"It's The Little Things"

What a gorgeous day it was today. The past few days have been spent completing this piece, "It's The Little Things".  I sat stitching with the windows open and a nice breeze blowing through the house while the cats snoozed in the open windows. This piece started off when I was in conversation with a few people about coffee and how people can be very dedicated to that cuppa, sometimes displaying addictive behaviors when they don't get it in the morning! I undertook the airbrushing with a sense of humor and this was the result. It is machine quilted with couching and hand stitching atop.

I have to say the momentum of completing pieces is really going at a steady clip. I'd like to get a few more done in the next couple of weeks - mainly some of the UFO's that are lurking from nooks and crannies in the studio. I have ideas milling about about more serious topics, but I feel there are too many unfinished 'thoughts' at the moment. Wish me luck and I hope to show you more very soon! :)

"Spokane Trainstop At Sunrise"

This piece I am very excited to have complete. For our honeymoon we took a cross country train trip last December from Chicago to Portland. We shot over 1100 photographs on our trip because the world around us was just so amazing. One shot was just at dawn at the stop in Spokane, WA. We were there for enough time for us to hop off the train and walk around looking at all of the old brick buildings with worn painted ads on them. It was a great moment. I combined the images in my mind when creating this piece as the photos were not before me and the composition communicates the feeling of the entire experience for me. Below you will see a couple of the photographs from that morning and the artwork itself.

     

"Spokane Trainstop At Dawn"

I've begun playing with different types of hand embroidery stitches and patterns, often looking through old books from the 1960's and 70's that were my grandmothers and using the stitches as inspiration for making up my own. I can't seem to create pieces without the hand stitching element involved. I'm a junkie for it's soothing feel to the touch and the calmness it brings while creating!

"Here's To Perfect Evenings!"

I recently finished this piece, "Here's To Perfect Evenings!". The painting of it started many moons ago and was placed on the shelf like a long lost book. From time to time I would revisit to stitch a part here or a part there, only to place it back on its shelf with a sense of it not feeling just 'right'. I finally sorted out what I disliked about how it was progressing and plowed through it to complete it this past week. It is entirely hand painted and stitched. The edging, which cannot be seen in this photo is two strips of bright silks that compliment the shown colors. I'm going to have to become much more prolific or grow 7 more arms to keep up- as my husband, Donovan, keeps picking out where things need to hang in the house. There will be no space left on our walls by the time I'm done and there will be plenty for exhibits!

Have a fantastic day everyone!

Fabric Splurge and Work up at a new location!

Every year I have a big fabric splurge. Here are this year's treasures! I plan on spending the next week and a half cutting down the stack of UFO's in my studio so that I can feel less guilty about playing with the new 'stuff'.

This past weekend I took some of my work down to United Hair Artists in Lancaster, Ohio so that it could be hung concurrently with the local ArtWalk. Pics of a new piece or two are upcoming!

Karma Kat

This evening I just finished a small whimsical piece of Karma Kat, a character I created a couple of summers ago at Susan Shie's Turtle Art Camp. If you ever have the means to go - do it. I've attended twice and it was truly inspiring. This piece was drawn with an airpen. It was drawn on a practice piece of cotton that was in a packed box of fabric I recently discovered. I pulled it out this week, painted it and hand stitched it. It will more than likely be framed for our house and will appear on business cards.

Karma Cat is a lovable, playful little scamp but watch out - she has claws!

The character was originally modeled after our one cat, Mollycat, but our second addition, Meridith, has really grown into the mischievous side of her.

Mollycat   Meridith

Racism Exhibit

I have recently finished two pieces to be included in an upcoming exhibit by the group Fiber Sisters of Hope entitled "Racism: A Dialogue in Art Quilts". I have included the artist statements for each. Both have machine and hand stitching in varying degrees. The piece on Haiti measures 25" x 26" and the Faces piece is 21" x 28". I find myself working bigger and bigger. Maybe I'm just weary of people asking if I'm creating potholders and table runners. :)

“HAITI GIRL: BUT WHERE WERE THEY BEFORE?”
Upon learning of the tragedy in Haiti I began to delve into imagery of the land and people of the country. The history of Haiti is fraught with occurrences of acts against its people based on race. While reading many articles about countries coming to the rescue of the many people in need I could not get the thoughts of the children of Haiti and what their perceptions must be out of my mind. Many lived in very difficult conditions prior to the disaster and suddenly they are barraged with strangers coming to help afterward. The feeling of confusion they must have felt captured me and continues to do so.

 “THE FACES OF ADVOCACY, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPRECIATION”

We are often reminded of our own struggles to get along as people on the same planet, both on a worldwide level and in our day to day lives. In this struggle, I think some lose sight of the idea of educating each other with the end goal of being at peace. It is easy to strike out in anger and make assumptions of others. It is much more difficult to react with acceptance and educate. When one does so, the end result is appreciation by all.

SAQA Donation

Recently I created a piece as a donation for the online auction for the Studio Art Quilt Associates. Please check out their website as there were nearly 300 donations from many amazing artists and the work is very beautiful. My piece was created out of my feelings about connecting with nature. I have an affinity for bodies of water and the peacefulness that it brings. In looking at the pond at my parent's house I was inspired by the ripples that ebbed out from a leaf when it fell onto the surface. In playing with my new machine I started to play with different stitches in the background. The leaf and some of the ripples were hand stitched to give a different texture. It was great fun creating this and gave me the opportunity to see the effects of overlaying stitches on the new machine. I was just getting her warmed up! (My new machine's name is Doris).

Welcome!

The creation of this blog is both to document my artistic endeavors and to share experiences and knowledge. I hope those of you who encounter it will find it valuable and of interest. Love and light to you all. Juno