Something fun

I worked all week and decided to give myself a quick break and do something fun. My granddaughter already has all her holiday/birthday stuff, but still wanted an actual present "under the tree". This is what I came up with. The face is done with crayons and permanent marker, with a patchwork background, then stretched onto wooden bars from the art supply store--one of my favorite places!!! Also see the photo she took of herself that is the inspiration for the art work.

The cutting table of my dreams

These were the kitchen cabinets that lived in the attic for 20 years. After sanding, painting, casters, hammering, etc., they are reincarnated as the rolling cutting table I wanted. Life in my sewing room will be much easier now. My husband does not have to buy me a Christmas present now.

Got around tuit

I didn't realize it has been so long since my last post. While my husband was home Thanksgiving week we turned two old kitchen cabinets into the rolling cutting table of my dreams and I tricked out my fireplace. Also I did some surface design on fabric and paper and actually worked, too!
Her's the before & after of the fireplace. Photos of the cutting table later.

Back to work

Played hooky long enough now I'm broke!!! Hopefully I will get a break soon to do fun stuff make art and catch up on ATCs.

Playing hooky from work

The new book by Rayna Gilman FINALLY got here and all I want to do is make fabric designs. I built a couple of silkscreens and a padded printing surface, and commenced to having a ball. If you are the least bit interested in surface design, you MUST have this book--"Creating Your Own Handprinted Fabric"
Needless to say everything else has gone by the wayside at this house, but who cares when beautiful fabric abounds.

Nashville quilt show

One of my quilts was in the AQS show in Nashville last week in the Ultimate Guild Challenge exhibit. The theme of the challenge was "My Checkered Past" and my entry is called "Identity Crisis" . I think I watch too many forensic shows.
There's a fingerprint, dental xrays, and DNA analysis represented on the piece. These all ways to identify your physical body--but who are you, really?
I bought some new toys for surface design and a book by Sandra Meech. Plus I took over 100 photos of the gardens at the Gaylord hotel, so I will not lack for inspiration EVER again. I will have to live to be 200 to get all the things done that are in my head!

Gotta see this

If you are in 100 miles of Paducah KY, go to the Yeiser Art Center to see the exhibit they are now showing. It's "Post Secrets" and is VERY different from any art show I've seen in a while. Butch and I went to Paducah for a day trip (while gas was below $4 a gallon)and saw the exhibits at the quilt museum, which were wonderful.

Arrrggghhhh

Of course the photos are really After & Before since this goofy blogger thing is hard to navigate if you want add photos. But you get the idea, don't you???

B&A

Before & After

Now I will attempt to add pictures of my house!!

English Cottage

The paint job on my house is so great!! Yesterday a couple of film students asked if they could use my house for a backdrop in their movie. It's a fairy tale. So I guess I got the look I wanted!!

Protest purse

My one woman protests have been held up because of work, illness, and the weather. The heat index has been over 105 for a week now. I had strep throat a few weeks ago and am now playing catch up on EVERYTHING!!!
While I was laying in bed recovering, I got a great idea to make a purse that was like my protest sign. Then I could carry my message everyday. All my friends are quite impressed and everybody else thinks I'm nuts. And that's okay.
The painters came while I was sick with 102 fever, so when I was able to get up the house was done. It was like the painting fairies came and left a beautiful house for me. YEAH!!!!!

From the HOT zone

Long time no post. The news came Saturday that AQS accepted the quilts for the Ultimate Guild Challenge, of which I am the committee chair at the guild I belong to. I'm so happy because the women in the guild worked really hard on some fantastic quilts. Maybe I will get to Nashville to see them,too. With go juice at $4+ a gallon, my trips are very limited right now.
My hovel is finally getting painted and the carpenters just finished the repairs this week. My house is very shabby and NOT in such a chic way!! I took plenty of "before" photos and can't wait to see the "after" results. There are some other repair issues that will need to be addressed before winter, so money is very tight right now. (What a surprise!)
The carpenter found a mummified squirrel in the attic window. It was creepy and groovy all at once, so I took lots of pictures of it, too. It reminds me of those mummies from the Andes in a way. I wanted to nail it up somewhere in the yard and put all squirrels on notice but my husband thought we should toss it. So off it went with the trash guys today...I still have the photos.

Day two

It is sooooo hot here!! I went to protest the mayor again, didn't get to go last week--no time! People looked very puzzled to see someone with a sign, like they'd never thought of doing such a thing. I don't get it. Why sit home and gripe instead of doing something positive.
I sent in three entries to a fiber art show last week. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Mixed media

This is a wall hanging I did long ago that includes handmade paper element. It sold at a MACA show in 2007. I am currently working on another piece with paper and leaves as a design element with quilting.

Day one

I kept telling everyone I was going to do it and today I did it. I went downtown and walked in front of city hall to protest those who have abused their power. Most notably our mayor, who everyone thinks has gone crazy!! I made a sign that I can roll up and carry on the bus (so I won't have to worry about parking), but found out todat it needs some tweaking. There were lots of tv people down at the Federal Building, but they were covering Edmund Ford's trial.
Most of the comments were positive, most people were puzzled and faintly amused. Hopefully I'll be able to do this once a week at the lunch hour.
Of course the bus ride was most entertaining. SRO on the way home!!!

