Copper Leaf-worthy?

I had been wanting to make a necklace worthy of the hand-hammered copper leaf made for me by Gerald Tobola of the Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top, Texas ( http://geraldtobola.com/ ), but just hadn't come up with anything I liked well enough. Finally, the Spiral Rope technique that Ann taught me the other day struck me as just right, so I made one in copper and antique blue beads, to show off the copper leaf. Here it is.


The leaf itself is about 1-1/2" x 4", and the rope is 18" long, with a dyed fresh-water pearl for the catch.

Silver Wire Wrapping

Yesterday, Martha and Patricia and I did some silver wire-wrapping to make some more funky earrings. Here are the results:



My SS triangle earrings with Toho triangle beads. I think I'll try again with a heavier wire.


Martha's pod-shaped earrings with dyed freshwater pearls. I like the size and shape of these earrings, and they will go with everything.


Patricia's arrowhead earrings with white freshwater pearls. She was concerned that they wouldn't show up with her white hair, but I think we convinced her that they are very elegant and beautiful!

In the meantime, Ann came to keep us company, and while we played with silver wire, she worked on replacements for her woven beaded bracelets that are selling like hotcakes at the Copper Shade Tree Gallery http://geraldtobola.com/coppershadetree.htm in Round Top, Texas. I wish I had a picture of one of the bracelets to show you ... will get an image next time.

Thank you, Annie, for teaching me the Spiral Rope beading technique yesterday ... I worked for many hours last night and today, and here is my finished 19" necklace:

earrings & things

On July 14, Martha and I visited Patrica at her house for a PMC (Precious Metal Clay) day ... we each made a pair of Fine Silver earrings (some of us made more!) It was easier in some ways and harder in others than you might think. Here are a few pics.


Martha & Patricia


Martha & Me


Martha's earrings ... these are actually 3 layers of silver, regardless of the gold color of this photo. Sorry this is so blurry!


Patricia used a patina on her earrings ... they turned out gorgeous!


Mine ... no patina ... I liked the matte silver look.

Harry Potter Fever

We've all been in a fever over the latest (and last) Harry Potter book, released this week. But how many of us actually made a costume to go and stand in line at the bookstore for its release? Well, my friend Maggie Winfield, for one! Isn't she the most adorable Sorting Hat Student EVER?

Clay Play Day

A few weeks ago, 4 of us Art Girls had a get-together to play with polymer clay. Patricia, our resident Mokume Gane expert (because she's done it before and was willing to teach us) came with a lesson plan and hand-outs! She even went so far as to create templates and cutting mats for us, and showed us how to make a "guillotine" for making perfectly straight and even cuts in the clay tiles and tubes.

Here are some pics from that day ...

Linda (me), Martha, Patricia, and Mary Ellen.


Martha & Mary Ellen, with ME's Diva Art Doll


Mary Ellen's Sister Shrine


Mary Ellen's Box Shrine ... for some reason, Mary Ellen was the only one with Show & Tell that day.


Our sweet teacher, Patricia.


At last! The 4 Mokume Gane Tile Bracelets ... it only took us 5 hours, LOL!

Fresco

Here's my latest piece ... "Fresco" ... no time to write much about it, just that it's the first of a new series for me. Quilted and surface-altered to resemble an old crumbling Roman fresco. Mounted on stretched canvas, which I also painted to resemble stucco. The full-image shot shows the piece framed, with museum glass.


"Fresco", framed to 35" x 29"



"Fresco", Detail 1





"Fresco", Detail 2

This piece is going up to the Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top ( http://geraldtobola.com/ ) tomorrow, if I can get a minor problem with the frame corrected.

We have a winner!

Tonight was the night ... the drawing for the Tommy Dixon Opportunity Quilt (see my May 4 post).

In the midst of much celebration and hilarity, we searched for the perfect "uninterested party" to draw the winning ticket. First one candidate, then another, was discretely rejected, due to one lack of perfection or another. This one was too tall, that one too short, this one didn't smile enough, that one drooled in his black bean soup. We were very picky about picking the picker to pick the ticket!
Finally, the perfect person came along! A young man named Connor came up to our table to compliment us on our silly costumes. We immediately fell in love, captured him, and made him our honorary Prince of the Evening, whereupon he fulfilled his princely duties by drawing the winning ticket forthwith.


Following instructions to the"T", Connor clenches his eyes tightly shut while digging through the hundreds of tickets to pull the winner.


At last! The Winning Ticket!



With much fanfare, the winning ticket was drawn and read aloud by our Queen for the Night, Sharon Dixon. And the winner is ...

Donna DiFiore!

Congratulations, Donna, you are the lucky winner of your choice of one of the two quilts made and quilted by Sharon. (It's my understanding that Donna has chosen the double-ribbon-winning Batik quilt.)


