pcox design

ATC - Red

2012-01-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

This year the group is going to do colors for the trades each month. Red is the color for February - how appropriate. My piece is titled PASSION which red always seems to signal to me.
I stamped all over my batik fabric scrap (which was in shades of red, orange and brown) with a handmade stamp. The stamp reminds me of something inside our brain that is all connected. When dry, I placed a red mesh fabric from a floral arrangement, over the entire piece and free motion quilted around the stamp and filled in with different sized circles using black thread. I cut them apart and added Glossy Accents onto the stamped parts to bring out the red. I think this may be one of my favorites! I loved out it turned out.
Don't forget to check out all the others at http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com

ATC - Two

2012-01-06T06:33:00.000-08:00

I had to decline participating in our December trade which was a flat Santa trade. They were absolutely adorable. But everything is calming down once again and our January trade was TWO to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. I can't believe we have been doing this for two years already! So many wonderful pieces were traded!
My contribution for the two trade was based on the anniversary and what does one give on the second anniversary. How interesting that it is cotton! So I used cotton fabrics to create little cotton plants to give on our second anniversary. The background was my flour paste resist in blue for the sky, then a metallic green for background plants and a combo rust dyed with tanin on white cotton for the earth colors. I used puffy paint for the plant and cotton balls sewn in for the cotton of course.
I have managed to misplace my camera so a friend was kind enough to use her camera phone to take a picture for me. So no group shot this time around. Sorry

Faux Wood Doors

2011-12-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, I get calls to do some faux finishing. In a past life, I used to do it for a living but life gets in the way and the kids were small so it had to go to the wayside. A neighbor down the block saw my house and asked me to do some work in her house - a faux brick wall! Then a faux stone wall. They in turn had a party this past winter and a friend of theirs saw the work and fell in love. So when her office wanted to redo their meeting room, she remembered me. The job was to take the metal doors and paint them on one side to look like the wood floors and crown molding. Here are the before and after shots, I will let you decide if they turned out.

Cardboard Alphabet

2011-12-11T13:35:00.001-08:00

Another thing I have been doing in the last few months has been arting up some 9" cardboard letters sets for the preschool teachers. I have done two sets for friends of mine and this set, I actually was paid to do! I took pictures of sets of them and my camera died before I could get the last few letters. Gggrrrrr. I have been having a bit of fun with my sharpie markers! Hope you enjoy them! I have one more set and I may try to sell it when done.

Why so busy!

2011-12-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

November was NaNoWriMo which is short for National Novel Writing Month. Check it out here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/ They need donations to keep this program alive so please consider donating if you can afford it.

I actually am a winner! I finished a 50,000 page "novel" by the end of the month! I was feeling so lost with my art and totally unmotivated. Whenever that happens, I usually try to take a class or hunt down a book that will move me off into a new direction. Nothing was sparking my imagination. I had a crazy dream one night and thought that it would make an interesting book. Finding this website made me think that this was an omen and to give it a try. I found myself sneaking away for an hour or so a day and writing about my story. If you can write 1670 words a day, you can totally pull off a book in a month. It needs serious editing but I will leave that for another day! My creative spirit is refreshed and I am now feeling that creative tingle itching to get back into the studio. Yeah!!!

My certificate does not have my name because I keep forgetting to add it in. But you can only get this if you upload your novel and they verify the word count.

Grateful ATC Challenge

2011-12-10T13:17:00.001-08:00

Wow have I been busy! I forgot to post this to my blog (and the trading card blog! Whoops!)
Our theme for November was Grateful which is appropriate for the Thanksgiving season. I struggled trying to find a way to incorporate all that I was grateful for into a small space. When I thought about what I was most grateful, the idea snapped into place. I am grateful for each and everyday that I have to spend with family and friends! (Insert smacking of forehead here) Here is the link to all the grateful ATC entries: http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com

I used cardstock and colored the background with sharpie markers to create sunrise/sunset and mountains. More details were added with colored pencils and then a pine tree was stamped in dark brown. The final detail was the birds drawn in with a black pigma pen.

Our next trade is a Flat Santa exchange! The pieces so far have been so cute and adorable. I unfortunately had to sit this one out as I had quite a bit going on. They should be going up in the next week or so. Stayed tuned!

Radiance-Hardware ATC Challenge

2011-10-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

I would have done this sooner but my email account seems to have disappeared. Of course, everything was attached to that address and my last week of life has been somewhat of a nightmare! GGrrrr

But I managed to soothe my jangled nerves and produce a piece for this challenge. We were supposed to be using hardware. Stuff you find at the hardware store. Keeping in mind that this is a small piece and that it has to go through the mail, really limits what you can use!

I started out with a piece of hand stitched rust dyed fabric. The piece was started and blown off a while ago. It just wasn't working. So I measured out my cards on the fabric with a black marker and screwed one of them up by not double checking the size before hand! That's why I make extras for mistakes such as these. I wound some copper wire that was from a picture frame hanging kit (at least I think that is where it came from!) Boring. Painted some washers in metallic blue and hand stitched them on. Better but still boring. Looked at the one that I wrote on and realized if I made an intersecting line running down, I would create a focal point. Hmm. More washers, and blue metallic thread gave me the wonderful masterpieces I finally ended up creating! Please note that this is the second ATC in a row that was not a TREE!! I am really growing! Hee-hee

Balance

2011-08-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

This months challenge was Balance. I picked the challenge and it was based on my life being as crazy as it is now. It is to remind myself to stop and breathe once in a while and enjoy the moment. My son just made the school soccer team for 7th grade and he has all of us in a frenzy he's so excited!

I chose the water drop as my image. It always reminds me of peaceful images and focus. I made an extra one for myself and have it sitting by my computer. This may be one of my favorites.

I used commercial fabric for the background because the colors were gorgeous. Then I drew in the circles using water color crayons and the water drop is made using glossy accents! Fun stuff! then I sewed in some of the edges to make it more dimensional.

Check here for everyone's interpretation: http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com

Death/Rebirth - Opposites Challenge

2011-07-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Time for the monthly posting of my ATC trade! See the rest here: http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com

This month was Opposites. I thought it would be an easy one to do but I ended up struggling with it. I was not feeling very creative as the day before this was announced, we learned of the sudden death of my BIL Paul. My husband was devastated as he had just lost his father 8 months prior. Events like this always gives us pause to contemplate the cycle of life and other things.

Driving home from the store, my attention was caught by a dead tree spiraling quite high into the sky. It was quite striking against the blue sky with fluffy clouds. I am sure it was a very stately tree with a very interesting past - kind of like my BIL. Below the tree, there were tiny trees, shrubs and flowers growing up all around the dead tree. So that became my theme - death/rebirth. Interesting how after death, other things show up to fill the void.

I used a fabric I dyed with blue dye and a flour paste resist. The trees are made from black and white puffy paint added on top of one another. At the base of the tree, I couched green yarn to create to shrubs and silk scraps are held in place with beads to create the wildflowers. I beaded some additional sprigs of orange flowers to add to the image.

Rest in Peace Paul Cox.
Your outrageous personality and quick wit will be dearly missed.

Sunflowers and Lemonade ATC Challenge

2011-06-24T13:48:00.001-07:00

I had to take our newest challenge and change it up a bit. We went down to Louisiana for my hubands father's memorial service. Between the heat and family, we were getting a little crazy. So once we were free to go, we jumped back in the car and headed to New Orleans - the French Quarter to be exact and the Court of Two Sisters. Love that place and we ordered a hurricane! Just what the doctor ordered! So leaving there inspired, I decided to make my ATC's using the adult version of lemonade! LOL

I sketched the design in colored pencil, colored everything using sharpie markers and then over the table and background with oil pastels - blending with my fingers. I sketched over the whole design with colored pencils to add in all the details. The word was stamped on and then highlighted with oil pastels. The final touch was adding Glossy Accents by inkssentials to create the "sweating" on the glass. Enjoy your summer!

Fabulous Fakes Challenge

2011-05-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest challenge for our ATC group. I did a faux stained glass window. It turned out so much better than expected. I had other ideas but this one seemed to come together on its own. I am not as productive as I would like to be lately. My MIL is staying with us and we are helping her put together a memorial service for my FIL who passed away last November. Kids are finishing up school so lots of loose ends to be finished. Start and end of school is always crazy business. I am off for the summer as the preschool ended last week. Woo-hoo! Fun but exhausting.
Anyway, this was created with vellum paper, markers and puffy paint. I love how this turned out! And for the first time in months, it's not blue in case you hadn't noticed. LOL
Check out the rest of our challenge pieces here at http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com/

Sacred Threads - Accepted!!

2011-05-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

I got the news last weekend that one of my pieces was accepted to Sacred Threads!!! So exciting! After a slew of rejections, this one finally got the proverbial high 5!!

My piece is for the area of spirituality. I named it "In The Silence I Have Seen Him." I had done this for the black and white challenge but wasn't done in time for last entry into Sacred Threads so I had to wait until now to try. This was a whole piece white fabric and I sketched on the angel with pencil. I worked in layers using black setacolor and aloe vera gel to get the saturation and different layers of gray. Then "sketched" the details using my sewing machine. I went in with shiva paintstiks in white and black to add details and additional shading. I love this piece and hope others will too.

Spring - Kinda

2011-05-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

Lot's of crazy stuff going on in my life right now! So I have a few things to post about. This is the latest of my ATC trading cards. Looking at them now, they really look so much like a set I did last year. I must have really liked that one!

The theme was in Just Spring based on ee cummings poem. I just didn't have anything springlike happening. We have had nothing but rain and overcast days. It has been depressing to say the least. Everyone has been just in a funk and it is well represented in my latest ATC's.

I used hand dyed fabric and did a rubbing on it with a leaf plate. It was boring. So I fused it to the peltex and cut to individual cards and stamped leaf prints using commercial and hand cut stamps in brown and light green. I really liked them at this point but then was at a loss on how to proceed. I just wasn't in a spring frame of mind. Finally I decided to just go with it and used fabric crayons and sequin waste to add in "flowers" in red, blue and yellow. I smeared on a sparkly glitter glue to represent the standing water. I heat set, then free motion stitched grasses as this seems to be the only thing growing right now. My single shot is a little blurry again. I think I may be having some problems with my camera. It is also tough to get good shots when the weather is so dark and dreary. But we are on our 2nd day of sunshine so things are looking more like spring! Finally!!