Paducah

The quilt show was great fun, especially when I found out my quilt at the Yeiser Art Center sold!!

Work has eaten my brain!!

This month has gone by so fast, and next week I'll be off to Paducah Ky for the big show. As much as I love to sew, I've had too much of it lately. Hopefully, when I get back my brain will be refreshed and my energy renewed and then I'll post photos.

Awards for guild challenge

Instead of ribbons, I made brooches for all who participated in the guild challenge. The faces are polymer clay shaped with a push mold. The background is painted fabric glued to foamcore. Of course I had to add shiny stuff!

Guild Challenge tonight

Tonight is the member meeting for the Uncommon Threads Quilt Guild. I am chairperson for the Ultimate Guild Challenge. The theme is "My Checkered Past" and the quilts submitted must be a self portrait with a checkerboard element in the design. It's going to be very exciting to see what the ladies have done. We have some very creative quilters in the guild. Keeping fingers crossed we have eight (or more) entries.

OOpsie!

The second photo in the MACA show post is sideways. Sorry!

MACA show

Since the opening reception was such a mob scene, I went back to see the show with a friend who LOVES art! I was able to get photos of my work. These are small pieces of mainly surface design techniques mounted on fabric covered frames. The reddish one is painted puff paint mounted onto foam core.

AQS here I come!!

The email came today--my quilt "Leaf in Transition" has been accepted for the AQS show in Paducah. Needless to say I'm very excited. I have two reasons to go to paducah now--the "big show" and the "Up in Stitches" exhibit at the Yeiser Art center.
My quilt from the "Form not Function" exhibit in New Albany, IN at the carnegie Center came home today.
Photos of both of these quilts are in the older posts.

Lil' City quilts

My friend , Shirley, has claimed one of the little embellished quilts. When the show opens there'll be a red dot. Hopefully it will have friends come along.
The artist group I belong to, MACA, had it's show opening last Friday--what a mob scene! We've never had a turnout like that before. Even the "creepy art show opening guy" was there. It's a weird inside joke that if he shows up, your show opening is a success. I don't think he buys anything but he sure likes the wine and cheese!
Anyway, it was so crowded that lots of people are coming back during the run of the exhibit to actually see the ART. I have 3 pieces in the show and will post photos when I take them. The group consists of fine craft artists--lots of potters, jewelers, fiber artists, metal workers, wood workers, wearable art. Lots of esoteric media. No painters. The art is beautiful especially when shown together.
The woman who's the current president of the group worked very hard to get this venue. The venue host did a lot of publicity, as did the MACA president. BTW, MACA stands for Memphis Association of Craft Artists.

Time Flies

I didn't realize I hadn't posted in so long. I hope I'm having fun. I finished the piece for the guild challenge (except the sleeve) but I can't show it just yet. Here are some of the other small quilts for the show that's coming in March. These have loads of sequins and beads stitched on.

Photos!!

Here are some things I finished this week. One is a piece for my urban themed show and the other is from a photo my niece took.

My First Solo Show

In March, I will have a show of my work at the local cancer treatment hospital. There is a gallery in the waiting room that is very nice. The gallery director asked me to put together a show of quilts last year and I got together with my friends to put up a show for one of us, Jo, who had lung cancer. That is a long sad story I'll not go into now. Anyway, the director asked me again this year and I can't believe it yet, even though I have been making wallhangings like a maniac for two months. The theme is urban landscapes. As soon as the problem with uploading photos at blogger is fixed, I'll give you all a peek at some of the quilts for the show.

Earth Meets Sky

One of my quilts was accepted in to the exhibit at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah. Needless to say, I'm very excited!! It's a small wallhanging that started out as an experiment with painted fusible. I'm so glad someone besides me likes it.

White House wedding

It occurred to me last night that there hasn't been a wedding in the White House since Nixon's daughter was married there. Will one of those Bush twins get hitched before Daddy leaves?? Maybe a real live Texas shotgun wedding?? With VP Cheney manning the shotgun?!?
Or will Chelsea do the honors when her mama takes over the White House? Something to ponder, don't you think?

Photo of quilt

AQS entry

This is the quilt I'm submitting for acceptance in to the AQS show in Paducah

Show time

The deadline for the "Up in Stitches" show is looming, but I have my entry ready to go. I'll probably wait to post photos for that. Don't want to break any unspoken rules. Or jinx my chances of being accepted into the show.
The "Amazing Art Quilts" show( might have that name wrong--oopsie) deadline is not till March or April, but they are asking for slides (!!!?!) So I'm still up in the air about that. We actually have a place in Memphis that processes slides, very well, I might add. Also, I could find out about getting slides from digital. Oh, what to do!!
I know that people love photos on blogs, so you'll just have to wait.

A new year finally

Whew!!! I feel like I barely survived 2007 and can't figure out why I feel this way.
The deadlines for the two things hovering over me have been met--the quilt for the Form Not Function show got sent ($$) and I sent an entry to the AQS show --the same quilt that got rejected last year--entered in a different category this time. Fingers crossed. Now I must send in the entry stuff for the Up in Stitches show at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah. When I get the photo taken of that quilt, maybe I will post again.
Happy New Year everyone and may all your hopes and wishes be fulfilled.