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My book reviewed in MQU!

Friday, December 29th, 2017

What with the holidays, I hadn’t had time to sit down and savor the January/February issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine yet.  Then a copy arrived today in the mail in an envelope–which usually means it is a complementary copy because you’re in a magazine.  So I went looking: SQUEEE!  Diane Rusin Doran reviewed several books, including my book of the quilts featured in the Rising Stars Exhibit in Houston (and will also be at International Quilt Festival in Chicago) and other work to illustrate my development as an artist.  To order The Art of Sarah Ann Smith…so far go to my store page and follow the link to Blurb or go directly to Blurb.  If you’d like an autograph, the books are print-on-demand and ship directly to you, so if you send me a SASE (email me via my contact page to get my snail mail address) I’ll send you a personalized, autographed label and sticker to put in your book.

What a delightful way to close out 2017–a lovely review (and the first of the bunch reviewed) in the Jan-Feb 2018 issue of MQU.  You’ll have to check the issue to read the entire review and see the other great books mentioned.  You can order individual issues and subscribe here, and MQU is also available at Barnes & Noble (yeah!).  

 

Thank you Diane and MQU for the shout out and great review.  It is always a privilege to be included in MQU!  I hope folks will now have time to sit and savor some inspiration and tips as winter sets in–at least today in Maine we got above zero–crazy cold even for Maine!

This is the issue with the review and lots of other eye candy.

The two page spread with reviews blurred–to respect MQU’s copyright. Please find a copy of the magazine (including at Barnes and Noble!).

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Winter in Maine

Wednesday, December 20th, 2017

So as the frenetic 2017 winds down to a close, I thought I’d share some photographic inspiration from a recent dog walkies.  I’ve been largely absent from my blog, mostly because I’ve (a) been too busy and (b) been posting on Facebook, which is faster and easier than the blog.   But I figured I need to do at least a little bit of blogging.  Maybe I’ll ease in with a post a month, and see if I can get it up to two a month by spring?   Anyway, please enjoy the beauty of my world!

Let’s start with one of the most seasonal images. I love the shallow depth of focus. For non-photographers, that means adjusting the aperture, how far the lens opens, so that the berries are sharp and the woods are not.

A fence near the pond where I take sunset pictures during warmer times of the year. Sunset is now about 4 pm, so I don’t get over there at that time of day.

Selected for my photo challenge–this week’s theme was round. Mother Nature’s ornaments! Round is more than a circle or a ball. The apples, the tree trunk, the seasons going ‘round…. not to mention my obsession with lichen spreading out. Minor adjustments to clarity, shadows and red hue saturation to get it to look like the eye sees it.

My obsession with lichens continues… look at these subtle colors and textures and intricate shapes!

Another view of the berries. This run-off creek(shrouded in snow, trust me, there’s a creek under there) is at the back of our property if you were to walk up it a quarter mile or so into the woods. There it is flat and almost not there, but it picks up water from the two folds of the hill that border it on the way down to the road.

My friend Jenny Lyon loves grasses and has made some stunning art quilts of them. I think I’ve been channeling Jenny a bit, especially with the next photo. My friend Jacquie has teased me that I am doing a series of art quilts on weeds. She’s right–I love the wild bits of nature that creep into my world.

This photo is the one that most makes me think of Jenny’s work and her beautiful California garden (seen only in photos as we live about 2800 miles apart). This clump was transplanted when we built the garage because it was where they needed to trench for electricity. It has limped along since 2012, but finally this year is showing signs of perking up. Plus, just this year I finally learned what it is called (and it is written SOMEwhere…hope I can find it), so I plant to put in more. The fluffy tops cast the most glorious shadows on the snow when it is next to the porch and lit up at night.

Not the most riveting shot, but it is the beauty of my world as I see it from the house–at this angle I’d be in the kitchen at the sink though this was taken outside as immense snowflakes began to drift down.

And another scenic shot of a barn down on the street, about a half mile walking, perhaps 2/10 as the crow flies over the woods and neighbor’s lots. Appleton Ridge is in the distance, barely visible as the snow moves in.

Enjoy the season. Tomorrow is Solstice, when the sun begins to return and the days lengthen.  We will light candles to celebrate the return and look forward to a family weekend together!

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Where to find me at Quilt Festival Houston 2017

Thursday, November 2nd, 2017

At the entrance to the Rising Stars exhibit. My work isn’t on the left, Karolyn Blue Lorenz is on the right. Come visit!