Sharon immediately called Donna to give her the good news ... and Connor also wanted to congratulate her. I think this adorable young man was as excited as we were! Thank you, Prince Connor, for helping us in our Hour of Need!




Sharon wanted me to thank each and every one of you who has contributed by buying a ticket (or tickets) for her Opportunity Quilt. So many times over the past few months, she has been almost overcome by your kindness and generosity.

Tommy is doing very well since his return home from the hospital, and is exercising diligently in order to regain his strength. He joins his voice with Sharon's in thanking you all for your help. It is something they have both said over and over that they will never forget. (Tommy told Sharon, "Quilters are powerful people! I'm sure glad they're on my side!")

Here are some more pictures of the evening's festivities.


Queen Sharon


Princess Linda


Princess Betty


Princess Barb


The Celebratory Dinner

__________________________

P.S. I just learned that Connor and his Dad rode the MS-150 charity bike ride for Multiple Sclerosis, and Connor placed 14th in fundraising for kids under 17 (out of 13,000 riders)! Double-Hooray for Connor! (That's his proud Dad, second from left.) And look at that way-cool two-seater bike, too!

PMC for Me

I took a PMC (Precious Metal Clay) class this weekend, along with my friend Patricia, and we had a blast learning all the "ins and outs" of dealing with this easy-but-finicky medium. We'd been wanting to learn about it for a while, and this was the first class we could find here in Houston.

PMC, once fired, is .999 pure silver ... purer than sterling, and a little bit softer. These are my first efforts ... not exactly professional, but I'm pleased enough with them to share them here. Definitely more to come!


Above are the pieces, fresh from the flame, with no antiqueing added. They've just been brushed with a brass brush to take down some of the bright shine.


Next the pieces are shown after being taken from the Liver of Sulphur solution. The color in this image isn't exactly true, but pretty close. I didn't like the gold-y color, and so wanted to go back to the more silvery tone.





And above is the final version ... most of the Liver of Sulphur has been brushed away with the brass brush, leaving only a little darkening in the crevasses, which I like better. The penny is shown for size reference.

Some day I'm going to learn the secret for photographing shiny stuff indoors. Sorry for the poor images, especially of the large pendant. It has a rolled self-bail that's actually kind of neat.

I've been Tagged

Liz Berg has tagged me to give 7 random facts about myself.

When you're tagged, you're supposed to post 7 random facts (not 'interesting' facts, or 'secret' facts) about yourself in your blog, and also post the rules of the game. Then you tag seven others, and list their names in your blog. Leave those you've tagged a comment on their blogs so they'll know they've been tagged and to read your blog. So, here are my 7 random facts:

1. My 3 cats rule my life.
2. I'm very shy, but people refuse to believe me!
3. I'm a terrible housekeeper.
4. I've had love, marriage, a career, and now I have art. I wake up feeling lucky every day of my life. 5. It doesn't bother me that the squirrel food I put out in the back yard also gets eaten by rats.
6. Disney World is one of my favorite places in the universe.
7. I still rely on my parents for love and moral support.

Now it is my turn to tag others, so here goes:

Maggie Hunt
Mary Ann Littlejohn
Claire Fenton
Frances Holliday Alford
Virginia Spiegel
Michelle Verbeeck
Larkin VanHorn

Quilt Opportunity! Tommy Dixon Benefit Fund

Dear Friends and Family,

My dear friend and fellow longarm-quilter Sharon Dixon is offering a unique opportunity for you to win your choice of either a traditional log cabin quilt or a contemporary batik quilt. Both of these queen-sized quilts were ribbon winners in the 2007 West Houston Quilt Guild Quilt Show. If you win the drawing, you will get to choose the quilt you love the best! Shipping will be free. (Be sure to click on the pictures to see a detailed view.)


Traditional Log Cabin Quilt, Queen-sized, pieced and quilted by Sharon Dixon.


(Detail of Log Cabin Quilt.)


Contemporary Batik Quilt, Queen-sized, pieced and quilted by Sharon Dixon.


(Detail of Contemporary Batik Quilt.)

The drawing will be held at the FML meeting on June 30, 2007, and the winner will be notified by phone.

Tickets: $1 each, six for $5, or A Baker's Dozen (13) for $10.

Tickets may be purchased in either of two ways:

1) Send a check payable to the Tommy Dixon Benefit Fund. Mail the check to:

Melody Montez
21 W. Woodtimber Court
The Woodlands, TX 77381

Please make sure your address and phone number are either on your check or included with your payment. If you would like your ticket stubs sent back to you, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. (You do not need your stubs to claim your quilt.)

or

2) Pay via PayPal ( www.paypal.com ) to this email address: dixonbenefit@yahoo.com
If you pay via PayPal, please add 50 cents if you want your ticket stubs mailed to you. Be sure that your name, address, and phone number are included in the PayPal payment comments. (You do not need your stubs to claim your quilt.)

