Tuesday, June 29, 2010

HiFiber

B


HiFiber meets the second Thursday of each month at The Loft in Seneca, SC. We are so lucky to have such an inspiring place to hold our meetings. We had lots to discuss this month. We decided to have an Artist Statement for the group. Penny Little is going to work on that.

The Loft has asked HiFiber to have an exhibit in their gallery during the LMQG Show in Sept. The group has decided that we will show the work that we have produced during the year that we have worked on out of the book "Fabric Art Workshop" by Susan Stein. We have also issued several small challenges that we will exhibit.

I missed taking a photo of Judy Rapeije's baby quilt. Judy was having problems with her sewing machine and was unhappy with her stitches. Shirley Woods told us about a workshop she had taken with George Siciliano, if you don't know who he is he makes the most incredible miniature quilts.

Heidi, Beatriz and Sandy brought their portraits they made in my "Fabricating Faces" class but I've posted them already so I won't post again today. We missed Marge Edie who had been ill as well as a few of our members who were out of town.

HiFiber



Heidi Wolko brought a piece she is working on for an exhibit that will be held at The Arts Company during the LMQG Quilt show in Sept. I'm just going to give you a little peak at a part of the quilt. Heidi does such beautiful thread painting and this bird is no exception.

HiFiber




One of the challenges that was made to HiFiber recently was to create a small piece that had something to do with your name. You could use your initials and create what ever you wanted to do. one of these pieces was done by Sandra Risvold and the other by Barbara Sokol. Can you chose which one belongs to each?

HiFiber




Penny Little shared two pieces with us. The African print fabric was joined with rusted fabric that Penny did in a workshop with Bonnie Ouellette. Penny was having trouble with her machine and was unhappy with the quilting, she was going to pick it out, however, as most of us looked at the stitches we didn't think there was a problem.

Penny is currently working on this other piece to donate to the charity auction for LMQG Quilt show in Sept.

HiFiber



Beatriz is expecting a new grand baby and made this beautiful baby quilt.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Focus Meeting





Focus had their monthly meeting last Wednesday at Judy Simmons home. Judy lives in Fletcher, NC so our little group from the Southwest corner has to drive about two hours to get there. It is always well worth the drive. Judy has a beautiful studio with lots of windows looking out on a beautiful yard.

Judy's husband John and their son are really into gardening and the yard show their love. I wish I'd had time to take some photos but because I had to get back and drive to Winston-Salem I was in a hurry. I wish now I'd have taken the time. Oh well! back to Focus.

Judy's niece is having a baby so she made an adorable "I Spy" quilt for her. This photo is at a weird angle but you get the idea.

Judy is also working on this piece for the challenge. I love her subtle use of images in her work.

Focus Meeting




Veronica Moriarty is the only working woman in Focus and this woman never ceases to amaze me at how much work she gets done. She brought a finished quilt that I showed early on this blog of a pieced-curved design.

Veronica has also been working on a Hawaiian applique quilt and brought it to Focus a few times trying to decide what kind of border to put on the quilt. With some suggestions from the group she decided to do the strips you see here. Veronica takes this type of work with her in the car, on the plane and even on the train when she and her husband, John went to Germany on vacation this year.

Veronica is also working on a piece she started in my class at QSC last year. She has decided to do a different type of background for boats that she has finished can't wait to see this one done.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Focus Meeting





We were all so glad to see Marge Edie able to attend our meeting. Marge recently suffered some health problems and it was great to see her out with all her work in hand. Marge is showing us her finished challenge piece, it is very appropriately named "Heartwood".

Marge also brought a new piece she is working on. The design is inspired from a scientific photograph she saw years ago in one of her husbands magazines. Marge is drafting the pattern and sewing it on the machine. She loves this kind of challenge.

Marge is also a weaver. This neck scarf is interwoven and is very unique. She started with a piece that was 6' long and felted it. The finished scarf will be cut to make two separate scarfs.

We had so much to show and talk about that I will have to finish up tomorrow. Enjoy the post below and come back tomorrow.

