Still in Shock!

Landscape 11-1

My quilt, Landscape 11-1, was chosen for part of the permanent collection of the Art Museum at Michigan State University.  It is part of the SAQA "This is a Quilt" trunk show that is currently traveling.  It will travel until 2013 and then reside at the museum as part of their collection.  My artist statement is below:

A walk in the woods inspired me to create this art quilt.  I decided the best way to interpret my memory of the many earthy colors was by the use of paints on fabric combined with quilting stitches to give it definition.  The background fabric was the previous result of randomly painting, stamping and mono printing over a commercial fabric.  As I looked at the fabric, I could see a forest background with a stream running through it.  I painted a few more greens and added some brown grasses.  The trees are painted on white PFD fabric using acrylic mixed with fabric medium and appliqued to the background using raw applique and machine stitching. 

Doing cartwheels and happy dances.  : )

Vivian : )

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.

Old Work Revisited

I have been studying how to improve the piece below. I knew there was something missing that I just couldn't figure out. I decided it needed more depth. Since it was already quilted, I decided to use fabric paints to achieve the result I wanted. Although not a stark difference, it is improved to my satisfaction. I have other work I have completed this summer and will post it here on my blog in the next few days. I have been awfully absent this Summer due to travel, family visits and home improvement projects.

Ocean scene (Before)

Ocean scene (After)

Sometimes you have to look at old work with a new eye. Today, I painted lots of fabric and used Dynaflo to paint cotton pads and pull them apart. There is a new series in the works.

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

More QSDS

detail above of a purple/yellow piece

Here are a few of the paintings I did at QSDS...I made painted fabric, not pictures. I really like the effect of layering paint. It is all done on 7 oz. canvas using fabric paint and thus is easy to sew to other fabrics. The top piece has many layers and was an experiment. It might be hard to cut these up and use them in quilts.

Screen Printing

Screen Print with Mono Print

Screen Printing is fun! The fabrics above are printed using Jacquard Fabric paint and a produce bag. There was enough paint left on the produce bag to do a mono print, too. The fabric is some of the fat quarters I hand dyed last year. I sort of ripped and stretched the vinyl bag so I could get better texture and design when I printed.

This piece is the first print using the produce bag. It does use a lot of paint, but I love the results.

This is a screen print done on a commercial fabric using a freezer paper stencil I cut. The red print below is an abstract leaf that I cut from newspaper. It was my first print. Sorry about the photo quality, I just snapped a picture while it was drying on my design wall. I love the crisp quality of screen printing...maybe I should do it on a T-shirt??? Nahh, got to save the fabric paint for quilts!

Yesterday, I dyed some more fabric using three types of fabric. I am ironing it this morning and will take some photos to post tomorrow. I'm getting ready for my master class with Elizabeth Busch at QSDS, so for the next three weeks I will be working on some new pieces and some old ones in my studio. I was bogged down for a while and realized it was fabric colors I needed to inspire the muse, so hopefully the dyeing session will help in that area.

Two of a Kind

Pears Two

Pears Two (detail)

Here is another pear quilt I recently made. Techniques used: machine embroidery, fabric painting, chalking, machine appliqué and free motion quilting. Materials used: textile paint, acrylic paint, cotton batting, hand-dyed fabric, commercial fabric, fusible web and chalks.

These remind me of the giant pear tree in our neighbor's yard when we lived in Altus, Oklahoma. Our neighbor didn't like pears, so I got to harvest all I wanted. I made lots of pear jam and jelly.

Thanks for reading my blog and I welcome your comments!