ATC Super Moon

2011-03-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

This is sad. I am only posting about the ATC's I'm making! I have been doing other stuff but can't post as I am busy trying to send pieces in to shows. I am actually being brave and answering calls for entries. I will keep you posted.

So this challenge is using the color Indigo! Oooooo!!!! I love indigo. It is so dark, moody and mysterious. Everyone has been talking about the super moon coming up on March 19th and I knew my theme was set. First I found some woven fabric in indigo with a faint shot of gold. I added in wavy lines with my sewing machine to create the snowy landscape. Next was a free motion stitched tree and a moon using black puffy paint. Why black you ask? Well, once you paint over the black with white, some of the black will come through as grey creating the surface of the moon coloring. Well it does in my mind and doesn't show up as well in my photos. Finally, I added white and blue to the ground using shiva paintstiks and blended. Then I decided to add in some clouds behind the moon and used white, blue and a touch of black and blended for a muted background. I am very happy with how these turned out.

Hanging On - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

2011-02-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

Finished my next set of ATC's and I am way ahead of schedule on this one but still not first one done! LOL What can I say, life is throwing me some serious curve balls this month!

Our theme of reduce, reuse and recycle is pretty self explanatory. I blogged about my process on the group blog is you want to know more! http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com/

Check out everyone else's interpretations! They are really cool!

Lily Pads - Creative Combo

2011-02-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

Finally finished my next challenge. I never seem to be able to create something quickly. It always has to be a ton of different materials and ideas rolled into one. Oh well. Check here for all the other creative combo cards made for the challenge http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com/

Can you tell I am longing for spring with this one? My creative combo was the use of cotton fabric and inks. Of course I did add in interference blue medium, and threads and sequins.

The sketchbook challenge

2011-01-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

I have been sketching, I just haven't been taking pictures and uploading. I have to do things when I have a moment of free time here and there. So I am doing uploads and such at the moment with this free time. I have posted these to the Highly Prized flickr group already. Not sure if the tag worked but will see!

I posted two sketches already and here are the rest. I decided to try a zentangle. Wasn't sure what it was so I goggled it and found some examples and a quick tutorial which I can't find again. Sorry. This was great fun to do since I had time to kill while waiting for the kids at swim practice. Putting them on the swim team has forced me to have to find things to do to fill my time while waiting and I have found more time for art so this is a definite bonus. Anyway, this one was the theme of peacock of course:

The rest were sketches of some underwater sponges, corals etc. Not exact but for shape and color. I have this piece that I have been working slowly on for over a year and these will make great reference photos.

Sketchbook Project - Highly Prized

2011-01-08T06:19:00.000-08:00

I also signed up for the sketchbook project. This month is highly prized. This one is to get you to sketch everyday. I have two done and it is already the 9th! I think that this is pretty good for me!

This one is a loose interpretation of my back yard. We are very fortunate that we back up to a forest preserve and not neighbors. I have seen some incredible wildlife and I cherish the moments.

Time is another of my most highly prized things. I never have any but consider it precious whenever I can have a moment to myself.

Strathmore Online Sketchbook

2011-01-08T06:11:00.001-08:00

Well I signed up to do the sketchbook project with Strathmore because I just have so much free time on my hands! LOL. My thinking was that I would do this while the kids are doing swim practice. Yeah that is not happening because I have to go chat with everyone. In my defense, it is my only chance to speak to adults! I work with preschoolers all day so adult interaction is precious! I did manage to do a couple for this and one somewhat in the works.
We were supposed to take old sketches and make copies. Then cut, rip or tear them up to create another composition. Seemed simple enough. Part two has been posted and I haven't checked it out yet. So here are my two starting pieces:

Snow Dyeing Part 2

2010-12-30T10:09:00.001-08:00

One of the blue range. This was mixing blue, another blue and a red purple.

This was a scrap of light green fabric but I suspect it was not 100% cotton. Well I figured that before dyeing but decided to do it anyway! I like the very subtle hints of color.

These two were done with a leaf green but I was almost out of the dye so it was not very strong. But I also added a yellow and blue. These pieces remind me of geodes for some reason.

This is Maddy and my favorite! It has a little bit of all the colors.

These all seemed to be sort of the same so I lumped them together.

And because I could, I added in some white lacy flowers. They remind me of snowflakes so I may have to find a use for them!

Snow Dyeing Part 1

2010-12-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to try this technique but never had the time or thought it was beyond my capabilities. I am not a dyer or a patient person so that does cause problems. But snow was going to be melting because temps are rising into the 50's with rain and thunderstorms - in December in Chicago???!!! I know, crazy right? Couple that with my 9 year old daughter telling me she's bored and I now have the guts to try this out.

So we rounded up some white t-shirts and scraps of white fabric that I had on hand and off we went. First I soaked everything in the soda ash for 20 minutes or when I remembered it again - whichever came first. Then I put them in the freezer. I read that somewhere, yes I did do some research before starting. Now I get to put the girl to work and she was very happy to do so. She is packing snow on each of the containers and then had a break to chomp on some of the ginormous icicles forming due to the big thaw starting.

The three containers on the right are the t-shirts and I let Maddy "design" them. She loves this part. She always puts so many colors together I am afraid she will get mud but she always gets astonishingly beautiful pieces! Here they are:

The last is a fabric scrap I dyed using fushia, red and yellow. I ended up washing these out last night after all the snow had melted. Someone told me to let them sit 24 hours and then wash. So I left the blues and greens "cooking" for the full 24 hours. I have them in the washing machine now and will post a little later.

Faux bricks

2010-12-27T12:28:00.001-08:00

I found the photos on my iPad. I hadn't transferred them over to my main computer. This was a really big project and took far longer than I had planned. It' s been a while since I've done a project this big.

My neighbors wanted to do a faux brick wall in their formal living room. The side wall was about ten feet and sloped down to eight. The back wall was ten feet high and I don't want to know the width. This technique is sponged on in four colors. The first takes the longest as it has to cover almost all the wall. The next two are time consuming and the final is a breeze as you just hit a few areas. The hardest part was measuring out the bricks and keeping them level and the right size. The process is a little forgiving. Finally, outline each of the bricks in the mortar color and then highlight and shadow each brick. I was exhausted when done but what an awesome looking wall if I do say so myself!

Faux Stone Wall

2010-12-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

So I have been back to doing a little faux finishing - this time for a neighbor. I did a brick wall a few months back and will have to upload the photos when I find them! But they were having a party for the holidays and the whole house was being painted and cleaned so they wanted to know if I could slip in and paint this wall in the middle of all the chaos. Sure, why not! I took a few quick shots right after it was finished and could only do the top part of the wall because they had all their stuff in the room I was painting.
I will try to get another full shot later when they have a few moments. There is an elk head that actually hangs on the wall. This should make a very nice backdrop for him.

Trashin' the Mailman ATC

2010-12-23T19:13:00.001-08:00

Our latest trade was to use the junk mail that we receive and create some ATC's. This gave me a chance to try out a cool new technique for image transfer. Take a color brochure and place packing tape over the image. Overlap if you need to. Then rub the whole image to make sure you get a good print. Once that is done, flip over to the backside, run some sandpaper over it to rough up the surface, then use water to remove the paper backing. This will leave you with a print of the image on the packing tape.
I glued this to watercolor paper that had been painted in pinks, blues and purples to match the colors from the brochures. I used gel medium to adhere it. I then pounced some interference blue over the fronts, then stamped with tiny snowflakes in dark blue. Once that was dry, I added another stamp in white in a random pattern and outlined in dark blue marker.
For the big snowflake, I cut out 2 snowflakes from the brochure and then made photocopies in a larger size. I made extras in case I screwed up ; )
I used glitter glue on top of the snowflakes to make them sparkle then cut each one out when the glue dried. I glued one to each card and added Holiday 2010 from another brochure.
Finally I added eyelets and funky yarn to frame the entire piece. They were hard to photograph as they are very shiney.

Check out our ATC blog to see all the other pieces for this challenge:
http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com/

Typography

2010-12-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

Our latest ATC trade was called Typography. We had to incorporate type or letters in any way, shape or form. Of course I immediately decided to use PCOX for my project. It was perfect!

I used watercolor paper and stamped the letters with embossing liquid for the p's and o's and then sprinkled on glitter emobssing powder. Once it was dry, I hit it with a heat gun. The sparkles stayed! Then I stamped c's for the eyes in the peacock feathers and x's were used to create the feet. I painted the feathers with metallic acrylic paints and drew in final details with a black pen. Some of the glitter went on the feet so I am just saying it was nail polish! LOL

Florida Flora

2010-10-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since end of August. So sad but I have been busy. Well busy with my kids going back to school, going back to work, my kids various social engagements and soccer season. But I did manage to get a piece done and entered into the Road to California show.

I started out using a photo I took while on vacation in Florida last year. I sketched out the picture using Neocolor Watercolor crayons and then blended using textile medium. I heat set and then added batting and backing. I used various colors of thread to create the lines in the leaves. I first outlined all the large leaves and then stitched to get the patterns. I wanted it to look more like leaves in life than a perfect leaf so pushed the fabric an manipulated it to add a more three dimensional look and feel. So parts of the leaves and stems pop out from the fabric. I added clear beads to simulate the water drops and a few crystal beads for more realistic water droplets. I used fabrico dye pens to add a drop shadow behind for even more dimension.
I think this is one of my favorite pieces. Wish my luck!

Favorite Quote ATC

2010-08-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

I am ahead of schedule for once. Maybe it is because my children went back to school and I have a moment to breathe. I almost feel guilty working on my art. I keep thinking that I should be doing projects around the house. But this two week break is my only time to myself for a very long time. So guilt be gone!!! LOL

So our next challenge was to create something about our favorite quote. Technically it isn't a quote but a line from a song by Jewel "Life Uncommon". Something about this line really struck a cord with me and so I went with it.

This is the first ATC created on paper. I used watercolor paper and added ink in yellow, pink and green. Then I added some gel medium to create some texture and when dry used a deep rose to tone down the colors. I fused a fabric heart onto the paper and added threads using the gel medium. I wanted the viewer to get the sense of emotions tying us up and keeping us from moving forward. I hand wrote the quote in and at the very last minute, I carved a little bird and stamped it onto each card. I seem to have a very yellowy looking card but it isn't quite that color - more golden. But a better representation than cards past!

