Little X

Little X
35.5" x 41"

 I made this little quilt, and fell in love with it. I hung it on the wall and my mind started racing with thoughts of when does a little quilt become art? When it is loved? As in the Velveteen Rabbit? When is a quilt art for you? I would love to hear your comments...

Is it art?
Is it art if it just has X's?
X's in a grid??
Is it art if you hang it on a wall?
What if you take it off the wall and give it to a baby?
Is it a quilt then? or still art? or both?
Is it art if it goes to a quilt show?
What if you put it in a traditional category, like pieced quilt?
What if you put it in abstract art....is it art?
Is it art if it goes to a gallery?
Is it art only if you like it?
Is it art if it is evocative?
Is it art if you give it a clever name?
Is it art if it has intent?
What if the X's represent something like kisses, or "X marks the spot" as in pirate, or "no, no, no, I really mean it this time!", then is it art?
Is it art if it is original? (is this really original?)
What if someone famous made it and it got into a prestigious venue, like Quilt National, can X's be art then?
What if you sell it? Does that make it art? Or does it depend on the price, $150, not art, but $1500, then it is art?
What if you put it in a frame, is it art then?
What if you print the image on paper and then frame it, is it art then?
And last, does it really matter?

I made this by hand-dyeing some fabrics in lots of colors. Then I batiked the X's on individual squares, then bleach discharge, and last over-dyeing. I sort of randomly tossed them in a grid, moved a few around and stitched them together. For the border, I started in one corner, and sewed strips around, and around, and around, until I built up 8 layers, like going around a log cabin block, except not changing the colors as I went around a corner. The back is sewn in 4 large color blocks, red, blue, green, and orange.

 This is the very first time I used the escape hatch finish on a quilt. This means that I sewed the front to the back all around the edges with the batting. Then I cut a slit in the backing and turned everything inside out. I little fusible on the slit and you can just press it closed. Then I quilted it. I was a bit worried because I didn't use fusible on the layers. I was concerned that I would get lots of wrinkles on the back as I quilted it, but somehow I lucked out, no wrinkles! Hurray! And, when I was finished quilting, I didn't have to put a binding on it, the edges were already finished. I put a hanging tube over the slit, and it was set to go!

ARTQUILTStransitions

ARTQUILTStransitions

 I am so excited to announce that my quilt, Doors Across Austin, won Best of Show! I am so excited! Before I got the official news this morning, I got an email last night from a friend. I just screamed, really it was beyond my control. I didn't even know they were selecting awards for this show. Mainly, I just needed to make the quilt. I am not alone in this experience, and I wanted to share a piece of my life with others. That's what was important. So why does the award make me shriek? I think it shouldn't be that important. But, I can't help myself, it does feel good. Good to have my work recognized and validated, especially when it is not bringing in much income. Well, I don't know, I thought I was pretty thrilled and validated to get it juried into the show. And now, here I am!

ARTQUILTStransitions

Durham Arts Council, Durham NC
April 17 through June 7, 2009
Page-Walker Arts and History Center, Cary, NC
June 25 through August 22, 2009
Opening Reception June 26th, 6 – 9 pm

Please visit www.artquiltersouth.org for further details about ARTQUILTStransitions or the Professional Art Quilters Alliance - South.

From Here to There

From Here to There

 It all started with a desire to simplify and beautify. This very workable garage studio was cluttered, unsightly, and inefficient. I started by moving out the shelves that lined the walls. I found a LOT of spiders, and webs. The window sill was thick with webs, I don't even want to talk about. The window had shelves for gardening in front of it, and very little light came in through this window because the shelves were so packed with stuff. I also had a door on this wall, that I could not use because the bicycles were parked there. The tables here are made from some sliding glass doors I found- FREE!! The big support boxes held my leather chairs from Target. They are strong, just the right height, but I can't store anything under the table, and there is no leg room at all. The glass table is perfect for my wax pot though and for dyeing. So I began by moving out. I sorted everything into 4 categories: recycle, trash, donate, or keep. It took two days to get everything moved out. You are probably wondering how one person can accumulate so much stuff??? Maybe you are not wondering this. Maybe your garage looks as bad as mine, or worse?

