Edelbert (detail). Full photo below. (c) SarahAnnSmith.com

What a concept… I actually made a small quilt!  And of course prepped more new samples for demos in my classes, starting with Quilt Festival in Houston this fall, so thought I’d share with you.  I’m in a small online fabric postcard swap group, Postmark’d Art.  One of the themes I signed up to do this round was Birds.  Of course I was stumped…way too many choices!  At first I was going to do birds from the trip to Florida.  Then our local wild turkeys.  Then I hit on it:  the saw-whet owl!  There was this adorable ad in the Nature Conservancy magazine with an owl in a little straw hat.  Presto!

Owls ready to wing their way to their new homes with members of Postmark’d Art.  (c) SarahAnnSmith.com

Then I wanted to donate one of these cards to Pokey Bolton’s fundraising effort to benefit the Houston area animal shelters… she’s only lived in Houton since the start of this year and has already rescued three critters (permanently adopting one of them).  She had a great idea to sell fabric postcards at Festival for $20 each, all proceeds to go to the local shelters.  So of course I wanted to help… she’s even (what a thrill!) included both of my cards on her blogposts including here.  Read more about it and see some of the fun cards that have arrived here.  I hope I’m not so buy in class that I miss the chance to swing by the postcard zone when Festival opens!  But my cards were too close to the ad, so I wanted to change it up a bit.  Since I live in Maine, what else would do but an Elmer Fudd hat??? Here are my two donations:

Donated to the Pet Postcard / Animal Shelter Fundraiser…visit Pokey Bolton’s blog for more information!

HE was so cute, I had to make a small quilt.  My local quilt chapter, the Coastal Quilters, is part of Maine’s Pine Tree Quilt Guild.  As part of our 2013 challenge, we are making somewhere between one and nine 13×13 inch square quilts using one of nine themes announced between fall of 2011 and April 2013.  We’ll display our challenge quilts at the 2013 Maine Quilts Show.  Well, I am SERIOUSLY behind.  I did the first one, then got sidetracked by life.  So, here is my “Eyes” challenge quilt, because after all what are owls all about if n ot their eyes?

Edelbert in a bit of a snowy wind

I LOVE this guy!  His name is Edelbert.  You can call him Eddie or Bert, but I think we prefer Bert.  Clearly he has a sense of humor and is a fun soul to have around.  I’ll share the class samples once I’ve debuted them in Houston…stay tuned!  Think white eggs on white background!

Copper tendrils hold the watch face onto my sketchbook cover.

Oh what FUN!  For a number of years now I have been inspired by New Zealander Claire Prebble’s wirework in her art-to-wear costumes (her website is here), and have wanted to mess around with wire.  Then last summer I took the first of three online classes with Jane LaFazio.  In one of them, I “met” Janice Berkebile and several other wonderful women.  After the second of the classes with Jane, we decided to set up our own sketching group online (we are globally dispersed from the San Francisco Bay area to northern California to near Seattle, Ontario Canada, Vermont and Maine and in the UK).  One day, Janice quietly said “Oh… my first book is just published.”  SAY WHAT?!!!!!!!   Here it is, and it is wonderful:

Available at Amazon.com

If you’d like to see Janice, click here and for the home page to their website, click here.

Well, I’m nowhere near starting on anything as awesomely intricate as Claire Prebble’s work, or even one of the simpler projects in the book, but I sure had a grand start today.  See several years ago, my Frayed Edges art quilt mini-group friends and I decided to do a journal-cover swap.   I got the lovely one made by Kate Cutko (queen of recycled and all things “green”…her blog is here) which has discharged and also rust-dyed fabric.  When she gave it to me, she told me she had wanted to find a watch face to sew to the cover.  Well, that year at Quilt Festival/Houston I found just the one!