Lily and Pads

2010-08-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

I finished this piece a while ago but was agonizing on how to finish off the edges so I put it off to the side and forgot about it. Lark Books is looking for nature related photos of art quilts for a book series they are looking to do. So while I was looking through all my pieces, I realized that this would be perfect. I decided to just face the piece after consulting my critique group for their opinions. I was surprised they all agreed on no borders! Now that it is complete, I have to agree it looks great.

Call for Consideration
Art Quilt Portfolio – A New Series from Lark Crafts
First volume in the series to be published Spring 2012

Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World
An Inspiring Collection of Art Quilts
By Martha Sielman

So here is one of the pieces I submitted for consideration. I painted the fabric and then added details with dye pens and shiva paintstiks. I hand quilted around all the leaves because I wanted it to puff out - thinking it would add to the 3 dimensional look (it did!). The lily is three dimensional. I created a petal template and cut 2 different types of white fabric, stitched around and then reversed out to put the seams inside. I layered and stitched them in place. The center is done with embroidery threads. I beaded the background to add additional texture.

I really feel good about this piece. Wish me luck!

This and That

2010-08-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

Well I have not been as busy as I would like to be creating art but I haven't been a total slacker either. I just finished my ATC's for the latest trade - Sew What's Buggin' You? Mine are dragonflies! The write up for them is on the blog - http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com/

I am also working to get some pieces ready for submission to Art O Mat. I have two ideas but need to get them sent off and have them ok'd before I post pics. Wish me luck!

Art In the Cards Trading Group

2010-06-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

I was invited to join an ATC group a few months back and you have seen the pieces that I have done. Well now we are doing a blog so that you can see what the whole group is doing. Some pretty amazing pieces are coming out of such a tiny group! We will be starting with our All Cracked Up theme and going forward from there. I am thinking we should post our other pieces too because they are amazing!! Anyway, here is the link if you want to check it out!

http://artsinthecards.blogspot.com/

Cracked

2010-06-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

So our artist trading card group had another challenge and the theme was Cracked. Hmmm. I decided I was going to do mine based on the Crack of Dawn!

So I used backings from a previous failed ATC attempt. I painted the fabric midnight blue and then went back into it with shiva paintstiks in yellow, orange and green. I sewed around the "clouds" to add more definition. I then drew on some yupo paper with colored pencils and ink. Once dry, I painted over it with gel medium in three layers. Once dry, I used gel medium to adhere it to the backing. It wasn't as transparent as I wanted. So I had to add more details back in with fabric dye pens. It has a rubbery feel to it and was hard to sew the edges to finish off the piece. The 6:08 is the time my husband keeps waking me up for some reason!

Rebirth Challenge piece

2010-06-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well I have finished the third piece in our 12"x 12" challenge series. The theme this time was Rebirth and it could be interpreted any way we wanted. I created mine based on the butterfly. When the challenge word was revealed, we had just received our caterpillars at the preschool and we watched each day as they got bigger and then went into the cocoon stage.

I found some great fabric my friend Christine had given me and used it for the background. I quilted around the piece to give the feel of tree bark. I used rust dyed and hand dyed fabric to create tree branches. The leaves were two fabrics fused together and then cut out to look like leaves. The cocoon was from more fabric my friend Christine gave me - she thought it looked like mud and I of course said I would take it! I added some angelina fiber over the top and machine quilted it to add more texture. I then stuffed it with fiber. I created the butterfly wings by fusing to pieces of white fabric together and then drawing in the wing patterns using fabric markers. The edges were faced so there would not be a border (I hate making borders if you haven't noticed!! LOL)

Waiting

2010-05-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

I have made an entry for the Stitch This! Challenge. Quilting Arts and Bernina are hosting. You can vote for as many pieces as you like but you can only vote one time for each.

I saw the photo and just fell in love with it so I had to enter. Not sure why but I really like swans. The challenge was to interpret the picture posted but showcase stitching. Uploads were to begin on May 3rd but I found out about it on May 5th. So I got to work and started creating!

First I drew the image on to white cotton fabric. I used the Neocolor II watercolor pencils and then blended the colors using the textile medium. Terri Stegmiller had used this instead of water so I decided to give it a try! LOVE IT!!! Going to do this again! Anyway, I then thread painted the entire piece. The feathers at the bottom were thread painted on separate fabric and then cut out and added to the piece. I love the colors and the entire piece.

Wish me luck!

Rust/Metal ATC Trade

2010-05-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

I did these in half the time as last. Some designs take time and others just flow out quickly. Our challenge was to incorporate something rust or metal. I used rusted fabric. I was inspired by my visit to the Field Museum in Chicago and took a bunch of photos of the fossils. The fish grabbed my attention so that was my inspiration. I made 8 up on a page and printed out on my color ink jet printer. Then I photocopied it on a copier. Each fish is printed on the card using the citra-solv method. I found the lavendar version at the IQA show in Jane Davila's booth. I wanted to make them look like they do in the museum - saved in the rock they found them. Didn't quite work so I added black puffy paint to add dimensionality to them. I stitched around each and then FMQ the background to make it look like a rock. Didn't really work but I do like the fishes!

Warped Challenge

2010-04-25T07:23:00.001-07:00

Finally finished my ATC's for the latest challenge and I am about 10 days behind schedule. What can I say. Life.

Anyway, I was inspired by the meteor that flew over Illinois and landed in Wisconsin, as well as time warp and the images of the volcano from above. So I was thinking "What if a meteor ripped through the fabric of time?"

I painted white fabric with black puffy paint, let it dry and then puffed with heat gun. I then painted the "islands brown and green and the water around in various shades of blue. I painted a thin lutrador with midnight blue acrylic paint and smeared a glitter glue in areas across it to simulate space and stars.

When dry, I sewed to the top of each card and hit it with a heat gun to "Tear" through the sky. I added some small silver beads to create little meteors and then a silver washer - hand numbered to make a clock and had a small white cardboard circle behind it. I edged each with black/blue thread.

Something New ATC trade

2010-03-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

I have added my new ATC trade. We were supposed to do something new. I used some hand dyed blue fabric as the background and then painted some shiva white onto the background to create clouds. I then fused white on for the trees and the snow. I machine quilted around the trees with black and free stitched additional trees. I had wanted to do something that was "sketched in black" for some time and this was the perfect time to try out the technique. I hand beaded for some leaves and painted some glitter glue onto the snow to make it sparkle! I love how these turned out - especially since my first attempt had to be put away because I hated how they looked. I will think about them and used them another time.

Ghostly Galleon

2010-03-06T17:13:00.000-08:00

My latest piece was created for the Fiberart Challenge group. The word was poetic. I took my inspiration from the poem The Highwayman. The line "the moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas," came to mind. The moon has inspired poets, writers and artists for centuries.

I just love how this one just came to life on it's own. I used commercially dyed blue and white fabric. The moon and the snow was done with shiva paintstiks and then I machine quilted it.

Going Green ATC Trade

2010-02-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

I am actually early on my next trade. It isn't due until March 1st but Hubby's birthday is next weekend and the weekend after, I have to go on a girl scout camping trip. So this was it for me to get them done. I am really excited how they turned out but my photography is not so great.

The background is a paper towel I used to soak up excess dye during my summer experimentation with daughter and friend. I thought the colors were cool so I kept them. They were perfect for this challenge. I stamped a fern type pattern on each with a hand cut stamp. Then machine quilted around to accent them. I added some left over angelina fibers and some green netting I had on hand from a lime bag. They make great grasses! I sewed over them with some thread to make blades of grass. I added some sequins and beads for a little extra something and then finished the edges. I am really happy with these and have 3 left over!

Comfort

2010-02-07T07:15:00.001-08:00

The Fiberarts Group I belong to had a challenge. Every two months, we will get a new theme to work with. Our first was Comfort and what it means to you. I am late getting my entry in as I am getting over a nasty sinus infection and the in-laws have swooped in for an impromptu visit. Was supposed to be two weeks but is going to be 4. I love them to pieces but the little time I have to work on art has been whittled down to near extinct. Oh well.

So my entry was born out of a small snow storm that we had. There is something very peaceful about the world blanketed with snow. (Not the 30 inches in DC mind you) but a few inches that makes you stay home and hang out with your family.

I used some fabric from a previous experiment. I drew the background with Neocolors watercolor crayons and then added water to blend. When dry, I used various rubber stamps of trees and leaves and grasses to create the treeline. I placed the stamp underneath and rubbed using the same water color crayons. I misted them with water to let them bleed and blend a little and then quickly ironed the fabric (from behind) to heat set and stop them from disappearing all together. I thread painted the trees and grasses. I also added angelina fibers to create the snow in the foreground. The tree in the middle was beaded with some metallic beads to add some texture.

I still feel it needs something in the lower right hand corner. I wanted to add some tall grasses but my hubby thinks it looks great the way it is. What do you think?

ATC Challenge - Red

2010-02-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

I was invited to join a small Artist Trading Group and we just finished our first trade. The challenge was the color red. Originally I was thinking Valentine's Day but that was so obvious. But then I ran across some Chinese envelopes I had in a drawer and the inspiration took hold. This year, Chinese New Year lands on Valentine's Day! So I created ATC's based on the year of the Metal Tiger which is this year's animal.

First I used a red fabric background and stamped a chinese character in dark blue. Then stamped some other oriental motifs in cold and a darker red. I then used a puffy paint to paint individual tigers on each card. When dry, I used a heat gun to puff them up and then painted them copper using H20 watercolor paints. When that dried, I added in details and stripes with a dye pen. The pen with the H20 paint trashed two of my black pens. Apparently they don't play nice together. So note to self, don't do that again. I sewed a Chinese coin onto each and finished the edges with a satin stitch in black.

I made 8 so that I could pick the best of the bunch for my trade which included only 5 people. So I have 3 left but need to do some adjustments to the faces.

Rust Dyed Challenge entry

2010-01-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well I finished it finally!!! I had some technical difficulties and kept putting it off to the side while I figured out how to fix it.

Here is a closeup of the face.

