This is My Brain on Quilts

Sunny Side Sarah

2010-01-29T20:00:00.003-05:00

My girls and I painted this afternoon. A nice diversion from the evil glowing box (television for all of you who are not sure what this is). I painted a portrait of Sarah who wakes up every morning with smiles and sunshine. She's pure joy.

A huge thanks to the very talented Mary Martin Akers. I spent a month of Mondays in her studio this fall and learned so much.

Collage-O-Graphs with Heidi Miracle McMahill

2010-01-26T20:03:00.000-05:00

Fiber Art Fusion hosted member Heidi Miracle McMahill this month. She shared her technique for Collage-o-graphs which were featured in Quilting Arts Magazine.

We cut sticky foam into shapes and adhered it to another piece of foam. Then painted with fabric paints. Then we pressed our fabric onto the whole thing, pressing in between the foam shapes to make sure we picked up the background. I see alot of possibilities with this.

This is the master -- foam pieces cut into shapes and adhered to the base.

First Printing.

Second Printing.

Winter Cleaning

2010-01-10T19:33:00.004-05:00

UGH, the messiest space ever!

Ahhhhh, relief. Shelves mounted and everything in it's place.

Some people Spring Clean. I Winter Clean.

After the holiday mess has been put away I look around the house at the piles of unattended-to junk. Kids toys, clothes that have been cleaned out of closets, correspondence, old magazines, unfinished projects, etc. With the promise of a new year and the zest and committment to cleaning it all up, I find it theraputic to go through these piles.

This weekend I focused on my studio. When my mom came to live with us last year, we converted my studio into her bedroom suite. My studio now encompasses an upstairs bedroom, but for the better part of 6 months, it's been a place I've made piles.

One day to clean, one day to organize and put away. Now the project is done and I have the year to mess it up again with creative projects!

A few years ago I started keeping "like things"
together in bins. I put a little sign in the front inside
of the bin so I know what's inside.
Now they are all neatly stored on these shelves.

Fabric is kept in these Closet Maid closet organizers.

I love that I can sort by color and see my stash.
I know, I know, the light will make them fade.
Well what do you think is going to happen when a piece
is hanging on the wall? Duh, it will fade. Fabric fades.

A Variety of Projects

2010-01-03T16:34:00.003-05:00

I didn't post much in 2009. My mom came to live with us in April and things have been pretty hectic around here since. The blog just fell to the end of the list of To Do's.

But art was still at least higher on the list and, while I wasn't particularly prolific in 2009, I was pleased with the work I did.

I spent more time in my sketchbook, honing my drawing skills, and journaling ideas for fabric projects. I painted a bit and sewed a bit more. While there was lots of discussion on the QuiltArt list about art vs. craft, I have decided to not consider this issue, but to make things that I feel like making. Things don't need to be defined. They just are.

So here are a few projects from November and December, with more to follow in the next few days as I find the pictures on my computer.

Fabric Paint on Black Sweatshirt. Happy Birthday Joel!
Do you know who this is?

Wild Girl Pin.
I made a series of these to use for Teacher Gifts.
This one is holding the cash gift we gave to Sophia's gymnastics coach.

Machine Embroidered Tennis Shoes.
These came from my sketchbook from earlier in the year.
I don't know if I should call this Machine Embroidery or Thread Painting or what.
Whatever it's called, it took me days to finish.
I turned this into a 5 x 7 piece which became
a part of the Fiber Art Fusion holiday gift exchange.

What's in My Journal

2010-01-01T20:14:00.001-05:00

by William Stafford

Odd things, like a button drawer. Mean
Thing, fishhooks, barbs in your hand.
But marbles too. A genius for being agreeable.
Junkyard crucifixes, voluptuous
discards. Space for knickknacks, and for
Alaska. Evidence to hang me, or to beatify.
Clues that lead nowhere, that never connected
anyway. Deliberate obfuscation, the kind
that takes genius. Chasms in character.
Loud omissions. Mornings that yawn above
a new grave. Pages you know exist
but you can't find them. Someone's terribly
inevitable life story, maybe mine.

Things to do instead of art.

2009-06-26T20:56:00.009-04:00

Play in the snow.

Have dinner parties.

Roller skate in the park.

Have more parties and make cakes that look like pizzas.

Cherish friends.

Make cupcakes.

Camp at the beach.

Watch the storms roll in.

Dig in the sand . . .

. . .for crabs.

Dance and act silly.

Swim in the ocean.

Go for a ride on Grandma and Grandpa's boat.

Play peek-a-boo with babies.

Watch travelers at the airport.

Go to swim meets.

Swim with friends.

Swing.

And have lots of sleepovers.

Time is Elusive

2009-03-06T21:15:00.002-05:00

I looked up today and realized it is March 6th. I've been working hard to solicit donations for my children's school auction, have taught three classes at Red Hen Fabrics, prepared for and made samples for those classes and am getting ready to teach more this month!

I stopped watching the news and instead of being filled with angst and angst-related ideas, I have an idea for something completely out of character for me. I shared the beginnings of one of these pieces with a friend earlier this week and she loves it. A few finishing touches and I'll be ready to post it.

Until then, back to the studio.

A few doodles

2009-02-10T16:03:00.004-05:00

I continue to draw daily. I find it a great way to start the day, warm up the brain, warm up my hands. Just doodling loosens me up.

Here is today's doodle:

And a card I made for a friend who is having surgery today:

Random Acts of Kindness

2009-02-05T16:43:00.002-05:00

I'm pleased to report that kindness is in the world. Sometimes I doubt it, but it is there. Yesterday, while driving home with the girls in the back, a car in front of us broke down in the middle of an intersection. 4, 5, 6 cars zoomed around this broken down car being pushed by the lone occupant. I wondered if I could help, could I help push this car? Would the girls be safe in our car?

But before I could answer any of those questions, a man in a Lexus pulled over and ran to help. Dressed in work clothes, with a long coat on, he started to push. Then another car pulled over, and another man hopped out to help.

While all this helping was going on, people were whipping around me and the men pushing the car, hurrying to get home, or wherever they were going. I felt sorry for these hurried drivers. Sorry that they were in such a rush, they missed the heart warming scene of random acts of kindness.

Playing with Others

2009-02-05T16:30:00.004-05:00

I have so much fun reading Ricë's blog every day. I look forward to her Journal Spanks and frequently add her challenges to my own journal entries. Why? Because playing with others is fun. As an artist, I spend most of my day alone (until the girls come home from school) and work in solitude. Reading Rice's journal spanks and completing some of them is like having a buddy over for coffee!

Try it, you might like it.

Binder clip

And for added fun, the mailman brought me a treat. A string of eyeball beads from Suzi B who makes some really pretty glass beads.

My face doesn't look like yours.

2009-02-02T18:51:00.010-05:00

"My face doesn't look like yours."

Sophie's Goddess, age 5

"Of course not. I'm much older, see the wrinkles in my skin?
I also have blue eyes, yours are green. And see, your hair is brown."

"Sarah, yours is very pretty."

Sarah's Goddess, age 8

"Do you like your face?"

"Yes, I think she's beautiful. But yours looks better."

"Oh no Sarah and Sophie, both of yours are better. You drew from the heart, mine was drawn from the brain. Drawings from the heart are always better."

Rebecca's Goddess, Age Still Deciding

Teaching at Red Hen Fabrics

2009-02-02T08:54:00.004-05:00

I'm very excited to be teaching at Red Hen Fabrics. I taught several classes in January and find it invigorating. All skill levels are welcome and my classes are fun and friendly!

Here is a list of upcoming classes. More will be added as I develop them:

Peek A Boo Jacket
February 21 and February 28
Take a sweatshirt, a selection of your favorite fabric squares and turn it into a fabulous jacket fun for young and old. Looks fabulous in batik's and black and white! This jacket has been featured in Altered Couture Magazine!

Art Quilting – Part I
February 23 and February 28
Fabric Collage and Innovative Piecing
The first in a series of four classes. In each class you will make a 9 x 12 art quilt. In Part I you will learn design basics, layout and composition, and an overview of materials frequently used in art quilting. You will use Fabric Collage and Innovative Piecing techniques to make a 9 x 12 art quilt.

Art Quilting – Part II
March 23 and March 28
Mark Making on Fabric
Making your own personal mark on fabric with stencils, stamps or freehand can be a wonderful way to express yourself and create your own fabric. We'll be working on hand-dyed or commercial fabric with Paints, Stamps, Shiva Paintstiks, Angelina Fibers, Crystals and more. Supply Kit required $10.00

Art Quilting – Part III
April 27 and May 2
Thread Work
In this class, Rebecca will teach you simple techniques for successful thread painting (also called free motion embroidery). We'll also explore couching yarn and fiber and layering with sheers.

Art Quilting – Part IV
May 18 and May 23
Embellish with found objects
In this class we'll learn a bead embroidery techniques, and explore found objects as inspiration for art quilting.

Fabric Art Post Cards
March 17 and March 21
Sending Fabric Post Cards through the mail is a great way to say you care! Make fun fabric postcards using art quilting techniques. With our scraps we'll make ATC's (artist trading cards) and Inchies, 1” square pieces of art.

Today's Doodle

2009-02-01T21:25:00.003-05:00

Today I doodled for about 20 minutes. This page is about 5 x 7.

Celebration Time!

2009-01-31T21:12:00.000-05:00

Last week we had conferences with both of the girls teachers. The teachers raved about our children and how smart they were, and how nice they were. Joel and I both blushed with pride. The girls had worked hard and their report cards were perfect! Time to celebrate.

Now we are not the kind of parents who take our children out on the town all the time. We tend to find games and activities that we enjoy close to home. But for the total celebration blow out, there's only one place the girls would name. And it happens to be a place that Joel and I despise -- CHUCK E CHEEZE'S.

It is the loudest place on the planet, except for Las Vegas. In fact, I thinkChuck E Cheeze's is early training for a life of boozing and gambling. The games, the lights, the sounds. And yes, the beer. Something to anaesthetise the parents -- keep those tokens coming. . .

Yet this is the place we took our girls on Saturday night to reward them for a fantastic job on their report cards!

Followed by pizza at our favorite Italian restaurant Capozzi's.

Which happens to be next door to Michael's. What a nice consolation prize for mommy, a trip to Michael's. Makes sitting in Chuck E Cheese for two hours tolerable. Ding ding ding ding.

Journals for the girls, pretty papers for the journals, cardstock in greens, purples and blues, Craft sticks, three new Zig's for mom, a white Marvey pen, a set of graphite pencils and a StazOn ink pad!

Children at War

2009-01-29T22:44:00.004-05:00

For more information on child soldiers you can go here.

Be True to Yourself

2009-01-29T08:10:00.006-05:00

While trolling the internet this morning I came across Suzi Blue. She's adorable. I watched a bunch of her videos on YouTube and they all have such a positive message.

The video above was particularly relevant to my recent anxiety about the art I create. And it reflects the words I share with other artists about their work -- be true to yourself and make the art you want to make, without considering what other people think.

But recently I've been working on a lot of class samples -- technique exercises -- with imagery I think potential students might like to see. And not making the art that I want to make. For the next few weeks I will spend my studio time working on a piece that has been in my sketchbook for a long time and for the past few months has been swirling inside my head.

For those of you reading and looking at this blog, thanks for your comments and input, I'll continue to post sketches, Ricë has some excellent journal spanks worth checking out.

Now I'm off to the studio.

Time Mandala

2009-01-27T20:10:00.008-05:00

Today I decided to doodle.

The clock in my studio tick, tick, ticks. All day long. Even with the music on I can hear that sound in the background. It must be creating subliminal stress since I have been very worried about time and how long things take! I need to pull that clock off the wall and put in a nice quiet digital clock with an alarm I can so I don't miss picking up the girls.

