Every Day Matters

As if I don't have enough to do in my life, I have taken up the challenge of Every Day Matters on Danny Gregory's site and have done my first recent contour drawing of spools of thread and then did a drawing of the thread, looking at them.

I've needed to get back in to the challenge of drawing again and back in to the real art world...the other yahoo group that I am in just doesn't seem to offer what I need.

Feeling Good

My son has just left us on his way back to Ohio. Five days is not enough but we spent a lot of time with my daughter, son-in-law, grandson and son and had a wonderful time. It was really nice not share my daughter and her family with her in-laws this year...just somuch more relaxed...last year they flew to PA and flew back on Christmas day so they were tired and everything seemed so rushed. Much better this year.

I am so excited! My first article for Quilting Arts will be in the spring issue so this month has been spent getting the article written, doing the art work for it, documenting it as I go, etc. It's there...they are doing their editing and I can hardly wait to see what it looks like when they finish. It is an article about the ART of art quilting and is abouting creating an abstract piece that is somewhat representational. I'm going to do another article on doing an abstract that is non-representations. The first article discusses the elements of design; the second will discuss the principles of design.

This is way too much fun! Hard work but really neat.

Goals for this year:
continue entering as many art and quilt shows as I can
find an art consultant
get my work on the east coast
set up one woman show
create, create, create

That should keep me busy!

Busy, busy, busy

I can't believe it has been so long since I blogged. Just too much going on.

I've finished an article for a magazine, got the art work completed, got all the other pictures that went with it done, and shipped off other work to be included. I've been working on this for three hard weeks and I'm really glad to have it out of my hands. Now I am waiting for the final word from the publisher.

Meanwhile, got all those new quilts off to be photographed, picked up the slides and CD disk for the digitals and dropped off the slides for duplication. Now, I just have to come up with titles for all those new things, catalog them and get them on my website, along with pricing.

I've being told that my prices are too low. Way too low...I guess in January I will have to go through everything and take a serious look and consider raising some prices. Have had a couple of small sales this month which helps but sure would like some more!

Last week my dear priest suggested that he could buy some purple fabric and maybe I would hem it for him for the altar frontal. Oh, he knows me so well...knows I would not be satisfied doing something temporary like that. So out came the white silk fabric, the paints and I cleared off the table and painted the beginning of an Advent frontal. It goes from rose to purple to blue from the bottom up. Put it up on Sunday last, took it down after service, took it homel, painted a big black movement of silver and then returned it to the altar. So, tomorrow it comes down for the other frontal I made to go up for Christmas and then I will continue to work on it during the year until Advent again...at least now I have time to do the rest of the stuff like the chasuble, veil, stole, etc. I've wanted to do an Advent one so I guess he just lite a fire under me.

Almost finished with his sheppard's costume for our Christmas pagent...first time we are doing one in years and years so we don't have a collection of appropriate robes for Mary and Joseph and all the others so people have been busy...I got to do the priest's stuff. Pretty plain!

Advent has been very special this year. It is a time of waiting and anticipating and thinking. I have been more in to the Christianity of Christmas this year than all the decorating and gift buying. I know on Thursday I will go absolutely crazy when I realize Ihaven't shopped for Christmas dinner and still have presents to get. But I have been working on my cards and Christmas letters and am almost ready to get those sent out...didn't get around to it last year!

Well, got to do the hem on this sheppard's robe....see ya!

The Rest of the New Work

Well, I have finished all the pieces of "Where Have All the Children Gone", at least the ones I had already started. So I will post them:

I have no idea why these are appearing into the last posting...it did this before...

Work Coming Home

I had three pieces returned from the Grant's Pass Museum of Art show The Fibers of Your Life. Two of the pieces had to be immediately shipped off for the Art and Soul of Quilting so they made it home just in time! In fact, I was on my way out the door to go ahead and ship off a big piece to Art and Soul when the UPS guy pulled up with the other quilts that needed to go out.

When I opened the box from Grants Pass, there was some paperwork rolled up next to the quilts...it was a poster that they had used in all of their advertising and one of my pieces was prominantly displayed. They also sent a CD of the show which was very nice to see. Almost as good as being there! They do a really nice job of displaying stuff...this is the second time I have had work there in shows and I have been impressed with how they do it each time.

Will have more of the new pieces up tomorrow...then off they go to the photographer's!

Another just finished

This is part of the children series...where have all the children gone. It is hand dyed, silk screened, photo transfered, screened with glue, discharge via silk screen and who knows what else. It is part of a group of 7 pieces that I did at Charlotte Yde's class at Art Quilt Tahoe.

Another new piece just finished!

I am frantically trying to get these nine new pieces done...facing done on this one, and almost done on another one, facings to add to a series of four and then one last one to do...I think that adds up to 9. Then I can get on to working on the Running Fence project...

This piece was created at Houston in Rayna Gilman's workshop on printing with found objects...I went in for a play day and to finally meet Rayna and had a great time...stamped, silk screened, rubbed, etc and then just finished the quilting.

What Have I Been Up To?

It seems like forever since I have added to my blog...I guess in blog time it has been. I have sort of kept up with what is going on with other people and am just amazed at the work coming out of Sonji, Melody's stuff she is doing for herself which is really good, Gerrie's new work, Claire's new work, etc. It is so inspiring.

I have been busy for the past two months doing a lot of art. However, I am just getting nine pieces quilted and have two finished which I will show you now. I realized that I have really been dwelling on the fate of children in our world and have started a series about Where Have our Children Gone? I haven't wanted to use graphic photos so I have been using old photos to represent the innocence that is missing from so many children. The children who have gone through the hurricanes and have been uprooted, the children who have lost everything, including parents in the tsunami last year, the children turned in to soldiers and sex slaves in Uganda and other parts of Africa, the children who are living in constant warfare in Iraq and Afganistan. I can make myself silly over the politics of it all but have just decided that I can only point to the children.

And then on a positive side, my grandchild, loved, protected, happy, exploring, funny, silly, serious, everything one could want in a child. And, oh so innocent. I have not posted photos of him before but now much add them to share. Gerrie and I can argue about who has the cutest,ect. but I think all of our grandchildren are so very fortunate.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this during the Thanksgiving week. We had turkey day at our house and then went up to our cabin in the Sierra mtns on Friday and on Saturday we had a left over Thanksgiving turkey. The kids all left on Sunday and my husband and I stayed until Tuesday. I stayed up until 3am reading a mystery, worked on a jigsaw puzzle, and just watched the rain and played some computer games. I have not had that much relaxing in a long time. I knew it was time to return when I kept having dreams about new work.

I have come to realize that my work goes in stages...I will get an idea and let it percolate in my brain for some time. Then I am ready to do what I have been thinking about. Then the physical process starts...the fabric, surface design, fusing, whatever I need to do and the piece starts to come together. At that point I always feel a little disappointed until I remind myself that I still have all the sewing to do which finishes the piece. And then, the paperwork...photographs, labels, data entry, website and all that junk. Here, on my blog, I just take a snapshot and put it up! Instant gratification.

Now, when you look at the pictures of my grandson you have to be properly appreciative and say "Oh, he's so cute!" I'll know if you don't!

First taste of cranberry sauce! But he kept on eating it and each bite he would pucker up, stick out his tongue, eat it and go for more. The last picture is a very satisfied Jacob after eating his third Thanksgiving dinner!