Painting, Painting, and MORE Painting

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current Distractions

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

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

Hormones Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dryer Sheets and Tangled Threads

Everything is starting to get back to normal after the holidays. We've almost recovered from the nasty cold going around. All the kids have gone back to their respective homes across the country. The house has been cleaned, and my studio is calling my name.

I'm been having some fun combining tangled threads, bits of fabric, and dryer sheets. This piece was photographed before it was stitched and I forgot to take a photo afterwards. I turned it into a pencil bag that contained Inktense pencils and ATC canvas paper. It was a gift for my boss, the woman that owns almost everything. Every year, I come up with something handmade for her. She likes to draw and loved the pencils, so we'll see if she gets hooked on making ATC's.

Here's a postcard made with dryer sheets, and tangled threads. These are so much fun to make. I'm warning you though, they are addictive!

This is a postcard sized piece made entirely from tangled threads.

This piece has tangled threads, dryer sheets, and bits of fabric. Before it's stitched, it is really thick and difficult to get under the presser foot, but once you stitch it into submission, it is much thinner, probably the thickness of Timtex, and just as stiff.

Check out this fun Boa Scarf that I'm knitting. Isn't it a riot? Very organic, sort of like seaweed or octopus tentacles.

WACOM Tablet

If you haven't tried drawing with one of these tablets before, you should. It's a lot of fun! I've been drawing with a mouse using Illustrator for many years, so it wasn't a stretch for me to switch over. I actually found it much less intimidating to draw on the pad than trying to figure out Illustrator.

For my first attempt, I used a paintbrush in Photoshop and got fairly good results. The thickness of the line depends on the angle of the pen. I don't really like the way the line almost disappeared in some places. Because Photoshop is a pixel based program, it's not the ideal way to draw, but in a pinch, it works just fine.

My next drawing was created in Illustrator using a pencil tool. The pencil makes for a more precise drawing, but it looses the whimsical sketch feeling. The good thing about a vector based drawing program is that I can enlarge or shrink the drawing to any size I want, and not lose any quality at all. If you are interested in designing quilt patterns or creating fabric designs, this is the program to use (IMHO).

I can see myself playing with this a lot more in the future. There are so many possibilities.

If you use a tablet, I would love to hear what you are doing with it. Drop me a note.

Reflections

It's been a tough year for many people, and we've had a few bumps along the way too, however, I am very fortunate because my life is full of the things that are most important. I have a great family, lots of love and support, live in a beautiful location, and enjoy a peaceful, creative life.

I generally try to keep personal details out of my blog, but I'm going to make an exception because I'm so proud of my kids. Rachel is teaching high school in Boston and just completed her grad school applications, Sean lives in AZ and just graduated with his M.A. degree, and Jason lives in LA and was just promoted to VP of Music Licensing. Aren't they amazing?

The weather in Santa Barbara has been gorgeous, and I've been out taking lots of photos.

I love to watch these birds race back and forth as they try to avoid the waves.

Here's a simple structure that makes a big impact.

A pet cemetery, perhaps?

A fence with lots of character.

A view of the Santa Ynez valley from 2,000 feet.

A view of Lake Cachuma from 2,000 feet.

A view of the ocean from 2,000 feet.

The recent lunar eclipse.

I hope all of you have a happy and healthy new year!

A Piece of Paradise!

Here's my private piece of paradise . . . our mostly completed back yard. The plants, trees and grass are very happy, and so are we. I want to have a hidden garden in the area by the wheel barrel, but still have some work to finish that off.

We also need to build two patio covers over the living room and bedroom doors and need to finish some paths along both side yards. We have definitely made a lot progress though.

Do you remember this photo of our front yard taken in 2008?

Look at it now! The plants have really filled in, haven't they?
Our front and back yards both look beautiful now. Hard work does pay off! I've also been having a little fun with fabric postcards. A photo of hand-painted fabric was combined with other high contrast photos and printed on fabric. The purplish photos are the skylights in the convention center where the PIQF quilt show is held. They have been manipulated a bit and printed on fabric. Has anyone else ever looked up at these?