Not sure I posted this in a previous post but here is a quick explanation of this piece. The face is my father's. I used a photo my BIL John Armentrout took of him (he gave me permission to use!) My father was diagnosed with hepatic cancer right around the time hawks entered my life. I first had a visit in my back yard - he landed on my trampoline! The next day I found out he had cancer. From then on, they started to show up all time. On the day of his death, I was driving down the tollway to see him and they were everywhere on my entire drive down to my parents house. Since then I have always associated the hawks with my rather. So I titled this piece - They Came To Take Him Home.

The fabric was rust dyed and then the birds were sketched in with pentel fabric crayons. I painted the background in blue using setacolor mixed with aloe gel to thin it. I thread painted the birds and face. I didn't use a stiffer backing behind the face as I wanted to create the wrinkles without having to stitch every last one in. The result was great but puckered and didn't lay flat. I painted the background again using shiva paintstiks in blue and white to blend in a little more. Then I used a trapunto technique to fill out the face more and stabilized the back of his head. There are still some puckers but overall I am thrilled with the final result.

Stamps and such

2009-10-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

I am trying to get back into a creative groove. School starting up for the kids has thrown my schedule into the twilight zone! So we are finally settling back into a new routine and I am trying to carve out some time for myself. Soccer was canceled on Saturday which gave me time to play catch up on projects! Yeah!

So I went to work on an idea I have had rolling around in my brain for a while. My inspiration was the fields of natural prairie grasses that grow so plentiful here in the midwest. I took pictures last fall (good thing as this fall has had nothing but rain!) I bought some fabric from my good friend Katherine Sands.

Well about a year ago I bought it! Anyway, I carved some stamps this weekend and played with them in my sketchbook to get my ideas down for the composition.

Not there yet but thought I would post and get some feedback.

This has a graduated background of blues and then I stamped the grasses in three colors. I added the other stamps and realized that I could do this as a piece near water and add reflections! Another avenue I hadn't considered.

This one was a simplified version of the different grasses. But I had sketched it in with colored pencils a while ago since I hadn't done the stamps yet.

This one was created like the first but on a previously painted background in my sketchbook. The colors are blending into the background so I need to add more darks. But this was just for ideas and working out everything.

The large stamp was of a teasel weed. Didn't realize it was an invasive plant until I was at a rest stop in Illinois and saw it posted on the wall! Yikes. I first noticed them last year and thought we were getting a cool thistle with some great flowers. All it did was turn brown.

It's Official!

2009-10-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

My piece for Houston was juried into the IQA show but did not win any awards. But it was my first shot ever at entering a piece into a major show and it made it!! So exciting. Tanya Brown was kind enough to snap some pics of my piece as I was unable to attend! Thanks Tanya!!

Ugly Duckling into a Swan

2009-10-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Recently I visited a blog where the owner was showing all of her beautiful hand dyed fabric. (I have lost the envelope with her name on it and will post as soon as I figure out who sent this to me!) She also had some not so great. She called them ugly. So she decided to offer the "ugly fabric" in a giveaway if you left a comment. Well I won one of the pieces. Personally I did not think it was bad. I have made worse!

A couple weeks ago, I found it in my stash while looking for something else. I immediately thought of grasses and water and knew I had some great fabric I could destroy to make this piece sing.

I added in the reflections with some dye pens. Now I need to quilt in the water and reflections. I am really excited about the progress. Just wanted to give a look see of something I am working on. It has been a while since I have posted since life has been crazy.

Update: Katy Quilts is where I won the fabric!

Ever Watchful

2009-08-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my piece for Art Now For Autism! The piece was due by September 1 so I am way ahead of the game for me!

This summer has been so crazy with weather and kid activities. I haven't had time to post anything in quite a while. I just got my sewing machine fixed and cleaned so I am now feeling more creative finally!

So I started out by rust dyeing some fabric and then drew the hawk with black fabric crayon. I had also painted the background in a blue which with the rust color background, turned the color more turquoise. So I thread painted the hawk in black and then quilted the sky. I used shiva paintsticks on the background and a little white on the hawk. I love how this turned out and hope it does well for the reverse auction.

Trying to Get My Groove Back

2009-07-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have been in such a creative funk for some reason. I think this last school year was so incredibly crazy that my mind went blank when it finished. Trying to push through it and get back to creating. The weather hasn't been helping either. Below average temps, mosquitos the size of small dogs, gloomy days have really taken their toll.

But today dawned warmer and sunnier so I forced myself to get outside and work on a piece I had started a while back. I rust dyed some fabric and thought they would work so perfectly for hawks. I have them all over the place around my house and I could watch them for hours. I first noticed them in my life right before my dad was diagnosed with cancer. All the time leading up until his death, they were around me always. On the day he died, I was driving down the highway to see him and there must have been 24 of them circling and following me to my parents house. Since then I have always associated the hawks with my dads passing. I have had this piece stuck in my head for years and finally am ready to put it into reality.

I started with this smaller piece to see how it would work. I will use it to work out ideas for the bigger piece and it will be my donation to Art now for Autism.

This is the piece I will create for the Rust Tex challenge. I am planning on thread painting the hawks and my fathers face in black thread. Then I will quilt the background and add more details for the clouds as needed. I am happy to have gotten to this point. I just need to push through.

The photo of my dad was taken by my brother in law and I have had a copy of it for a few years. He granted me permission to use it for this piece. What a nice BIL. Thanks John Armentrout! a.k.a troutphoto.

Houston Entry Accepted!

2009-07-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

I got the fat envelope on Monday saying my entry was accepted! This was my first try ever entering Houston and I made it in! I am still on cloud nine! Everyone on the Quiltart list is putting their entries up on their blogs. Apparently it is okay to do so. I was hesitant to post it but was told that it was okay. So without further ado, here it is:

The piece is 30" x 50" and a whole cloth piece. I drew out the design using watercolor crayons and water. I created the rocks using puffy paint and acrylic paint. I added details in the water using fabric paint. The trees are couched fibers, hand embroidery and beads. The face was made from the watercolor crayons and dye pens and hand embroidered with thread. The grassy areas were more couched yarns of various colors and weights. The flowers were made from painted cotton face cloths and cut to form petals and then sewn together. The leaves are created from various green batik fabrics fused together and cut into leave shapes, then hand sewn on. I machine quilted around the rocks to add more dimension. The red flowers were silk tangles from Jane Steinberg (Artistic Artifacts sells them).

This piece was from a photo my mother took out of a bus window and it was going to be thrown out. The picture caught a reflection in the glass of a lady on the bus and part of the scenery outside. The idea stuck in my head and I tried many different mediums to make it work - 15 years of trying! I finally tried it in fiber about 3 years ago and was liking how it was turning out until something made me stop. I let it sit for two years and then picked it up again and didn't stop until finished. I was so pleased with how this turned out.

Wish me luck in Houston!

Teacher's Gifts

2009-05-29T13:11:00.001-07:00

I don't know what my problem is but this time of year I seem to have no concept of time! I am rushing to get teachers gifts made and they still have school for another week and a half! Oh well. I am finished and am extremely pleased with the results.

I found the pattern by Terri Stegmiller and decided that would be a perfect gift for the kids teachers.

Finalist for QA Calendar!

2009-05-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it but I made it into the finalist round for the Quilting Arts 2010 calendar! What an honor. And I almost didn't send it in but friends encouraged me to do it. I got my entry in right under the wire.

I happened to be on facebook when Pokey Bolton made the announcement the night before the official announcement! I screamed so loud that my son thought I had received bad news. Sorry Patrick!

They posted all the final entries on their new and improved website.

Here is my entry:

EDIT: I made it into the top 13!! Woo-hoo! I will be May in the calendar! Wow!

Collage Mania II

2009-05-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! The difference being that this will be the last year Virginia Spiegel will be hosting this.

Gold Donor Day: May 5, 2009
All collages available for a minimum $80 donation.

Regular Collage Mania: May 6 and May 7, 2009
All collages available for a minimum $40 donation.

While there is a minimum donation, patrons are encouraged to donate a bit more if they are able for a favorite collage. All proceeds go directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause.

My two pieces are located on the last page! Lots of eye candy out there!
Enjoy

Collage Mania 2009 Goal: $20,000.

Experimentation

2009-04-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

So I went to IQA and bought a few things to play with in regards to fabric. The one thing I have actually had time to use was tannin. I bought it from Lois Jarvis of RustTex fame. After you start rust dyeing your fabric, you add the tannin to get the grays into the fabric. I didn't let my fabric rust dye as long as I usually do as the weather has been crazy? 25 degree temperature swings, rain and sunshine. So I let it rust for the afternoon and then added the tannin. I let it sit overnight because I forgot about it and it was raining again! Anyway, here are the results:

And of course I had to add an update of the puppy who is already 12 weeks old! He is quite content to hang out on my son Patrick. Aren't they cute?

Creative Prompts Project-Spring and Air

2009-04-14T08:03:00.001-07:00

Still working to catch up. I have two more done.
First is for 3/20 which was Spring.
I had painted in my sketchbook a few months back. I just did a bunch of pages so that when I needed a little creative boost, all I had to do was pick a page and start sketching or doodling. I found this page in my book - I love those trees! So I sketched in a tree that was suggested by the painting. Colors are red and green which to me symbolize the energy of new growth.

This one is for 3/27 which was Air.
I love the sky! One of these days I am going to ram into someone with my car if I am not careful. I am always checking out the clouds and birds. I just couldn't do a sketch of air - I had to paint it! I really am looking to try painting sky fabric with dyes when the weather finally does break!

Charms that missed the swap!

2009-04-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

As usual, I didn't get something in on time. Partly because I didn't think they were good enough and partly because my life runs on a hamster wheel! So here they are:

Had to do a peacock

This was done on Stambord with embossed black ink. My sister carved the stamp for me and it is way too cool! So I stamped it and then hit it with the heat gun to emboss. When cool, I painted it with Twinkling H20's. Really cute.

Purple and green fairy or angel.

Pink fairy or angel

Definitely an angel

These were goddess type beads made out of fimo clay but they had a little kick to the side for a sassy look. After they were baked, I wrapped them in eyelash yarns and added wings. The purple wings were made out of ribbon and the other two were made from angelina film.

Creative Prompts Project-Kindness 3/13

2009-04-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Boy am I behind on this! I needed to get a bunch of things off my camera in order to take a pic of this prompt and now it's almost a month later! Sorry about that. I will work to get caught up!
Meanwhile here is my prompt for week of 3/13. The word was kindness and I had been playing around with doodles.