Proceeds from this Opportunity Quilt sale will go directly to the Tommy Dixon Benefit Fund, to help pay some of the expenses incurred from his recent heart attack. As some of you may know, Tommy had a massive heart attack on March 27. He had to be transported by Life Flight to the Houston Medical Center for treatment, and was in CCU for more than 5 days. He is home now and doing well, but the Hospital, Life Flight, Emergency Room, and Doctor bills are enormous. Due to Tommy's lifelong battle with Diabetes, he is unable to obtain insurance, so this is a devastating financial burden that Sharon and Tommy are trying to pay off in any way they can.

If you have any questions, please feel free to write me at the email address shown below, and I will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Thanks & cheers,
Linda
ltmquilt@swbell.net

A few more from the Gallery Show

Adorable Cathy brought pictures from her camera to the last BTB meeting, and generously shared them ... so here are the last of the pics from the Beyond the Borders show at the Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top, TX.


Above, I'm standing with Gerald Topola, gallery owner, and Susan King, the day after the Opening Reception. (Notice my "fascinator" hat that I just had to buy from neighboring gallery owner Marilyn Barbour.)



Here I am with "Dragons Need Love Too" (along with the Journal Quilt Book in which it is pictured). I was so thrilled that a local artist bought this piece, and she and I have since become friends!


Explaining the "finer points" of my mixed media piece, "Midnight at 20,000 Leagues".

Cosmic Twins

When I first met my sweet friend Ophelia several years ago at QSDS (Quilt Surface Design Symposium), we instantly bonded and decided that we must be Cosmic Twins. Here are my two favorite pictures ... one of our bus-ride to some galleries (which we ditched half-way through, like two kids playing hooky) and the other of our celebration of Susan (Lucky) Shie's wonderful art quilt, "The Chariot", in one of the galleries (which we were glad we didn't miss!)



Sweet Ophelia ... hereafter to be known as Opie Von Schnopie.



Despite geographic distance and the time that has passed since we've been able to get together, we've maintained our correspondence and friendship, and have recently decided to have a monthly challenge/exchange, just for fun. Here are pics of our first exchange ... ATC's-only-bigger ... i.e., postcards.



Above is Opie's adorable Friendship postcard ... paper, paint, collage.



and here is mine ... Photoshopped image of my cat Mariah, 3-D embellished & stitched w tulle to allow it to travel safely thru the mail.

This is going to be fun! (Right, Opie?)

Newest Art Acquisition!

It's been a while since I've posted, and I shouldn't really be taking the time to post today, but I just had to take a moment and show you my latest piece of fiber art, purchased at the Beyond the Borders gallery show, held recently at the Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top, Texas. http://geraldtobola.com/coppershadetree.htm

The artist is Susan King, and this moth is so realistic looking that visitors to the gallery could hardly believe that it is actually created entirely of fiber. The quilted wingspan is 8" wide, the body is some sort of fur, and the delicate antennae are actually little feathers. The moth is pinned onto the linen backing as if it were part of a scientific display. I've admired Susan's intricate threadwork for some time, and am proud to own this piece in my small collection now.



The second picture shows it hanging with Virginia Spiegel's "Sunflower", another of my favorite pieces. The two pieces complement each other very nicely, I think!

More Gallery Photos

Here, in no particular order, are more photos from the Beyond the Borders gallery exhibit, currently showing at the Copper Shade Tree Gallery, 206 E. Mill St., Round Top, Texas.
http://geraldtobola.com/coppershadetree.htm


Above: Susan King


Above: Nancy Dickey


Above: Linda Minton


Above: Sara Sissenwein


Above: Connie Fahrion


Above: Sara Sissenwein


Above: Susan King


Above and below: Gerald Tobola, Coppersmith Extraordinaire and Gallery Owner, gives a little private demonstration of his skills.



Above: Linda Minton


Above: Mary Ann Littlejohn


Above: Mary Ann Littlejohn


Above: Nancy Dickey


Above: Susan King


Above: Nancy Dickey


Above: Susan King


Above: Mary Ann Littlejohn


Above: Linda Minton, Cathy Winter


Above: Liz Broussard, Linda Minton


Above: Debbie Tobola standing behind Linda Minton's work.


Above: Linda Minton


Above: Susan King, Linda Minton, Nancy Dickey


Above, L to R: Cathy Winter, Linda Minton, and Nancy Dickey, standing in front of Mary Ann Littlejohn's "Coastlines".


Above: Connie Fahrion


Above: Linda Minton


Above: Elaine Connelly


Above: Susan King, Connie Fahrion, Sara Sissenwein, Linda Minton.