Building a Bridge

My son Benjamin is participating in Destination Imagination this year. Since he was really interested and it seemed a great program for his skills and interests... and because programs like these need volunteers, I became a team manager and off we went!

Destination Imagination is basically competitive, creative problem solving and team work -- with emphasis on creativity and teamwork! It's been very challenging and very fun!

This weekend the team had an opportunity to attend a mock tournament with several "instant challenge" events. An instant challenge is a problem to be solved by the team using all their creative problem solving skills in a very short time frame, usually 6 to 8 minutes. Some instant challenges are performance based, some are task based and some are a hybrid.

One of the challenges was to build a bridge across two pvc pipes using various house hold stuff: index cards, mailing labels, paper clips, straws, etc. In addition, the bridge needed to support up to five marbles. More points were awards for the length of the bridge and the number of marbles the bridge could support.


Here is the team in the process of conceiving and building the bridge. They had five minutes.

The team's name is The Unknown Pickles, thus the green t-shirts.

Here the appraiser is measuring the bridge -- 14 inches! She confided to the kids that theirs was the longest bridge of the day.

Here the team is carefully placing the marbles on the bridge. It held three marbles!

They extended the straws by squeezing them into each other, then created two sets to run parallel across the span. The marbles set nicely between the two straws. What a genius design! Unfortunately, as they added more marbles, the straws bowed out and the marbles fell through. They quickly thought of some improvements for their bridge, but they were not allowed to change the design after the five-minute building period.

It was a great day and I was so impressed with these energetic, creative 10-year-olds! The experience is about so much more than a bridge made from straws. It's also about building bridges to success, self-confidence, experimentation, community-building, leadership, and creativity!

Time Lapse Fun

Last week, I spent almost four hours painting a bunch of fabric! Some will be used in my art quilts, some will be included in kits for upcoming workshops. I thought it would be fun to do a time lapse video of my morning. Check it out.


Painting on Fabric from Deborah Boschert on Vimeo.

I loved using the Gelli Printing Plate. Wow. I only scratched the surface of the possibilities of that tool. (Luckily I didn't actually scratch the surface. That would be bad.) I also used some more Stencil Girl stencils -- some with the Gelli plate. That awesome background music is written and performed by my very talented cousin Ben Streeter. Check out more of his work here.

Some of this same style of surface design and painting is included in my STITCHED workshop. The workshop also includes sections on design, construction and stitching. Super fun. (And did you hear that STITCHED has been extended? Now you'll have access to 20 workshops all the way through 2012 for only $89.)

I am really enjoying playing with video production. More of that in the future, for sure. What would you like to see?

Tiny Details

Here' a little peek at part of that large project I mentioned in the past post. I decided I needed to add stones to the bottom part of the quilt. I love stones...

 I used them in this small quilt, Here He Stayed.

Also in this detail from Construction: Concrete and Stone.

I wanted my stones to have some interesting pattern. I chose this stencil from MaryBeth Shaw, Stencil Girl! It's called damask.

This step also allowed me to tie in some colors from the rest of the quilt -- I needed more of that rusty orange and more blue. Here you can see I've sponged some of the stencil, then I flipped it over and brayered across it to create a second negative print.

See the positive and the negative? I knew I would be cutting up the fabric into much smaller shapes, so I didn't need a full clean image from the whole stencil.

Three little pebbles to start!

Check out the amazing selection of patterns at StencilGirl Products. Really, there are so many possibilities. I think this tiny bit of pattern really adds an interesting bit of detail to my stones.

Clear Steps

I began working on a large new art quilt this week. It's been stirring around in my brain for weeks and weeks. I had ideas but nothing seemed right. I was feeling so much doubt and frustration and I hadn't even touched a single piece of fabric.

And then I just started and everything became clear. I chose an unexpected combination of fabrics and and began fusing and cutting and composing.

After the background was set, I knew where to go next. Each step became clear as I approached it.

Here's a peek. I was stitching an arch over the top of the composition. You've noticed I do that quite regularly now?

There are still several more steps before completion. I'm not kidding myself and thinking I'll continue on this easy, obvious path of clarity. The quilt will probably turn its back on me a bit before it's done. That's ok. I know how to return to the pondering and patient stages of creating art.

A New Year

Today is my 42nd birthday. I love having my birthday in late January. When everyone is pondering new year's resolutions and rushing to wrap up Christmas celebrations, I let the holidays come to a slow, appropriate end and I wait for my birthday to think about my hopes and dreams for the coming year.

With that in mind, here are some of the art-related things I hope to accomplish in 2012 (and the first three weeks of 2013).

• Compile a comprehensive inventory of completed art quilts.
• Set up a proper space for photographing quilts.
• Maintain a reasonable level of anxiety and stress. (Don't let it bubble over.)
• Complete five quilts for the new 12x12 project "2012 Series."
• Complete a quilt for a juried show I've been invited to enter.
• Arrange my time and priorities to say "yes" as opportunities present themselves.
• Finalize Layered Landscape Collage workshop for real life and online.
• Make two to four additional “large” works.
• Enter two to four juried art quilt shows that are meaningful to me.
• Update blog and/or website.
• Compile comprehensive list of shows, publications, etc.
• Write a simple useful bio.
• Write a simple useful artist statement.
• Don’t get distracted by fiddly crafty projects that don’t truly inspire proper time and attention.

I think having a written list will help. Posting it here makes me more accountable, I suppose.
As I read over this list, it seems a bit clinical. It's clear and practical and reasonable, but it lacks spirit, I think. That's the stuff that is hard to put into words and even harder to measure. So, maybe I'll just say...

• Embrace spirit.

Changing

As I've been working on this art quilt for the next 12x12 challenge: Metamorphosis, I'm finding so many small and large examples of metamorphosis along the way. The quilt is changing. My ideas are changing. I am changing.

Earlier in the week, I puttered around with the design. Here's a detail of my progress.

Here's a wide shot.

I wasn't happy. Much too fiddly. Too realistic -- and yet totally unrealistic. Too many fabrics -- and yet not enough fabrics to really show each stage in the life cycle of the allium. Too crowded.

So I just pinned all those stray pieces in place for now. Maybe I'll return to it later. (Maybe not.)

Back to the drawing board -- or sketch book. I still like the concept of the cycles of life of the allium plant. Maybe something more like this...

But first, I slapped some scraps onto a spare square of felt as a bit of a warm up and refresher. I'm looking forward to adding some hand and machine stitching to this little ditty.

I stamped more fabric. I used the same color scheme and concept, but I started over.

I am liking this new more composition much better. Here's a detail.

 

Little Houses

Just one last holiday project that I haven't yet shared...

I made several of these sweet little white felt houses embroidered with trees and wreathes.

I sent one to each of the Frayed Edges... Sarah, Kate and Kathy. My dear Maine friends who still support and inspire me in so many ways.

Several went to family members. I did keep one for myself, but it's not stitched up yet... just cut out and embroidered.

Each house also has a little battery operated tea light.

Aren't they fun and a bit magical?

I actually was inspired by an image on Pinterest!