Off the Wall Friday

On Fridays, I'll be posting WIPs (works in progress), tutorials, finished pieces, inspiration, design, etc. My intention is to post every week. I'm doing this in conjunction with other quilt artists, who are also posting links to their blogs, on Nina-Marie's blog Creations...Quilts, Art...Whatever. If you are interested in seeing designing and the processes followed to get to a finished piece of art or if you are just curious about what is on everyone's design wall, check out the blog every Friday.

This week, I'm sharing two projects I'm currently working on. I'm trying to get two or three pieces finished in time for entry into a SAQA exhibit--"The View from Here: Quilts of the Ohio River Valley. SAQA members from Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio." The theme is "What the artists think of and see when they view their home and surroundings." Pieces must be "quilts" and may be representational or abstract. The work should relate to our local environment or what we see from where we live, our home, backyard, city, or town.

I have given this a lot of thought and have come to the conclusion that one of my favorite things to do when I'm home (besides working on my artwork) is looking at the view out my window into my backyard to watch the birds at my bird feeder. I particularly like to watch the birds in the wintertime when there is a nice sheet of snow on the ground. I like the stark contrast between the whiteness of the snow and the color of the birds. One particular winter day, ALL the birds on the ground were "those ugly" blackbirds EXCEPT for one beautiful red cardinal. I was really aggravated that the "ugly" blackbirds were dominating the bird feeders, eating up all my seed, and weren't even pretty to look at. After I had ranted and raved, I got to feeling bad about maligning the blackbirds. I realized that they need to eat too, and they can't help the fact that they aren't "pretty."

That revelation led me to think about this on a larger scale. People who aren't considered "pretty" by society often have needs that aren't met--simply because of their appearance. We all can't be pretty. All this narrative has led me to the subject of this blog post--my new pieces designed for the exhibit. (I hope I get in!) The first is almost finished; I plan to add some beads to the snow to hoping that will make it glisten.

 This is a closeup of the quilting for the snow (top), the window sill (I tried to make it look like wood grain.), and brick.

 

The second piece is still in the beginning "work-in-progress" stage. I have it drawn up and am currently working on the quilting. Generally, I do my appliqueing first and quilting last; this time, I decided to "mix it up" and quilt first. We'll see how that goes. For the quilting, I'm using a thread called Yenmet Pearlescent Thread from Japan. It is new to me, but I'm really liking the way it looks. It is a pearly white and is gorgeous. 

I'll be adding blackbirds and cardinal appliques along with bias strips. (I am working on a series of quilts made using a bias strip technique.) This is the first I've done with the background being quilted before I add the appliques and bias strips. We'll see how it works. 

Again, check back next Friday to see what progress I've made (if any) and check out what everyone else has accomplished on Nina-Marie's blog.

Exciting Exhibit--Penny Sisto

I just had the opportunity to visit fiber artist Penny Sisto's exhibit, "Prayer Banners," at the Saint Meinrad Archabbey Library (in southern Indiana). This is a fabulous exhibit of quilts of faith.

Several quilts depict the Virgin of Guadalupe (as in the photo above). You can also see African Guadalupe (which incorporates many different African-inspired fabrics), Folk Art Guadalupe (which blends in pieces from a red and cream quilt), and several others. As I viewed Penny's quilts, I was drawn in by her use of many many different types and textures of fabrics, paint, and hand and machine stitching. I get the idea that Penny's philosophy is "more is better!"

The faces in her pieces are unforgettable. The highlights and shadows give her work great depth and reality. My favorite piece in this exhibit is "Earth Song" (below). The eyes in this piece are quite mysterious.

The details in each piece are mind boggling. If you'd like to see the exhibit, you need to hurry; it ends on August 26. Check out the details here.

A Bit of Dyeing with Sugar Syrup Resist--Fabric & Thread

This month's technique over at And Then We Set It On Fire is using sugar syrup resist, so I have been doing some dyeing using that technique. Here are my finished four pieces of fabric. I love the interesting swirls and blotches on the fabric, but I'm not so crazy about my colors. Obviously, I'm new to dyeing...live and learn. I did overdye two of these fabrics. Take a look. If you'd like to know how to dye using a sugar syrup resist, head on over to And Then We Set It On Fire blog. I have a link to the tutorial at the bottom of this blog entry.

