Butterflies and flowers

This butterfly is my attempt to warm all of you who are suffering in the cold. I dyed both the yellow silk and the cotton background. The black is commercial fabric. Dyeing fabric is my latest addition to the art projects that interest me.

Here is a close-up which shows that I added a few beads in the background. Yes, I machine quilted each section of the butterfly. Don't you love the color variations between the pictures (ugh!). Anyway, I hope that you get the idea. The piece is 24" x 18".

A friend gave me some daffodils as she thought that I would like to draw them. That seemed like a good suggestion! This drawing was done with Micron pen and Inktense pencils.

Really, I've done lots of different pieces and practice motivated by Danny Gregory's Bootkamp. Just haven't gotten around to posting items.

Discovery and Diane

Discovery is the title of this quilt piece  (21x19"). The reason for the title is that I have learned there is more that I can accomplish. What a discovery! The fabric is cotton sateen that I hand dyed. Next, I quilted it using some designs which I had not previously attempted. Last, I painted the black. This is a very brave move after having completed the quilt.

My figure drawing session was lucky to have Diane pose for us. She has modeled for about 25 years and was able to hold the last pose for one hour! This piece did not last that long.

Mixed bag projects

Yes, I have been doing lots of activities, but apparently I haven't posted them. 

Figure drawing continues on Friday mornings. I'm chuckling as it seems that for 

the final long poses (20 to 40 minutes), the model usually has her back to me. 

As warm-ups we do two minutes poses. Below are examples.

This fabric piece has my hand dyed fabric which is the orange and turquoise, machine stitched on a purchased silk. I then stitched the beads and hand quilted the piece.

This close up may make it easier to see the details.

I'm making adorable dresses for my 3 year twin grandchildren and have begun working on another red, white and blue quilt as a gift to a veteran. I'll post them when I'm done. Of course, there are always zentangles being created as well! 

Snowflake zentangle

There was a need to do a powerful zentangle with strong color. So, I created this piece that is done with watercolors in the background and black ink. The layout was a snowflake cut from tracing paper and used as a guideline. Inner connections were added in my freehand style. I plan to enter it in December for a show that begins January 2. 

We'll see if it is even accepted.

A new grand baby is due this month. Of course, the child will need a quilt! This dragon quilt is a panel (a design already printed) surrounded by 1 1/4 inch squares that I pieced.

Below you can see close ups which show how zentangle designs can be used in quilting.

Seasons challenge

My art quilt group issued a challenge with the theme of "Seasons" in a 20 by 20" format. My mind went to dividing the space into four sections and depicting each season. Nope. Then I thought of doing a picture of my neighbors crab apple tree in full bloom. Not just what I wanted to do. Then I found a quote by Helen Hayes: Childhood is the shortest season. Perfect. While visiting the grand kids, I took them to a park. The twins were swinging and enjoying. I did a close up of Isla and added the lettering.

We had our reveal last week and it was delightful to see how many different ways "Seasons" could be presented. To see work by the others, go to: Pins and Needles Art Quilters. Yes, drawing can be done with more than the traditional media:)

Potpourri

There was a fiber arts show at the Sacramento Fine Arts Gallery. I submitted a small 17x18" piece titled Potpourri. It sold! This was very exciting as I believe that it was the only piece that did sell.

I used lots of trinkets, buttons, Angelina (polyester fibers that melt and sparkle when heated), purchased hand dyed fabric, feathers and whatever else grabbed my fancy.

This is a close-up from the piece.

Red, white and blue quilt

Some of you may remember that I have made quilts for the Quilt of Honor program. This time two woman wanted to help, so the three of us went to the quilt store and purchased the material needed. As time rolled on, we heard the story of a young man who is a trainer at the health club where we work out. Dimitry lost his Dad when at war in Afganistan about 14 years ago. Dimitry is a very quiet individual who is very polite and certainly helpful. Yesterday we gave the quilt to him as we wanted him to know that Americans do appreciate his father's sacrifice as well and Dimitry's struggle.



The pictures shows Dimitry, Sandra (me), Carol and Kathy.

The Quilt of Honor program may not have received this quilt, but they certainly inspired the giving. The ladies are ready to work on the next red, white and blue quilt.

By the way, I sat down to do the next EDM in May challenge and just said to myself, "I'm not getting the art that I want to do done, so quit the challenge". Kudos to those who have stuck with the program.

I notice that fewer and fewer people are contributing to this EDM site. Maybe other venues are drawing people. Maybe it's the awful ads via Blogspot. Who knows. I do however, appreciate seeing the wonderful projects that you artists produce.

Joy!

Sharing love

Sometimes your actions and thoughts come together. My hairdresser's younger brother (age 28) passed away and the cause may not be know for a year when testing is done. Obviously, she and the family were quite upset. My heart aches for her and knew that she was grieving, big time. So I made the following card design with a split heart and a ribbon to express that love and time will heal a broken heart. I can only hope that it helps.

A variation from my red, white and blue quilts. I made this smaller turquoise, black and silver quilt for a veteran who is in his 80's. The pattern is Winding Ways found in a book by Nancy Elliot MacDonald.

Tomorrow is figure drawing and a visit to a quilt show. Also, I am playing with colored pencils. There are some terrific examples in the books that I purchased as a gift to me!

A special thought: Oliver, my 5 year old grandson has been in the hospital all week and two of those days in ICU. Seems that he was diagnosed with asthma and contacted a common cold. The combination created the "perfect storm" and he has been fighting to regain his health all week. Hopefully, he will be able to go home tomorrow. Your good thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

A Soldier's Quilt

Quilts are a part of my life. In June I had purchased fabric for a red white and blue quilt for the Quilt of Honor program. September came and I was finally getting around to making it. I went to my health club and Tim, the most friendly greeter told me the news that his son-in-law has been injured in Afghanistan. His transport vehicle drove over a bomb. I went home and said to myself, this is my quilt, I can give it to whoever I want. So Damian was to receive this quilt.

