Dog Days

Here we are again, 80 degrees and rising in the studio! While I often have much to do in the summer, it is awfully hard to work in this heat. One of these years I have to get air conditioning installed in the studio.

It's been a busy spring. After it's premier at the Fuller Craft Museum the SAQA MA/RI exhibit "Art as Quilt" opened at Highfield Hall, a mansion and museum/gallery in Falmouth, MA on Cape Cod. As curator of the show, I got to bring the work down to Falmouth, help hang it and recently take it down to bring it all home. 

This was such a successful exhibit for the SAQA artists in MA, RI and CT. Six pieces sold while at Highfield Hall, so there are six very happy artists. The opening in Falmouth was on May 1 and the place was just packed.

Our second show, "Currents" was juried in May as well and my piece, Reunion, was accepted into that exhibit which opens at the Brush Art Gallery & Studios in Lowell, MA on August 7.

right: the crowd at the opening of "Art as Quilt" and Sue Polansky and Carol Vinick in front of their work

Co-Curator, Sue Bleiweiss has been working on the exhibit catalog which will be available soon through Amazon. Twenty-five pieces by fifteen artists were juried in. I am enjoying the process of curating shows and am looking forward to planning more in the future. It really is exciting to see so many amazing works of art come together in a show. 




On the homefront, I have set goals for entering calls for 2016. My first attempt was a rejection but as I mentioned Reunion was accepted into "Currents" this summer. I have two all SAQA big shows in my sights as well as a couple of others. They are all coming due from September through the end of November. I also have targeted a couple which come up in the first months of 2017.

The first call to come up is called "Layered Voices" and the deadline is September 30. I am working on a piece with butterflies and thistle. The butterflies are the Alpine Apollo butterfly, which is the rarest butterfly on earth and a partial lacewing, white butterfly with black and red spots. Organza is providing me the lacy wings. 

The shot to the right approximates the look I am trying to achieve with the background, which is a landscape of an Alpine grassland valley. My drawing is almost finished, the fabric sandwich is ready so I should be sewing this one soon.

Lady Feather has begun as well. I like working more than one piece at a time. I started with the background, which is a fantastic piece of blue and white from Carol Eaton. So fantastic that I didn't want to waste any. So I drew on tissue an outline of where the background would go, cut it out and fused it to plain muslin. 

 

Below is the fabric background stitched with a "windy" texture. My next move is to flesh out Lady Feather herself onto a piece of muslin and then to work her nest of a "bad hair day". 

I have been making her feather necklace bit by bit. The feathers are made in relief, sewn, turned, hand pieced together and then stitched.

Above they are sewn and ready for quilting.

And then the ribs of the feather are created with quilting.

You will be seeing more of this one as I continue working it. Apollo will remain undercover for a bit as I am making it specifically for a call for entry. I may decide to give you a shot or two of the background stitching as it comes together. But the butterflies will remain a secret surprise.

My last bit of news is that I am published! I have an article in "Art Quilting Studio's" June 2016 issue. Queen Bee Says No to GMOs, Mariposa and Empress of the Pines are featured in an article I wrote called "Nature's Portraits: Tapping into Imagination." I must say I am over the moon excited. I was just in a JoAnn's shopping the other day and I looked through the magazine section and found the issue I'm in. 

Well that catches me up for a bit. I am busy, busy, busy. I have taken on so many projects at once and they all have to be done by fall and winter so I may not be writing much. So tomorrow is another day with the heat, a fan and a sewing machine.

Developing Landscapes

Last summer I went a bit crazy taking photographs of landscapes with and without architecture. I amassed quite a few that I found to be perfect for possible quilts. After spending some time playing with Photoshop I ended up with several folders full of possible quilt subjects. I began creating a few earlier this year and just finished one as my entry to the SAQA Regional call for entry, Currents.

My first small sample piece became my donation to SAQA's Spotlight Auction this March in Philadelphia. It began with a photo I manipulated in Photoshop and then a black and white adaption of that photo.

