Still Stitching and Embellishing

As you can see from the photo below, I'm still stitching and embellishing. This mat and metal trays help control my beads. If you spill a container of beads, you'll be picking them up for the next 2 years. Not much fun! Do you have specific tools that make your beading easier?

Here's the final square for the letter "O" challenge. I didn't finish in time for the Fibervision meeting, but I faked it pretty well. Each square was attached to the canvas with two applique pins. My first attempt with blue tape attached to the back didn't work because the squares were too heavy. Once I finish the embellishment on this square, I'll stitch them all to the canvas background.

Everyone loved my piece and thought it would make a great sample for teaching surface design. I tend to underestimate the amount of information I have and think that everyone knows what I know. My friends keep telling me that it's not true, I have a lot to share and should teach. Teaching is something I would like to do, but at this point in my life, I don't have enough hours in my day.

I love the texture in this sea foam along the beach. I use circular or pebble quilting quite often and find that the size variation of the bubbles is what makes it interesting. I recently saw a quilt where all of the bubbles were the same size and I didn't care for the way it looked. IMHO, Size does matter! LOL

Progress . . . Inside and Out

It was a good weekend . . . my "To Do" list is definitely a little shorter. The long days and warm temperatures really make the flowers bloom. Here are a couple of close ups of flowers in my garden.

Nothing like a beautiful Gerber Daisy. They are easy to grow and seem to live forever.

This is an Angel Trumpet Tree. Right now, it's around 5 feet tall, however, they can grow up to 15 feet tall.

Here's a couple of finished panels for my Fibervision challenge. Will it be finished by next weekend? I'm not sure. I still have to finish two panels and attach them all to the black canvas.

The fabric and embellishments in each panel is completely different, however, each has layers of paint, dye or marker. They have been rubbed, screened, scraped, sun-printed and bleached. There is quite a bit of hand stitching, lots of beads and some re-purposed items attached.

With any luck, I'll have a photo of the finished piece ready for the next post. Stay tuned!

Invitational Exhibit at AQS show

This is a giant display in the Ventura Museum window. I asked to have the poster after the show but was told that it's printed on film and probably wouldn't survive the process of removing it. Bummer.

AQS has invited "Becoming Art at the Seams" to travel to Knoxville, TN show for a special exhibit in July. How cool is that?

Do you remember all the planting I did this time last year? Here's the mature version of the same garden. Isn't it pretty?? Amazing what a year and 20 inches of rain can do!

I saw this "animated line" video on Cheryl's blog and thought you would also enjoy it.

It's Challenge Time!

My Fibervision challenge piece is due in a few weeks. Nothing like a deadline to get me moving! This year, I found the challenge to be, well, very challenging! I think there were too many rules and I had a hard time starting. You need to use a specific letter of the alphabet, mine is "O", it has to be mounted on a specific size canvas or stretcher bars and it needs to have some recycled element in it.

Here's a sneak peek of a couple of the elements. So far these two squares have gelatin printing, screen-printing, rubbing, stamping, painting and beading and I still have a ton of handwork to do. My recycled element will be one of my thread circles. I never know how a piece will turn out ahead of time. I start with a general idea and let it evolve. This one has evolved many times already!

I just added a new page called Art Gallery. I thought you enjoy seeing some of my finished work. I'll try to add more as time allows. I didn't realize you could add additional pages until I read a post at Through My Eyes. I also added a tab for Tutorials, but haven't had the time to post any. I'll let you know when it's ready.

We had a lovely picnic at Goleta Beach after work and then went for a walk on the pier. It was very peaceful and relaxing. It was just what I needed.

Venice Beach, California

I've never seen anyplace quite like Venice Beach. I've heard CA referred to as "The Land of Fruits and Nuts" and never quite understood it until this past weekend! What a colorful bunch of people! Here's a photo of Muscle Beach. Basically, it's an outdoor gym where muscle bound men show off.Look very close - see if you can find "Tree Man" hidden in among the palm tree. He's a walking, talking, 8 foot tree from the land of Lanoce (combination of Land and Ocean).

Here's a closer view of him. You should be able to see his mouth, chin and neck in this photo. If you really want to see more, look for him on Facebook!Many of the buildings have murals painted on them. This happens to be a knock-off of my favorite Vincent Van Gogh painting.Here's a detail of another mural full of alien creatures. I like the slogan on his T-shirt "You Can't Until You Say You Can". Very True.

This is nothing like Santa Barbara where graffiti has to be painted over within 24 hours or you get fined mega bucks. I guess every tourist area has a different audience. Venice Beach is a blast from the past! I'm glad I went, but I probably won't be going back any time soon.