Hormones Revisited

Looking back through my blog posts, I realized that I never showed you the finished "Inside Out: Hormones" quilt. I wanted to wait until the special exhibit at PIQF opened. Unfortunately, many deadlines hit at the same time that required many hours of work. I made all the deadlines, but stopped blogging for a while. So now I'm going to backtrack and show you some of the work I finished during the time I was MIA.

Here they are, hormones in their hot flash mode! A fair amount of tulle was used throughout to force color changes. The whole section through the middle has a layer of tulle, and the circles are also cut from tulle. Some of the tulle is blue, some maroon. Some areas have very dense stitching and that created an uneven surface. It was a challenge to get it to lie flat, but I did it with careful stitching in strategic areas, and lots of steam! LOLHere's a detail shot where you can see the cheesecloth that I used to create the diagonal lines. I love the texture of cheesecloth, and it's so easy to mold into any shape you want. You should give it a try it next time you need a special texture.

I've made a lot of colorful work over the years, but this hormone piece may be the most intense colors I've ever used. I guess it was time for a change, time to work in calmer, cooler colors.

This piece is called Afterglow. The leaves and small circles are made from hand-painted silk. The large circle and the second leaf from the left is made entirely from salvaged thread clippings. I'm always pleased when I find some cool way to use materials that are generally thrown away.

The inspiration for this piece came from an aerial photo of Salt Lake City in the winter. The photo was very graphic, very black (roads) and white (snow). After 15 minutes of using the photo as a reference, I put it away and abstracted the design even more, then I added color. There was no plan, I let it evolve, and this is what happened.

These last two pieces (plus 60 others) are currently on exhibit at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center in Santa Barbara through the end of January. It's a great facility that is used for many weddings and conventions.

With a view like this, it's easy to see why this facility is so popular. Stop by if you get a chance, you won't be disappointed.

Time Flies!

I've been really busy . . . work seems to take up way too many hours, but I did manage to fit some play time in too. The annual Fiesta celebration just finished here. We went to the mercado, ate tamales and tacos, and listened to some bands including Seymour Duncan (a local), and watched some Spanish dancing. It's fun, but there are so many tourists in town, it's difficult to get around.

I went to IQF Long Beach which is a Special Exhibit only show. It seemed like there were less quilts this year, and there were definitely less vendors. The SAQA exhibit Sightlines was my favorite exhibit. I really liked the way the pieces led from one to another, very clever. Unfortunately, for the vendors, I was in a don't need anything mood, and only bought 2 packages of topstitch needles and 1 yard of fabric.

Unfortunately, another local(ish) fabric store is going out of business. Mr. Baron wants to retire after a zillion years in business and couldn't find a buyer for the Camarillo store. I'm really sorry to see this store close. I purchased my Designer I, my sewing table and drawers and many, many yards of fabric there. Do you remember seeing my fabric wall in 2007? If so, you know I don't need any more fabric. At 70% off, I couldn't resist. I tried, but I lost the battle, and ended up buying 14 yards. Such a good deal!

Here it is, all washed and rolled, ready for its home on the wall. There seems to be an ongoing controversy surrounding fabric washing. I have read some pretty opinionated posts on the subject, but I think you should do whatever is best for you. I'm pretty sensitive to odors, and I'm pretty sure the chemicals in all the fabric I own would make me really sick. I don't take any chances, I wash everything before it enters the studio. What about you? Do you wash?

The backyard renovation continues. Progress is happening, but it doesn't really look it. Plumbing for irrigation, rototilling, etc. We've had several visitors, my BIL, our daughter, and our son will be here later this week. At this rate, the landscaping won't be finished until the end of September. That's okay though, I would rather spend time with family.

I'm quilting my hormone piece that will be on exhibit at PIQF. Nothing like waiting till the last minute! Here's a small section.

Hope you're having a great summer!

Hormones: Divide and Duplicate

My intention was to finish this quilt for the Faulkner Gallery exhibit, but I just wasn't happy with the design. It needed something, and I just couldn't quite put my finger on what the something was. It hung on my design wall for a while until I realized that the hormones should be divided. I was afraid it was a mistake, and didn't want to start from scratch. So, I decided to do the cutting in Photoshop, and see how it looked before I took scissors to fabric. Once I played with the pieces, and saw the many possibilities, the scissors came out.

The hormones were cut apart and rearranged. But it still needed something . . . More Hormones, of course.So, here I am back at the beginning, creating even more hormones. Here's a close up of the plain yellow hormone fabric before the embellishment began. If you want to see the whole process, click here. The green strip in the middle is dyed cheesecloth that will float around the hormones. There are some other surprises in store, but you're going to have to wait a while to see the final results. It will debut in a group exhibit at PIQF in Santa Clara, CA. The exhibit is called "On the Way" and it will feature 20 Journey pieces made by Fibervision members. This will be our first group exhibit at PIQF and we're all very excited about it. Hope you get a chance to see it in person.

More Hormones

A while back, I asked your opinion about a background for a hormone piece I was working on. I must admit that I was a bit surprised with your comments. I didn't expect people to feel emotional about the background. I was thinking about contrast and color, and many of you were thinking about how the raging hormones would look.

When I'm not sure about how a fabric or shape looks, I photograph it. For some reason, the answer is always clearer on my monitor than on the design wall. Sometimes, it takes a long time for me to make a decision, possibly months. That is what happened to the hormone piece. Originally, I liked fabric number 1 the best, but I didn't like it enough to think it was THE ONE.

Here's my newest choice. Much hotter and a different texture completely.

I feel that the hormones stand out well against the color and the texture doesn't compete for your attention. Is this THE ONE? It's a strong contender, but something else is needed.

Which Background Do You Like Best?

If you're like me, you pull a zillion fabrics out of your stash, and one by one, you put them on your design wall, and by the time you get to #30, you can't remember what any of them look like. Sound familiar?

If I think there is any possibility of a fabric working, I take a photo. For some reason, looking at the choices on the computer really helps in the decision process. Does it takes the emotion out of the decision? I'm not sure, but it works for me.

Here are some backgrounds that I chose for the "Hormones" piece I showed previously. I would love to hear your opinion, good or bad. Maybe you hate them all.

Number 1

Number 2

Number 3

Number 4

All of the backgrounds are either hand-painted or hand-dyed by me.

One Thing Leads to Another

Sometimes, inspiration comes from unexpected things. The piece below is proof.

A simple piece of fabric with cut out circles. It didn't really look too exciting, but the possibilities were endless. You've probably noticed that one of my favorite symbols is the circle. I shouldn't have been surprised at my reaction to all these circles!The first step was to get it off the cutting board and onto piece of painted silk. Hmmm . . . Nice!
The negative circles are exciting, however, the positive rectangle is just too plain and boring. The first step was to paint the surface with some diluted Setacolor. By the time the paint dried, I had an a pretty good idea that I was going "Cellular".
The rectangular piece was cut into an organic shape and placed onto yet another painted background. Nice, but still not enough. Cells are incredibly colorful and the mellow yellow fabric was NOT going to make it.
Let the layering begin!

Here's a closeup of the new and improved cellular structure of "Hormones". It now has many colorful layers and interesting texture and is a worthy focal point. The next step is to audition more backgrounds; then onto the quilting stage.

Just a little glimpse inside my head and my thought process. Did you enjoy the journey?

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!