Starfish and Failure

2009-01-27T12:06:00.003-05:00

What is important is doing the work every day. Eventually you will succeed, you will definitely have failures. But the trying is what's important. So the starfish didn't quite turn out how I hoped, but I learned some important things about conveying texture, something important to my fiber work. I need to learn about painting with watercolors.

Sophie's Yellow Paintbrush

2009-01-26T09:56:00.004-05:00

This is my Monday Morning Drawing. I am going to try and draw and paint something every day. Simple stuff around the house to hone my chops, which are rusty. Can you tell I like color? Bright, clear color. This was sketched in pencil, then inked with a Zig Micron Pen and then painted with my Prang watercolors and an Aquaflow brush. It makes painting easy.

One thing that stuck me while I was drawing this paintbrush is how perfectly aligned the word CHINA was. I did not set it up that way. Yet CHINA screamed at me the whole time I was drawing and I wonder: Are there any paintbrushes made in America? I'm going to find out. I'll let you know.

Do I love my kids ENOUGH?

2009-01-26T09:20:00.002-05:00

Each morning, I lovingly make lunch for my girls to take to school. I try to vary it so they won't get bored, I throw in a sweet treat and an occasional love note. It is a part of my morning ritual that I enjoy.

But apparently I need to step it up a bit! Check out this Dad's incredible lunch bags.

Orange Tennis Shoes Revised

2009-01-25T22:11:00.003-05:00

After looking at Orange Tennis Shoes today I thought they looked a little flat. So I went in and added some shading to try and add some depth to the picture.

Orange Tennis Shoes

2009-01-25T13:03:00.005-05:00

Here is a drawing I finished today. Ink and Watercolor paints.
(I used Lumiere Watercolor paints for the shoelaces and grommets. That is the shine you see.)

Journal Spank Challenge

2009-01-23T14:16:00.005-05:00

Ricë over at Notes from the Voodoo Cafe had a journal spank today -- close your eyes and grab something and draw. Since I've had drawing on my mind, I though "Hey I'll bite." I reached out and grabbed the nearest thing to my desk. A bottle of Tums. Nope, I thought -- all those little circles. Not good to draw.

I know, I said to myself, I'll go into my studio, close my eyes and grab something. I won't trade again, I'll take what I get. And I did, and here it is:

All round and curvy and perspective that changes, and clear bobbins to boot. I thought coloring it would improve it. Well, it was a fun exercise anyway. I think I'll try again later.

Finished Work

2009-01-23T08:25:00.003-05:00

I love finishing UFO's. I enjoy the sense of completion and accomplishment. This week I finished two UFO's began last year. I'm using these for class samples for my upcoming Art Quilting class at Red Hen Fabrics.

Public Sketching! One poor victim.

2009-01-20T20:45:00.004-05:00

Here's a shout out to Mary Akers: "Thanks for the awesome inspiration and encouragement." She taught an incredible charcol drawing session last week at Fiber Art Fusion's meeting last week.

Today, while watching my daughter take her Tae Kwon Do class, I took out a pen and sketched the guy sitting in front of me. He was listening to music on IPOD. It was pretty loud, but not loud enough for me to figure out what he was listening to. He was tapping and bobbing his head along with the beat. It was hilarious. After a few minutes he started to squirm and then looked over his shoulder at me a few times. Hmmm. Maybe his sixth sense was piqued. What a hoot.

Anyway, it was fun and I felt a small sense of success. Now I guess I need to go to Binders and get me a Moleskine Cahier Sketchbook to carry about.

And I need to look at the calendar more often! I dated this sketch 1/21/09.

My studio

2009-01-19T17:02:00.005-05:00

On Quiltart.com many people have been posting pictures of their studios. I am fascinated by the spaces people work in and thought I would share pictures of my studio:

This is from the entrance door of my studio. The rear door opens out into the yard with the fountain beyond. I love to open the door and hear the bubbling of the fountain and the birds singing. My girls like to hang out in the studio with me. Sarah sits in the chair and reads while Sophie will work on some sort of art project at the end table.

The blue cabinet at the end is from a hairdressing salon. It is on wheels and I can move it around. The doors open up to reveal pull out shelves. This is where all my stamping supplies are located.

Drats. You can't really see my sewing machine, but it is at the left. On the left wall I have two closets that flank the sewing table. I store lots of stuff in there. Straight back are beads, some patterns and my sketchbooks. My library of books are kept in another room.

From the end of the room you can see my sewing table and some of my fabric on the left. Behind the mirror doors is a huge walk in room where I have more fabric and stuff stored.

Today the girls made their own Journal Covers following instructions I wrote for a class I teach at Red Hen Fabrics. I was really amazed that they could do most of it, though I am always leery when they use the rotary cutter.

Close up of the Journal Covers they made.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-01-18T16:37:00.006-05:00

There is no cure for birth and death
save to enjoy the interval.
George Santayana

Yesterday was my birthday. I find that I enjoy my birthday more each year. I relish the wisdom that comes with the passage of time and experiencing life's events.

This year I invited two couples and their children to spend the evening with us -- we were 12 in all. I spent my day in the kitchen prepping for the meal. My husband and children cleaned the house. What a nice treat.

We had a feast! With lots to drink (responsibly)! And music and fun! I think it was the best birthday yet!

I love to set a pretty table.

Everyone says it makes them feel like "dress up."

But at my house it jeans and slippers if you please.

The kids had a pretty table to eat at as well.

The kids enjoyed chocolate fondue!

The adults enjoyed this fabulous Chocolate Ganache Cake with a champagne toast.

The men jammed and played some great R&B.
Poor Olaf had to sit on the floor to play the percussion.
We need to put the keyboard on a rack next time.

Minu gave me this adorable vegetable peeler. I love the colors!

Another journal

2009-01-15T16:33:00.007-05:00

On a happier note, I taught a journal class this week at Red Hen Fabrics. It was great fun! I love to teach. Here is one of my class samples.

New Work

2009-01-15T16:21:00.005-05:00

I have been very bothered by killing. The recent news of a UN worker who was shot while delivering supplies during the cease fire in the Gaza strip prompted me to make this piece.

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Ghandi

When will all this end?
Never is what most people tell me.
Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Sudan, Liberia, and Burundi, Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza. . .
I refuse to become apathetic to war.

Drawing with Mary

2009-01-15T16:10:00.005-05:00

Fiber Art Fusion met on Tuesday night. Our workshop was led by Mary Akers who is an incredible artist and a wonderful teacher. It was magical to sit in a room with 18 artists and draw. We each had our own perspective, we each had our own success (thanks to Mary) and a few discovered they love to draw. Mary will lead another workshop for us before the end of the year. I can't wait.

Here is my form drawing.

I had an odd perspective for the pitcher. Today my friend Margaret Betz sent me an email with pictures of artwork by the very talented sidewalk artist Julian Beever. Some of his sidewalk masterpieces look as though they are 3-D objects. He has mastered perspective.

Healthy, Productive and Patient Again

2009-01-01T12:36:00.005-05:00

I hate New Year's resolutions. A laundry list of promises to one's self, most of which will be broken. Last year I came across Christine Kane's blog and her post about choosing three words to BE. I chose: Healthy, Productive and Patient.

Thankfully I am healthy. As a family we ate much closer to the vine, eliminating many processed foods from our diets. We ate a lot more fruits, and a few more vegetables. With the exception of an occasional Diet Coke for me, we eliminated artificial sweeteners from our diet.

Consciously working on patience was good for me last year. Especially in light of the many major changes our family made. Having patience, especially with my children, helped us to weather that change successfully.

From a creative point of view, 2008 was not very artistically productive. In the early part of 2008 I began my daily art project and felt very productive until we decided to move. Most of my time was spent engaged in a different kind of productivity -- preparing our house to be sold, looking for a new house and then moving.

In spite of a deficit of creative output, I had lots of work published last year, was paid for writing a few technique articles and taught a class. Professionally it was a good year.

So now what?

My children are healthy and happy. My husband finds his work deeply fulfilling and his company is set to prosper during this economic crisis our nation is in. My studio is set and ready for a productive year and I'm scheduled to teach many classes in the next few months.

We have a beautiful house, with wonderful neighbors and in an excellent school district.

We are so blessed.

I find it challenging to select three new words for 2009. I think I'll stay with Healthy, Productive and Patient. Only this year I plan to focus my productivity on artistic endeavors, experiment with new techniques and execute some of the ideas I've stored in my journal.

And all the while I plan to be Appreciative. Because I am truly blessed.

Fiber Art Fusion Art Exchange

2008-12-13T15:22:00.004-05:00

Fiber Art Fusion, an Atlanta-based group of fiber artists meets monthly. At our December meeting we exchange a piece of 5 x 7 art. We do this by drawing numbers and then from 1 - 26 we select on wrapped piece of art.

I had the last number! I was sitting next to my friend Virginia Greaves. With each passing selection she would point out her wrapped present and comment how no one selected it because it was in such a goofy bag. As my turned neared, I was getting excited. I hoped no one would select Ginny's bag. I love her work and was hoping to bring a piece home with me.

Well lucky me. Ginny's was the last bag and here's the piece now hanging on the wall of my studio:

Moses by Virginia Greaves

I'm featured in the Winter Edition of Altered Couture

2008-12-13T15:16:00.004-05:00

I'm thrilled to be in the Winter edition of Altered Couture.

I'm featured in an article called Jean's Queens.

Here is the article featuring a picture of the back of my jacket. I just realized that because I am big busted, I tend to focus more on the backs my jackets than on the fronts. No need to draw any more attention to the chest than necessary!

In the Studio

2008-12-13T15:02:00.006-05:00

I've been in the studio most of the last 10 days making gifts. I can't unveil everything for it would ruin the surprise. But here are a few snapshots of teacher gifts I made. 5" x 7" Personal Journals, with a matching coffee cozy. Some have said that these gifts are too generous. In my (not so) humble opinion, teachers work hard to educate our children and deserve a generous token of our appreciation.

While making journals for others, I decided to make a wrap for my daily notebook. After piecing my favorite greens together, I stamped the words in Indigo Lumiere Metallic and quilted the heck out of it. Those quilted lines are the same lines you'll find in my doodles and in my free form batik work. I've decided to pay attention to those doodles and feature them in my work.

Radical Knitter Detained by Homeland Security

2008-12-04T11:30:00.005-05:00

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Radical Knitting

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

The journey to a new house.

2008-11-10T19:45:00.012-05:00

Last year we made the decision to put our house on the market and move. We spent months painting, carpeting, making repairs, landscaping and staging our house. Despite the tough real estate market our house sold in 2 1/2 weeks, for full asking price. We were thrilled!

But we had no place to live. Our dear friends invited us to live with them. We thought it would only take a few weeks to find a house, then a few weeks to close and move in. But that was not to be. For us, the hard part was finding a house. Because the market was so soft, there were not very many houses for sale. People were waiting until things got better (which they clearly have not). After a month of searching and a few fallen contracts we were feeling desperate.

Then we found our dream house. The first weekend it was listed we toured the house. I walked into the front door and knew it was going to be our new home. The view from the front door is through the dining room and into the screened porch and then on to the beautifully landscaped backyard containing two fountains and a swimming pool. It is in an excellent school district, has a studio with a window and an exterior access door, a music room and a reasonable commute for my husband. It was immaculate and needed absolutely NOTHING done to it. We moved in the week before school started.

Surrounded by packing paper. Unpacking is an exciting chore!

For the first month we enjoyed the house. Only a few boxes were unpacked. Instead, we invited friends to come and enjoy the house with us. We had pool parties, barbecues, dinners. A sort of reciprocation for all the hospitality shown us while we were "homeless."

Olaf's Birthday Party! We stayed with Olaf (third from the right) and family for 5 weeks
while we searched and closed on a new home.

We pulled the girls out of school during the second week to go to San Diego to surprise my mom for her 80th Birthday.

