Adventures in Art!

Color class for January

2012-01-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Our assignment for January was Complex Complements and we could choose from the following:
double complement, double split complement, split complement, and analogous complement.

I chose the analogous complement, using blue with orange, yellow orange, and red orange. I read through the assignment, the lesson, and knew that the visual temperature of mine was going to be warm, with a little coolness from the blue.

I knew what to do too. YAY! I chose my word for the year, "Practice", and wanted to make a wall hanging for my studio that said that.

I started by drawing each of the letters and a shadow on paper, and cutting them out. Then I went about choosing the orange-based fabrics to form the main body of the letters with various shades, tints, and tones of blue for the shadows.

I put all the pieces for each letter on batting and backing and used the satin stitch to put them together and then trimmed the excess off when I was finished.

I made the background out of two pieces of silk, and quilted the main portion by "writing" quotes about practice, and in the smaller border strips, I quilted some flowers then did small stippling around them. I attached loops at the top for hanging and set the letters on.

I debated about how to attach the letters to the background and finally settled on some small brads that I had on hand in my scrapbooking supplies.

The piece still looked like it needed something and so I stamped a bunch of small butterflies onto some Lutrador, colored them in with my Inktense pencils and applied water. This makes the pencil virtually turn into watercolor paints, if you haven't tried them. They are so much fun!

When they were dry, I cut them out and glued them on the piece, and used glue & glitter for the bodies and antennae.

Lastly, I added a flower I made out of silk cocoon strippings. I bought them already dyed yellow orange from Heather's studio. I shaped the flower and glued some beads in the middle and when that was all dry, added it to the piece.

Here's the finished project:

It's good advice and something I continually need to be reminded of. If you haven't read "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell, you should. It's all about success and it might make you re-think the way you do some things!

Color Class for December

2012-01-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

Time to show you my next project for my Color Class.

Our December class took place the day after Christmas and I wasn't able to attend.

December's assignment was direct complements and I chose red & green.

The biggest challenge I am facing each month is deciding what to do. As I had a great number of both red and green, about 20 of each (but in small quantities), I settled on trying to make a Bargello.

I have never made one nor seen a Bargello made before, so I had to look up some basic construction rules before getting started.

I have to say, the construction is cool, using tubes and setting the layout. Of course, because all of my tubes were identical, I wasn't able to do any fancy pattern, but that's okay. I did vary the strip widths and just put everything together rather randomly.

In order to use the 40 fabrics, the project came out much bigger than I had planned, but now I suppose I can hang it up and fill some of the empty wall space I still have here! The finished project measures 48"wide by 28"tall.

I chose to use silks to make the borders from, a lovely rich red and a green, which when you look at the weft and weave, is actually red and green woven together. It reads as a rich, dark green, and suits my piece just beautifully.

I made a wooden frame for it from 1x2 pine strips I got at the lumber store. I actually got the wood cut and put together all square! But don't be too impressed yet...

You know that saying "measure twice, cut once"? Well, I should have remembered that BEFORE I made the frame, because once my great frame was done, I discovered that my quilt was too short!

So my only option was to head back to the fabric store and get some more of the border fabric, and I made the borders bigger and then was able to staple-gun it to the frame. It took some doing to get it straight too, but overall I think it turned out well.

When I took it to the January class yesterday, everyone was in agreement that displaying it horizontally was much more pleasing to the eye, and that I should hang it this way:

Heather said looking at it this way, it starts with a BANG! and finishes with a whimper, which is what we want. I need to write that down so I don't forget for future projects. Now to figure out where to put it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-02T21:07:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year to all of my online friends who encourage and support me! I love you all and I hope that this coming year is your best yet, in every way!

As you all know, I am taking Heather Thomas' Color & Design class, and LOVING every minute of it! In our November class, Heather encouraged us to dispose with our traditional new year's resolutions and instead find a word to focus on for the year.

Without really thinking about it, when I recalled her saying that, the word "PRACTICE" jumped out at me- and it's something I really need to be reminded of.

All too often I get impatient with myself or feel discouraged that I am not better at something. Realistically, I know that the only way to improve on anything is to keep practicing- so why do I expect to be better when I haven't put the work in? It's so unrealistic and also so easy to remedy.

