The Rolling Stones Concert was Fabulous!

Mike (DH) and I went to see the stones at the Honda Center last weekend in LA and had a great time. It's amazing how much energy Mick has. He's like an energizer bunny . . . he just keeps on going and going and going.

We saw them thirty years ago in LA and thought that would be the last time. Who knew they would stay together so long. I'm really glad they did though.

The stage and light show were great. As usual, it has the walkway in the shape of a tongue. All the instruments are wireless now, so everyone can travel around while performing. I took this shot while we were waiting for the arena to fill in. It took FOREVER for people to get through security, and the show began an hour late. After the Boston Marathon incident, I'm sure everyone is on high alert everywhere.

There was a huge video screen behind the band. This photo is actually a projection of Mick. If you look close, you will see the band in the foreground.
Hope some of you get to see them too!

New Studio Photos

Several months ago, I broke down and purchased an HQ Sweet Sixteen. The most difficult part about the whole process was fitting the new machine into my space. Mind you, it really isn't that large, but my studio was already packed. Two people could fit in my studio at the same time as long as they didn't move too much. My studio needed a complete re-design and that's what I did.
Now it's spacious with plenty of space for several people to move around. This studio is used for designing, sewing, and photographing art. Paint and ink is generally not allowed into this space. That's all done in the other studio which contains all the messy stuff and my computer and printer. If the weather is nice, I can work outside on the patio too.

 My Viking Designer 1 and the HQ Sweet Sixteen.

See the great design board that covers the entire length of the wall. 

 I have great light in this room and a beautiful view of the garden.

Quilt Storage

Is anyone else out there running out of space to store all the quilts they make? It's a good thing I don't make really large ones. I just don't know what I would do with all of them. My biggest concern is fold lines so that's what determined my storage method. I actually started rolling my quilts many years ago, but recently I added some improvements. I used to roll the quilts around some archival paper, but that wasn't very effective because the paper flattened out in a matter of minutes. Now I sew a fabric tube and use it to cover a pool noodle and roll my quilts around that. That works much better. I wrap the whole roll in plain white fabric tie it with fabric strips and slip the roll into a long  6 x 48" box. Each box is numbered and labeled with the name of each quilt that lives inside.

Each quilt has been photographed and is entered into my inventory database. The info includes the year made, where it is currently located, whether it's been sold, amount of sale, etc. The only information that I need to enter into the database is where each piece has been exhibited.

That takes care of the larger quilts . . . . but what about the smaller quilts?? I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with these yet. They seem too small to roll, but too big to store flat. What do you do with yours?

I have one final dilemma. What do I do with the quilts I just don't like anymore? They are constructed well, they aren't really ugly. They just don't appeal to me at all. I'm thinking of removing the labels and putting them on the FREE table at the quilt guild. LOL The thought that I actually made this one cat quilt cracks me up. It would be a great one to show as a "Then and Now" type story. Maybe I'll take a photo of it for the next post. You'll crack up too! 

Happy Dance!!

Yippee . . . . I'm going to have an article published in the summer issue of Art Quilting Studio magazine! I won't tell you what it's about so you can still be a little surprised. I can't wait to see and hold the actual magazine. I love my computer, but it will never replace real books and magazines. Excited doesn't even begin to describe how I feel! If you would like to get a copy of the magazine, you can pre-order it from Stampington here or check your local newsstand around June 1st.  

Above is a small piece that I have hanging in the CPAC exhibit. It's called Swept Away. The opening reception for the Fibervison exhibit went very well. All of the art looked great and quite a few people were in attendance. There will be a guided tour of the exhibit on Saturday, May 18th. If you are within driving distance, stop by for a visual treat.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the guided tour because we have tickets to see the ROLLING STONES in LA. We saw them 25 years ago and I figured that would be the last time, but obviously, I was wrong . . . they just keep on going. Is anybody else going to see them at the Honda Center?

You're All Invited . . .

Over 60 pieces were submitted, many of them quite large. I only had three small pieces to submit, but they are all quite nice.
If you are within driving distance, I hope you find some time to see the exhibit. I would love to meet any of you, so let me know if you're coming!
Saturday, May 18th at 10:00 am will be the guided tour.

Beautiful Spring Day

This was the coldest winter in Southern California since I moved here in 1979. We must have had 20 frosts this year. We had to cover our newly planted avocado, grapefruit and lime trees every night to prevent them from freezing. For our extra effort, we've been rewarded with tiny grapefruit and limes.

We planted a garden before my surgery and everything is growing well. Our back yard is really filling in nicely. It is still a work in progress, but that's how gardening is. The bird of paradise, kaffir lilies, and angel trumpets are blooming and all the birds and bees are happy.

I'm still not getting much art done during my recovery, but I'll share a photo with you that I captured of a bee enjoying an agaphanthus.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Stuffed Chenille

It's been a rough week . . . I'm recovering from hernia surgery. I'm beginning to feel human again, and thought I would show you a a small piece that will be hanging as part of a group exhibit about embellishment at the Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center in May.
I still need to add a sleeve to the back. I thought I would do that while I was recovering, but I just wasn't capable of doing anything useful.