Happy Birthday Mom!

While we were there we went to the San Diego Zoo. There was a very long line (30 minutes) to enter the Panda Exhibit. We decided to skip the Pandas since we've seen them many times here at the Atlanta Zoo. As we passed the front of the line, there was this Panda which could be seen from outside the exhibit!

October was a wonderful month. Most of the house now unpacked, we were ready for my mom to come visit. Our last house had all the bedrooms on the top floor and it was tough for my mom to make those stairs. As a result she had stopped visiting. Our new home has a bedroom and full bathroom om the main level. So my Mom came and spent the month with us.

My mom came and stayed for the month of October. It was glorious.

It was great to have her here with us while everyday life went on. We didn't have to rush conversations, or talk at all. We just lived with one another, sharing daily life, meals and chores. It was wonderful. I feel closer to my mom than ever before in my life.

She was here for Wacky Hair Day. . .

Sophie with her wacky hair, complete with blue hair, butterflies attached by wires and birds.
Sarah had a matching hairdo with green hair.

and Halloween!

Sarah was a Vampire Countess!

Sophie was dressed as a "Fairy Princess" and had very specific instructions for the face paint.

And both girls placed first in the PTA sponsored cultural arts program called Reflections. Sophie won for her watercolor self-portrait. Sarah won for an incredible poem she wrote. And they were both so excited for one another.

Sarah posing with her First Place trophy for Literature.

Sophie with her First Place trophy for Visual Arts.

And this past weekend I began the process of unpacking my studio and getting ready to work.

There is lots of work to be done in this studio!

I went to several workshops and am excited to try out some exciting new techniques!

And feeling like I'm flying!

Now back to the studio.

Missing in action!

2008-05-21T17:34:00.004-04:00

Somewhere between Shiva Paintstiks and today there is a missing post. The one that explains where I will be.

Here is where I was:

Preparing my house to be put on the market, as in the real estate market. The one that is real cushy and soft right now. But we live in a part of Atlanta where real estate is pretty steady. People want to live here. Our realtor is optimistic that our house will sell by summer's end.

So for the past months I have been spackling, sanding, painting, painting trim and packing. We put most of our things into storage, including the contents of my studio. It seems most house buyers do not find it amusing when an artist has converted the formal dining and living rooms into a studio.

That has been the hardest part of this process -- putting art away. I have a little corner in an upstairs bedroom where I've put my sewing machine. I have a few unfinished projects in a box and some thread. I keep thinking any day I will go up and work on something. But then I find more sweeping, cleaning and straightening needs to be done. I feel singularly obsessed with having the "perfect house." Otherwise someone might not buy it.

This will be temporary. Our house will sell and we will find a new house. Hopefully, a ranch with a full basement. We have our eye on one right now, but it is really too soon.

Here is a link to see the house. The virtual tour link to the right (in red) will show you a video and a slide show of the interior. For those who have been in my house you will not recognize it.

Shiva Paintstik Tutorial

2008-01-29T12:25:00.002-05:00

For an upcoming issue of Altered Couture I have written an article about using Shiva Paintstiks. A few wearable art items will appear with the techniques article.

To supplement that article, here is an on-line tutorial with pictures illustrating the steps to perfect Shiva Paintstik application!!

I like to use freezer paper stencils. Trace your design onto the paper side of freezer paper. Cut out the design.

Iron the freezer paper stencil to your fabric. Fabric should be prewashed and dried.

The arrow is my registration mark for this Chinese character PEACE.

And here I am ironing in the square in the center of the second character.

I've moved to the kitchen counter so I have a firm surface to work on. See my stencil brushes? These are dedicated solely to the purpose of Shiva Paintstiks. I store them in a zip top plastic bag.

Shiva Paintstiks form a protective skin which prevent them from drying out. There are many different ways to remove that skin. Being somewhat of a skin thrift (get it? spend thrift, skin thrift), I like to peel away the skin using my thumbnail and a paper towel.

Once the Paintstik is exposed, I swirl my stencil brush on the tip of the Paintstik to load it with paint.

Next gently swirl the stencil brush on your stencil. You will have to reload your brush with paint a few times.

Some say you need to use solvents to clean your brushes. Not me, I'm way too lazy to get those out. I just rub the paint off onto a paper towel. You can see how in about 4 squares, the paint is mostly off the brush. Then I pop the brush back into the baggie. I've been using these same stencil brushes forever.

Once you are done, place your piece in between layers of paper towels (one on top, one on the bottom). Iron for a minute or so. This lets all the paint sink into the fabric. You still have to air dry and heat set the Shiva Paintstiks after 3-5 days.

The moment of truth. Peel away your stencil (and save for another day). . .

And the reveal. There is is. Perfect in every way. Soft and flexible. Washable, but NOT dry cleanable. Put out to dry for 3-5 days and then heat set by ironing. I usually iron for 2 minutes. Have never had a problem with fading.

Another way to use Shiva Paintstiks:

Rubbing plates. I don't like those commercial plastic ones, though some use them with great success. Too slippery. So I make my own rubbing plates. You need a piece of cardboard and a bottle of dimensional fabric paint. If you are in a hurry and you can't wait for the paint to dry (overnight), then you can use a hot glue gun.

Using the dimensional paint, draw your design on the cardboard. Set aside to dry overnight.

Place your fabric over your design and gently rub with the Shiva Paintstik. And there is your design. I like the dimensional paint because it is slightly rubbery and doesn't let the fabric slide.

The stencil brush is not in the picture, but here I've used the stencil brush over my rubbing plate for a different look.

Rubber stamps make nice rubbing plates too. Don't use ones with many small and fine details, they just get lost.

Place your rubber stamp underneath your fabric.

Rub with your Shiva Paintstik.

Place your finished rubbing in between layers of paper towels (one on top and one on bottom) and iron. This lets the paint sink into the fabric. Let air dry for 3-5 days and then heat set again, ironing 2 minutes.

Voila, three different types of rubbings.

Swamped

2008-01-28T21:11:00.002-05:00

I am swamped. Me. Not the kids, not the hubby, nothing to do with the normal day to day life of managing the family. Me. So for the past two days I've spent my studio time writing and preparing for the upcoming meeting of Fiber Art Fusion, the class I'm teaching at Fiber on a Whim, and working on two articles for Altered Couture Magazine. Oh, did I mention i'm taking an on-line class from Pamela Allen?

Here's this week's lesson -- my first revision. Instead of going for new imagery, I wanted to see Frida's fruit in all red. What I really want to do is work on that Frida jacket hanging in the corner of my studio.

Post Script: It sounds like I am not enjoying the Pamela Allen class. On the contrary, Pamela is an awesome teacher and I am lucky to have taken a weekend workshop with her this fall. She is a phenomenal on-line teacher as well. The class I'm taking is through Quilters Keep Learning. You download the lesson, participate in a forum (like a chat room) where you can ask questions and you post your work in the on-line gallery. Pamela looks at the work and critiques it. One of the other great benefits to taking this type of class is seeing other people's work and reading Pamela's comments about the work. It's a great way to train your eyes.

#15, #16 and Life in the Studio

2008-01-26T21:21:00.002-05:00

Here is #15. It's Sophie's preschool teacher who shattered her ankle in a car accident and will have to have multiple surgeries to correct it.

#16 Rachel Louise Carson who was a great friend to birds everywhere.

And here is a shot of Sophie at my table in the studio. In between everything else, I've been pulling out an altered book and gessoing the pages. Sophie was keen on making her own journal and filling it with pictures and notes, just like Mommy. You can see the glow of the computer in the background as Sarah noodles around on the computer. Today Sarah took her turn at the table and we made her a journal with stitched pages. She's calling it her party journal and is filling it with important things relating to parties (like cake recipes, decorations and ideas for party favors).

Since moving into the bigger studio space I've enjoyed having my children join me while I work. Before I'd work in the small studio and they'd be working at the kitchen table. We now have a greater sense of collaboration and they seem keen on learning new techniques.

Bliss.

Frida Kahlo Still Life Revised

2008-01-24T10:01:00.001-05:00

Last night I revised my Frida Kahlo still life. It is amazing what another set of eyes can see. When we are so focused on a piece, we can lose sight of basic omissions. Like the shadow and change in position. Pamela Allen suggestions made this piece so much better.

I also changed the face of the orange to add more contrast to the sections, and put on the watermelon seeds.

Next step is stitching.

Now back to a 5 x 7 today which I will post tonight!

Art today

2008-01-22T23:46:00.001-05:00

No 5 x 7 yesterday or today. Seems this head cold that had Sophie down last week has latched onto me.

I'm taking an on-line class taught by Pamela Allen and our first assignment is a black and white composition. Inspired by a Frida Kahlo still life, here is my attempt. Still not fused down because I'm making some changes.

#14 Viva La Frida!

2008-01-20T22:34:00.002-05:00

#14

Frog Hunting and #13

2008-01-19T22:31:00.001-05:00

Today went frog hunting -- rip it, rip it, rip it! After looking at the tulle on the yoke, I decided it was too sparkley, so I ripped out the stitching on the back, stitched around the edge of the flowers and trimmed back the tulle. Then more ripping as I removed the pockets and finally I stamped the letters and am waiting for the ink to dry.

#13

#12 and more work on Frida Kahlo project

2008-01-18T22:10:00.001-05:00

Here is #12 in the 5 x 7 project challenge. I cut out the center and floated bits of fabric between two sheets of tulle.

And more work on my Frida Kahlo project. Today I finished edge stitching and quilted big leaves around Frida.

Three silk flowers are trapped beneath a layer of tulle, then threadpainted.

On Making Art

2008-01-17T23:58:00.001-05:00

Now comes the time that I have to decide what counts as a 5 x 7? Does work in progress count? I love making the daily 5 x 7's, but when I am in the middle of a creative burst, I don't want to pause and make a 5 x 7.

Yesterday I spent the entire day with a sick 4 year old who needed mommy to be at full attention, so nothing was done in the studio. Today was my birthday and Joel came home early so I could work in the studio. (Did I mention how incredibly lucky I am to have such a supportive spouse?) And that work was done on a piece for a jacket I'm working on.

Now you can either stop reading here and go on to random select and read another blog, or you can hang in there and read to the end. . .

See how funny the face looks without the details? She looks like an alien.

Now with hair.

And now with facial details stitched in.

Anyway, this is much bigger than 5 x 7, so I'll post it, but won't count it as part of my daily 5 x 7 challenge.

The thoughts that come to mind today are related to what I have accomplished so far in my life and what it all means. What am I? What do I want to be? In the end, the push to make art daily makes me an artist and not a wanna be. It doesn't matter if the world does not acknowledge my art, or buy it, or publish it, or even think it is "good." What matters is that I make the art. Good art, BAD art. We all make bad art. How many are brave enough to show it?

So, I started over and redrew the face. Now she looks more like her self-portraits, which is how people think she looks anyway. And who is she? Frieda Kahlo.

One last paragraph: Yesterday is snowed in Atlanta. The last measurable snow I can remember was three years ago. The flakes came down big and fluffy. It was glorious. My oldest daughter went out to play in the snow until it was way past dark. The younger (and sick) daughter went out for five minutes and came back in, exhausted, but glad she didn't miss it.
The snow is gone now, except for the large snowball which we have in the freezer.

#11 Leaf Collage

2008-01-15T11:19:00.001-05:00

#11 - Leaf Collage
Since starting this daily 5 x 7 project my sketches in my sketchbook have radically changed. I usually go for new imagery every time. But now, I've sketched this leaf design in about 50 different ways. I don't think I'll execute all fifty, lest I bore viewers to death, but I'll do a few more in exploring the possibilities with one image. I'm having fun -- and executing art daily is making me FEEL more like an artist. But looking at my posts, I'm not feeling like much of a photographer, I've got to do something about that.

