Even MORE pictures from Fiber Art 2012

OK, buckle your seat belts for more gorgeous fiber art!

Oriental Dream by Joanne Toschepe

Growth Spurt by Cheryl Elms

Some Golden Daybreak by Iva Jensen

Stand Out by Laura Beehler

Eternity in an Hour (Doors of Perception series) by Linda Teddlie Minton

Seeing Sea by Liz Napier

Ready to Take Flight by Lynn A Luukinen

Iva Jensen, one of my favorite Houston people, with her Murmurs from Mali

Steps (art cloth) by Laura Beehler

Afternoon Swim by Lisa Mittler

Pretty Prickly I by Liz Napier
(My flash added all that white stuff ... it's actually more vivid than this photo shows.)

Reflection (detail) by Naomi Wanjiku
(This is a 2-part framed piece, but unfortunately, the other half of my photo was ruined by glass reflections.)

Stars Aligned Prickly Pear by Susie Monday

The Quiet Hunter  (8x10) by Linda Teddlie Minton

Under Pressure (detail) by Laura Beehler
Another gorgeous piece of art cloth that I could never get close enough to shoot the whole thing.

Shared Secrets by Naomi Wanjiku

To the Nines by Suzanne Selb White

The Rainbow by Naomi Wanjiku

Tsunami by Laura Beehler
(If I allowed myself to have a personal favorite, this would be a front-runner!)

Susie Monday and her Up, Up and Away

Remembrance by Suzanne Selb White

My photos can only do a poor amount of justice to these works of fiber art, and there are more that I didn't get a good picture of.  If you get a chance, be sure to see them in person (all artwork is also for sale) at the New Braunfels Art Gallery, 239 West San Antonio Street, New Braunfels, TX. 78130.  (Phone number is 830-629-8022.)

Once again, a big thanks to Laura Ann Beehler and Leila Reynolds for their hard work in putting this show together.

More pics from the NBAL show ...

Here are more of the fiber artworks that can be seen at the New Braunfels Art Gallery through the month of August.

A Matter of Perspective (Budmouser) by Linda Teddlie Minton

Cross Culture by Cheryl Elms

Pot Holder Goes to Guatemala by Georgia Zwartjes

Murmurs from Mali by Iva Jensen

Nova by Joanne Tschoepe

Spirit Guide by Laura Beehler
(I'm sorry I didn't get names for the woven pots - updates are welcome!)

Memory Forgotten by Liz Napier

Nothing is Certain by Lynn A Luukinen

Exposed, by Naomi Wanjiku

Copper Galaxy, by Sandra Elbel Taylor

Fiesta by Sherry Tolar

Mirage by Suzanne Selb White

Pear Dreaming of Pear by Susie Monday

Still more pictures to come ... check back soon!

Fiber Art 2012, NBAL Opening Night Pictures

This post is going to be All-Pictures-All-The-Time.  I took as many pictures as I could at the opening yesterday, and tried to be sure I attributed each artwork with its artist.  If you see any errors, or don't want your artwork shown here, please just let me know.

OK, here we go, in no particular order ...

Caryl Gaubatz, with two of her gorgeous jackets

Alien Autopsy, Cheryl Elms

My brother Craig with his favorite of my art quilts ... A Matter of Perspective (Budmouser)

Georgia Zwartjes and Pot Holder in the Garden

Dancing Circles by Iva Jensen

Dancer's Delight, Joanne Tschope

Laura Ann Beehler (one of the curators) and Tsunami

Rusted, by Leila Reynolds (our other curator)

That's me, with Rough Magic (Doors of Perception series)

Memory Forgotten by Liz Napier

Luis, with his favorite of my pieces, Rough Magic

Humbled by Lynn A Luukinen

Vignette Series #1 by Mary Ruth Smith

Another Spring by Naomi Wanjiku

Lime-A-Licious by Sandra Edsall

Copper Penny by Sherry Tolar

Ode to Law Books by Susan Oaks
(please excuse the reflections!)

Moon Talk by Susie Monday

Fly Away by Suzanne Selb White

Come back for many more pictures tomorrow!

Fiber Art 2012 exhibit is now open!

