Take Me to the River

Last week, we actually had half a day to take a ride out to Marietta and follow the Ohio River back down into Parkersburg.  When I was a kid, we used to come down to Athens to visit my grandparents, and each trip included a ride in the country.  I didn’t get it at the time, and spent most of those rides with my nose buried in a book.  But time (and glasses!) happened, and now I love to go out and see the verdant hillsides when they are in full summer bloom.

Here’s Izzy, balancing on a piece of driftwood at the banks of the Ohio.

We took some bread for the geese.  Here they are figuring out what’s going on.

The white geese were really persistent.

Marty was watching the boats on the river.  We also saw several fish leaping out of the river.  I have never seen that before, and found it really cool.

Sometimes when we are riding out in the country, I imagine what the insides of the old farmhouses are like.  (Pilot Precise pen and Inktense pencil in Moleskine sketchbook).

And what the wildlife thinks.

And then I design pieces incorporating the colors, textures and feelings of those trips.

And finally, I go into the studio and create my own “ride in the country”:

“Safe Harbor”  15.5”  x 15.5”  Reverse applique, fusible bias tape, hand beaded, machine quilted.

“Midnight Snack”  16” x 18” (measurements approximate)  Reverse applique, machine embroidery, machine quilted, fusible bias tape, hand beading.

“Summer Joy” 20” x 16”  Reverse applique, fusible bias tape, fusing (in black circles), machine quilting, hand beading.

The progression of inspiration isn’t always this obvious to me, but each piece holds something of a place I have experienced, even if it is just a color that reminds me of the sky over Mound Road by my grandparents’ homes, or an object, such as a colander or water tower, that I remember loving since I was a small child.  It’s always a surprise to have these flashes of memory in the middle of the long production process.

What shows up in your work without you realizing it?

Moving Right Along

Floral Medley is complete, including sleeve and label (usually the very last thing that gets done, ok well it is always the very last thing but sometimes it is months after the rest of the piece is finished).

Final measurements, 26.5” x 35” (67cm x 89cm)

Now it is on to the next piece

Butter and Egg Road, inspired by the colors at my Mamaw’s house.  The apron was a thrift store treasure, and the hollyhocks are from a journal page that I scanned and printed onto fabric.

I am machine embroidering in the image to add a bit more color and texture.  When that is complete I will either satin stitch it in place or use the black bias tape that I used earlier this year on a different piece.

The Pellon interfacing fence that I’m going to applique onto a piece of off white batik fabric.  This will sit in the lower right of the piece and behind the apron.  I may also apply the apron to a backing piece of fabric, using the same method I did for the doilies on Floral Medley.  This makes it much easier to apply the threadwork to the quilt sandwich, and I’m really happy I stumbled upon this method while working on this set of work.

Back to the studio.  Have a great weekend, y’all!

Reboot of Doom

Here we are, April 16, over 1/3 of the way through 2010 already.  I am revisiting my word of the year (“Metamorphosis”) and applying some of Havi’s Metaphor Mouse technique to an area where I want to see some change in my life this year.

An area I would like to grow in is that of physical activity/movement.  A close friend has taken up triathlons, and when we are able to talk in person, he tells me about his rigorous training schedule.  I am impressed by how he managed to fit in the training with everything else he has on his schedule, and I mentioned in passing that occasionally I have a desire to take my physical activity a step beyond what I already do.

He asked why I never have, opening a whole can of worms.  Weight and body image were always an issue growing up, and I always felt judged by my size and food choices.  Good was small body, small portions, the right foods.  Bad was anything else. 

But there was a mixed message in there.  Bad was also an over-developed interest in what my body looked like and what I ate.  I can still tell you the story of the one cousin who left his wife because he got into bodybuilding and became so “narcissistic” that he had no time for anyone else.  And I’m not even going into how my daughter went anorexic just as I began my weight loss journey.

Suffice it to say, there are issues.  But I still have dreams of having a body that is flexible and strong, and feeling light and un-self-conscious in it.

So where’s the problem?  I have worked out before, I even have had that body, if for a short time, in the recent past.  I have no desire to compete in a triathlon, or even a marathon (I much prefer yoga or weight-lifting to running).  But what I don’t have (what I perceive I don’t have) is discipline.