This piece is made with fabric and scrim that I dyed while at the Focus on Fiber retreat at the Atlantic Center for the Arts last Spring. I was under the influence of Sharon Serrano Ahmed and Rosemary Claus-Gray when I thought I'd actually use scrim and dyed it. Now after hanging on to it for 10 months, I see it has possibilities for me.

Tree Jacket Completed

2008-01-14T17:46:00.001-05:00

There is no 5 x 7 submission for yesterday, but I might get to two this evening. I spent Saturday night and most of Sunday working on this jacket, Trees. You can see the before here.

Here is the front. And boy, Weight Watchers might have to be in my future. The jacket looks huge. It doesn't help that it's hanging on a small scale french door between my two studios. Anyway. . .

In this picture the color is more true. I put covered buttons on and hand stitched brown swirls over the entire jacket.

Here is the back. Each leaf has a stanza from Joyce Kilmer's poem Trees. And the hand stitched brown swirls which helps it tie together with the collar, which I did not want to replace.

And one leaf features a robin, well looks more like a blue bird, but in my imagination it is the bird in this stanza.

Thanks to Joyce Kilmer for the lovely words of inspiration.

New Altered Jacket Project and #10

2008-01-12T22:59:00.001-05:00

I'm teaching a class in altered clothing in February at Fiber on a Whim. For that class I'm making a few more samples. I found some great jackets at Goodwill this week. I love working with denim, probably because I wear so much of it!

Here's the original jacket. Notice the adorable kitty cats on the pockets? Those kitties are also on the back yoke of the jacket.
I removed the pockets, cut out the kitties and inserted little quilt sandwiches with -- guess what -- leaves. I did the same on the back yoke. More leaves, some stamping and hand stitching and off it will go to Fiber on a Whim.

Today's 5 x 7 takes a look at negative space.

#10

Art with Children and #9

2008-01-11T15:15:00.001-05:00

Here are pictures of the girls' aprons. I started by having them draw their pictures onto freezer paper, giving them some guidelines about size and not to worry about the small details. I then cut out their designs and ironed onto aprons I made another day. Using stencil brushes and fabric paints (they love Lumiere), they applied paint over the stencils. Once the paint is dry, we removed the freezer paper.

Always remember when doing art with children to give them some guidelines, but let them experience the process. It's not about the end product "looking good," but about the opportunity to make art with grownup supplies and learn what works and what doesn't.

Sarah (age 7) chose a fabric marker to write her name. She learned that next time she'd like to use paint with more contrast for the details on her gingerbread man.

Sophie (age 4) would have no part of the fabric markers. She wanted paint and a brush to write her name on the apron. She did change her mind when adding hair to her angel. She learned she has more control with a fabric marker.

And with leaves still on my brain, here is #9 of my daily 5x7 challenge:

#8 Black and White

2008-01-10T23:58:00.002-05:00

The past three days have been quite hectic. On Tuesday night Fiber Art Fusion had our monthly meeting. Sharon and I gave part one of a two part presentation called "The Fiber Artist's Pantry." We cover all the great things every fiber artist should have in the pantry. I spent Tuesday getting my samples ready.

Wednesday my hubbie and I took our daughters to see Annie at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. Sophie fell asleep after the intermission. Sarah was wide eyed in wonder and amazement for the entire musical. She floated home. I think musical theater is in her future!

Today's submission is a continuation of the leaf study -- in black and white.

Leaf Study #7 and Painting with the Girls

2008-01-07T22:25:00.001-05:00

#7 - Leaf Study

Today was the last day of Winter Break. The girls and I hung around the house this morning enjoying our time together. Then we decided to paint some aprons. I gave each of the girls a piece of freezer paper and had them draw designs for their aprons. I cut them out, then we ironed them on, and went to town with the Lumiere. It was great fun. I don't have finished aprons to show today -- they still have the freezer paper on them. It's too much fun to peel off that freezer paper to reveal your design below, so I'll save that joy for the girls tomorrow.

Here's Sophie carefully dipping her stencil brush into the purple -- she was painting her lamb.

Sarah loves lumiere and really goes for the gold halo colors. It's sad that she has already gotten hung up on things looking "right." She had me draw her a gingerbread man and a few hearts. She just couldn't see that her hearts and angel were much better than mine. Quick, before the girls are totally hung up on realism, I need to get them to draw me a million things.

Leaf Study

2008-01-06T20:38:00.001-05:00

#6 - Leaf study

Gone to the Moo-vies

2008-01-05T22:04:00.001-05:00

Last cow. Promise. I thought a change in fabric might make a bigger difference. . . part of this commitment to make a 5x7 and post it is there is going to be some junk. Disappointing it's happening so early in the game!

Anyway, from my 4 year old:
Where do cows go when they want a night out?
To the Moo-vies.

#5

I've Got Moo-sic

2008-01-04T22:17:00.001-05:00

#4

Aside from the picture being crooked, this is a lesson in picking the right fabric. I love this print, but not on my flying cow, it makes him look more like a zebra.

Rooster on the brain

2008-01-03T21:48:00.001-05:00

This weekend we spent the day at an amazing place called The Art Barn. The owner is a former graphic artist who exchanged her successful career for a few acres in rural Atlanta and a whole lot of barn animals. It is a wonderful place to have a birthday party. You learn about the animals, brush and pet the animals, hold a chicken, a bunny, paint a picture in the art barn and go for a hay ride. The birthday boy or girl gets to steer the tractor. There were three roosters who crowed all day.

And the recently-watched Annie (as in Little Orphan Annie) features Tim Curry as Rooster, Miss Hannigan's wicked brother. Carol Burnett plays Miss Hannigan and boy can she crow.

#3

And another little birdie who will fly off to a very special someone for her birthday.

#2 Baby Jesus in Green

2008-01-02T17:33:00.001-05:00

And here is #2 -- Baby Jesus in Green --representing the color of new life that Jesus offers through baptism.

Healthy, Productive and Patient

2008-01-01T16:32:00.001-05:00

I happened across this blog post by Christine Kane suggesting a better way to reach your goals than making New Year's resolutions. This post is definitely worth the few minutes it takes to read.

Instead of making resolutions this year, I have selected three words to BE: Healthy, Productive and Patient. It was hard to select only three and I hope I have not set the bar too high.

And in the arena of Productive, I am embarking on a year-long project of daily 5 x 7's. I hope to make a finished piece at least 5-7 days a week, in fiber. This is a relatively small format for me, but I wanted a size small enough so I could reasonably accomplish my goal.

And here is the first one:

Young Artists At Work

2007-12-26T09:56:00.001-05:00

What a whirlwind month. Recitals, school performances, holiday parties and gift preparations. Not to mention a deep cleaning for the house and holiday decorating. The month flew by. Yesterday morning I woke up and looked at the clock. 6:00 am. We told the girls they had to wait until 7:30 to wake us up. Darn. An hour and a half. I was eagerly awaiting their wake up squeals. At 6:45 I wondered why my girls were not up yet! Then at 7:00, only a half hour early, they came into our room and exclaimed: "It's time It's time! Let's see if Santa came."

Of course, Santa had come and left a passel of presents by the fireplace. Each girl went through their stocking and opened their Santa gifts. Then came the family gifts. I gave each girl a Hello Kitty sewing machine made by Janome. These are not the toy machines you see at major retailers. These are actual sewing machines, which make nice stitches and are easy to operate. The larger machine uses the feet and accessories from my Janome 6500. I was not expecting much from the girls. Perhaps a quick playing around with them, and then on to the toys they got for Christmas.

Well I was wrong. The girls sewed for hours. This morning, they woke up and near first thing wanted to sew again. Sarah is well on her way to finishing her first wall hanging. A scrappy strip pieced block with quilting lines throughout.

One of the greatest gifts of my lifetime is the time, instruction, and encouragement given to me by my mom and my aunt. I hope to pass those gifts on to my children.

New Studio Space

2007-12-01T19:24:00.001-05:00

I am married to a musician. His day gig is working as a creative director for a creative marketing agency which does a lot of work on the internet. He writes music all day long. Then he comes home, greets our girls and sits down at the piano and plays more music.

It's great to be married to a creative guy. He gets it. He understands when I am fixated on something and cannot get it out of my head. He understands my need to stay up all night and finish. He understands the need to have the right tools for the job. He understands my need for the right space to work in.

He understands enough to give up the 15 x 15 foot room off my old studio. This room held the baby grand piano he plays every night when he comes home. A few weeks ago we began the process of finding a new space for the piano. No small task. It's huge. And heavy. Moving it means you have to know exactly where you want it to go. It's not like shoving a couch around a room until you've found just the right spot. So off I went with my graph paper and a tape measure and figured out where the piano could go.

This was not an easy decision. You have to take all kinds of things into consideration. Like where the floor joists are, where doors to the outside are, how close to a fire place and how many important football games are on television (which will prevent any friends and/or neighbors form helping you). After considering the possibilities, we settled on the family room. Joel and I hauled the piano across the house to its new home. It's the perfect place for it. You can sit and play the piano and look out the window. I think it is very happy there.

Here's Joel trying to move the piano by himself.

And moving that piano left a big hole in the corner of that 15 x 15 foot room which I think the builder considered the formal living room. Our house was built in the mid 80's and is a formal layout with the formal dining and living areas separate from the family room. I previously had my studio in the formal dining room space.

So now I've branched out and am in the formal living room as well. I have two big rooms. One for storage and "messy" work. And the new larger room for my sewing machines, drawing table and computer space.

New studio space.

Old studio space.

While cleaning and sorting through piles I found all kinds of drawings and notes on projects I'd like to do. I had to stop working on the studio space last night to flush out one of those ideas. I would show it, but you know Christmas is right around the corner and the recipient is a reader of this blog and I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!

It is amazing how much stuff I have. I did sort through and get rid of a tremendous amount of junk, but so much of the things I hang on to are relevant to what I do and want to do.

Tonight is Saturday night so my hubby will be playing some rock and roll on his weekend gig. It inspires him throughout the week when he's working his corporate gig.

Me? I'm back to the studio to sort through more stuff and work on that Christmas project.

Journal Quilt

2007-11-10T11:02:00.001-05:00

This is my 2007 Journal Quilt for IQF at Houston.

Thanks to Kristin of Fiber on a Whim for taking the picture for me!

Costumes

2007-11-05T11:41:00.002-05:00

We made it through some pretty scary yards. One of our neighbors had a grave yard and a car accident. Our neighbor was sprawled out on the ground next to a car accident scene. He waited until the children walked by and began to moan. S-C-A-R-Y.

But not quite a terrifying as the teenage boys in vampire costumes perched in the trees. They waited until the kids walked by and jumped out of the trees.

Yet Sophie (age 4) braved it all quite well. Until we got home. Joel and I have a Happy Halloween house with pumpkins and happy skeletons. The only scary thing we have is a horror sounds CD, which we put on the stereo and blasted with windows opened. When we arrived home from trick or treating Sophie heard the scary sounds coming from our house and broke out in hysterics. Poor baby.

Thankfully Mummy Sarah was there to give the little ghost a big hug.

Boo!

2007-10-31T10:47:00.001-04:00

Halloween cupcakes for Sarah's class.

I love Halloween. I like that you can decorate your house, dress up in a costume, hand out candy and enjoy things that are scary. No presents, no stress, just fun. As a child my mother would make us fabulous costumes. My dad would hand out candy and wear a scary glove on the hand that reached out the door.

I used to make fabulous costumes -- until my eldest child kept changing her mind. Now I make ONE costume per child and wait until close to Halloween. Tonight I'll take pictures of the girls in their costumes.

This year the girls were old enough to significantly help with carving their pumpkins. First you have to scoop out all that goop.

They were totally grossed out -- but I give them credit for sticking with it!