First I started with a sketchbook page that had been painted in reds and yellows with acrylic paint. Then I started doodling and this design came out using black fine line markers. I used Twinkling H2O's to add colors and definition to the hearts. I wrote around the heart but screwed up so you can't read the word heart at the beginning. Sorry about that. It says A Heart grows with love.

Our new dachshund

2009-04-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

I have not been able to get a lot done lately. First it was because the kids were off for spring break. At the end of the break, we drove down to Poplar Bluff, Missouri to buy a puppy. My daughter found him on the internet. She is only 7 so how she managed to find this little guy is beyond me. My husband did a search for dachshunds and she took it from there. Once Madelyn picked out the puppy, my husband started emailing for information. Joyce was wonderful about answering questions and even sent pictures!

So on Friday of their spring break, we piled into the van and drove 450 miles to get him. We rented a room at one of the local hotels and dropped by Joyce and George's the next morning to pick up our little guy. What a wonderful puppy! He was great for the 8 hour drive back home during storms. Slept on the kids laps for most of the trip. He has taken to our family like a duck to water. Potty training has been going well too! Whew! Now that we are in tune with his schedule, we are having real success getting him outside in time to go. After a week, we have let him sleep with us and no accidents! He sleeps straight through the night! Wow! How cool is that??!!!

Here is a sneak peek of what I have been working on. It is a small part of a much larger piece that will be about 30" x 50". I started this about 15 years ago but couldn't get it to work out the way I imagined. I tried several different mediums and then when I found fiber art, I knew this was the way to go. I sketched the whole thing out about two years ago and then stopped again. I picked it back up a few months ago and have been working on it a little every night. I am determined to finish it and put it in some shows.

Play day!

2009-03-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

I had a day off on Tuesday and it was a glorious 74 degrees! Woo-hoo!! Totally unheard of this time of the year. My friend Katherine Sands sent me the Color By Design by Ann Johnston that I ordered from her site. I was so inspired. Of course I didn't have all the materials I needed yet. I found old dye laying around and just decided to go for it. The fabric is white cotton and I had soaked it in soda ash and let it dry naturally. The dyes were from an old tie dye kit so I wasn't holding out a lot of hope. I was thoroughly surprised with the results and so excited about the possibilities.

First I squirted the dye on to the fabric and then used a brush to smoosh the dye around. I let it sit for about 8 hours and then washed it.

This has an underwater feel to it. Really finding that a lot in my work lately - ironic as I can't swim.

This reminds me of a sunset swamp, water and misty trees. Really excited about these pieces.

Creative Prompts Project

2009-03-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

I cannot tell you how I found this site! Sometimes we just find things and we are glad we did. I may have heard of it through a friend or read about it on another blog - I can't remember! The cow on the sidebar will link you right to the blog that is hosting this. She will put in a word as a "prompt" to kickstart the creative juices. You have to create something that symbolizes the prompt or word. I am now behind a prompt as they just posted a new one.

I finally had room on my camera again so I could take pictures of my doodling. The creative prompt is BUBBLES. I love bubbles. I was inspired to do three versions!

So this one was kind of lame but I was playing with the Twinkling H20's and they are so much fun I had to include the picture.

Now after working on the first one, I remembered my hand carved stamp and decided to get it and play. I stamped it around the page - trying to connect them like tissues or nerves. Then I outlined the stamped images in black marker and filled in the spaces around the stamps with bubbles!

Same idea but stamped in two layers rather than one to get some dimension. I keep doodling along these lines so I think I will need to create something from these ideas.

If you are stuck and need to just play, I highly recommend this project. Have fun, I did.

Urban Decay-Fragments Challenge Piece

2009-03-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am finished with this piece already! Don't you just love it when work flows out of you so easily. And I am happy with the result which is unusual for me as I tend to hate it after working on it for so long.

I used rust dyed fabric and then painted it with orange and turquoise textile paint. Then I stenciled the tree in green and added a dark brown-black horizon line. I FMQ the entire piece and went back in with shiva paint stiks and dye sticks to add more interest and detail.

Detail 1

Detail 2

Fun test

2009-03-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

Your rainbow is shaded violet.

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Quick Project

2009-02-26T16:42:00.002-08:00

Between girl scouts, helping my son with homework (ISATS are coming up) kids projects, working and trying to get some challenge pieces done - I did manage to get a small piece finished. Pamela Allen's husband had medical issues requiring surgery on his heart. A. Carole Grant organized a group of us to make some "lovies" for her. I forgot about it - well put it on the back burner thinking I have all this time. She sent me an email reminder and I couldn't believe that February is almost gone!!

I jumped into action and had it completed and mailed in less than a week. That must be a record for me! Anyway, I am posting it here so you don't think I have been a total lazy slacker.

I used hand dyed fabric backing and then used left over flowers from my Voice that is Great Within Quilt. I sewed them in place and beaded the centers then stitched in flowers throughout. I found some flower sequins to add a little bling. I have to say I like how this turned out. Flowers always make people feel better. As usual, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Madelyn has been busy

2009-02-03T11:24:00.001-08:00

I was showing my daughter something on my blog, when she noticed that I had posted her turkey picture. She was very excited that she had 4 "hits"!! So she has been on a creative streak and I have been cleaning up after her. I am so excited that one of my kids loves art!

Here is a part of the mess that created the following pictures

She was having so much fun playing with her ink pad.

She actually stamped the lid to the stamp pad and then slid it across the paper to create the blue piece.

This piece is a necklace that she made for me. It's a snowman made out of paper and she used the craft lace for a chain.

But this piece blew my mind! It is so well thought out, great colors and composition. I think this will have to be framed.

My photography skills are not doing this piece justice. And she painted it on poster board so it is curling up.

FFAC Final Pieces

2009-01-22T06:37:00.000-08:00

OK. I finally finished my pieces for Fiberart For A Cause hosted by Virginia Spiegel and coordinated by Karen Stiehl Osborn.

I mounted the postcards to heavy board backing that had been painted to extend the designs of the postcards. I am pretty happy with the results. The backgrounds were painted with acrylics and details were added with colored pencils and watercolor pencils to add fine details.

Another Poe Card

2009-01-12T11:17:00.001-08:00

Here is the second piece I created for the Raven postcard challenge.

The raven is looking down at the man on the ground and the moon is casting a shadow. I used fabric paint for the background. The figure and the raven were FMQ and then painted with shiva paint sticks. The shadow was made with a dye pen. I have to mount to heavy board and send pics to Fiber Art For a Cause.

An Honorable Mention Award!

2009-01-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

Cyber Fyber opened on January 8th. Ellen Kochansky juried the CYBER FYBER traded fiber ATCs and fiber Postcards and I received an honorable mention! I am so excited!

Fiberart for a Cause

2009-01-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

Lynda Thompson put out a challenge to do a raven based piece to help celebrate Edgar Allen Poe's 200th birthday on January 19th. The challenge was based on the poem "The Raven". Each had to create a 4"x 6" postcard incorporating anything raven into the design. There have been some very cool pieces!
This has been a very successful call as there are so many people participating. It caught the eye of Virginia Spiegel who does fundraisers for the American Cancer Society. She has the Collage Mania fundraiser coming up in April and a lot of people are thinking of donating their pieces to the fundraiser - myself included.

Here is one of the pieces I have created:

I have to mount it to heavy board to get it to the 8" x 10" size required for Collage Mania. I am thinking of painting the background to extend the postcard image. I will post the final piece when complete. I also have another piece almost done and will post that in the next few days.

Awesome Gifts!

2009-01-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Christine - the chick who needs to buy a vowel in Walnut Creek, made me Christmas gifts this year and I was beside myself with joy! She makes purses and sells them locally. This year she decided to gift one to me and I am so very happy to give it a good home!!

Isn't it fun? Her company name is Lily and Paris Designs. She is still working on her logo. Now that I am posting this, she is going to have to get her butt in gear and update her blog! Hee-hee

This piece is hand stitched by her and finished with marbled fabric. This is her version of a friendship ring.

I love the details in the heart. She made another piece the exact same as mine but with the heart embroidered on the opposite side. Very cool idea.

Thanks Christine!

No work of art but . . . .

2008-12-23T05:56:00.000-08:00

I have been busting a move to get my latest project done in time for Christmas. I made a quick quilt for my son. His room gets mighty chilly in the winter as he is located in the top southwest corner - where all the storms blow in. Luckily he his not always cold. He runs around in bare feet and t-shirts most of the year. But he does like a warm and comfy blanket.

I am a terrible traditional quilter so I just used 6 inch squares pieced together. I hand quilted the whole thing with perle cotton in various colors. The top left is icicles. The middle is earth and the bottom right is fire.

Earnin' a Brownie Badge

2008-12-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

I volunteered to co-lead my daughter's brownie troop. Unbeknownst to me, there ended up being 18 girls in the troop from 1st grade through 3rd. Not a big deal you say. But it is. Especially with skill sets. Big difference in what they can accomplish at a certain age. So trying to find something they all can accomplish has been a challenge. Since it is all girls, crafts always hit the mark.

They are working on a wear your art badge. So we did some t-shirt creations. All we said was that they were making their own t-shirts and they started squealing with delight. How cool is that. So with safety in mind, we opted to do a version of dyeing using bleeding art tissue. They also used the pentel dye crayons, rubbing plates, dye pens and watercolor crayons. Here are a few examples of what we accomplished yesterday:

Here's how we did it. First, I tried this out at home to see if it would work. Realized that you should dampen the t-shirt, then lay the tissue pieces down. After you have them where you want them, spray them with water again so the dye runs out onto the shirt.

Here is what I have after doing a large area. It is really wet, so I will let it dry before adding to it. The flower is from a rubbing plate. The areas with sharp edges were the pieces I tried without wetting the background first. So many possibilities.

Nominated

2008-11-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

What a surprise to find out that I have been nominated for a Kreative Blogger award by Sherryl Buchler! I have been following her blog Having Fun since meeting her on the Fiberarts Group started by Ms. Annie Copeland. Sherryl does the most amazing fabric using dye. Her latest class took her to a shibori workshop and I am drooling over her pieces!!

The rules of the award are:

1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.

2. Put a link to the person you got the award from in your blog.

3. Nominate 5 blogs.

4. Put links to the blogs.

5. Leave a message for your nominees.

So the nominees are: Christine Swieszcz and her blog Lily & Paris Designs. She likes to do hand embroidery and pairs that with wonderful color combinations. I frequently ask for her help/opinion when stuck on a project.

