the water. When looking at the horses legs and how deep they are in the water, everything gets confusing.  The solution is to change the position of the viewer. The original photo seems to have ben taken from the edge of the river, but I will shift the riders so that the viewer is placed in the center of the river, in the deep water, looking toward the far shore.

Temps outside the glass door are sub-zero.

Temps outside the glass door are sub-zero.

With that decided, I’ve begun drawing the pattern for the central t rider.  He’s so large that I must use my back door for a light table. Unfortunately, sub-zero temperatures are brushing up against the other side of that door. It takes only a few minutes of drawing for my fingers to begin to turn numb from the cold.  I find, that if I’m going to make any progress, I’ve got to don gloves to keep my hands warm.  It’s a little awkward, but do-able.

 

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Lights, Camera, Action

This is the week that the crew from TheQuiltShow.com comes to Denver to tape their next season of shows.  I was the guest artist on their first show in the new studio.  I’ve been to several tapings before, but there is nothing like being on the other side of the camera.  My husband , parents and sister were able to come and support me and help calm my nerves.  Here are a few shots from behind the scenes.

family on the set

Family on the set.

Alex holds my book

Alex holds my book.

computer prep

Ernie gets the computer to work

hanging quilts

Hanging quilts with Adele.

how does this work

Sewing lesson from Alex.

jim

Jim, my muse, my mentor

makeup

Makeup

my guys

My guys.

prep talk

Hmmmm.

sitting talking

Speaking of quilts.

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Reflections on Houston

I’ve come to the end of an amazing week at the Houston Quilt festival.  As I try to think of what to write, I’m still overwhelmed by all that happened.  I’m just going to post some photos with captions to show some highlights.

The Winner’s Circle Luncheon on Wednesday put me at the front table.

Must be careful not to spill.

Must be careful not to spill.

There are hundreds of people out there.

There are hundreds of people out there.

At the podium, stay calm, speak clearly.

At the podium, stay calm, speak clearly.

Loving husband, biggest fan

Loving husband, biggest fan

My parents are here to share the moment.

My parents are here to share the moment.

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Judging a Book by its Cover

Panning CoverAfter working on my new book all summer: sewing samples, photographing the stages, and explaining it all with text, it came time to design the cover.  I thought that using a photo of my work, “Panning for Gold” would be great since it has won a couple of awards this year.  That’s when I discovered the benefits of having a great editor and designer looking out for me.

It was pointed out to me that the cover I proposed was drab in color and portrayed an old, poor man, working hard in an icy mountain stream–No joy there!!  I was also forced to consider how the cover would look on a website where it would appear only a few inches high.  Details are lost, and colors blend together.  A cover has to work at full size and in miniature.

Another consideration is how the book will be displayed in a shop.  Often books are stacked on shelves that allow only the top 2 inches of the book to be seen.  This means that those top 2 inches are prime real-estate.

Finally, I didn’t want to add a subtitle.  Sometimes those seem to go on forever.  I like short and sweet.  Again, my team showed the value of using this opportunity to further define my book topic for those who are not familiar with my work.

I can’t say enough good things about Janice Brewster, editor, and Karen Sulmonetti, designer.  They are The Creative Girlfriends.  If you are thinking about writing a book, click on their link and get started.

With all of this in mind, it was back to the drawing board, and sewing machine, for a new and improved cover.  Here is what we came up with:

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