I love to draw and don't do it enough to really love what I produce.
I love to machine quilt and my designs are still not anywhere near as smooth and intricate as I want them to be.
I love to do yoga and still am not very flexible nor do I "flow"the way I want to.
I love the thought of hanging my art everywhere in our home and don't have the ability yet to pull it off.

Why? Because I don't practice any of it enough.

I have great intentions and then I let other, less-important things in and take my time.

I let myself get bogged down with the little things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things.

I put too much importance on organizing my studio instead of actively working on things.

It's time to change those unproductive habits and put into practice my practice! I am hoping that sharing my intentions with others will help remind me to stay on track.

Already I am completing more work/art overall since starting Heather's class, and that's a great thing. But now it's time to take it a step further and put some effort in on a regular basis.

I have heard Heather respond both in person and on her blog to those who say they wish they could do things as well as she does: she tells them she wasn't born knowing how to do these things, she has put in hours and hours of time. She learns or teaches herself how to do something and then works at it continually.

It's very similar to something our teacher Nellie Holmes said to us in our beginning quilt class: "Once you learn HOW to do something, the rest is just mileage."

Words to live by.

Month three!

2011-12-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

Well, month three class of Color & Design is just passed. A week ago already actually.... yikes.

Our projects were on Monochromatic. We could use neutrals and one color- but all the shades, tones, and tints of that color too- which gives a surprising amount of variety.

One thing I have really learned is that colors are not what I thought. For instance- olive green is not green at all, but a shade of yellow. Things like that!

Anyway, we were asked to use a color that we don't "know" well, and when I looked through my stash, the violet pile had a measly three pieces of fabric in it. I figured that was a good place to start. Now, what to do with it?

I finally decided to use another book this time around, Fabric Embellishing: The Basics and Beyond (Heather was a co-author on this one too). It's a great book for those of us who wish to learn more about adding extras to our fiber art. I highly recommend it.

Violet was my sister Heather's favourite color, and I decided to make a fabric scrapbook about sisters as my project.

I used almost 40 different violet fabrics and embellishments, and I played with the photos in Photoshop Elements, colorizing them violet, then lowering the saturation so they pretty much look black & white.
The photos were printed on TAP (transfer artist paper). What a fabulous product! My photos are old and blurry, so not the best test for this stuff- but I will be using more of it, it's so great!

I learned that making fabric books is NOT nearly as easy as it seems it should be, and also that I need to learn when enough is enough- because now that I look at it again, I see that I went overboard.

But that's what this class is about, right? Learning how to do things, learning new skills, and learning how to stop when you should!

Here is the book- front cover showing with the whole book first, then each page, starting with the inside of the front cover.

FINALLY!

2011-11-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is downright embarrassing to admit but I will anyway.

I finished a bed quilt yesterday. Guess when I pieced the top? More than FOUR years ago. Yep, that's right. I took Nellie Holmes' class "Pumpkin Pie" way back when I worked at Taylor's Sewing Center in Brockville. That's before I moved here to Colorado. That seems like a whole lifetime ago!

Hubby doesn't like the duvet because he finds it too warm. So we only pull it out in the very coldest nights of the winter. The rest of the time we manage with one quilt and whatever little extra things I can find to throw over myself. That just doesn't cut it. The cold fall and winter nights are just perfect for two quilts, yet I dragged my feet and dragged my feet to finish this one. Why? Who knows.

As I mentioned, taking this Color & Design class has really gotten me into gear about getting things done in my studio. Not only am I enjoying my work more, but I give it more value. I MAKE time to create and do the work that makes me happy in here.

Here it is, finally. On the bed as of yesterday and I am so thrilled! It's toasty and I think it looks great in our room.

We have a queen size bed and this is the perfect size; just enough overhang but not too much.

I made these two throw pillows from extra blocks I had when I pieced the quilt. THOSE I have had done for four years!

I quilted the top in a simple grid to let the pattern and fabrics take center stage. In the small gold border, I quilted "this band of gold" over and over. And in the large navy border, on all four sides, I "wrote" love song lyrics. That took a LONG time. But it was worth it. It looks like simple stippling from a ways back, but is perfectly readable when you get closer.

