Life is Good

Blogger really is a puzzle that one must master over time. I am now convinced of that. It's kind of like living with a persnickety spouse (notice I'm not naming names here!). Perhaps it's just a lesson in learning to get along. Anyway, I've attempted to post for the past two days but could never get my pictures to load. Wanting things to be just so, I held off until I had a bit more time. But now here we are to Tuesday night and I have things to tell you about from last FRIDAY for crying out loud! So, I persisted. FINALLY after loading one picture at a time, I was able to get them all up and running here on my blog. Drum roll and applause PLEASE!!!

LAST FRIDAY the Silk Artists of Atlanta met at the Chastain Art Center. We had a great group of folks there, some terrific show and tell, and then Martha Andreatos did a very informative demo of Sandra Kay Johnson's technique of applying silk to canvas (more on that below).

This is Gail Racy showing one of her beautiful hand painted silk scarves. Gail teaches Chinese Brush Painting at Chastain and is an incredible artist. She has adapted Susan Moyer's silk painting techniques to her Chinese Brush painting, and produces the most exquisite pieces.

This is a quilted piece done by Katy Fenton. I believe that she hand-dyed the background fabric. Katy and I share a great love of birds, so I was tickled to see this piece done of a loon and her egg. Katy is a great artist, quilter, and needleworker.

OK, so I tried to post those pics on Sunday before I left to teach my Radiant Suns Quilt class at Intown Quilters, but alas blogger would not allow it. I had another great class with some awesome students. Each class is totally different from the others. The students really make the class, I am convinced of that. Here are a few of the blocks that got completed during our class time. Aren't they great? This group of ladies really caught on quickly!
Sunday night C and I returned to one of our new and favorite restaurants: One Midtown Kitchen. We celebrated our anniversary there in November, and could hardly wait to return and try new dishes. Trouble was, we wanted to recreate the last most wonderful time when we were there! I managed to take a few pics, but with blogger's persnickety-ness, I'm only showing you one photo of the interior....it's all about the lights at One Midtown Kitchen (well, after the fabulous food and wine, that is).OK, so here we are fast-forwarding to today, Monday January 30th 2007. I had earmarked this day as MINE!! I just love those days and believe me, they don't happen often enough for me. I wanted to try applying some of my hand-dyed silks and painted cottons to canvas a la Sandra Kay Johnson and my friend Martha Andriatos. So, I tackled them bright and early this morning. By mid afternoon I had finished two (I was doing other things too....I'm not really that slow!):

This is a hand painted piece that I completed in Sue Beever's class at John C. Campbell Folk School the other week. I love the colors...which really don't show up too well here, but I wanted you to get the feel of the cotton wrapped around the sides of the canvas. I really like the way it came out.

Here is a hand-dyed silk piece that I completed a while back. I was playing around with a new technique and when it was done, I knew that it needed to either be quilted or mounted on canvas. Voila:

I've spent a few hours updating my website, writing proposals for classes, and doing a bit more painting and piecing. Like I said...life is good! Hope yours is too!!!

Here We Are...Where Are YOU????

We're back in Midtown (Atlanta) enjoying a weekend at our condo. It's great for me to be back. While I was off having a fabulous time at John C. Campbell Folk School, C managed two (count 'em TWO) trips to our condo....no hostility here, I'm thinkin'!!! Yesterday (Friday) our Silk Painters of Atlanta group met at the Chastain Art Center (photos will follow in a day or two, I hope!) and then C and I just sort of veged for the rest of the evening, with dinner out at Little Azios with friends. Today, we had a rather leisurely morning, sleeping in (till 8???) and then did the most decadent thing: bought a half dozen donuts at Krispy Kreme! OMG!!!! After I finally waddled away from the table, we walked over to MetroFresh for our HEALTHY soup lunch. YUMMMMM
This afternoon we started our city explorations at Creative Spirit Gallery in Decatur. A great place to shop for local artists' works. Our next stop:




YOUR DEKALB FARMERS MARKET

If you haven't been there and you live in the area or are planning a visit, please do yourself a huge favor and GO!!! We've been avid fans for years and years (before they moved to their new digs...so how long is that?). We bought all manner of fresh veggies, meat and cheese: yummy parsnips, Brussels sprouts, Rio Red grapefruit, some very stinky but delish cheese...you name it, they carry it FRESH!!

But here's the thing, they DON'T ALLOW PHOTOS INSIDE:





so sorry.....so sad, too bad!

You'll just have to go and see for yourself!