Focus Meeting



Dixie Haywood brought her finished challenge quilt. It honors her father who was a woods worker turned into a woodworker. She has photos of him and some of the wonderful pieces he made. Dixie photo copied trees onto fabric to make her background fabric.

Focus Meeting



Janet Ginn has a grandson going to college this Fall so she is making him a great comfort quilt to take with him.

Focus Meeting






Diana Pickens has been very busy this month. She showed a small piece she has been working in from her stripe series. A large quilt that she made from blocks that she had taken out of a ten year old quilt and added more to make the quilt 110" x 100". Diana explained to us how she quilted the quilt in 16" squares and then put it together. She is also showing a new piece for a challenge that Focus is participating in.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

My week as a student at JC Campbell





Last week I went to J. C. Campbell Folk School as a student. I teach there about twice a year and always enjoy my students. I've been back as a student a few times but this past week was exceptionally good.

I took a drawing class from Pebbie Mott. I haven't drawn more than a sketch here and there for the past twenty years so it was good to get back to drawing.

Pebbie, started us out using graphite pencils and having us experiment with the different hardness of the lead. She also introduced us to a smudge stick, something I had never used but really liked. We also used a sketch and wash pencil, it is used very much like water color.

We used charcoal, not my favorite. Bamboo pen and ink, which I really liked. The pen and ink was very freeing to someone who likes to control what they are doing.

We started the class with traditional sketches using shapes and moved to the outside. I had never taken a sketch pad outside and just sat and sketched. I loved it. I had a very funny experience the first morning we went out to sketch. I decided that I wanted to find a big tree and sketch the bottom of the tree where the roots entered the soil. The studio has two small houses beside it that have some beautiful big trees. I decided that I would sit in the shade under what I found out was a Mulberry tree.

I'm a country girl at heart and love to take my shoes off which I did as I sat sketching. All of a sudden I noticed that I had a few drops of red on my paper. I decided that I didn't mind having a little Mulberry juice on my drawing, it would make it more authentic. I'm deep in thought as I am sketching and all of a sudden, splat! a berry must has dropped from 50ft. high onto my paper. The sound not only scared me but two of my fellow students. Back to my shoe's being off, I got ready to go and for some reason looked at my feet before I put my shoes back on. It took me two days to get the stain off my feet.

My husband was a student last week as well, he took a wood turning class. We both decided that the week was one of the best we had spent in a long time. We met so many people that we clicked with, our teachers were great, the food is always good and to end the week there was a bluegrass concert right outside the log house we were staying in. Can't beat that.

One class that I don't have photos of was the American Indian Flute class. I am so into American Indian flue music and was very intrigued by this class. Billy Whitewolf assured me that you do not need to know music to learn to play this flute. I am really considering taking that class the next time it is offered.

All this may explain my absents on the blog for the last week. I had hoped to get this post earlier but life has gotten in the way. I highly recommend John C. Campbell Folk School.

My week as a student at JC Campbell




This display of bowls was made by my hubby. He is the guy on the far left in the white shirt. His instructor liked to tell everyone that they started out the week with a square piece of wood and the idea was to make a round box. However, Kermit ended up making a square box. It was very impressive and the hit of table for show and tell

My week as a student at JC Campbell



This American Indian doll was made in Dee Dee Triplett's doll class last week. I am more than upset that the photo I took of the whole doll was very blurry. I have never seen a more spectacular doll anywhere.

My week as a student at JC Campbell




Scrimshaw

Kaleidoscope

My week as a student at JC Campbell

















Doll class
Spinning, dying and knitting class
Weaving Class
Show and Tell

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Fabricating Faces Class for LMQG




On Tuesday I taught "Fabricating Faces" to our local guild, Lake and Mountain Quilt Guild.

I had a full class, each student sent photographs to me so that I could prepare the posterization prior to the class. This saved valuable class time and allowed us to do this class in a six-hour workshop.

I went over the posterization process using a projector connected to my computer. The handouts cover the steps as well. We then moved on to tracing each layer in red and making copies to use for patterns.

