Week in Review 2015 - 07/17

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Adoration is a self portrait of me holding
Andrew, our first grandson.

Today is my grandson Andrew's 8th birthday. He is the first of our five grandchildren. He was followed by two brothers. They make up one family of grandchildren. Next came our two granddaughters. I was thinking how much our children and grandchildren are like my idea of working in a series. Taken individually, each is unique and is treated with great excitement upon arrival. Parenting our children and grandchildren I quickly learned that what works for one doesn't necessarily work for the next. I was constantly needing to try new parenting strategies and combining them with what I already know. Then there is the fact that my children are certain they have better parenting skills than I did. Yet I secretly watch what they do and see parallels with my own methods, taking delight that some of the routines or strategies I used are being revised.

Each panel in Deconstructed Sunrise
can be seen as a series. I certainly picked up tips
and became more comfortable as I worked on
each successive one.

Three more panels from Deconstructed Sunrise
have been quilted and joined.

I conjecture, that for me, working in series is just like parenting and grandparenting. I learn from each quilt that I make. Then in subsequent quilts I use what I have learned and build on it. Sometimes the series isn't so obvious. Very few of my quilts look alike or even similar. Yet, I am able to pull together various combinations of my work that demonstrate my progression of my work with this technique, that understanding of color and even a return to trees over and over again. I doubt to the causal observer of my work she would say that I work in a series. If the point of working in a series is to dig deeply into a technique or theme and learn from repetition, then I have been working in multiple series since I first started quilting.

In a way, Deconstructed Sunrise, the quilt I am currently working on, can be seen as a series within a series. It has been fun this week to continue with the quilting, repeating some patterns and working with new ones. Here is how the week played out:

1) Continue quilting Deconstructed Sunrise - Due November 30, 2015) - Done

2) Free motion quilting practice.  - Done

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 53/126

This is the back side of the three panels from
Deconstructed Sunrise that I worked on this week.
I'm having so much fun with the quilting.

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done

I'm having so much fun quilting Deconstructed Sunrise that I hate to see that phase come to end. However, if my week goes as planned that is precisely what will happen.

1) Finish quilting Deconstructed Sunrise - Due November 30, 2015)

2) Start the finishing work on Deconstructed Sunrise

3) Free motion quilting practice. 

4) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015

5) Perform a random act of kindness 

I am now linking up to two blogs on Fridays. The first is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays and the second is Free Motion Mavericks.

Week in Review 2015 - 2/20

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Adoration - submitted, but rejected from
Legacy, an upcoming art exhibit at the
Neville Museum in Green Bay, WI

The question I am asking myself as I sit down to write this week's post is how best to frame the past week? It would be easy to put myself forward in the best light and share my week's successes. It may be cathartic for me and enlightening to you to share the more difficult issues I faced. Dickens said it best when he opened A Tale of Two Cities with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." In truth, my week was neither of these extremes, but it certainly hasn't been inconsequential times either. I received the slim envelope twice this week. First from the Neville Museum in Green Bay, WI that requested artwork for their upcoming exhibition titled, Legacy. What could better suit the theme than Adoration? Well apparently after reviewing all the entries the juror came up with an exhibition that was land based. Adoration certainly didn't fit into that slant on legacy. Next to be rejected was Night Vision. I was in very good company with this one. 80% of the works entered were rejected. How do I dust myself off? I fill out yet another call for entry this time to an art exhibit in Missouri titled Wild Thing, that is looking for art based on wild animals and even mentions creatures of the rain forest in the prospectus. So the waiting game begins again.

Night Vision - submitted, but rejected from
Wild Fabrications. Now waiting to hear if it
got into Wild Things.

Another way I cope with rejection is to focus on what has gone well. It took a little more than two weeks, but I am finally able to attend to my work as Interim Chair of SAQA's Exhibition Committee and still spend three solid days working in the studio and another day handling the business end of things. How did I spend my studio time? Beading, of course.

1) Mondrian Tackles Fibonacci - (Due May 1, 2015)

a) Continue beading - Done!

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Oops. I meant to do this yesterday, but I was so caught up in my beading that I just plum forgot.

