WOW… I actually made an art quilt, and I can share it!   I had thought that the quilt must be kept secret until those juried in were announced, but apparently I was seriously wrong.  So I can SHARE!   Once again this year Jamie Fingal and Leslie Tucker Jenison are jurying and curating a show that will debut at the IQA show in Long  Beach, then hopefully head on to Houston and beyond.  The theme this year is “The Space Between.”

This is a detail of my face:

I knew what I wanted to do in a quilt, but wasn’t sure how it could fit the theme.  In chatting with Leslie by e-mail, she recognized that *I* was in the space between, the sandwiched generation handling the needs of both children and aging parent, not to mention spouse, work, family and all that.  I am indeed the one caught.

Presto!  I would finally get to make a quilt that has been in my head for four years:  a (discreet) nearly-nude self-portrait using no skin tones–I am clothes quite literally with color.  Like artists in the days of old, I find that I am my own least expensive and readily available model, so I ended up as the subject because I wanted to do another portrait, following the ones I had done of our pug:

and our older son:

I’ve been learning and experimenting with value (light-medium-dark), and used the pug (a 12×12 inch quiltlet) as a practice for the quilt of Joshua.  However, I wasn’t sure Joshua would like having pink, pale yellow, peach, mint green, baby blue or lilac skin.  SO….I opted for realisting skin tones and played with value in the color of his clothing, guitar and room furnishings.

When it came to me, I could do whatever I wanted, so I did.  Skin is pink, orange, plum, green, blue.  Hair is plum, peach, rust, dark green……in another post I’ll share the in progress photos.

Keep your fingers crossed…I hope it gets juried in to the exhibit again this year.

Last year I was the lucky recipient of a $50 scholarship from Coastal Quilters to take a class; they can be in person or online, and must somehow relate to your quilting.  If one wanted to take a class in photoshop, for example, to learn about manipulating photos and printing them on fabric, that would qualify!  Well, I had signed up for two online classes:  lino-cutting and the workhorse sketchbook/journal.   I used my scholarship to defray part of the $60 fee for each of the classes.  In return, scholarship recipients share what they learn with the group.  We don’t give away the teacher’s entire class, but share enough to whet the appetite to learn  more, I hope!

I did a fairly long program about lino-cutting, including explaining the tools, the materials, where to order them (you can buy some at the local art supply store which is awesome, but the linoleum I prefer we have to order from away).

My cutting board/jig, with a new block in progress and the carving tools. Of course I had to buy the pretty bright colorful ones!

I got the idea for this block while working on my ornament gifts for my Frayed Edges friends this past Christmas.  I realized there was NO way I was going to carve the block, print the fabrics, and make ornaments in time, so I set aside the idea for future reference.  But I did decide to work on the design and make the block as a demo of the process for Coastal Quilters.

I went to some of my reference books and Google Images for pictures of reindeer.  I ended up with a composite image of a caribou resting:

I liked the arched-top shape for an ornament; I think I can make these similar to a fabric postcard using Peltex as the stiffener inside.

To make carving the block easier and make the block more versatile, I chose to use a 6 inch square of linoleum carved on point:

The recumbent stag is carved, as is the sky, but not the ground

Originally I thought I’d carve some rocks in the ground, but eventually decided that grass was a better choice.

Nearly all carved...I saved some of the grass so I could actually finish the carving during the presentation

I made the first test-prints during the demonstration.  As you can see, the first print came out OK, but a bit light (on the left).  Figuring out how much ink is enough without getting goopy is a trial and error effort.  You just have to accept that you may have a few duds.  I added more ink (think consistency of toothpaste) and got the second, better print (on the right).

first and second prints, done on a pale gray (think snowy) batik

Here’s a close-up version of the stag/caribou.  I can leave these prints as is or cut them down into the curved-top shape from the original sketch:

The better of the two prints

I pretty happy with this one, tho I didn’t get the lines on the face quite right.  Hope you’ve enjoyed the process, cheers, Sarah

So what was I doing, before the packing cyclone hit my studio?

I decided that if I didn’t make this piece right away, which is due for a juried invitational in mid-March, I would (a) explode with frustration and (b) it would  not get made.  The closing date for buying our new house is February 9th.  We are packing up pretty much EVERYTHING ourselves, so that is several weeks of work with all the c-r-a-junk (as my dear old Dad used to say) that is in this house.  The basement is downright SCARY. So I needed to move quickly, fuse-applique and quilt, or the piece wouldn’t get done before I absolutely HAD to start packing.

Since I am not allowed to share the finished piece, I thought I’d show you the drawing, blurred in the middle.  The finished quilt will be 36 inches wide by 48 inches tall, pretty good sized, with the theme The Spaces Between.  An e-mail conversation with one of the curators, in which she said “YOU are the one in between” (as in caught between the demands of being a daughter (mom has dementia so I do all her billpaying etc), a mom (obvious), wife, quilter, teacher, etc….).  BINGO!  Picture in my head instantaneously….

