Assembly Line?

I had coffee with Kate after I had my gallery review on Friday and she asked how I could possibly work in an assembly line?! Hey, I took some pictures, I can show you what a mean.

First I choose fabrics and lay them all out on my ironing board. You can also see my sketches of shrine, arch and house shapes. I'm keeping in mind that all of these pieces will be framed in 8 x 10 frames. I use this same system for my postcards and fit as many onto the ironing board as comfortable.


Then I begin to fuse the major shapes. You can see I added another background. I found a piece of prefused fabric and it wanted to join the party. That's why it's sitting on release paper. The other backgrounds are not fused. (Though they could be if I wasn't stingy with WU or lazy.)


After all the shapes are fused, I get started picking out embellishments. This is where the assembly line is particularly efficient. If I had to get out my ribbon and trim box, dig through it for one piece, then put it away, then get out my charms box, dig through it, then put it away... then the button box, the stamp box, the bead box, the "other interesting fibers" box etc... I'd lose interest and the studio would be a mess.

Here's a picture of one of the shrines with the potential embellishments. Now each set of embellishments gets put in a little zip loc bag with the background fabric. (If you look back at the
finished shrines you see I did not use the silver fish, the gold starfish, the white Barbie shoe or several of the beads... oh well, they just get restocked in their appropriate boxes.)



The assembly line stops here pretty much. Now I work on each item individually by free motion quilting if needed, hand embroidery, sewing (and gluing) on embellishments, sandwiching and finishing.

Oh, you may also notice that the green/purple/pink background piece never got finished. It was missing something and I lost interest a bit and I needed to get the ones that were done all framed and ready to go.. Oh well, go with the flow.

Gallery? Yes!

I had a delightful meeting with the owner of Maine Street Art yesterday morning. When I walked she in was vacuuming with her back to the door, so when she finally turned around, she was startled. It made for a comic introduction.

I brought the five completed shrine series -- all nicely framed -- to be considered for her holiday show. All the works on the walls will be under $100. She accepted all five! She was also really enthusiastic and complimentary and that always gives one a good vibe. I also brought about six works to be considered for the January show which will be called "The Spirit of Art" and focus on meditative and healing art. (This is where you come up with an "artist statement" that fits the theme no matter what was the inspiration for the art, right?) She liked five of them and asked me to bring them back in December for final consideration. I think she wants to get a feeling for what other work and sizes she'll have for that show.

So, there you go. It was easy.

Unless you count all the work preparing everything... making the art, buying the foam core and the frames, cutting the foam core, sewing the pieces to the foam core, framing, printing business cards, writing titles and prices on business cards to be taped to the back of each piece, wrapping them up so they don't get scratched or catch on anything while being carried to and fro... etc etc etc

But, worth it!

I can also have upto 10 pieces in plastic sleeves in her display racks. She adored my postcards (like you all did!), so I'll put those all in a nice basket with a big label.

So, if you're near Brunswick, ME, stop by Maine Street Art and buy some reasonably priced original art! The show opens November 9 and will run through the end of December. She's open seven days a week. (Speaking of hard work... can you imagine owning a gallery?! Wow!)

Family Pictures

I know I have a certain few readers out there (who go by the names grma and grpa) who have missed pictures of the kids of late. Enough with all the art... how about the grand kids?! Here they are. (I'm kidding, they are all enthusiastic and supportive about the art too.)

These pictures are from our trip with Claire's class to Chipman Farms Pumpkin Land.


Queen of the Hay Bales -- the white spot on the left is the moon, it was a beautiful clear day.

How cool is this big slide? You could go really fast if you laid down on your coat with the slick inner lining facing the slide.


Cutest boy in all of Pumpkin Land


It was lovely... though the rains have washed away the usual brilliant fall colors.


Jeff and the kids only made it to the first turn in the corn maze... too muddy. (Remember I mentioned the rain? Not so good for the corn maze.)


A beautiful fun day! Expect more kid pictures soon -- in costume!

Since You Asked...