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015 - 19.5/126

Two rows of beading complete in each of the four
quadrants of the 16" square white block in
Mondrian Tackles Fibonacci 

4) Perform a random act of kindness - I was kind many times last week, but I didn't manage to perform a random act of kindness.

5) Night Vision - 

a) Add the label - On hold until I need a second label

What will next week bring? Will it be the best of times? Will there be more challenges? At least I have a plan to help smooth out the emotional upheavals. It is as follows:

I opted to try my hand at moss stitch beading
for the 4" square block. 

1) Mondrian Tackles Fibonacci - (Due May 1, 2015)

a) Continue beading

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) Post the number of days I have worked in my studio in 2015

4) Perform a random act of kindness

5) Night Vision - 

a) Add the label - On hold until I need a second label

I am now linking up to two blogs on Fridays. The first is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays and the second is Free Motion Mavericks.

Week in Review 2013 - 06/21

Experiments with threads, Derwent Inktense
pencils and paint.

It was a gutsy move for me when I shared that I had entered "Tangled Up in Blue" before I knew whether I was getting a thumbs up or thumbs down. I knew I had a strong piece, with Adoration, but so much depends on what else is submitted and how Adoration would play with the other work selected. I am delighted to say I got the thumbs up. Adoration can be seen at The Brush Art Gallery, in Lowell, MA from August 8 through September 7. If Lowell is doable for you, I recommend going during the Lowell Quilt Festival and saturating yourself with all the exhibitions in town that weekend.

I have made it my mission to get my work out there. In order to achieve this I have been submitting my work to a different call for entry, either public or private ones, every week this year. It has paid off. My work can be seen in 12 upcoming exhibitions, mostly in the USA, but one takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa in September. Most are posted on my website under events.

It isn't easy coming up with all that work to submit to galleries and exhibitions. That is why I pledged to work 120 days a week in my studio during the fiscal year October 1, 2012 - September 30, 2013. It only took a couple of weeks to get into the rhythm. Now I can't imagine working any other way. Here is what I managed to accomplish during the week ending June 21, 2013.

1) Adoration

a) Attach the label - Done!

b) Add to my website - Done! Here is the proof. 

2) “Oyster Bay” (deadline 8/20/2013)

a) Experiment with ways to add the purple staining and lines seen on the inside of an oyster shell. - Done

Finally an experiment that works. I decide to
go with Setacolor paints blended with a
floating gel medium.

Here is how the painted oyster shell looks. Thanks to
Annette Kennedy's class I am able to blend the color
I need and fade the color in a gentle gradation using
floating medium.

b) Attach the oyster shells to the quilt. - Done!

Detail from Oyster Bay

Oyster Bay as it looks today.

c) Add a few more ridges of foam to balance the white of oyster shells in the composition. - Done!

This is why you save those scraps. I thought I would
have just one row of  foam, but when the composition
screamed out for more white I was very grateful to
have these left over scraps!

3) Leah Day

a) Express Your Love

         i) Hand stitch the facing in place. - Done!

        ii) Attach the label. - Done!
       iii) Create and attach the sleeves. Both are created and one is attached.

b) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

Sampler of Lava Rocks infused with sea foam.

This week's motif from Leah is called Lava Rocks. Naturally, I couldn't resist adding my own twist. I thought two things, one that Lava Rocks as is would make a nice tree fungus and two, if I added sea foam to the cobblestone shaped gap that is being echoed I could use Lava Rocks with Sea Foam for my beach background in Oyster Bay. In order to see how it would quilt out  I selected a fabric that I might use for tree bark. I have deemed the experiment successful and will use it in Oyster Bay next week.

4) Signature experimentation - Never got any further than Leah's assignment. 

a) Design a new signature motif.

5) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece.

b) Quilt "Canyon."

I am on such a roll with Oyster Bay, that I assume that is where I will focus next week. Still, it is nice to have a couple of other ideas lined up should I need a change. Here are my plans for the week ending June 28, 2013:

1) “Oyster Bay” (deadline 8/20/2013)

a) Quilt Oyster Bay

2) Leah Day

a) Express Your Love - attach second sleeve.

b) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

3) Signature experimentation

a) Design a new signature motif.

4) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece.

b) Quilt "Canyon."

I am now linking up to two blogs on Friday's. The first is Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project and the second is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays.