 Then I started scrubbing the walls, sweeping the floors, cleaning the window, inside and out. The walls were absolutely gross! I couldn't imagine cleaning this workspace without a new coat of paint. And...while trying to open the door, I found out that if you have a deadbolt and you can't get it to twist open, by simply taking a pair of pliers you CAN actually twist the lock handle right off the lock!!! But the door still stays locked! Amazing but true! So that was my first $32. I had to buy another dead bolt, fortunately, I know how to install it.

Next step, priming the walls. This took another long and full day to paint, along with the shelves. But at least now it is starting to look good. Then, I did a long hard look at my keep pile of old paints. Would there be enough for this job? Certainly not of just one color, but that was okay. I did run out of paint, and had to buy another quart for the walls, the next $13, and a new paint tray, $5.
Okay, now it is starting to look good! I decide to give my big boxes to the kids and invest in an extra set of shelves for support for the glass doors. The shelves were $37. Along with another set of shelves (freed up from all the junk I got rid of) for the other door, I now have two working tables, with lots of storage space underneath, and I am ready to move the 'keep' pile back into it's new space.

One week and $87 later, I have a new, clean, beautiful, organized, efficient workspace. And I can park back inside the garage again. Only one thing now, I think the right side needs a clean up too! Still too much junk!!!

A Few of My Favorite Things

A Few of My Favorite Things
36" x 48"

My first invitational. I was excited and scared at the same time. No ideas, and then too many ideas. Would I rise to the challenge?? (Sorry, I couldn't resist that one!). Eventually, I got this idea and knew it was the right one!
This is actually me! Climbing a strenuous roof crack at Enchanted Rock State Park. Strenuous may be an understatement. I mean this one was REALLY HARD. I fell too many times to count. And I never would have made these moves without the help of my two spotters and the belayer on the other end of the rope. Each time I fell, the rope would catch me. I rested (and rested and rested), got back on at my high point, and then tried another move. Got it!! And then slipped out again, only to be caught again by the rope. That's what makes this such a beautiful metaphor for life. We all need support, it helps us get to where we are now. I am thankful for all the support that I have gotten through the years. And there is nothing like having children to make you appreciate all the things your parents did for you, so thanks mom and dad!
The theme of this show is EDGES. And though this lovely climb looks like such a beautiful edge, the irony is that climbers don't consider this climb an "edge climb". Ha, ha! It works for me though. And, maybe it explains why I like edges in my art. They make me feel secure. A nice edge, you can climb into and rest, or stand on securely. I did this piece in all batik (eh, sort of). It took about 7 or 8 layers of batik and dye to get to this point. Some of the top section I used bleach discharge in patches. Then I waxed the whole section, and etched in some more texture and dyed again. There were a number of mistakes, yet I persevered. For a total risk, I opted not to measure any of my dyes....now, THAT is scary!!!! I couldn't decide what to do with the sky, and that's when I decided to make this into a bit of a travel poster about my favorite crack climbs at Enchanted Rock. It is a wonderfully huge granite batholith in central Texas and only an hour and a half from Austin. Exfoliating flakes make these huge and wonderfully exposed boulders. There are hundreds, and hundreds of climbs, and I only had room for the names of a few here. I quilted the letters with white thread, and then went over them with white Tsukineko Inks. Look for it first at IQA: Long Beach.
And last, though this piece looks totally different from Vertigo, maybe now you can see why I associated climbing with overcoming fear.

Red Legged Bird with a Tale to Tell

Red Legged Bird with a Tale to Tell
43" x 35"

The symbolism is marvelous! A mockingbird is the main character, mocking us as he steals the money. He has red legs, as in "CAUGHT! Red handed!" And his legs are really long, as in, He can walk all over us, and in broad daylight. Surely, he has a tale to tell us? Perhaps you can make up your own? Will your story include the letters AIG?

This is number 2 in my economic series. Maybe it is the last in a short series, it remains to be seen. I made the money by scanning a $20. Did you know that photoshop has issues with scanning US currency? I guess that's a good thing, though it slowed my art down a bit. After manipulating the image, it let me print the tiny bills. I trimmed them with copper, to both help them show up better against the brightly colored landscape and as a reference to the devaluing of the American dollar, as in the $20's are like pennies now. The legs are made from African trade beads....now I am sure there is a story behind those!

