Lisa's Art & Musings

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a little bit of pink and red to brighten your day. This is another in my series, Bits & Pieces. When I am working on a project, I will have bits and pieces of fabric leftover that I just leave out on my table. Sometimes I will take the bits and pieces and start playing with them to create another artwork.

This has parts from my Summer Breeze piece and some of my Color Fields pieces. This one was a struggle. It has been cut and sewn, added to, disassembled, resewed, cut into, rearranged, sewed again and finally completed with hand stitching and quilting.

Bits & Pieces VI

hand dyed fabrics, hand stitching

machine pieced and quilted

16 x 15"

$125

Metamorphosis

2012-02-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

At long last, it is time for another Twelve by Twelve reveal (click the link to check them out). It is the beginning of a new series of challenges and new size. This first theme was Metamorphosis. So many things to think about for that theme.

Here are my play-along pieces. I did two and I think I need to do one more. My idea was the changing colors of leaves in the autumn. The first piece is more the beginning of the change and the second piece is the more advanced changing of color, to the point of turning into brown.

Leaf Metamorphosis

hand dyed fabrics, hand stitching,

machine pieced and quilted

20 x 12"

Leaf Metamorphosis 2

hand dyed fabrics, hand stitching

machine pieced and quilted

20 x 12"

Valentine for Aids

2012-02-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

I finally got myself down to Flying M to see the Valentine for Aids auction. Tomorrow is the last day and bidding ends at 4 p.m. Here are a few of the items to bid on.

Artist: Rick Jenkins

Artist: Molly Hill

Artist: Mary Donato

Artist: Amy Granger

(Spots are reflections on the glass)

Artist: Josie Erskine

Quilt Along With Melody

2012-02-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Color Blocks #1

hand dyed fabrics,

fused appliqué, machine quilted

12 x 12"

Since I am not doing a specific activity every day for the month of February, I decided to "Quilt Along with Melody". I regularly enjoy Melody Johnson's blog. This month she is sharing instructions for projects you can make right along with her.

The first project was a small art quilt made using her fusing technique. Above is the piece I made. It is very similar to some of the pieces I made in my Spring Blocks series years ago . . .

Spring Blocks #3

hand dyed fabrics,

fused appliqué, machine quilted

8 x 8"

In a Private Collection

. . . as well as my small Blue and Green series.

Blue and Green #1

hand dyed and commercial fabrics,

fused appliqué, machine quilted

6 x 4"

In a Private Collection

I want to do some more in the Color Block series as I have cut pieces leftover from putting together the first one. I will also have more pieces after quilting along with Melody's other projects.

Valentine for Aids

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day for the Valentine for Aids silent auction at the Flying M Coffeehouse in downtown Boise. The bidding ends at 4 p.m. on Feb. 12. Go get yourself some art!

Art at St. Luke's - Eagle

2012-02-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it is February already. Last year in February, I committed to doing a "plant-a-day" and have been thinking about doing something similar this year. But I have not gotten my act together to figure out what to do or get it set up. My mind has been concentrating on other things.

One of those things was getting some of my art together to hang at the St. Luke's Eagle Medical Plaza in Eagle, Idaho. There is a hallway on the second floor that they have for an artist of the month. I am the artist for the month of February and I installed my work today.

It is a nice, newish building (maybe a couple of years old?). The artwork is on the second floor toward the back of the building on the left. There are also some other artworks throughout the building.

Art from the Past

2012-01-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a few more artworks with you that I rediscovered when pulling out my old portfolio. They are very different from what I do now. My concentration for my art degree was in drawing. Now, my drawing is done with the sewing machine. Back then, my work was more realistic. Now, I work more abstractly and minimally.

These are two pieces that I did in college which I still find somewhat amusing because the inanimate objects were given just a little bit of personality.

Paper Cuts

2012-01-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, my daughter needed to carry some of her artwork to school to create a portfolio. She needed something to transport the artwork safely because a backpack just wouldn't do (especially when you have seen the papers that come out of her backpack!).

So I crawled around in our storage space under the stairs and dragged out some of my old portfolios. They are filled with my old art from high school, college and beyond. It's always interesting going through old art. There are some pieces that remind me of how I felt at the time when I look at them. Other pieces make me wonder why I saved them and I am thinking they need to be recycled. There are some pieces that I think aren't too bad. And some that could inspire new ideas.

There are also a few artworks I had forgotten about. One of them is this paper cut.

Since I had just made my Valentine for Aids using paper cut, it was serendipitous to find this one. I have done a few paper cuts over the years, but not very many.

This piece is dated 1995 and was done after I had graduated from college. It's a picture of a ceramic piece I had made in pottery class in college. At the time, I was not very patient with throwing on a wheel (or maybe I was just too perfectionistic then). I was not happy with the pot and smashed in one side.

Frank, my husband (boyfriend at the time), must have been visiting me because he said he would take the pot. So I went ahead with glazing and firing. He kept it in his dorm room (several states away) with a little plant in it. It is now long gone, but the paper cut is a reminder of the story.

I wonder why I haven't done more paper cuts, because I really do like them a lot. And that is why I am excited to go see a new local exhibition at Boise State University:

Cutting Edge: Contemporary Paper
(Gallery 2- Hemingway Western Studies Center)
Curated by Kirsten Furlong and Janice Neri
Exhibition: January 31st - March 23rd, 2012
Opening Reception: February 3rd, 2012 6-8pm
Cutting Edge: Contemporary Paper features the work of ten contemporary visual artists that utilize cut paper as a primary medium to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional artworks.

My friend and organizer of the Leftovers print exchanges, Amy Nack, will have some work in the show along with artists from other states. One of those is Nikki McClure, whose work I also enjoy seeing.

Text Messages

2012-01-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Friday night was the opening for the Treasure Valley Artists Alliance's Text Messages show. For those of you who couldn't make it, I took a few pictures (without flash). But you'll want to see it in person. It is kind of like a "word search" to find the text in some of the pieces.

In the picture below, you can see how I framed my piece Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood. I'm not sure how many people really "got" the piece if they were not familiar with Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken.

Shirley and Anne always do a wonderful job with the food table. This time Shirley made flowers from newspaper. Anne had also decoupaged some branches with newspaper and had them in a vase that looked very nice. (I didn't get a picture of it.) Then, they had spelled out messages all around the table.

I donated Scrabble Cheez-its to the cause and others had made cookies with messages on them. There were also fortune cookies among other yummy items.

The show will be at the BSU Public Radio Offices through April 5th (open weekdays).

It's About Time

2012-01-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Snow has finally arrived in Idaho. It seems like we will be getting our entire winter's share in one day.

Valentine for Aids

2012-01-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

It's not too early to start thinking about Valentine's day. You might want to get your sweetie some artwork and support a good cause in the process. Below is the piece I made to donate to the silent auction for Valentine for Aids, which will be held at the downtown Boise Flying M Coffeehouse from Feb. 2-12.

Entangled

paper cut

12 x 18" framed

MLK

2012-01-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Something to think about in this election year.

One Word

2012-01-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the 11th day of the new year. These eleven days have consisted of a lot of thinking about goals, trying to get organized and put deadlines on my calendar - some of which will be coming up quickly. My calendar seems to be filling up fast and there is a lot to do, as usual.

The thought of a fresh start to a new year is great, and I have gotten some things done. But it has been a bit serious with all the thoughts of goals. I have been reading about other people's goals and resolutions. Some people like to have a word to guide their year, instead of a resolution.

I was thinking, "What kind of word would I pick?" Some words that came up were balance, simplify and compassion. Then I thought of "enjoy". And decided that would be a great word for me to have for the year. Already it has helped me lighten up on some of the tasks I need to do and approach things with a different attitude. I think I will create a fancy doodle of the word and hang it up in front of my desk.

I hope you enjoy your day!

Three Trees

2012-01-08T20:14:00.001-07:00

I have finished my first artwork of the year. O.k. I actually started it last year, but now it is finished. It has a lot of hand stitching.

Three Trees

hand dyed fabrics and threads, machine pieced, fused appliqué, hand stitching

I am planning to frame this, but I went ahead and zigzag stitched the edges to finish them, as you can see below. You can also see my little sketch to which the final piece ended up being very close. Now, I need to decide if I want to "float" the piece in the frame so you can still see the edges or have the mat on top covering the edge (so it would look more like the first picture). What do you think?

Valentine

2012-01-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I started to work on my piece for the Valentine for Aids auction. I'm switching things up a bit and using paper instead of fabric. Here's the start.

Create Daily

2012-01-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

For the month of January I decided to sign up for Alisa Burke's online class called Create Daily. It's not that I really need any more inspiration for creating artwork. What I thought would be interesting would be the suggestions for doing something creative in a little amount of time and fitting it into a busy day.

Yesterday, we doodled with ball point pens. Here is mine:

And here is a doodle I found the other day from 2008 that I did while I was sitting in an airport.

Today we played with our food. These were clementines that I also played with in Photoshop.

A New Year . . .

2012-01-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

and a new hair color for Anna. She used some of her Christmas money to have her hair dyed (by a professional).

New Goals?

2012-01-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

I reviewed my goals for last year and saw where I ended up. Yesterday and today, I have been trying to write down new goals for 2012. It's looking like a long to-do list. I always have lots of to-do lists!

Then my friend, Kathleen Probst, wrote on her blog about not having any goals for the year. I went to The Minimalists site that was linked in her post and continued to the article this guy wrote about not having goals and why. He makes some good points. And I like how Kathleen writes about working on habits instead (which are what some of my goals are working on).

Now, my Gemini twins have been struggling all day with the goal issue. It sounds so freeing to be able to say I don't have any goals or to-do lists; I don't need to "accomplish" anything. My type A personality is having trouble even contemplating how you could live without goals or to-do lists.

On the other hand, the goals I have set for my art career in the last few years have really helped me move my art forward in many ways, especially with making sure I create for a certain amount of time every week.

I fear if I didn't have goals, it would be too easy for me to not get things done, to do nothing because I'm too tired, or let something else take priority (I did that for many years before I decided I needed to take myself seriously as an artist before anybody else could).

For me, I think it helps to have some realistic goals, but I know it's o.k. if I can't get them all accomplished. I probably get more stressed out with the to-do lists (that are always there), than with the goals. The goals are something to help keep me focused and heading in the right direction, whereas, the to-do lists are just something that needs to be done and that is always weighing on the back of my mind.

Maybe I need to get rid of to-do lists altogether. But then I could see that I wouldn't have a reference for what I need to do. Sounds like a big circle. I'm not sure I know how to step outside the circle. I think I need to draw that curvy line in the middle to make the yin-yang sign and work on balancing the whole thing.

What do you think about goal setting?

Crunching the Numbers

2011-12-30T21:11:00.002-07:00

One more day left in the year and it's time to reflect and review- to see what was accomplished and what still needs to be done (or improved).