Weekly Review 2013 - 05/31

 I did it! I made the June 1^st deadline for entering “Adoration” for consideration in the ArtQuilts Lowell 2013 exhibition at the Brush Gallery. It was at the Brush Gallery, more than a decade ago, when I saw my very first collection of art quilts hung in a gallery setting. I was mesmerized. It became my goal to get my work accepted into one of the Brush’s future exhibitions. I have been privileged to have my work selected twice before. The theme this year is “Tangled Up in Blue.” Getting juried into an exhibition is always a crap a shoot. I’m willing to roll the dice on this one.

Tips, Techniques and Thoughts:

"Adoration's" formal exhibition photograph. Note how the edges
of the quilt can be seen, but any distracting background cannot.
Also, if you click on the image to enlarge it you should
be able to see the quilting, not just in clothing, but everywhere else.

I have been entering my work in exhibitions since 2001. This has taught me that I cannot predict with certainty whether my work will be accepted or not. Sometimes I get into an exhibition I think is a stretch. Other times I am rejected by an exhibition that I felt was a sure thing. I do know that if I want my work to be considered seriously and not rejected outright that the caliber of my photographs is vital. I don’t have access to a professional art photographer. My husband graciously agreed to learn how to photograph my art. I have learned how to resize his photographs and extract the art from the background in order to adhere to the image requirements of any call for entry. The best resource for learning how to photograph your quilt is Holly Knot’s instructions. Gloria Hansen’s book, “Digital Essentials” is where to turn once you have a digital photograph that needs to be prepared for call for entry, website, blog or on-line gallery such as Etsy.

While I wait to hear from the Brush Gallery I will continue to work in the studio. Here is what I focused on this week.

1) Adoration

This is the detail image I submitted with the entry. Note
how it could be work as a full quilt. Also, because it is
a close up the quilting is easy to see.

a) Finish quilting “Adoration.” – Done!

b) Bury dangling quilting threads – Done!

c) Square up the piece in preparation for facing. – Done!

d) Face – Done!

Bonus – Completed entry for the Brush Gallery, including time spent to provide a high-resolution image of the Adoration removed from its background and a detail image.

2) Express Your Love

"Express Your Love" has been cropped. This works well for
a blog image, but is a definite no no when submitting an
image to a call for entry.

a) Finish last week's assignment from Leah Day. – Done!

b) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next. – Started.

Bonus – Finish quilting Express Your Love!!

3) Signature experimentation

a) Design a new signature motif.

4) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece.

b) Quilt "Canyon."

5) Plan the next art piece. – Done!

Now that “Adoration” has been submitted to the Brush Gallery I can return to finishing up the projects I set aside and starting my next art piece. Here is my plan for the week ending June 6, 2013:

1) Adoration

a) Attach the sleeve

b) Make and attach the label

c) Add to my website

2) “Oyster Shell Shards” (deadline 8/20/2013)

a) Piece the three background strips

b) Create the oyster shell template

3) Leah Day

a) Express Your Love

         i) Square up quilt

         ii) Make binding

         iii) Attach binding

         iv) Make and attach label

b) Finish last week's assignment from Leah Day.

c) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

4) Signature experimentation

a) Design a new signature motif.

5) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece.

b) Quilt "Canyon."

Week in Review 2013 - 05/24

I have been infatuated with quilting “Adoration” this week. I set myself the Herculean task of quilting quite a complex pattern in the background section. I made a few mistakes that I picked out and one near an edge that I opted to leave in. I doubt even I will be able to find it. How did this infatuation effect my week? Not a single item on my to do list got checked off, BUT if I can maintain my pace for a few more days I should finish quilting, squaring up and facing “Adoration” in time to make the June 1, 2013 deadline. This week’s plan remains my plan for the week ending May 31, 2013, so I will only state it once.

1) Adoration (Shooting for a deadline of June 1, 2013)

a) Finish quilting “Adoration.”

Full view image of "Adoration" with the balance of the
Grandmother's hair and navy blue background left to quilt.
The dangling threads will be buried in the quilt.
Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

 Areas quilted this week were the medium blue background, the grandmother’s face and neck and half of her hair.

b) Bury dangling quilting threads

c) Square up the piece in preparation for facing.

d) Face

2) Express Your Love

a) Finish last week's assignment from Leah Day.

b) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

True, the hair is part of "Adoration" but the quilting motif
is my interpretation of Leah's Connecting Ocean Currents.