Sophie's preschool had a pumpkin carving party for children and their dads. She had a great time. Both girls designed their faces and drew them on the pumpkins. Sarah carved the mouth on hers.

Sophie put three faces on hers. I love the crazy eyes Sarah drew.

And the latest Altered Couture is now on the newsstand. Here is Sophie in the dress featured on page 105!

Happy Halloween!

New Altered Couture!

2007-10-17T09:57:00.001-04:00

My artist's preview copy of the new Altered Couture arrived in the mail yesterday. It will be on the newsstands on November 1st.

I have three pieces featured on pages 105, 108 and 109.

It's very exciting to see my work in print -- almost as exciting as it was to see my darling little girls wearing it. Here is Sarah wearing her Ahoy Matey overalls. (And Sophie in the background wearing a pair of her birthday overalls, which I did not submit. Maybe next time. . .)

Keeping it Art Related

2007-10-15T13:34:00.001-04:00

Life has been hectic as usual. But I have a new dedication and commitment to blogging more regularly and trying to keep it art related.

In addition to the pictures (below) of things I've been working on, Joel and I have been making a free video tutorial for Shiva Paint Stiks to put on-line (probably on You Tube). It's been great fun and we hope to have it done in another few weeks.

Halloween is just around the corner so I needed a few fabric bead bracelets
and this owl charm bracelet. These go with. . .

. . .my fabric bead necklace. I got the skeleton in a 25 cent candy machine.

I wish I had bought more.

Playing around with needle felting.

And being the "arty mom," I've been pegged for all the crafty projects for our Brownie Troop. Here is our troop flag. We're waiting for our troop number. Can you guess the name of our troop? The name and troop number will go into the white space to the left of the Trefoil.

Now back to the studio.

Possibility Number Two

2007-09-28T15:42:00.002-04:00

Busy. Busy. Busy. So this past month goes into Possibilities Category Number Two -- not enough time to post.

On September 4th, Jan, Carmen Sharon, Heidi and I hung an exhibit of art from members of our group Fiber Art Fusion. The Exhibit Opening Reception was September 6th and about 100 people came. We had tons of food and a photographer! It was very exciting. To see your work hanging in a gallery is very rewarding. To see other people looking at your work is exhilarating. The curator told me today that there was very heavy traffic through the exhibit. Many people came specifically to see it and it was very well received.

Then I spent six days at the East Cobb Quilt Guild Show. Three of those days were on the judging team. We took the quilts which had been dropped off by their owners, sorted them by category, labeled them with a pre-assigned number, stacked them with the same corner lined up (for ease of judging) and in general watched over these precious babies until the judging started. The judges arrived and worked their tails off to judge the nearly-400 quilts in two and a half days. The head of the judging team did a spectacular job of organizing and holding it all together. It's fascinating to be behind the scenes.

I especially like hearing the comments about the work being judged. First, lest you think I remember anything about your quilt, I don't. It all blurs together by the end. I can't even tell you what they said about mine! But in general there is a consistent base of comments. And in the one area most of us rush through -- finishing. That means bindings. For goodness sake, make nice bindings. Practice if you are not good at it. And one other comment of interest is on the pillowcase method of finishing. If you are entering a traditional show, then you need to quilt your piece so the quilting lines can be seen from the back. And don't forget to trim loose threads and pick all the animal hair off your quilt. These are basic things which many overlook.

Oops, back to the East Cobb Quilt Guild Show. . . then I spent the next two and a half days demo-ing at Fiber on a Whim's booth. I love to do product demos, especially when it is a product that I like to play with. I think I'm pretty good at it since Kristin kept giving me big smiles!
Okay, so she was giving those big smiles because she won a ribbon for this awesome piece! Way to go Kristin!

Fiber Art Fusion members won lots of ribbons at the East Cobb Quilt Guild show. It was thrilling. I won third prize for my What's Up Tiger Lily? coat.
It started out as scraps for the trash can. Then was resurrected and made into this coat. I have a matching pair of Donald Pliner Zebra shoes -- similar ones which can be seen here on Manolo's Shoe Blog. One day I'll be brazen enough to wear the ensemble in public!

For the past few weeks, Sharon and I laughed every time we got together because we had not yet finished our Journal Quilts for Houston. Lunch, coffee, shopping. We are good are helping each other procrastinate. But in the end we both finished and shipped in time for the deadline. I only finished because Sharon came over and helped me whipstitch the binding in place.

Why do I always wait until the last minute? I knew about this Journal Quilt for months and months, yet I kept putting it off. I guess other things come up and fill the time. I do budget time for things like this, but not until the week or two before it's due. And although I budgeted two weeks for my Journal Quilt the first week was eaten up by school volunteer activities and cleaning the house from my absence, and the second week, my in-laws came to visit. We took the girls to the Georgia Aquarium. An incredible site to see.
So I worked in the little spare time I had. On the eve of my shipping deadline the water main in front of our house broke. Remember back a year ago? Well another section of main blew out and millions and millions of gallons of water poured out through this break. The water gushed all night -- and here we are in the middle of an all out watering ban. The crew who first came just turned the pressure down and decided to let the morning crew fix it. But by midnight the break had worsened and we could hear the water roaring from inside the house. The fix-it crew came in the morning.
They had to cut down a tree, pull out bushes and dig a hole big enough for a swimming pool.

Meanwhile, inside my studio, I was quilting and doing my best not to totally freak out. The name of my Journal Quilt is "Peace" so it is someone ironic that this was all happening. In the end I finished. But the stress of possibly not finishing was overwhelming. Stress is not a good way to get your aerobic workout!

Today, Jan and I took down the Hope Exhibit. It was sad to see the empty gallery space. But joyfully, the curator invited us back for next year. Transformations will be the theme. And since it is an election year I'm delighted by that theme and have ideas swimming around in my head.

And now, back to the studio.

Possibilities

2007-09-04T20:48:00.001-04:00

There are two possibilities for a lack of blog posts. Number one: Nothing is going on. Number two: So much is going on that one does not have time to post.

I am coping to number two. In the past month I've taken two Pamela Allen workshops, organized a special meeting of Fiber Art Fusion which featured a lecture from Pamela and a showing of her work, I went to the AQS Show in Nashville, and last weekend I participated in Fiber on a Whim's new "block of the month" which is called Clandestine bag of the month. We spent four hours in the studio working on our bags. Each month we make a new bag/purse. It was wonderful.

And for the past month, I have been pulling together pieces and artist statements for Fiber Art Fusion's upcoming exhibit at The Art Place at Mountain View. Today we hung the exhibit and I am very excited for the opening on Thursday night.

I have three pieces in the East Cobb Quilt Guild show and all three pieces needed work, so I have been "finishing." Why do we wait until our work is accepted to do the boring and tedious finishing work? Come on, you know you do it to!

And since pictures are worth a thousand words, here are some pictures of what's been going on around here.

Here are a few pictures of me, Carmen, Jan, Sharon and Heidi as we decided where each piece in the upcoming exhibit should go.

Sophie started pre-kindergarden. This is her last year of half day school.
"All right Mom, enough with the pictures" says Sophie.

This was my favorite quilt in the Guild Challenge at AQS in Nashville. It is of Harriet Tubman. I love the use of buttons. It makes me think of Aminah Robinson's work, which if you have never seen, check it out.

Ever wonder where Santa goes in August? Why to Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee. He said I was being nice (as opposed to naughty).
Here is Heidi test driving a Gammill. Heidi, Sharon and I tried all the long arm quilting machines in Nashville. But really, where would we put it? And how about a new car first? Or an addition to the house? A semester in college? Retirement?

This is Ziggy, our garden spider. She has built her web right next to the front door. A neighbor came by the other day and told me it a little early for Halloween decorations. But this is a beautiful spider, and look at that web! Today she has spun a large egg sac with its own protective web. From inside the house looking out you can see it. The girls enjoy looking at the web each day, seeing what she's eaten and now we're watching for those eggs to hatch. We're leaving this spider right where she is and watching her daily.

And now, back to the studio.

It has been a very busy summer

2007-08-19T15:14:00.001-04:00

The summer went by very fast. Daily trips to the pool with my two girls (they just have to get that energy out), a trip to San Diego and then school started. And now deadlines loom and four pieces are screaming at me to finish them in order to meet those deadlines!

This past week was crazy. Sarah started school on Monday, then Tuesday night, Fiber Art Fusion met and 18 artists turned in their pieces for our upcoming show at The Art Place at Mountainview. Friday and Saturday I took a workshop taught by Pamela Allen at Fiber on a Whim and Friday night Fiber Art Fusion had a happy hour and lecture with Pamela Allen -- it was absolutely fabulous. I am inspired and anxious to make more work. Fiber on a Whim posted a few pictures on their blog.

I am always talking about the You Tube video called Mom my Ride. I mentioned it again this weekend when Pamela Allen had to carefully tuck her feet around the pile of school supplies on the floor of my van -- and the two passengers in the back seat had to sit on a sheet because the seats were covered with kid crumbs. I pride myself on a relatively neat car, but it happens to the best of us. For a good laugh, this video is worth a look.

And here are a few pictures to go with this post. Here is Sarah on her first day of school.
We went for a hair cut the weekend before school started. Sarah and Sophia both donated their hair to Locks of Love, an organization who provides hair pieces to disadvantaged children who have long term medical hair loss.

And here is lovely Sophia with her beloved Julian. "I'm going to marry Julian someday" says Sophia.

Now back to the studio.

Summer Shoes

2007-07-20T11:07:00.001-04:00

Sarah needed new tennis shoes. And, with only 4 weeks left until school starts I didn't want to buy school shoes yet. The shoes I was looking for would be used for jumping in puddles, playing in the park and wading through streams. Play shoes.

Surely shoes like this could be found at Target or Kmart (I do not shop Walmart). Surprise surprise. The only shoes we found were camoflauge print. So, with the help of a little fabric paint and some rubber stamps we transformed them into peace and love shoes.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

2007-07-16T10:52:00.001-04:00

Every other year the girls have a birthday party. Here in East Cobb I am always shocked and amazed by the amount of money parents spend on birthday parties. Especially for parties for pre-schoolers. I was guilty of having huge parties for my girls when they were small and two years ago it dawned on me that I could never keep up with the expectation I was setting. That is when we decided to have a party every other year, and keep it small.

But before telling you about Sarah's party, I must admit I am not a good shopper. I do not like to shop. I do not like shopping malls. And for Father's Day I actually went to a major department store located at a mall. When we pulled up to the mall Sarah looked out the window and asked: "Is this a Mall? The sign says this is Town Center Mall. Are we at a Mall? Are we mom? Really? Are we?" The girls were so excited to be at an actual shopping mall.

After finding dad a few Father's Day gifts, the girls and I took a tour of the mall. There are many who enjoy the sights and sounds of a shopping mall. Not me. I am overwhelmed by merchandise and background noise and am distracted by the kiosks in the center. All of which is designed to entice you to consume. I am just not interested in this level of consumption. And around the corner and at the end of the main corridor is where Sarah discovered the Build A Bear Workshop. And for her birthday, she asked to go to the Build a Bear Workshop. She invited three friends.

We were the first to arrive and thankfully we arrived before a large party was scheduled. We had the entire store (and employees) to ourselves. The girls picked out their pals, had them stuffed, fluffed and brushed, registered for birth certificates, selected an outfit and we were out the door.

On the 12-hour drive to Ohio a few weeks ago, we gave Sarah an early birthday present -- a CD recording of a story called Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker. In the story, the main character, Stink visits a candy store and buys a jawbreaker which is not all it is promoted to be. His sister, Judy Moody asks him to buy her one piece of penny candy and then goes on to describe the multitude of candies she would like to have. Sarah asked if there was such a thing as a candy store like the one in the story! So after Build A Bear, we went to the Sweet Factory where each girl picked out a couple of pieces of candy.

Then off to the pool for some pizza and swimming and fun.