I did some number crunching and compared what I set for goals at the beginning of the year and what happened in reality.

1) One of my goals for 2011 was to average 15 hours a week (based on 48 weeks of the year) working in my studio on art. This year I averaged 12.78 hours/week. This was an improvement over last year's average of 10.47 hours/week but short of my intended goal. I was hoping to make a goal of 20 hours/week for 2012, but I might need to reassess to see if that is reasonable. I might need to stick with 15 again.

2) Another goal was to average 3-5 hours/week working on the business part of art. I hit that goal this year averaging 4.375 hours/week. Although the majority of those hours came toward the end of the year. For 2012, I need to work on being consistent from week to week taking care of business, so to speak.

3) I did not have any goals for volunteer time but this year I spent around 93 hours volunteering, which was more than last year's number at around 70 hours.

4) I did not break even with my art income versus art expenses. Part of this was because I counted my new computer and software as a business expense.

5) Of a list of about 20 art goals, I achieved about half. Is that good or bad? I think it is neither - it is just a fact. There are a few things that were more important than others.

I only had a few specific goals for applying to shows or venues. One was to create an artwork for the Deep Spaces show, which I did and it was accepted.

As for venues, there were three local ones to which I wanted to send in applications. One application I did send in before the deadline. It was accepted and I will have a show in 2012 at the BSU special events center lobby. The second venue I decided not to apply yet, as I wanted to have more work completed before doing so. The third venue, I think I have changed my mind about.

Although not having many specific goals about shows, I did have pieces accepted into four different juried shows, two of which are out-of-state. I also had work in several of the Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance exhibitions and participated in the Leftovers print exchange again this year.

Another accomplishment was applying to create a traffic box design and getting accepted and paid to do that.

Another pleasant surprise was being asked to curate the Trey McIntyre Project art fundraiser this year and getting paid to do that.

Overall, it was a good year art-wise for me. I accomplished some goals and improved on my overall time commitment to my art. There is still much for me to do and I will set new goals for 2012 and, hopefully, continue to improve on accomplishing them.

Keeping track of all the numbers may be a bit nerdy (at least I'm using my business degree, too), but it really helps give me a good picture of what I accomplish, keeps me accountable to my goals and helps to create realistic goals for the next year.

Here's looking forward to an awesome 2012. Happy New Year to you!

A Little Bird

2011-12-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had happy holidays, and perhaps still are. We had a nice quiet Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we played another round of disc golf at Eagle Island State park; our first time there. We enjoyed company of friends, worked on puzzles, had a fire and ate chocolate. What more could you ask for (besides some snow)?

I got several lovely things for Christmas. One is a drawing pad mouse for my laptop, which I hope will make photo editing easier and drawing on the computer more likely to happen in the future. Another gift was this lovely drawing by my talented daughter, Anna.

She worked on this piece last year in her art class. It had a large background of which she did not get completed. When I finally saw her portfolio at the end of the year, I asked if she could finish just the small area around the bird so I could crop it and frame it. I asked for this as my birthday present in June. The bird stayed nested in the portfolio.

When Anna asked what I wanted for Christmas this year, I again mentioned the bird. I was so happy when he flew into my hands on Christmas morning! Now, I just need to get it signed and framed.

Disc Golfing

2011-12-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we decided to get outside and enjoy the brisk air and the unfortunate reality of no snow by playing disc golf at the park - the first time in years.

On the second "hole," I threw my disc over some trees and a canal. I also proceeded to throw it in the water. Eventually, I got better.

Anna wanted to do the course twice. As we were approaching the second hole again, Frank was teasing me and giving me a hard time saying something about what kind of crazy person would throw their disc over the canal.

The answer the second time around was Frank. At least I did not throw my disc in a dumpster! Afterward, Anna says, "Dad, I think that was some kind of karma."

We had fun.

Happy Winter Solstice

2011-12-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

I hope your solstice is filled with warmth and light.

Text Messages

2011-12-20T20:26:00.001-07:00

Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood

hand dyed fabric, colored pencil

hand embroidery, machine appliqué, machine quilted

19-1/2 x 16-5/8"

Just in the nick of time. I finished my piece for the text messages deadline. It is inspired by Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken. The poem is written all over the background. Here is the entire poem:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay,

In leaves no steps had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads to way,

I doubted that I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

So, tell me what you think- all feedback welcome (even if you don't like the piece). Does it just look like yellow snowflakes to you? Would you get it without the poem or the title?

Sweet!

2011-12-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

This week the preparator at the art museum, Ron Walker, is retiring after 22 years. I wanted to make him a little something. So I made a batch of fudge last night. And Terry Grant had perfect timing by posting a tutorial on her blog on how to make some boxes. (These were easier to make than some I've done before). I used some 12 x12" scrapbook papers to make these.

I really like the idea of fudge when I see it in a store somewhere. We usually only buy it when we are on vacation, but I am always a little disappointed that it doesn't taste as good as I hoped.

I think the best fudge is this recipe that came from my husband's aunt. We call it Aunt Polly's fudge.

Aunt Polly's Fudge
4-1/2 c. sugar
1 large can evaporated milk
1 c. butter
18 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (Here's my secret change to the recipe: I use 12 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 6 oz. of dark chocolate chips. I think it gives it a richer flavor.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped pecans (I don't usually add the nuts)

Grease 9 x 13" pan.
Mix sugar and evaporated milk and cook over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil approx. 7-10 minutes (to soft ball stage).
Remove from heat. Add butter and chocolate chips. Stir until melted.
Stir in vanilla, salt and nuts.
Pour into pan and cool.

Down

2011-12-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

The year is winding down quickly. Shoppers are counting down the days till Christmas. I wish this bug I have that is making me feel bad would wind it's way out of my system, but it hasn't yet. It is also wearing me down. After November, I thought things would slow down for me. But December has kept up the same busy pace.

Every year, I enjoy getting out the Christmas decorations and the Santa collection to decorate the house. When everything is up, one of my favorite things is to just sit in the dark with the Christmas tree lights on. We get a fresh tree because it is so nice to have a little bit of nature in the house and to come home and smell the pine scent.

We got our tree this past weekend and the lights are on it. Nothing else is. The ornaments are still in the boxes and so are the Santas. For the very first time (and I will even venture to say "ever"), getting the decorations out seems like a chore instead of something to enjoy. I'm sure it is because I have been so busy and this cold/sinus/sore throat/ear ache thing is keeping me so tired.

So, I'm thinking it will be o.k. to just hang the ornaments on the tree, set up the little tree downstairs and just enjoy some down time.

I've been working at the museum this week, helping install a large selection of the permanent collection for their 75th birthday celebration (officially some time after the new year). One piece that was considered to be in the show, but ended up edited out is a garden journal by local artist, Chris Binion. Years ago, he did an installation in the sculpture court where he had a large number of Amaryllis bulbs (100 bulbs maybe) potted in a display and visitors would watch them grow and change during the exhibition. He kept a journal about the process and changes occurring.

The journal was out and as I was glancing through it today, I found his list at the end of the journal about what he learned from this garden installation. There were twelve things listed and the last resonated with me right now.

"If you're quiet enough, beauty will speak to you."

I think I will be quiet this holiday season, let the boxes lie still and just enjoy the beauty of the season.

Around Town - Continued

2011-12-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

Around Town

2011-12-08T07:18:00.001-07:00

One of the owners of Zen Bento asked if I would come back and paint some words around my Winter Fortune Cats. Yesterday, I did that. It was a little unnerving painting the words free hand in a curve. It's kind of hard to do that sideways. Some are a little off, but it makes it more "charming", perhaps.

I think they do look a little more festive now. Two of the greetings don't match the tummy characters because the owner wanted something specific. So "tranquility" got turned into "laughter".

I didn't have my camera, so all these pictures were taken with my not-so-smart phone.

The rest of these pictures are just things I noticed on my way to and from painting the window. Maybe the post title should be Downtown Details instead of Around Town.

Beautiful Piece

2011-12-04T08:58:00.001-07:00

I posted previously about a piece made by Christine Raymond that is in the Trey McIntyre Project fundraiser this year. Here is an excellent picture of the front of the piece and the information for the opening event if you would like to attend.

Last week as Trey was back in town, I finally got to meet him. He wanted to do a little re-arranging of the work, so it is slightly different from some of the images I showed you previously. You'll just have to come see for yourself.

Writing

2011-12-02T12:45:00.001-07:00

The Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance has a show coming up entitled Text Messages. We (the exhibition committee) set the submission deadline for Dec. 23. I don't really have any textile artworks with text in them (I have some collages). But I am planning on entering the show.

I've had some ideas floating around in my head. But I haven't had any time to work in the studio for weeks. It's making me a little cranky, that, and the fact that I have been sick for over a week and don't seem to be getting better. (Yes, I have been to the doctor and she told me to rest. Right.)

With the deadline fast approaching, I managed to get started on a piece this week. I wanted to get some text all over my background fabric. I thought I would hand write the text and have it made into a thermofax screen (by someone that provides that service) and then use that to print all over the surface.

I am using Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken as the text. I wrote it over and over to try to get it to fit in the dimensions of the screen. Then I thought that I need to get this done fairly quickly and I don't know how long it would take to have a screen ordered and mailed.

So, I decided to write directly on the fabric. There are many people that use hand writing as a design element in their work. Deborah Boschert uses hand writing in most of her pieces. I like how she can write so that you see the curves and lines, but can't necessarily read what it says. Here's a post on her blog that you can see the writing toward the bottom of the artwork.

Judi Hurwitt creates "stacked journaling" using paint that when repeated over and over creates patterns that don't even look like writing.

Troy Passey, a local artist here in Boise, also uses hand writing as a simple, effective element in his black and white pieces on paper.

All these artists make the hand writing a graphic element more so than as readable text. That is what I would like to achieve, but all my practice efforts are still fairly readable as words (not that you can necessarily read my hand writing). I decided to write on my fabric with colored pencil. Here is the first layer.

I like how this looks. Then I tried another layer of large letters with a yellow pencil going perpendicular to the first.

I'm definitely more comfortable writing small. It is also interesting that the yellow shows up better at different angles.

I am hoping that by the time I finish the stitching on the piece that the words will become more abstract. I've coated the fabric with some matte medium. I also have that poem memorized, I think.

I do like the hand written look as opposed to stamping on letters for this piece. Do you think hand writing is becoming an endangered art form?

The First

2011-12-01T09:05:00.001-07:00

It's the first of December.

It's a new page on the calendar. And speaking of pages, I wanted to share with you a book I found at our local library sale that was in October. I found this lovely book (among others).