After several years of use, the monofilament thread which I had used to attach the watch face had  broken, so I wanted to re-apply the watch face to the journal more securely.  At first I was going to sew beads to set it the way you would use seed beads to couch a cabochon (big flat stone/bead) to something.  Ugh. Hard.  Then I had a brainstorm–WIRE!   So this morning I started to play.

My work table this morning with hammers, pliers, cutters, wire (copper), more wire, and Janice’s book open to the appropriate page.

At first I was thinking of making a network of wire underneath with curlicues that extended to the front and intertwined with a circle of copper (since I bought that because it isn’t as expensive as silver!) on the top.  Then I thought…why a second circle on top?  How about “prongs” that wrap to the front and have them hold it?   SO….I made it!

Janice and Tracy’s book is great because it tells you what tools you need, which are nice-but-optional (especially when starting the cost of tools can be a bit frightening!).  I bought a larger bench block than you recommended (only slightly) in the book because I want  to eventually work on some larger pieces that may well include shapes cut from sheet metal…. They give all sorts of hints and tips, and have TONS of step-by-step pictures so you can follow along on your own.

Journal, with watch face attached with way more fun and creativity this time!

The tendrils that wrap to the front grip the watch face securely.  I sewed the copper “whatchamacallit” to the cover, then tucked the watch face into it, and pinched the tendrils down.

And then for fun I tried to make a spiral…while standing up and rushing.  Not the best, but at least it is a start!

Not quite round, but at least it is a tight spiral with a hanging loop!

So now I have their book back by my spot on the sofa and tonight will pore over it to see what I can adapt to use some beautiful beads made by ANOTHER internet friend that I got to meet in the real 4 years ago in Paducah (Caty are you out there?)!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I am the featured artist this week over  at Postmark’d Art, a website for a group of us involved in a postcard swap.  I’d like to invite you to visit here!   They interview me, show one of my cards and some of my favorites that I’ve received over the years, both in the swap and from other places.

Prepare to be amazed….

The Camden-Rockport Middle School mosaic mural, in the cafeteria, Camden, Maine. In the style of (and with the permission of) Eric Hopkins.

This post is frightfully late…. I only took these photos in June 2011!  Yes, more than a year ago at the unveiling!   But the mosaic in the cafeteria at Camden-Rockport Middle School (Maine) is so stunningly beautiful and wonderful a public art project, that I decided I still needed to share it with you all.  It all began with Kristen Andersen, the CRMS art teacher.  Kristen is the kind of art teacher you dream of having–after having kids in CRMS for 8 years, I STILL want to go back to middle school and be in her class–alas, I’m a bit too old!  As Kristen put it when she approached world-famous artist Eric Hopkins with the idea, it takes a great deal of faith on the part of the artist to grant permission to a group of children to make a work in his own style.  I’d add that it takes a great bit of courage and creativity to come up with and execute the idea–Well Done, Kristen!

What you see in the photo above is eight 2 x 4 foot (24 by 48 inch) panels of glass mosaic, MADE BY the KIDS of the middle school!

The project began with a detailed proposal. On the storyboard, you can see some of the original sketches, inspiration art by Mr. Hopkins, some of the glass tiles and tile nippers used in the project.  The photo (printed on 4 sheets) on the table is the view from Mt. Battie, which overlooks Camden Harbor.  The mosaic is this view, with the top of the old stone tower on the left of the mosaic and the harbor and view beyond.

A closer view of the sketches

A closer view of the photo-montage and tools used in making the mosaic

The Youth Arts program helped fund this large undertaking…thank you Youth Arts! On the easel at right you can see a mock-up block for what Kristen envisioned. The pictures on the left are of Eric Hopkins’ art.  He has his own gallery in Rockland, Maine; if you’re ever in the mid-coast, DO take a detour down winter street to go visit…it’s just a stone’s throw from Main Street.

The mosaics were made in eight sections that fit into the VERY sturdy frame.  Should the piece ever have to be moved, that can happen because of how this was assembled!  Way too wonderful and too much work not to plan for the inevitable changes down the line.

