Week in Review 2015 - 10/02

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Sunrise over Lake Winnebago at Kimberly Point
in Neenah, WI. Photo by Dana B. Eagles

What's on my mind? What isn't on my mind? I'm having a major case of monkey mind this week. No, I am not thinking about monkeys. Monkey mind is a term coined by Buddha to describe a mind that flits from one subject to the next, often in a fretful, obsessing over problems sort of way. Buddha recommends regular meditation to quiet the monkey thoughts. This is something I can do at the end of my twice weekly yoga classes. Love Shavasana! I'm not so successful at home when interruptions happen, such as robocalls and the ping that announces a new post has arrived in my e-mail inbox. Thanks to caller ID, I know not to pick up the phone unless I know who is calling. I'm also semi firm about not checking my e-mail except at certain predetermined times of the day. Why? Because if I do check my e-mail, I'm likely to get sucked down the rabbit hole of distraction or action. Yesterday was loaded with robocalls and e-mails. I ignored the calls but snuck a peak at the e-mails and that was it - monkey mind off and running. 

A hint of where I am headed with
Deconstructed Sunrise #3.

I did manage to make progress in the studio, but fell just shy of completing Deconstructed Sunrise #3 to a point where I could share the big reveal. This resulted in even more self destructive monkey mind behavior. Progress, any progress is still  progress, right? Here is what I did manage to get done:

1) Continue piecing Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (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 - 80/126

This week's FMQ practice piece inspired by
one of Tracy's at Whirls 'n Swirls. 

4) Perform a random act of kindness - Done!

I fear another case of monkey mind next week, as I have quite a few conference calls scheduled in my role as SAQA's Exhibition Committee Chair. Each call requires some prep work and definitely ends up with actions to be done after the call. It is a world that fascinates and engages me. The reality, though, is that it takes time and that is time that might have been spent in the studio, one of the few places outside of yoga class where my mind quiets down. When I regroup, here is what I plan to focus on:

1)  Deconstructed Sunrise #3 (Due November 30, 2015)

a) Finish piecing Deconstructed Sunrise #3
b) Prepare quilt for quilting

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 

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 2014 - 12/26

 Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

My husband erected and decorated
our Christmas tree while I worked
in the studio. Note, Lola our
cat is able to guard the tree and
seeing anyone going up or down
the stairwell.

One thing I don't do often enough is take the time to watch TED talks.  The talks are brief, usually less than 10 minutes long. They are taped and available for free on-line. 

Yesterday, Christmas Day, I gave myself the present of listening to a TED talk by Alanna Shaikh titled "How I am Preparing to Get Alzheimer's." What struck me was Shaikh's third preparation. She was going to become a kinder, gentler more giving person. Why? Well, I let you watch the video to find out. 

The backside of Sunrise over Little Lake Butte des Morts
showing how much quilting I managed this week.

In this time of transition between one year and the next it is normal to review the past year and make plans for the next. It is common practice to make resolutions, sometimes very formally by writing them down and setting up a strategy to achieve them. Some resolutions are just fleeting thoughts. Imagine if we all choose the goal to be more generous, kind and nurturing. To this end I am adding one more on-going weekly goal to my list. That is to perform at least one act of random kindness during each week. 

The frontside of Sunrise over Little Lake Butte des Morts.
The sunrise photograph was printed on prepared cotton
on my home printer. It was placed behind the pieced front.
A negative applique method was done to let some of the
photograph appear. 

My studio time was naturally curtailed by the holidays. However, I did move a couple of my projects further along. Here is what I achieved:

1) Night Vision - (Due January 31, 2015)

Detail from the backside of Sunrise over Little Lake
Butte des Morts showing the spiral quilting motif
used in the orange triangle.

a) Finish blind stitching the frog in place - Done!
b) Square up the quilt - Done!
c) Start the facing process - Not yet

2) Free motion quilting practice. - Done!

Although I don't have an image of my FMQ practice, I did practice my spiral motif off quilt. In fact I tested an alternative motif first before I settled on the spirals. 

3) LifeBook 2014 - Bind my best mixed media work - Removed from the list

I have made the decision not to bind the pages from my LifeBook lessons. I have the video lesson should I ever be inspired to learn how to create a bound book of artwork in the future. Instead I will select a few favorites and toss the rest. I have visual records of them all on my computer as well as in my blog archives.