You can see I paid two dollars for it. This book has illustrations, poems, quotes and diary notations by the author. Here is the blurb about the author:

"Edith Holden was born in Moseley in the parish of King's Norton, Worcester in 1871, one of seven children of a Midlands paint manufacturer. The family lived in Warwickshire in the village of Knowle and it was there that she started to write and illustrate this book. She moved later in 1905 to the small village of Olton where she wrote Nature Notes 1906, published as The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. After attending art school, she worked as an illustrator, with her drawings (often of animals) being published in several books."

The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady was first published in 1977. My version says 1989. Each month has it's own full page illustration along with other smaller ones of animals and plants. The cover illustration also happens to be the December one. I took some pictures of the illustrations to show you, but I'm not going to post them because I think it might be copyright infringement if I do. However, you can see many of them at this site.

But I will quote one of the mottoes she had written in the December section.

"In December keep yourself warm and sleep."

Sunset

2011-11-30T07:57:00.001-07:00

We had the most beautiful sunset here last night. The colors were so amazing and it kept getting better and better. My point and shoot camera does not do it justice.

Tis the Season

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, tis the season to be generous and I have another fundraising event to announce. This year I was asked to curate the artwork for the Trey McIntyre Project's fundraiser event. I installed the artwork the same week as I did the Double Take show.

For those who don't know, the Trey McIntyre Project is a contemporary dance group based in Boise. They perform all over the world. In the past few years, they have held this fundraiser where they invite visual artists to come in and be inspired by the dancers and Trey and then to create artworks from that inspiration. The artworks are sold with proceeds split between the artists and the company.

The exhibition is being held at the TMP offices downtown. The dance studio has been transformed into a gallery. There will also be a market area in the offices that will have more affordable items by artists. You can go here to see a video about the event and some of the artwork.

Although I have been helping out with installations at the Boise Art Museum for over fifteen years and have co-curated the TVAA exhibitions, this is my first solo curating experience. After about a 10 minute period of panic after seeing all the works in the space and asking myself, "What have I got myself into?" I set to work and didn't need to worry. And now that it is all up (almost - a couple of artworks did not get dropped off by the deadline), I am proud of how the shows looks.

And since TMP shows some of it on their video, I think it is o.k. for me to post a few photos, too. The artworks have not been lit in these pictures and extra stuff was still around. The labels have not been put up either.

Bradford Shaw artwork down the entry hall.

Prints by Amy Westover.

In this last one you can see a black pedestal. I used some black fabric they had to cover it up, since it was not a pedestal at all. The fabric is just pinned on (you can't see the pins). I did two pedestals with black fabric.

The piece on top of this pedestal is by Christine Raymond. It is a gorgeous piece made from a cast of one of the dancers' body. There are little pieces that look like scales, each one is covered with 24 carat gold leaf. She hand tied each one to the form. It took her months and months of work.

I was so intrigued by the details, I forgot to take a good full picture of the front. You will just have to go see it if you live in Boise.

Another Auction

2011-11-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Also on Friday, I stopped by the Basement Gallery to drop off an ornament I made for their auction. Artists are creating tree ornaments and the money raised will be donated to Life's Kitchen. You can read about the auction and bid online here.

I just realized that I forgot to take a picture of my ornament before I dropped it off. Oh well, you will eventually be able to see it on the Basement Gallery site.

Leftovers

2011-11-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Are the Americans tired of turkey leftovers yet? I had a double helping of leftovers on Friday. One was turkey and the other was of Leftovers II from the print exchange hosted by Amy Nack of Wingtip press. I talked about it earlier in the year here.

One set of prints has been traveling around to different venues (I believe it is in New Zealand now). Another set Amy kept to be auctioned off to raise money for a charity. I got up somewhat early on Friday to help Amy hang the prints. It was more fun than shopping.

So come get your Leftovers at the Sockeye Grill and Brewery, which is hosting the silent auction. The bidding starts at $10 for each print. While you are there, have a brew to go with your Leftovers. Amy put in a lot of work to make this happen. Please support the cause.

Double Take

2011-11-25T16:52:00.001-07:00

There are lots of things going on right now (partly why I have been so busy). Last week I helped install Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance's new show, Double Take. It is located at the Boise State Public Radio offices on Park Center Boulevard.

The exhibition consists of original artworks and also a gicleé print of the same artwork. The print may be the exact same size or different. What is a gicleé print? I wrote an entire page of information about that for the exhibit (it's there right as you walk in the door). But the short answer is it is a high quality, archival ink jet print.

As I was hanging the pieces, it was interesting to see the differences between the originals and prints. In some cases, I had to ask the artist which was which. It's a good opportunity to see these together, which I don't think you would be able to see anywhere else. You can decide if you like the original or print better.

I do not have a piece in this show as I did not want to get involved with gicleé prints at this time. The show runs through January 5 and the office hours are Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T14:59:00.001-07:00

The holiday season has sneaked up and ambushed me this year. I have had a busy month and although I am feeling unprepared for the season and have been a bit stressed, I am thankful for the opportunities that have kept me so busy.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. And since the holiday begins with "Thanks", I will start mine with some. I am thankful for:

- family and friends that support me in my artistic endeavors, especially those that have to live in the disaster zone and put up with my cranky moods when I'm stressed.
- patrons who have purchased my artworks or those who have even just enjoyed viewing them.
- you blog readers who come back here again and again to see what I'm up to.
- blog writers whose blogs I enjoy reading and seeing art I might otherwise not.
- for my computer that allows me to connect to people I have not even met yet and makes it so easy for me to express my thanks to the world.
- my Nia and Yoga teachers who make exercise fun and keep me healthy.
- a warm home, clothes on my back, food on my plate.

These are just a few of the so many things I have to be thankful for.

What are you thankful for?

Winter Windows Part 2

2011-11-22T21:04:00.001-07:00

I painted my second window today. Although the thermometer showed a much warmer temperature than Sunday, it felt much colder. It was cloudy and the wind was blowing. I started in the afternoon.

I thought since it took me so long I would enlist Anna's help, since I needed to start after the Zen Bento lunch rush.

Here's Anna working for a few minutes, before she got too cold and had to go inside to have miso soup.

I chose to paint winter fortune cats to go along with the oriental restaurant. They even had a couple of the cats sitting by the register (I didn't know this when I came up with the design). I painted five cats all together.

Four cats are painted on this side above (you can only see three) and one is painted around the corner on the other side.

To make it easy for myself, I drew the cat outline on a piece of paper that I could tape to the inside of the window and trace on the outside. Then I rolled in the white body. After that it was free handing the black outlines and everything else.

You can see they have different colored attire, themes and characters on their tummies. As it was starting to get dark and I was quite cold (do you know how hard it is to paint outlines when your hand is shaking?), I was hurrying at the end to fill in the rest of the colors.

We packed up, got some dinner and went home. I was looking through the pictures and realized one of the mittens that was suppose to be red, didn't get painted. So I went back in the evening and painted it and took these pictures, which turned out better with the flash when it was dark (except for the last one which I did earlier).

Winter Windows

2011-11-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I wasn't the only one working on their window. A gal was working on window next to mine. I thought it was already done, when I arrived. She had worked on it the previous weekend but came back to do more because the owners wanted more color. (I thought it was fine the way it was).

Here is her window.

Winter Windows Part I

2011-11-20T19:34:00.001-07:00

I painted my first of two Winter Windows today. I left around 9:30 a.m. with the temperature around 26 degrees. Somehow I managed to get a good parking spot right next to my business. But when I got our ladder out, I realized it would not be tall enough for me to reach the top of the window. The owner said they were 13' high.

Since I got no answers at home to my phone calls, I drove back to get the bigger ladder. Fortunately, my parking spot was still there when I returned. I hauled out my stuff and got to work.

Phase 1: Tape the windows

Phase 2: After 2-1/2 hours of taping, color in between the lines.

Phase 3: Remove the tape.

Phase 4: Add ornaments.

Front doors.

After four more hours, call it a day. I originally had more ambitious plans with some animals, too. But the signage got in the way and the owner didn't want me to cover up some of her displays that were inside. There are five big trees. They kind of blend in with the surroundings from the view above. Even though it looks simple, it took all day to do it. I hope people enjoy it.

Around Town

2011-11-17T07:43:00.001-07:00

Traffic Box Design

2011-11-14T17:11:00.001-07:00

Some of you that may have seen my Facebook page already know that I have finally visited "my" traffic box to see how the design turned out. I took some pictures and was pleased at how well the stitching shows up. You can even see the texture of the fabric if you are very close. However, they didn't orient it the way I requested, but it is fine.

The bicycles were hand stitched and I really like the hand stitches in the river. They stand out more than the machine stitching. But you can still see the machine stitching.

Each traffic box is a little bit different in structure. They are not all exactly same. This one had some parts that stick out. I liked the mini design this rectangle created.

The colorful rectangles are an abstraction of buildings. They don't really represent specific buildings downtown. But I did hand stitch some initials on different blocks to represent many of the art organizations and supporters based downtown. This one has BCT, representing Boise Contemporary Theatre, stitched at the top of the blue rectangle.

Other initials: BW = Boise Weekly, ICA = Idaho Commission on the Arts, TMP = Trey McIntyre Project, BCAH = Boise City Department of Arts and History. I also did the little symbol that looks like a dancer that is on the Esther Simplot Performing Arts building. You really have to search for them.

I had BAM for the Boise Art Museum, but unfortunately the letters ended up on one of the cracks of the box and you can't really see it. I also had BSU and IDT, which is Idaho Dance Theatre, but I think those got cropped off.

Here is the original again.

Free Motion Stitching Prep

2011-11-12T11:40:00.001-07:00

My last post was a little long. But I wanted to continue a little bit more about how I free motion stitch. Before I actually start stitching on a piece, I often try out design ideas in my sketchbook.

Sometimes I just practice drawing the design in the sketchbook to get the idea of how to do direction changes. Or I practice on a small piece of sandwiched fabric I have near my machine before starting in on the real thing. Sometimes I just start right on the piece.

I haven't stitched the above design on anything yet. I must have changed my mind. But I have recently decided to keep one small sketchbook to use just for drawing stitching designs. I can do my practice runs in it or if I have extra time, I can doodle new designs and variations to have on hand.

I mentioned before that Melody Johnson had posted on her blog about signing your name with free motion stitching on the machine. I do not do this, as the way I sign my name on paper isn't continuous and I just don't think it looks right stitched. Plus, if I did my entire name, it is long.

I decided that I would hand stitch my initials (which is how I sign my paper works) and the year with thread after all the quilting is finished. It looks something like this.

Dyeing some thread while hand dyeing fabrics makes it easier to match the fabric for this purpose.

