Desert Garden Fiber Arts

Orange You Glad It's Plaid?

2010-08-23T14:39:00.004-06:00

"Orange You Glad It's Plaid?"

Well, I thought about what everyone said, dove in feet first, did what seemed right and, voila! It was with some trepidation I turned it in for judging. Well, not only did the piece get juried in, it was also one of the ones that received top juror mention! Wow, the lesson here is to definitely trust myself and my process - and to listen to good advice :).

Detail

So, if you are going to PIQF in October, look for the AQuA special exhibit "Singular Sensations" and say "hi" to my piece for me. Thanks, everyone.

Can this Piece be Saved?

2010-08-08T17:01:00.003-06:00

I really don't like this piece right now, but am at a loss how to proceed. I'm tempted to just rip it up and walk away from it. I'm working on it for a special exhibit for PIQF and don't have time to start something else. The exhibit is "Singular Sensations" and requires a whole cloth piece. This is all hand painted, screened and stamped. It is 18" by 32". I feel like I've "wasted" the past two weekends working on it. Be brutal. Is it as bad as I think, or should I keep working?

Bev Hart's Dye Workshop

2010-06-26T16:12:00.010-06:00

I had great fun last weekend at a dye workshop put on by a great teacher, Bev Hart. She is based in Utah, but is a member of our art quilt group, and this is the second workshop she has done for us. She kept us so busy I forgot to take pictures, but she has a couple on her blog here

The workshop was held at Fabric Arts Studio, a terrific space! Their website can be found here

Here are pictures of some to the fabric I did.

Two-color dye run.

Dye Run Detail

My first attempt at Shibori

Shibori Detail

Shibori on a rope - this is fun! I'd like to overdye it now

Parfait

Drip Dyed - not colors I usually use, but kind of fun.

Quiltart at 15

2010-06-15T17:16:00.002-06:00

"Binary Bee"

"Binary Bee" Detail

The online exhibit celebrating 15 years of Quiltart is posted! See all of the wonderful pieces at:

http://www.quiltart.com/15

All of the pieces are 15" x 15". Here is what I had to say about mine:

Techniques/Methods

Materials: Hand-dyed silk and cheesecloth, commercial batik, computer parts, beads.
Techniques: Screen printed, stamped, fused, hand embellished, machine quilted.

Statement

Just as contemporary quilters have adopted new materials and techniques to make art quilts, we have also adopted new technologies for meeting, socializing and sharing ideas. QuiltArt has given us a virtual meeting place - a modern quilting bee. Binary bits and bytes fly through the Ethernet carrying pleas for help, inspired ideas, celebratory happy dances and consoling reassurances. I find it wonderful that an art form with such traditional roots thrives in such a high-tech world.

Sketchbook Project

2010-06-06T13:30:00.001-06:00

I've recently signed up for something that sounds fun: The Sketchbook Project through the Art House Co-op. I've chosen the theme "This is Not a Sketchbook" and should be receiving my black Moleskine notebook soon. This is a very interesting project and I encourage you to follow this link to check it out:

http://www.arthousecoop.com/sketchbookproject/

Canyon Voices

2010-05-30T14:05:00.006-06:00

I've been busy working on small pieces for our AQuA exhibit to be hung at the Mesa Verde Visitor's Center gallery. We hung a show there last year and sales were very good, so we are excited about doing this again. This year our format was inspired by the SAQA trunk show pieces. For me it is a fun size to work in. The pieces are 8" x 8" and with the mats they are 12" x 12". I've completed six so far.

"Fractured Landscape I"

"Fractured Landscape II"

"Canyon"

"Virga"

"Dwelling"

"Wind"

Denver Mancuso Show

2010-04-19T16:00:00.003-06:00

My quilt "People...Once Removed" has been accepted into the AQuA special exhibit, "Abstractions", which will hang at the Denver Mancuso show in May. I, of course, didn't make note of the size other than on my entry form, but it is around 26" x 37".

