Art Girls Beading Day

Well we really did have a Beady Day at my house on Sunday ... Honest! Only you couldn't prove it by these pictures. Gloria showed her gorgeous jacket, which was part of her ensemble that won Third Place, as well as Viewer's Choice, in the Rosenberg Cotton Fashion Show. This was fabric that she had hand-dyed, discharged, stamped, and painted. Her finishing techniques are exquisite, too.









Martha is our Tie-Dye Girl, and was checking out some of the pictures Gloria brought back from her Maine vacation with her granddaughters ... some of which we snitched to use as inspiration for fiber art.


Mary Ellen brought her collage piece to finish ... here it is without the edging finish that she added later that day. I think it's beautiful even without the finish! Below is a closeup of the collage by itself.



Patricia asked me to take a photo of the latest polymer clay bracelet I bought from her, for her portfolio. The photo isn't the greatest, but the bracelet is a show-stopper ... literally! I have people stop me all the time and ask me about it. She made it expandable, which is why it's different from most bangle bracelets. The gorgeous colors are achieved by her technique of Mokume Gane'.



And last but not least, we awarded Patricia "Best Laugh of the Day" with this photo ...



... and not a bead to be seen!

Oh my poor Blog!

It's so sad ...



untended ...



and drooping with neglect ...



that my friend Cathy has "goosed" me to revive it ... so here I am to do it. Thank you Cathy, I really didn't mean to be gone for so long!

Collage Mania Opens Monday

Get your motors runnin' ... Virginia Spiegel's Collage Mania
http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/CollageMania081.html,
to benefit the American Cancer Society, is opening Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. CST, to run for ONLY two days. See her blog for more info. http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/archives/770 and for some answers to some Frequently Asked Questions.

Here's are some more "teasers" for you ...


Asian Fall by Angie Platten


Creation Story by Joy Hellman


Full Circle 2 by Sherrie Tootle

Get your emails ready to send, and your trigger finger ready to hit the "Send" button at 9:00 Monday (and/or Tuesday) morning! I know I'm excited ... Good luck!

IT'S HERE!

Collage Mania Preview Week -- It's here at last!


Sun Please, by Inge Reinholdt

At last, the much-anticipated Preview of all 235 collages created by over 100 artists worldwide, which will be available for purchase on May 5 and 6, 2008! Collage Mania 2008 is organized and managed by fiber artist Virginia Spiegel. Virginia explains:

"Preview Week is a great time to browse through the collages, make your shopping list, prepare an e-mail to send me (note: for which collages you want to acquire!) and ask any questions you may have about Collage Mania and how to acquire the artwork."

FUNDRAISING TO BENEFIT
THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

Virginia and her team of supporters organized Collage Mania 2008 to benefit The American Cancer Society. Virginia is also the founder of Fiberart For A Cause which has raised more than $150,000 for the American Cancer Society in the last several years.

HOW TO ACQUIRE A COLLAGE

Virginia provides detailed information about how to acquire a collage on the Collage Mania Site. It's fun, it's exciting! Preview all the wonderful artwork, make your choices ... and have your email ready to send off on May 5 and May 6! Then you will have not only some fantastic new artwork for your collection, but also the satisfaction of having helped a most worthy cause.

I've got my choices already made ... keeping my fingers crossed that I get at least one of my "first" choices, but knowing that ALL of my choices are wonderful! Dive in, have fun, and help Virginia raise more money for the American Cancer Society.

Earth Day, 2008

(NASA photo)

My little contribution to Earth Day today will be to stay home (use no gasoline), keep the TV and extra lights turned off, adjust my thermostat and use ceiling fans instead, and make art with recycled materials.

Well, I DID say "little" contribution!

... and it does make it easier to do all this because I've hurt my back and can't go anywhere anyway, am on pain pills and muscle relaxers so don't feel like watching TV, and since I won't be expending any personal energy, I won't need the air conditioning down so cold. The hardest part may be doing any artwork ... that may have to wait a few days, but I'll still hold to my resolution to use recycled materials.

Here's an interesting (and fun) website on the subject ... http://www.inhabitat.com/

Happy Earth Day!

When Copper Meets Wood

My friend Sharon and I made an impromptu trip up to Round Top on Sunday (her hubby was working and the day was too beautiful to waste indoors) to see Gerald Tobola's new show, "When Copper Meets Wood", at his Copper Shade Tree Gallery. The opening had been the previous night, and many of the pieces had already been sold, but there was still plenty to see. The combination of the warm glow of hand-tooled and -rubbed copper, some sealed and some patina'd, with the woodwork of Gene Fitzwater, was just gorgeous.

