Monday, July 31, 2006
Primavera?
Here is the monstrous project I've been working on. I guess I was in a very "life is a never-ending circle" kind of mood. Also, I just wanted simply to make something pretty and flowery and leafy and birdy. Without anything having to be its' own self when it comes to color. It's like spring...my way. What is with the way I keep saying "my way" today? I must be having a bossiness crisis. I'm having a birthday in less than 2 weeks, so maybe it's old lady persnickedyesque behaviour sneaking up on me and my normally well hidden internal head-mistress.
It's hand-dyed and printed cotton in the background with cotton digital images printed and cut out and machine appliquedmachine appliqued on the foreground. I found lots of royalty-free images from Clipart, then imported them to Photoshop and tinkered with color and filters, printed them on pre-treated cotton ironed to freezer paper, and voile`. Simple, right? Hardly. I spent 3 weeks working on printing out all the teeny tiny pieces. The entire work is 16 inches by 46 inches. I intend to do some top-stitching and then stretch it on canvas stretchers. I've been thinking about this work for a while. It feels good to get it out of my system. And although I really love the way it's turning out, I can't think of any other ideas in this same vein. I think I'll go back to farm scenes for a while. Well, first I have the following things to finish:
1. Baby quilt for Elizabeth Catherine Newell
2. Circles quilt (It's a full-sized monster that I haven't touched since I don't know when)
3. Quilt blocks for my round robin quiltt
4. Screen printing with all the expensive supplies I just bought
updating my website before my magazine article comes out
5. Updating Etsy shop. (Not sure it's really worth my time, but who knows)
6. Write my proposal for classes that I want to teach at the aRThOUSE on 12th avenue.
7. Make a present for my parents' 30th wedding anniversary before it's their 40th, or they kill each other, whichever comes first
I'm too tired to type anymore. More soon!
Labels: a little something, sharing
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
I am certainly genious artist...
...in manner of Bridget Jones. Just kidding. For those of you Bridget lovers out there (Mary) I had most exciting Sat. evening. My trusty pal C.Cannon and I were enjoy a lovely party at v. swanky home of grammy-winning music producer when my cell phone rings and we are immediately dispatched to scene of mall shooting. To protect the innocent, we will henceforth call this mall "Ghetto Mills" Here is how I assisted in this dramatic news covering story.
1. I loaned him my cell phone so he could call work and tell them that he could be reached via my phone, because he forgot until 4 minutes before he got called that he was the on-call reporter for the weekend.
2. I told him that "yes, your new party shirt will look fine on air. Besides, you don't have time to go home and change." at least 4 times.
3. I drove his beloved sports car "betty" after he met up with the live truck.
4. I rounded up assorted rednecks to talk on camera about supposed "chaos' that ensued following a gang-related shooting near the food court.
5. I turned up a knob so he could hear the control room talking.
6. I convinced the gas station attendant to give me a rubber band by promising to show him my boobs. Just kidding. But I totally would have because it was 500 degrees, and I have more hair than a pony. (again, just for you, Mary)
Anyway. Here is the real reason I'm blogging. I decided to work on a painting tonight. I felt that maybe I shouldn't, because I probably need to focus on my quilting, seeing as I bought a fancy new sewing machine. But I've been working on a monster of a quilt that is really slow, I mean REALLY SLOW going. I just feel frustrated and kind of stuck, and I needed to get some creative energy out and tell myself that I could actually complete, or at least come near completing, a project. And I'm so happy with it. I can't wait to work on it more tomorrow night. I feel much better now. Except there is one tiny ant crawling on my laptop screen as I'm writing this from my bed. (Oh, why oh why must I stay up so late past my bedtime?) and now I'm feeling really itchy. Here's to being an ADD artist and painting something that really makes me happy. Ciao!
Labels: who I am
Friday, July 14, 2006
Round Robin Bliss
Here are first, my blocks for my aunt's quilt. Second, my blocks with my fabrics. All the crafty ladies in my family joined forces and agreed to sew at least 2 blocks a month.
Here's how it works: I picked out 10 fat quarters, sewed 2 block for myself out of those fabrics. Then, I mailed these 2 blocks and the remaining fabric to the next person in line. The next person sewed 2 blocks out of my fabric, in her own style, then mailed them on, with whatever fabric is leftover, to the next person. We went from Mid-Missouri, to Nashville, to East Tennessee, to New York, to California. Whew! My blocks are tired from all that travelling! I'm so excited about them. I really need to sew 2 more blocks--then I'd have 20. Any ideas what I should use to set them all together? I can't even decide if I want it to hang on the wall or use it as a lap quilt. I guess I'll figure it out after I sew it all together. If I spend too much time on it, I probably won't want to use it as a functional thing. We'll see.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Studio Pics!
Here are some pics of my super-clean (well for me, anyway) studio. My mom and sister helped me stay focused and dedicated. I think they're not sure where my sense of mess came from. Following the big show, it looked like the studio exploded, but I had a lovely reporter for Today's Homes magazine come and interview me and take photos, so I wanted it all to look neat and tidy and creative.
I'm feeling a little scattered as of late--trying to focus and get some kind of crafty work done as opposed to spinning around and shopping. That's a terrible habit I have. I sometimes think I'd rather buy fabric than actually make something. Really, it's just another way of stalling.
Today I'm going to do some sewing and finish some round robin blocks sorely owed to my Aunt. I'll take some pics of them when I'm done, and also of my blocks which are so beautiful! All my cousins (-in-law), mom, aunts, etc have done a lovely job making blocks. So that's your teaser....until next time. Oh! and I have some ceiling painting pics to put up. 
Labels: who I am
Monday, July 03, 2006
The Retail Superhighway
I'm now posting on Etsy!! It's a great site--I hestitate to send you there if you've never been. I fear I may never see you again.
It works a lot like eBay, but with instant gratification. PayPal is the currency for most items, and it seems pretty straightforward. All the items (most anyway) are handmade by someone. And I have to say, most of them are amazing deals. Not that that's a great thing, because underpricing creates a problem for all of us. You can't charge $20 for something that took you 5 hours to make plus supplies and expect to turn a profit. Come on girls, think! It's for your own good! That said, I put a couple of my bags and assorted things up on the site, and for reasonable deals, if not dirt-cheap. And I have many more items coming!!
I'm currently working on a series of floorcloths that I would like to market. Does anyone have suggestions for colors that they're dying to see in a rug?