The fun has begun with Preview night yesterday.  I will be Doing gallery tours and more.  When I’m not doing what is on this schedule, I will be at the exhibit most of the time but seeing the show some of the time.  Swing by and say hi, take a look at my book of the exhibit ( on sale, link on my website Store page, ships direct from Blurb).  I will also do a Facebook live event at 8:30 or so Houston time, which is 9:30 a.m. East Coast US time!

At RISING STARS

Gallery tours:

10:30 Thursday and Sunday
1:00 Thursday, Friday, Saturday
6:00 Thursday, Friday, Saturday

 

SCHEDULE

Thursday:

9:30 Save Our Stories Quilt Alliance interview

10:30 Gallery Talk

1 Gallery Talk

4 pm ? Bernina booth Q20 meet up

6 Gallery Talk

Friday:

9 Lecture-Katrina Walker, Cotton Chic! (garments in Q cotton)
10-12 Open Studios–Machine Quilting: Work Smarter, Not Harder
1 Gallery Talk
3 Lecture-Deborah Boschert Art Quilt
4 Gilbert Muniz, Wearable Art
6: Gallery Talk

7:30 dinner@8

Saturday:

9 Lecture-Martha Sielman, top 10 trends in art quilting
11:30-Noon Meet the Teacher
1 and Gallery Talk
2 pm ? Bernina booth Q20 meet up
2 Lecture-Deirdre McElroy, the Tifaifai Way
6 Gallery Talk

Sunday:

10:30 Gallery talk

4 Pack up quilts

First visitors Wednesday evening Preview night

On the right, She persisted in her quest to reac h the shore and sing the anthem of the sea, in the judged show

 

Rising Stars exhibit and more in Quilt Festival/Quilt Scene mag!

Wednesday, October 25th, 2017

Squee! Not only an article on the Rising Stars exhibit, but right at the front of the magazine! Thank you so much Cate Prato for writing the article and Vivika Hansen DeNegre for running it!  There’s a couple more pages of interview with both of us.

WOW…what a delightful surprise!  I knew I’d have a short 1-page article on “going pro” in Quilt Scene magazine.  I had forgotten the interview–THANK YOU Cate–with Cate Prato about the Rising Stars exhibit, which is on p. 15, right up front, and then to have Widgeon featured in the Special Exhibits section of photos, too…wow!

Can’t believe the contents, so delighted to share the pages with so many people whose work I admire. Can’t wait to see it “in the real” at Festival!

My quickie article with ten tips from the years I’ve worked in the industry on how YOU can make your dream come true, too.

Karlyn Bue Lorenz is the other Rising Star artist; her work is bold and colorful and abstract mostly, on left page. And of course that is our beloved Pigwidgeon on the right.

Come see me at Festival–I’ll be at my exhibit more often than not and will do gallery tours 2 or 3 times a day (schedule will be posted at the exhibit), will be doing a Meet the Teacher panel discussion, and two Open Studios demos.   See you there!

If you’d like to order my book, The Art of Sarah Ann Smith, you can do so with the hotlink on my store page or using this hotlink.  The book is way more than an exhibit catalog:  it includes all 24 works in the exhibit, plus 20 more, a bit about my life including photos of me as a wee kid, a senior in high school and a not-as-old-as-I-am-now mom, and some how-to tips and hints.

Back and front cover of my  book, a companion to the exhibit but a lot more. Available at http://www.blurb.com/b/8193077-the-art-of-sarah-ann-smith

 

Rising Stars article from Quilt Festival

Tuesday, September 26th, 2017

What a concept–two blogposts in a week!    See the previous post for my new book, The Art of Sarah Ann Smith (or go to the Blurb store page to order here).

Did you know that you can get a free e-zine, a digital mini magazine, from Quilts Inc (the folks that bring you International Quilt Festival) called Friends@Festival? Click on the link in the photo at the end of this post to subscribe. This issue, I am delighted to share, there is an article on the Rising Stars exhibit and Karlyn But Lorenz and me. Karlyn isn’t on FB and doesn’t have a website, so I was delighted to see more of her work and learn more about her. Check out the article linked here for an interview with each of us!

Here’s just a quick tease, the start of the interview with me. I am just so blown away that this is truly happening!

Here’s what the e-zine looks like when it arrives in your inbox:

Friend@Festival e-zine. To subscribe, go here.

Once again, THANK YOU to everyone at Quilts Inc, for the incredible gift the International Quilt Association (non profit) and Quilts Inc (company) have give to the world to promote quilting over the past four-plus decades.

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