Week in Review 2018 - 06/01

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

First block out of 35 done.

Baby steps, that is what I keep telling myself. I spent most of last week's creative time procrastinating or educating myself as I made my way through a backlog of EQ 8 lessons. I like to keep my skills up using this application. There are shortcuts that are not intuitive. 

Second block with its units ready to be joined.

It was my hope that as I worked through the lessons inspiration would strike for the next project to turn my attention to. It didn't or maybe it did. I have decided to begin how I have started many artworks in the past, with block blending and value shifting. Why not take it all the way back to beginning and choose a black and white palette? Turns out I was short on mid value black and whites. I've gone with blues instead. 

I'm working in my studio again. That is the primary goal. Hurrah!

I like to be surrounded by color. Check out
my mouse pad. Apparently, Lola approves,
since she is my constant companion when
I work at the computer.

I am linking up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays. 

Week in Review 2018 - 05/25

 Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

My last posting was February 2, 2018. The subject was my Appleton, WI studio swan song. Since then I have been busy doing anything but working on my art. We officially moved into our new home in Cohasset, MA on May 7th. Once the the basics of master suite, kitchen, shared living space, and office were set up, it was time to focus on the studio. Although I don't have one large room this time, I do have the second story of our home. To quote our realtor when we looked at this house, "You do realize this is a quirky home, Gwyned, don't you?" To which I replied without missing a beat, "Yes, that's its appeal." As you will see the aesthetic details are quirky, and so is the layout.

My office and studio space were originally designed to be a guest suite. They include a full bath, guest bedroom (my office), a sitting area (hand sewing), loft (studio), and galley kitchen (wet studio). 

This is the sink in the guest, now studio, bathroom. I can access it from my office, via the walk in closet where I store my fabric, or directly from the studio sewing area. The guest bathroom on the main floor also has a decorative sink. That one has a gnome couple in a woodland setting. The prior owners used this couple as their personal talisman/logo. 

This is my commercial fabric stash. Catty corner to this, in a similar open shelving cabinet, are the fabrics I have dyed, painted, stenciled or altered with a variety of surface design techniques. 

My reference library of fiber art books, computer manuals, and few office supplies are in the office. 

Turning right after exiting the double glass paned doors into my office is the sitting area. I have several cabinets in here to store tools, supplies, and embellishments. One cabinet makes a nice stand for my thread collection.

The house is a contemporary (8 years old) victorian style with two turrets, resulting in 3 half hexagonal areas, 2 on the main floor, and this one on the upper floor. I will use this for hand sewing. It overlooks the marsh across the street. Remember my swan song in Appleton? There are swans who come to this marsh.

Exiting the sitting area across from the office is a the galley kitchen/wet studio. Here is just one of the cabinets filled with paints and other surface design equipment. Although I am determined to keep purchases to a minimum, I knew I must have an electric kettle. Every studio needs a way to provide a nice hot beverage right?

This is the same paint cabinet closed. Aren't the knobs fabulous?

Finally, the studio itself. There is just enough room to line up my ironing table, Bernina table and George. The two sewing stations are on casters so I can move them around as needed. The palladian window is over the main entrance and overlooks the back yard. It provides natural light to what would otherwise be an interior room with no windows. Check out the lavender ceiling. 

I still have a few more things to set up with my husband's help. The design wall will be in the studio where I stood to take the picture. There will also be a pegboard to hang scissors, rulers and other everyday essentials in the hallway leading out to the sitting area. 

For those of you who read my blog for Lola, my studio cat, sitings, never fear. She has a cat condo located just to the left of the ironing table and another one in the office. 

Lola opted to hide while I unpacked and organized the studio. Do you think she was trying to get out of helping?

I am linking up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays. 

Week in Review 2018 - 02/02

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Can you have more than one swan song? The definition is so final the answer seems to be no. However, I conjecture life is a series of swan songs. Just as the conclusion of years of schooling, such as graduation from high school, doesn't mean one will not go on to attend college and from there pursue post graduate degrees, can't artist's careers be seen the same way? Picasso's blue period proceeded his cubism period. He must have made a final "blue" painting, perhaps overlapping or blending into his cubism period. Would this final blue painting be Picasso's blue period swan song?

Sunrise Over Little Lake Butte des Morts
4.5" x 6.5"

I see my own work this way, on a continuum with both clear and misty periods. This week has been bittersweet, as I made my SAQA Spotlight Auction piece. It is likely the last artwork I will make in my Appleton studio. It is my studio swan song, and perhaps my last homage to the view from our condo. It will not be my final artwork. Once we settle into our new home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, I expect new inspiration will fuel my work.

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 2018 - 01/26

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

The sleeves are attached to 2017's quilts.
Next job is to add the labels.

I've recently begun listening to Driving Miss Norma, by Tim Bauerschmidt and Rami Liddle. It is the memoir of Tim and Rami's RV road trip with his mother, Norma. She is 90, recently widowed, diagnosed with uterine cancer, when she chooses to eschew treatment in favor of seeing places in the US she had only imagined going to. It's a testament to never being too old to say yes or be open to new adventures. 