The Fiber Art 2012 exhibit is now open at the New Braunfels Art League Gallery, 239 W. San Antonio St., New Braunfels, Texas 78130.  Gallery hours are 10-5 Monday through Saturday, and Noon-5:00 on Sundays.   I'd love to meet you at the Sunday afternoon (August 5) Opening Reception.

Here's a link to an article in the Herald-Zeitung newspaper in New Braunfels ... be sure to click on all 4 images in the article to see enlargements.  

I'm honored to have been invited to exhibit in this show.  Here is a sneak preview of one of the five pieces I will have showing there.

Eternity in an Hour (detail) from the "Doors of Perception" series.

If you can't make the Sunday Opening Reception, I hope you'll be able to see the show during its August run.  I've had a peek at some of the artwork, and it's truly going to be an exciting show.  (Thank you, Laura Ann Beehler and Leila Reynolds for curating this exhibit!)

RITUALS book is now available.

I'm excited and gratified to announce the availability of the catalog for the Rituals exhibit, which is opening this month at the International Quilt Festival, Long Beach, CA., and later to be shown at the IQF in Houston.  Leslie Tucker Jenison and Jamie Fingal (Dinner @ Eight Artists) have once more curated a beautiful exhibit, and Loris Bogue has edited the creation of the book.

Here's a picture of the book cover:

You can order the book here.

Auto Mechanic RANT

Believe it or not, following is the short version of what I went through this morning (4+ hours' worth) at our friendly neighborhood auto repair garage:

    After having my tires rotated (along with an oil change), suddenly my steering wheel could no longer be adjusted up and down.

 

    After going back inside the shop to have them check that out, 45 minutes later I was told that I would have to bring the car back next week when I could leave it for two days.

 

    Upon finally leaving and driving about a mile down the road, with the car bouncing so badly that my head was practically hitting the rooftop at each little bump, I took it back. 

 

The mechanic told me that it had already been doing that before I brought it  in. 

    Me (incredulous):  No, it wasn't.

    Mechanic:  Yes, it was.

    Me (disbelievingly):  No, it WASN'T.

    Mechanic (staring me straight in the eyes):  Yes, it WAS.  I know because I've jumped out of a lot of airplanes, and my back can tell when something is wrong.

    Me (staring back even more incredulously):  I don't care how many airplanes you've jumped out of.  Do you want to compare back injuries?

    Mechanic:  I know because I test-drove it after having it on the rack, and it was bouncing like that.

    Me:  You drove it, after having it on the rack, it was "bouncing like that", and you DIDN'T TELL ME?

    Mechanic:  Unnhhh.

    Me:  It wasn't bouncing until you balanced the tires.

    Mechanic:  I didn't balance the tires.

    Me:  Well, somebody balanced the tires.

    Mechanic:  I didn't balance the tires.

    Me:  I don't care who balanced the tires, somebody balanced the tires!

    Mechanic (grinning snarkily): I rotated the tires.

    Me:  Are you kidding me?  I want you to tell my brother what you just told me.

 

    Mechanic on the phone to My Brother:  (after more bold-faced lying):  I know what I'm talking about because I used to work for PepBoys, etc. etc. etc.

 

    Brother (who is an experienced car mechanic himself, and fed up with the long-winded self-congratulatory A**-holedness of this character):  Why don't you stop talking about your glorious past and talk about what needs to be done to the car?

 

As it turns out, I had to leave the car there for new front struts (it's undriveable as it is), and needless to say, we are changing mechanics!  

 

I absolutely hate the attitude, apparently universal to all mechanics, that because I am female and unfamiliar with automobile mechanics, I must therefore be stupid.  You all know I'm not a violent person, but I really wanted to punch that guy's smug face!

I can't wait to find out what the Manager tries to charge me for this.  At least I have my experienced-mechanic brother to sort things out and stand up for me ... more than many women have in their mechanical lives ... and for that I'm very grateful.

Seeing light ...

Seeing light at the end of the tunnel.  Since my hand injury almost 2 months ago, I haven't been able to quilt or even type very well.  It's finally healing (although still a ways to go) and I'm getting excited about being able to finally quilt again.