Gerald has never had time to mount his own show in his own gallery until now! He's been so busy showcasing other artists that it's taken him this long to get around to showing off his own work. Believe me, it was well worth the wait! Here's the postcard with the show info, in case you get a chance to go by and see it ...





































Here are some images from the show ...






Bamboo Triptich and 2 Gingkos by Gerald, and Rust & Relaxation by Liz Broussard


Gerald and Debbie with some of the lamps.


A fuzzy picture (sorry!) of a deliciously delicate and intricate "Gingko and Dragonfly" piece that sold on the first day.


Two of my all-time favorite people ... Gerald and Debbie Tobola.

Got Jeans?

After catching Allison and Tracy Stillwell (the Artgirlz) on this morning's episode of Quilting Arts TV, I remembered that when I took a class with them at Quilt Festival last November, I had been inspired to decorate a pair of jeans ... but of course had never gotten around to it.


Soooo, since I needed something to wear to a Crawfish Boil being thrown by my friends Mary Ellen and Mike this evening, I thought I'd hurry up and collage a pair that I'd already painted. The painted iris was beginning to fade, so it wouldn't hurt to do a little more decorating. Here is the result ...



"Big City Girl with Her Hair on Fire"

Beads beads beads

My friend Larkin was here for a week, and despite her raging bronchitis, she proved to be a real trooper. We went to the Round Top Antiques Festival and found some wonderful treasures to use in our art. Some were old postcards, some were little bottles for beading, and some were what we called "Rusty Stuff", which Larkin was very sharp-eyed at spotting for me!

Of course we couldn't let our evenings go by without some beading, so Larkin showed me how to bezel a rivoli bead "in the air" ... a difficult and "fiddly" technique, but so much fun once I mastered it! Larkin, as many of you know, is a wonderful teacher (http://www.larkinart.com/) and is so generous with her knowledge.

Here's my first attempt at a bezeled 3/4" rivoli (two views because the colors look different at different angles) ...





Then, once I realized how to do the Peyote stitch on a solid object rather than on fabric (which was the only way I'd done it before), I was encouraged to try it on a tiny bottle ... only 2-1/4" tall ... here are the results ... front and back:




(I didn't want to cover up the Benjamin Franklin image on the bottle, so I added a little "cuff" along the sides.) Both the bezeled rivoli and the beaded bottle were done in Delicas.

Poor Larkin is recovering at home now, after I ran her all over the countryside ... but we did get some good video-viewing in, as well as some great visiting. Thanks, Larkin!

Reverse Auction Ends with a Bang!

Virginia Spiegel's 3-day on-line invitational Reverse Auction for FiberArt for A Cause ended yesterday, with 11 fiber artworks raising a record $8,794. Fiberart For A Cause has now donated over $150,000 to the American Cancer Society ... an amazing accomplishment for what started out several years ago as a small individual fund-raising effort.

Donors of artwork for this event included Frances Holliday Alford, Terry Grant, Peg Keeney, Jay Rich, Susan Sorrell, Del Thomas, Larkin Van Horn, Laura Wasilowski, and Leni Wiener.

Visit the artwork here, and make plans to bid on next year's auctions! Also visit Virginia's main page to see all her current efforts in raising money to fight cancer. In case you hadn't guessed, Virginia is definitely one of my personal heroes!

The Season of Green

“It’s Good To Be Green” Exhibit
Latimer Quilt and Textile Center, Tillamook, Oregon
March 4 to May 4, 2008
Larkin Van Horn, Curator

Since the Latimer exhibit has now opened, I can show my entry here. At the time Larkin contacted me, it was around the anniversary of my husband's death, and I was feeling "soft and sentimental" towards this piece before I ever started it. As it developed, it became even more misty and dreamlike.



Artist's Statement:

The Season of Green
Color of new life,
A most perfect hue is green.
End of Winter, Spring!

The deceptively simple form of the haiku has always intrigued me, and when I found this beautiful little example by contemporary writer Don Webb (writing as Erik Stark) I knew it was perfect to express in words the imagery I had in mind.

18" x 45" My own hand-painted sand-washed silk charmeuse, quilted, then delicately over-painted and lightly embellished.

Detail shots are shown in my previous post.