And the cake? Our favorite Hello Kitty! Easy enough to make, the girls helped. Take a 9 x 13 pan, and bake a cake. Cut the corners off and save for the ears. Shape the remaining piece into an oval, put the triangles on for ears, frost and decorate. I used a Peanut M&M for the nose and cherry shoelace licorice for the whiskers. It was hard to cut into her adorable face.

Summer Vacation

2007-07-16T10:07:00.001-04:00

We packed up the girls for a trip to Atwood Lake in Ohio. Atwood Lake is located in the beautiful rolling hills of Eastern Ohio.

We took a detour through Athens, Ohio and visited the Dairy Barn and Quilt National '07. My favorite quilt was Chinese Characters by Robin Schwalb. This piece really draws you in, and as you get closer you find a message on the background. You have to stand and decipher the message as some of the letters fade in and out. But it is an interesting message and it compels you to spend the time to discover it.

Quilt National will be at the Dairy Barn through September 3, 2007. It was worth every moment of the 12 hours it took us to get there.

After Athens, we headed on to Atwood Lake to see Grandma and Grandpa and their two doggies Hagar and Captain.

The girls had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. Sarah especially enjoys fishing with Grandpa. She caught quite a few fish -- a Catfish, some Blue Gill and a good sized Bass.

Learning to row a boat is an important thing to a 7 year old. By the end of the week Sarah could successfully negotiate the pond. We let her take Sophia and Captain out for a tour.

The weather was glorious. Cool at night and warm during the day. The baby birds were everywhere. Here is a sparrow's nest in a juniper bush.

The girls enjoyed tubing on the lake.

Leaving is always hard. The girls had a great time. The memories of visiting grandparents are the kind that last. I still remember visiting family when I was a child. I can remember the trips to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, and Colonial Williamsburg -- but what I remember is that we went. But the memories I have as a child are ones of the things we did when we visited cousins and aunts and uncles. Digging up worms, catching fireflies, fishing and swimming in the pond. I can actually remember those specific events.

I hope that our girls will fondly look back at this trip to Grandma and Grandpa's and remember playing with the doggies, catching fish, learning to row a boat, tubing, watching fireworks on the lake and roasting marshmallows with their grandparents.

Summer Camp was a huge hit!

2007-06-30T15:58:00.000-04:00

When I arrived at camp to bring Sarah home, she hugged her bunk bed and said: "Nooooo, I'm not ready to go. I want to stay a week!"

The Girl Scouts do an excellent job of keeping their campers busy with fun activities. Sarah went canoing, roasted marshmallows, sang camp songs, hiked and swam. Mixed in between were fun games and crafts.

I suppose I have a year to prepare myself for a week of sleep-over camp.

Sleep-over Camp for the first time.

2007-06-27T19:05:00.001-04:00

Today I delivered my darling eldest daughter to the Girl Scouts for her first ever sleep-over camp. She was nervous and scared -- until she saw the bunk bed assignments and climbed up to where her name was posted. She made her bed, unrolled her sleeping bag, tucked her flashlight under her pillow and turned to me and said:

"You're right Mommy, there's nothing to be scared about."

There were weeks of planning for this summer camp excursion. Making sure the camping list was complete, does she have enough towels, was that enough shampoo? Will she be able to brush the tangles out of her hair? Will the food be okay? Will she be able to sleep without her beloved lullabies?

Ah, but will I be able to sleep?

And then I conjure up the memory of Sarah's words. She's right. There's nothing to be scared about. She'll be okay. She'll have a great time. I'll sleep a bit less without her in the house. I'll be a bit worried. But She will be occupied with swimming, crafts, roasting marshmallows, singing around the campfire and giggling with girlfriends.

Testing Watercolor Media on Fabric

2007-06-22T20:50:00.002-04:00

Our group, Fiber Art Fusion (formerly known as the Contemporary Quilt and Fiber Art Alliance but nobody liked the acronym for our website -- caqa or the formality of the name so we changed it a few months ago) met a few weeks ago. Our workshop was led by an incredible artist named Heidi Miracle-McMahill. She does wonderful work with watercolor crayons and utilizes her art on fabric. We all experimented with watercolor crayons on paper and then on fabric.

I decided to test different methods of using watercolor crayons on fabric and then to test colorfastness.

I gathered my supplies: Twinkling H2O's from LuminArte Inc.. a bottle of Delta Textile Medium and a set of watercolor crayons. I used 100% PFD cotton from Dharma. I mixed 1 Tablespoon of Textile Medium and 1 Cup of water.

WATERCOLOR CRAYON EXPERIMENT:

For my first experiment I colored on dry fabric,
then I used a brush and brushed on the Textile Medium/Water solution.

I let the piece air dry, then ironed for 30 seconds with a hot iron and pressing cloth.
I cut the piece in two and washed one piece in the washing machine in hot water.
You can see the color remained virtually the same. This was the most successful test.

For my second experiment I soaked the fabric in the Textile Medium/Water solution. Then I colored with watercolor crayons.
then I used a brush and brushed on the Textile Medium/Water solution.
I let the piece air dry, then ironed for 30 seconds with a hot iron and pressing cloth.
I cut the piece in two and washed one piece in the washing machine in hot water.
You can see the color almost the same, with the right side fading just slightly.

TWINKLING H2O's EXPERIMENT
Twinkling H2O's are little pots of watercolors which when used on paper give you great color and a lovely glittery shine.

For my first test, I painted the Twinkling H2O's on dry fabric, using the Textile Medium/Water solution as my water. (1 Tablespoon Textile Medium and 1 Cup water.)
I let the piece air dry, then ironed for 30 seconds with a hot iron and pressing cloth.
I cut the piece in two and washed one piece in the washing machine in hot water.
The color faded significantly but the sparkles were remaining. This was the most successful test.

For my second experiment I soaked the fabric in the Textile Medium/Water solution. Then I painted the Twinkling H2O's on using the Textile Medium/Water solution as my water.
I let the piece air dry, then ironed for 30 seconds with a hot iron and pressing cloth.
I cut the piece in two and washed one piece in the washing machine in hot water.
Not only did the color fade, but there seemed to be a total lack of sparkle.

Posting neglect

2007-06-02T10:37:00.000-04:00

I have not posted much these days. I have not been very prolific and feel that I have not had much to post. Then I poked around a few of my favorite blogs and realized that not everyone posts finished works. Art is a process and the process of fiber art can be relatively slow. It is all those little things in between finished work that make a blog interesting and feed the art we make. It's part of what I enjoy reading on other blogs, so I'll add a few of my own.

On the third Tuesday of each month, I meet with a fantastic group of fiber artists at Fiber on a Whim. We are working through the Littlejohn and Beaney books. One exercise was to make a tissue paper picture and then take that picture and make it out of fiber. Here is my finished piece. The beading technique I learned in a class at Fiber on a Whim taught by Larkin Van Horn. I love Fiber on a Whim and will have to dedicate an entire post to this one-of-a-kind place.

Drawing inspiration from other activities. I always am rejuvinated and inspired by children. My husband and I have an hour-long program o children's songs and stories. We performed at our daughter's school for Multi-Cultural Arts Day. 40 kids per set, three sets. It was incredible. Children are so open and available to art and music. It truly is inspiring.

On the same day I performed with my husband, I raced to my youngest daughter's school to hear her perform in a Mother's Day concert. She was wonderful.

My 6 year old daughter wanted to make a gift for her teacher. My friend Sharon and I went to Beads by Design and selected some lovely stone beads for Sarah to use. Here she is intently stringing them.

And proudly displaying her nearly finished necklace.

And finally, I recently tye dyed t-shirts with my 4 and 6 year old daughters and a 7 year old friend. The shirts came out fantastic. My husband is a true supporter!! He opened the fridge the morning after and found these bottles of dye where he usually finds his milk.

And now I will get back to my studio and a small project I am working on in the hopes that I finish in time to submit to my traditional quilt guild's show. If you are in the Atlanta area, mark your calendar for September 14-16 and check out the East Cobb Quilt Guild show. I'll be doing demos for Fiber on a Whim and in general hanging out and helping as much as I can.

Exciting News

2007-05-14T08:11:00.000-04:00

My work appeared in British Patchwork & Quilting!!

I received an email last week from my best friend Sharon. Attached to the email was a picture from the February 2007 edition of British Patchwork and Quilting Magazine. Featured on the page were two quilts -- one was Sharon's quilt "Into the Void" and the other was my quilt "Lost." Accompanying the quilts was text about each piece and Open Hearts, Helping Hands, a juried exhibit curated by Laura Cater-Woods where the works appeared.

For a newbie in the art world, I cannot tell you how thrilling this is. Not only did my work appear in a magazine, it appeared on the page with my best friend's work, and in the same article featuring work by Claire Fenton. What an honor.

Focus on Fiber Retreat

2007-04-26T07:53:00.000-04:00

One week blew by, then another and another. It feels as though I am caught in a whirlwind of activities and events. This morning, before taking my shower and setting out for this day's activities, I am taking a moment to update my blog.

The Focus on Fiber retreat was fantastic. I experienced challenges to working in a group. I anticipated that I might and should have brought a project to complete. I made a small accordian-fold book, dyed and batiked fabric. Next year I will go with a project in hand. It was a challenge to create in a group setting. Perhaps it is the style of my work which makes it less spontaneous. My self-consciousness about my work was the greatest hurdle.

The setting was beautiful, the weather was awesome. It was cold for a few days, mostly sunny and it only rained one day. One of the best parts of the whole trip was the food. I didn't have to prepare a single meal and I didn't have to clean the kitchen.

I met some wonderful women. Pamela Allen was a jewel. Funny, friendly and generously kind to all. The residents of the wet studio (which is where my space was) really clicked. I've been reading Deb Lacativa's blog for more than a year and was thrilled to meet her in person. She rocks. Marlene Glickman had the table next to me and we spent most meals together talking. The creativity flew off her and it was fascinating to watch. Her markings are fabulous.

Sadly, all my pictures are obscured by my lense cover which never fully opened. But Deb Lacativa took some great pictures.

I have already paid my deposit for next year's Focus on Fiber. The chance to get away for a week to work, meet other artists and get a break from my daily routine is invaluable. I returned refreshed, inspired and ready to work. Now to find the time. . .

Countdown to Artist Retreat

2007-03-09T08:10:00.000-05:00

It has been more than a month since I have posted. Where has the time gone? Life has taken over -- the schedule with my girls has been hectic and full. Tae Kwon Do, Talent Show, ballet lessons, homework, birthday parties, etc. There has been little time left over for art.

I have spent the month with my sketch book -- recording ideas, exploring shapes and colors. This has been a valuable exercise in creativity -- in capturing the ideas that come to mind. Many of them are not worth pursuing, but trying them out in the sketchbook is less time consuming and less costly than beginning the exploration in fiber.

In three days Sharon and I head south to the Atlantic Center for the Art s where we will spend a week at an artist retreat -- Focus on Fiber. Here is a link to the architect's website with pictures of the ACA. I am so excited I can hardly sleep. Pamela Allen, Claire Fenton, Rosemary Claus Gray and many other very talented fiber artists will be there.

One question keeps haunting me -- what will I work on? I have a box packed of supplies to dye and batik. I have my sketchbook and the beginnings of a floral landscape. A floral landscape? you ask. Yes -- but how ridiculously safe. I have an idea for a three dimensional piece with political undertones. To be true to myself and to the art I want to make, I should work on the political piece. I ask myself -- what part of me is afraid of being rejected by the other artists because of my subject matter? And why do I care? Do I care?

Isn't art is an isolationist's pursuit? I work alone in my studio. No collaborators -- no critique of the process. This is both comforting and scary. In the vacuum of the studio I can pursue any idea I wish, yet I sometimes wonder if the idea or finished work is any good. Working in a group setting, as we will be doing next week, will be challenging. That journey of idea execution will not be private. It will be viewed by others.