New Windows and Doors Piece

2009-10-26T18:07:00.005-06:00

Just finished the newest piece in my Windows and Doors series. I call it "Out There". It's 11" x 14" . I've been basing this series on what I call vignettes, created from hand painted fabrics I made in a class with Jerry Chase.

This is another piece in the series, "Tahoe Trio". It's 12" x 12":

This is the first piece in the series, "Inside". I wish I had a better picture of this, but it's the only one I have and the piece has been sold.

More Resist

2009-10-18T12:24:00.002-06:00

I've done more bleached resist fabric - here is some of it. The spirals in the top piece were done with Soft Scrub, the spirals under it are made with blue gel glue then bleached; the black ovals were also done with glue and bleach, and the bottom piece is glue resist, flour paste, bleach and foil. Great fun!

Beautiful Days

2009-10-18T12:17:00.003-06:00

This is such a beautiful time of year here in Colorado. I need go no farther than my front yard for wonderful inspiration. It's hard to be inside my studio when it is so nice outside, but I feel the pull of needing/wanting to do some things in here. A confluence of time, opportunity, inspiration and motivation are rare, so I must pay attention.

Aspen Trees

2009-10-04T13:40:00.003-06:00

We drove over Kebler Pass yesterday to Crested Butte. It is always a beautiful drive, but we seemed to have missed the peak of the color. A lot of the trees were bare. Still, I love the trees; their stunning white trunks are so beautiful. It's interesting that, in spite of the fact that many of the trees were bare, the grove in the bottom picture had barely turned.

Flour Paste Resist

2009-09-23T19:00:00.002-06:00

I've been playing with flour paste resist and bleach and I'm loving the results! I learned this in Jane Dunnewold's workshop and it is really fun. I've used both Kona cotton and P & B cotton and the color results are great. One trick I learned with the flour paste is to refrigerate the mixture before you use it. It is much easier to work with - a very nice consistency.

Beautiful Sky

2009-09-21T17:23:00.002-06:00

What a beautiful sky we had last night! The rainbow was to the east and the orange sky to the west.

Playing With Bleach

2009-09-20T14:11:00.002-06:00

I have some handpainted fabric that I did a while ago that I've been using to create a series called "Doors and Windows". I've laid some pieces of it out in what I've been calling vignettes. One of them is on the black background in the first picture on top. I've been thinking about what to put with it and here is a recent result. I started with deconstructed screen printed fabric I did in Rayna Gilman's workshop. I then sprayed it lightly with bleach and washed it out immediately. The dye discharged back to a light aqua. I think it has some potential.

More Pictures from Workshop

2009-09-12T14:40:00.003-06:00

A detail shot of the one I already posted.

Here is some more fabric I worked on. All of these started as plain white. The top piece is cotton velveteen that was manipulated, dyed and overdyed; the next is cotton that was coated with flour paste, sprayed with black paint, then stamped and foiled; the next is rayon that was manipulated, dyed, overdyed and stamped; the last was dyed, stamped with glue, screened with paint through a flour paste screen then stenciled.

Complex Cloth Workshop

2009-09-12T14:16:00.003-06:00

The view to the south from the ranch.

One piece I started there that I really like.

One of our lecture/critique/sharing sessions.

Our studio area.

Got back yesterday from a five day workshop with Jane Dunnewold. It was fantastic. It was sponsored by the Weehawken Art Center and held just outside of Ridgway, Colorado at Piecemaker's Ranch - a beautiful location. We stayed and worked at the ranch. It was like going to summer camp! We were so busy the entire time working on several different processes for surface design and layering those processes. We cut stamps, made stencils, made screens, used bleach, flour paste, glue, dye, paint - whew!

2009-08-30T15:56:00.003-06:00

I attended a great dye workshop on August 21st taught by Beverly Hart (see her blog at fiberhart.blogspot.com). Beverly is an excellent teacher. She has done so much work on her own with the dyes and understands them so well. We used a low water immersion technique and these are my results! It was so great to get out for a play day, too :)

New Work

2009-07-18T17:41:00.003-06:00

I turned this piece in for photography on June 20th and that afternoon when I got back home, my world changed rather dramatically. My husband went to the ER with chest pains and shortness of breath and wound up having six way coronary artery bypass surgery on the 23rd. He is now recovering well.