When I put my blocks together, I didn't do it the same way as Nellie's sample. The sample was also done in country-type fabrics, which I also love, but as you can see, I chose to do mine in batiks. Batiks are a guilty pleasure of mine!

This was a fairly easy and very versatile pattern to use. If you are interested in purchasing the pattern, I found it here:

Pumpkin Pie by Originellies

Here is what the sample looks like:

Nellie lined up her blocks all facing the same way and I just turned every second one (I think that's how I did it). I love it both ways, in both fabrics. I bet you will love the pattern as much as I do.

Color Class project one!

2011-11-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I forgot to post my first project from my Color & Design class! It was a nerve-wracking class- for everyone. Everyone was clamoring to present first and get it out of the way! As a result, my presentation was third from the last of 16 people and we were getting short on time. That meant I didn't have to be up there long, which is good.

To remind you, the project was on Neutrals. Heather prefers that we either design our own project or put our own twist on an existing pattern, and she also prefers that we come to class with our project finished.

I happen to agree strongly with both of those things, as I know Heather is right. It's only by finishing a project that we learn everything it has to teach us. And how am I to learn good design if I never try?

So, without further adieu, here is my project. It was finished, right down to the label on the back, for class :)

This piece is entitled "From the Ashes".

I pieced the cream fabrics in a curved, quilt-as-you-go fashion. The "fabrics" include mostly nontraditional quilt materials: silk, satin, lace, tulle, and even crepe paper.

The tree was a challenge for me. It started off black, but I found that too stark. I shopped around and just couldn't find a grey fabric that suited me. So I came back home, got out my gel medium, and applied it to the tree with a craft stick, trying to texture it like bark. After it was dry, I rubbed some gray paint on it with my finger, and then I was happy with it! I stitched it onto the the background with a simple straight stitch, applique-style.

The nest is made up of all the stray threads from the project and a few other fibers thrown in. It is held together with a light application of gel medium, and hand stitched onto the project.

I drew the phoenix onto light fabric, backed it with a couple layers of tear away stabilizer, and thread painted it with cream thread for the body and black and gray variegated thread for the wings and head feathers. I really like thread painting and I was satisfied with how the baby phoenix turned out.

We were allowed to use up to 15% of an accent colour, and of course, my phoenix needed some fire!

I considered paint, then thought some kind of fiber would be better. I pulled apart some silk, I tried Angelina- but none of what I had was the right colour. I ended up unraveling a bunch of orange thread around my hand, then cutting it at the top and bottom- it naturally curled and sat like flames! I lightly attached it to some Wonder Under.

Once I had the "fire" where I wanted it, I applied heat to set the Wonder Under, then hand-stitched the phoenix into the nest.

My last challenge was balancing the piece. I knew, not only from the section in Heather's book, but by looking, that I needed something in the upper right hand corner. I played around with a variety of things, including a metal medallion with inspiring words printed on it, an organza flower (with and without beads), and nothing seemed to click.

I finally decided to use letter beads to spell out words that go with the piece and that's what I went with.

The words are, from top to bottom: joy, courage, patience, comfort, love. I love to use words somehow in my work, and I often "write" with my machine in some way. Heather quilts her name right on her work, and I would love to do that, but I need a little more practice first.

I finished the edges with a technique I learned recently in another of Heather's classes, Edges & Finishes, and I think it suits the piece really well. I attached a label to the back, stating the name, class, and all other pertinent information. My first quilt teacher, Nellie Holmes, told us that attaching a label is SO important, maybe not for now, but for later, when our descendants are trying to figure out what the heck all this stuff is!

The critique I received in class was positive and Heather's main suggestion for improvement was to bring the words a little closer to the bird to show some connectivity. I can see exactly what she means and will definitely do that.

Without any intention on my part, this piece really accompanies a piece that I made a couple of years ago. When I started THAT project, I intended for it to be a triptych, and I had a very specific idea for all three pieces in mind. I only ever finished the first one, and it is still up on my design wall. When I hung this project beside it, all of a sudden it made sense to me! Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes?