Katherine Sands blog, Art Journal - A Creative Journey. She is doing all kinds of experimentation with dye, fabric and surface design. I had the pleasure of meeting her at IQA Chicago last April. Fun, fun, fun!

I found Ms. Fannie Narte through a message she left on my blog. Her blog, Fannie Narte

holds a vast array of wonderful eye candy. She is more of a mixed media gal with a web presence and an etsy shop.

My next nominee is another person I met at the IQA show in Chicago last April. Lynn Krawczyk has a wicked sense of humor and her blog never fails to make me laugh out loud. Her blog Fibra Artysta-Mixed Media is another I frequent.

And finally, so hard to pick only 5! Virginia Spiegel who blogs at Virginia A. Spiegel on a very regular basis. She is a driving force for the American Cancer Society. She has several fundraisers involving artists from around the world as well as posting inspirational thoughts, prose and pictures. She posts her works in progress as well as her completed pieces, always leaving me scratching my head wondering how she achieved such wonderful surfaces on fabric!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

Madelyn was in a very creative mood. We were at Michael's yesterday getting t-shirts for the Brownie's troop project for next week. For some reason, she is totally taken with styrofoam. If you have priced it lately, you will see that it is getting a little pricey. So I let her get a package of 12 1" balls and made her give me three for a project I am working on.
Once we got home, she immediately went to work on her "masterpiece". I love watching her work. She tears around the house collecting all the pieces she needs and then sits to work on the project. Here is the fruits of her labors.

Initially, I thought I was looking down into a pen of turkeys and they were looking back at me. Madelyn explained that they were turkey's and the styrofoam pieces were their eyeballs. They were hiding in water, in a fenced in area and the big square created the walls of the room. The outline around the eyeballs is their bodies.

I asked if they were hiding so they wouldn't be available for someone's table. She looked at me like I was strange. I don't think she is equating live turkey's with the one on the table just yet.

Finished!

2008-11-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

I took this Elements class at Quilt University with Linda Schmidt over a year ago. I made four art pieces and never managed to finish any of them - until now!
I have been slowly working on this in between kid activities. Finally finished it yesterday. This was obviously the element of fire. Her binding techniques called for either a sheer border or to do a pieced border. Neither seemed to work for me so I left it as. One of the reasons I didn't finish this on time is because I didn't do a small version of this. The class samples were supposed to be done in a 9" x 12" format or thereabouts. I like working a little bigger so that is part of the reason this took so long. I plan on using this in my bedroom. One down and three more to go.

Garden Art Quilt

2008-11-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

This is my contribution to a project done for a very special lady - Ms. Anne Copeland. She founded a non-profit organization to help promote textile arts and people with disabilities doing art. She is tireless in her effort and for that, we are all especially grateful. You can visit her group at http://www.fiberartsconnsocal.org/gallery.html A group of people made little mini art quilts for her. We put them into a scrapbook album so that she could look through them whenever she needed inspiration. I was in charge of the cover.

I dyed the fabric using setacolor dyes. When dry, I heat set and then stamped a fern image through the background in three different colors. I then outlined each of them to help pull out the details a little more. Annie loves flowers so I decided to make her a little garden she can enjoy year round. I embroidered various flowers around the front cover and also added sequins and beads for tiny flowers. I just loved how it turned out.

Sunset

2008-11-07T06:20:00.001-08:00

Here is the second piece I managed to finish for the Stay at Home Challenge for AAQI.

Hand dyed fabrics, hand and machine quilted. As usual, picture doesn't do it justice. The colors are much more vibrant. Played with it in photoshop but this is as good as it is going to get apparently. Oh well.

SAH 2008

2008-10-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

For those of us not going to Houston Quilt Show, Diane Petersmarck hosted a Stay at Home Challenge. The pieces will be donated to the Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative hosted by Ami Sims. These quilts are donated to Ami and then auctioned off online or at various shows throughout the year. The proceeds are used for Alzheimers research.. This year, Lois Jarvis of Rust Tex fame is donating fabric to each person willing to make a quilt with her material and for each one registered by November 4th, she will donate $5 to AAQI!!

I received my fabric from Lois and it had stars all over it so I was inspired to create this little piece. The stars were not readily apparent to me when I first received the fabric so I wanted to show case them by stitching around each one. I added a scrapbook metal plaque that says BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, a central star, three gold stars and black sequins. I have a couple more to finish but this is the first one.

Black and White Challenge

2008-10-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

I finally get to post some pieces that I have been working on for the last 6 months! So exciting. I joined up to do Annie Copeland's "Your World in Black and White" challenge. We had to create a piece using only white, black, silver and gray. I thought it was going to be easy for me but it really was a struggle to get the lights, darks and mid tones.

In The Silence I Have Seen Him. This was an image I had in my head of an angel. It is done as if you have turned around and caught him in the corner of your eye. The brilliance of the light surrounding him makes him almost impossible to see clearly. It was created on white cotton fabric, sketched and then painted with dye for the basic design. Then I quilted the piece and finished with shiva paintstiks to add details and lights and shadows. I think this may be the best piece I have ever done in fiber.

This is my second entry. Styx and Stones. I created this piece from my sketchbook process. I had been playing around with tracing paper sketches from small sections of photographs. I then blew them up about 120% and glued the patterns/designs to my sketchbook and created a sketch from them. I thought that it would translate to fiber perfectly. It did but my photography does not do it justice.

This piece is about 60" wide by 30" high. It was hand painted with dye on white cotton then various black and gray fabrics were fused on to create the rocks. The rocks were FMQ. The boxes are white cotton, framed in black binding and the styx are black cotton fabric tubes hand sewn on. The water was hand quilted with silver thread. The highlights were added with white shiva painstiks.

Elvis

2008-10-19T17:58:00.001-07:00

When Madelyn was about 8 months old, she was sitting on my lap watching TV at 5:30 a.m. A special about Elvis comes on and they are playing some of his hit songs. She is just rocking back and forth - her version of dancing at that age. Clearly an Elvis fan from very early on. So my daughter has been telling me that she wants to BE Elvis for Halloween. It's been two years now. I ask if she likes the white suit or the black. She picks the black version (thankfully) She is not a neat and tidy child.

Wandering through Joann's with my coupon in hand, I venture into the pattern section and find an Elvis pattern! Of course it is for boys but I am not telling her that. I purchase all the fabric and the contrast fabric, interfacing etc. I am beside myself with excitement. She came home from school and I show her my find. She says "Oh. That's great mom. " Now I am thinking I shouldn't have wasted my time. But No! I am going to do it anyway. So I did. It turned out awesome and she loves it!!! Of course she doesn't want to wear the wig or glasses. So she looks more like a mariachi band member or Zorro. Oh well.

So here are some pics I took of my two lovelies. The sequins are all hand sewn on. Took about 4 days to complete the entire costume (while they were at school obviously!)

Patrick is obviously the Grim Reaper. They are standing in front of our blow up skull on the front lawn.

Madelyn did not want to pose for this picture. They had soccer games during the day and then this Halloween fundraiser. (Patrick scored 2 goals and won the game for his team!) She was beyond tired and crabby. Can you tell?

I finally guilted her into posing for me.

Fiber Arts

2008-10-14T09:46:00.001-07:00

Day of the Dead

2008-09-18T06:47:00.001-07:00

I have been hearing about the Day of the Dead celebrations and did a little research. I was intrigued by the celebration as I just love Halloween. I was surprised to find that it is a celebration of loved ones that have passed and the day is dedicated to their memories. It also happens to land on my son's birthday! I am usually not interested in making dolls but spirit dolls and the like are really intriguing to me.

So I decided to play with some scraps of stuff I had and this is what came out of it:

The body is made of polymer clay. I baked it to harden it and then did a wash of acrylic paint all over to give it more of a skeleton appearance. Then used a black dye pen in the crevices. The orange piece is some flower lace dyed orange and beaded in orange seed beads to simulate marigold flowers. The "clothes" are pieces of ripped sheers, and black cotton fabrics. And I added a little dragonfly charm necklace.

The best part of this happy accident is that I mistakenly used glow in the dark clay! So now I can power it up and wear it when I take the kids trick or treating!

With One Voice

2008-08-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

I finally found the pictures of my piece for Breaking Traditions - With One Voice! I was dumping a bunch of things off my computer because I was getting a disk full message and inadvertantly dumped my pictures of this piece. I had already sent my piece off to Lynn Krawczyk back in April so I couldn't take another photograph.

Well in talking to my friend Christine, I realized I had emailed her a picture of it to see if she thought anything looked out of whack. So this morning, I went back through all my sent messages since February (and I wonder why I am getting disk full messages) and found the email with the attachments!! Woo hoo!!

So without further ado, here it is:

I made this to honor everyone who does something to help save our environment and keep it from being viewed in a museum!

I quilted the background in two different directions and then painted it in layers of different browns to simulate a tree. I painted the borders in yellow and orange fabric paint. The cocoon is tea stained cotton fabric and gold angelina fibers are sewn over it using gold embroidery thread. I made the sides out of batting to create a window box feel to it and sewed black velvet to the back. I added leaves from cotton fabric and silk ribbon to create the leaves and branches.

The exhibit will be on display at the American Sewing Expo in Novi, Michigan, September 26-28 and then various others throughout the rest of 2008.

Journal Quilt - Elements

2008-08-18T11:19:00.001-07:00

Well I was just notified that my journal quilt entry did not get juried in. Bummer. But I tried and that was a goal I made for myself this year. So I get to post it here for all who stops by.

I really had a great time making this one and experimenting with a ton of different materials. First I sketched out my design onto white cotton fabric. Then I created the large tree truck on top by using puffy paint and then dragging a stick through to create the texture. After drying, I puffed it up and painted it with acrylic paints. The bottom part was drawn with fabric dye sticks. The leaves were pink polka dot fabric, over dyed and rust dyed. I then cut out the leaf shapes and drew the veins in, sewing all down by hand. I added Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel over all to create the ice. When that was dry, I used sand paper to rough it up and cracked it in some areas. I added a wash of white acrylic paint on the outside in order to show the reflection better. The branch coming down was scraps of silk dye fabric and UTEE added for ice. The shadow was done using a black dye pen.