Today I picked up the photo CD for this piece and am anxious to share it. A few of us in our guild, AQuA (Art Quilt Association), wanted to do a project with a more serious theme and chose "Atrocities, Women and War". This is my piece, titled "Where". We don't have firm arrangements yet to display our pieces, but a couple of possibilities are in the works.

Rayna's Challenge Posted

2009-05-12T18:06:00.003-06:00

Rayna posted the finished pieces she has received so far from her "Ugly" Fabric challenge. Here is the one I did. It's called "No Birds, Just Plaid". The fabric she gave us is the pink piece above the purple square. I thought it was pretty interesting fabric. Love the other three pieces that are done so far. Check out her blog. I'd really like to see what the rest of you have done.

Finished Rayna's Challenge

2009-04-22T21:34:00.002-06:00

I finished the challenge Rayna gave us in her class. She gave us all a piece of the same fabric she had done but didn't like and we all had to make something using it. She's going to post them on her blog so I'm not going to put the picture up here until she posts. It was a fun challenge, and the fabric really wasn't ugly!

Foiling Demo

2009-04-22T17:02:00.003-06:00

I did a quick demo for the AQuA meeting last Saturday. I don't use foil very often, but it can add a nice touch in just the right spot. One of the hardest things was to remember which foiling glue I like best. The winner is definitely Jones Tones. I also like the effect you get when you adhere the foil using Misty Fuse. (Photo by Kathy Pfeufer)

Class Aftermath

2009-04-18T16:44:00.004-06:00

Back from Rayna's class and so excited about all of the potential new pieces I have in mind as a result. Not excited about putting my studio back together. It's small and crowded to begin with, but worse now with everything pulled out for class.

More Fun With Rayna

2009-04-16T19:50:00.002-06:00

Here's an exercise from Sandra

Exercises I'm working on.

My favorite so far.

Rayna and Beverly conferring.

Rayna's Class

2009-04-15T19:47:00.006-06:00

I've been having a great two days taking a class with Rayna Gillman. The first day we did deconstructed screen printing and today we did thermofax printing. Tomorrow we start two days of Jump Starting the Art Quilt. She is a fun teacher - very creative. Here is Rayna pondering whether or not Susan'a fabric can be saved.

Here is proof that lots of good things are happening here.

Some of what I have been working on.
Of course I had to be a show off and trip. I dislocated my little finger - put it back in place - and scared the heck out of everyone when they found me laying on the back porch. I was ok - just taking inventory of various body parts. I went back inside and finished up what I was working on then went to the doctor for x-rays - no breaks and he was disappointed I had deprived him of the fun of putting it back in place.

Rayna's Class, Finally

2009-04-07T18:51:00.002-06:00

I am so excited to be taking two, two day classes from Rayna Gillman next week. She is going to be teaching at my friend Jane's new Fabric Arts Studio in Grand Junction, CO. I'm having a great time collecting all kinds of interesting items to use to create marks on fabric. The first two days will be "Original Cloth - Original Quilts" and the last two days will be "Jump Starting the Art Quilt".

Book Recommendation

2009-04-07T18:38:00.002-06:00

I'm really enjoying this new book by Angie Hughes. It has inspired my current "Planets" series. Her technique of saturating fabric with a PVA glue solution, layering various textured materials and threads with more glue, then covering all of that with gesso to create a beginning canvas is so much fun. After the gesso you add paint, images, papers, beads, whatever you want to create your finished piece. If you look at the closeup of my Planet I, below, you can see the underlying texture.

New Work, Finally

2009-04-05T12:47:00.003-06:00

After months of not being able to finish anything, I've done something I really like. It is called "Planet I: Floaters" and is first in a series I've started. Planet I is going to be in the non-juried SAQA exhibit called "Layered Textures" at the Denver Mancuso Show next month.