I've gotten several lovely comments lately! Thank you so much. They are such a boost. One came from Dee in NY inquiring about purchasing some postcards, except she had a no-reply email. So, Dee, if you're reading this, drop me another email using the link on the right under my picture.

I've hesitated to offer my work for sale through my blog. I don't know why... certainly not for any specfic reason. But, yes, of course, it's all for sale. I have several postcards and many of the collages you've seen. I would be delighted and honored if anyone would like to have a piece of my art in their home, just email me!

I'm hoping to display some work at the gallery as mentioned below, so if you're interested, let me know and I'll hold some items back.

Gallery?

There are several new galleries in Brunswick, Maine. I think it's pretty exciting (too bad we're moving). One of the new galleries is called Maine Street Art. The artist/owner has a new exhibit each month focusing on a special theme. The first was the kick-off show, then there was a Wings show and the current show is Wood. It's fresh and full of a huge variety of art and artists.

Last week I finally said to myself, "All that artwork is rotting away in drawers and closets. Why don't you get out and share and sell it?!" So I called the owner and asked if I might bring some work in for her to consider for her upcoming shows. The holiday show is focused on gift giving and she wants all the work to be priced under $100. And the January show is "Spirit of Art" focusing on healing and meditative art.

So, I've got my appointment on Friday morning. I didn't have much in the under $100 range (other than post cards) so I got really inspired and made a small series of shrine collages. They are all mounted on black foam core (ala Sonji) and framed in 8 x 10 frames. They were a delight to make. I hope the owner will be willing to include some in the upcoming show.


Envision Growth


Shrine by the Sea


Treasures of the Sunrise



Spontaneous Joy



House of Vine and Whimsy

Since we've all been enjoying process pictures and descriptions lately in the Artful Quilters Webring, I'll post some in progress pictures of these shrines later in the week. I've settled into a casual "assembly line" system that makes it really fun to do a series.

Wish me luck at the gallery. I'll be bringing a few other pieces for her to consider for the January show. How will I carry everything? And what will I wear? There is so much more to this experience than just making the art, you know?

More Postcards: Leaf Series

I had a tough time finishing this series. I think I started out with about 9 foundations using various colors and leaf shapes. But several of them fell flat. They've been put aside. These four I am pleased with. They are all 4 x 6 inches and made with fused hand dyed fabric and hand embroidery. They are backed with muslin.


Green Leaves, Orange Dots


Slender Stalks


One Red Leaf Shape


Leaves in Blue

Week End Review

Jeff came home this weekend. Yeah! Claire had begged him to come home so he could join us for her field trip to Chipman Farm's Pumpkin Land. It wasn't the manipulative self-serving begging that a teenager might do. This was honest "I really want you to come home" begging. And it worked. We also felt Benjamin needed some additional dad-time and I needed another grown-up around for a day or two.

The field trip was wonderful. It was the perfect fall day (unlike several weekends past and the foreseeable future). We could see snow-covered Mt. Washington (tallest peak in New Hampshire) on the horizon. Spectacular. Pumpkin Land was a gas. How can you go wrong with giant hay bales set up for kids to jump across? Unless you mind getting kicked in the head by your classmates. We also enjoyed a hay ride where we saw broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and corn growing. Each kid got to pick a pumpkin to take home. So now there are six on our porch. (Not because we have six kids, of course. But, because we had four pumpkins to start with.)

Friday night we made homemade pizza, watched a new episode of Avatar with the kids and The Interpreter after the kids went to bed. Jeff and I both really liked The Interpreter. Thumbs up.

Claire scored two goals at her soccer game on Saturday -- another beautiful day! I did lots of sewing on Saturday too. More on that later.

Saturday night Jeff and I had a date. I wore my red pashmina and we went out for Indian food. This is a big deal (the Indian food, not the pashmina, though it is warm and lovely). Seriously, we have not been to an Indian restaurant in more than 12 years. When we lived in Florida, Jeff got spoiled by our wonderful friend Supriya's mother's cooking. Now he thinks the only Indian food that is fit to enjoy is a meal made by Mrs. Krishnan. I have lived with this phobia of his for years, but I put my proverbial foot down this weekend and said, I want Indian. It was delightful. Our little town of Brunswick actually supports two Indian restaurants. I think we chose well and enjoyed a great meal. Jeff says he actually enjoyed it too. But I'm not convinced he'll be willing to go out again for another 12 years.