This is the original (below). The overdye is underneath it.

The piece below actually turned out paler than it looks in this picture. The overdyed piece is below it.

The lighting in my studio isn't great. The fabrics are fairly uniform in color. They are not lighter at the top and darker at the bottom. That's caused by my lighting (or lack thereof). I am going to be working on a better lighting setup. Hopefully, that will help.

If you'd like to find out about my process and see the work in stages, check out this blog post from the And Then We Set It On Fire blog. You can also see what some of the other resident artists have been doing. If you'd like to try some yourself, Lisa Kerpoe has a great tutorial on the Fire blog here.

While I had my dyes out, I decided to dye some thread. I soda ash soaked some cotton crochet thread and wrapped it around some rolled up plastic mesh. Then I used an eye dropper to drop Pumpkin Spice, Golden Yellow, and Mixing Red dyes onto the thread. I haven't rinsed it yet, but I'm sure liking how it looks right now!

Posted with Blogsy

New Exhibit in Louisville

One of my fellow LAFTA (Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists) members is having an exhibit with her brother in Louisville. Here are a couple of photos from the exhibit along with the press release. I'm not familiar with the work of Karen's brother, but Karen does some fabulous fiber work. Check out the exhibit if you get a chance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Louisville, Kentucky, August 10, 2012 – Wayside Christian Mission’s Wayside Expressions Gallery will feature works of art by sibling artists, Karen “Karoda” Davis and Ronald “Upfromsumdirt” Davis, during the month of September. The name of the exhibition is “Unfamiliar Familial.”

The opening reception will be on First Friday, September 7, 2012, from 5 PM to 9 PM. The gallery is located on the first floor of Hotel Louisville, 120 West Broadway Street, Louisville, Kentucky. There is a second reception on the Third Sunday, September 16, 2012, from 2 to 4 PM. The exhibition runs from September 5, 2012 to October 2, 2012.

The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 11 AM to 1:30 PM. The gallery can be opened by appointment by e-mailing Randy Webber (randy.webber@waysidechristianmission.org) or Elmer Lucille Allen (Elmer_lucille_allen@yahoo.com).

This event is free and open to the public.

Posted with Blogsy

Southern Indiana Welcomes Penny Sisto

For any fiber lover close enough, there is an exhibit at the Saint Meinrad Archabbey Library (in southern Indiana) that is not to be missed. "Prayer Banners" is being shown through August 26, 2012. The exhibit features quilts that echo the faith of fiber artist Penny Sisto of Floyds Knobs. Hours: Call 812-357-6401 or 800-987-7311 or visit the Saint Meinrad Library site. If you would like to know more about the art of Penny Sisto, check out her website. Here are just a couple of the beautiful quilts you'll see. (Thank you, Penny, for giving me permission to post these two photos.)

Posted with Blogsy

Work for the Fire Blog

For the month of July, on the And Then We Set It On Fire blog, we worked on a mixed media surface design technique outlined in "Stitch, Cloth, Paper & Paint" by Angie Hughes. I was slow in getting started, but finally got my piece painted today. I haven't decided, yet, whether I will use it "as is" or not. I may do a bit more hand stitching--not sure yet. I'm thinking of cutting it to size, wrapping it around a canvas, and adding a couple more small pieces on top of it. Anyway...here it is after being painted. I used my iPad to take the photo, and I'm not sure why, but the lines that appear to be gold are actually silver. (Please click on this picture to get a better look. You can REALLY see the texture if you do.)

If you'd like to check out the steps I used on this piece, check out Step 1 and Step 2 on the Fire blog.

You also need to check out this month's technique presented by Lisa Kerpoe--sugar resist. She has a great tutorial on making some beautiful one-of-a-kind fabrics. If you leave a comment by August 6, you can win a resist-dyed sample set including 7 pieces of cloth, totaling about 1 yard of fabric. The set includes cotton, silk noil, rayon and silk/cotton. If you would like to enter the drawing, leave a comment on this Fire post.

Posted with Blogsy