I used a new tool to create my drawing. My LED light pad from Huion is 18" x 14" and has adjustable brightness. Once my photo was enlarged to the size I wanted it, all I had to do was trace the areas I wanted onto paper.

Because this piece was so small, I found myself using my tiny thread scissors to cut my fabric pieces. I also used my exacto knife to cut pieces and to cut reverse appliqué areas out of the top layers as I built from dark under layers up to the lightest.

The finished piece is called Surf's Up and was sold during the Spotlight Auction. 

My next piece was taken from a photo  I took last spring of Multnoma Falls in Portland, Oregon. After taking the black and white photo to my local print shop, I enlarged it to 20" square and used this enlargement as my guide drawing directly onto the print with a marking pen.

I used the same techniques to cut and fuse the pieces in this latest piece as I did  with the previous one. While I love the look that this work is producing, the tiny pieces are wrecking havoc on my eyes. I don't know how long I can continue to do work with pieces this small. 

REUNION

25 1/2" x 25 1/2" 

Completed April, 2016 

Commercial cotton batiks, fabrics & hand-dyes; fused and machine quilted

I have another one of these begun which is taken from  a photo of the marsh areas in Eastham, MA on Cape Cod. It is a bit bigger and will finish off between 30 and 32 inches square. It's about a third of the way done  and I should be able to complete it before summer's end while I begin work on Lady Feather, my next in the series of fantasy inspired nature women. 

Here's some of what's coming:

 

Springtime in Philly

So I am sitting here in relative quiet and it's late at night. A train has derailed this morning throwing myself and several others into a panic about how to get home. This morning I woke in Philadelphia; tonight I am in my own bed in Smithfield. Last night I marveled at crashing thunder up in a twenty-third floor window with patterns of gust driven rain on pavement below as the temperatures fell at home sending a white blanket to cover my daffodils.

Life seems a bit unsettled as if on the cusp of change.

 

Detail, Fun House

Kerri M. Green

Art Quilt Elements 2016

It is always a whirlwind of laughter and serious consideration, warm embraces, introductions filled with the support of those who really get you. Wrapped in the warm cocoon of the safety of 150 like-minded artists, how can one not feel nurtured and fully alive with possibility.

And there is so much input into the human computer; flashes of brilliance, benefits of experience, knowledge and wisdom. The creative expressions of so many laid at our feet all shiny and wonderful beckoning us to pick up some cloth and stitch. It's all so amazing and sometimes overwhelming.

Detail,  Linear B

Kathleen Loomis

Art Quilt Elements, 2016

Tomorrow morning I will wake up and fall into the studio with a cup of coffee and I will be cutting, ironing and stitching as I always do. Only one thing will be different, renewed - my resolve to be the artist I was born to be. It is the change I spoke of that is in the air, the one that drives me to see clearer, dream bigger, work longer.

It was a grand time. Thank you Philly. Thank you SAQA for another wonderful Convention. And thank you friends, old and new for the pleasure of your company, the provocative discussions, the emotional connections and the sheer joy of playing amongst friends for a few sweet spring days.

Fiberlandia

Welcome to Portland, Oregon! I took a trip out to attend SAQA's yearly Convention, leaving April 28th and returning to Rhode Island May 4th. This was my view from room 1558 on the 15th floor of the Doubletree Hilton. I nearly got myself in the door and met up with Co-Rep Sue Bleiweiss and Lyric Kinard for lunch in the Lloyd Center. 

 

This statue carved from marble is a stack of coins and had poetry and words carved all around the outside of the coins having to do with wealth, money and prosperity. Interesting central piece for the entrance to a mall. Inside this typical mall our first sight was a window full of frilly prom gowns. Hilarious. They also have an indoor skating rink in this mall, rather progressive!

We rested after a very light lunch and then got back together for a bus trip to Toro Bravo, a Spanish restaurant specializing in tapas. 11 of us set out and had the best time sharing our food and getting to know each other. I was overjoyed and a little star struck sitting next to Rosalie Dace from South Africa. It was a fantastic way to start the weekend and the bacon wrapped dates were heavenly.