I have just a vague idea of what to do for the third one, but I definitely intend to make it during this class at some point. When I have all three done, I will show you the set.

One thing that has really changed for me because of this class is how much I am getting done in my studio. I am not only producing for this class, but have found time to work on and finish other things too! I am more inspired and having so much more fun when I create.

The latest sewing projects!

2011-10-21T20:19:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we went to Grand Junction, both to watch the girls compete in a marching band competition and parade, and to see our beautiful little granddaughter (6 months old) because she happens to live there!

I had to bring some things for her that her Nan (me) made for her, of course!

First, a grocery cart seat cover, complete with inside pockets for toys and sippy cups. I made this according to the pattern I bought- and added a couple of purse clips to the back strap, thinking that they could clip to the cart rungs. They will come off easily if this proves to be wrong.

And a teeny tiny little personalized Trick-or-Treat bag! Of course, she is too little to go out this year, but we have to be ready, right?

And a photo of the little sweetheart herself, waiting in Pops' arms for the parade to start. Isn't she just the sweetest thing? She has a personality to match!

And for good measure, a couple of photos of the girls:

Heidi, 17, with her sousaphone. She is 5'2 1/2 " and weighs 110 lbs soaking wet- which is important to know since the instrument weighs almost half as much as she does!

And Chloe, 13, with her mellophone- a marching version of the French horn.

The girls attend Columbine Senior High; Heidi is a senior, and Chloe is a freshman. They are both members of the Columbine High School Rebel Marching Band. The band just participated in the state Quarter-finals today, and unfortunately didn't make it to the semi-finals round.

But they have had a really great season and most importantly, had a lot of fun!

"THE" Class

2011-10-11T08:11:00.002-06:00

That's right: if you live in Colorado, and you want to make better art, The Language of Color and Design class, created and taught by Heather Thomas, is THE class to take. That is a well-known fact around here!

If you don't live close by, you can buy a copy of Heather's book, and work the lessons on your own- they are all in there!

There are so many things to LOVE about this book! It's spiral bound so it lays flat and stays open. It's laid out with tips and page reference numbers throughout so that you can go back and cross-reference things or re-read something relevant. It's written and explained in a way that you can go through it on your own, at your own pace, and includes a variety of examples to look at for everything. I guarantee it will be a very valuable resource in your workspace. It's also just a joy to look at. Look at the cover and you will see what I mean!

I have been immersed in my first assignment and I think I am finally starting to pull it all together. Heather said she prefers if we do our own thing to demonstrate our understanding of the lesson, rather than using a pattern. And she prefers it if we do things that are a little out of our comfort zone, choosing to do things in a way we wouldn't normally. That makes sense to me.

From time to time, I have gone a little off the pattern path, and designed something on my own. Most of those times have resulted in me learning a LOT, because I made a lot of mistakes along the way. I am okay with that. There is a saying I like: Fail faster, succeed sooner.

HOWEVER, I have never been in the position that I not only have to make something that shows my grasp of a concept, but I have to show it and explain it in front of everyone in the class. That's a whole different thing!

Heather suggested we might want to take notes or keep a journal along the way, and I decided that is a great idea. I made some rough sketches and jotted down some ideas. And what is appearing in front of me is pretty different than what I first envisioned.

I will show you my finished project and my process after I have taken it to class and received my critique.

If you are interested in learning more about this class, this book, machine quilting, and a host of other things, you really should start following Heather's blog:

http://heatherthomasblog.blogspot.com/

That's all for today, but I will be back this week to show you a couple of other things I have made in between.

My first step towards growth

2011-09-28T08:51:00.001-06:00

Well, I am back, much later than I meant to be. The fall is such a great, but busy school time around here still and I have to be more careful with my time.

I HAVE been working in my studio, rather more diligently and regularly than I have in the past, but I haven't taken the time to post what's been going on. I will have a number of projects completed soon, and will show you lots of photos!

The reason I am writing now though, is because I have just started on a very exciting, somewhat scary art journey, and in addition to keeping an art journal about it, making my projects, and attending my classes, I thought it would be fun to share my experience with my online artist friends as well.