Back From AQT

2008-11-16T16:55:00.004-07:00

What a wonderful week! We had such a good time. Els Van Baarle's class was excellent and she is a delightful person. The link to her website is in my previous post. We used soy wax for batiking, which I had never done before. The soy wax works quite well in a classroom setting because there are no fumes to worry about and it is easy to handle. Since I've never used regular wax before, I had nothing to compare it with, but feel it will work well in my small studio. I'm also feeling more comfortable working with Procion dyes after this week. Els made it all very accessible for us, and I'm very pleased with the work I did. I was so caught up in what I was doing, I really didn't take many pictures. The one I've posted shows my tablemate erecting a barrier so she wouldn't splatter with the energetic dye application she needed to do. We applied the dye directly to the fabric with brushes, a technique which is also well-suited to my small space.

Tahoe Update

2008-08-30T15:24:00.003-06:00

I was disappointed to learn that Rayna's class at AQT was cancelled because not enough people signed up for it. She is so great, I'm really surprised . I have her new book and was looking forward to trying some of the techniques in her class. Now, I'm determined to go ahead on my own using the book.

As an alternate to Rayna's class, I've signed up for Els Van Baarle's class. She was there last year and her class made some beautiful fabrics, so I know I will enjoy this as well. This is her web page: http://www.elsvanbaarle.com/ . Her work is really gorgeous.

Sold!

2008-08-30T14:54:00.004-06:00

My art quilt guild, AQuA, recently exhibited in the gallery at Mesa Verde National Park. One of my pieces, "Windows and Doors: Inside" sold! This was definitely a bright spot for me. It incorporates hand painted fabric I did in Gerry Chase's class two years ago at Art Quilt Tahoe. (You can see some of her work here: https://www.artfulhome.com/artist/883.html )

This piece is part of the Windows and Doors series I have been working on using this fabric.

What to Do When You Can't Do Much of Anything

2008-08-01T21:32:00.004-06:00

This is definitely one summer I will be glad to have behind me. My 91 year old mom fell in early June and fractured her pelvis in two places and her sacrum. Thank goodness she is now out of the rehab center and back home and doin pretty well. Now, my husband has become involuntarily unemployed, and my business is slow - people don't spend money they don't need to when gas and food are so expensive.

Creativity has been hard to come by. I have found one helpful outlet to at least be doing something. I got a small Japanese journal - all the pages are attached and they accordian fold out. They are made by Moleskine, and the paper is very good quality. I'm using my favorite color scheme and a variety of techniques and materials I've been wanting to explore. The images above show two sets of pages that I especially like.

The advantage of working this way for me is that the scale is small, so I can work in small chunks of time and still complete something; since I'm just "experimenting" there is less pressure to be perfect; and what I am doing can form the basis for future fiber projects.

So...I'm hangin' in there and taking joy where I can find it. Times will get better, and we have a lot more than many.

Desert Sun and Shadow

2008-05-21T17:14:00.006-06:00

I recently had a piece accepted to "Canyon Voices", a show my art quilt group AQuA will be putting on at the gallery in Mesa Verde in August. Above is a picture of "Desert Sun and Shadow". The focal point of the piece is a photgraph I took in southern Utah. The photo is printed on cotton fabric at approximately 13 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches in size with an inkjet printer. Additional pieces were also solicited, and I sent in "Windows and Doors: Inside".

Some of you have asked about this kind of photo printing. I make my own printer sheets with pfd cotton poplin and C. Jenkins freezer paper sheets. This is the link to their web site http://www.cjenkinscompany.com/ Their paper is pre cut, heavier than regular freezer paper and doesn't curl. They have a good variety of sizes and also carry pre-treated fabric for printing.

Denver National Exhibit

2008-04-09T18:56:00.004-06:00

For the third year my art quilt group, AQuA, will have a special exhibit at the Mancuso Denver National Show. The theme this year is "Free Range Fibers". My piece in the show is "Don't Fence Me In". My idea was to start with the basic Rail Fence pattern and keep stretching it until the fence is broken and the quilter flies free over the range. I love my little flying quilter! If you are at the show be sure to stop by and see our exhibit.

