New Work

Moonlight on the Snow

Moonlight on the Snow(detail)

I made this piece for the Fast Friday Challenge group. The challenge was to make a piece using Chiaroscuro, the contrast of light and dark to create depth. I really like this new piece and it was fun to make. I used fabric paints to achieve the light.

Another Landscape...

Ocean Scene 2

I just finished this one...well, almost...it still needs a facing. I am also deciding that I may crop some of the sky to make it a more balanced composition but the verdict is still out on that one. This piece has some "thread painting" that I added for the crest of the waves. I also did a bit of painting on this one. I like to keep the painting subtle so it blends with the fabrics. Since it's Summer, I must be thinking of the beach (as you can see in the previous post) ...I have a few unfinished pieces on my design wall that are trees that need to be finished. But, the ocean and beach have captured my creative muse at the moment.

Machine Stitching...new work

I have been remiss in posting my new work. I'm hoping to get back on track. This is one of my latest ocean scenes. I have been dreaming of going back to the beach lately, but it seems to be a busy time for us. I have my memories of the ocean and this art piece is composed of those memories. I always feel so refreshed after a trip to the beach. I love to watch the tide roll in and wash away the footprints in the sand.

This art quilt is raw edge applique and machine quilted. I painted the sky fabric using SetaColor paint.

I recently attended QSDS in Columbus, Ohio where I took a class taught by Rosalie Dace. She is an excellent teacher and I came away with lots of new ideas for creating texture. I don't usually use embellishments such as buttons, beads and hand embroidery in my art, but Rosalie also showed us how to use the sewing machine to get texture. We learned to use a twin needle for quilting and many more useful skills. I got to take the class with my good friend, Susan, who is so talented with her hand stitching and embellishments. Susan recently posted on her blog about staying true to your heart in creating our art. I must say that I have found that machine stitching and machine quilting is what I love. I did try to do hand stitching while at QSDS and knew I was going "against the grain". It just didn't feel right! I say if it doesn't feel right, then your heart isn't in it. It made me think of learning to sew when I was a little girl. My mother taught me and it wasn't hand stitching, she set me at the machine and taught me to sew. And when I think about it, I never saw her do any handwork...only machine work. She made her living by using the machine. It makes me feel good to realize that I am my mother's daughter after all.

More Trees! I see Trees!

Late Winter

Early Fall

More trees! I actually finished these on March 8, 2010. (I love that adobe photoshop elements includes the dates in the properties of each photo...helps me to remember!) But I didn't get them posted to my blog until today. I made these immediately after I made Autumn Woods. I needed to do a bit more uncomplicated creations for a rest. I have plans and fabric for Spring and Summer but haven't started on them. These are also based on my photos of the woods in Ohio and Virginia. I did have to paint some of the fabrics as the original colors didn't suit my palette. I think the thing I enjoyed most was the machine quilting. When I quilt, I put my ipod nano on the speaker dock and listen to a BOT...usually a murder mystery...keeps me on my toes. I download them free from our library and I'm currently listening to the author Mariah Stewart.

After my stay in Ohio, I had difficulty getting back to the studio. I plan to spend the rest of the day there, today. I just read an article in the new issue of Art Calendar magazine that addresses the issue of being persistent in making art. Also, I received the new article by Alyson Stanfield about getting back in the studio. Both excellent reading for motivation.

Early Fall Detail


Late Winter detail

Quilting on Late Winter

Thanks for reading and I appreciate your comments,

Vivian

At last...a finished piece

Hooray!  I am finally blogging again!  This is a landscape piece I started at QSDS but just couldn't seem to get anywhere with it.  I almost threw it away twice but grabbed it and tucked it inside a drawer.  Now I am really glad I saved it because I really like the end result.  Below is after quilting and before cropping.  After I cropped it, I realized that was what it needed all along.  It is made using my hand dyed fabrics. 

Before cropping and detail below

The hand dyed fabric reminded me of a stream running through a meadow, so I just went with it when I quilted it.  I had an old frame handy and decided I liked it framed.  It is 8"x10" inside an 11"x14" frame. 

Machine Quilting designs and Other Important Stuff

I have been thinking of making a whole cloth quilt using some of my machine quilting motifs. I keep samples of machine quilting designs and stitches (each about 12" sq. or so) pinned together. When I can't decide what stitch to use, I quickly flip through them to find something I want to use on a particular quilt. Lots of times, I start to quilt and end up with a totally different design. The design above is done on muslin using yellow thread. My inspiration for designs usually come from nature. There are so many intricate lines and curves and swirls in leaves and flowers or even the bark on a tree. I must get back to work on my art this week.

When I was in California, I bought Emma a yellow rain slicker at an Old Navy store. She looks so cute in it and even got to wear it once. This is a picture of her dad taking her out in the rain. (He reluctantly did so because any dog dressed in clothes is embarrassing to him). LOL! But she wore it and never tried to pull it off. She loves to wear her sweaters in the winter, too.

And if you can't get enough Emma pics, here she is in our back yard at our other house in Columbus, OH. It's a huge back yard and has a fence. She loves to run and chase her ball. I do miss having a back yard here...at this house, there is no fence and it's very small. So, we call the house in Columbus our country house.