You will see in the photos here as well as the ones to follow that the students caught onto the process and did a great job. They saw problems as they worked and come up with solutions. This was perhaps one of the quietest most intense classes I have ever taught.

However, when the class was over Margaret said to me "I am usually tired after a six-hour workshop but today I am elated". Beatriz and Marilyn went home and started all over to redo the portrait. Marilyn said, "When I got home it just all clicked". Marilyn is an award winning quilter and I could see she "got it" in class. Sometimes though, you just have to go home in the peace and quite and work until you are satisfied.

I loved sharing this process and to be able to teach it to my own guild was wonderful.

Photo above is Marilyn Ingalls' grandson

Fabricating Faces Class for LMQG




My good friend Dixie Haywood's husband Bob passed away this past October. This photograph was one of Dixie's favorites. The photo was cropped out of a larger photo and then scanned into the computer. All these processes made for a very pixelated photograph. However, I knew that Dixie wanted to do this one so I worked on it enough to get a decent posterization. Dixie did a great job and she was very happy with the finished portrait.

Sandy wanted to make this portrait of her Mother. There was a problem with her chin line but Sandy was able to work it out. She did a great job on the hat as well.

Fabricating Faces Class for LMQG






Beatriz's grandson



















Margaret's granddaughter
Libby's granddaughter
Heidi's husband Manfred

Fabricating Faces Class for LMQG





















Cindy's grandson Nick
Betty's daughter, the bride
Sues' Mother Theresa
Shirley's granddaughter

Sorry these names don't coincide with the photos but I can't figure out how to put them with the photos. Please excuse my computer short-comings.

Friday, June 11, 2010

What's on my design wall?



On Art Digest, the question has been asked "What's on your design wall". I have two major pieces that I have been working on for a while. The first one is one of my granddaughter that I started back in April, more on that in the post below.

This piece I started working on May 26, it was my birthday present to be able to work in the studio all day. I ended up scrapping everything I did that day but I loved every minute I was working.

One would think a rotted tree stump with burls wouldn't be so hard. This piece has been the hardest piece I have ever worked on. Today, for the first time since I started the stump I have had a WHOLE DAY to work in my studio. I think I am finally getting somewhere. I plan to finish the stump in an organic shape. I will post the story behind this quilt later.

What's on my design wall?



I started working on this piece back in April before I went to J C Campbell Folk School to teach. I wanted to show my students a work in progress and how I get from beginning to end.

You will see a painted face up above the large piece, it's the first one I tried. Mind you I'm not exactly what one would call a painter, but if I can see something I can usually get a good likeness. Sydney's chin is lifted up and it's difficult to see where her chin ends and her neck begins. That presents a problem for me, I can't see it well enough to get it correct. I don't have her eyes right either. The second face, the one on the large piece, is better but still not there.

I have been very busy with teaching, etc. and haven't been able to get back to this piece. This coming week I am going to J. C. Campbell as a student. I am taking a class in drawing so hopefully I will be able to do a better job when I get back to my studio.

The flower is a demo I started in my class in April and I haven't done anything with it either.

The portrait is one of three I have done of the same person. More on that later.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

NCQS Continued



On Saturday I took Terry White's class on thread painting. We worked on one of Terry's patterns, Coleus. Terry, had created this pattern in a much larger scale to depict her son's big feet. Well, you just have to meet Terry to understand this, she said something about him not wanting to be a fairy so she made him a Coleus.

Terry is very funny and she kept us entertained as well as teaching us her method of thread painting. I considered this class to be one of the better I've ever taken.

I used YLI 100% cotton variegated thread on this project. This is the first time I've used the variegated cotton and found it to work quite well for this piece. As I worked on the piece I discovered that I could work in a specific area to get pools of solid color and then move on as the thread color changed. I also found that I liked the look of the thread when I went in a vertical rather than horizontal stitch line.

This is my piece so you may be able to see what I am talking about with this photo. Terry has a book out, well actually she has several books, titled "Thread Painting made easy" published by AQS.

A Fun Class!