I finally took the leap and signed up for a class that is very... well, famous around here actually. I personally know many people who have taken this class and have heard them speak in hushed tones about how intense it can be, how challenging, how thought-provoking. These same people have also exclaimed loudly, in no uncertain terms, that this class was a life and art changing experience for them.

According to the teacher, my friend and a fiber artist who is well-known in the art quilting world, Heather Thomas, friendships have been made in this class that have lasted as long as she has taught this class to others: 13 years! That's a lot of pressure going into it!

What is the class? It's a 13 month long journey, called "The Language of Color and Design", and it's very title always sparks discussion around these parts! My first class was this past Monday morning.

I have taken a number of classes with Heather since moving here to Colorado and I love her teaching style. She is witty, funny, intelligent and down-to-earth. She encourages without being condescending and she guides her students honestly with her candid humour. I know that this class is a huge step for anyone wishing to take their work to the next level. I also know that Heather is the only teacher I could imagine taking the leap with!

I have wanted to take this class ever since I heard about it, at least a couple of years ago. That's saying something, since I have only been in Colorado a little over three years. I really had to be ready though. Thanks to Heather's blog where she has generously shared an incredible number of machine quilting tips and tutorials (http://heatherthomasblog.blogspot.com/), and her series of articles in Quilting Arts magazine this year, I feel like I am ready. As ready as I can be, that is!

I have been practicing my machine quilting and working on projects to hang on the still-mostly-bare walls of our home. I have dabbled in this and that, but the first thing I made and hung with intention is in the dining room. I used some design elements from things in the room and used colours that were similar to the paint colours. I used some of the leftover curtain silk. I used symbolism. And I made a LOT of mistakes. It's hanging and will stay there, at least for now. I like this piece for what it is.

But here's the thing. I feel COMPELLED to create. I have so much to say and I want to say it with my work. I want to fill the walls with my original creations. I know that I can do better if I can just manage to grasp some basic concepts of colour and design. At this point, I have no delusions of becoming famous or even being able to sell anything I make. I am not even sure I want to go in that direction.

This is about being able to create pieces that more accurately translate what I am thinking into the end product. I want to gain confidence in my work, I want to feel more capable. I want to display my work in our home with pride and without being nervous that someone will ask me about it.

We are required to produce a finished project for each lesson, and present it for Show and Tell the following month. This project is ideally supposed to be original and is designed to show our understanding of the lesson. I know everyone in the class probably feels the same way as I do: nervous!

Making something original and then presenting it feels like nothing less than baring my soul!

I had a time in my life where I had to be brave and really live outside of my comfort zone. I had no choice. What it brought me was a world full of wonderful at the end of all the scary. It was SO worth the terrifying moments along the way.

Since moving here, I realized I have put myself into a comfort zone and have found myself reverting back to my bad old habits of not putting myself out there and making excuses for it. I let myself forget how much reward there can be in stretching yourself, being vulnerable, in taking chances.

So this is me: stretching myself. Being vulnerable. Taking chances. Wish me luck!

How time flies!

2011-08-12T07:27:00.002-06:00

Hello friends!

I see that almost a month has gone by since I posted last... and I told myself to sift through my photos and get some posted, so you can see that I have done a FEW things this summer at least! lol

Pajama pants for Ben. He's my only boy (well, he's 20, not really a boy anymore :) and it can be hard to find things that I can make him. But when we were in the fabric store looking for makeup bag fabric for the girls, he found this Batman flannel and was lingering just long enough... I asked if he wanted pjs and he said GREAT! He's a big comic book guy, and am I glad I can still make things he likes once in a while!

Make up bag for Holly. Day of the Dead is virtually unheard of back in Ontario, and Holly just loved this DOD fabric. Though I am not a skulls fan, I do like the vibrancy of this.

This next bunch of photos is of scarves I have been working on- dyeing- over the past couple of months. My sisters and I each chose a half dozen or so and I put in the order, since I am the one interested in playing in this arena!

We ordered a wide variety between us and it was a lot of fun to see how the different silk blends took the colours. I call them dyes, I actually used Dye-Na-Flo silk paint.

