Fiber (art?) postcards and my Play Date with Sharon!!

Today was the second day of preschool for my youngest daughter Sophia. And on the first day of preschool, I wandered the house and wondered what I should do first. Laundry? Dust? Vacuum? Wash dishes? Unpack suitcase?

Nope. I read Quiltart.com and was reminded that in less than a week, the Contemporary Quilt and Fiber Arts Alliance and the wonderful Fiber on a Whim is having a sew-in to make postcards for Virginia Spiegel's Fiberart for a Cause. Suddenly dressing out of the dryer didn't seem as dire as planning this event and having no postcards to show for it!

And, reading Jamie Fingal's question on Quiltart.com -- "What are you going to do this coming week that is going to stretch you artistically?" prompted me to go outside my box when creating this batch of postcards. The rest of the first-day-of-preschool I sketched and went through old sketches looking for old brain farts to air out.

So on Sophia's second day of preschool, Sharon came over and we both worked on postcards. Sharon had done her homework and quickly was able to produce 6 postcards -- not finalized, but put together and next steps mapped out. I really admire her for that ability.

I was moving a little slower -- mulling over my pile of batik scraps, wondering if these sketches would work, having a bit of trouble with my hi-tech light box (a Lite Brite Deluxe). . . oh gosh I was procrastinating. Is this what working outside the box does to you? I just didn't have the confidence to put my ideas on fabric. So I just decided to jump in and go for it.

Here's what I came up with -- these are works in progress, still needing quilting and finishing. Beads on many, I don't know what on others. In the end it was fun and now I have three more sketches resulting from this playdate which I hope to execute on Saturday.

This was started at a previous playdate with Sharon. Using Model Magic by Crayola, I made the base on top of acrilyc felt. Let it dry and then painted with Lumiere paints. Next will be stitching, beading and finishing.

These are puff paint, painted with Lumiere, then heated with an iron to let it puff up, then painted again. I will stitch and bead these.

And then back to what I love to do RAW EDGE FUSED APPLIQUE. Ah but(t) these were fun. Sorry I couldn't resist.

My parents bought a painting in Paris of a nude lady from behind. She is on her side and has the most beautiful bottom in the world. It is entirely blue with only one spot of yellow, which as I remember is a flower. Inspired by that painting and a recent viewing of my own bottom (which looks nothing like these) I thought I'd try this.

And for fun a different color combination with a butterfly batik. Interesting tattoo!

Adam and Eve? John and Yoko? Joel and Becca?
Heck I don't know, but I like the nekked people.

Detail of stitching.

LAST YEAR'S POSTCARDS. I haven't made postcards for a while. They are addicting, and I really wanted to work on larger pieces. But here are a few I made last summer.

"Margie's Damn Robot" - my buddy called to ask me a question about where to get nuts and bolts fabric for a robot she was making to applique on her son's jacket. I offered her my stash, but she declined. For the next two days, I worked on this little Robot. The nuts, bolts, and washers made it fine through the mail. NOT HAND CANCELLED. I just stick stamps on and drop them in the box. I've never lost one yet.


These were made for my mom the week of her birthday. She had just recovered from an attack of diverticulitis and so I was inspired to make this series of postcards for her.

Fortune Cookies.
Each of these fortune cookies contained
a removable fortune about food and health.
Remember to add "in bed" at the end of your fortune.

Box of Chocolates

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Daily Special: Surf and Turf

The Power of Art

Here we are at The Cascade's restaurant enjoying a meal together. From left to right: Charlie, Alice, Sharon, Karen, Me and Dorothy (my Aunt).

On Wednesday I made my annual pilgrimage to Nashville to see the AQS Quilt Expo. For the past 5 years I have been meeting my aunt (who lives in Louisville, KY) and my mom (who comes from Carlsbad, CA) in Nashville and we stay at the Opryland Hotel, go to the Expo, shop and look at quilts. This year my mom, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, was not able to join us, so my Aunt and I went to the Expo without her! We missed you mom.