4) Sunrise over Little Lake Butte des Morts (due December 31, 2014)

a) Finish the piecing - Done!
b) Quilt it - Started
c) Do the finish work - Not Yet
d) Submit it for consideration - Not Yet

One more abbreviated week to go before I am back hibernating in my studio for the winter. I am looking forward to it and my plans which are as follows:

1) Night Vision - (Due January 31, 2015)

a) Face the quilt
b) Add the split sleeve
c) Take the formal call for entry photos

Detail from the front side of Sunrise over Little Lake Butte
des Morts showing the satin stitch that was used to
finish the edges of the negative appliqué. 

d) Add the label
e) Submit the call

2) Free motion quilting practice.

3) Sunrise over Little Lake Butte des Morts (due December 31, 2014)

a) Finish the quilting
c) Do the finish work
d) Submit it for consideration

4) 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 2013 - 06/14

"Tree Serenade" - 48" H x 40" W

I am a member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA,) an international organization whose mission is to bring attention to art quilts as an art medium. This mission has helped shaped my own mission in recent years. I still enter calls for entry for art quilt shows, but now I am just as likely to enter calls for art, when fiber is listed amongst the accepted categories or is not specifically excluded. That is why I chose to the enter the “Michigan Fine Arts Competition” held at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Birmingham, MI. My piece, “Tree Serenade” made from recycled practice pieces I made while doing Leah Day’s 2012 assignments, will be in the exhibition. If you will be in the area between June 28 and August 23, 2013, please drop by and then share your experience with me.

I managed to complete both of the major non-studio obligations I referred to last week and still find time to make it into my studio for 2.5 days this week. Here are my studio accomplishments.

1) Adoration – Done!

a) Attach the label – Done!

b) Add to my website – Done! Adoration is now on the opening page of my website. If you click the image you will go directly to Adoration’s page.

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

a) Create the oyster shell template – Done!

These oyster shells were made off quilt to be appliquéd on later.
They range from 8" - 12" long and 4" - 6" wide. 

b) Make an oyster shell to be appliqued to the background. – Done! I made three!!! However, I am thinking of tweaking them just a tad more to add blue/purple rings of concentric ridges in the pearlescent portion. I will be testing several thread options to see what looks best.

A closer look at one of the oyster shells.  The pearlescent center
is created by layering the same tulle used in the sea foam from last
week, but only a single layer. The rims were fused in place with
Steam a Seam. This held the tulle in place during the quilting process.
Once they were quilted I cut them out so that they can be appliquéd to the quilt.

3) Leah Day

a) Express Your Love

         i) Cut facing strips. – Done!

         ii) Stitch facing strips to the quilt. – Done!

         iii) Hand stitch the facing in place. – Begun.

         iv) Attach the label. – Pinned in place.

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

"Foundation Puzzle" using a thread of variegated peacock colors.
Leah does this by spiraling from the outside in and then travel
stitching her way back out along the spiral. I prefer to leave a
wider channel when I spiral in and use the channel to spiral back
out again.

c) Bonus Project – I finished my sampler from last week using Carol Ann Waugh’s rattail finishing technique. This is a fast and effective way to finish a quilt, especially smaller pieces. Carol Ann Waugh, like Leah Day, is a Craftsy.com teacher.

Doesn't the rattail finishing technique work well on this piece?

4) Signature experimentation – Not this week.

a) Design a new signature motif.

5) Pictorial Painting – Not this week.

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

b) Quilt "Canyon."

Here is where I plan to focus my energy next week:

1) “Oyster Shards” (deadline 8/20/2013)

a) Find a way to add concentric, believable ridges to the pearlescent portion of the oyster shells. Possibilities include various threads and paint.

b) Create a quilt sandwich with the pieced background fabric, batting and backing.

c) Baste the sandwich.

d) Add the oyster shells.

2) Leah Day

a) Express Your Love

      i) Hand stitch the facing in place.

     ii) Attach the label.

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.

Week in Review 2013 - 5/03

Remember how "Canyon" looked before it was painted?
Read further to see how much it has changed.

