Thanks, Bob

The pre-Easter puttering paid off over this past weekend, giving me the boost I needed to try some new things, and put together four more pieces for the upcoming Lacombe Art Show & Sale.

Inspiration for three of them came from my friend Bob, whom I met in a prior life 😉.  I lived in Calgary then, and as an aspiring writer (long story) joined the Alexandra Writer's Society.  He was a member too, and both of us served on the organization's Board for a few years.  I was the librarian for the Society, and he...I think he was Chair or something important like that!

Now both of us write blogs -- and both make visual art: textiles for me, photography for him.

My first effort from his work was a mini, sold long ago -- so long ago that I had to dig the photo of it out of an old blog post; it wasn't in my files!

A Silvery Moon, An Orange Sky and Dhow

Friday's snowstorm found me in the studio with three of Bob's photos -- and one of my own -- in mind, digging through my books, working in my sketchbook.

This first one he took on a trip to Grenada -- and the aquas and blues seen through the skeleto of what must have been a home, once, simply captivated me.

I also knew I could get very caught up in the details of it, so I tried to break it down by printing it in black and white...

And then with an effect called "old photograph"...

In the end I took the colour photo, tracked a grid over it, and narrowed in on one section.  I did a colour study of that isolated bit, and then attempted to recreate it in a rather abstracted way. 

Grid and colour study with fabric scraps

I quilted it on a piece of white craft felt, stitching down the edges; it finished at 8" x 10", and added touches of water-colour pencil here and there as I felt called.  Then I secured it with matte gel medium to a 12" x 12" canvas that I'd painted to give it a 'tropical' feel.  I'll take it to be put in a floater frame later this week:

In light of all the hurricanes in that part of the world this past year,
I've titled it After the Storm: Grenada. 
Fabric collage, machine quilted on felt, painted;
 applied to stretched canvas. 
12" x 12" before framing

Can you tell which section I used?  Here's a hint:

I then moved on to something more "inside my box"...a pair of small canvases (5" x 7") that will be framed this week too.  Here's a photo of the prep of the backgrounds; both inspirational photos are of Alberta scenes that Bob took on drives around the countryside:

And here's one, finished and ready for framing...

I'm not sure of a title just yet...these are either old barns or grain bins near Beiseker, Alberta, taken on a wintry evening where faint pink hints of the Aurora in the starry sky added to the odd colouring of the snow on the ground.  "Beiseker Barns" just sounds too..."cute".  If anyone has an idea, just leave a comment -- with my thanks!

Inspired, I continued to play with paint, working finally on a piece of light-weight scrap canvas my framer gave me.  It had some discoloured spots, so I washed it, and in drying it, squeezed it, meaning that despite ironing (under a pressing cloth, on the side without gesso priming), it retained a bit of a 'crinkled' look.  I decided I liked that, as it gave an interesting texture to the painted surface. 

Un-stretched canvas, painted

You can see the inspirational photo at the top. I took it on my way to the studio of my long-arm quilter, Sylvia, who lives north-east of here just a wee bit.

Once it was painted, I put it under the needle, and added a bit more colour with water-colour pencils:

Then I found a mat for it -- thanks to some cast-offs recycling from my former water-colour teacher, Sharon Lynn Williams of Calgary, who went back to work in acrylics, oils and encaustic after several years of working in water-colour.

It's a good big mat (the canvas is 9" x 11") -- a double mat, in fact, and too me, it suits the piece down to the ground.  Before attaching it to the mat, I applied the piece to a slightly larger piece of mat board, again using mat gel medium.

I've decided, however, not to frame this one.  Whoever buys it can frame it the way they want to.  I just propped it in this stand for the photo:

End of the Road (C) 2018

All in all, it's been a good five or six days.  Today...taking it a bit easier, working on string blocks for that larger piece I've mentioned before, and which is still very much a work in progress.

It's snowing here (again!) today -- thick, fat flakes that melt on the pavement but pile up on the old snow and any icy patches that remain from earlier 'melts's, and there are plenty of those.

I'm seriously thinking of curling up for a nap, but before I do, I'll link this to WIP Wednesday over at The Needle and Thread Network, and leave you with this photo of the third (of three) blocks for The Quilt Show's 2018 Block of the Month, which I also finished this past weekend.  Sometimes, after original work, my brain needs a break, so I go back to piecing.  Ahhhhh....

Have a great rest of the week, everyone! 

Everything's in Order Here

Woke early to try to see the lunar eclipse.  Living in Western Canada, I'd have had a good chance of it...but for the snow.  So...back to bed, but couldn't sleep.

I lay there, sipping a cup of sweet tea (yes, I'm nursing a cold; it's the only time this coffee afficionado drinks tea)...and thinking about my agenda.

I like routine.  

I've never been very spontaneous.  I dislike surprises.  My late DH was the only one who could ever get away with surprising me, and even he stuck to doing so on my birthday or at Christmas -- when one can get away with it.

This morning, pondering this aspect of my character, I realized my tendency to plan and organize has a powerful impact on my creativity.

I like deadlines, and like to give my piece(s) plenty of time to 'percolate', both before and during construction.  Once begun, I generally break a project down into steps and pace myself, doing a bit each day on each of several projects.

Currently on the go?