I made a quick stop at Gail K's fabrics on Cheshire Bridge...sorry forgot to snap a pic!....and then here we were:

So, the burning question is, which flic did we take in? We had planned to see "The Queen", but when C saw that "The Last King of Scotland" was still running, he thought that perhaps he'd have to change his mind. However, I prevailed, and "The Queen" it was! Hellen Mirren and Michael Sheen are fabulous. I loved every minute of it...if you haven't already seen it, GO NOW!!!

Crockers

So, here are my "crock pot" painted babies on some silk charmeuse. I am playing around with some of the techniques that I learned last week at John C. Campbell Folk School.
I'm also playing around with my camera and trying to figure out why I do not consistently get the photo image enlargement property that I want on this blog. Any ideas and or suggestions would be appreciated.


(I thought I'd figured it out and I was thrilled, but then I got to this third image and it wouldn't enlarge. DARN!!! Someone please put me out of my misery here!!)

Memory Lane

I've been thinking recently that my memories are most often related to what I remember hearing at the time...as in a song on the radio triggering memories of where I was when I first heard it. This morning I was catching up on reading my cousin Eva's blog and followed her link to this picture:



The train station in Bastad, Sweden.
I cannot begin to tell you the memories that instantly flooded my mind when I saw it: automobile horns blaring, smells of candy and freshly baked breads and brewed coffees, the frustration (at missing the station completely and having to go to the next stop at Laholm and turn around and come back to Bastad), but most of all a feeling of eager anticipation! When our daughter Kristin and I first traveled to Bastad in 1993 (I think) we were meeting our Swedish family for the very first time. You see, after my maternal grandmother Augusta had passed away in 1963, we had lost all touch with her remaining family in Sweden. Through the help of friends and a lot of genealogy searching, we had gotten back in touch, so Kristin and I were off to meet them. What a magical trip it was! They greeted us with open arms and treated us like queens. I felt like I had always lived there....and a part of my genetic code seemed to pick up where Augusta had left off. I feel so fortunate to have found my family again, and to have Eva as "one of my very best friends in the whole wide world"!!

Just a little trip down memory lane in January 2007.

I've been playing catch-up around here since returning from my idyllic week of classes at John C. Campbell Folk School. So much to do here on the home front! Cindy, one of my classmates, has formed a Yahoo group for us, so we can all keep in touch and view eachother's works. Thanks Cindy!!

Here is one small piece that I have been painting:

It is going to be part of a new Radiant Suns wall hanging that I am working on. When I get it incorporated into the body, I'll show you a pic.

It's cold out this morning....34. BRRRRR! I have some silk "dyeing" in a crock pot and will hang the pieces out on the line in just a little bit...after I finish my coffee and summon up the courage to go outside to my little clothes line.


Last night my friend Barbara presented the second in a series of programs on walking the labyrinth at our Great Wednesdays at Grace program at church. She and husband Chuck have a portable labyrinth, which they brought and set up in one of our rooms by the Parish Hall. After the program, those of us who wanted to, were given the opportunity to walk the labyrinth. It was so powerful for me. I had first seen and walked the labyrinth at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, quite a few years ago. I've never forgotten that experience. Last night was even more amazing. Thanks Barb and Chuck.

Speaking of San Fran, C and I watched the documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill last night (I'll bet you've watched that Debra). And what memories came flooding back then...seeing Coit Tower in the background of so many shots. We both agreed that a trip West is looming on the horizon. Yummm: lunch at Swan's Oyster Depot and dinner at Spenger's, the site of our first date some 36+ years ago!

OK, I'm off to hang up that silk to dry and tackle the new quilt block! Thanks for indulging me with my walk down memory lane.

Hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are, doing whatever speaks to your soul.

Day Five

This was our last day of class at John C. Campbell Folk School...so sad. I've never been in a class of twelve women who were so compatible and laughed quite so hard. Sue Beevers had the most difficult time calling us by our correct names, but she was a good Joe about it and loved it when we teased her.

Here is a piece that I block printed last night. I made the block using heavy duty felt that I cut and then pasted to a wood block with silicone gel. After it dried, I painted it with the fabric paints and then just stamped away. Gerrie asked about the paints, these are Pro Chem's fabric paints, and we used mainly transparents...I loved them!!
This is a companion piece to the above one, using the same paints but with a bit of a different format. These cranberries and navies are not in my comfort zone.

There are my three companion pieces. Sue challenged us to do three pieces that were somewhat similar but not the same, so I chose to use the same color pallette but with different shapes. I also wanted to reflect the poppies, my first piece in the series, in the spirals and the squared off wood block.

This is my new friend Susan from my class. She had such an eye for color and design. I don't think I told you but she won a huge quilting award at AQT for the past two years in a row!

OK, that's it for tonight. I'll be on the road right after breakfast tomorrow!

