Let's Try This

I really do love to post on my blog, and I've been trying to find an easier way to post more often. Technology is my friend but I'm still trying to get the pieces to come together smoothly. Any words of advice?

I'm busy completing lots of small projects for my gallery and for my open studio on December 13th, so I'll add a photo or two of some of those, without much chat.

Here a small piece of gorgeous fabric I made at my deconstructed screen printing workshop in late October, receivng some hand embroidery to enhance the marks made by the gradually dissolving dye. It will become a small square framed piece soon.

More Printmaking at Bluseed

I'm in a bit of a printmaking frenzy, which I'll illustrate and explain over the next couple of weeks. My previous post was about deconstructed screen printing. Now I'm learning a whole new process.

Yesterday and today I am taking a workshop with my friend Katherine Levin-Lau in the printmaking studio at Bluseed in Saranac Lake. She is showing us how to make multicolor prints using the viscosity of inks progessively thinned with oil, so that a thinner layer of ink can be rolled over the thicker layers, one by one. Above is my first attempt, showing my drawing on the first layer of ink over my zinc plate. The ink is removed with q-tips mostly, along with a paint brush end and  rags.

Here is my second plate, with its second layer of ink, easily rolled over the first. I'm removing the excess yellow ink with a rag and then more q-tips.

Results posted here later, along with more of this process.

New Directions

My first experience with deconstructed screen printing. I took Kerr Grabowski's workshop at the Schweinfurth in Auburn, NY last week, and my work will probably never be the same! Above is one of my screens with dye and thickener ready to be pulled down the screen, along with part of a previous print just showing above. We printed mostly on cotton fabric but I did a few experiments on paper and sheer fabrics. Below is a different print on sheer silk organza, after several passes with the same screen. Love it!

A Goal Acheived

Over the winter, I joined a "visioning" group of other artists in Studio Art Quilt Associates. The best thing about joining this group is the necessity of goal-setting. And one of my goals for this year was to make a piece to submit to an art quilt exhibition. The image above is a detail from my large (for me) art quilt that was recently accepted into this year's juried Quilts Unlimited show at VIEW in OId Forge, NY. Another piece in my "bog and water" series was accepted as well. The hard work and focus is bringing rewards. Yaaayy!

SYNERGY: An Artistic Process

Oaxacan Doorway - small try-out

 LOTS of art work was made in my little cabin studio this summer! Many fabric collage pieces for the gallery, a large piece for submission to a juried quilt show, and many small pieces (4" by 4") like the one above as my friend Catharine and I worked on our own interpretations of our photos that we shared for several months. Catharine worked in watercolor; I made little fabric collages.

We finally choose four of the photographs and the resulting small experiments and larger (11" by 14") finished pieces for our exhibit as the September featured artists at our NorthWind Fine Arts Gallery. We decided at the very beginning of our work together that it would be a synergistic process and it truly was that. Now it is time to get everything on the wall for our opening on Friday, September 5th. We will include some of our sketchbook pages and other planning work as we made our decisions. The exhibit is called "Synergy: An Artistic Process." Below is a page from my book with the beginning of the little collage shown above, the original photo, and a sketch.

Designing with Valerie

I'm at Quilting by the Lake, an annual conference in Syracuse, NY that includes quilting, surface design, collage, and other topics. It's a great place to study with some terrific teachers and to work with some wonderful people. My workshop this week is a design class with Valerie Goodwin, who specializes in art quilt maps.

Since I never had a design class and I love Valerie's work, this is perfect. Above is one result from a series of exercises in design principles, using fabric collage, paint, sheer layers, and the design elements. All seven below, in stages of construction.

Happy Information Overload

On Friday I drove to Essex Junction, VT with Pat Pauly to view the Vermont Quilt Festival. The image above represents my experience there: loads of color, spectacular techniques, fresh ideas, and a lot happening all at once! (Apologies to the artist who made this masterpiece. We were about to leave and I forgot to photograph her tag. Love it!)

It was fun to go there with Pat. She pointed out many pieces, techniques, and artists I couldn't quite put into context because of my inexperience in this little universe of quilts. And when we left, she asked me how I would view the event if (or, more likely, when) I come again. A great question! I answered then and have thought about it since then. I would

• Buzz through the entries quickly then go back and spend more time on a few favorites (usually in the contemporary abstract category).
• Spend more time in the special exhibits area and attend more of the talks there. Loads to learn from the experts there.
• Make a better shopping list before I go! Now that I know I can buy almost anything related to fiber art there, I'll know what to expect. I did pretty well though - found several things I want for the workshop I'm taking at QBL in a few weeks, including silks at this very inviting booth.