Houston Goodies

I cleaned up my studio a bit today and put away some of the goodies that came home with me from International Quilt Festival in Houston.

Marcia Derse is always on my list! I picked up the five fat quarters in the lower left. Plus, I always love seeing her and chatting about her fantastic fabric.  I first met Marcia when I was stunned by her beautiful booth at Festival in 2006.

I picked up four wooden stamps -- in the upper left. I've already used the camel and the leaves!  Several of the other twelves were raving about Oakshott cottons, so I picked up a red/gray stripe and an orange/red stripe. I also got a grab-bag stack of hand dyed fabrics in the upper right. I'm going to have a massive day of surface design and add something to every piece.

But wait... there's more! A tiny lotus charm from Lilly Pilly Designs in the gold bag. They had tons of really beautiful pieces and the gals in the booth were so friendly and enthusiastic. (That always make me more eager to buy stuff!) Two hanks of hand-dyed perle cotton from Artfabrik where Laura and Frieda always greet me with big smiles. Five tubes of beads that I had some plans for ... but I'm not sure I can remember exactly what they were. Lastly, I was sucked in by this bundle of selvedges and off-cuts of felted wool. Perfect for fabric collages.

I've been spending lots of time editing my videos for the workshop I'll be teaching at STITCHED! Alma will be announcing the details for all 20 video workshops on Thursday, December 1 and registration will be open! I can't wait to tell you more!

Day in DC

We visited another Smithsonian today! But first, a stop in Chinatown.

Lunch at Tony Chen's where both kids tried the tea and only one liked it. (Surprisingly, it was Benjamin.)

Claire especially enjoyed the PuuPuu platter. Lots of yummies!

Water?!

These pictures are taken with my new iPhone. I think they're ok for snapshots.

My fortune was the one about patience. (A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.)  So true. Benjamin's was true too -- The star of riches is shining on you. The neighbor paid him $20 for helping to bag leaves this morning.

Actually... it says "The star of riches *in* shining on you." Which is not as bad a typo as Claire's fortune, "Handsome is that handsome dose." What?

Then we went on to the Smithsonian American Art Museum where we saw several wonderful exhibits including bronze sculptures by Paul Manship.

The painting behind Jeff and Benjamin is titled, Father and Son. So of course...

I took a few pictures of textiles. I like this one with the quote above.

We had a cool moment when we looked at works by Kara Walker in one exhibit. Benjamin studied her in his art class over the last month and made a silhouette-inspired project that is hanging on the bulletin board in our kitchen. (A person balancing on one arm on top of a flag pole; a flag with smiley faces and peace signs and a tank shooting people.)

Edited to add: I asked Benjamin about the tank. I know boys like to draw battle scenes, but it makes me a bit uncomfortable. He said that his art teacher said he wasn't allowed to draw guns and bullets. He said, "Those are not bullets coming out of the tank, they are loaves of bread." Well, ok then.

Then we saw her again since she was included in The Black List portrait collection. We even watched a short video of her talking about her experience as a artist. That's what it's all about, right?! Going out in the world and making connection with other experiences!

DC is a great town. I am so thankful to live close by and to enjoy with my family.

More Than A Week...

since my last post?! How did that happen? There was that flurry of pictures and excitment following my trip to Houston and then I just fell back into all the every day stuff that must be done -- and does not make for interesting blog posts.

I did take this picture of Lincoln on our leaf-covered deck. So handsome!

I've also been working on my STITCHED workshop. I've been learning so much about iMovie. There is tons of potential for online learning with videos, photo sharing and virtual classrooms. I am very excited to be exploring all the possibilities!

Gifts!

After finishing the Colorplay Series with the 12x12 group, many of us figured it was time to celebrate with gifts! Karen's husband, Ted is a glass artist and he made each of the Twelves a stunning glass dish inspired by one of her 12x12 quilts. Apparently these plates have been exchanged in secret over the past several months. No one wanted to spoil the surprise for anyone who had not yet received hers. I was SURPRISED and delighted when mine arrived several weeks ago.

It's inspired by my chartreuse 12x12 quilt titled Approaching Departure pictured below the plate.

I just love the idea of similar compositions, inspirations and designs interpreted in different media. I treasure this very generous and inspired gift! Thank you Karen and Ted.

You can see lots more of the plates on our 12x12 blog. They've been popping up throughout the week.

Make It University

I am so happy that my name was drawn out of the fishbowl to participate in the Make It University Sketchbook Challenge workshop in Houston last week! Even more happy when Tonya's name was also drawn!

We rotated to four mini-workshops taught by different artists from The Sketchbook Challenge. Judi Hurwitt taught "stacked journaling."

Here's the page I created. What I Learned: I love handwriting as a graphic element. (I knew that already, but I really enjoyed Judi's take on it.)

Jane LaFazio taught sketching from everyday objects.

I sketched my camera. Surprisingly, not too bad. What I Learned: I might like drawing more than I thought I did.

Jamie Fingal walked us through creating little house images on shipping tags with sharpies and watercolors.

Here's Tonya's house and my house. What I Learned: I should play around more with images on paper and adding color.

Leslie Jenison taught us gelatin printing using the Gelli Arts plate and tons of random stuff she has in her collection.

Here are some of my finished cards and bits of fabric. What I Learned: I really should order one of those Gelli Plates. (By the way, tons of great ideas and tutorials on the Gelli Arts blog!)

