SAQA | Crazy for Fiber

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Archive for the ‘SAQA’ Category

Chugging Along

Monday, September 16th, 2013

I have not had much down time — so much to do. I got my resume updated and wrote a new artist statement:

Gerrie Congdon is an artist who works with textiles. She transforms white fabric into complex cloth, using dyes and paints and a variety of techniques. The resulting fabric becomes serene landscapes and abstract compositions. Her work has been exhibited in many venues, locally, nationally and internationally. She is a member of Columbia Fiberarts Guild, High Fiber Diet, Studio Art Quilt Associates and the Surface Design Association.

I had some SDA work to do and I have also been working on preparing for an exhibit of the Twelve’s 20 x 12 quilts at NW Quilt Expo. Terry Grant is coming tomorrow and we will attach them to felt panels for display by theme. I have collected half of the quilts and she has the other half.

Those are Nikki Wheeler’s quilts on the top of the various piles. I love seeing and fondling all of the quilts made by my fellow Twelves.

I have also printed all the signage on ledger size paper.

Tomorrow afternoon, we will deliver them to the venue.

On Wednesday, Terry and I are doing a presentation for SAQA on blogs and websites. I am doing websites. After I get back from delivering the quilts, I have to print out my notes on websites and make copies.

On Thursday, after checking in with the quilt show to see how the display looks, I have to rush back home because (gulp!), we are meeting with a realtor. Looks like we are going to move ahead with the downsizing. It has to be done sooner than later and I want to do it when I have some control over it!

Posted in 12X12 challenge, SAQA, This and that | 7 Comments »

Having an Arty Week

Thursday, July 18th, 2013

I have had a great couple of days out and about in Portland. The work above is by the uber talented Trish Hassler. She has had a very successful career blending steel which she cuts with fiber. It has always intrigued me. The turquoise piece is cut from an old Nash roadster that was donated to Trisha by a Columbia Fiberarts member.

Our local SAQA group was invited by Trisha to see her exhibit with a talk by her.

A mixed media artist, Kathy Haydon, shared the exhibit with her and many of the works played nicely together.

The two pieces with the ivory steel are Trisha’s and are from another car donated by Marie. The darker piece is by Kathy. I love this orange piece which uses steel from an old Allis Chalmer’s tractor. The farm girl in me couldn’t help it.

I really liked Trisha’s new sculptural work which you see in the first photo. It has no metal. She has Parkinson’s and finds it difficult to work with the metal. This show is the last one she will be doing with metal.

Trisha incorporates handstitching in much of her work. It was fun to add a few stitches to this community stitching piece which she will incorporate into a future work.

I enjoyed lunch with a couple of friends.

This morning, I went to see Kevin who did his magic and made my hair nice and red, again. It had gotten bleached from the sun and had a lot of gray showing. This afternoon, Mr C and I went on an art date to the Japanese Garden to see the Noguchi exhibit. I have long been a fan of his lighting fixtures, that are constructed from Washi paper and bamboo. They are so sculptural and etherial.

The exhibit had some of the light fixtures and tables and his landscape sculptures. I couldn’t photograph inside the pavilion, but these were in the garden outside the pavilion.

Then we wanderd around the garden. Here are some inspiration photos that I took.

I need to get down to business tomorrow. Have something I can’t talk about on the blog, yet. Deadline is looming. I want to get that top done – you know the fabric I bought and is now languishing on my sewing table. I am going to have a fantastic guest on Monday, you must wait to see who it is.

Life is still good.

Posted in Art Dates, Out and About in Portland, Quilting Friends, SAQA | 1 Comment »

Checking Things Off My List

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

If I am going to leave for California next Tuesday (and I am), I have to keep moving and shaking and getting things done. Yesterday, I sewed the sleeve and made a label for my XOXO quilt as I had to ship it off before I leave town. I also finished the hand stitching on my SAQA quilt, Montanas y Lunas. I submitted the online auction entry form for SAQA. Tomorrow, I will get it in the mail and cross that off my list. Here is a detail:

I love the organic quality of this and the texture. I don’t know if it will sell, but it is the type of work that I like to purchase.

At the end of June, after I get back from San Antonio, I have to have a submission done for the next High Fiber Diet exhibit, Simply Red. I pulled out my red fabrics to see what I have and to encourage some creative juices to flow.

