More Art Ramblings and a New Quilt

Today is going to be a busy and hectic day, but I've resolved to take it easy over the holidays since there really isn't an "end" to my work over Christmas break.  Yesterday I stole some time away to work on something I've had rolling around in my mind for a while...

I sent this away for printing on fabric and this is an experiment (like 90% of my projects) so hopefully the fabric I ordered will be soft enough for quilting.  I really think I have some form of ADD.  My Dad laughs when I say this but I really struggle to push through a project of my own.  I don't so much have a hard time with client quilts - but when it comes to my own work it's always getting set aside.  Many of my quilts take years to make - and I need some quick gratification.  Not that this will be an easy piece by any means...for me it's very much improvisational so I really have no idea where I'm headed but I certainly feel relieved to get a little bit of creativity out!

I ordered a test swatch so these photos will be small - but I have no idea what the photo quality will be either so it will be a wait and see kind of thing.  Fingers crossed.  :)  I have some ideas for background and while this is not the layout, it is (a really poor photo of) the base quilt this will be appliquéd onto.

The green is going to be incorporated somehow but not in this large of a section.  I just want to pull some green out of the photo into the quilt - but again, I'll have to wait and see when the photo arrives if the green is even the right shade.  The traditional quilter in me is going crazy over those mismatched stripes and I'll have to do some fiddling so I can stand to look at them.  These will sit here until I figure out what I'm going to do with them - because honestly this is my starting point but I really have no idea.  I know I want to play with geometric quilting and am really feeling pop art right now.

Here's a shot below of my tight space back here - hence the poor picture!  With my growing baby belly I literally have inches between me and the wall!  LOL

This all developed from the rainbow selection I pulled out and showed off last post - as you can see NO RAINBOWS!  See how that works for me?  My ideas change day to day and rarely do I complete the "plan".  :)

Linking up with Nina today for Off the Wall Friday as I haven't participated in a while.  :)  I have SO MUCH TO do today so I really need to get going!!!!  :)

One More in Progress and Thoughts on Working in Series

Thank you so much to those who had such positive encouraging comments on my last post.  Because I'm treading what are new waters for me, it is really great to get such positive feedback.

Being the thinker I am I have had many long conversations over the past few days and spent much time contemplating my interests and direction with my current quilt and future quilts.  For such a long time I've wanted to explore painting on quilts - but from a different perspective than how I normally look at quilts.  I absolutely adore the entire quilting process, but now I think I want to spend some time focusing on creating compositions.  A quilting friend brought up something that I've thought about over the years but never really understood - working in a series.  I never planned to sell my work and I had kind of seen creating quilts or paintings in a series as a marketing ploy - and a boring one at that!  I cannot tell you how many times my Dad and I have said - "but I don't want to make more than one!"  Mostly because we want to be inspired and not become bored.  But now - I have to say - I'm changing my tune a bit.  I can see how working in a series can benefit an artist in more ways than just attempting to sell or show in a gallery setting.  I can also see the potential to take an idea and expound on it.  Improve it and grow with it...in turn improving skill.  I see now how it can really help to organize your work when sharing it with others as well.  So what am I getting at?  LOL  I think you've guessed it - I'm going to make an attempt to create a series and see how that goes for a while.

Right now I'm enjoying these sort of cartoonish modern folk art style paintings.  I'm excited to add texture and interest as I go along.  Here are some close ups of the shading I've added in the water.

I am really itching to get to the quilting on this.  There is'n't much left to do at this point as I'm waiting for my Angelina Film to arrive in the mail and my Shiva Paintstiks.  I haven't decided if I want to add paint before or after quilting...but I'm kind of leaning towards after.  I'm pretty sure I want this to be quilted with a lofty layered batt - I want almost a sculpted clay or engraved look to the quilting.  We'll see how that goes!

The only part I'm not too keen on at the moment is the dragonfly.  It's not symmetrical to the point that it bothers me - and the colors just aren't right.  I thought about repainting but I don't want to build up so much paint that the quilt becomes difficult to stitch through.  So, I suppose I'm hoping that my Angelina Film will work wonders for me!  Maybe layering Angelina Film with tulle or something else and fusing them together to create wings.  We'll see - I'm pretty confident it's going to be loads of fun!