I'm Still Here

2008-04-08T21:31:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I have posted, but I'm still here and actually doing some work. Right now I'm working on a quilt for a bed in a boat! The boat is very cool - an old wooden boat - and deserves something special. I've been nervous about getting it right, but I think I have come up with something my customer and I both like. The picture above is my draft image of the quilt. The actual fabrics are all batiks, and not all of them are blue. I'm also using patterned fabrics in blues and golds. This draft is primarily to show the value gradations and placement of the photos.

AQT 2008 Pictures

2007-11-25T16:42:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Lake Tahoe. We went down to the lake for lunch one day.

Notice our lime green badge holders? These were in honor of Libby Lehman who celebrated her birthday there. Lime green is her favorite color.

The Lonliest Road in America - Highway 50.

The famous Highway 50 "Shoe Tree". Out in the middle of nowhere is this cottonwood tree covered with hundreds of pairs of shoes.

Back from AQT

2007-11-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't post anything while I was at Art Quilt Tahoe for several reasons. First of all, I was so busy there really wasn't time. On top of that, I just wasn't sure what to post. The class I took was a real disappointment.

In spite of that I had a great time. It is such a beautiful place. The best part, of course, is the people. Spending time with old friends and getting to meet new is a good reason in itself to go.

I've already signed up for next year for Rayna Gillman's class. I've heard such good things about her, and I love her work. You can see some of it at her website: http://www.studio78.net/

My Quilts in Quilter's Newsletter

2007-11-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a member of an outstanding art quilt guild called AQuA (Art Quilt Association). We are the group featured in Reader's Quilt Show for the December issue of Quilter's Newsletter. What a thrill! I am fortunate to have three pieces in the article. For more of our group's work go to http://www.theartquiltassociation.com/

"Southern Cross"

"Xanadu"

"TXTure: Hidden Messages in Fiber"

For detail photos of each block of "TXTure": http://community.webshots.com/user/caroleobrien

Some New Books

2007-11-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

To support my art habit I manage an independent book store. Books were my first passion, before I started quilting, and the marriage of quilting and books is a match made in heaven for me - not to mention overflowing bookshelves! I've received three new books recently that look really good that I'd like to share.

The first is "Innovative Fabric Imagery for Quilts by Cyndy Lyle Rymer with Lynn Koolish. This looks like it has a lot of outstanding and creative information for incorporating digital imagery into textiles. It's available for purchase November 13th.

The second book is "Living the Creative Life: Ideas and Inspiration From Working Artists" by Rice Freeman-Zachery. This is a beautiful book just to look at. Many of the artists included are textile or mixed media artists.

The third title is "The Painted Quilt: Paint and Print Techniques for Color on Quilts" by Linda and Laura Kemshall. It has beautiful photographs in it and seems to cover quite a good variety of techniques.

If you want to get these, or any other books, I encourage you all to check with your local independent bookstore. That is, if you still have one in your area. So many have gone out of business in recent years. Those of us left work hard to keep going and really appreciate the support of our loyal customers!

Art Quilt Tahoe

2007-11-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be going to AQT again this year! I went last year and enjoyed it so much, but didn't think I would be able to go this year. I am so grateful to my friends for not giving up on persuading me to go again. I'm really ready for a week off. I'm taking "The Digital Quilt" from Lura Schwarz Smith and Kirby Smith.

Last year I took class from Gerry Chase. She is such a good teacher and nice person. I'm sorry she doesn't teach very much. Here are some pictures from last year.

The first picture is the Squaw Valley lodge where we stayed. The second picture is of the fabric I painted in Gerry's class.

Hello, Quiltart List Members

2007-11-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here is my Journal Quilt for 2007. The statement is listed below. I'm glad you figured out where I misplaced my link and came to visit. Thank you!