What Do I Do? Part II

2011-11-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Today's post might be more like how do I do what I do. I'm answering some more of Dianne's questions.
Here's what she asked (referring to Color Fields #14):
"Lisa, how do you do it!? You say you haven't free motion quilted in a while, but this is BEAUTIFUL. I wish you had posted more pictures of the stitching close up on this. Do you go REALLY slow or something? Your stitching isn't as wiggly as most free motion quilting I see (even with professionals). What kind of a machine do you free motion quilt on?"

Another view of the quilting with the piece laying down and sunlight across it.

First, I'll say, "thanks" for thinking my stitching is beautiful. I can guarantee that as I'm working on it, I am noticing every flaw and bobble I make. But it is a good exercise in letting go of perfection and just hoping that overall it looks good.

My machine is a regular home sewing machine; a Pfaff 7550 which I bought used on Ebay years ago. It is holding up pretty well. They no longer make this machine. I think Lisa Call uses a similar machine that is no longer made and I think she bought an extra used one to have on hand in case something ever happens to the other.

While working on the Color Fields series, I was doing mostly just straight stitching for the quilting in the majority of the pieces. That is why when I decided to do some free motion stitching, I said I hadn't done it in a while.

I guess at this point, I have been doing free motion stitching for years and it is a little like riding a bike once you know how to do it. When I first started, my stitching did not look that great. But this is something you really do need to practice at to get better, just like drawing. And it is just drawing with a machine.

Of course as I was learning, I read books and absorbed information on the internet. I can't recall that I have taken any classes specifically relating to how to free motion stitch. I think I tried it and then asked a lot of questions online. I did do a workshop that was about how to chose what kind of designs to quilt on your piece.

When I free motion stitch, I try to remember to put the feed dogs down. Sometimes I forget and it still works with them up. Sometimes that even helps give you some control (depends on the design). On my machine I lower the top tension to almost zero.

I also set my machine to half speed (that way if I accidentally put my pedal to the metal, then it doesn't zoom ahead of me and stays at the set limited top speed). This is recommended in general. Some people like to go faster than that speed and therefore do not use that.

I stitch fairly slowly. So I really never even reach that top half speed limit. I'm probably cruising at about half of that half speed. Most of what I have read says that it is easier to create smooth curves at a faster speed, and in fact, Melody Johnson just wrote a post on her blog about this in regards to free motion stitching your signature (more about this later). This makes sense to me.

However, I have a really hard time going fast. I've tried to go faster, thinking, "Wow, maybe it wouldn't take me so many hours to free motion this whole piece if I could go a little faster." But it doesn't work for me. I need to go slow since I am really figuring out where to go next as I'm stitching. At this point, I can tell when I get the right speed of moving the fabric, coordinated with the right pressure of my foot on the pedal. I don't always get that right at the start.

I also hold my fabric a little differently. I like to grab both the edges and move the piece around. Even with a large piece, I try to find some way to hold it like this. It is the easiest way for me. I can generally just move my hands without big arm movements. Although I think this method is what causes me to get tense in the shoulders.

Maybe it would be easier if I just showed you. Disclaimer: This is my first attempt at a video. I just sewed some scraps together to show you how I do free motion stitching. This stitching isn't as nice, because the fabric is a little looser than the dyed fabrics.

The first video shows a design similar to the one I did in Color Fields #14. The second video is closer to the design I did in Color Fields #13.

Now you can see how slow I stitch and why it takes hours and hours to do a large artwork that has that stitching over the entire piece.

What do I do? Part I

2011-11-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

Dianne M. from Oklahoma asked me some questions in a comment and I thought I would just answer them here in case anybody else is curious about how I do things. I really appreciate your comments, suggestions, honest opinions and support.

The first set of questions in regards to Color Fields #14:
"It's a pretty large piece. Is it a wall hanging? Do you ever make quilts that are actually quilts, like lap quilts or bed quilts? "

Yes, Color Fields #14 is a wall hanging, as are most all my artworks. There is a sleeve attached to the back that you can put a rod through to hang it on the wall.

It is really tricky trying to explain to people about what I do because the word "quilt" comes up and brings up lots of different associations for people. I am an artist that creates artworks that just happen to use quilting techniques in the process.

I have tried different media over the years and didn't come to fabric until my friend invited me to take a quilting class with her. We made a traditional bed size quilt (although I picked some pretty untraditional colors and fabrics). I took a couple of classes and made a couple of quilts.

Then, one day I discovered The Art Quilt book by Robert Shaw.

I was amazed and a light bulb went off inside my head and I thought I could do my art this way. That was in 2001. So I started creating original designs in fabric. I also took a sewing class because my basic knowledge was from middle school home-economics class. I still feel like I don't know that much about sewing in general.

Over the years, I've read books, taken a few workshops, read other art quilters blogs and other sites on the internet and tried to absorb information on different techniques. I started dyeing my own fabrics and have also learned from practice.

In the beginning, I made a few baby quilts and bed quilts for family and friends. They were regular patterns and it was years ago. I have not made an original design bed quilt. I now concentrate on making my own original wall art.

I will answer more of Dianne's questions in my next post: What do I do? Part II

Market Recovery

2011-11-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

I wish I could talk about an exciting stock market recovery, but it is just me recovering from a weekend at the Wintry Market.

I think I was well prepared for the event. (I would hope so after taking a couple of weeks to get ready for it.) The only thing I didn't bring, and I have put this on the market to-bring list (if I decide to do another) is medicine. I had a terrible headache on the second day and asked my husband and daughter to bring me some Excedrin, which they did. And it helped.

Here is what my "booth" looked like all set up. Each vendor had a 6' x 6' space, which I found to be pretty small when I did a trial set-up in my living room. Fortunately, I know one of the organizers and asked if there was any wiggle room. She switched me to the end of a row so I could have a little extra space. I think that worked out better.

The long table is one I rented, but I did put the risers under the legs so it would be easier for people to look at the stuff on the table. The design wall is the one I built. The wood pieces all come apart to make for easier transport. I have a piece of felt hanging from curtain rods, that are also removable.

If I built another one, I would do it a little differently. But this one stood up and worked fine. Plus, I got the wood for free.

The little table on the right is a rolling butcher block that I keep my paper cutter on at home. It ended up being perfect because it has a couple of shelves underneath to keep things. I was also able to load it up to wheel in most of my stuff. I also brought my own chair.

Here's a general view of the event from just inside the entrance to the auditorium. My booth is in the middle of the picture at the back corner of the auditorium. It was fairly packed in there as each of those tables are 6' wide.

They had a little area where kids could make ornaments and a few tables to sit at and have a snack or rest.

And speaking of snack, I'm so glad my booth was not anywhere near these goodies so I would have had to stare at them all day. They all looked wonderful and at the end of the last day, Big City Coffee divvied up what was leftover and passed them out to us vendors. Yum! I thought that was very nice of them.

This was my first time at any kind of event like this. It was a good learning experience. I did a few small sales, got to talk to some people about my artwork and got some new names on my mailing list.

And a big bonus is that I spent some time beforehand attaching labels and sleeves or some kind of hanging unit on the backs of pieces, and getting things put in the clear bags. So, they can all be stored just like that.

My friend, Kathleen, was nice enough to take this picture for me. I was so glad that she was just "around the corner" and not too far away so we could talk when things were a little slow.

One major project down and several more to go this month. I have some button necklaces still and will try to get those in my Etsy shop along with some of these smaller artworks.

To Market, To Market . . .

2011-11-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

that is where I am today and Sunday (10-5 p.m. at 8th and Idaho). I will try to take pictures of my booth and post them here next week. There will be about 30 vendors and lots to see.

Thursday night I decided to make some button pendant necklaces to sell as well. I made one for myself earlier this year (mentioned it here) and thought they might be nice to sell. I have about 20, so you can come down and take a look at the rest (unless they are all gone by then). Here are a couple.

Wintry Market

2011-11-04T05:05:00.000-06:00

I've been working hard the last couple of weeks to get ready for the Wintry Market which is tomorrow, Sat., and Sun. from 10 .am. - 5 p.m. at Ballet Idaho (8th and Myrtle). To make it easy for you, they have posted a little map of vendors on the blog. I hope to see you there. Here is another preview of one of the artworks that will be available.

Untitled

hand dyed and mono-printed fabrics,

machine pieced and quilted

matted image size: 7-1/2" x 4-3/4"

This piece was cut from a larger artwork that I made years ago and decided it wasn't working for me. I added some more stitching and it is matted. I have several more cut from the same artwork.

Some of my friends will also be at the market this weekend:
Kathleen Probst
Rachel Linquist
Reham Aarti
Amy Pence-Brown

First Thursday

2011-11-03T08:51:00.000-06:00

It's First Thursday here in Boise today. Time to go out and view some art. It is your last chance to view Complements: Inspirations in Blue and Orange at the BSU Radio offices on Park Center. The show will be open until 7 p.m. tonight.

I'm going to help you with your art viewing pleasure, right here. Below is my latest acquisition of art from the Studio Art Quilt Association's auction this year. There were several pieces I would have liked to have and I was fortunate to get this one.

Nancy Dobson

High Desert Splendor

approx. 12" x 12"

(image posted with permission of artist)

Look at all the wonderful colors in this piece and I like how Nancy did the all-over stitching. It gives the artwork lots of energy. It seems appropriate that I live in a high desert, although we don't have much red rock.

You can visit Nancy's website to see more of her work.

Print Preview

2011-11-01T16:09:00.000-06:00

Here is a preview of one of the pieces I will have available for sale at the Wintry Market this Sat. and Sun. at Ballet Idaho (10 a.m. - 5 p.m.). It's November and a good time to think about holiday shopping.

This is a mono print I did fairly recently at Wingtip Press' Monotype Monday. It is the Akua ink and I went back into it afterward with some acrylic ink. I will have just a few mono prints for sale at the market.

House and Tree

monoprint on paper with acrylic ink

image size: 6" x 8"

Also, First Thursday is coming up and you can do a drive-by viewing of my traffic box design and three others. Read the news release here. I noticed it, myself, the other day when I drove by the museum, but I have not had a chance to take a good look at it to see how it turned out.

Getting Ready

2011-10-28T11:52:00.000-06:00

This past week I have been busy getting stuff ready for the Wintry Market. This is a fine art and craft event being held at Ballet Idaho (8th and Myrtle streets) Nov. 5 & 6. I will have my smaller artworks for sale there.

I have been preparing artworks for display, building a display wall and cutting mats for some pieces. I don't know why, but it always seems like I have to create a big mess to actually get organized.

Next week I will try to post a preview of some of my works for sale at the event.

Below is some more info. about the Wintry Market event. Put it on your calendars for a little holiday shopping.

On Saturday Nov 5 and Sunday Nov 6, 2011 from 10am-5pm.
Located in the Ballet Idaho Auditorium space on 8th and Myrtle Streets in downtown Boise.

There will be Free Admission to the public during the two days of the sale.