And here is the official unveiling! Gasps of delight all around!

CRMS Art teacher Kristen Andersen–the multi-tasking mom– tells the assembled students, staff, important folks, parents and onlookers how the project happened.

While Kristen explains the project, (from left to right) Principal Maria Libby, Asst. to the Principal Matt Smith, a Youth Arts representative, and Eric Hopkins listen.

Kristen and assorted students and volunteers (THANK YOU volunteers) met once a week after school to work on the project.  Early on, Mr. Hopkins came to one session and helped fine-tune the drawing on the plywood panels to give it that Hopkins-sweeping-view.

After the unveiling, we all got to go up close. Here is my friend Kathy on the left, then Kristen and her son on her hip, and Mr. Hopkins. It was SO totally COOL…he kept going up to the mosaic touching it in wonder…the way you see folks walk up and want to touch a quilt. Neat!

Another shot of the mosaic, with a Youth Arts representative, Principal Maria Libby, and Eric Hopkins.

And back to where we began… on the tower at Mt. Battie, a close-up of the left end of the mosaic.

THANK YOU Mr. Hopkins for saying yes.  Thank you Kristen for being such a wonderful teacher and inspiration.  Thank you to Maria Libby and the school system for being a place that encourages such wonderfulness in the school.  Thank you to the kids and the volunteers and Youth Arts for making this wonderful piece. Goosebumps, all over again.  WONDERFUL!

SAQA-The Maine Event 2012 dinner at the Capt. A.V. Nickels Inn, Searsport, Maine

What a lovely place to have an art quilt meeting!   I must say that this regional SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates, main site here) was the first time I’ve been around this many really top notch art quilters outside of the ginormous International Quilt Festival in Houston!  Thank you to coordinators Beth Berman, Sarah Carpenter and Margaret Sheehan for bringing this together for a third consecutive year.  I’ve already got the third weekend in September reserved for next year!

During the break after the last workshop/demo and supper, I sat outside on a breezy (and increasingly nippy) deck enjoying the view and sketching.

Earlier in the day I had spotted a beautiful old spoon amongst the assorted styles near the coffee.  I picked it up and decided it was so lovely that a mere photograph wasn’t enough, so I sketched it!  I then added a quick watercolor of that view (I believe that is the far north side of Penobscot Bay in the distance) and journaled a tiny bit on the page:

My sketch page of the day. The tiny writing that scrolls around reads: As the sun goes in and out behind the couds the shadows shift and move dancing over the page (upper line) and In the late afternoon we had a break after the last session and before dinner, so I painted the view. The spoon needs to be a bit darker at the tip of the bowl, but otherwise I’m happy with it.

After dinner was the best part…seeing what others are doing! Alas, I do NOT know everyone’s name, so I apologize to artists and readers alike for not having attribution on many of these.  If you know who did what, please let me know so I may update the blogpost!

Sandra Betts (on left) shared this portrait of her mother, using Mary Pal’s technique using cheesecloth. Very effective…. when Sandra first held it up I thought it looked like her, but not quite. When she said it was her mother that explained it!

Isn’t this FABULOUS? Someone please tell me who made it!

Michelle Goldsmith (on left) told us about taking Lisa Call’s working in a series online workshop. This was one of many large pieces, wholecloth and painted. I loved the joyousness of the color in this one. Plus it was fun to see Michelle again–she was program chair for her guild and they hired me to come teach there in May 2011, and it was so much fun!  I blogged about that visit here and here.

Beth Berman, our lead coordinator for this event, has a thing for crows. Her art quilting skills have just blossomed since I first met her. This is one of her two pieces.

This Maine quilter (on right) loves color and dyes her own fabrics and creates her own embroideries (in this case the seagulls). I just want to dive headfirst into that color!

As you might gather, it was a WONDERFUL day!  Thanks Beth, Margaret, Sarah and everyone who traveled from near and far.