• This month's Master Class theme is 'color'...and I have to have five items (images) sent off to EB by April 10...so yesterday I tackled the assignment as follows:
• Read through all the notes and instructions;
• Checked out the recommended links (including a video or two);
• Looked at inspirational sources to create a colour palette.
• Recorded those sources as photos.  Here's a sampling:

Canvas-work cushion made by my mom

Needlepoint footstool done by my mom

Water colour collage
Sharon Lynn Williams,
Calgary, AB (ca. 2004)

• Next steps: 
• close colour studies to develop final palette;
• create a design or colour in a sketch from January's work;
• audition fabric.

• SAQA Benefit Auction piece:
• Next steps:
• sandwich and quilt background;
• fill in stitching details;
• add foliage to tree;
• face or bind;
• apply label and sleeve;
• submit!

• My knitting projects are even more closely organized.  For example, the Wedding Prayer Shawl used to look like this:

It's now several times longer, as a total of 14 pattern repeats have been finished.  Each repeat is 24 rows, broken down into sections of six rows each.  There are 25 repeats to do before the shawl is finished, and the wedding is mid-June.  I won't be attending (another commitment) so have to finish and deliver sometime around the end of May or right after Quilt Canada (June 4-6).  My agenda?  

• Knit a minimum of 6 rows per day.  
• If I knit 12 (or half of one pattern repeat) and am consistent, I could finish this baby before I go to Portland for the SAQA conference later this month.

Then there are the April Socks-from-Stash...the first one is now happily about 3" long, meaning I'm almost 1/2-way to the heel...

What about you?  Are you super-organized or more spontaneous?  How d'you think your tendency to be one or the other governs your creative practice?

Linking this up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday...

If it stops snowing, I might just get in to Red Deer for the last of the Central Alberta Quilt Show.  And yes, there'll be a sock in my tote...  :-)

Happy Easter! Happy Passover!  Happy Spring!  Happy Fall!  ;-)

Have a great weekend!

Mid-week Miniatures

A bit over a week from now and I'll be six months past my sixtieth birthday.  Six decades plus and I am still resisting the life lesson that "It takes as long as it takes", whatever it is.  I wake up each morning with a list of what I 'plan' to do...but rarely do I get it all accomplished, even if it's a short list!  And we all know full well that when we use the excuse, "Life got in the way"...well -- we were the ones getting in our own way, weren't we?!

Yesterday I 'planned' to make two miniatures and lay out materials for a mid-sized piece.  Well.  I got one miniature finished.  The sewing machine fought with me over the thread painting, even after I'd cleaned the bobbin case, changed the needle and tried several combinations of top and bottom thread.  By then it was late afternoon, I'd worked (fought!) through my usual jogging time and needed a break, so I sat with my coffee and read some of the blogs I follow.  In this lovely little post from my former watercolour teacher, Sharon Lynn Williams, was this nugget:

"How little can I say and still say the subject?"

She was quoting someone -- I don't know who -- but it made perfect sense.  I didn't really need that thread painting in the centre of this piece; the hand-dyed fabric could 'say the subject' all on its own.

Prairie Autumn (c) 2013
Inspired by a photo taken by my husband years ago
somewhere near Millarville, south of Calgary, Alberta

And now for today's mid-week treat, the second of my one-a-day "creative vitamins"!  The wee gift today is

Tulip Medley SBD142 is a pattern designed by Coral Love of Sagebud Designs,  for a paper-pieced and applique medallion-style quilt that finishes (as shown) 58.5" square.  I don't think the company has a website but it's located in Chico, California and markets patterns through "The Pattern Peddlers" and other venues.  I admit to purchasing it in a weak moment when I thought I might eventually get the hang of paper-piecing (the North American version, not the English, which I love and can do!).  Though a very pretty piece, with the clarity of age, I realize I will never be inclined to that art...and so pass along this unused pattern to Gill -- who will hopefully enjoy it and/or pass it on herself and share the love.  Congratulations, Gill, and I'll be in touch with you for your mailing address!

Now...back to those miniatures!

Back to the Drawing Board

This month, Susan Sorrell is teaching a class in outline drawing for embroidery at Joggles.com.  I decided to take it -- not so much for the embroidery as for the drawing.  Going into my last C&G module, I realized that I have to revisit my seeing skills, and learn to enjoy using my sketchbook in order to give my work the polish it needs going forward.  To date I've fought working in my sketchbook, working with persistence but not much enjoyment.  I've decided to look for the joy.

This morning I worked on my first exercise with a teacup and saucer, a sugar bowl and a creamer from my dining set.  The first page of attempts -- 2B pencil, timed at 1 or 2 minutes each -- wasn't so great, and took a good deal of energy despite the short intervals of time:

Lesson 1 - First Steps

The second page -- a single attempt before posting to the class forum -- was much better.  (Note: my photography skills are another matter.)

Lesson 2 - Second Steps

I've begun to think perhaps I haven't forgotten all I learned in my Beginners' Drawing & Watercolour class with Sharon Williams in Calgary several years ago.  If I can get my brain to stop hurting with the effort, I might actually enjoy this!

International Women Celebrate!

From the cover
of Sharon's new book,
En plein air

My former watercolour teacher is part of this wonderful show down near Kitchener, Ontario.  Read all about it!


Sharon Lynn Williams' art blog: International Women Celebrate! Show is up!

Congratulations!


To my friend and former teacher (drawing and watercolour), Sharon Lynn Williams.  Two of her mixed media works are featured in this sneak peek at The Best of Worldwide Mixed Media Artists, published by Blick Art Materials.  The artists are shown in alphabetical order, so to find her, click over to the back of the e-book -- and enjoy!