I also got to experiment a little with colour, making custom colours from what was available in the jars. I took a one day crash course on colour theory with Heather Thomas here in Denver a couple of years back and though I know I still have a LOT to learn, that class gave me a good foundation in starting to understand it all. I also used my Color Tool to help me get the colours I was looking for.

Heather is one of the co-authors of "Fabric Embellishing: The Basics and Beyond", has a new book of her own coming out about colour theory soon, and is also an extremely talented machine quilter. She has been writing a series of articles this year for Quilting Arts magazine, you should check it out!

Here is Heather's web site: http://www.wildheatherdesigns.com/

I also developed my love for dyeing these scarves from a class I took with Heather :)

She is a multi-talented lady and a fabulous teacher! If you ever get the chance to take a class with her- JUMP!!!

This first scarf is one I made for myself before our trip to Sweden and Denmark in June. The scarf came with the daisies on it- I just painted the centers yellow and tried to paint black in between, which was mostly successful... the flowers are velvet but the part of the scarf in between them is a very fine mesh and though the dye looks black here, when it was dry, it's more gray than black. But okay. I don't have the rest of mine done yet, but I will post them when I do.

This was a 90" long chiffon scarf that I sewed gathering stitches into to make a shorter, ruffly scarf. This one went to my daughter Holly, when she was here for her visit.

I wish I could tell you what each scarf was, fabric-wise. Most of them are silk or a silk blend, but they were all different weights and had different hands to them. This first bunch is for Becky, who likes neutrals and wanted a variety to match patterned shirts. I am still working on the photography part, some of the photos don't do the colours justice.

Chocolate brown

Champagne, on a pre-patterned scarf

A ruffled pewter

Mossy green on a pre-patterned scarf

Dark red- LOVE this colour

Silver stamping on a black scarf- there are a few kinds that are available in black blanks. Turns out that the stamp ink I used wasn't permanent and I ended up re-doing this one with silver acrylic paint mixed with textile medium. It looks nice, but makes the scarf a little stiffer than I like.

And for Sandy, who wears a lot of black top and bottom, and accessorizes with scarves and jewelry-

Champagne

Horizontal stripes- red on one side and black on the other, and they kind of bled towards the center, which turned out very cool!

Ruffled baby pink

Jewel-toned- and it looks a lot lighter here than it actually dried in front of me

The only 100% cotton one. This just soaked up the dyes and though it looks similar to the one above, it dried to look almost like worn denim. I had some really light pink in it, but because I dried it outside hanging, the darker colours ran over and into the light ones and that was that... lesson learned!

I learned a lot doing these, and had a LOT of fun. I enjoyed it most when I could do it outside, they dry faster and I could add more dye if I needed to to get the results I was looking for. None of them turned out exactly the way I originally thought they would, but most of them are better! The best thing about this kind of project for me is the unpredictability of the end product- drying lines, the colours running into each other, the difference in the concentration of colour, I just love it all. I get permission to have fun and not worry about perfect results.

You should try this!

Oh boy...

2011-07-20T20:24:00.000-06:00

I see I have a LOT of catching up to do! lol

I have been busy in my studio with a variety of things on my own, in addition to the 21 Secrets and the Sketchbook Challenge.

I just haven't had time- nor a dependable computer to do the catching up!

My computer finally had to go in and get a new hard drive- something that has been giving me issues for a few months now.

Our last (known) summer company is coming this weekend, and then we are hoping for some quiet summer time- hubby wants to sit in his swing and read, and I want to get my blogging up to date and work on the half-done projects in my studio.

So I will definitely be back... stay tuned! xo

Otherwise occupied...

2011-05-05T15:15:00.000-06:00

Are you starting to get the feeling, while coming to my blog periodically, that I am not getting a lot of art-time lately? Me too!!! I am seriously in withdrawal! Tomorrow I am dedicating a good portion of my day to letting loose in my studio!

I do have some pretty good reasons, though- the new baby in our family and the trips involved with that, spring- and the work that our lawns and gardens demand, kids (need I say more?), a daughter having oral surgery, and of course the event I have been working towards and preparing for for months:

I became an American citizen yesterday!!!

I am very fortunate that being married to an American meant that my wait was shorter than some others have to go through.