Then we went to see Elizabethtown. Oh dear. It was awful. Truly horrible. The kind of movie that you laugh at not because the director was trying to create a funny scene, but because the effort is so miserable and out of place that you must laugh. Of course, that's just between the long stretches of boring.

I made hot cookies when we got home and watched the first two episodes of Lost. The evening was easily resurrected.

Sunday we heard a wonderful sermon by former govenor of Maine, Angus King. He's a long time member of our church. Today was the day Maine churches were supposed to profess their commitment to anti-discrimination. So Angus preached about God and politics. Yeah, Angus! I want him to rise up and lead the Christian Left!

Then we ran some errands and I bought this shirt at Old Navy. I saw it earlier in the season and thought I was too old to wear something like that. Then thought about it for days and wondered why I was possibly censoring my own wardrobe. It's short sleeved so I won't be able to wear it for awhile, but when it warms up (or when I move to Texas) I'll be looking cute and spunky!

I'm also entranced by the new line of chocolates developed by Target called Choxie. They are contemporary and beautifully packaged. I can't believe I didn't buy any, so I can't report on how they taste.

Speaking of the Christian Left, I'll be watching West Wing tonight and dreaming about whether there exists a real-life Matt Santos.

We Love Mo Willems

My very favorite thing to do with Claire and Benjamin is read books. Lately, we're big fans of Mo Willems. It all started with "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus." I think Claire heard it at school, then we checked it out from the library, then we ordered it from a Scholastic Book Order. (Love Scholastic Book Orders!) There's not much to it as far as words or pictures, but somehow it strikes a chord. Cracks us all up!



Then there were more pigeon books. Then Knuffle Bunny which makes the kids laugh so hard they get the hiccups. And Leonardo is funny funny funny too. We love them all.

Mo has won the Caldecott Honor twice and apparently won several Emmy's for his work on Sesame Street. You can see my favorite, Suzie Kabloozie, here.

In fact, Mo helped me with a good bit of parenting this morning. Lately, Benjamin has been screaming his head off when he gets dropped off at preschool three morning a week. This is a somewhat new behavior and no fun for anyone. I've tried lots of different tactics to make the morning go more smoothly. Some successful. Some not. Today, I suggested he bring "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" to school to share with his teachers and friends. Benjamin thought this was a brilliant idea. (I'm the smartest mom in the world.) And he was thrilled to show it off and explain that it was written by the same guy who wrote "Knuffle Bunny," which they read at school last week. Not one tear was shed (by Benjamin or me).

Lately there have been other parenting challenges with both kids. Some I've handled ok and some not so well. The weird result of these experiences is that even when I feel like I did the right thing or was successful in choosing "truth over harmony" it doesn't mean it was pleasant, or comfortable or less stressful. In fact, it's not. At the end of the day, sometimes I'm left feeling sad about certain incidents during the day, but pleased with how I handled them. A strange balance.

Oh my... too much analysis. I think I need another look at Suzie Kabloozie.

New Work

Here's a smallish fiber collage I finally finished up. It's another in the arch series, though the arch is more subtle this time. It's 14.5 x 9.5 inches and it's titled (tentatively) Patina of Radiance. All kinds of stuff going on here: old key, fish charms, paint, beads, wire, image transfer, sheer fabric.



I started with the image transfer on the top. Last year, I printed out several small pictures from a big copyright free directory that I have. This image is one of my favorites. I love the bronzy color and angle and the idea of a face with a radiant crown.

Then I picked fabrics in a similar color family with a bit of common theme -- the dark colors, the leaf shapes, the contrast of the shiney and bright bits with the dark and cloudy bits. I rummaged around in my bead, button and charm bins and gathered stuff that might be incorporated. I put all that in an old Godiva chocolates box.