Someone is going to have an online show of all the quilts that didn't get in. Can't wait to see them all!!

TIF August and other pieces

2008-08-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

So the August TIF challenge came out and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the picture I have started, matches the color scheme! I love happy coincidences.

So I started by taking a picture of flowers in my yard. This is my climbing vine whose name has completely escaped me at the moment. I loved the closeup textural quality of the picture and wanted to see if I could capture it with watercolor crayons, thread and pentel fabric dye sticks. Not there yet but off to a good start I think.

This one is another in my series of day lily's up close and personal. I am donating it to the Art for Autism fundraiser to be held in October.

Watercolor Pencil on Fabric

2008-07-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

I finally had a moment of free time. Well moments strung together to create something pretty cool. I was playing with the macro button on my camera because it was raining on and off. My orange daylilies were blooming so I decided to take some pictures. Wow! What a cool feature on my camera. Even better because I figured out how to use it. So I decided this one would be gorgeous as a fiber piece.

Original picture printed on a laser printer.

Materials - white cotton fabric, watercolor crayons, my picture for reference and a paintbrush. I didn't add the water because knowing me, I would spill it before starting. Not cool!

The flower sketched in with the watercolor crayons.

Fun part! I dip my brush in the water and start painting over the drawing. Some areas blend and others stay put. Once I was finished, I put it outside to dry. It is nice and sunny and hot so it dried very quickly! When it dries slowly, the colors migrate into one another a lot more.

Thread painted and then puffy paint to create the flower centers. I thread painted with a fire engine red thread for the petals, added a wine purple and a light blue to pull out more details. After the puffy paint dried, I heated it up to puff it. I painted them with dye pens and added shadows. The "pollen" was made with puffy velvet in yellow and then colored with orange dye pens.

And here is the final piece! I finished the edges with satin stitching in the same fire red color. I love how this turned out. I have to try a few more I think!

Take it Further May and June

2008-06-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

So finally getting back on track. I have actually finished my June TIF way ahead of schedule!!

The first is my May TIF and I went with the color scheme. I needed teachers gifts for the kids and decided to combine the two projects. Patrick's teacher is getting remarried over the summer so I thought a photo album would be nice. But a black and boring album would not work. So I made a cover for it using my new sewing machine!!

I free motion quilted the entire surface to give it a loose floral feeling. The cut it to size to fit the book. The window was cut out and I satin stitched around the border. His teacher was thrilled - or so Patrick told me.

This one if for Madelyn's teacher. She is going for a double masters and has a few years left of school. She likes organization and notes and paper - I think. So I bought the padfolio and created a cover out of fabric on hand, thread from my stash and even the backing fabric. I used felt for the batting. I love how it turned out.

The yarns were couched on to create more texture and it was also from my fiber stash. She is getting her gift this morning as I just finished it yesterday afternoon!

Miscellaneous

2008-06-09T06:20:00.001-07:00

Last Friday was my son's 3rd grade end of year picnic and I got to do the craft! I bought the t-shirts from Dharma Trading and had them shipped to my house. The paint was red acrylic paint mixed with aloe vera gel to make it easier to stencil. I photocopied their logo and then created the text in Quark. Made a very nice stencil - well three actually. Back was killing me from leaning over the table all afternoon but the results were so worth it! We made 60 and even the teachers got into the action. You would think my son's would be one of the nicest but he had a boo-boo in the corner. But he loves it and so did his classmates.

I was out on one of my morning walks and veered off the beaten path. They redid a bunch of areas around the river and I finally decided to check it out. Well this little dragonfly landed right on my leg!! How cool is that??

This is the view of the river from another direction. The water was so calm. Considering all the rain we have been having, I thought it would be a bit faster moving. I love how the trees make a frame. Hard to tell where reflection meets the sky.

Off The Beaten Path

2008-05-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

I started walking again now that the weather is finally starting to turn warmer - gee it's only end of May!! But I was not in the mood to stay on the walking path and decided to venture onto some of the horse paths. I also remembered to take my camera.

First stop was the bridge over a section of the Des Plaines River. Stupid me forgot that it had rained so much and the ground still hadn't dried out. So the area under the bridge was a squishy, slimy mess. Thankfully I didn't get stuck but did discover that my shoes are a.) not waterproof and b. ) have holes forming where the sole meets the shoe. Ugh!

Clearly I was not the only idiot attempting to check things out.

So I walked down a little further - clearly the shoes were ruined so let's go for broke.

I am so glad I did! This is along a bend in the river.

This was the newly redone bridge over the river along the horse path. I'll bet those horses are happy they can cross over rather than through. That water is still mighty cold!

And then this guy walks right out in front of me! Hey if you are going to cut me off, then stop so I can get a great shot! Clearly he doesn't speak human. Bummer.

Cyber Fyber Round II

2008-05-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

I saw a posting by Arlee Barr about Cyber Fyber on the Fiber Arts/Mixed Media website. So I decided to check it out.

Well it turns out that Susan Lenz is hosting an international postcard and ATC swap. You have to look through the postcards or ATC's posted and pick one out you love. Contact Susan by leaving a message on that postcard and send her an email. Once she responds, you get that postcard or ATC and info on sending her one in return. She then marks that postcard as Trade Being Arranged. I picked number 240 and received it yesterday!!

Here it is!

And in return, I sent my going green postcard challenge postcard. I finally finished it because my honey bought me a new sewing machine!!!

The best part is - she's going to exhibit all the postcards and ATC's together in January, 2009 at a gallery in South Carolina. Good luck Susan!!

Latest Art Addiction

2008-05-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days when you want to create but don't know what to do? Have you ever gone into a slump and need to find a way to kick start your creative juices? Well I had the same problem. It wasn't for lack of ideas, I just needed to create but didn't want to work on any of my projects. Sketchbooks were always a problem for me because I had a tendency to try to bring each idea and sketch to a final piece. Kind of defeats the purpose of a sketchbook doesn't it. Well Quilting Arts Magazine and Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine periodically run ideas for sketchbooks so I have found myself sketching in them more.

On the right are the sketches from the viewfinder onto tissue paper. After blowing them up on the copy machine (left side) I glue these onto pages in my sketchbook to create new and interesting pictures/designs.

The other day was my big, creative breakthrough day! I found an old piece of cardboard I had cut to create a viewfinder. It was out of white cardboard and the center opening was 2" x 5 3/4". I started dropping it over books with pictures and saw some interesting shapes. I became very excited. I hunted down some tracing paper and started sketching around the shapes in the viewfinder. I was able to get about 8 pieces on one sheet of the tracing paper!

Next step was cutting them out and enlarging. I blew them up on a copy machine (yes we actually have one in the house!) to 180%. Then I cut them out (you only get one per sheet this time). Next came the truly inspiring and fun part. Ok I might be just a little addicted - not as bad as that chicken guy - but close! You need one 8 1/2" x 11" spiral bound sketchbook, a glue stick and a pencil.

This picture was created from an outline of small sailboats and their masts.

These were from a small detail of a building. Reminds me of vases or maybe a musical instrument.

Another from a part of a building. Looks like jello molds.

Small architectural detail that was made into it's own building. Reminded me of Dorthy and the Wizard of Oz.

I started playing with the pieces and gluing them onto pages in the sketchbook. Then I started gluing two different ones to the same page. I cut pieces up to create comic book type pages! I started seeing a picture out of roots and created an entire cross section view of a pond from the lily to the bottom of the lake. I could see an art piece developing from this. Small mini pieces put together to create an entire picture.
Wow! Once I started I couldn't stop myself. I have started carrying it with me to piano practices to work on while waiting. After burning myself out on the gluing. I pulled out the pencil. Now I had to create pictures out of the shapes on the pages. I sketched and came up with some really fun and interesting designs. All you have to do is start extending the lines from the photocopy to create a new picture. Who knew a forest could develop out of small sailboats and masts.

This was a cross section of a part of a fish. I created a fish and bubbles hiding in the seaweeds.

This was an outline of some plant. I made two copies and glued them bottom to bottom and connected them to create a plankton looking piece.

This was from roots and a rock. I made two copies. I glue one to the bottom of the one page and the other to the top (reversed) on the next page. Then connected together. I colored with oil pastels and watercolors. Reminded me of a cavern under the water.

I glued different sized pieces to two pages. It creates a picture but is broken up into different sized squares.

I colored some of them in with colored pencils, watercolors and oil pastels. I think I may actually have some new and interesting pieces that will come from these experiments. Who knew working in a sketchbook could be so much fun?!!

Colors of the Wind

2008-05-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I finally get to post my quilt to my blog for everyone to see. This is my entry for the "Voice That is Great Within" challenge hosted by Annie Copeland and Michelle Verbeeck. We were challenged to create something that shows what makes us tick creatively. I had to think about it for a good month and then actually did a sketch.

I drew out my design on white cotton fabric using watercolor crayons. I added the water to blend. I love the happy accident for the face! Once dry, I heat set it with an iron and then fused purple organza (from my friend Christine - thanks!!) into the head to create the hair. I machine quilted to create more of a hair like appearance. I hand quilted the sky and grass. I added beads to create more of a field of flowers. The large flowers were from a beautiful orange/pink batik. I cut out the shape, sewed together, turned outside and then added detail with purple thread. I hand stitched down, added beads and fibers.

My piece is about my creativity spiking when spring hits. The colors from the sky, flowers and nature are very inspirational for me. The head is representational of coming out of my winter slumber to enjoy the weather outside once again!

Collage Mania II

2008-05-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

Two very exciting things are going on! First, my collage piece "No More Time" is one of six featured collages in the May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine hitting the newsstands today!! Pokey Bolton, editor in chief of CPS and Quilting Arts magazines squeezed this article into the current issue so that it would appear before Collage Mania II starts. Which leads me to the second exciting piece of news. Collage Mania II starts on May 5th and 6th with all the proceeds being given to American Cancer Society. There are about 235 collages for sale from over 100 artists internationally. This is being hosted by Virginia Spiegel

Please take a look at all the wonderful pieces being offered and see if something strikes your fancy. You can get some cool artwork and give to a worthy cause at the same time. Remember Mother's Day is May 11th!!

Sorry if there are typos and bad grammar. I'm doing this while on hold with the Illinois Tollway Authority!