There was a time in my life when I needed to learn to say no. Now I find myself needing an internal nudge to say yes. It is easy to become complacent and settle for the tried and successful. Why take a chance on something new? Yet isn't that what making art is all about? Constantly challenging oneself and pushing the boundaries?

Love my new designated hand stitching spot.

Saying yes doesn't have to be something big or unsettling. It can be a tiny step. Recently I  moved from my standard hand stitching spot, on the family room sofa, to one of our reclining chairs overlooking the lake. What a treat to watch the eagles vie for the best fishing spot at the frozen lake edge.

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.

Weekly Report 2018 - 01/19

Nothing like the dawn to jumpstart my day.
View from our master bedroom. 

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Yesterday, we went to lunch with fellow retirees from my husband's work. There were six of us, all in our sixties The conversation began with a medical roundup. In other words talking about ailments of either the attendee or someone they were caring for. Although I listened, I could have easily piped in. My optometrist has being watching my cataracts for years. They are slow to change, but have resulted in night driving no longer being safe, especially in the rain. Part of me is fascinated by my change in vision. For example, bright lights such as a full moon in the night sky, headlights, or even traffic signals, are no longer singular objects. Instead I might see a headlight like a totem pole, the actual light brightly lit at the bottom, another two less brightly lit lights stacked above. A full moon, however, looks more like a Venn Diagram, with the actual moon in the center, and three lighter moons forming an equilateral triangle shape, overlapping, but not covering the central moon. The triangle always balances on its point. Part of me is terrified that this change in vision means that time is running out for me to make art. I understand this is more feeling than reality, at least for the moment. I have no doubt cataract surgery is in my future.  

One of the pieces from 2017 I worked on.
It's final title is Forest Floora. 

Today, when I should have been buckling down and writing this post, I couldn't resist reading an article brought to my attention through an eNewsletter I subscribe to. The article by Patricia Corrigan is titled, "Don't Let Eye Problems Keep You From Painting or Drawing". If you, like me, harbor a fear of ending your creative self due to aging eyes, I highly recommend giving it a read. 

Maybe, I will turn my attention to a series I have been contemplating focused on art as seen through my older eyes. This week I focused on finishing up, or least moving forward, many nearly there pieces I started, but put aside in 2017.

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 2018 - 01/05

Lola helps attach the sleeve to
Picking Up the Pieces #4

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

A question commonly asked in the art quilting community is, "if you make art quilts does it matter what your backs look like?" The answer is often no, unless you plan to enter the work into a judged show. Ultimately, I think this is a matter of personal taste. However, I wonder how quilt art appraisers would view this question. Do they look only at the front of the work, the composition, materials, and technical skills? I have had my work appraised by several different appraisers over the years. None have mentioned the back of my work, BUT, although the work isn't judged for matching seams and mitered corners, my skill at executing the work is included. 

Changing of the Guard - front

Changing of the Guard - back

My personal taste is pretty typical of my general "close enough" philosophy. I don't worry about the quilting thread not matching backing, or a tiny knot of thread showing. The fabric I select for my backs is frequently pieced for larger quilts, because I simply don't have fabric large enough for the back and very rarely buy fabric specifically for a back. I used to match my sleeve fabric to my backing fabric. No longer. I want a sleeve that I stands out against the backing. This way it is easy to spot. What is most important is there is no shadow through of backing fabric and or sleeve to the front of the quilt. This happens when the top is a lighter hued fabric than the back. The bigger the value gap, the more likely there is to be a problem.

Picking Up the Pieces #1 - back

Picking Up the Pieces #1 - front

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 2017 - 12/29

Changing of the Guard

Tips, Thoughts, and Techniques:

2017 is coming to a close and 2018 is looming on the horizon, open to possibilities. It is a time of reflection. It is a time of eager anticipation about the future. On December 31st, Dana (my husband) and I officially retire. He is leaving a career in R&D spanning 43 years with the same company. I am leaving my role as SAQA's Exhibition Committee Chair, a post I have held for three years. It has been bittersweet as we say our goodbyes and words of thanks for those who have worked beside us. This isn't all we are leaving behind. We have an agreement to buy a home in Cohasset, Massachusetts and will soon put our Appleton, Wisconsin condo on the market. Yes, we did make sure there was a place for my studio. :) 

The sky is quilted with clouds.

It is clear 2018 will be a year of transition and adjustment for us. How will this impact my studio time? So far, quite positively. I've actually had far more time in my studio this past week, than I have had in years. In fact I nearly completed Changing of the Guard in a single month, from germ of an idea through completion. If we didn't have such a busy weekend planned, I would be tempted to push ahead and finish on December 31st, just to say I did it.

The water is quilted with ripples.

Each year around this time I set a focus or intention for the year. In 2017 it was about making pots. In 2018, my plan is to stay open, not rush to conclusions, or do things the same way, simply because that is how it has always been done. I want to continue to questions rules. Why are they there? What purpose do they serve? Would another approach be better? Part of being open is being gentle on myself, accepting the natural fear that comes with change, while pushing forward anyway.

What are your plans for 2018?



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.