I knew I wanted to try fusing sheer fabrics. So I had to go buy some. Twist my arm. I chose purple. Surprise. The fusing worked great. It needed to be quilted over, but that was fine. I wanted to incorporate some quilting which I hadn't done on other fiber collage pieces. In fact, that's why I pieced that black area -- to spotlight the quilting.

After piecing the background, sewing some elements on the top and quilting, I got out the chocolate box and started to add other embellishments. (This is through the top and the batting.) I extended the arch at this point. Originally it only went down to the top of the black section. I think it needed a longer line there.

In fact, after I finished most of the beading, I felt like the longer line still needed to be emphasized, so I added the washers. (In fact, I had to go out shopping for those, too.) Then the washers were too shiney, so I squirted out some black, green and gold paint and mixed it up a bit with my finger and dabbed a bit over each washer. Then over the fish and the sun.

I think it still lacks a bit of a focus point, but that's ok. I like the combination of all the elements and I think the eye is drawn equally to each.

(I'm working on being able to speak effectively about my art. So, how was that?)

I really like working small. I don't feel moved to make anything big at the moment. Why is that?
In the meantime...
I've got about 50 more pages left in The Da Vinci Code which I started last week. It really is a snappy little story. I guess I might the last to actually read it. In fact, I'm off to figure out where they will finally find the code to solve the cryptex to find the keystone and unveil the identity of the Teacher?!

Just a Bit

Soccer was cancelled for the third time in four weeks because of rain. Not that it matters, since Claire has a fever and wouldn't have been able to play anyway. I think we're in for a pretty low weekend. Remember when I was complaining so much about the rain this summer and I made that picnic quilt? I guess I need a new project to combat the weather. Or I could quilt the picnic quilt. It's all sandwiched and ready to go.

Of course, I must say Thank You Thank You Thank You for all your enthusiastic and generous compliments about the postcards. I really appreciate it and rather than thanking you each personally, please accept this joyful gratitude! And just wait... I've got another postcard series almost ready to post.

One more thing, my friend Joanne has started a blog! She a wonderful quilt artist and there are just two posts at the moment, but they are witty and interesting... even though there are not yet any pictures. I know you're going to enjoy reading her quilting thoughts. I hope she's not overwhelmed that I've linked her.

New Sketch Book

Last week when I was working on the portrait of the kids, after it went south, I decided it was time to make the sketch book cover I had planned for my divine Elin Noble fabric.

It was so great to set aside a project that was sucking rocks and whip up something wonderful. It was quick, my math was mostly spot on and I adore it.

I bought this dyed fabric from Elin Nobel at the Maine State Quilt Show in July. (and paid a pretty penny!) I knew I wanted to use it in some fashion that I could really continue to enjoy. Not cut it up for a quilt. Not fold it away and fondle it occasionally. After making those small notebook covers, I decided that a larger sketch book cover would be the perfect use. Plus, a real artist makes lots of notes and sketches, right? Maybe I'll be inspired to do that more too.

Check it out.



Here's the inside. It holds a 9x12 sketch book. The key is that you can swap the sketch book out when it's filled. It slides in a deep pocket in the back and the cover -- strengthened with a piece of cereal box -- folds over. Yes, I added a pocket for business cards, receipts, post cards, pictures, dry leaves....


I think even the back looks marvy! I knew it needed some method of closure and I came up with tacking a piece of gold stretchy cord on the back. Ingenious. Who knew I was so clever? You can see it wrapped around the closed cover on the top picture.


Now... all is well, but wouldn't it be great to jazz it up a bit? How about sequins? So, I ordered from Cartwright's. Look at this little pile of sparkly treasures. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to arrange them. I know I'll need to sew them down extra tight so they don't pop off while being stuffed in and out of my bag. But, since I'm hoping to rent and watch all of the episodes of the first season of Lost, I should have plenty of time to figure it out.

Postcards: Landscape Series

I've been working on these for weeks. Just a bit at a time. Finally, I got them all edged and scanned. They were so fun to make. I was loving the colors and shapes and thinking about what might work on this hill or that valley. Then adding the stitching really brought them to life. They are all 4 x 6 and backed with fabric.