How will that viewing affect my process? That is the ultimate question and I am curious to know the answer. When I return I will post the answer.

Happy Dance!

2007-02-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

I received an email from Thelma Smith yesterday informing me that my piece featuring Dolores Huerta was accepted into the She Made Her Mark Exhibit. I am delighted by the news.

But happy dance? Not really. I had already moved on from the three pieces I submitted. Ready and eager to cash in on the creative surge I experienced while creating them. Yet, I still haven't cleaned my studio, and other than a few attempts at painting this month -- NOTHING. Not one creative idea has popped into my head.

Sharon recently spent two weeks at Callaway Gardens with Littlejohn and Beaney. During the first day Sharon reported that L&B said to spend time with your sketchbook, and not to work out of your head. Sketch your ideas, paint them, and work them out on paper before committing to fiber (or canvas I suppose). If you don't spend time in your sketchbook, and you always work out of your head, eventually you could run out of ideas.

Gasp. Could this have happened to me? Is my mind the proverbial blank slate -- images escaping my capture? That is a frightening proposition.

Luckily I work in a sketchbook, but the pages for January are filled with exercises and techniques. Practice in the arena of realism. A few forced attempts at the abstract. Perhaps I'll resurrect an old idea and put it to fiber. Perhaps that will pull me out of the drab winter doldrums.

Mom, do I have to clean up my room?

2007-01-03T14:21:00.000-05:00

I read Jules post today about her studio. She actually can let her children share it with her. Mine is a total wreck. I've been working since November on three pieces for the She Made Her Mark exhibit (I promise this is the last reference, unless I do a happy dance). Here is the result. My studio is a total disaster area -- I think Sharon calls it "creative chaos." Chaos schmaos, it's a wreck. At one point I was on my hands and knees, under the ironing board (with the iron on) trying to find a piece of fabric. Joel walked in and asked me what in the world I thought I was doing.

Ah, but I made it to Federal Express, the three entries are safely on their way to Thelma Smith, who is curating this exhibit. Did I mention it is the She Made Her Mark exhibit? ;)

Now off to the studio for a little, I mean alot, of cleaning and putting away.

This is the area next to my sewing machine.
I had to use the stepstool to reach stuff that is to the left, on top of my counter.

This would be under my ironing board (see the cord)?
This is where I was caught kneeling and trying to reach fabric.
It was just too much of a hassle to move my ironing board.
I think I had a piece of foam core on top of the ironing board
in order to work on a piece.
All my available table space was used up with supplies.

My fabric corner where I throw fabric after using or auditioning.
I actually enjoy cleaning up this corner because
I discover fabric I don't remember having.

My cutting table. ha ha ha.
I used the kitchen table for the last two pieces.

Where Have I Been?

2006-12-31T23:38:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? I've been working in the studio. For 9 days, my darling husband has watched my two daughters all day, all night, including meals and tantrums, so I could work in the studio. What a fantastic Christmas present.

I have been working on two pieces for She Made Her Mark, a juried exhibit being curated by Thelma Smith. I'm glad to say they are both finished, although I am not allowed to post pictures on my blog -- but if you want to see, you can email me and I'll send you a picture.

Happy New Year! I wish for all of us the same opportunity I had -- to work creatively in a supportive environment.

Surface Design

2006-12-19T19:38:00.000-05:00

When I moved in with my husband (before we married, shhhh don't tell anyone) I promised I would not batik. Now why would I make such a promise? It was his house. He saw my house full of wax pots, vats of dye and mess everywhere. No thanks. So I painted, did assemblage art, made traditional quilts and remodeled a room in his (our) house every time he went on the road. (Really, remodeled. Once I took a sledge hammer and knocked out a ceiling, a wall and pulled up a floor.)

Last month our fiberart bee batiked and I brought a waxpot home. Joel sighed and said "Okay, I'll set you up." And he proceeded to set me up a wax studio in the garage. I have a really nice kitchen counter, cabinets, light and a radio. "Please, no dyeing. It's too messy," was his only request.

This month, our fiberart bee dyed fabric. I forgot my batik piece so I just dyed plain old PFD. I tried to imitate Laura Wazilowski's ArtFabrik which is beautiful. Laura Wazilowski I am not, but I am pleased with this attempt and will try again. The good news. . .
Joel saw the fabric and said. . .

"Okay, where do you want a sink."

Gotta love that husband!

Now I'm off to begin quilting Dolores.

Young Artists-in-training

2006-12-16T18:28:00.000-05:00

Last week we had a passel full of girls playing at our house. I had asked my eldest daughter (6 1/2 years) to play with Barbies, Groovy Girls, Polly Pocket or any of the millions of toys they have -- and NO ART. I just couldn't face a huge cleanup with 4 girls making art and the associated mess.

A while later my daughter came in search of scissors. I asked what she needed them for and she said: "For my art project." I scolded her and reminded her of the request to play with anything, but not to make art.

She replied: "But Mom, all I like to do is art."

That statement blew me away. In the fraction of a second it took my mind to comprehend what she had said, I realized she was right. That is what she likes to do.

So I handed her the scissors and told her to have fun. The mess was huge, but "feeding" that budding artist is important.

Today my daughter asked me about my current piece and how I made it. I showed her, and then she asked if she could make one. Out came my box of fabric scraps (I save everything, as evidenced by the condition of my studio) and she selected a picture as her pattern. She and Sophia worked on their pieces for about an hour and then went outside to play.

Why do I write about this? To remind you to feed your kids art. It is as important as vegetables, fruit and protein.

Now back to the studio.

Here we are looking at Dolores and counting the number of fabrics I used.

Here is Sophia with her Christmas Egg.

Getting Reaquainted with My Janome

2006-12-14T06:09:00.000-05:00

Two More Sweatshirts -- these for Sarah and Sophia.

No reindeer for Sarah -- she picked Santa! She loves Santa!

I realized today, as I finished two more sweatshirts, that it has been a long time since I sewed. I worked on Sally for most of the summer, and that work was done by hand. Another piece, not yet finished was also worked by hand.

As I get ready to begin quilting Dolores, it was a good thing I "wasted" two afternoons making sweatshirts for the girls and their friend. Now Janome and I are reaquainted and ready to work together to finish in time for my January 5 deadline.

Now back to the studio.

I have a Mary Akers original

2006-12-12T21:45:00.000-05:00

"Foo Fee" by Mary Akers

I love art. I have a few original paintings by artists I admire. In November, I landed a Pamela Allen postcard from Virginia Spiegel's FiberArt for a Cause.

Tonight surpasses it all. At our "White Elephant" gift exchange, I was able to steal this from my good friend Sharon (I think she is still my friend). It is a piece by Mary Akers. Mary is an incredible artist and I am proud to have a piece of her work hang in my house!

I met Mary while taking Laura Cater-Woods workshop at Fiber on a Whim. Mary, like myself, found her art completely changed after the workshop. Powerful stuff.

The $72 Dollar Sweatshirt and how to waste an afternoon

2006-12-11T18:17:00.000-05:00

My daughter has a standing playdate with her friend every Monday afternoon. Today, I knew I needed a craft activity to top the one they did at the friend's house last week.

Oh, I know, a little sweatshirt. I'll let them pick the picture and the fabric, I'll fuse and cut, they lay out, they can iron with supervision and I'll sew around the edges.

Only I needed a sweatshirt. And a red one since I was hoping for a Christmas theme. Off to Target, KMart, Big Lots, Kohl's, and Value City. No red sweatshirts. How can this be? It's December for goodness' sake, no red sweatshirts?

I resorted to the last resort, the place I hate most on this planet -- the dreaded Wal-Mart.

$72 later, I had three PINK sweatshirts (even WalMart didn't have red), some leggings for Sarah, a roll of parchment paper, a black turtleneck and a bottle of hand lotion.

Turns out the girls didn't really want to make sweatshirts.
Imagine that -- they just wanted to PLAY.

I can't believe I did it again! It's like being an ex-smoker (which I am). No matter how long you've been off cigarettes, just one puff and POOF you're hooked again. One step inside the doors of WalMart and POOF. . .

A good time for all!

2006-12-09T15:19:00.001-05:00

The WLA at our best!!

Last night a group of friends got together and had a great time! We played in the studio, drank margaritas, enjoyed homemade salsa, carne asadas tacos, and delicious cheese and chocolate fondue.

Sally is going to IQF Houston in 2007

2006-12-06T22:49:00.000-05:00

Sally is going to Houston!

This little guy is very fat and looks like he wants to bite your toe! Watch out!

I just received an email from Ann Flaherty that the Fabled Fibers Challenge quilts are going to be on display at the International Quilt Festival (Houston) in 2007. I made Sally Sells Sea Shells for that challenge, so folks. Sally's going to Houston!!

I guess that means I need to sew a 4" tucked sleeve to the back!

To read more about Sally click here, or here, or the funny story here!

P.S. Or here.

A sneak peek at my latest project

2006-11-30T16:03:00.000-05:00

My very very messy studio. There is a box of acorn tops, half painted, half naked. Left-over supplies from homemade Halloween cards. Yarn and snippets from another one of my brilliant million-dollar ideas, my empty sewing machine tote, and gobs and gobs of leftovers from October and early November projects.
Really as soon as this one is done. . . . . Creative chaos!

Since my life changing weekend with Laura Cater-Woods, I have been working. I have ignored pages and pages of Quiltart.com and the dust on the mantel and the laundry in the upstairs hall, and the mess underfoot in my studio to focus on two projects. And still, there never seems to be enough time to do as much work in the studio as I want. How much time do I want? Unanswerable. Even an hour a day is hard to scrape up between my beautiful girls and my "job" as a volunteer mom at school.

My "job" at school entails writing the weekly communication bulleting and the quarterly PTA newsletter. Doesn't sound like a big job. Especially for someone who has words spilling out of her mouth-er-hands at a rate of 140WPM. But it is the information gathering that is so slow and tedious. If folks would just email their info and keep me from hounding them for it, or guessing what they want to go in it, things would go a lot quicker.

Today my friend Jules posted her finished rag quilt. Jules has four children, including her newborn son, Sam. When Jules was at my house a few weeks ago, we played with hot wax. It was great fun. Here she is batiking away. Her daughter played with my daughter, beautiful Max slept the entire time. Blissful.

So here I am with only two, both in school, no babies suckling at the breast, wondering why I don't have time to finish anything!?! Hmmmmm...... Jules could it have anything to do with communications? ;)

Here's a sneak peak at my more "traditional" piece for the She Made her Mark Exhibit. I have another very "non-traditional" piece I am working on. A new friend gave me the courage to pursue it. However, it will remain under wraps until it is accepted, or rejected.

Who picks your fruit and vegetables?
This is something we should all take into consideration every time we go to the grocery store. This is Dolores Huerta. As a child, I remember never eating grapes because my parents were big supporters of Caesar Chavez and the National Farmworkers Association (now the United Farm Workers Union.) Dolores Huerta played a key role in the Delano Grape Strike of the 1960's and hasgone on to be the leading champion for farm workers in our country. She's an incredible woman and my choice for the She Made Her Mark Exhibit.

THE PICTURE of my piece depicting Dolores was removed in order to qualify to enter the She Made Her Mark challenge. But here's the inspiration picture -- click on it to read more about Dolores and the Dolores Huerta Foundation website.

And now, I have a rare afternoon, when my children are playing at a friend's house, I'm going back to the studio instead of playing on the computer.

You too, scoot.

Post Script: In the picture of my studio, see the roll of wonder under laying right next to the parchment paper? It is. And Wonder Under looks just like parchment paper, especially if you are in the throes of creative excitement. Which I was when I fused a nice large piece of it to the top of Dolores' face! Ugh. Another hazard of a messy studio!