A Week's Work

Here are a few of the pieces I've been working on over the past few days. We've had a great, great time and learned a ton. The weather has been rather iffy...more drizzle and clouds than sun, but no ice. All of these pieces are done on cotton...can't wait to try them on silk!There are 12 of us in the class and we are the most compatible group that I've ever been in. We laugh and laugh, but we work hard! The above piece is a process that three of us have been working on over the past couple of days. I'm liking it!
This piece, as you can tell, is a fan-folded painted piece. I wish I could show you the "after" picture with it all ironed out....it is stunning!



This piece was crumpled and then painted....and hung out to dry.

This is another of my beloved poppies, resisted with ProChem's SabraSilk resist (but on cotton) and then painted with ProChem's paints. I will probably quilt this.

It is late and I am tired. Two of my roommates are trying to sleep...they are taking hammered dulcimer classes. My third roomie is out partying...she is a potter. Tomorrow is our last day....boooH!

Here I am - where are you?

This is Day Two of my week at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. What a fabulous, fabulous place this is. Peace, serenity and lots of artistic and mellow folks. By the way Rayna, your little Lady Bug Friends are still here! It is quite chilly here today...I think the high temp was early this morning, and that was 40. Tonight's low is forecasted at around 15. BRRRRRR!

My class is five days of Surface Design with Sue Benner. I am learning some new techniques and refreshing my memory on some older ones, plus using transparent fabric paints, which are all new and wonderful to me!

Here is Sue demonstrating the use of Silicone Caulk for stamping:

Below is Susan from Missouri, one of my classmates, and she is IN LOVE!!!!! When she introduced herself to me, that was the first thing she told me! Susan is an incredible artist and I have enjoyed watching her work. Here she is just having finished stamping some oak leaves on her tee shirt (you may notice that she is shirtless). And yes, Gerrie, do you see that she is wearing an Art Quilt Tahoe polar fleece vest? Susan is with three other gals, all having driven from Missouri, escaping the snow and ice there. They are trying to talk me into going to AQT next year...I may just have to give it a try!
This is one of my pieces from yesterday...not too impressive, I know, but I had to show you something. I love these transparent paints! I was trying out making little stamps from a common kitchen sponge.
Last photo for tonight:

Ummm, I think this was one of those folded and dyed pieces, that I went back and refolded and dyed again and again. Yesterday one of my classmates and I drove to the next small town and invested in some off-white bib overalls, which we are going to embellish tonight. So, I need to get a move on back to the studio!

Take care, stay warm, and SMILE!!

Great Story

My friend Bobbie sends me some amazing links. This one, about an Australian Sulfur Crested Cockatoo, is fascinating. I hope you will enjoy it while I go pack for my week at John C. Campbell Folk School.

What's Goin' On

Let me begin by saying that I'm really glad that one of my goals for this new year was NOT to blog daily, as I'd already be feeling like a miserable failure. However, one of my goals was to complete a few long overdue quilting pieces and do some new and different jobs. I don't want to be stuck in a rut, and I do want to explore more....try more "what ifs", as my mentor and friend Rayna would say.

So, my first goal to tackle in this new year was quilting this whole cloth (silk charmeuse, in this case) piece that I had painted back in '04. Actually, it was my very first large piece, and my mother had instantly fallen in love with it. Dutiful daughter that I am, I had given it to her and it had been hanging on her wall, with a simple sleeve at the top, but no quilting. I was almost embarrassed every time I looked at it, as my poor Mom was sort of like one of the cobbler's children with no shoes! I took it home last week and began quilting it on Sunday. I must say that I now love it, and best of all, so does Mom.




The sun is shining in on the left and middle sides, but I wanted you to see a bit of the overall piece before I showed you some closeups.




I've named it "Hearts and Flowers", and I guess you can see why. I've quilted it with Sliver, which is one of my favorite fibers to work with. "Hearts and Flowers" is once again hanging on Mom's wall, and she is really enjoying it.

While I was quilting away, I listened to Tom Brokaw's memoirs "A Long Way from Home" (very interesting) and I've also heard most of Mary Higgins Clarks memoirs "Kitchen Privileges". The latter is really interesting. She reads it and puts so much emphasis into what she is saying. What an incredible life she has led (did you know she was a Pan Am Stewardess back in 1949?), with much sadness but she has never let it get the best of her.

I've also completed window treatments for our master bedroom. That was a long overdue goal, but a goal nonetheless. With my new, large sewing table, draperies are a real cinch! Next I will tackle the breakfast room, and then my sewing room, and last but by all means not least, the livingroom and diningroom. I am putting this all in print so that you will help me keep my word!!!