The installation of the quilts at the AQS Quilt Expo was disapointing. Quilts were hung too close together and you just couldn't see them. Some big name quilters submitted works to this show and I think if they saw how their quilts were displayed, they would think twice before submitting work again.

In both photos, viewers are straining to see a quilt.
The quilts were not displayed very well by AQS.

The exhibit which takes the grand prize was Ami Simm's Exhibit, "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece." This is an exhibit of art quilts which interpret Alzheimer's disease in some way.
THE POWER OF ART quilts was evident by the number of people viewing the exhibit, and the many conversations of viewers talking about the exhibit.

Viewers stopped to read artist statements and view the work in the Alzheimer's: Forgetting a Thread at a Time exhibit.

This Exhibit is very moving and I had to view it in three separate sessions it was so emotional. The hostesses for this exhibit were Ami Simms and artists whose quilts were on exhibit. They took the time to talk to viewers and listen to countless stories, as everyone is affected, either directly or indirectly, by this disease.

Viewers take their time as they move through the Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece exhibit. It was hard to make it through without becoming overwhelmed by emotion and many people were crying. The quilts and artist statements were very moving.

Another aspect to the discussions among viewers was the curiosity of traditional quilters. They wondered how some of the artists made their quilts. When I explained to one group of traditional quilters that the main feature of the quilt they were looking at was Tyvek, painted, then ironed or burned, they looked at me like I was from outer space. They had no idea what Tyvek was and had never thought to burn something and put it on a quilt -- but they LOVED the results.

Bravo to Ami Simms and everyone who participated in this exhibit. It was excellently installed, the works were fabulous, and the impact was profound, on many levels. I purchased the CD of this exhibit which features pictures of the quilts and a voice over of the quiltmakers telling their stories. I encourage you to find out how you can support this project by visiting Ami Simms website.

Extolling the brilliance of Sarah

Does every parent think their child exhibits extraordinary talent? I hope so. I hope every parent finds the special talent that each talent posseses and then extols that talent.

In the wee hours of the night, Sarah woke up, came downstairs, found the digital camera and went OUTSIDE for a nighttime photoshoot. Joel found her a few hours later playing in the yard.

Here are a few of the pictures she shot. We think they are pretty darn good.

Creatub activity

This Mommy loves when the girls paint with watercolors. We have a box full of trays of paints, brushes, and paper. Whenever the girls want to paint they have free access to the supplies.

On this night they painted themselves right before their tubby.

How fun is that?

A visit from Oma

Monday we drove back from Hunting Island, SC. We pulled into the garage at 7:00 pm, unloaded the car, then drove to the airport to pick up Joel's 93 year old grandmother, whom we call Oma.

I hope at 50, I am as spry and mentally agile as this 93 year old dame. She has her daily scotch (or bourbon, because we didn't have any scotch) and enjoys her cigarettes. Every day she gets up and does her morning stretches and exercises. She loves to walk and remain active. She enjoys travel and has been around the world a few times.

The girls absolutely adored her. And she adored them back.

And she says: "Like fish, guests begin to smell after three days."

So on the third morning she went home.

Come again soon Oma!

Summer's Over -- Our Last Hurrah!

For the second and last time of the summer, we went camping again on Hunting Island in South Carolina.

If camping is not your thing, perhaps there are areas on Hunting Island that are not as rustic. But no matter what, do not miss a chance to see this awesome place.

We camped again with our dear friends, on our favorite campsite which is right on the beach.

We had so much fun we didn't take many pictures. But here is a picture of Sophia rinsing her toys. This spigot is at the edge of our campsite -- see how close the ocean is?

The two boys, Lars and Finn, caught a baby black tipped shark in a tidal pool. The kids were thrilled to touch and examine the shark up close. The silly parents (that's us) put ham in the water in the hopes that the shark would eat it. But it didn't and rather than let the shark die, the kids released it into the waves.

On the last day the water was as calm as a lake. As we swam, we saw pod of dolphins about thirty feet away. For more than an hour we continued to swim with the dolphins. They came as close as ten feet. It was a beautiful and magical experience and the perfect end to our summer.