I am heading up to my studio right now to take some photos of the works in progress and then coming back down to share with you.
Stay tuned!
October 18, 2011
September 8, 2011
TWIST off the top
Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots.
This summer I was finally inspired “enough” and I applied to a big time favorite local juried craft show.
(It’s called TWIST and is awesome!)
I held high hopes that my work would fill a vacant niche, would fly off the shelves like hotcakes and would be "just the thing" each shopper was looking for.
I started making more things. I went beyond my usual bed quilts, wall quilts, small wall quilts, shoulder bags and handmade bias cut shoelaces that match the handmade, flannel, gender-neutral infant booties that would never be worn. I stepped it up and made bibs, “Taggies”, Christmas stockings and wristlet purses. I sold out from under myself, my first four wristlet purses- to a collection of Tai Chi practitioners in Vancouver.
The accepted vendor announcements were to be made on August 15th. I was eager, I was crossing my fingers, I was hoping. I was hoping that I would be recognized for my efforts, that I’d be given a chance to be fairly reimbursed for my vision and my hard work, and for my creativity. I was gently quieted in my production fervor, by being waitlisted for the craft fair.
The next announcements were due out on August 31st. A cruel distance of time and energy from the assembly line I’d designed for myself, but the distractions of summer abounded and I spent some time carpooling children to a far away camp and processing pears.
Finally the end of the month arrived. The school supplies had been purchased, the lawn had been mowed extra short in case I needed to ramp up again. The creeping realization that I’m not terribly happy making lots of the same thing visited again. The joy of selecting combos of beautiful fabrics for new pieces had already been exhausted and was physically filed in the vertical bins under my cutting table. What remained was the dirty work of making zippers zip properly. I was still eager, I was still crossing my fingers, I was still hoping, but what I was crossing and hoping for had changed.
I received the stock email saying “Thanks BUT, blah blah, show size, blah blah, diversity, blah blah, balance…” and I went upstairs and told my husband: “TWIST set me free.”
He replied, “Awww…” in his own quiet way of expressing both sympathy and delight at the same time.
And I said, “Yeah, I’m disappointed, but I’m also relieved.”
Maybe they knew I’m not really a full time craft artist who wants to sell things professionally for a long time, that I’m still a baby artist who has accumulated a lot of really great assorted, seemingly random pieces that I want to unload onto the world and that it wasn’t cohesive enough of a vision to fit on a table in their little space of 60 vendors. They’re pretty smart. I’m guessing they did know all that. I think they also would have liked to give me a space, but it didn’t fit the balance of diversity…
I get it. I didn’t make the cut. It was my first time and I know what it would take for me to try again. I didn’t take the rejection (very) personally and I’ve already moved on.
I got a job working for that circus guru I mentioned in the last post.
August 2, 2011
Life is Cherries
"What do you do?" is a question that plagues me. Last week when I answered "cooking and cleaning" as my honest response, I was cheered by the new book group circle and validated by the recognition that my work is still undervalued and mundane.
(I sound like a housewife, I think I'm a housewife!- thank you for the lyrics, Michelle Shocked).
Today, I answered the same question with, "I'm an artist." I was cheered by the local circus guru and validated by the assumption that I would have a website and that my efforts to share my visions with the world are valued and respected.
Instead of struggling for ten more years to re-classify myself, I'm putting my thoughts into words, and my words into action.
I am an artist.
Life is cherries.
Cherries just are.
You can choose to think thoughts of suffering, using statements ironically, by listing your challenges followed by the sarcasm of "Life is a bowl of cherries" with sting and sorrow. OR - you can turn it around to the actual sweet idiom: Life is a bowl of cherries! and just experience gratitude. It's all in the naming of things.
Looking at what is my life, I'm reminded of the character quote:
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.Watch your words, for they become actions.Watch your actions, for they become habits.Watch your habits, for they become character.Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
Author Unknown
Now I'm heading to upstairs to eat some cherries and cut up some fabric in my studio, because I am a hungry artist.
July 7, 2011
I've been writing letters and sending them out into the world. Have you? It's a great summer time activity and people love to get snail mail.
June 14, 2011
Trail of the Snail
So I'm finishing up my bed sized snail trail quilt, by which I mean I've spent a year ironing, cutting, piecing and pressing the top, and I've reassigned the intricate pieced four inch squares which were to be the border, to the back. All I have left is to finish piecing the back, make the sandwich, quilt the whole thing (still collecting great design ideas for a snail trail block if you have suggestions!), and put on the binding, label and possibly a sleeve.