I’m back! For those of you who read my blog regularly and thoroughly you may have noticed that I had a planned two week gap between studio progress recaps. The reason was a scheduled trip to the southwest that finished up in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the SAQA conference. If you are interested in art quilts than SAQA is the organization for you. It includes over 3,200 international members, mostly art quilters, but also patrons, gallery owners, business owners and students. It is because I joined SAQA’s Vision Project and chose as my personal project to spend 120 days in my studio for the 2012 – 2013 fiscal year that I am so focused on production in my blog.

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques

I wasn’t the only one in Santa Fe. I discovered my Craftsy.com painting teacher, Annette Kennedy was an attendee as well. She graciously chatted with me on several occasions. I took a seminar lead by Carol Ann Waugh on what is required to become a professional art quilter. Outstanding! Carol is another one of Craftsy.com’s teachers. I love her method of how she finishes her art quilts and plan to use it when appropriate. Carol demos her rattail finishing technique on YouTube.

It is always difficult for me to transition back to a disciplined workweek after an absence from my home. Nevertheless I did ease my way back into my studio. By my fourth day back I was in synch again. Just how much in synch can be determined by reviewing my plans for the week against what was accomplished.

1) Pictorial Painting

a) Continue to watch the portion of the lesson that demos how to paint the Canyon piece. – Done!

b) Finish painting "Canyon." – Done!

This week "Canyon" received some plants and more
definition to the road.

Check out the plants in the desert, particularly their shadows. I have always struggled figuring out how to include shadows in my artwork. These shadows work for me. Yeah!

2) Express Your Love

a) Do whatever assignment LeahDay comes up with next. – Done!

All that is left is the body!
"Express Your Love" is designed by Leah Day and executed by
Gwyned Trefethen, who selected the thread and what stitches
to use where.

Actually I did two assignments. I did one assignment for the week that I was away and then this week’s assignments. Both involved free motion spirals. The first was a combination of spirals and circuit board. The second was simply spirals as a filler. I love free motion quilting spirals. They flow naturally through my muscle memory. However, circuit board does not. So, I found alternating between executing a spiral and then a circuit board awkward.

The circuit board with spirals free motion quilting is
featured in the lower of the two purple ribbons. The
middle turquoise ribbon is done in spirals only.
Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

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

a) Cut the backing and batting for Adoration. – Done!

b) Prepare the quilt sandwich. – Not done.

c) Select the quilting threads. – Not done.

d) Start quilting. – Not done.

This is a detail from "Adoration" after I painted in the eyes of my grandson.

I am really, REALLY struggling with this piece.  I made several “rookie” mistakes when assembling the pieces. The orientation lines are visible through the lighter fabric as is the edge of the dark blue background. Actually, I had tried to use lighter orientation lines and use markers that could be washed out, but I just couldn’t see them sufficiently. Once I got the marks dark enough to see to be useful, they are too visible. I am hoping that by adding paint and quilting these problems may resolve or at least be much less obvious.

What I did do is start the painting with my grandson’s eyes. I will add a dab of highlighting to the eyes next week.

4) Bonus project. Signature Experimentation

For years I have struggled with how to sign my artwork. Should I use my full name? First name only? My initials? Some artistic rendering of my initials? What about the date? While wandering one of the galleries in Santa Fe I came upon a signature that I liked that incorporated the artist’s initials and date. I played around some first on paper and finally created this. My addition was to frame the signature as well. I am not totally satisfied, but do feel I am to something.

My first experiment on how to sign my artwork.

There are so many enticing opportunities for me to apply for where my work can be shown. What holds me back now is having enough work submit. Therefore, I am determined to buckle down and create. Here is what I plan on achieving for the week ending May 10, 2013:

1) Pictorial Painting

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

b) Quilt "Canyon."

2) Express Your Love

a) Do whatever assignment Leah Day comes up with next.

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

a) Paint the shadows, highlights and fine details necessary to bring the piece to life.

b) Sandwich the quilt.

4) Signature experimentation

a) Design a new signature motif.

5) Plan the next art piece.

Week in Review 2013 - 04/12

Tips, Techniques and Thoughts...