All the students got a cool tote bag filled with goodies. Honestly, I haven't even unpacked all my treasures from Houston, but I will soon. I came home with inspiration in all its forms!

Time with the Twelves

I enjoyed every moment of my time with the other Twelves in Houston and missed Helen, Kirsty and Francoise so very much!

Each and every one of them are exactly who I imagined them to be! There was not a single moment of awkwardness. I felt a bit weepy when I first strolled into our exhibit and I could see Kristin, Brenda, Diane and Karen rising to greet me on Thursday morning. There were many more hugs exchanged throughout the weekend...

...and glasses raised to toast our time together!

That's a margarita with a sangria swirl at Ninfas. Wow... one of the best drinks ever!

Walking from the convention center to our hotel. The area around the convention center has changed so much in the last five years. It's really nice!

Gathering in the hotel lobby after dinner.

Gerrie reading aloud Facebook comments and emails from the missing Twelves.

We thought we might attend Gala on the Green, but tickets were sold out. We went out for Italian together instead and didn't spend a single moment wondering what we might be missing with the crowds of quilters eating bbq and dancing.

We gathered from breakfast every morning. Gerrie smiles so easily!

I have more pictures of various Twelves talking with their hands, looking serious, laughing, hugging, taking pictures, and milling about our exhibit. But, the pictures aren't that great and not really very interesting. To really tell our story in pictures, I would need a much better camera and more patience. But, then I would have spent more time behind the camera rather than in the moment with my friends.

12x12 Exhibit in Houston

Seeing all of the 12x12 quilts at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this past weekend was such a THRILL!

Many of the other twelves have blogged about the event over the past few days. We're all still filled with such joy and excitement.

I think this is my first shot of the twelves. Brenda, Karen and Diane arrived on Wednesday evening and Kristin and I arrived on Thursday morning, so we were the first to see our space -- and each other!

We had several materials on our table which drew visitors in and helped us explain our four-year-long project.

The mosaics looked great on the felt panels that Terry and Gerrie designed and constructed. The spacing between the mosaics made for easy viewing by lots of folks. The artists statements were read by a surprising number of people.

We took lots of photos!

Nikki and Kristin smiling!

We all spent time strolling through the exhibit answering questions and giving improptu presentations. People love listening to Brenda talk about the project. She's so enthusiastic -- and her accent is so lovely!

At the end of each day, all nine of us (plus paper images of Helen, Kirsty and Francoise) gathered in the exhibit space to sign books and talk with viewers. Quite often they wanted us to pose for a picture. Those green ribbons say "See My Quilt in Special Exhibits."

Of course, we were all delighted to be together for this event, but I think it was also a big added bonus for the people who viewed the exhibit. They could ask questions, get additional insight and suggestions about doing a similar challenge. Plus, I think everyone could sense how much we enjoy each other. We are truly wonderful friends and we honor the experience of creating art together.

Here is the Blue/Brown/Sage theme from the colors I chose. After studying the quilts in online images for the past four years, it was fantastic to see them "in the cloth."

Houston Open Studio Prep

I'll be spending some time in the Quilting Arts Open Studio at Quilt Festival in Houston.

Deborah Boschert :: Open Studio :: Friday, November 4 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm

Under the giant Make It University sign in the vendor hall

I wanted to prepare a project that would be easy and enjoyable to work on, but also provide good opportunity for explaining my process and chatting with folks about fabric collage. (I had so much fun working on my sheer silhouettes last year.) But I didn't want to mess with packing paint, washing out brushes and waiting for stuff to dry.

So I put together "Layered Landscape Collages." Then I wrote a "formula" with 11 easy parts.

Here is one completed collage. 

There are five others in various stages of completion. I put a little tag on each one listing which parts of the formula had been included.

Here are the rest of my supplies for my Open Studio time: handouts with the 11 part formula, embroidery floss, needles, scissors and a selection of sheer fabrics and unusual fabrics to show options for additional design elements.

Stop by and say hi!

Costumes!

Claire and Benjamin both looked completely awesome in their Halloween get-ups this year! Plus, they were both really excited to wear them and enjoy the festivities. We had a fun night.

Claire dressed as Katniss from The Hunger Games, a book trilogy that she and I both enjoyed very much. People who have read the book recognized her immediately... which was pretty cool.

Katniss hunts with a bow and arrow and wears her hair in a braid.

She wears a pin with a "mockingjay" on it during her battles. Claire made the t-shirt using a freezer paper stencil of the mockingjay logo from the book.

Claire actually made the bow herself!

She added a sheath for her arrows before she went trick-or-treating.

Benjamin decided to go as a ninja. I believe this decision was inspired when he remembered his awesome foam nunchuks from a tae-kwon-do class he took in Texas.

We found a video tutorial online for creating the ninja hood. Just slip a t-shirt over your head, put your face through the neck and tie the sleeves behind your head. Then fold the neck up over your mouth and nose. Genius!

Here's an action shot.

Before he went trick-or-treating, Benjamin remembered the cool dragon pendant that Jeff brought him from his trip to Japan.

I lovelovelove costumes made from a bunch of clothes and other stuff we already have!

Claire and Benjamin sort candy together every year. Can you believe that loot?

Next step: sorting out what we don't need and giving it to the church to pass along to the food pantry.