Thoughts, branching out, experimenting. :)

Today is my friend Nina's Off the Wall Friday - I haven't participated in a while so I thought I'd join in this week.  I have been in a strange place with my artwork over the last year or so, but things are starting to make more sense to me these days.

For a while I wasn't sure if the "artist" part of me was separate from the "quilter" part of me...and I did attempt to pull them apart and see if one might take on more of a life than the other.  Am I more of an artist than a quilter?  More of a quilter than an artist?  That might not make sense to some...but for the longest time I couldn't fathom how to connect the two.  Which one should I dedicate myself to and explore?  I liken it to how a Mother has her own identity outside of mothering...but mothering is so life consuming it can be difficult to maintain who you are outside of that major life role.

So what I have come to realize, while profound to me and maybe a little over thought to others - is that I am both a mother, a quilter, and an artist.  :)  Quilting is such a joy for me.  I thoroughly love it.  It has also allowed me the income I didn't have before to explore my artwork more and experiment with different mediums.  They go hand in hand...each helps me improve the other.  How's that for coming full circle?  Well - it was a big deal to ME.  :)

So my big life changing realization?  I can love and enjoy both and they do not need to be kept on separate shelves of my life...because they both are part of what make up who I am!  They both are extremely useful to the other.

I realize that a lot of this self reflection is really just part of growing as a person.  I mean - I am almost 34 so I am no child at this point, but I really think we all continue to grow as life goes on.  We are always learning and always growing and life becomes more full and rich the older I get.

So what has been going on creatively as a result of all this self reflection?!!  :)  A lot!  I have one of Monica's quilts loaded up and almost complete so I will share photos of that next post...but regarding my own works I feel like I've really plowed through a brick wall that was keeping me from enjoying myself.

I recently ordered a set of Derwent Inktense pencils...and let me say - I AM IN LOVE!!!  If you remember some time back I experimented with airbrush painting on fabric.  This was when I was seriously obsessed with Susan Shie's work and all of her bright colors...and all of the emotions her artwork brings up that remind me of my childhood.  She's definitely got that hippie spirit...and the way she incorporates her thoughts on the world and the political world...well it reminds me of my parents and my family!  Endless conversations growing up about God and the Universe and all the strange things that happen in the world.  I still love Susan's work and discovering her was a turning point for me (it's like great song lyrics that change your outlook on life)...she inspired me to really look at things differently.  Look at myself and what I'm doing differently.  Isn't it amazing that you can do something like that for someone else without even knowing it?  You just never know how you might be influencing others in life...

In any case airbrushing is terribly fun and I really loved that the fabric stays soft after painting and can easily be sewn through.  It is probably my favorite way to apply paint to fabric...but because space in my home is limited...airbrushing is going to have to be a summer time event as there is no where safe in my home to do it during the colder months.  I even contemplated converting one of our outdoor barns into an airbrush studio...and that still may happen but you know - I'm busy having babies and stuff like that right now.  :)

So I hemmed and hawed about what I wanted to try and finally broke down and purchased the somewhat pricey inktense pencils and fabric medium to go with them...well boy did that just open up a new door for me!  You know all the possibilities that start to run through your mind when you purchase new art or craft supplies??!!  I really don't know what took me so long!!!

The plan for the above painting on muslin is to quilt and embellish it.  I ordered some Angelina Film (a.k.a. Textiva Film) to experiment with and I'm going to give Shiva Paintstiks another go.  I have a handful of them in muted earth tones but I thought I'd try the iridescent paints so I ordered a tropical pack. Oh how I love the anticipation of waiting for an order to arrive in the mail!

I feel like I am on the tip of something that I am really going to love and have fun with.  If you know me you know I really love bright colors and loudness.  I like happy pictures with elements that my children have fun pointing at and naming off.  :)

I am very intimidated by the art world I'll be honest.  I have several very serious artist friends whose lives are so very different from my own.  I really don't know if I will ever have a place in that world...but I sure do like to watch and learn.  I think that intimidation has really stifled me from playing and exploring and just doing what makes me happy...and let me just tell you...never think that your parents will stop teaching you.  My Dad has given me the best advice as of late.  You have to at some point LET GO.  Care less what others think...or might think...or might laugh at...or don't take seriously...and just do what makes your heart sing.  :)

FMQ Video and Mucho Randomness!