Amber Waves


Blossoms of Purple


Purple Crop Lines


Red Trees on the Hill


Scatterings of Pink


View from a Green Cabin

Cappaccino

I always think the whole Self Portrait Tuesday thing is quite wonderful. I don't regularly participate, too much pressure. This month they are doing photo stories. Here's my contribution. On a Tuesday even. I'm so organized.

Occasionally, I take the time to brew the real deal cappaccino with all the wonderful simple tools I've acquired recently.

Above: Clockwise from top left, Bodum milk frother. (Not to be confused with Boden where you can find very cool clothes.) Kimbro espresso grind coffee. Spoon. Bottom half of my moka, with water in the bottom and coffee mounded up in the filter portion. Top half of moka.


While the moka is on the stove top over medium heat, I prepare the mug with a bit of Hershey's chocolate syrup and some sugar. That's my favorite mug made by my kids for Mothers' Day some years ago.


See the espresso bubbling up through the tube in the middle? Deep dark rich!


Then I warm the milk in the microwave.


Then I pump the milk full of air and it gets thick and frothy! One time I accidently broke this glass piece. Tragic! I called the Bodum 800 number and they sent me a replacement quick as a whistle and for a reasonable price. Love good customer service. If you need a French press or a milk frother, buy Bodum.


After pouring the espresso over the chocolate and sugar and giving it a quick mix, I dollop the mix and froth on top. Luscious. Can you believe how simple it is? You really don't need the super expensive machines.

Here's me enjoying my Tuesday Mocha.


Ok, it's not actually me, it's Tommy.

Oh and speaking of the wonderful eats and drinks. Check out what my sister cooked for their recent camping trip. I am so not a camper, but if I were, I'd take her along as the chef.

I Admit It

I watch a lot of tv. And I like it. Since Deb Roby reported her weekly schedule and several others have mentioned their feelings about the new season, I thought I'd chime in.

Mondays
still giving How I Met Your Mother a chance

Tuesdays
The Amazing Race, also not yet really thrilling me

Wednesday
America's Next Top Model, loving it!
Lost, I finally gave in to what millions of others seem to already know. In fact, I'll be renting last season so I can really catch up. (I flip to watch Martha's Apprentice during the commercials.)

Thursday
Alias, I've given 5 or so years of my life to this one so it's hard to bail now even though it pretty much sucks and they've killed off Fr. Hotty McSexy who could have carried me through this lame season on his own. Boo Hoo. I watch Survivor during the commercials.
And then Everwood which I adore! In fact, I'm giving it the "show of the month" award... it has not disappointed like every other show.

Friday
Hmmm Not much, maybe What Not To Wear, if I remember.

Saturday
Not much here either.

Sunday
West Wing. Yumamente, President Matt Santos.

Actually, I guess that's not too much tv. Of course, I catch my fair share of Iron Chef America, Miami Ink, Designer Finals, Curb Appeal, Designed to Sell, etc etc etc. And you can never go wrong with Animal Planet.

Art Quilts Maine

Art Quilts Maine met last weekend. It's a great guild. There were about 30 gals there from all over the state. It was a potluck lunch. Yum... you know that broccoli, raisin and bacon salad that always shows up at potlucks? It sure is good -- in a very strange sort of way.

We always do a workshop in the morning, then lunch, then a business meeting (yawn) then show and tell.

Last week we did self-portraits ala Yvonne Porcella in the Summer 2005 issue of Quilting Arts. (I know you've seen it.)

Look at our great results. Everyone seemed to have big fun.



I especially love the portraits that Kate did of her kids. She doubted that she would be able to really capture their spirits. But she totally did!



I also planned to do a portrait of my kids. Though I intended to copy a picture trying to do it somewhat realistically. Here's the portrait I worked from.



Aren't they just the cutest little monkeys ever?!

And here's what I came up with after a couple of hours at the guild meeting and then a bit more fine tuning.



