You can tell from the just-leafing-out buds of green that I was at the Getty Museum (Los Angeles)  in Spring.  I love the gnarliness of these trees, and how the bark picks up the white of the buildings and the shadows and darkness in the windows, and how the contorted shapes of the branches contrast with the square blocks of stone, the perfectly smooth straight and curved lines of the architecture.  A perfect lesson in design:  line, contrast, shape, form, repetition…..

Another lesson in design, form and shape is the tables and chairs in the courtyard.  There are (if I remember correctly) five main buildings with galleries at the top of the hill that form a rough circle.  In the center of the circle are the fountains (seen in the photos in my first blogpost) and seating areas, like this one.  The way the buildings cluster mean that you don’t have to walk miles to get from one to another… again, smart planning and design in what might have been a challenging site:  a fairly steep hillside.

Oh how I love those crisp shadows……And the good design extended to inside, even in the cafeteria.  Here, environmentally friendly bamboo was the material for the condiments items… a nice composition even in the the cafeteria!  Remember…there is inspiration EVERYwhere!

The end grain of the wood for the floors made another pattern in squares that echoes the stone squares that clad the walls, inside and out:

And an angled view of the wall, to show the rough surface of the stone facings, what amazing texture and line and movement:

We sat outside under a pergola for lunch, Joyce, Susan and I:

It was while sitting here that I got a call from Paul and learned the very nice size of my Jan-March royalty check and realized my book had sold through the first printing already…whooooohoooo!  Back to the architecture…look at those lines on the exterior stairs!!!!!

And the undulating waves of the buildings and the shadows cast by the slats (I’m guessing they are position to help block the sun from damaging artwork inside but still permit maximum natural light):

Another, cropped, shot of those patio tables and chairs and lines and shadows that I clearly adore:

And one of the vistas around the end of the buildings…wow:

More to come…….

When I told my beloved sister in law, Joyce, that I would be able to come for a long weekend, she asked what I wanted to do!  Well, most of all I wanted to be with Joyce and meet her friends, but I thought…hmmm…How about the Getty?   I’ve been inspired by photos of the Getty on my friend Deborah’s blog (see here for her pics) and some photos of the Getty in Lura Schwarz Smith’s fabulous book, Secrets of Digital Quilting, From Camera to Quilt (click here to go to Lura’s website, the title links to the book on Amazon or buy an autographed copy from Lura here).  Well…get ready folks.   I seriously shortened my list of photos…and I still have over 30 to share!  So I’m going to break this up into several posts….

The photo above is walking up to the top of the hill to the galleries from the main entrance.   To back up a bit, admission is free, but parking isn’t.  You must park at the bottom of this tall hill that looks out to the Pacific Ocean, then take one of the frequent trams up the hillside. The sheltered-from-the-elements space is carefully designed to move MANY people efficiently.  Here, the maze of waiting lines:

I loved this view of the blue skies through the trees…even the leftover bits from the ivy or clinging vine on the wall seems like art…

And on the tram (blurred the faces since I have NO idea who these people are and can’t ask permission to include their faces!)

Then you see this incredible statue of a swimmer by Aristide Maillol (one of my FAVORITE European sculptors…late 19th c.):

Here is Joyce at the start of our time (before we got pooped and sore feet!) on the way to see the Leonardo exhibit:

The buildings themselves, by architect Richard Meier, are a work of art, and the landscape is another work of art (more on that in a future post).  My breath is simply taken away by the stunning lines, curves, shapes, the subtle play of the smooth- and rough-faced stone, the perfect pairing of the color of the stone with the blue of the sky and the green of the trees:

And a better photo (tho gives less of a feel for the grounds):

And more:

Even the white interior balconies, railings and skylights were stunning in their simplicity and line:

And of course the color and contrast in the tables outside–you could buy food there or bring your own and eat in the shade of the umbrellas–love the lines and circles and stripes and shadows and the one blue bottle cap on the chair seat….

WOW!  Wait till you see the next photos….

The Leonardo Exhibit, by the way, was phenomenal.  Because these works were on loan, photography was not allowed, but I saw ACTUAL journal pages, in sepia ink by the master himself and…drumroll..one was of a DRAGON!   He liked dragons, too!!!!!!   To think, those pages are over 500 years old, and the lines made were made by Leonardo himself…. utterly mind-blowing!

My last class in Arizona, in friendly Flagstaff, was small but good.  We cut freezer paper stencils, then used the Lumiere paints I supplied to paint leaves onto a dark (black) background.  Next, while the paint dried (fairly quickly), I talked about special tips and tricks for sewing with threads that have a reputation for being fussy:  metallic, holographic (the shiny stuff…think Mylar balloon stuff cut into long strips), shiny polyester, and more.  This project is also on the cover of my book and is included as one of the activities in the back (book available here).

First, you paint the cloth:

Then baste:

One thing many of us don’t do enough is to make sample stitch-outs before diving in to the quilting.  I can’t say enough how important and helpful this can be!   Best of all, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to rip it out…just move to another part of the practice sandwich.  Here, one student is checking out how the decorative threads look in various free-motion designs and what she needs to do to get a good stitch on her machine:

Then start stitching:

Stop a bit and muse over what next, then continue:

Then of course there are those miserable thread tails to knot and bury!

I loved the look of the copper leaves:

And then trying out different threads and stitches and stitch-lengths to outline the leaves:

Here’s a cool, silvery, feathery outline:

Thanks for being in my class!

We were treated to a spectacular Arizona sunset while staying at Monument Valley, and an almost as wonderful sunrise.  These photos were taken from The View Hotel, third floor–and note, reservations are ESSENTIAL…book EARLY.  These photos are taken (duh) looking West, over the parking lot…in the first photo you can barely spot the glimmer of a car up and to the left of the (c) symbol:

And sunrise, looking (duh) to the  East over Monument Valley:

(Notice the photographers set up on the stairs, on the left, by the restaurant…the best spot to get the classic shot of both “mittens” which you can see in this photo, above.)

OH do these photos make me want to play with cloth and dyes!

Back during winter, I took an online course on Lino-cutting with Australian Dijanne Cevaal (her blog is here).  One Sunday while watching the Winter Olympics, I began carving this 12″ block–it took most of four hours to Oh-So-Carefully cut (and not slip) just the pebbly center, but it was SO worth the ache in my hands.  I just love the way this turned out:

You may be able to get more feel for the quilting from this angled shot:

The quilt was quilted, then wrapped onto artists’ stretcher bars (staple gunned to the back), then finished the back with a nice cloth cover.  Here’s a detail:

Hope you like it!

PS–Dijanne offers the course periodically.  If you are interested, surf over to her blog and ask when it is next scheduled.  OK…just checked, next session starts July 14, so am posting this earlier than I initially planned!  If you move fast, you can take the class soon!