A life changing weekend with Laura Cater-Woods

2006-11-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

Thursday night I heard Laura Cater-Woods speak to the Contemporary Quilt and Fiber Arts Alliance. Friday and Saturday was in her workshop Tempting the Muse at the studio of Fiber on a Whim. Today I am floating a little closer to the ground, close enough to try and post something about this experience.

Tempting the Muse was like intensive therapy. Laura’s piece "Peeling the Onion" would be perfect to grace the cover of a marketing brochure for this workshop. She peeled us. Along the way, we cried, we discovered, we created and we celebrated.

I don't know if all of her workshops are like this. Most of the participants in our group knew one another, we were connected, and we knew we could trust one another. By the end of the workshop, the entire group shared an intimacy and connection that will continue beyond this weekend. I have written and rewritten this post many times trying to capture the magic of the weekend. Yet no matter how hard I try, it eludes me. In our cohesive group, it was personal and raw. Perhaps it is just too personal to share. It was magic.

The experience was life changing for me and I suspect it will have significant impact on the work I produce. It already has. My morning journal was filled with more images and less words the past few days. My senses are more tuned in to the world around me. I feel peeled and exposed. This peeled feeling is nice. It is raw, it is vulnerable, it is scary, but it is real.

Batik with the Bee

2006-11-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

Finished piece and close up.

Friday the FiberArt Bee met at the studio of Fiber on a Whim. We played with hot wax. It was fun.

My primary form of fiber art back in the 70's was batik. I used to batik and dye in the basement of our house. The street was stained with a rainbow where I poured the dye out (of course I would NEVER do that now, but I was young and didn't think about the environmental impact).

It has been more than 20 years since I have picked up a tjanting. I had forgotten how satisfying it is to paint fabric with hot wax. Sharon was a true sport and brought me a pot of good old-fashioned beeswax and paraffin.

I batiked a piece of black fabric, came home and discharge dyed it, gave it a good soak in anti-chlor and then ironed it.

My husband will be hard at work this weekend setting me up a wax studio in the garage. Now I'm off to Dharma to order tjantings and wax.

After discharging and a soak in Anti-Chlor.

What have you been working on?

2006-11-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite questions on Quiltart.com. I love to read the responses of the members as they relate their current experiments and projects.

As the mother of two children under 7, I've been working on Halloween. The girls love Halloween, and Sophia pretty quickly decided to be a cheerleader. Sarah was a little bit more indecisive. First she wanted to be a robot -- a costume Joel and I happily embraced and were excited to make. She drew up the plans, decided the colors, helped to pick the electronic components -- it was going to be fantastic. Then the next day she decided she wanted to be a princess, a pretty pink princess. Then a doctor, a monster, a ghost and finally a hula girl. Yes, a hula girl with a leigh and grass skirt. She was adorable.

This is most of the gang of trick or treaters.
Two more caught up with us a few minutes
after this picture was taken.

Creepy Halloween Cupcakes were required for two parties.

The week before Halloween, and Halloween week, I stayed focused on a project I"m working on for our school's PTA -- Reflections. Reflections is a fine arts program where students submit their entries for literature, photography, video/film and visual arts. This project was FANTASTIC.

I know I am a bit overanalytical about my work. Putting it down on paper is easy, but taking it to the final medium of fiber is always a bit daunting. Perhaps it is the expense of the medium, or the commitment of time to complete the piece. I never had this hesitation when I painted or collaged.

But back to Reflections. . . it is easy to see when a child suddenly becomes very interested in the finished product. About third grade. The entries from Kindergarten and First and Second grades were so free and colorful and BIG. Those kids filled up each and every page. And if stuff was available to glue on, well they used the supplies with abandon.

Then came the third grade entries which show the artists have become very careful about their work. They started in pencil, you can see the erasure marks, the hesitation and (okay I'm projecting here) the worry that it might not be "right." That continues in fourth and fifth grade, although the realism is better.

The winning entry for Fifth grade visual arts looks very much like the winning entry from First Grade. It is colorful, BIG and FREE. It is fantastic.

And hopefully I'll take some of that artists' permission-to-self to be free and let loose. To not worry about things looking exactly as I think they should and let the fabric take control every once in a while.

Boo!
Go back to work!

More fun! Silk Fusion

2006-10-23T08:34:00.000-04:00

Silk Fusion Heart

It started with a simple question: "Want to meet me for a cup of coffee?" Sure, I replied, but only a quick one, I have tons of stuff I have to do (stuff=work for the family, errands, dry cleaning to pick up, bank deposits, oil change, etc.)

2 1/2 hours later, I'm running out the door trying to make it to preschool on time to pick up little bits.

But what a fun couple of hours, spent with Jan, Kristin and Sharon as we played with felting and silk fusion.

Time Flies when you're having fun!

2006-10-13T09:51:00.000-04:00

I joined the Fast Friday Fabric challenge, a spin-off from Quiltart.com the first challenge was issued a few weeks ago. On a Friday morning the challenge is issued and participants have a week to finish their quilts.

September's challenge was Fall Colors with a 3-d element. Scores of ideas came to mind, but I settled on this one.

Harvest Moons

I love to free-form-cut fabric. This fabric is ArtFabrik that my mom bought me for my birthday last year. (Thanks Mom, it is gorgeous). I tightly quilted the piece, leaving half moon shapes as contrast. The moons are appliqued. I am going to take them off, make them slightly larger and re-do my edge stitching which was done at 3:00 am so I think it's a bit sloppy. My 3-D element? The moons, the stitching, hey come on, quilting makes fabric 3-d!

Harvest Moons - close up

Like Illustration Friday, Self Portrait Tuesday, Photo Friday and other creative challenges in cyber-space, the FastFriday Fabric Challenge is a great way to stretch your creative mind, execute a project on a small scale, and under the pressure of a looming deadline. What the deadline does for me is it pushes me to finish, and not continuously alter, "correct" or completely change my concept halfway through!

Don't let life get in the way of creating. That's hard to do especially if you have children, a job, a husband, a dog, or a cat! And certainly if you have a blog! Bye, gotta go make some art.

Postcards for Virginia Spiegel

2006-09-25T18:00:00.000-04:00

I love making postcards. It's fun, fast and rewarding. This project has raised a bit of money for the American Cancer Society. It has also brought the medium of fabric to many who may not have ventured into the world of art quilts without this small format! Kudos to Virginia Spiegel for all her hard work on this project.

If you don't get to Houston in time to get a real Pamela Allen postcard, maybe this Pamela Allen Icon card will do!

"Oh, now don't you take my picture!" Guess who!

Cave Mama

Full Frontal

From the rear.

And because the theme for Houston is World of Beauty, so I made some flowers.

Hey! Where have you been?

2006-09-18T07:52:00.000-04:00

On Monday 9/4, I sent the girls off to school, sat down in the studio and worked on postcards for Virginia Spiegel's FiberArt for a Cause.

On Tuesday, an independent utility auditor knocked on the door to tell me I had a pretty significant gas leak at the meter -- of course it was on MY side of the meter. He recommended we get it fixed ASAP.

About 1/2 hour later, there was an explosion that rocked the house! Nope, not the gas meter, the water main!

The explosion was so powerful, it blew chunks of asphalt the size of dinner plates halfway down the street. This picture was taken about 10 minutes after the blast. For the first 5 minutes the water was shooting twenty feet into the air!

The water department responded pretty quickly to get the leak under control. Thankfully it was on THEIR side. The yard is pretty trashed, and it will take them about 12 weeks until someone comes out to fix the street and lay some sod.

The rest of the week was spent on the phone. Talking to plumbers and my home warranty provider to see if a portion of the gas leak problem would be covered, and to actually get a plumber to come. Several promised to come, and never showed up. One finally came late Friday afternoon, demolished a wall in my husband's studio and then said: "This is beyond my skill. I think I need the boss to come work on this" and then he went home.

On Monday, 9/11 the plumber returned at about 4:30 pm and began to work on the gas line. At 9:45 pm he finally finished, cleaned up and went home.

Tuesday I visited the Blue Frog Gallery with Sharon. They have a Tuesday morning gathering of local artists. We all sat at the gallery and worked on our stuff. It was awesome. Several jewelry artists were there. A lady came who makes incredible lampwork beads. Sharon was working on a beautiful bracelet. Another lady came with canvas, paints and brushes. I sat and worked on Sally Sells Sea Shells. Someone asked me: "How much will you sell that for?" I just laughed and said "not for a million dollars. I've been working on this thing so long I could never charge enough." In their eyes, I think that firmly put me into the category of hobbyist.

On the way back to my house, the phone rang and Joel was calling. Sarah was sick and had to be picked up from school. I guess I didn't hear the phone while in the gallery.

For the next 3 days I tried to keep Sarah comfortable and entertained, yet productive. I didn't realize how much I missed her happy disposition, cheerful birdsong chatter and witnessing her unending creativity. The teacher now gets most of that, and what comes home after a day at school is, well, a different child. I enjoyed each and every minute with her and am sad [for me] that she will be going back to school tomorrow.

Deadlines loomed. I stayed up all night Friday night quilting a quilt for my church group which was due to be completed Saturday. At 5:20 am I still had two sections to go, but had to go to sleep. I went to the quilt meeting at 9:30 only to be told it really had to be done by October 22! Yikes.

Even though I'm not superstitious, I kept waiting for the THIRD thing to happen. First the water main, then the gas line. . . what next? Ah, the computer. In the midst of all this, my computer crashed. I never realized how dependent I am on the computer. I told my husband the other day: "Dear, I can sew with a needle and a thread, so if my sewing machine breaks I'll survive. But this, [computer crash] is unendurable. I feel like I am lost at sea."

How does any of this relate to art? It doesn't really, except this is life. The best laid plans to accomplish much are often interrupted by urgent life events that must have your attention. And by the elimination of something that calls to you too loudly (like the computer and email), other things start to happen. Without convenience of my computer, I spent more time in my studio. I was more productive and focused than I have been in a few months. Oh, maybe it is that time of year when after a summer of directionless children we regain our focus.

But as the weeks pass, I miss my computer less and less. I can use the computer in my husband's studio. It's not as convenient or accessible, but it is there and I have to really plan a time to sit down at it! Now back to my own studio.

Postcards for Virginia Spiegel Fiberart for a Cause

2006-09-03T14:06:00.000-04:00

Gotcha! Ha!

Yesterday the Contemporary Quilt and Fiber Arts Alliance and Fiber on a Whim hosted a postcard making party at the studio of Fiber on a Whim. We had a great time sharing techniques, talking and sewing. Many had already made postcards and came to make even more. Thus far our count to go to Virginia Spiegel is 67. We're keeping our box until September 21 and will ship it via Federal Express. If anyone wants to bring postcards by Fiber on a Whim, we'll add them to the box and pay your shipping! Deadline is September 20.

I spent most of my day gabbing and giggling. The only thing I accomplished was finishing one of my derieres and coming up with this little lady. She needs eyeballs! I've had the breast fabric for a while. I bought it at a local quilt show, it was bundled with two other fabrics I didn't want, but I had to have it!

One of our members is the regional Janome representative. I have a Janome 6500 my mom gave me for a combo Birthday/Christmas present TWO years ago. After spending the day sitting next to Karen, I realized I had been given a big rig truck, but I only have a learner's permit! Man, the things this machine can do that I never knew. So I took out the M foot and did a little bit of satin edge stitching on this piece. Beautiful!

A color altered macro shot of a coneflower head. Printed on fabric. I thinkI'll bead each little "head."

I marvel at the work of several of our members. Unfortunately I was so busy running around I didn't take very many pictures. . . . but more pictures will follow in the next few days as I ask members to email me some shots!

Here is Heidi Miracle-McMahill with her incredible illustrations.

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

2006-08-29T21:33:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-26T16:22:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-12T08:26:00.000-04:00

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.