I am very pleased with it. I love the monochromatic color scheme, I think she lines and shapes are mostly quite nice and I think it even looks like Claire and Benjamin without additional features. But I wanted to do their faces in the same style -- fusing tiny shapes.

I had Thursday morning all to myself and barracaded myself in my studio to work (which is actually play!).

Unfortunately, this is what I came up with.



A three year old drag queen. Luckily I did not fuse these atrocities to Benjamin's face. At that point I set the whole quilt aside and began working on a sketch pad cover which was a huge success. I'll tell you more about that later.

So, what should I do? Just quilt the facial features? Hand quilt? Free motion quilt? Paint or drawn in the details? With Pigma Pens? Give up?

Stairs

I cleaned our hard wood stairs yesterday. I mean really cleaned. Stair by stair with the hardwood cleaner and a cloth, by hand. They look beautiful. I also cleaned the walls with the Magic Sponge. Grimy hands constantly going up and down make for messy walls. As I was cleaning, I was thinking about the stairs and our home. Moving to a new home (which will have carpeted stairs.) Ups and downs. You see the metaphors here.

First I had to decide whether to clean going up or coming down. Of course, coming down is the right answer. Then I could brush all the crumbs, hair and dust down to the next stair again and again and just dust-bust it at the bottom.

Then I was feeling melancholy about the fact that there is no dog hair on the steps. I still miss our beloved black lab, Isaac, who died almost 2 years ago. I don't really miss the dog hair though. Hard wood stairs are dog hair magnets. Even worst than kitchen tile floor corners because you are not at eye level with the kitchen floor, unlike when you are walking upstairs and you get a close up view of the state of each step. We'll get a new dog when we move to Texas.

So, since I was feeling nostalgic, I replayed the worst stair incident in my mind. When Benjamin was 22 months old, he fell all the way down the stairs. Not bump bump bump on his bottom like a tobaggan, but head over heads slamming into several stairs along the way. I know this because I saw it all happen just out of arms reach.

Benjamin has a "lovey" stuffed frog. When we moved into this house, he got into the habit of tossing Froggy down the stairs so he would have his hands free to hold the railing. That morning, I watched him wind up his pitching arm, then step and completely lose his balance. I reached and screamed at the same time. He was wearing his red striped union-suit pajamas.

Jeff had not left for work yet and was able to practically meet him at the bottom after hearing my scream. He scooped him up. Benjamin was crying, of course, and had a bloody mouth. We quickly noticed one tooth was poking out funny. There did not appear to be any significant injuries. No cracked skull or broken bones. Thankfully. I still imagine that we could have had a big pool of blood that morning. We are blessed.

Claire had been to the dentist just earlier in the week. The dentist's business card was still sitting on the counter. I do not believe this is just a coincidence. It was a tiny miracle I needed at that moment. We called the dentist and rushed off still in bloody pajamas. Before we left, we found another tooth on the stairs. The whole tooth, root and all, like you see in a model at the dentist's office.

We thought the dentist might be able to save the other tooth that was hanging out. Not a chance, he just yanked it right out with his bare hands. More crying. The dentist also said this was one of the worst injuries he had ever seen, other than kids who go through car windshields in accidents. And that actually it was lucky to lose teeth, because that meant that the teeth took the brunt of the impact rather than the jaw. Or other body parts.

Later in the day we went to see the pediatrician to check for concussion or other injuries. He was fine... other than some bruises and the gap in his mouth. You can see the particularly bruised right eye here and the tongue creeping over the gap on the left. Poor guy. He has also recently lost a third tooth which we believe is still part of that original impact.

We put a gate at the top of the stairs the next day.

Sunday in Portland

We had a wonderful trip to Portland on Sunday. I adore Maine in the fall. Knowing this is our last autumn here, we headed out for some "must sees" we had yet to visit. And some letterboxing along the way.

This is Bug Light in South Portland, known for it's interesting columns. (But not for being a very safe place to put a letterbox.)


The dandelions have gone to seed.



Portland Head Light... apparently the most photographed light house in the world. Do you suppose every picture has squinting kids in it?


Looking up...