Well, I haven’t been to London to see the queen. And, I didn’t even get there to see the Olympics, but I did take my first cruise! That was to the western Caribbean aboard the Carnival Legend. It was wonderful! So many beautiful things to see, so much to do, so much inspiration.
I actually took this picture while snorkeling in Honduras!
Art quilt-wise I haven’t just been sitting around either I wasn’t able to complete the major project I had planned for the Fair (but I got a great start on it), so I entered things I had already done. The whole Fair thing may have run its course. Very likely I won’t enter in 2013. It will be nice to be a free agent with no creative obligation for the summer. That doesn’t mean I won’t be creating, just that I won’t have a specific deadline or purpose.
And what else has held up my posting? My computer has been out of commission. A hard drive went bad or something. The worst part was that my external backup went out just days before that, and I feared I had lost my entire portfolio and six years of family pictures! Fortunately a computer friend was able to remove the hard drive and retrieve most everything. Technology – wonderful when it works, terrible when it doesn’t. Thank goodness for tech-savvy friends.
There really was a lull in creativity toward the end of the summer, but I’m certainly back in full swing now. I also have a new computer, so here are the highlights from the last few months:
I was approached to teach an art quilt class. I put together this piece that touches on some of the dimensional techniques I’ve been doing. I ended up teaching the class twice, once for my fellow members of LAFTA (Louisville Area Fiber & Textile Artists), and once for an area art/quilt shop, Making Ends Meet, so I now have two more versions of this leaf in various stages of completion.
When I showed the piece above to NoNaMe, the art quilt group, we decided the challenge for the following month (October) would simply be “Leaf” – no guidelines, just open interpretation. Here’s what I came up with (both sides pictured). It’s a nice size, about three feet long. The orange side is raw-edge appliqued upholstery fabric painted with acrylic paints.
I joined an on-line blog group, Fast Friday Fabric Challenge (FFFC). On the fourth Friday of each month they post a challenge. Members have one week to create an art quilt and post a picture of the results. The first challenge I participated in called for at least three loops (as in belt-type loops). The challenge included a whimsical narrative about landing on a loopy aquatic planet, so I made this Wide-eyed Loopy-finned Stickleback – not an art quilt exactly, but the covering of the armature was quilted before being applied…so I say it counts. I’ll be the first to admit I try to push the boundaries of art quilting.
Maybe it’s just because it’s fall, but I definitely drifted into a leaf theme for the last couple months. The October FFFC challenge was to use buttons along with a tonal element. I did this button plant. The colorway was a little different for me as I tried to work in the tonal aspect. Consequently, I didn’t think it had good contrast, so I went back and added the hand stitching with embroidery floss. It’s okay.
The NoNaMe November challenge was Alternative Embellishments. I used nuts, bolts, and washers.
I got inspired and made a second piece. This one uses tile spacers (the X or plus sign shapes) painted gold with acrylic paints as the embellishments. Again, I played in a slightly different colorway. I almost always use red, but not JUST red. I like how almost any shade of red can be combined with other reds and they still go together.
Meanwhile, back at the Bat Cave…yes, there’s more! LAFTA took on a collaborative project to create art inspired by the Serenity Prayer. I did three pieces. The inspiration words I chose were…
Wisdom – I see wisdom as making good choices in the gray areas, somewhere between black and white. I also think we practice wisdom when our heads and hearts are in alignment. To represent that, I chose the chakra colors for the head (purple) and heart (green) to reflect that alignment.
Serenity – I see serenity as a place of calm we turn to inside ourselves. The spiral represents that turning within. Serenity can be found in quiet, orderly places (represented on the left), but only lasts until that setting is disturbed, so the best thing is to cultivate an internal peace that can be carried with us wherever we go. The right side represents the chaos, flash, and allure of the world that make serenity a challenge.
Courage – It takes a brave, energetic, and determined heart to show courage in a frequently jagged and high pressure world. Be bold, be courageous of heart!
So now you’re all caught up! I certainly can’t say I’m a good or consistent blogger, but you certainly got your money’s worth this time. Oh yeah, this doesn’t cost anything! Well, take the money and buy yourself something nice…or get a jump on that holiday shopping. It’s just around the corner, you know.
Wishing you the best, lots of creativity, and happiness, as always!
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