I have borrowed this description of the show CD from Lesley Riley's blog, since she said it so well: "You can see wonderful detail shots and an excellent quality overall image on the show CD, which includes 47 pieces total, 28 art quilts, 19 pieces of other fiber art, 39 artists from 18 states and 1 province. It's only $15 (including shipping) with a portion going to Habitat for Humanity. This is one of the best quality and visually interesting CDs I have seen. The detail shots are better than seeing the quilts in person." Thank you Lesley!

It's Good to Be Green

Larkin Van Horn has spent the last year and a half organizing and curating the "It's Good to Be Green" exhibit for the Latimer Quilt and Textile center in Tillamook, Oregon. Today is the Opening Day of the exhibit, which will run through May 4. For any of you who will be in the area, the Opening Reception will be March 9, from noon to 4:00 p.m.

Oh how I wish I could be there!

I was thrilled to be invited to participate in this exhibit along with many of my fiber-art heroes. (Thank you, Larkin!)

Please go to the It's Good to Be Green website and click on "Sample Work" each day, for a different artist's work. Larkin's Magic Man (aka husband and partner Van) will be changing the page every day to showcase another quilt or mixed media piece.

Here's a sneak peek (detail shots only) of my submission, titled "The Season of Green":




It's a painted silk charmeuse quilt, with minimal bead and paint embellishment, 18" x 45" (the required dimensions for all the quilts).

An exhibit catalog on CD-ROM, including over 200 photographs of 47 art quilts and mixed media pieces created especially for this exhibit by 39 artists, is available for purchase. In addition to helping defray the shipping costs of the artwork, a portion of the $15 CD price will go to support the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center, and all additional funds will be donated to Habitat For Humanity.

The postcards that were made up for the exhibit were also beautifully executed:




I'm honored to be showing among the following artists:
Pamela Allen
Arlene Anderson
Frieda Anderson
Brooke Atherton
Jan Beall
Mary Beth Bellah
Liz Berg
Kathie Briggs
Debra Calkins
Laura Cater-Woods
Gerrie Congdon
Anne Niles Davenport
Julie Duschack
Jamie Fingal
Terry Grant
Trudi Chamoff-Hauptman
Margaret Hunt
Peggy Keeney
Lyric Kinard
Kathy Lichtendahl
Michele Merges Martens
Scott Murkin
Karen Stiehl Osborn
Nancy Porter
Shawn Quinlan
Jeri Riggs
Lesley Riley
Amy Ropple
Sandy Russell
Linda Schmidt
Louie Shellenberger
Susan Shie
Ruth Sinclair
Sarah Ann Smith
John Thompson
June Underwood
Larkin Van Horn
Beth Whitman

Beautiful T-Shirt Quilt

My friend Sharon Dixon of Katy Tshirt Quilts does longarm machine quilting for customers, and the latest addition to her business is making quilts from her customers' t-shirts that they bring her. Most customers seem to want simple blocks and sashings (see her website for examples), but this one (for the Awty School) is a bit more complex, with its compensating blocks. I just love what she did with it, and asked her permission to show it here ...



Beautifully constructed, and beautifully quilted. Sharon is not only a dear friend, but also one of the best and most dedicated quilters I know. Highly recommended ... tell her I sent you!

Galveston, Oh Galveston ...

Galveston, oh Galveston, I still hear your sea winds blowin'
I still see her dark eyes glowin'
She was 21 ... when I left Galveston

Does anyone besides me remember Glenn Campbell? sigh.

I've just gotten back from my second quilt retreat in Galveston and surrounds in the last month. The first time, with my beloved KatyBees, I neglected to take my camera (Bad Linda!) to the Bolivar Penninsula. Well, since none of us actually live in Katy anymore, we're not really the KatyBees, so we have gone through several different names, including the Quilty Ladies and the Pheasant Pluckers (don't ask). But since there are only 4 of us, it doesn't really matter ... we're just long-time friends. The other 3 are traditional quilters, so I'm always the Oddball ... just the way I like it!

This past week, I went with the FMLC, a small longarm quilting group ... also only 4 of us ... a good number. These other 3 are also quite traditional, although one seems to be testing the bounds of contemporary quilting. (heh heh heh, my evil influence is slowly but surely seeping into their subconsciouseseseses!) Here are a few pictures from our lovely 3-night, 4-day retreat. (Unfortunately, one of our members was unable to go at the last minute, due to a family crisis. Barb, we missed you terribly!) The only thing you can't see is all the food and drink we consumed.