I actually did try Leah’s latest lesson on a free motion quilting pattern she named Connecting Ocean Current. I used it for the tendrils in the grandmother’s hair.

3) Signature experimentation

a) Design a new signature motif.

4) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece.

b) Quilt "Canyon."

5) Plan the next art piece.

Tips, Techniques and Thoughts:

A question I am asked frequently is “where do your ideas come from?” The simple answer is from my way of being. Where did that way of being come from? I expect a part of it came from a combination of nature (I am adopted) and nurture. However, the root of tapping into this being happened when I joined an on-line study group that tackled “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. It is from this book that I learned about synchronicity. Call it what you will, the more observant you become the more aware you are of connections and signs everywhere. That is what happened when I was debating how to quilt the grandmother’s hair in “Adoration.” I had several ideas, but it wasn’t until I checked into Leah’s latest assignment that I found my answer just when I needed it. I am so convinced of the power of living “The Artist’s Way” that I use it as my text for mentoring private students. 

Week in Review 2013 - 05/17

"Adoration" after the baby and grandmother's blouse have been quilted.

It is time to reflect on the week that just passed to record what I did and did not accomplish.

1) Adoration (Shooting for a deadline of June 1, 2013)

a) Quilt Adoration. – 50% Done.

I am quite pleased with how the quilting is coming on this piece.  It would go faster if I used monofilament thread, since I wouldn’t need to change threads frequently, nor would I need to bury all those thread ends. I fell that the ability to blend, lighten or darken areas with thread is worth the extra effort.

Detail from "Adoration" showing the echo style quilting
used in the baby's face. Shadows, highlights and details
have been enhanced with stitch.

b) Square up the piece in preparation for facing. – Not done.

2) Express Your Love

"Express Your Love" is nearly done!

a) Finish last week's assignment from Leah Day. – Done!

This detail from "Express Your Love" features motif quilting
in the goddess's body.

Last weeks assignment was to mark and outline stitch a motif. I opted to simplify Leah’s motif and create what I hoped would look tiger markings.

b) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next. – Started.

An even closer look to show the Chicken Scratch stitch
used in the goddess's face.

This week was to fill in the motif with Jagged Scribble. This is similar to Cat Hairball (used in the white streaks of the hair) but with straight lines and sharp angles. I have renamed this stitch Chicken Scratch. I used a 30 wt. cotton thread that was a gift from Liz Porter (of Fons and Porter) when she stayed at my house while teaching and lecturing at my guild. I never would have thought to buy this for myself. However, it stitched beautifully and has a wonderful luster despite being cotton.

3) Signature experimentation

a) Design a new signature motif. – I didn’t design a new signature, but I did sign "Adoration" in the lower right corner while quilting that section.

4) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece. – Not done.

b) Quilt "Canyon." – Not done.

5) Plan the next art piece. – Not done.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

In her comment on my last post Stella Nemeth asked me “is it possible that your goals can't be met?” The simple answer is absolutely. It is even very likely that my goals can’t be met within the week that I assign them to myself. The follow-up question could easily be, “then why set them?” I set goals as a way to think about what projects I would like to tackle and what the next steps for that project will be. It also helps me prioritize my projects. Just because I don’t meet a goal the first time and even second or third time it rolls round, doesn’t mean that it will never be met. In fact, many of my projects have been completed since I started sharing my game plans publicly. The fact that all my goals are rarely met in a given week is like seeing a glass half full or half empty. If I dwelled on what didn’t get done, than my glass would be half empty. Instead I see my glass as half full. I get great satisfaction seeing the progress I make each week and marking off a step as done.

Here is what I plan to tackle in the week ending May 24, 2013:

1) Adoration (Shooting for a deadline of June 1, 2013)

a) Finish quilting “Adoration.”

b) Square up the piece in preparation for facing.

2) Express Your Love

a) Finish last week's assignment from Leah Day.

b) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

3) Signature experimentation

a) Design a new signature motif.

4) Pictorial Painting

a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece.

b) Quilt "Canyon."

5) Plan the next art piece.