This event will serve as an upscale and inventive indie art/craft show during the holidays. The Market will consist of innovative and original items produced using traditional art/craft methods. There will be diverse crowd of vendors providing items available at Wintry Market; to keep the Fair fresh and exciting! And we pride ourselves as being an affordable marketplace for handmade goods.

We have planned for approximately thirty vendors, visit the blog for the current vendor list.

Organizers: Amy Pence-Brown and Kristin Montgomery.

Website
http://www.wintrymarket.blogspot.com/

Color Fields #12 and #14

2011-10-26T21:13:00.000-06:00

I seem to have trouble keeping track of which pieces of this series I've posted. Somehow, I think #12 got missed.

Color Fields #12

hand dyed fabrics,

machine pieced and machine quilted

13" x 13-1/4"

And here is #14. This is the piece of which I gave you a sneak peek at the quilting.

Color Fields #14

hand dyed fabrics,

machine pieced and machine quilted

41-1/2" x 36"

Color Fields Continued

2011-10-24T22:19:00.001-06:00

Here is another piece in the Color Fields series. I tried something a little bit different on this piece for this series. I used variegated threads for the quilting. It really stands out. What do you think about it?

Color Fields #13

hand dyed fabric, machine pieced,

free motion stitching

27" x 26-3/4"

Detail of stitching

Color Fields Revisited

2011-10-20T07:35:00.000-06:00

This Color Fields series has been occupying my attention for quite a while. I think I'm ready to move on to something different now. Although I said that before and ended up having more ideas.

I don't think I ever got around to showing you the finished version of Color Fields #4. I showed you it before quilting here. But here is the finished piece.

Color Fields #4

hand dyed fabrics,

machine pieced and quilted

34-1/2" x 66-3/4"

Autumn Light

2011-10-18T18:38:00.004-06:00

Akua Inks on Fabric

2011-10-17T11:09:00.005-06:00

Last Monday, I did another Monotype Monday session at Wingtip Press. It was my third time working with the Akua inks. The first was learning about them in a workshop with Melanie Yazzie. The second was a Monotype Monday session where I decided to try printing on fabric. And the third, was last week.

I did not bring any fabric to print on this last week. But I did get out my previous mono-printed fabrics to try "fixing" the ink. I had heat set them with an iron, but on a few I had gone back and added some color with colored pencils that needed to be fixed.

I thought I would try mixing matte medium with water and coating the fabric with that. I mixed quite a bit of water with the medium. When I put it on the first piece, I realized I could not brush it across as the ink smeared somewhat. So, I pounced the mixture on. Thinking the mixture was too runny, I added some more medium. But the next piece was about the same.

After a while, I decided to try straight acrylic medium on the fabric. It seemed a little better. Eventually, I decided to get a piece of mono-printed fabric, cut it into sections and test different fixatives on the pieces. Yes, I should have done this at the very beginning (maybe even before printing a whole bunch of fabric), but I am still learning.

Here is a photo of the cut up piece.

This fabric was heat set with the iron before I cut it up. The skinny strip is the original fabric with nothing else done to it. The first section on the left was sprayed with a fixative that you use for drawings, pastels, etc. Then I rinsed it under water with my hands agitating it. Some of the color was removed (and it actually is a little lighter on the fabric than what it looks like in the picture).

The second large section was just rinsed under water the same way with no fixative added. Some color was also removed. The smaller section in the upper right corner had matte medium mixed with water applied to it and then rinsed. There is a little bit more of the color removed. The bottom right section had matte medium directly applied to it (with no water added) and some of the color still came off, although not as much.

My conclusion is that some of the ink gets absorbed by the fabric, but then some of the ink might just "sit" on top of the fabric and that is what gets removed when adding any kind of liquid to the fabric. How much the particles bond to the fabric, I have no idea. I don't know if more ink would come off with continual washing as I have not tried that yet. Also, I do not know how light fast it is on the fabric as I have not done any testing of that either.

The other thing I could try is to soak the fabric in soda-ash water and let dry before printing on it. The soda-ash helps dye bond with the fibers of the fabric, maybe it would help the ink bond. However, the dyeing is a chemical reaction and the Akua inks are water-based (which makes them so nice to use), so it may not make a difference.

Therefore, I think I will only use paper for the Akua ink mono-printing for now. I will add stitching to the fabric pieces on which I added colored pencil and finish them. (By the way, it didn't seem like any of the colored pencil came off after fixing and washing, but it is a little hard to tell). They still have quite a bit of color and the thread will add more. The pieces where I just created patterns on the fabric, I'm going to try running through the washing machine and see what happens.

Has anyone else tried the Akua inks on fabrics?

New Kitchen

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

The painting of the kitchen is complete. I think I was unclear in my first post about the kitchen and wallpaper removal. I did not do any of the work myself. I did not want to tackle that wallpaper on the ceiling.

I did ask the painters to leave all the plastic up and cabinets covered when they were done so I could sand the butcher block counter (you see under the large window) without dust getting into everything. That meant that I did have to remove all the tape and plastic from everything, and touch up the edges.

I have done the touch-up, cleaned all the cabinets and counters and mopped the floor. The kitchen has not been this clean since we moved in (and probably wasn't this clean when we moved in. The previous owners weren't considerate in leaving a clean house behind.) Frank will be replacing all the outlets (which we have been meaning to do for several years), which is why none of them have covers on them.

We are planning to get new shades for the windows and glass door. We also have some glass in the cabinet doors shown below that needs to be replaced with something more modern and less country.
I'd also like to get a new sink and faucet (not this little bar sink in the picture below).

I'm not sure how well the color actually translates in these pictures. We did one wall with the lighter color as an accent wall and also because I didn't want the area under that cabinet to be too dark. I wanted a mocha-like color for the main walls, but the color we picked has a lot of orange in it. I like it very much and it goes with the rest of the house much better now.

For a while now, I have been looking for two comfy, smallish arm chairs to put in the kitchen. I haven't found any yet within my price range and/or that are easily available. For now, I just took two chairs from our deck and brought them inside (since they would be put away for the winter anyway).

We used to have a wicker settee with a coffee table in this location for a long time, even though the area is meant for a small eating table. I noticed when people were visiting our house, everybody ended up in the kitchen and I wanted them to have a place to sit. Besides, we eat at the counter or in the dining room.

The settee was nice for two people to sit on, or Anna could lay down on it when she was little. It was white and not really our style, but it was what we could find at the time. Eventually, I removed the coffee table and then decided the settee had to go to. That's when I started looking for chairs, occasionally. In the mean time, I just put one chair similar to these in that spot, along with the little table. It's a nice place to sit.

Now, I guess I need to step up the search for some armchairs. Although Anna thought these were just fine. I'm also trying to decide what artwork(s) I want to put on the wall.

I'm glad we are back to a fully functional kitchen now.

Quilting Close-up

2011-10-12T10:25:00.000-06:00

I really want to show you all some art. But I need to set up a photo shoot and get some pictures first. I have been working on some things. So here is a close-up of the quilting on Color Fields #14. There is a lot of close stitching on this one and on Color Fields #13, of which I am working on right now.

I realize I haven't done this much free-motion stitching in a while. My shoulders get really tense when I do this kind of stitching.

I will post the finished kitchen pictures tomorrow.

Thick Dye

2011-10-10T21:44:00.000-06:00

Last week I tried using thickened dyes for the first time. I tried it on some silk organza. I was in a bit of a hurry to make sure I was doing it on our last really warm day and, therefore, didn't really have a great set-up. But here are some of the pieces. I drew lines with a squirt bottle.

Below are two pieces side by side.

Since I used organza, when I layer them I can create new patterns. These are three separate pieces.

This is a piece that I just folded back on itself at a 90 degree angle. There are lots of possibilities to create patterns by layering several pieces.

The last one is two different colors layered on top of each other.

I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with these. But hopefully, I will find a use for them sometime.

Patio Finished

2011-10-06T06:30:00.000-06:00

I guess I haven't shown you the finished outside project. Here are pictures of the finished patio with a fire ring. We are happy with how it turned out. But we still have work to do getting things rebuilt, replanted and back in order.

We are planning to have a gas line run to the fire pit. I think it will be very nice to just be able to turn it on and off, just like a gas fireplace. I don't think we will probably be able to use it this year.

Kitchen Work

2011-10-05T06:30:00.000-06:00

Even though there is still a mess from our outside project, this week we started a new inside project. Finally, we are having the wall paper removed from the kitchen and the walls painted.

We have lived here for 13-1/2 years and with the wallpaper that was here when we arrived. Why have we not tackled this sooner? Because they decided to put wallpaper on the ceiling! Since we have done a lot of the remodeling in our house ourselves, this ceiling is something we have avoided. (All these pictures were taken after I had removed everything from the counter and walls. It is never this neat.)

The wallpaper is not so bad that it is not livable (obviously, we have been living with it for a long time). But country, eighties is not our style. This year I just had enough of it and decided we needed to just have someone else take care of removing the wallpaper and painting. That's what is happening this week.

Don't you just love the border with hearts? So not our style! Hopefully, I will have some "after" pictures soon.

Masters Art Quilts Vol. 2

2011-10-04T06:30:00.000-06:00

Have you seen this book? I was fortunate to win a copy on one of the blogs Lark Crafts had on their blog hop to promote the book. It was so exciting for me to win this book. I have since received it and have read it already. It is a really nice book with lots of great pictures.

I was familiar with some of the artists in the book, but many were new to me. There are 40 artists and each has a one page essay written about their work by Martha Sielman. Then there are up to nine pages of artwork images for each artist. Some image pages also contain quotes from the artists themselves.

It was interesting to read how they worked. Quite a few used raw edge appliqué. I like to piece my work because I like that nice graphic line. I always think it would be quicker to work with an appliqué technique. But I digress. There are many different techniques and styles represented in the book.

Now, I think I need to get the Vol. 1 book.

Working Studio

2011-10-03T06:30:00.000-06:00

I thought I would give you a glimpse of my sewing studio while it is being used. It is a bit chaotic. Last week I was working on the quilting for the piece you see lying next to the sewing machine. It is on top of a piece of white foam core that is clipped to my sewing table and another little table against the wall.

This "bridge" works pretty well for quilting bigger pieces. Some day I hope to get a harder board and attach a small piece of wood to my sewing cabinet to support it. That way it will lay flush with the table and there will be no bump as there is with my foam core.

On the design wall there are a couple of finished Color Fields pieces and a few that still need to be quilted.

Concert #2

2011-10-02T21:58:00.000-06:00

Last night Anna and I went to see the Plain White T's in concert (her second rock concert) at the Knitting Factory in downtown Boise. I have never been there before. It is a fairly small venue. It's an all ages place, unless they specify otherwise for certain events. Anna got two big black x's marked on the backs of her hands because she was under 21. I got the yellow wrist band to indicate that I'm slightly over 21 and could purchase alcohol.