First, let me get this video out of the way because I cannot think of an eloquent way to share it!!  :)  I don't have an entire post based around it, it is just a video.  :)  After a seriously intense week of quilty work I needed to be freely creative.  So I started a little quilt - because I like little quilts the way I like little paintings.  A couple of you asked me to video just me sewing...so that's what it is!

This is all on the Juki.  I quilt on the long arm yes - and for some reason when I go to the Juki people start to wonder if I don't like my long arm or if I cannot do on my longarm what I do on my Juki.  Well, the truth of the matter is I am on my feet all day and I just like to sit down and quilt!  Also I don't have room or funds for two long arms, so the Juki is a way for me to have a personal project going and client projects going at the same time without me having to put one of the two away.  I'll work on a clients project during the day and mine at night and/or the weekends.

Here are a few shots of what I was working on...

Sometimes I'll try out a design on a smaller project on the Juki first and work out how I'm going to go about execution of that particular element.  Keeping in mind that the way I quilt it on the long arm is different than the sewing machine.  So these are winding curling feathers that I'm planning to incoporate on a larger quilt I'm working on.  This is Glide thread and Hobbs 80/20 batt.

Here's a shot of my current quilty project - crummy lighting from a 2am Instragram picture I took on Easter morning...I want to incoporate the above winding curly feathers and possibly some painting on this quilt.  I am realizing that quilts are much more organic for me if I build them as I go versus planning the entire thing out ahead of time.  I actually planned this quilt with a completely different border structure.  It was all paper pieced and sort of had a peacock theme.  But I got bored - fast.  So I started to build the borders freely and it was so much more enjoyable!  Also - lots of space for quilting.  :)

I'm all about loud colors right now after working on my giant applique quilt - which was mostly white or off white.  I had made the quilt to show but I am just so sick of it I cannot finish it right now.  I have a stack of quilts like that at the moment!  :)

In other news I had attempted to make a second blog with art related content and soon after realized that I don't have time to keep up with two blogs!  LOL  I may or may not elaborate on it - who knows.  I have creative ADD and limited free time so the mood may strike me to get going on it or I may abandon it all together.  :)  In any case  my art work and quilts kind of mesh together... 

Painting and art journaling!  :)  More obsessions.  Also making Disney dresses and scrap booking Disney.  There is not enough time in the day for my many projects.  :)

So that is the randomness that is going on in my creative life right now!  Client quilt-wise, I'm working this week on marking and loading up Barbara's quilt.  It will be intensely quilted and it is HUGE so it will be on the frame a while.  Likely next post will be a few inprogress shots!  :) 

A Visit by Suzi Parron and Women's Art Retreat with Sandy Sheleberger

Two wonderful things happening near me that I thought I would share with those of you who are in the Northeast Ohio or surrounding areas!

My quilt guild, the Ashtabula Friendly Quilters, are hosting an evening lecture with Suzi Parron, author of Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement, on September 23rd at 7pm in Saybrook, Ohio.  Suzi is going to be talking about her adventures and sharing some of the history of barn quilts.  This event is free an open to the public, we would love for you to join us!

Also I wanted to share that my talented friend Sandy Shelenberger is hosting a Women's Art Retreat September 27th through 29th in Austinburg, Ohio.  Sandy is a published and nationally recognized fiber artist - see some of her current works in Fiberart International 2013.  (She's pretty stinkin' fun to be around to boot!)  Spend three days with her exploring encaustic wax techniques and relaxing in a creative atmosphere.  She only has THREE spaces left so hurry and sign up!!

I'm Pretty Sure I have ADD

The title pretty much says it all.  I'm pretty sure I have ADD.  Un-diagnosed ADD.  Self diagnosed ADD.  In any case I can't keep my mind on one thing to save my life.  Today I started this project...