Long Blogging Break

I had many deadlines looming and was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I needed to FOCUS and that meant staying away from the computer. I hope I still have some followers after the long break.

Here are some fabrics that I've been trying to improve with a another layer of paint.

You might remember this one from a previous post. I used a banana slicer to do rubbings. They looked a little obscene, so I decided to disguise them with the purple squares. I think it needs another layer . . . maybe circles.
This piece turned muddy and dull and needed some spark. I added the grid stamp on top in a silverish blue. I think it still needs another layer . . . maybe circles! LOL
This fabric was really grey and ugly and was not usable for anything. I added the spokes and dots. The upper corner needs another layer but I haven't decided what yet.
This was a blue screen print on white denim. I filled the negative (white) spaces with dye-na-flow and it instantly became very colorful. I think this will make a nice bag.
This was a very pretty (pastel) background with very regular patterns printed on it. It was one of my first attempts at fabric painting. It was too pretty and too regular and needed some chaos. It's getting better, but needs something else. Maybe circles!!??

I would love to hear your ideas on what the next layer should be.

Things that Make Me Smile

This little guy made me laugh out loud as soon as I saw it. It definitely had to come home with me. I love the bouncing head and jazz hands.

Here's an innovative cat toy that comes with its very own jingle bell in the center. I think it will work great for printing some background texture. Amazing what you can find in the grocery store!

A new shipment of thread arrived with lots of yummy colors.

Why is this guy hanging off a billboard? It looked so real, it made me do a double take. Glad I had my camera ready.

My hormone quilt is finally done. Here's the back showing some of the quilting. I'll show the whole thing when the Fibervision exhibit opens at PIQF in October. Such a tease!

We have another exhibit in October at Cabrillo Pavilion Art Center and need lots of NEW work. Yikes! Back to the sewing machine.

Time Flies!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope you're having a great summer!

Little L.A.

What is Little L.A.? It's a catchy challenge title. L.A. stands for Los Alamos and it is VERY little. The challenge is to find inspiration for a quilt within twelve blocks. There are so many interesting pieces of history everywhere you turn. The inspiration could be color, shape, or texture. Anything goes.

Here are several interesting compositions I found.

A ship that has been dry docked.

A gate.

A rusty wagon wheel.

Side of a barn

If you attend PIQF in Santa Clara, there is a good chance you will get to see the results of this challenge in 2012.

The deadline for my 2011 PIQF hormones piece is looming. I've finished the design and now it's time to quilt! For me, figuring out how to quilt it is the most difficult step. I don't have much time left to think about it, and I'm pretty sure that is a good thing.

Shibori Weekend

Last weekend, Andi led a 2 day shibori dying workshop. 12 Fibervision members had a blast in this exhausting workshop. The first afternoon was spent painting the fabric with dye and letting it dry. This part was pretty quick and easy. No soda ash was added to the dye on the first day, so all the colors mingled and created new colors on the second day. We spent a fair amount of time wrapping tubes, rope, and beads with fabric. Then we spent quite of bit of time mixing, and sloshing in colorful dyes. Then we spent a lot of time untying and unwrapping all the pieces and rinsing all the dye out.

Most of my pieces came out beautiful, but I got a few uglies too.

Here is the under-painted fabric that has lemon yellow, fuchsia and red/orange. I used the highly technical splatter technique.

Here it is after it was folded, wrapped and dipped into teal dye.

Here's another under-painted piece that has blended stripes.

And here it is after wrapping, tying and dipping in purple. ooohhhhh, I like this one a lot!

This piece was plain white fabric that was wrapped and dipped into black.

This piece was previously dyed (and fixed) with green, blue, and fuchsia splotches. I created a the circles by placing brass circles between the layers of fabric, and clamping the layers together.

If you decide to try this with a group, here's a helpful hint. Write your name on tyvek and attach it to each piece of fabric you dye. Your name will still show, no matter what color you dye with. That's a lesson learned the hard way!