And I wanted to share my current favorite quote ... it's from a Leonard Cohen song, and his words almost always touch my heart like the best poetry.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
  -- Leonard Cohen

DSP fabrics

DSP, or Deconstructed Screen Printing, is something I had played with a bit before, and a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days on retreat, doing nothing but DSP.  (Well, we won't mention the food and wine!)

This is a method of using fiber-reactive dyes mixed with a thickening paste to create a resist that gradually deconstructs, giving a series of similar-but-different prints.  Although other artists have taught this technique, I love my "Deconstructed Screen Printing" DVD by Kerr Grabowski.  I had taken a mark-making workshop with her a few years ago, at QSDS (Quilt Surface Design Symposium).  She's an adorable gal with a fun personality and a very laid-back teaching style that nevertheless gives you ALL the information you need.  I highly recommend her DVD, as it is two disks chock full of instructions, demonstrations, recipes for the techniques, and humor.

To get back to my DSP'd fabrics, after batching them I was pleased to see how well the colors held up, and thought I'd post a few of them here.  These happen to be all cottons, but it works very well with rayons and silks, too.

The stereotypical rubber gloves used as resist.  I just had to try it.
(The dark blue line through the top is probably from having
wrapped the fabric for batching while it was still too wet.)

This image shows the further deterioration (or deconstruction)
of the glove-printed resist.  I love this color contrast.

Grasses ... I believe some of the grasses were still
stuck on the screen during this first printing.

Here, the grasses have mostly been removed from the screen,
and the printed dyes are darker where they had adhered.

This is one of the final prints from the grasses.

I'm calling these mono-screen-prints, because the dyes were
simply screened through a blank screen.  This actually shows 4
separate passes over the screen.  Love the streakiness.

As I was packing up to leave, I just had to try another
mono-screen-print over a commercial fabric.

I'm so glad I used prepared fabrics (pre-soaked in soda-ash
solution) as my mop-cloths.  These are kind of funky, but I might
be able to figure out something to do with them.

And last but not least ... my friend Liz Broussard gave me some of her
dye powders to test out the ice-dyeing method (similar to snow-dyeing).
I really loved the outcome on this piece, and can't wait to do more.

Kissing the Cat Goodnight

Well, it seems that other artists are showing their Rituals entries, and of course I'm so happy about the whole experience that I've got to show mine.  Here is "Kissing the Cat Goodnight", for Dinner at Eight Artists' Rituals exhibit.

Kissing the Cat Goodnight, 24" x 60"

Please see my previous post for more information and a detail shot.  And thanks again to Moore's Sewing Centers and Havel's Sewing for their sponsorship at the International Quilt Festivals in Long Beach, California and Houston, Texas.

Rituals - Kissing the Cat Goodnight

I'm thrilled and excited to have had my work accepted in Dinner at Eight Artists' juried invitational exhibit curated by Leslie Tucker Jenison and Jamie Fingal.  Here are the guidelines that were set out for the "Rituals" challenge:

"Rituals" An exchange between friends. A handshake. A kiss before bedtime. The artist at work. A sun salutation. The wave before boarding the school bus. A song, a word, a meditation. A habit, a custom. The traditional toast at a gathering. A rite of passage. The sacred moments of the ordinary.   Rituals:  What are yours?

The only other parameters were that the art quilts be in a 24" x 60" vertical format ... an unusual but exciting size with which to challenge myself.

My piece is called "Kissing the Cat Goodnight", and since the premiere of the exhibit will be in July at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, CA (and later at the IQF in Houston), here is a sneak-preview (detail) photo:

Kissing the Cat Goodnight - Detail

This is mostly a wholecloth piece, with a bit of applique and surface design.  I wanted a ghostly look for part of the quilt, so I used several very light washes of gesso over certain areas before quilting.  Both the girl's and the cat's faces were painted before being stitched.

Moore's Sewing Centers is our sponsor for Festival in Long Beach, and Havel's Sewing is sponsoring the exhibit for Festival in Houston.  Please show your appreciation by visiting their websites, when you get a chance.  I know we really appreciate them, for without sponsors, we wouldn't be able to exhibit in these internationally-recognized shows.