There were a few tables, but of course we did not get there early enough to stand at the front of the line to get one (they may have already been taken by VIP people anyway). No cameras were allowed, but I did take a picture of Anna with my cell phone. We found a table upstairs to sit at while the three opening acts were playing (I think one would have been plenty). You can see some of the technical equipment and the lights above the stage behind Anna. It was after 10 p.m. before the Plain White T's made it to the stage.

At that point we did go downstairs so we could see them, but had to stand in the "pit" the whole time. They rocked and I didn't mind standing because then you could dance a little and you could actually see their faces. The majority of the people in attendance appeared to be females under 21.

At one point, the lead singer asked how many people were old enough to go out after the show. A few of us "old" folks raised our hands. Then he asked how many people were young enough to still have fun without drinking. That was everyone else.

I'm glad we got to see them, but both of us were really tired today.

Thread Colors

2011-10-01T12:38:00.000-06:00

I forgot to get some thread ready to dye along with the fabrics I dyed. I still had some dye leftover and decided to go ahead and do some threads, even though they won't match. I didn't have any white DMC to use, but still had some white perle cotton thread in size 8 and 12. Below are the colors, most of which are variegated.

Dyed Colors

2011-09-28T08:45:00.000-06:00

I finally have all the dyed fabric ironed and folded. The first photo shows the few pieces I did flat on the table. The second yellowish color and the brown are not very solid at all. The two color piece does have some lines from the plastic which you can't see from this picture.

The next picture shows the colors I did in containers, but the fabric was pre-soaked in soda ash because I thought I was going to do mostly the flat dyeing.

I also pulled out some of my previously dyed fabrics that I didn't think I would use because of the color, too much mottling or that were too similar to another piece and over-dyed those. I dyed them the way I usually do in a container with Ann Johnston's method. (The soda ash water is poured on the fabric after the dye.) I'm much happier with those pieces now.

The last photo is all of them together. Now I hope these and what I have in my stash will last me until next summer.

Sheer Dyeing

2011-09-27T07:46:00.000-06:00

Probably about a year ago I purchased some silk organza to try some of the methods Melanie Testa has in her book Inspired to Quilt. I did not get around to doing anything with that organza, until now. A while ago I had an idea for an installation artwork using the silk organza. I thought that shibori dyeing would achieve what I had in mind for my idea.

I have not worked with dyeing silk or any kind of sheer fabric. I have also not done any shibori techniques, but have read about it. So I found a PVC pipe we had, cut a piece of the organza, wrapped it around the pole, squished the fabric to one end, secured with rubber bands and stuck it in a bucket of dye.

It was a bit hard to get the fabric to slide down the pole (I didn't put the rubber bands on until after I had squished a little section of the fabric down the pole, then squished some more and put another rubber band, etc.). It was thin and just didn't want to slide easily. The dye I had in the bucket looked brown, but when I put the fabric in, it looked more red, like burgundy. Silk takes dyes differently than cotton. However, when it was rinsed and dried, it looks like black.

It is an interesting pattern. Not the color I had envisioned, but I have learned something. I'm sure I will eventually be able to use it for something. As far as my installation idea, it's not quite the look I was going for. I think I will try some paint on the organza or try drawing with thickened dye. Don't know when I will get to that.

I still don't have all my fabrics ironed but a couple of them were piled together and I thought the color combination was interesting. Quite different from the black sheer above.

End of Summer

2011-09-25T14:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Boise had a record high of 101 degrees. I guess summer wasn't going down without a fight. I knew it was going to be hot near the end of the week (didn't know it was going to be that hot!) and decided to dye my last roll of PFD fabric.

I wanted to try the flat dyeing method I had read about on Simply Robin's blog. So I purchased some plastic and clamps at Home Depot. After a few layers, I realized this wasn't working so well for me. Even though I had bought a somewhat heavy plastic, there were still folds and crease marks from being rolled up that would leave lines on the fabric no matter how many times I rolled over it with a roller.

The last layer I did, I tried the two color method ala Melody Johnson (scroll to bottom for flat dyeing). The rest I did my usual way in containers. I don't have them all washed out and ironed yet, but the container ones ended up more solid than my flat dyeing ones. There must be a trick I don't know. Or it could be that I did not fold my fabrics in half as Robin does. I used my cutting table and cut the fabrics slightly smaller than a yard to fit.

What I learned: I thought maybe the flat method would be faster and easier. Maybe it would be if you were well practiced at it. But it wasn't for me. I also didn't like the dripping off the edges, but couldn't adjust the dye well enough to cover the fabric but not drip off (my driveway also slants some and that probably did not help).

I don't need a completely solid color. I like some variations in the fabric, just not major obvious marks. I can get a solid color good enough for me in the container method. I might try the flat dyeing again with the fabric folded, but we'll see.

As I get the rest of the fabric ironed and folded, I will share it here with you. I have also been getting the other Color Fields pieces quilted and will get those posted as well. With the patio construction, end of summer dyeing and usual life happenings, I feel like my blog has been slightly ignored.

Pretty Things Outside the House

2011-09-21T08:04:00.000-06:00

Despite the mess of the construction zone, there are some pretty things outside our house right now, too.

Outside the House

2011-09-20T08:02:00.000-06:00

There have been some things going on outside the house here for the last couple of weeks that has garnered much of our attention. On the side of the house we had a big wooden deck with some benches. Instead of replacing the wood, as we would have had to do eventually, we've had the deck removed, as well as the small concrete pad that was underneath it. Below is a picture after that has been removed.

We also had to take out some stairs from the upper deck and remove walls from the small shed that was underneath.

Dirt has been moved around and rock brought in as a retaining wall and steps.

The forms have been laid (you can see behind the chair) for concrete to be poured. It will be stamped and colored to match the rocks. The large cylinder will eventually be a gas fire pit, but it won't be that tall. In the end, we will have a nice patio.

There will be more work for us to do, though. We will have to re-do sprinklers around the area, put in some new plants, rebuild the shed and stairs and do some paving to connect the patio to the driveway. More stuff on the to-do list!

I will post more pictures when it is completed.

It's Here

2011-09-15T08:21:00.000-06:00

My new Mac Book arrived a few days ago. I will have to learn a lot to adjust to this new system. I don't have much experience with Apple products. I have an obsolete iPod 4G Nano. I've played Angry Birds on Frank's iPad2. But the one thing I have noticed is that I think they are brilliant in the way they package their products. It is almost a work of art in itself.

When my box arrived, I had one side with tape that I needed to slice to open it. Then here is how it looked inside.

No peanuts, extra stuff - just very neat and clean. I am using my Mac now. But still have more to figure out. New programs to get. I'm disappointed because I cannot get Microsoft Publisher for the Mac. I believe my husband said I could before I decided on a computer. That is the program I use the most. Any suggestions for substitutes?

The other thing I'm trying to get use to is the keypad. The buttons are flatter than on a regular keyboard and it is hard to type on it with long fingernails. My fingernails are usually long because I just let them grow until one of them breaks, then I trim them all. The keypad also seems a little closer together ( but maybe it's not in reality). Also, there is a delete button, which is equivalent to a backspace button on our other keyboard, but not a button that will delete the character in front of the cursor (like the delete button on our regular keyboard). I used both buttons before but now will just have to get used to the one button on the Mac.

I was hoping that Blogger would function better on the Mac, but it doesn't. I still have to go back and forth between the new and old editor to be able to get the pictures to load.

As with any change, there are new things to get use to.

Guardian

2011-09-12T14:38:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was Art in the Park, the Boise Art Museum's big fundraising event. I was working last week to help get it set up.

Since my parents were coming into town on Saturday, we waited to go to the event until Sunday, so they could attend, too. I forgot to bring my camera. My mom took some pictures, but they left for Yellowstone today. So the only picture I have is of my newly acquired artwork.

This is a picture of my Guardian of Flights of Fancy by Mary Ennes Davis. This was her third year at the show. The first year I saw her pieces, I really loved them, but didn't feel like I could spend the money to get one (I think I posted a picture of one on my blog). The next year, I thought, "I should really get one." But once again the price scared me away (most likely because I was probably thinking I could make myself one. That's not always the best way of thinking).

This year my mom fell in love with them as well. I had already purchased her Christmas present earlier at another artist booth, and she offered to buy me a Guardian for my Christmas present. Oh yea! It took me a while to decide on which one to get, because I liked several (so did my mom). The writing that goes with this one is "This spirit is filled with ideas and imagination." Perfect. (Maybe next year I can get one that gives energy to work on all those ideas.)

So, my Guardian came to me on 9/11 and the artist started creating these guardians after 9/11 for family and friends as a way to protect and honor loved ones. She made them to fit into stockings, which is why they are long and skinny (my guardian has long chopstick legs even though I cut them off in the picture). You can read the full story on her website and see more guardians (although she said those were all sold. But if you are interested in one, just email her and she will send you pictures of what's available).

Now, she makes all different sizes, instead of just those that fit in stockings.

Computers

2011-09-09T14:06:00.002-06:00

Today we are surrounded by computers. They are portable and we can even carry them in our backpacks or purses. Technology has advanced so quickly in my lifetime.

I'm not sure I even knew what a computer was in elementary school. They probably did teach us about the first computers that took up large rooms, but I don't remember. Our high school did have a computer lab, but I think it was mostly geeky students that took classes and used them. There was a guy I knew that even got paid (I think) to do some computer work outside of school. Since my passion was in art, I didn't have anything to do with the computers there.

I went to a liberal arts college and my majors of art and business did not require that we had to have a computer of our own. Of course we used computers for classes like accounting and I even took a class on computer programming (which readily verified that I was not much of a geek and did not have much patience for dealing with a computer). But there were computers at school we could use.

During my Junior and Senior years at college, I lived in a house with six other girls. One of them had had a computer since freshman year and she was nice enough to let us all use it (the house computer). As the end of a semester would approach, we actually had to schedule time to use it as we all would have papers to write and projects to work on. We managed (sharing - what a concept!).

Right after college, I got married. Frank was required to have a computer for his engineering degree and that is what we had for awhile. Over the years, he has been in charge of purchasing and maintaining the computers (since he works in the industry) and we only had one computer.

Anna started using the computer when she was two. But as she has grown, we have still shared one. Eventually Frank purchased a laptop to take with him when he travels. So as Anna spent more time on the computer and was required to do homework assignments on them, we have had two to use. Sometimes on weekends, I would not be able to use either computer as they would both be occupied. It wasn't a big deal to me most of the time. I would try to do important stuff during the week while they were at school and work.

Over a year ago, Windows crashed on our desktop computer (which is about eight years old) and would no longer function. Frank knew he could keep the desktop functioning with Linux and that is what we use on it now. Of course, it is something new for me to adjust to and we don't have all the software that is equivalent to the Windows versions I like to use.