Here's the best design idea I've found so far. Follow the link to learn more about this artist and her custom work: Dancing Elephant Quilts.com
I'm starting to add fabric strips to make the back wide enough to match the front. While on my trip to Montana in April I found a fabulous print of green fabric, (it's called Meadow, #7320-04, seen below) of which I bought double my usual amount (a half yard instead of a quarter yard) but now want to use it for two fabric strips on the back. I didn't get enough!
I did however, have a scrap remaining which lists the fabric name, Wild Bunch, which I googled, and I found the awesome company: FunQuilts, run by a wife and husband team of modern quiltmakers, who I called on the phone (it's so cool to talk to real people), ordered two more yards of the almost out of print fabric, and it arrived less than a week later.
The internet is a wonder and a danger, as I may never need to leave my house again.
June 7, 2011
Sun+ Paint+ Fabric=FUN
My girl gang of artist types gathered for a fun few hours of sun and paint play on Sunday. Here's the resutls from my three strips.
I kept almost falling over with headrushes after bending down to the sidewalk to work, so left midstream to get some rest. The remainder of the gang had a bit more documentation to share. Dancing Crow shows the final products from her batches and for another look, check out the details of the process of fabric paint dyeing on Timna's page.
May 31, 2011
Luscious & The Garden Game (new rules)
I'm in the the garden, drawn in like the bees to the nectar- the flowers from last week are on their way out and a whole fresh patch has started blooming. The hopefullness of Spring is such a boost and a motivation to move and create! I've been doing lots of moving (hiking, biking, running, planting, digging) and not much quilting (my studio is HOT!- perhaps I should brainstorm some quick solutions to that...). In the meantime, please join me in another walk through my garden.
The Garden Game (new rules)
A friendly postcard in the snail mail
to anyone who can identify any of the plant and insect species featured.
Leave your entries (sharing is rewarded) in the comments area
and send your address to hinkypinkie@yahoo.com!
Thanks for playing!
May 24, 2011
Backyard Garden Tour
I took these photos in our home gardens after our last bout of rain.
It truly does help the flowers to grow.
May 17, 2011
Weeding
Moving closer to a definition of my intentions as an artist, I find that noticing what I do not enjoy shows me what I must cut out. This weeding has revealed an empty space into which I can spread the vines of my intention and see what flowers next. Stay tuned!
May 10, 2011
Montana Shop Hop
Who knew that when I flew to Montana to visit my folks and extended family, that I would be there the same week as the Montana Shop Hop???
Not I, but I was delighted, and jumped in with both feet!
To learn more about the quilt shops in Montana, follow this link: Montana Shop Hop!
and then check out these photos from my two favorite places.
The first was actually not on the shop hop, but is worthy of it's award as being in the Top Ten quilt shops as rated by Better Homes and Garden Sampler edition. Fiberworks is the brain child of Laura Heine and is truly a quilter's heaven. Here I am outside the shop and then after that is a fun snippet of a piece I found really intriguing because of the tight gridwork quilting and the included ribbon embellishments.
We visited four or five shops the first day of our tour and I bought a little something at each place. The last spot we visited was a couple of days later, after an overnight (it was April, but this was Montana).
This made the drive even more beautiful and the remote location of our last shop on the tour seem even more isolated. It is a little shop in the town of Washoe.
As far as I can tell, the quilt shop is the only store in Washoe, and from the panoramic photos series, you'll see, that it's quite a destination. I brought my Grandma and Great-Aunts, who live nearby, had never been in the shop, but were able to spend a half hour reminiscing with the owner about the old school, getting out maps, recounting stories of their youth and all the folks they know in common. These photos were taken standing on the entry mat to the shop.
Here's me and my tour guide!
And here's what was waiting for us back at Grandma's house:
May 3, 2011
Quick Quilt Study in Brown and Green
Made as a gift for my Mom with about 2 weeks notice (to myself) before a trip to Montana, I was really excited to play with triangles and color. I started out using green, yellow and blue and almost abandoned the whole project after cutting fabric for an hour and feeling like nothing worked. Then I let go of the yellow and blue, leaving me with just the green, which felt too monotone. When I remembered that my mom really likes brown, and that I have built up quite a stash of unused browns, I threw them into the mix and was delighted with the results. With a splash of pink and yellow here and there, the quilt now holds together and feels warm and cozy to look at too. I washed this one before giving it away- the first time I've washed a quilt! and it turned out great- it had just the right amount of shrinkage to look softened and welcoming.
I was surprised to find the secondary shape of hexagons (my favorite!) created by the triangles and also relieved to have the back come together really easily. My daughter's unedited response was: "That's nice Mama. It's pretty simple with just triangles, but it came together really quickly, didn't it?"