Damian came home with a leg that still can't fully bend, but he is going to start physical therapy on Monday and I feel that he will heal. He came home to California this week and I was able to present the quilt to him and his family.

Below is a close up of the outer blocks.

I wish that I could honor all soldiers, but I'll work on it one at a time.

Quiltation

My art quilt group gave themselves a challenge to create an 18x24 quilt that has lettering. Well, that was pretty easy for me, the one in the group who was a calligrapher. At the moment, I can only present my quilt, but hope to add others later. There was such a terrific variety of work.

I had shown this piece before, but that was before I appliqued it and added embellishments. Again, this was a challenging block.

We each chose our own quote. I was less afraid of lettering on fabric so chattery me, ended up with the longest quote: Art-the expression of a personality in a particular way, through individual creative work, the development of an idea that opens the eyes of others to a different outlook on a subject. Constance Howard

I guess that I do hope that this project has achieved just that!

Quilt in the style of Mackintosh

Sometimes you get excited about a project. It happened to me with this quilt challenge from my Pins and Needles Art Group. We are to make a 12x12" quilt that reflects our favorite artist. Oops! just reread the instructions and it was supposed to be our favorite quilt artist. Oh well, I'll just have to enjoy what I've done. I chose Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). Can't say that I have just one favorite artist, but I do like his work. He was an architect, designer and artist. He produced over 120 different designs in textiles. He also created in wood, metal, glass and plaster. He did quite a number of floral watercolors. There is even a Society that honors his work from the Arts and Craft movement. Mackintosh was influenced by Japanese art.

In my stash of fabrics I found some pink and light blue that I had dyed. I used a colored pencil to punch up the light blue a bit. The black is a fusible bias tape that I securely sewed after ironing it on. There is just something about this piece that delights me.

Watercolor Lesson & a Challenge

Amazingly, I've hung in there to complete lesson four from the book, Guide to Painting Realistic Water Colors by Dawn McLeod Heim. As I move forward there are more colors and a bit more "looseness" on where to place the colors. A sometimes scary prospect for me. However, my husband could finally recognize the subject matter. Yes, one chick has his back to you.

My other project is a challenge for the Pins and Needles Art Quilters. They are a creative group that is helping to push me. There was an internet group that has published a book called Twelve by Twelve. Following the idea of doing a quilt 12"x12", we went with the following challenge. Three piles of suggestions were created. We each drew a Noun, a Color and a Theme. My three words were Bench, Turquoise and Ocean.

The following close up shows the bench which I created from a rubbing, a tiny clay snail which I added, the blanket from a knit scrap, and the sand which I added with glue. Oh yes, her hair is from cheese cloth which I had dyed.

Now, I have only a couple of days to prepare for my watercolor class. There is more freedom and I'm a tiny bit insecure working without detailed guidance.

Odds and ends

I made the quilt that is pictured below, to be auctioned at a fundraiser for a soccer club. Yes, someone won the quilt, but the winning bid barely covered my costs. It may be a while before I consider making another one. Oh well, that happens.

Since is was intrigued by the design, I used it on an 8" x 8" dot piece. I continue to learn about using the dots as the best certainly background colors work better an others. The learning continues.

Yes, I continue to go to the figure drawing sessions. Someone suggested contrast so I added the yellow. OK, sometimes I get carried away.

The more I do art, the more I seem to "need" to immerse myself in the process. This feeling may be the same for you!

Small acts of kindness

    
      A nurse who is in my quilt guild, has taken the lead in encouraging us to make "lovies". These are blankets that are about 18" square and have flannel (pajama  material) on one side. They are relative easy to make. The purpose for these lovies is to put them in Sheriff's cars so that the officers can hand them out to children who are under stress.

      In addition, a contribution of a small toy would be appreciated. So, I went to the local bargain store and bought a couple bags of soft cuddly creatures. The young man, in his early 20's, commented on these soft toys. I explained their purpose. He replied, "been there". I was stunned. I certainly didn't ask for details, but he had needed protection as a young child. I did ask if he was OK. He replied that he was, but I could tell that it still hurt.

    As I left he said, "It's nice to know that someone cares."

     Later, I wish that I had thought to say, "Many care, we just don't always know how to reach out."

     Needless to say, I came home and made some more lovies.

1st place

We had our River City Quilt Show this past weekend and I won a ribbon in the small pieced category. My entry was part of a challenge. We were given two fabrics and had to make a quilt, bag, garment, curtains of whatever one's creative mind could dream up. There were some big quilts and small ones. This quilt was about 28" by 30".

One of the center green yellows and the turquoise were the given fabrics. Well, by the time I had my design and got to the outer edge, the turquoise was too loud. So, I took fabric paint and sponged it on the bright fabric. Hey, there was nothing in the rules that said the process was not allowed.

Quilts of Honor

There are a couple of programs that are making quilts for returning servicemen/women. This time I have made one for the Quilts of Honor organization. Individuals can request a quilt for someone who has served in the military. As donations are received, the quilts are given out.
It just happened that I finished my gift this week, the week of 9/11 rememberances.The quilt is about 60" square which was one of the parameters. Red, white and blue are the preferred colors, but that is not an absolute demand. Design is up to the quilt maker.

 You can almost see the detail in this picture. The quilting is done with a "free motion" method that allows me to control the stitch design (instead of straight lines) which means that I can do zentangles.

I have no idea who will receive this, but I hope that it brings him/her comfort knowing that there are many people who care.