And the fabrics, oh lovely fabrics, are made from a number of my batiks.  Some of them have been altered with more layers of batik, and others have been transformed by the miracle of fusible webbing (LOVE that stuff!). The foreground and the sky are also hand dyes. I learned that I suffer from not enough value difference in this pallette. It was difficult to achieve the 3D effect of the buildings that I was going for. I tried to correct that with dense quilting in dark threads, it helped a bit, but is not quite there. Still learning as I go, I love this work!

Duck and Cover

Duck and Cover
28" x 32"

Do you remember the slogan from the cold war, duck and cover? The strategy to SAVE YOUR LIFE in the event of a Nuclear Bomb? Yeah right! I have no idea why my brain connected that with the current economic crisis??? Regardless, this one is an attempt at humor. Hopefully, you will find it at least a bit funny.

The duckies are real rubber ducks. I cut them in half and sewed them to the quilt. The flower umbrellas they are carrying are 3D. They are really cool because they stick out from the quilt and hold their shape much better than I hoped for, like a good 3 inches. And I like the way the petals sag at the tips.

 This quilt also features a number of my batik fabrics, along with some commercial prints. I made the flower centers, the Dow Jones building fabric, and a few other of the building fabrics. And hey, if you have never seen the inside of a rubber duck, you owe it to yourself to cut one in half before you let your child chew on one of those things. EWWW! Sorry, I had to show you this unfortunate truth. My duckies were cleaned extensively before attaching to the quilt, while I was wearing biohazard gear!

And last, I am pleased to announce that this quilt will be included in the exhibit "Sense of Humor" at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this fall. It is sponsored by SAQA, Studio Art Quilts Association.

Fish, Flowers, and Cats

Fish, Flowers, and Cats

Here are cat girl's designs. They are super cute! She made the fishie one for me! I like her designs and she had fun with this project. Next time I will shop a bit longer for a better "canvas" for her to paint on. And, we are not sure, but we might wax her designs and overdye the shirts different colors...still deciding. And in case you are wondering, we really do have a fish named Max, he's a blue beta. (Pun intended....maybe you remember pre-VHS of betamax?) And the last t-shirt, of Juno, was our kittens' mother who died. I had no idea that she still thinks of Juno, we shall miss that sweet cat who brought us her kittens.

Cat Girl is at it Again!

Cat Girl is at it Again!

I found this new shirt stuffed in the back of my daughter's closet with a cat drawn on it. Confirmed....she has found the markers!  Fortunately, she was not home for me to yell at and squelch her creativity. I had some time to relax and regroup! Then I started thinking, no wonder she drew on her clothes! This is the norm around here, a whole different paradigm than when I was a kid! Huh??

When she got home, I calmly asked her not to draw on her new school clothes (no yelling involved), I praised her fabulous cat design, and then bought her some more t-shirts for her to decorate. She is busy doing that now. I will upload her photos tomorrow. Meanwhile, I took her shirt, with her permission and kind guidance, I carefully painted her cat. She instructed with colors and patterns. Obviously, I couldn't control myself when it came to dots, so I had to add some of those. These were stamped with a socket from the garage.  Living the good life!

Cat Girl's Kimono

Cat Girl's Kimono

 Cat Girl is studying Japan this year. Her school does a big production for each grade, and this year it is Japan. She made a lantern, a fan, a Japanese Garden, did a play, sang songs, tasted foods, learned to count, etc. Obviously, she needed a kimono for the play. We quickly found a pattern which turned out to be way too big. I made some minor adjustments in the sleeves and hems. And for some strange reason, none of the patterns had cats on them...??? What's up with that? So from her drawing, I created a cat for her sash. What I learned? That I don't like sewing with slinky fabric....AND....I love sewing for her and seeing her GREAT BIG SMILE! Ahhhh!!! 

Three of a Kind

Three of a Kind
18" x 18"

Don't you love looking at the quilting from the backside of the quilt? The texture is so yummy without being cluttered with color and design. I have started using almost all white on the back of my quilts. This little one is on it's way to Surface Matters for SDA (Surface Design Association). It is an exhibit of members' works for their annual conference. I decided to keep this one simple, just added a few borders. (By the way, one of these borders is in my new fabric line, which I still know almost nothing about yet! The suspense is killing me!! see note below...)

Postdate:  Michael Miller bought my fabric line but chose NOT to print it.  VERY DISAPPOINTING!!