Even the word makes me cringe.  Discipline.  Dry, hard, boring, no way out, discipline.  Makes me stop dead in my tracks, better than almost anything else I know.

Enter Metaphor Mouse.  Havi asks, “What are the qualities, aspects and attributes of the thing” both those that aren’t working and those that are?

Discipline=

• judgmental
• imposed from the outside
• have to (“should”)
• serious
• humorless
• inflexible
• punishment
• routine
• boring
• duty
• no options
• joyless
• dry
• better than
• rigid (same as inflexible?)

Looking at this list, about the only thing I find working for me is “routine”, in the good way of “do a little every day and see big results over time” (with a slight problem at “over time”).  What bothers me most is the lack of humor/joy, lack of flexibility and the judgmentalism inherent in the word.

What qualities I am looking for/are missing=

• fun
• flexibility
• freedom
• reward
• choice
• freedom
• sovereignty
• acceptance (opposite of judgmental, maybe encouragement?)

I am having a hard time coming up with a different word, but I found this link, also at Havi’s blog, and one of the words/phrases that pops up for “sovereignty” is “self-determination”.

It’s not quite a metaphor, but it works for the moment. It contains the qualities of flexibility and choice that are missing from “discipline”, and returns the power to me, which is what the “d” word kept me from seeing.

Here’s to Self-Determination!

Books in Bloom

Here in Southeast Ohio spring has definitely sprung.  I can see the neighbor’s magnolia filled with the creamy pink blossoms of the season, and the violets are beginning to fill my front lawn.  It’s a riot of color and texture, yet as recently as two weeks ago, branches were still bare and the grass was barely green.

An art career is somewhat like this, growth can be going on just beneath the surface and from an outsider’s perspective it can seem as though nothing is ever going to change. 

While I have been working on entering shows, creating work for sale, and updating my Etsy shop, the seeds I planted over a year ago have started to bloom.  Two books have recently been released which feature my work.

The first, “500 Art Quilts”, is the kind of survey of the contemporary art quilt scene which I looked at with longing when I first started making art quilts and entering my first shows.  It is one of the wonderful Lark “500” series which showcases the best in contemporary craft, and two of my works have been chosen to be included. 

“Marilyn”, 2008, shown above, and “Bird’s Eye View”, 2007  were the two pieces chosen for this wonderful book.

The second book is an instructional book, and I designed a project for it, in a patchwork and applique style. “Pretty Mini Little Quilts”  contains designs from 25 artists, with the main theme being that the quilts are under 36” in any direction.  You will be amazed at how much creativity and visual impact you can fit into a small space.

Here is a photo illustrating how to sew the elephant to the pieced background.

A detail of one of the elephants from the quilt.

I am proud and pleased to be included in each of these wonderful books.  The editors have done a great job, and I highly encourage you to check them out.

In Process

I have taken the cardboard bases I showed you last time and have been collaging like mad, using color copies of personal photos and images of my other artwork.  These are still in process, I need to do a final basecoat, I think of gloss varnish, as opposed to my usual matte varnish finish, to help bring out the colors more.  None of them have titles yet, and I may add grommets to the top corners and run colored wire along for display purposes.

All of these measure 5” x 7” or 7” x 5” depending on the orientation of the image.

The photographs are of my daughter.  In the top picture she is wearing a crocheted dress that was made by my grandmother for my mother.  I have a picture of her wearing it, and I’m sure somewhere there’s a photo of me wearing it.  Now it’s back with my mom, who is planning on having it framed in a shadowbox.  The bottom picture is from my Frida Kahlo phase, circa 1988.  I took a lace scarf and some fake flowers from Woolworth’s to make her headdress, and bought real Gerber daisies from Kroger’s. 

More art about art, this piece has a copy of on of my MOO cards.

When you have an interesting embellishing material, consider making copies of it to use in collage.  This leaf is an Indian applique I picked up from Treasures of the Gypsy.  I have a whole sheet of images of these appliques that I use for collage fodder in my journal and on pieces like this.  I also crocheted the little purple flower, but found doilies work as well.