Trees Again (and some fishes)

2008-05-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

Finally had a chance to experiment with the last three stenciled trees and fishes. This time, I just stenciled trees with black dye and aloe vera gel. Yesterday was semi nice outside so I decided to dye the backgrounds with setacolor. I liked the results. I think I may have the trees out of my system for a while!

Meanwhile, this is Madelyn's latest design/art project. She surprised Steve and I with "I Love You" cut out of paper and laid out on our kitchen floor. Remember she is only in kindergarten so the spelling isn't exact yet but she is making amazing progress!!

Trees Revisited

2008-04-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

When I did my tree series, it did not match the idea in my head. My results were very disappointing. So I put them off to the side for a while and worked on one of the many other projects I have in the hopper. Inspiration seems to strike me at the craziest times. This time came as I was falling asleep. I thought about adding color to the backgrounds!! Well I did do that and was still not happy. The next night as I was falling asleep, I thought what about black trees? Black would make the pieces pop. So off I went to create black trees over the colored tree fabric. I have to say, I am much happier!! I used black textile paint and aloe vera gel to create a paste.

Of course we always have stuff left over and I hate to waste good paint so I started a few more using black paint first! I also dug out a commercial stencil to try out some different ideas. I will play with them today and post later.

Like Mother, like Daughter . . .

2008-04-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

My daughter loves to create. She is an artist but completely opposite of me. I love detail and my projects take so long to complete. Madelyn gets an idea and starts collecting all the items she needs to put it all together. She really is going to be quite the mixed media artist!! I have to share her latest creation because it is so darned cool!!

For a little background, it all started from a couple of marbles that my next door neighbor Mary gave her. She ran into the house all excited and started rummaging around for her "supplies." I gave her a couple of cabinets in the kitchen and loaded it up with all kinds of art stuff so she can create when the mood strikes. This was in reaction to the numerous scribbles on walls and floor.

So I sat back and watched her go. First she cut strips of different colors of construction paper and then glued them together. Next came the plate (leftover from Halloween obviously). She found a plastic spoon and glued that on and colored it with a red marker in the spoon part. Then she glued the marbles onto the plate. When she was done, she just ran off to play leaving her masterpiece behind. I was amazed! The cobweb looked like spaghetti noodles! How clever was that??

I have to find the "turkey" she made from moon shoes, empty envelopes and her blanket and the dollhouse she had to have (even though she doesn't play with dolls!) I walked by to find the dolls hanging upside down, by their feet!! from the roof of the house - kind of like bats!! She never ceases to surprise me!!

Progress Report

2008-04-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been a little late in publishing. I wanted to show you an update on an experimental piece I have been working on. I took a picture of a water lily surrounded by leaves and was thinking to myself "how can I recreate that in fabric and paints."
First I sketched out the design with watercolor crayons and then blended with water. They dried back way too light. So I decided to mix aloe vera gel in with setacolor dyes and paint into the leaves and the water. I loved the look!

My next step was to use colored pencils to recreate the plant life growing underneath and shiva paintstiks to add more shine to the water. I added more detail and depth to the leaves by using ink and colored pencils. Then I added round, flat beads in various shades of brown, green and yellow to create the plants growing around the lily. I hand quilted the leaves to add more dimension and shiva paintstiks in yellow and green metallic to create more shine. The lily was created using moleskin fabric on one side and a simple white cotton on the other. I made two sets larger and two sets smaller. After turning them inside out, they created this puffy, almost realistic looking lily! I just love happy accidents. I am now investigating ideas for the center of the lily. I will post progress on that later.

This is my piece for the going green challenge. We need to create a 4" x 6" postcard from only materials we had on hand. My card is made from fabric scraps from another piece. After trimming the piece to size, I realized that they would make a nice little postcard. The colors were so wonderful. I started laying the fabric strips together until I found a composition I liked. The "brown fencing" is actually from my potato bag. I want to add more thread painting to create tall grasses but alas, my sewing machine decided to stop working. Cleaned it all out, put it back together and now the bobbin casing will not stay where it is supposed to! I will have to borrow a machine to finish or do it by hand. Bummer.

Peacocks Again

2008-03-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

I was going through some of my digital photos and just found pictures of my art bra. I made it for a challenge a few years back. You had to make something out of a bra. So of course I did a peacock! I hope you don't think I am obsessed with peacocks (like that guy is with chickens in the commercial!!)

Sometimes inspiration strikes you in very strange ways . . . . .

The body was made from material and sewn to the middle of the bra. I painted it with luminere paints. The cups were painted with luminere as well as the feathers - which were made from a lace I found. I used a thin wire to help keep the feathers upright. A peacock feather type yarn was also sewn in to add more reality to the piece. The back was made to look like the back side of the peacock using a white fur and some actual feathers from a craft store.

Can't really wear it but it is mighty fancy!

Fabric Dye Experiments

2008-03-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

Did you ever just have a vision in your head and wonder how you could make that work? Well I did. It involved trees and making them overlap in different colors and sizes. Seemed easy enough but wasn't sure how to do it without making the dye bleed and using only the materials I had on hand.
First I begged my husband to bring home some mylar sheets (acetate - mylar was a term we used in printing to differentiate between different materials) I used the mylar as a stencil and cut a tree design from it. Then I took setacolor dye and added it to aloe vera gel to make it more of a paste.

This was created using 3 different sized tree stencils.

I was trying to create visual distance and made the blue trees first.

The yellow trees were done with neopaque yellow and aloe vera gel. Then the reds were painted on top of them.

Here I used the trees cut out from the mylar (acetate) and I painted around the edges of the trees. After I had a few trees, I painted the background around them with the orange and aloe vera gel mixture. Gave me some ideas to noodle over. I think my next series of experiments will be on lightly colored backgrounds and then stenciling the trees.

Here is the start of an art piece. I am going to do a water lily and pads. I started by sketching the design out on white cotton fabric and using the neocolor watercolor crayons. I added water to blend the design and let it dry. I wanted the water to be darker, so I decided to add the setacolor and aloe vera gel mixture on top. Here is what it looks like halfway done. After they were all dry, I ironed to heat set. The water still wasn't dark enough, so I added another layer of the aloe vera gel and setacolor mixture. I also added more green to the leaves using this technique. I don't have a picture of it yet. I am going to use dye pens on the lily pads to bring out there designs. Once that is done, I will post another in progress picture.

TIF February Final

2008-03-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

I finished! And it was on the last day of February. I just didn't get a chance to post it until now.

I added drop shadows of the trees, outlined rocks, added more details to the frozen pond and some beads to represent leaves that just never fall off during the fall. I actually used a denim blue fabric for backing and border.
I am pretty please with the results!

TIF February

2008-02-25T06:05:00.000-08:00

For the Take It Further Challenge, I decided to go with the colors this month. I had been experimenting with paper fabric and making collages. I found this one and decided to use it as the start off point for my TIF piece for February.
First I took a piece of fabric and then layered white tissue paper using a watered down glue and layering. Also added colored tissue papers. Once dry, I went in with various colors of blue paint and let that dry.

Then I gathered various threads in the colors for the challenge and started accenting parts of the picture to pull out the details.

I am pretty excited about the direction this piece is going. I am also trying to work on my Voice quilt for a juried show which is due on March 15th so not sure if I will finish this in time to post at the end of the month but I will give it the old college try!

Art Bag

2008-02-08T07:08:00.001-08:00

Wow did I have fun with this one! I have a huge bag of fabric scraps and I wanted to do something but didn't know what. So I decided to play for a while. I took some thin black felt and cut a long piece. I took fabric scraps and laid it all over the place to cover the entire background fabric. This I took some purple netting and laid it over the whole piece. Then I added a sheer fabric in blues, purples and pale orange. I sewed around the entire outside of the piece and then stitched in a wavy diagonal over the entire sandwich. I went in both directions. When done, I zapped it with a heat gun which exposed the fabric underneath. So cool!!!

I folded the fabric up and realized it would be a great art bag! I sewed lining to it and a handle I made with cording and wrapping various yarns around the handle. I also added extra pieces on the sides for my fun and funk. And here is the final piece!!

I have several more in the works but with different fabrics as the top layer. I will post when they are done!! So exciting!

A Little Out of the Ordinary!

2008-02-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

So my friend (muse) Christine, was telling me about a challenge she was given. You have to make a small quilt out of three things from your kitchen! Wow! How fun would that be??? Immediately I started collecting stuff. My creative juices were on fire and this begged to be created even though I have so many other projects ahead of it. But you know how it is, you can't move forward until you get this our of the way!!
Anyway, my juices started flowing when I read the box from my tea bags. Tea bags?! Hmm. Interesting idea. So what if . . . I took the wrappings from the tea bags and put them to the side (I love iced tea!) Then cut the tags off of 3 of the tea bags. I had the inside lid from a coffee container and a plastic bag that contained fruits!
So what does one do with such an assortment. Well they make a quilt about Tea Bags" of course!!

So I drew the women on the backs of the tea bags. I mounted them to paper towels that I used to clean my brushes when painting (dry of course!) and then to the backing fabric!

The coffee pot was made from the lid and the handle was from some fabric I made. It was a scrap and I did'nt want it to go to waste! I love how whimsical. Not sure what to do with it as I am not a member of that group but the least I can do is post for all to see (who are interested of course!!)

More Fabric Experiments!

2008-01-31T16:12:00.000-08:00

I decided to do a few more fabric paintings. I used the Neocolors because I am in love with the final finished pieces.

This was a blend of colors from yellow through purple. Just drawing from corner to corner. I was impatient and heat set it before it was totally dry and ended up getting these cool shapes in the colors.

This was a winter looking piece. I used rubber stamps and the neocolors and did rubbings of the trees. I added more details in to make the trees more lifelike. I heat set with an iron and then drew colors into the background. Once I was satisfied with the colors, I used a brush and water to blend the whole piece. Heat setting the crayons kept the trees from bleeding.

This was the backside of the fabric. The trees looked more mysterious and less like trees. Interesting possibilities.

Christine (the chick who needs to buy a vowel in Walnut Creek) has been trying to get me to join the TIF Challenge. I didn't get in but I am in on the waiting list. I really didn't have an idea of what I wanted to do until I started playing with my crayons. So I created the background with the color theme, added water to blend and let it dry. When it was dry, I did rubbings of various trees to create a scene. I heat set with an iron. Now I have to finish this off. So many ideas, so little time . . . .