I'm playing with the whole idea of making art quilts in the style of my paintings.  I want to do some actual painting on fabric but I'm broke!  I spent all of my fun money on supplies for my show quilt and now I need to get quilting to fund the rest of the quilt and Christmas.  (This is probably not the best business model, I know.  I'm in it for passion not profit people.  Though a profit would be nice!)

I don't know why the photos of my sketches came  out so - digitized!?!  They look really cool though don't they?

In any case this whole thing is actually for a blog hop I'm going to be in using batiks.  I was going to just make a dragonfly but then I had to get carried away and do more.  Because that's what I do.  LOL

The dragonfly wasn't enough so I added a sun and now I need to add a girl.  Me fifteen years ago?  Maybe.  A thinner, younger me.  Possibly a Hindu me because she does have a bindi.  :)

I sketched out the sun and the dragonfly in the same manner and assigned each section a number - I just forgot to take pictures of those.  I did make some changes as I went to make pieces that would be easier to turn the fabric under.  After assigning each piece a number I traced it onto freezer paper, then using the freezer paper as templates cut the pieces out of fabric.

I still need to turn under the tiny hair pieces today.  Everything but the girl is from batik fabric.  I'm thinking I'm going to play with shading her and her hair in a bit with my Shiva Paintstiks.  If I don't get side tracked that is.  :)

Progress and Stitched the Film

A lovely shot of my quilt progress...and my feet.

I took this photo late last night and have a busy day planned for today - so forgive me the poor quality!  Usually I try to play a little with light and angles to make it pretty and more interesting...but the last few posts have had to be quick ones I'm afraid!  The kids are back in school and you'd think that would mean more free time...but it seems I've been filling up that time with things to do.

I haven't made a huge dent in my quilt other than to get all of these applique pieces turned under.  There is still a bit more applique to do but these feathery doodads are done at least.  I realized after laying this out and taking a few photos for reference...I cut the center square TOO SMALL!  Ugh!  There won't be room for the quilting I've planned if I leave it as it is.  I'm going to see today after doing some chores if I can make do with the fabric I've already purchased - or if I'm going to have to buy more fabric.

I may not post a ton more of this quilt because I do want to keep it a surprise!  This is the center but it is not complete...and there are three borders and two more sections of applique to go - so this is really just a tidbit!  I really LOVE this quilt design - it is ME ME ME!!!  You know I'm planning to quilt the living daylights out of it too - and that will be fun.  :)

I wanted to throw this out there too - I recently purchased and watched Stitched the Film (it was actually part of my anniversary gift from the Husband) - if you haven't seen it, it is AMAZING!  It literally brought me to tears!  Those close to me know I've sort of gone through a bit of artist angst - I have always had an artistic bent but I'm really crazy about traditional quilting as well.  A series of events over the last year have really pushed me to focus what I'm doing more...I think this will help push me to grow and be productive.  I'm focused on meeting my two quilt show resolution - and maybe even more.  I want to share what I'm doing and push myself to go farther and beyond.  Nothing motivates you to do your best work like the thought of the judgement and scrutiny of other quilters!!!  LOL  :)

In any case - as things in my life always seem to do - a theme has developed and this film came into my hands - it is just SO relevant to my goals and dreams.  It is about three art quilters (the legendary Caryl Bryer Fallert, Holis Chatelain, and new to me artist Randall Cook) and their journey to Houston International Quilt Festival.  It really focuses on the divide between art quilters and traditional quilters - and I particularly relate to Randall Cook as I feel like he is more an artist like me in that he is somebody who loves art, has always been artistic, but came to art quilting from traditional quilts.  I especially loved watching him working on his quilt in the basement - as his sump pump went off.  YES!  I am quilting basically in my living room (our second living room pretty much taken over by quilting) with furniture and dividers keeping the kids and pets OUT of my quilting area!

Even if you aren't that into art quilting this movie is really wonderful and fun to watch!  It lets you in a bit on the judging process at the huge national shows and really captures the immense passion that we quilters share.

Linking up with Nina-Marie:

Hope you're getting much sewing done out there in blogland!