Me, Betty, and Sharon


Sharon with her gorgeous batik-and-black quilt top


Betty's college t-shirt quilt (customer quilt)


We were having lunch at The Original Mexican Cafe, and this truck was parked across the street. I just had to have a picture of the local art scene!

I started two art-quilt tops, but they are only basted down. Pics to follow later.

I've Made Somebody's Day!

What a great feeling it is to be told that you've made someone's day!


It was my cyber-friend Carol Dean Sharpe of Sand Fibers. She also has a wonderful Etsy shop, where I tend to find goodies too beautiful for words. Thank you, Carol Dean, for making MY day!

So now I have the privilege of passing it on ... to five bloggers who make my day, all the time.

First is Mary Ann Littlejohn, someone who inspires me with her art, her generosity of spirit, and her cheerfulness in the face of adversity. And someone else ... although she doesn't have a blog (yet), I'll give a shout-out to our friend Connie Fahrion for these very same qualities.

Next is the lovely Lynn Douglass, hello Dahlink, my funniest friend of all ... she makes me laugh until milk (or champagne) comes out my nose, and I have to rest up for a week after we've been together!

Now for Margaret Hunt ... how do you describe Maggie? A little bit of this, a little bit of that ... and all the little bits are fun, fun, FUN! Thank you for being my cyber-friend, Maggie ... you keep me entertained, for sure!

My friend Betty Baker is always a hoot! As the only member of the FMLC who has a blog, Betty will stand as my vote for all 3 of them ... including dear friends Sharon Dixon and Barb Knoblock. You girls ALWAYS make my day.

And last but certainly not least, Sylvia Weir is someone who often touches my heart with her beautiful photographs and thoughtful musings on life and art.

We don't often take the time to tell people ... especially cyber-friends ... how much their words and images mean to us. This was a fun and meaningful exercise for me.

Pass the award on; here are the details:
1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make your day.
2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3. Display the You Make My Day Award logo (copy and paste).
4. Tell the award winners that they have won by Commenting on their blogs with the news.

Wholecloth facings

A question was asked on the QuiltArt List about wholecloth facings for a quilt (instead of bindings). Vikki Pignatelli has an article in the February/March, 2008 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine, and I tried it on my irregularly-shaped piece, "Dragon Dreams". I love this technique, and will definitely be using it again. Thank you, Vikki!


Dragon Dreams, 16x19


(Back, with shaped facing.)

A Mixed Media Experiment

Wanted to play with some paper, paint, wire screen, and gel medium this past week while I was on Retreat, and this is the result ...



"Mask". Click on the picture for better detail.

more pics from the Opening

We had such fun at the Opening Reception of the Copper Shade Tree Gallery's month-long show for our Beyond the Borders fiber-art group that I have neglected to post pictures ... here they are, most of them courtesy of Cathy Winter and her trusty camera:


Barbara Jensen


Barbara Jensen, Liz Broussard, Nancy VerWest


Taking a group shot is like herding cats!


Me with two of my pieces ... "She Waits", the beaded icon behind my shoulder, and "Eve II", over my head.


Nancy Dickey


Connie Fahrion and her Guitar Festival fiber-art poster


Another effort at a group shot ...


Liz Broussard and her guacamole coffee filter piece, "Emergence of Spring"


Mary Ann Littlejohn and her Crazy About Round Top piece

Copper Shade Tree Gallery goes live on the Web!

Connie Fahrion, Debbie Tobola, Barbara Jensen, Susan King, Liz Broussard, and Nancy Dickey on the back row, and Gerald Tobola, Linda Minton, and Cathy Winter in the front.

Mary Ann Littlejohn must have been taking the picture!

Ready just in time for Opening Reception of the Beyond the Borders month-long show and sale at our beloved Copper Shade Tree Gallery, our friend Dave Hardin finished the new-and-improved website for the Copper Shade Tree, and went "live" with it on the web, including a very easy navigation system and a shopping cart! You can search by Artist, Category, Collection, etc. It's still a work-in-progress, but it is really beautifully done and easy to roam around. ("Try it, you'll like it!")

I'm very remiss in reporting this wonderful development, but have been recuperating from the rush of getting ready for the show, including a lovely beach-retreat with my traditional quilting friends. Now I'm back "in the groove" and hope to post a bit more regularly.

Thank you Dave and Denna Hardin, for the website and all the help at the Opening Reception, and thank you Gerald and Debbie Tobola, owners of The Copper Shade Tree Gallery, for the wonderful venue for our artwork.