The finished size is 12" x 12". It was made by stuffing bits of fabric scraps between two solid layers of fabric and stitching lines through the entire stack. Once it was stitched, I cut the fabric between the stitching like you do for regular chenille. The difference is, this is stuffed with scraps, so you need to use small scissors and go slow. I do like it, but I don't think I'll ever do it again.

Painting with Dorland's Wax Medium

I first began oil painting when I was twelve years old and stuck with it until I went to college, then acrylic paint became my chosen medium. I still use acrylic paints, but I also use ink, watercolor, and dye quite often.
Now I've gone full circle . . . I'm playing with oil paint again. This time I'm combining it with Dorland's Wax Medium for a totally different effect. I'm layering the paint with a palette knife and scraping through the layers with  sharp tools. Basically, I'm having fun with it.

I think each of these pieces have three layer of paint/wax so far, including the initial white primer which you can see showing through is some areas.

None of these are anywhere near being finished, but it's interesting to document them in the process to see how much they change.

There are eight other pieces sitting on my table waiting for more paint. Some have fabric paper collage incorporated into them, and some have Dorland's Wax mixed with Pearl Ex. It's all a big experiment and I have no idea how they will turn out.

Exciting News!

Remember this Quilt?

Inside Out: Hormones, was selected to be part of the 2013 Fantastic Fibers exhibit at the Yeiser Art Center In Paducah, KY.

I was completely stunned when I found out that one of my pieces was chosen to hang in this special exhibit. Over 700 fiber pieces were entered from all over the world and only 54 will be part of the exhibit!

The opening reception is on April 6th from 5:00-7:00 pm and the exhibit will hang through May 4th. The AQS quilt show also takes place in Paducah between April 24 - 27. Sounds like a great time to visit!

I'm Back . . .

I know it's been a really long time since I've posted anything here. A lot has happened to me in that time. Probably the biggest news is that I have two brand new eyes!
I'll try to keep the story short. About five years ago, I was told I had a cataract in my left eye. The doctor said it would be at least 10 years before I would need surgery. Within two years, I had a cataract in my right eye too. By the time five years had passed, I was almost blind in my left eye.
Obviously, it was time for the cataract surgery. The surgery itself went well, but the variance between the two eyes was too different, and I had to have the right eye operated on the following week. So, now I have two brand new eyes. Pretty amazing! The #1 comment I've heard is, "You're too young for cataracts". Apparently, that's not true. I have several items put aside to make a cataract quilt, but so far, it hasn't risen to the top of the list. Stay tuned to see if there is a cataract quilt in my future. LOL
I've been back in the studio for a few months now and am loving the new eyes. Everything is much brighter and super sharp. Very exciting.

Here's a small piece that I just finished. The center section is painted fabric that has been quilted and embellished. It's mounted onto a painted canvas.
More to come soon.

Painting, Painting, and MORE Painting

This was an experiment. I managed to change the look of the fabric, but I don't think it was necessarily an improvement.

It started with a piece of dyed fabric that had some type of Chinese characters stamped on it. I didn't create the fabric and I didn't care for it. I wanted to improve it with some layers of paint.

I pinned the fabric to my print board, and wrapped ribbon around the pins to create a grid of sorts. I screen-printed the large circles using a Photo EZ screen, and stamped the smaller circles. The ugly background fabric continued to show through.

Once the paint was dry, I removed the ribbon to see if the ribbon resist created much of an impact. It's noticeable, but not too impressive. Oh well! Sometimes, the best lessons are learned when the experiment doesn't go as planned. Some things can't/shouldn't be saved.

Fortunately, the next painting project is an improvement. As you can see, progress was made on the patio covers. Looks nice and neat, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it didn't last very long.

This is what it looks like today. A mess! These 2" x 2" pieces of wood need a layer of primer, then 2 layers of red paint. There are 4 tables full of these wood pieces, that's over 120 pieces that need 3 coats of paint! Sheesh, we spent all weekend painting and still need to spend one more day to finish the painting. By the time we finish, we'll have two nice shady areas on the patio. We definitely need somewhere to escape from the CA sun.

Current Distractions

Here we go again . . . more backyard fun, and work. I'm not sure what to call this pile of wood. Pagoda sounds much too elaborate. I'm not sure if we can call it a trellis because it won't be supporting vines. And a patio cover sounds pretty boring. Whatever you want to call it, we're building two of them. It'll be great to have some shade in the back yard. I'll be able to set up tables and paint for hours, instead of minutes.

It seems like I find great line and texture everywhere I look. I couldn't resist capturing the cross grain of this stack of wood. Here's a peak at some pieces I recently added to my design wall. I bought an Epson printer, and am having fun manipulating photos, and printing my own fabric. Not quite sure where it's going yet, but it's evolving. Stay tuned.