We still have Windows on the laptop, so for some time I have been going back and forth between the two. Both have access to an external hard drive which makes the switching a little bit easier.

Last year, Anna decided she wanted a Mac for Christmas. Santa brought her a Mac Book (which they now no longer make). She has been using it since. Frank has been very impressed with it. I have never used hers.

Now we have three computers in the house. To me that seems reasonable with three people living here. Some of my family members have been urging me to get my own computer as they know I am getting increasingly frustrated with switching between two different ones. But I kept thinking, "Isn't that excessive? We already have three (plus the recent addition of an iPad2 of which I have also had minimal use). Do we really need to get another computer?"

The answer is "no." But I have finally gotten to the point where I want my own. So, we have ordered a Mac Book Pro laptop for me. Since Frank was so impressed with the Mac, I figured I would get one. I would have a new learning curve anyway if he decides to replace our old desktop, so that is what I chose.

I wanted a desktop Mac, but when Anna and I visited the store, the screens looked so big to me. I asked if they had anything smaller and they said the smallest they make is the 21" screen. That was too big for me, so I looked at the lap tops. I am getting the 17" screen. We ordered a refurbished one and it has yet to arrive.
It is my first computer of my very own. I hope I like it.

Are you a Mac or PC and why?

New Work

2011-09-03T11:36:00.000-06:00

Because I create my art with fabric and a sewing machine, it is hard for me to work on art while on vacation. I always try to have some small handwork ready that I can bring with me to work on. Of course I always bring my sketchbook and do sketches if I want. I've also brought a small sketchbook and a travel size watercolor kit. But watercolor is not really my thing. Therefore, I don't do a lot of creating when I travel.

It was the same for this past trip to Long Island, but I was able to finish the bindings on three little plant-a-day pieces, finish the hand stitching on the piece below and start another small work that will only be hand stitching (although who knows when it might get completed now that I have access to the sewing machine again).

It was with great contentment that I was able to get back to work in my own studio this past week. It felt so comfortable and right where I belong. Before we left, I thought I had completed the Color Fields series, at least for a while. But my mind had other ideas and I have pieced two new Color Fields works, and another in progress, this past week. I'm still trying to decide how to do the quilting on the first two while I'm designing the third.

Deep Spaces

2011-09-02T09:25:00.000-06:00

Back in April I gave you a sneak peek of a piece I was working on, which I later told you was accepted into the show Deep Spaces. Now I am revealing the entire piece. It was inspired by our trip to Ireland.

Deep Within the Forest
hand dyed and commercial fabrics,
machine pieced, machine and fused and applique,
machine quilted
45" x 18"
© 2011 Lisa Flowers Ross

The show is split for the Latimer and Edmonds locations (my piece will be at the Edmonds location) but will be seen in its entirety in the other locations. Here's the info:

Deep Spaces
A Textile and Mixed Media Exhibit

Curator Larkin Jean Van Horn selected the theme "Deep Spaces" following a conversation with friends about the limits of space and the photography from the Hubble telescope. While it was clear that textile art dealing with the cosmos would be an appealing exhibit, the title implied so much more. Artists interested in participating in the exhibit were encouraged to interpret the theme in any manner that suited them, and the entries were outstanding. The artists went deep into space, deep underground, deep under water, deep into the woods, canyons and prairies, and deep into the mysteries of the heart. Each artist worked in her own style, whether photorealism or pure abstraction or something in between. Holding all this wide variety together is a common size (18 inches wide by 45 inches long).

The task of choosing the fifty pieces in the exhibit from the hundred-plus submitted fell to Larkin and two other highly experienced textile artists, Debra Calkins and Anne Niles Davenport. For one of the venues (Latimer), Larkin also invited several artist friends to create three-dimensional works for an existing display case. In the final total, we have 58 works from 19 states and two international entries.

In line with Larkin's desire to do good in the world wherever possible, a catalog has been created for this exhibit, and will be for sale in disk format, either at the exhibit venues or from the Deep Spaces website: http://www.deep-spaces.com, or in book form from Blurb: http://www.blurb.com. (A direct link will be available on deep-spaces.com when it is ready.) All proceeds from the sale of the catalogs will go to Doctors Without Borders.

Dates and venues:

September 5 to November 6, 2011
Latimer Quilt and Textile Center
2105 Wilson River Loop Road - Tillamook, Oregon
http://latimerquiltandtextile.com/
Opening Reception: Sept. 11, 2011, Noon to 4:00 pm
28 textile art and 8 special 3D pieces

October 20 to November 30, 2011
Edmonds Conference Center
201 Fourth Ave. N. - Edmonds, Washington
http://www.edmondsconferencecenter.com/
ArtsCrush Opening: Oct. 20, 2011, 5:00 to 8:00 pm
Art Walk Opening: Nov. 17, 2011, 5:00 to 8:00 pm
22 textile art

January 10 to March 12, 2012
Sam Houston University Museum
19th St and Avenue N, Huntsville, Texas
http://www.shsu.edu/~smm_www/GenInfo/
Opening Reception: January 19, 2012, 5:30 to 7:30 pm

March 28 to June 24, 2012
LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum
700 Second Street, La Conner, Washington
http://www.laconnerquilts.com/
Opening Reception: March 31, 2012, 2:00 to 4:00 pm

Orange

2011-09-01T07:50:00.000-06:00

Today is another Twelve by Twelve reveal day for their latest color challenge, orange. This is also the last in this round of challenges. The orange color choice coincided nicely with the Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance blue and orange show. I made a piece that would work for both. So here is my play-along orange piece and it is also one of the pieces in the Complements show.

Here it is in the Complements: Inspiration in Blue and Orange show.

Be sure to go to the Twelve by Twelve site and check out the oranges.

A Few More

2011-08-31T09:12:00.003-06:00

We took one day of our vacation to visit Greenport. I made the others go into a few galleries. This rug hooked piece was in one of them. There is something about wool rug hooked pieces that really appeal to me, although I don't own any. I thought this one was really nice. I forgot to record the artist's name.

We also took a visit to the black smith shop, which was open. I think it is a historic building. We watched a demonstration by the black smith. He make a hook and told us about some of the tools. Below is part of the manual drill press. I like the shape of the gears and old fashioned look of the words.

We also spent some time visiting some of the many wineries that are on the island. I like the lines that the vines create in the picture below.

Someone had created a beach sculpture from driftwood on one of the beaches we visited.

More Vacation Pix

2011-08-30T09:52:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite things to do while at Mattituck is to go for a kayak ride early in the morning before too many people are out on the bay. Another favorite thing I like to do there is read books. I managed to read nine (on real paper, not on an e-reader) over the course of our vacation.

Frank and Ben did some fishing and caught some snapper. Frank cooked up a few for lunch, but the review was not overwhelmingly fantastic. Frank and Ben also managed to repair the row boat seat and set it on its maiden voyage for the year. Their snorkeling discovery was a puffer fish.

We all enjoyed sitting and chatting on the beach, swimming, floating, sailing, drag netting as well as several nights taking a walk down to the Magic Fountain ice cream shop.

They had many flavors, some of which were very unusual. Anna tried the lavender ice cream, as well as the sweet corn ice cream. I tried the kulfi ice cream which is based on an Indian dessert (as I was told) that has pistachio, cardamon and sweet cream (I think). I also tried a bite of the hazelnut biscotti, but didn't order any.

Vacation Pix

2011-08-29T13:50:00.000-06:00

It's been just over a week now that we have been back from our vacation on Long Island. I'm glad we got back before the hurricanes decided to start rolling in. We enjoyed our time on the bay and with Frank's family.

Anna got to enjoy more time with her cousins.

Ben, Jessica, Anna and Alexandra

What Anna did not enjoy was her first experience of being stung by a jellyfish (note: remedy for jellyfish sting is distilled vinegar and baking soda). She said it was quite painful.

Alexandra attending Anna after jellyfish incident.

When we first arrived, there was a small Bobcat backhoe in the yard as a new bulkhead had just been put in (and now has been tested by the hurricane). Regulations require ten feet in from the bulkhead must be sand. So a big pile of sand was brought in, which the guys decided they would spread out instead of hiring someone else to do it.

Frank relaxing on his vacation.

The girls were busy doing something else while the hard labor was taking place.

Beach babes: Alexandra, Jessica, Anna

Getting What You Wish For

2011-08-25T09:11:00.016-06:00

Yesterday I was asked to come to the museum for a meeting about Art in the Park and the construction zone that we will need to work around. We were in Julia Davis Park looking at bright orange construction fencing and other assorted materials. After the meeting as we were heading back inside, I looked at one of the artworks that is hanging on the outside of the museum building near the back and saw a plastic baggie attached to the face of the piece.

My first reaction, based on over fifteen years of helping install artwork and handling it, was "What the heck is that on that piece of art? It shouldn't be there." As I got closer I could read some words written on the baggie, "Free Art".

I removed the bag from the museum artwork (no harm was brought to either artwork in the making of this transaction) and kept my new Free Art. In the past, I had read about artists leaving artwork around to be found by anybody paying attention to their surroundings. And I thought, "I wish I could find some artwork like that." Now, my wish has come true!

Below is my complimentary artwork, a pencil drawing on paper done by local artist, Ben Wilson (his blog). Written on the back is Frack Attack, which I'm guessing is the title. I think it's going in my studio.

Thanks Ben!

Sneak Peek

2011-08-24T15:06:00.000-06:00

Today I finished installing the Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance latest exhibition, Complements: Inspirations in Blue and Orange. It is not a Boise State or Bronco show. The exhibition committee chose the color scheme as a nod to our wonderful host, the Boise State Public Radio Offices. This is our second show in their space.

The opening reception is tomorrow evening (Thursday, Aug. 25) from 5 - 8 p.m. The address is 220 E. Park Center Blvd. Come check out the show. If you can't make it, the show runs through Nov. 4 and you can visit during office hours 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mon. - Fri.

Rachel Linquist's Red-Haired Cloth Doll with Glasses invites you to come to the exhibition.

Visiting

2011-08-23T17:44:00.000-06:00

We are back from visiting family on Long Island for the last two weeks. It was a good trip with lots of time in the water. Anna enjoyed time with her cousins. Now, it's time to jump right back into the swing of things such as school, volleyball practices, installing new shows and all the other work involved in returning home.

I hope to share more pictures of the trip with you this week. It has already been a busy one.

Quote of the Day

2011-08-19T11:52:00.000-06:00

"Freed from the pressure of haste. . . I found myself looking more closely at what went on around me."

-Colin Fletcher

More Background Stitching

2011-08-17T11:49:00.002-06:00

On this plant-a-day drawing, I just did some echo quilting in the background because I really liked the shapes of the leaves.