I decided to use only “color”—no beige, brown, black or white in this entire quilt.  I had, this past summer, had a seriously wonderful visa accident at Batiks Etcetera and Sew What Fabrics in Wytheville, Virginia.  They have awesome customer service–I first ran into them when teaching at Paducah in 2008.  If you want yardage of something in their boxes of half-yard or fat-quarter cuts, they take that sample back to the store and within 24 hours I think of returning from a show, the orders are starting to be shipped.   They have an entire room  packed three shelves high which means they have a good range of the hardest to find batiks, the light lights and deep darks.  So I spent nearly half a day’s wages there filling big  gaps in my stash.  I have never spent that much money on fabric in one go ever, but it was worth it.  They also…yeah!….(I am not responsible for Visa moments that you might have….) are online at www.batiks.com (easy to remember, eh?).

So I raided my supplemented stash and came up with this for the quilt:

lights/warms on the right, darks/cools and a few others on the left

Here’s another shot:

Aren't those gorgeous? And see all those pale-pales at the top--those came from Batiks Etcetera

And the to-be-used-later batiks in the darks:

Yummmm.....

I ended up not using as many of these as I anticipated.  The background changed from busy to simple because the focal point of the quilt kind of insisted on it…

It was fun playing with all that color in mid-winter!

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to bring to your attention the Art from the Heart site, which was created by three ladies, two of whom I know thanks to the wonders of the internet (Anne H-L and Linda M)  in response to the shootings in Tucson.  I’m submitting this piece:

Earth and Turquoise--I think of this as the creator's hands releasing the world into existence, cradling and caring for our planet

Here’s the prospectus information:

Art From the HeART: Healing Hatred in America

An Online Exhibit to Counter Hatred in the United States

In Memory of: Lives lost and changed forever at 10:11 AM on January 8, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona.

Who: Any artist who wishes to express his/herself about the growing problem of hatred, hate speech, discrimination, prejudice, and political vitriol in the United States. Any artist who wishes to express his/herself about the need for peace and nonviolence from our neighborhoods to the planet.

What: an online exhibit, complete with process descriptions, of art designed to bring attention to the growing problems of hatred and violence in the United States, as well as the need for peace and nonviolence on the planet.

When: starting as soon as possible and continuing until such time as violence and hatred are no longer problems within the United States.

Organizers: Linda Moran, digital and fiber artist, Tucson, AZ; S. L. Drury, digital and fiber artist, Sedona, AZ; Anne Huskey-Lockard, mixed media artist, Peru, Indiana.

Art: 8 by 10 inches to 9 by 12 inches work of art depicting some abstract or realistic image of the growing problem of hatred in the United States or the personal reaction to events caused by hatred and discrimination in this country.  (Note from Sarah:  apparently size is just suggested; they are accepting my piece even though it is considerably larger…the quilt is about 23×24 inches plus stick and stones and feathers and dangly bits.) These works of art can be paper, fiber of any kind, oil, photography, weaving, water color, mixed media or digital images. The purpose of every piece MUST BE to shine a light on the growing issue of hatred in America and/or promote a message of peace and nonviolence. Work that is larger or smaller than the indicated sizes will certainly be considered but may not fit the online needs. At this time sculpture or other three-dimensional objects will not be considered.

Submissions: jpgs (one full image and one or two close-ups) at 72 – 100 dpi shall be sent to submissions@artfromtheheart.org along with a written description of why this image addresses the issue. Additional consideration given to personal stories behind the art. Please include media type, materials used, and size of work in description.

Jurying: once the jpg of artwork is submitted, along with the written description/essay of the work, artists will be notified of their acceptance within two weeks. Artists retain all rights to their images. Artists will be allowed a link to their personal blogs or websites, but this is not a venue for marketing or selling work. With acceptance of their piece/s, artists commit to spreading a peaceful, nonviolent message.

Hi all…just ducking in to wish you all a blessed and peaceful new year filled with joy and creativity!

Made using Susan Brubaker Knapp's pattern in Quilting Arts Gifts 2010-2011 issue

This past week we became tenants…yes, we sold our house!  It was on the market for an unbelievable twelve days before we had an offer!  That good news has led to a bunch of difficulty, however, with the owner of the house on which we had already made an offer (the only reason we listed our house was to purchase the one we had just seen).  Let’s just say things are turbulent, so please send good wishes for the desired outcome!  We are renting back for the rest of this month, but at the moment we don’t know where we’ll be living in six weeks!!!! EEEK!Let’s just say things are tense…..

That, of course, has seriously stymied creativity.  That and the fact that I should be packing and cleaning out in preparation for our move!

The photo above, by the way, I’ll blog about more…. I had a pattern included in the Quilting Arts Gifts issue for this year (2010-2011), my fabric frames.  My favorite other pattern in the issue is my friend Susan Brubaker Knapp‘s beautiful mistletoe.  Since I didn’t have the embroidery floss or wool balls I had to improvise, but I love the way these turned out.  I made them as gifts for my Frayed Edges friends, so will blog about our Frayed Edges meeting soon and also the making of the mistletoe.

Now it’s time for dinner, so I’ll sign off and wish you all a Happy new year!