Kristin and Dave came up last Saturday night as his band, Skybucket, had a return engagement at our local club, The Monkey Barrel. I love having them here to visit, and Barker loves having Marley around....I wish I could say the same for Elsie, our cat. We took a lot of pictures of the band that night, but it was too dark and I don't think my flash cooperated most of the time. Today, blogger isn't being too cooperative and I am having trouble uploading pics. (AAAAAH, you can see them over there to the right in my Flicker pics) Anyway, Handsome Dave is just as handsome and sweet as ever, trust me on that! There were two young girls who kept getting up and dancing very, hmmmm, how to put it nicely?, suggestively (?) right in front of the band. Kristin thought it was quite funny. My girlfriend Molly and I were somewhat appalled but also interested!!! The guys all thought it was funny. I had hoped that some of the pictures of the girls would have come out, but none did. At one point they even went up on stage and one sat in Mike, the drummer's lap! (Mike just got engaged to Emily....I hope she thought it was funny too!).

The benefit auction for the Kim family went extremely well, with over $15,000.00 being raised! WooHoo!!! Good going Lisa, Stephanie and Gerrie!!! A wonderful couple in Livermore, CA ended up being the high bidders on my stonewashed silk batik scarf! They have made my week, as that is my first scarf to be sold for over $100! Thanks, folks! I hope you will enjoy.

Last but not least, here are a couple of pics of my latest dyeing efforts:



I am very surprised and pleased with the vibrant colors, since I was using Procion MX dyes and the temps in my studio have not been exactly the best for dyeing....hovering in the high 60's for very brief periods of time and then settling back down into the 40s and 50s. It has gotten cold here in northeast Georgia, but then it is January! This piece is on some leftover silk twill. Here's a closeup:

This may be my last post for a while. I am going back to John C. Campbell Folk School for a week of fabric painting with Sue Beevers. I am looking forward to meeting Sue and learning her techniques. I will be bringing along my laptop and if my internet connections are good, and I have free time in the evenings, I may just try to do some posting.

Take care, and enjoy life!!!

2006 Works

Inspired by a few of the creative folks on the QA list, I followed suit and put together a collage of some of the quilts and dyed fibers that I created and worked with this past year. Making the collage was a very helpful tool because I can definitely see how far I've come in one year! I owe a huge thank you to several people, and I hope you know who you are, who constantly encouraged me, especially when I was feeling down about my "work"...or is it play? I am now eagerly anticipating more progress and great adventures in 2007! On that note, I'm off to straighten up the house a bit (K and D are coming up later today and spending the night....YIPPEEE!!) and then get busy with my play pieces for today, Saturday January 6th, 2007.

Hope you enjoy the photos below:




Oh, and Happy Birthday to our good friend Keith!! 

Portland or Miami???

I had hoped to have a photo of our fog enshrouded yard and lake to show you, but alas the day got away from me with a birthday party (Happy Birthday Dear John!!!....and many more!) plus various and sundry other "obligations" to attend to! It is so very warm here....I think Al Gore was right about this Global Warming thing! And it has been so rainy and foggy. Honestly, I wonder if we're not back in Miami or have been jettisoned off to Portland, Oregon!

OH, and by the way, HAPPY 2007!!!! Can you believe it???? It's here...another year! Where does the time go??? C and I celebrated quietly here in GainesVegas. I am involved in a great book (Alibi by Joseph Kanon...have you read it???) and so was busy with that while C watched a movie with English subtitles....I HATE movies with subtitles! When the locals began shooting off fireworks at about 11:00 PM, Barker got nervous, so we had to sequester him!

Then, we were off to Atlanta for a few blissful days of hanging out. I had finished yet another fish quilt and needed to deliver it to Intown Quilters, so as to advertise my class there in February...or is it March? If you want to take the class, please check their newsletter...I'd love to have you join me! This quilt is full of bead embellishments as well as a bunch of work with Angelina Fibers. It was great fun to create....and once again, no photo for you to enjoy! (I hope this is not a trend for me in 2007!).

I was pleased to see that our cousin Jinny Carpenter has come by to visit the blog...and even commented!!! Hi Jinny!! You need to leave me your email address so that I can correspond with you this way rather than by snail mail! My love to Tom!!

OK, before I go back to the final pages of "Alibi", I need to direct you to the Kim Family Benefit Auction. You can read about all of the details there, but suffice it to say that my blogging buddy Gerri's two wonderful daughters have organized this fabulous auction on ebay to benefit the family of James Kim who perished in November in the hinterlands of Oregon. I've donated the stonewashed silk scarf below and would love for it to adorn you!! You can read the description on the website. The auction closes on Sunday, so DO NOT PASS GO, instead,go there now and bid on something...it's a great cause and there are oodles of fantastic pieces of art!!! Thanks.