I have been fascinated by the transformation of one object to another object every since I witnessed my childhood babysitter knit a doll’s blanket from a long strand of yarn. The transformation that takes place from the germ of an idea for what to create next to the end result is what motivates me during the process of creating a piece of art. From the comments I receive from those of you who follow my blog, it seems transformation intrigues you, too. That is why for the triple T section (Tips, Techniques and Thoughts) I am recommending a novel, you may have already read and a documentary you probably missed.

The novel is a piece of historical fiction about how “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Vermeer was created. The author is Tracy Chevalier.

Isn't the light and shadow outstanding
on "Girl with a Pearl Earring?"

One of the best gifts I gave myself was a subscription to Netflix. I have “discovered” more great films this way. The most recent was “Note by Note: the making of Steinway L1305." I worried that this would be exactly what the title said, the step by step making of a Steinway piano. It is so much more. Each step of the process acts like a chapter heading. What makes Steinways unique is that each one is handcrafted and hand tuned. What was new to me was how each piano and has a feel and therefore concert pianists request specific pianos by number for their concerts. I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between a pianist and his affinity for a certain piano with quilters and their connection with their sewing machines.

This past week has been tough for several reasons. I slogged away, despite the setbacks. Here is how my plan and my achievements aligned for the week ending April 12, 2013.

1) Pictorial Painting

"Canyon" has it looked last week.

a) Continue to watch the portion of the lesson that demos how to paint the Canyon piece. - Done

"Canyon" after painting the background mountains."

b) Finish painting Canyon. – Partially done. I finished painting the background mountains. 

2) Express Your Love

The Hot Hot Spiral ribbon is the lowest one. The quilting pattern
looks like tongues of flame alternating with spirals. Hence, it's name.

a) Finish quilting Hot Hot Spiral Ribbon – Done.

b) Do a ribbon in Loopy Doopy Sprial – Done.

That's Loopy Doopy Spiral, front and center. This time loops
alternate with the spirals.

c) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

The next assignment was to create sections of the quilt using a technique that Leah’s friend named Trapplique. The point of Trapplique is to create pre-quilted sections for a quilt that are appliquéd on top of the quilt. The reason Leah is using Trapplique on her quilt is that she was dissatisfied with the way her ribbons came out. I am happy with my ribbons. If the technique were unfamiliar to me I would test-drive it on something else. However, this is something I have used for years when I wanted to push a section of the quilt into the foreground. I used it to add the tree, leaves and cardinal in my  quilt, “Tree Serenade,” for instance.

"Tree Serenade" 

What I did choose to do, in order to have my ribbons stand out more from the quilt, is satin stitch around the edge of each completed ribbon with the same variegated white through gray mist thread I used in the hair section.

The full view of "Express Your Love" (design by Leah Day,
choice of stitches, threads and execution by Gwyned Trefethen)
allows you to see how the ribbons stand out now that they have
been outlined in satin stitch with a variegated white to mist gray thread.

d) Bonus – I used nano stitching to create the eye.

3) Reflection (Absolute deadline April 23, 2013)

a) Make and attach the sleeve. - Done

b) Make and attach the label. - Done

c) Add Reflection to my website. – Couldn’t do.

Wednesdays are my business days. That is when I review outstanding calls for entry, look for new ones and complete some. I also update my website with new events and quilts. This Wednesday we had an ice storm that knocked out power for most of the day. I did manage to handle calls for entry. I just didn’t have time before calling it a day to update my website. I’ll do that this weekend.

d) Submit Reflection for consideration in "The Eye and the Needle," a SAQA IL/WI exhibition. – Done

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

a) Mark the background fabric as a guide for where to place the appliqué pieces. 

Done, but it was a major struggle. I just couldn’t distinguish the obvious sections to mark, even using a very fancy light table at my husband’s lab. I will try again next week.

b) Start cutting and positioning the appliqué pieces. – Without an accurate guide this couldn’t be done.

Never someone to let a few setbacks completely derail me, I have plans for next week. Here is what I hope to accomplish by April 19, 2013.

1) Pictorial Painting

a) Continue to watch the portion of the lesson that demos how to paint the Canyon piece.

b) Finish painting "Canyon."

2) Express Your Love

a) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.

3) Reflection 

a) Add Reflection to my website.

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

a) Mark the background fabric as a guide for where to place the appliqué pieces.

b) Start cutting and positioning the appliqué pieces.