You can tell these are in process because you can see the difference from where I applied the matte gel medium to adhere the images to the cardboard substrate and the original painting.  The background papers are both painted on the contractor’s paper, starting with a layer of gesso first.  I’ve been cutting out stencils in addition to using the Print Gocco fish screen and Speedy Cut stamps.  It’s been fun to put all the different patterns and colors together.

If I can find them, I have some coffee bean beads that would look cool on this piece.  I adhere the three dimensional embellishments using Golden Heavy Gel medium, it’s easier to apply to a specific spot because it’s so thick and it fills in the gaps on the bigger pieces so that it will stick to the surface.

More of the Indian applique copies, a contemporary button and a vintage embroidered applique enhance the copy of the cow quilt I made for myself after my Gran died.  I rarely make pieces that are specifically for me to keep, but this is one of them.  Using the image in this way makes it possible for more people to see/own it, and enables me to keep the original.  It’s kind of like licensing, but I am the one reproducing the image.

More buttons.

The seam in the cardboard really shows up in the photo, but isn’t quite this obvious in the original.  The sunflower charms are fairly dimensional, which is why the heavy gel is good for adhering them.  You can also see more detail of the fish print I talked about earlier.  That’s the yellow paper I showed in a previous blog post.  I am really happy with how it turned out.

I am also working on small canvases, 4” x 4”

On this one I used color copies of an old beadwork to make the landscape.  You recognize our friend Bessie from the earlier images.  I love her little purse and the bird on her shoulder.

Another one using my daughter in the heirloom dress.  The sunflower is an applique left over from the piece I made for The Artful Storybook.  It’s machine embroidery on fabric that is stabilized with Pellon interfacing.

We are all made of stars.

This one is 8” x 6”.  I used some canvas I painted with Setacolour paints as the background for the photocopy.  The star punchouts are from a sheet of scrapbook paper.  The composition was missing something, and it occurred to me that I could use some buttons from my stash to fill in the corners.  This is also when I realized I could embellish the cards.  Sometimes the solution is so obvious, isn’t it?

The Stern Workshop

This has been a busy week in the Stern household.

Izzy is experimenting with food coloring and various foods for his science unit (we are studying cells).

“Hey Mom, why you taking my picture?”

We also have an upcoming show at The Plains Public Library, in addition to the two shows I already have work in, so it is up to the studio we go:

Izzy at his clay station.  We spent a good half hour earlier this week cleaning up the old clay. He couldn’t be happier to have the extra room to work in.

A different angle.  You can see the many plush creatures I’ve made from my own patterns as well as a few from Ravelry and books.  My hats are off to the right, and that is a mini quilt hanging from my design wall above them.

Izzy wanted me to take a picture of him demonstrating how to make a bead.  He uses Sculpey III brand polymer clay.  I supervise the baking process.  Izzy has been sculpting for nearly 8 years now, and I am amazed at how detailed his work is becoming.

Here he is decorating an earring part with Pearl Ex powders.  I was watching him while I was seated at my sewing machine.

Not to be left out, I have been creating, too.

Yellow strips in process.  I was having a tension problem and had put this piece aside while I figured it out.  Finally I managed to dislodge the lump of lint which had made a home in my bobbin case and all was well. 

Here is a closeup of the big yellow base.  I added the ten long strips I pieced between yesterday and today.  I am very happy to have my sewing machine working again.  To the right is “Day of the Cichlids” in process and to the left are the completed White Queen and Frog Prince.

The family who creates together stays together!

Etsy Update

If you had told me ten years ago that I would be running a business with my son, I probably would have laughed, handed him over, and said "Ok, then, *you* can feed him." He was the most demanding of my children, and I often said that if he had been the first one, he would have been the only one. But time passed, I was able to get some sleep again, and he has turned into quite the companion and collaborator.

He works on his sculptures while I sew or paint in the studio, and he has started vending with me when we do shows. Two years ago he raised enough money to buy a bicycle by selling his sculptures, and his current goal is to raise enough money to buy the seeds for the garden he is planning (I sent for the Burpee catalog late last month and it arrived earlier this week).

To help, I made a section at my Etsy for his work. Today's Etsy update Friday is dedicated to him.

May I present World of Art by Izzy: