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Archive for September, 2010

Moving On

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Allegro is done. I am thinking about entering it into the SAQA show, Beyond Comfort.

This exhibit challenges each artist to venture into uncharted territories of creative expression by turning away from the comfort zones of their established body of work. It provides a “permission slip” to experiment fearlessly with radically new conceptual and narrative agendas; to employ techniques, technologies, or materials new to the artist. The artistic goal of the exhibition is to encourage reaching beyond comfort to make new and unexpected works of art.

I think it meets the criteria, but I am not sure it is visually compelling enough to make the cut.

Here is a detail. I love the painted surfaces of these little pieces of organza.

Fall arrives  Wednesday night at 8:59 pm and here is my fiber sketch – an homage to fall.

The rusted white piece of silk that I dyed turquoise is now getting rusted again. Now that Allegro is done, I am looking forward to moving on to something new. First, I have to do that clean-up that comes when you finish a project. We are having some nice weather so I hope I can do some messy work outside.


Got Rust?

Monday, September 20th, 2010

I used some of my fused skinny bits to create this fiber sketch of a forest. I like it. I think it has possibilities for a larger version.

Here are the results of my rust dyeing. A caveat – the pole was so corroded that I could not scrunch the fabric for traditional shibori.

I did the blue-green fabric and a plain white.

Tonight, I overdyed  the white silk with a paler shade of blue-green. I think I will like it a lot. I hope I can combine the two fabrics in the challenge piece.

I spent a lot of time stitching down the pojagi pockets on Allegro. I am getting to close to this piece and am starting to have a love/hate relationship with it. I must finish it – tomorrow, I hope. I first basted the pockets and then zigzagged them down to prevent fraying.

The SAQA auction started today. My piece, Entwined Roots is in the first group of quilts.

The price today was $750.   Tomorrow, the price goes down to $550, then $350, $250, $150 and $75.  Unsold work will be placed on the SAQA website for a month and then returned to the artist. Here is a link to the quilts, if you are interested in supporting SAQA and getting a nice piece of art.

You might notice the new buttons that I have in my sidebar. I got an e-mail from Wikio telling me that I could show my overall ranking for my blog. They have me in the craft category. I don’t know if there is a quilting category. There is a needlearts category. The buttons will change as my ranking changes. It will be embarrassing if it goes down! LOL

A Busy Week-end

Sunday, September 19th, 2010


So what has transpired since I last posted? I finally am feeling normal after my pesky virus attack. I got my hair cut and the color freshened – that made me feel better.

I got a rejection letter from Quilts=Art=Quilts. I was disappointed because I really like that show. I was in it two  years ago. I know that shows like this one are very dependent on what the jurors are looking for and I think it will be a more abstract show this year. Anyway, I have two quilts to enter in other shows.

Last night we had a wonderful Eucharist at Trinity to celebrate the harvest season. It was set to the music of Neil Young and was very inspiring. I may be in my 70s, but I am not stodgy about changing things up.

You may be wondering what that photo up there is. Well, it is a rusty pipe that Mr C saved for me when he tore up the old irrigation system in our front yard. The theme for the next Twelve x Twelve colorplay is rust and blue green.

I thought I would try doing some shibori rust dyeing with the pole up there. So I soaked some silk fabric in vinegar and water and wrapped it around the pole. Then I sprinkled it with salt and wrapped it in plastic. Now, I wait.

I am almost finished with Allegro. It is all basted. I just need to do the final stitching of the pockets and trim the seams. It is going to be a difficult piece to  photograph because of the transparency of the organza. Here is a detail.

We have been having strange weather. Long, warm sun breaks and rainy downpours. The temps have been mild so it is easy to take. Hope you had a good week-end, too.

Getting Better

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

I felt enough better today to get out of my jammies, put on makeup, and get out of the house. First, I went to get my quarterly blood work done. All the test results were fantastically good. After breakfast, I took the Aspen quilt to the quilt shop in Lake Oswego. I think I was the last person to turn mine in.

I lost a day. I thought it was Farmer’s Market day, but no, that was yesterday! So, I went to our local organic grocery and did my shopping. I bought some figs which we grilled and stuffed with Gorgonzola for dinner. They were sooo good. I also took a half hour walk with Scooter and Mr C this morning and a very short walk this afternoon because it started raining.

This postcard came today. It is for Susan Lenz’s Decisions show. Look, there I am again. She said, she does not know why, but I ended up in all the advertising, even the banner that hangs outside the art center.

I received good news today. I have two pieces accepted into Art Quilts XV: Needleplay, which will be installed at the Chandler Center for the Arts and Vision Gallery. They have added additional space this year, I think, so the show seems larger. You can see the list of artists, here. These are my pieces that were accepted: Scorched Earth and Sunset Composition.

Hopefully, tomorrow, I will feel even better.

Viral Attack

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

That is what I seem to have and I had fun making this fiber sketch to illustrate how, I feel -frayed edges and all prickly. Yesterday, I didn’t do much except drink liquids, nap and do a little work for SDA.

I have not felt much better today, but I had to get a travel bag and label done for my aspen quilt that is in the Oregon SAQA show which debuts next week at NW Quilt Expo. I created and printed a label on cotton. I made 2 copies.

One got fused to the back of the quilt.

And the other was fused to the bag which I had already sewn up. That strip is covering my phone number.

I save selvage strips and use them as ties for my traveling quilts.

I rolled the quilt on a swim tube, and put it in the bag and it is ready to deliver tomorrow. And now I am out of energy to do anything but watch Top Chef finale.