More Background Stitching

2011-08-15T11:45:00.002-06:00

Here is another plant-a-day drawing with the background stitching. It might be hard to see but it is a light color thread in a zig-zag stitch similar to what is on the main parts of the plant.

Plant-a-day Revisited

2011-08-13T11:39:00.001-06:00

Do you remember my plant-a-day stitch drawings from earlier in the year? I got out a few to finish off. I did some stitching in the background and will put a very small black binding on the edges. I think they look better with the background stitching.

Above is one of them with the stitching. It has been a long time since I have done any stippling (meandering stitching). I like the variegated thread in this one.

More Color Fields

2011-08-11T09:53:00.002-06:00

I don't think I ever showed you Color Fields #11. As I look at this piece, for some reason I feel like it needs to be stretched on canvas stretcher bars. For now, it is staying the way it is. I think that it isn't quite how I first envisioned it. So maybe I will do another version.

Camping Pictures

2011-08-08T09:05:00.002-06:00

Here are some inspirational pictures (at least to me) from our camping weekend.

Craters of the Moon

I really like the lines in this one.

Miscalculations

2011-08-05T08:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I dropped off my traffic box piece to the place that will scan/photograph it and turn it into the vinyl that will go around the box. After showing the person my diptych (each piece approx. 2' x 3'), she said it looked a little long. She measured and entered numbers in the computer and said, in total, it is about 10" too long.

That was a big bummer for me since I had spent so much time trying to get the lines to match on the edges on both sides. Now I'm not so sure they will match up on any side.

She asked if I had gone by the measurements. Yes, I had the numbers that were printed on the sheet I was given. We were told we could make two pieces up to 2' x 3'. I did the math to scale it up proportionally (and I'm pretty good at math). But then she asked if I had taken into account the little dotted lines on the drawing that represented their "bleed" (wiggle room).

No, I didn't because there were no numbers for that and I'm not sure it was mentioned in our overall meeting. Well, it will just be what it is because I cannot redo the piece. Live and learn. Unfortunately, this is learning the hard way. I just hope it looks o.k. when they are done with it. They have to make the vinyl into four pieces for the box.

I didn't take a photo of the piece before I dropped it off. But I will post it sometime- maybe the before picture of the actual piece and the after picture of it on the traffic box.

Sports Break

2011-08-04T14:33:00.000-06:00

We are already a few days into August and autumn is just around the corner. Today I saw the Boise State football team outside practicing as I drove by a practice field. There is already talk in the newspaper of the BCS rankings.

My nephew, Ben, is a big sports fan. So while they were here, I suggested Frank take them to see the Boise State blue turf. Frank was able to take some time off and he did a good job as activities director (as I was trying to finish up some pieces for a deadline). One day they did go to BSU.

On campus, they were able to go onto the practice field. Ben threw a ball to see how far he could throw. I hear it was close to 50 yards. Pretty good for a pitcher, but I don't think the catcher would like it.

They checked out some nice trophies,

saw the blue turf,
and went to the bookstore. Good thing Ben was wearing the appropriate colored shirt.

Peoples Visit

2011-08-01T22:19:00.000-06:00

My sister-in-law and her family came from Florida to visit us this past week. We did lots of activities. One we decided to do was to take our niece and nephew on their first camping trip (their parents came, too).

We drove to the Sawtooth Mountains and set up camp outside of Stanley. We were lucky to find a spot.

The Peoples in Idaho: Mary, Jessica, Allen and Ben.

After setting up camp we went to Redfish lake to try some fishing. Didn't catch anything.

Back at camp we cooked dinner, played in the river, had s'mores and sat in the cars and watched it rain and hail. After that, the fire was out and we got ready for bed, just in time to get in our tents and watch (and hear) major lightening, thunder and rain, for quite a long time.

Since it was a bit wet in the morning, we decided to pack up the gear and get breakfast in Stanley. After a nice big, dry breakfast, we headed over to Craters of the Moon, where it began raining as we started our exploration of the area. It continued raining quite heavily while we ate our muffins (our not-well-planned lunch) at the visitors center. It continued to rain and the ranger said that was the forecast for the next four days. We decided to head home.

It has been years since I have been to Craters of the Moon. The area was very cool and I did manage to take some pictures during our brief visit. We drove back to Boise were it was sunny and 97 degrees. I think we provided the full camping experience for our visitors. But I don't think they believe us when we tell them we don't get much rain here.

Hurdles

2011-07-24T13:34:00.000-06:00

Last week I spent a lot of time working on my piece for the traffic box project. I spent most of yesterday working on it, too (except for a brief period of helping the neighbor pick cherries off his tree. He had a bumper crop this year and now I have five bags of cherries to "process").

This project has been about jumping hurdles along the way. I submitted a drawn design but then I actually had to figure out how to make it. One of the hurdles that took me a while to figure out was how to inset a piece with several different right angles. As you see in the picture below, I wanted the green piece to be all one piece with no seams.

There are a couple rough points (which I hope I can smooth out in the quilting), but not bad for not having done that before. (This pictures is actually oriented upside down).

Another hurdle, which I mentioned before, was trying to get the lines of some things to match up on both sides. I've done the best I could on this matter but have to wait til all the quilting is done and trimming and edging to see how close they are.

Yesterday I started doing some hand stitching, before the quilting. I was purposely trying to make my stitches different sizes and with different angles, but was finding it hard to do that. Then I started working on the quilting. I'm doing free motion quilting and am thinking that when this gets enlarged the "quilt police" will look at it and say "Her stitches are uneven." I'm getting over that mental hurdle but reminding myself that most people looking at it won't be sewers or quilters.

I am trying to jump the last hurdle of time, because I am trying to finish this before our visitors arrive on Tuesday afternoon. I'm not quite a third of the way done with the quilting on both pieces of the diptych. Wish me luck.

Cool Display

2011-07-21T18:43:00.000-06:00

While my parents were visiting, one day we went downtown and Anna and I went into the store called Anthropologie. It has clothes for women and some housewares. I still think that is kind of a weird combination, but maybe it works for them. I've only been in the store a couple of times, but they always have interesting displays in the windows.

This one was strings with lots of paper circles attached to them. The next one is a picture of a window display from the outside. If you look closely (not at the beautiful daughter who knows how to pose) at the window, you might be able to see that the square colors are 3D paper pieces that recede back into the store. So cool. I should have taken a picture from the inside. Great inspiration.

Jumping In

2011-07-17T21:39:00.000-06:00

It is suppose to hit 100 degrees here this week, so it is a good thing that they "officially" opened the Boise river for floating this past weekend. I'm sure many people jumped in their inner tubes and rafts to float the river. Ill bet some people were even brave enough to jump in the icy water.

This past week I got my sewing studio back in working order (transforming it back from the guest room) and jumped right in on starting my piece for the traffic box design. I pulled out lots of blue scraps to jump into my own "river". I'm afraid it hasn't been flowing as quickly as the Boise River.

The whole technical process is very interesting and a bit stressful, as I know that the design will be scanned and enlarged and any mistake will be magnified. The largest piece that they can scan is two feet by three feet. I did the math and figured out that to make it scale proportionally, I'll have to create a diptych, which I didn't really want to have to do. Each piece will be two feet by three feet and I am trying to work it so that my lines meet up on both sides of each piece. If I can do it and it doesn't get messed up in the scanning process, then the lines will look continuous all the way around the box. I'm not sure how successful I'll be matching the lines once I start doing the quilting, which will distort the fabric somewhat. I'll just have to continue on and see.

Gray Day

2011-07-12T08:11:00.000-06:00

Today is another Twelve by Twelve reveal day of their color theme gray (or grey). I thought that was such an interesting and challenging color choice. I found it even more challenging to try to dye gray fabrics. It's hard to get a "true" gray, what we think of as gray. More often, I ended up with "grayed" down colors like blue-gray, red-gray, green-gray, etc. They are all handy to have.

I thought about what to do with this gray theme, but didn't think I would have time to get around to making a "play-along" piece this time. But Sunday night, I started and finished this piece, which is actually 12 x 12" for the first time, I think.

Cloudy Day

hand dyed fabrics, machine pieced and quilted

12 x 12"

I liked how this turned out. It looks more blueish-gray, but the top and middle fabrics are more gray. The bottom fabric has the most color with some green in it as well. It represents a cloudy day with rain, and to me it seems very calming.

Serviceberries

2011-07-09T21:21:00.000-06:00

We had a cool, wet spring and got the vegetable garden in late. Our service berry tree was late to ripen this year, too. The berries are usually ready in mid June. They are ready now and I made service berry pancakes for breakfast today.

Years ago we selected the tree at a nursery because it was native to Idaho and would produce berries. We didn't know much about them. You can eat them plain, but I think they have more flavor in the pancakes. The nursery person said some people make service berry jam. We'd have to pick almost the whole tree to have enough to make jam.

The birds really like the berries, too. We've told the birds they can have the berries near the top of the tree, but we get the ones at the bottom that we can reach. I don't think they listened to us. There was a bird that was sitting on a branch not too far away from me when I was picking them this morning. It was picking berries, too.

Color Fields #9

2011-07-06T16:44:00.000-06:00

Color Fields #9

hand dyed fabrics, machine pieced

fused applique, machine quilted

Since I am having company, I haven't worked on anything new recently, besides my chalk art drawing. (News flash: my daughter won first place in the student category for the chalk art event!) This is another piece in the Color Field series. This piece is a bit different than the others. The squares are fused on and I didn't do very much quilting on it.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T20:15:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. My parents are visiting and we have been doing several things. Saturday morning we went to the market. Sunday night we enjoyed The Complete Works of Shakespeare at the outdoor theater.

Today Anna and I participated in the chalk art event for the second year in a row. It's fun to see what people draw. I have been trying to decide for a couple of weeks what to do. Last year it took me several hours to do my drawing. This year I was thinking of doing something involved again but decided to go with something simpler (as I am not feeling up to par right now). So here are some random pictures.

Above is featured artist Liz Wolfe working on a portrait of Betsy Ross.

Anna decided to do a more ambitious cat theme this year.

Here is my simple marble game. I thought it was great that a couple of young kids tried to pick up a marble.

Another picture created by a featured artist, Karen Bubb.

Neutrals

2011-07-01T08:01:00.001-06:00

Here are some bronzes and some grays and blacks. For me it is hardest to get tans and grays.

After all the fabric is ironed and folded neatly, 98 yards of fabric really doesn't look like very much!

Blues & Violets

2011-06-30T13:56:00.004-06:00

These pictures just don't show the true colors, but then color is relative.

And so we have had fun with Roy G. Biv.

Yellows & Greens

2011-06-29T19:55:00.000-06:00

More dyed fabric. Some of the greens don't look very green, but they do have more of a greenish tint in person.