I have some nice organza. The piece on the left is silk as is the black and red in the middle. I am pretty sure the other piece is synthetic.

I also have a funky piece of cheesecloth that might be interesting with something else.

These are various shades of hand-dyed red cotton.

I was thinking that I would try to do a larger piece of shrinky dink red with a discharged design. So I did a couple of discharge samples. The one of the left is with Soft Scrub with bleach. I left it on for quite awhile with hardly any change. The one on the right is deColourant discharge paste. I like what has happened so I think I will go with that. I just have to come up with a design that will work with the shrinking process. I probably will do a sample as I have not done this with cotton.

I have been working on the name tags for the conference. I have several different types to do and I need to get them printed and shipped on ahead to San Antonio so that I don’t have to take them in my luggage.

This afternoon, I headed out to the mall to get a few new things to fit my shrinking body – I especially needed new summer pants. I also got some new black sandals that I really like. Tomorrow, I am going to try on my dress and see if I think it needs to be shortened. I also need to go through my clothes and decide what to take for the upcoming events. Making lists and getting things done – that is my life, right now. Since we have the return of winter weather, I might as well be hunkered down, getting things done.

Posted in Discharging fabric, My creations, SAQA, Stuff I Buy | Comments Off on Checking Things Off My List

Better Results?

Saturday, April 27th, 2013

Here is the second discharged piece after getting thrown in the washer and dryer. I did simpler stitching – just horizontal. I think I could have stitched the lines a little closer, but it has nice texture. It shrunk more in one directions than the other. It started out square. Here is a detail shot.

I am going to crop out a twelve inch square for my SAQA auction piece. I am titling it Montanas y Lunas (mountains and moons). I plan to do some hand stitching on both pieces. The other piece will be larger and titled Undulations. Here are some perle cotton auditions.

This is a gorgeous variegated hand-dyed thread by Laura Wasilowski of Artfabrik fame.

I am not sure where I got this thread. I think it will add some nice color to the Undulations piece.

I got the results of my gall bladder ultrasound, and I have a remarkably healthy gall bladder and all the other organs and abdominal parts that showed in the scan were in great shape. So, I am going to stop worrying about that. I think I have found the reason for the hives on my legs. I realized that we changed soap in the shower at about the time the itchiness started. I have stopped using it and so far so good. I will now stop being a hypochondriac — at least until the next symptom arises. I am an old lady, after all.

We have had a run of gorgeous weather. I planted by veggie garden yesterday and replenished the herb planters.

There is room for a few more herbs. Mr C came after me and cleaned up the deck.

Here is the garden bed with a few weeds and looking a little disheveled.

I went at it with the hoe and turned up the earth. Love it!

I planted lots of lettuce for now.

This year, I planted the squash and cucumber in the ground next to the planter box so that they have room to spread out.

I am going to wait to plant tomatoes, and I still have room for some other plants like eggplant and peppers.

I really enjoyed getting outside to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.

Posted in Felting, handstitching, SAQA, Surface Design Techniques, The Farm, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Better Results?

Having a Busy Week

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

Nothing like 3 days of meetings and appointments to keep you on your toes. I am so hoping to have a day at home for some studio time tomorrow. I got my Janome back and I am itching to get back to machine quilting the Rosales Organ piece.

We were very excited with the results of the election. I love that so many women won seats in Congress. All of the progressive measures for school and library funding passed in Portland. I think the results of this election and the coalition formed by the Dems bodes well for our future.

Yesterday, I had the local SAQA meeting here — 26 creative women. Many revealed their challenge pieces. I didn’t get mine done. The challenge was to make a 12 by 12 quilt using SAQA’s new definition of an art quilt: SAQA defines an art quilt as “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.” We decided to use the latter part of the definition. There were some very interesting pieces.

Today, I had STASH at Terry’s. She is having a busy week like mine, so we went out to lunch. I had to rush home and then off in the other direction to have my one year post cataract surgery eye exam. No real change. Since I lost my red glasses last summer, I ordered a new pair. They are red, and I really like them. Can’t wait for them to arrive.

My Janome is working like a dream so I whipped up 3 x 3s with no tension problems.

Do you know that it is Thanksgiving Day in just 2 weeks! Yikes.

Posted in 3 x 3, Quilting Friends, SAQA, Stuff I Buy | Comments Off on Having a Busy Week

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