The following day started off with business. The Reps meeting had us busy for a while. After we took a quick jaunt by Max, the transit system, to Powell Books which is a 5 story book store. Joined by Teresa Duryea Wong from Texas, Sue and I perused the arts level of the store. We found her new book on the shelves and she signed them for the store.

Several dollars less and with a few heavy bags we walked back to catch the Max. Along the way a few things caught our eye. I had to take a picture of this 'carpets' sign which was completely retro from the '60s and spinning round to reveal 'rugs' on the back side.

After drooling over beautiful artisan wares in 'The Real Mother Goose', we caught the train just in time to shop some more at the SAQA vendor marketplace where I did some real damage with the gorgeous hand dyed cottons made by Carol Eaton of CT.

The next day, Friday was business all day for me. It started with a lecture and panel discussion with the SAQA international members as they gave us an idea of how things run in other countries. Pictured is Hsin-Chen Lin with her daughter as interpreter and her quilt in front of her. There is a major show in Taiwan next year sponsored by SAQA and I think I will enter pieces into it. There is also another show coming up in Canada, first SAQA show there ever, and I will also be creating a piece to enter for this show.

After attending two wonderful break out sessions with Sue Reno and Lyric Kinard, I started to prepare for the SAQA Maker Space. Run by Kate Themel of CT, it was a fun evening event filled with learning and creating experiences. I was there doing my demo on how fabric markers and pens can enhance a design. Thanks have to go to three companies who provided pens for me to demo with, Tsukineko, Sakura and Jacquard. As you can see by the 1st photo to the right, I was drawing a crowd all night. Thanks to Elizabeth Bamberger of Portland, I had a light box to do demos on and for members to use.

These are my 3 demo pieces which I used to demonstrate the use of pens and markers. 

We all had such a blast and boy was I tired by the end of the night. That did not stop a few of 
us from having a glass of one of Portland's many vineyard wines at the bar while we discussed what was coming up next in our studios.

After lectures/panels in the morning, Sue 
and I set out for our tour day. We started by taking in the orchid show in the exhibition center of the Hilton. Wow, there were some eye popping plants on display, many with big blue and red ribbons.

This one kind of looks like a monkey's face. I just loved all 
the purple spots.






We then took in a SAQA Oregon Regional exhibition called Exploring Layers. It was a well put together show with plenty of eye candy. Seeing quilts always makes me want to get into the studio and work, work, work!

Rift Valley

Laura Jaszkowski, Eugene, OR

After a long day touring around Portland, we took a rest and got ourselves ready for the Spotlight Auction and Banquet. 

I got out my best outfit, along with my turquoise squash blossom and headed downstairs to find the hall brimming with people and a scrumptious buffet set up.

I had made a piece for the Spotlight Auction called Tiny Dancers, pictured on the far left of the photo of artwork for sale. It sold to Kat Larrea of Alaska. Woohoo my piece is going to Alaska! 

This is the one I was lucky enough to 
purchase with a little hovering to ensure no one stole it from me. My spotlight! by Phyllis Cullen from HI is now the second of Phyllis' pieces to grace my studio. I just love my little froggies!

Sheila Finzer 

Sunday morning was the wrap up of the weekend. A panel of Oregon artists gave us an overview of how they work. Very inspiring!

And then....I had the ultimate pleasure of meeting up with a high school 'bestie', Teenamarie Callahan who I last saw at her wedding as she and her new husband left to start their life in the Pacific Northwest. Our screeching and whooping in the lobby of the Hilton alerted everyone that something special was happening. Teenamarie and I spent the day catching up in a way that emails just can't touch. With the backdrop of Multnomah Falls, two best friends found each other again.

On the plane ride home, in the early hours of the morning, as I took in the beauty of Mt St Helens, Mt Hood and the Columbia River, I found myself smiling with gratitude for the events which had just transpired during the past 5 days. New and old friends, inspiring work, educational experiences, all wrapped into one wonderful conference. 

Now....I get to transform that inspiration in my studio.