Still, we have been at this since January 2007- four and half years! I have been fingerprinted and photographed (passport-style) more often in that time, than most people are in their entire lifetimes!

Mountains of paperwork, many interviews, lawyer's meetings, and endless submitting documents- it's all done!

And being in the Denver area means that everything is done the same day- I had my test and interview yesterday morning and was sworn in after lunch!

This is a very happy event for my me and my DH- who can now stop worrying that I will be deported.
What he thought I might be deported FOR- well, that's never actually been clear...

I learned a lesson a long time ago from my Grama- and I was thinking of her too, yesterday when I took my Oath of Allegiance to my newly adopted country.

My grandparents emigrated to Canada from Holland in 1952. They had six sons and Europe was still war-torn and struggling to get back on it's feet. They wanted their sons to have opportunities and lives that they knew wouldn't be possible in their home country.

They left all of their family behind, they were not able to speak English, and literally had almost nothing when they arrived in Ontario.

What they did have was love, a desire for a better life, and a determination to learn what it meant to be a Canadian.

Grama said they believed right down to their soul that choosing a different country to live in meant you had to truly love your new country and make it your own- that the "old country" ways were meant for the old country.

Both of my grandparents learned read, write, and speak English in a relatively short time, and they didn't spend any time sitting around saying "things aren't done this way in Holland...". They became Canadians in every sense of the word.

They were required to renounce their Dutch citizenship to become Canadians and they did. I bet it wasn't easy, but they wanted to be true Canadians and were willing to do whatever it took.

I am fortunate in that I am able to retain both Canadian and US citizenship. On the way to my test and interview yesterday morning, I thought about what I would say if I was asked to give up my Canadian citizenship.

I moved here for a better life- a life filled with love and joy and peace and contentment, shared with the man I want to be with for the rest of our lives.

I have always been proud to be a Canadian girl, and that won't ever change. But I am thrilled to be an American now, to be able to fully enjoy- and give back- to a country has been lovely and welcoming to me since I crossed the border!

Day Without Hate

2011-04-29T08:17:00.002-06:00

It bears repeating- we need less hate and violence and much more love in our world.

Today is the Day Without Hate here in Littleton, Colorado. The kids are all wearing white t-shirts to show solidarity and remembrance for the victims of school shootings. This is a county-wide project now, started a few years back Standley Lake HS in Westminster, CO, and was then adopted by Columbine HS and the rest of the county.

Here are some past photos, to show you an example of what the high school looks like leading up to today. I am hoping to have a chance to get up to the high school today to take some photos of this year's event.

You can- and should- click on any photo to see it larger- then you can read what it says. This first one is a list of school shootings. There are so many... it just makes me cry.

But the kids and this whole community- and communities across this country and Canada- are all working at stopping this madness. Raising awareness, focusing on being a little kinder to each other- just small changes in everyone's attitude and behaviour can make a huge difference.

So today, why don't we all share a smile, do a random act of kindness for someone, be extra nice to someone who seems to need it.

And while we're at it, why don't we keep this attitude going not only today, but every day.

Let's make EVERY day, a Day Without Hate!

Wanna see???

2011-04-15T17:59:00.001-06:00

You have seen the gifts I have made- now you get to see the beautiful little girl I made them for:

Little Aria (Ar'-ree-ah) was born on Wednesday morning (April 13) at 10:01 am. She weighed 5 lbs 4 oz, and has been unanimously voted the cutest member of our family!

She and mommy are doing really well, trying to rest and get ready for all of us to descend on them for a visit.

We can't wait!

Baby Quilt and Birthday scarf

2011-04-03T21:11:00.001-06:00

Hi all!

My work lately has still been mostly on gifts for others. Just that time of the year!

We just attended a baby shower on the weekend for my stepdaughter, and our gift to her was a crib quilt I made.

I really wish I knew how to properly photograph my work, but alas, I don't really. So the photos of my work are mediocre, I know. But hopefully you will get the gist of it. Click on any photo to make it larger, maybe you can see the details better.

Here it is, kind of stretched out so you can see it all. Rail fence blocks in the middle and on each end. Two panels in between.

I really wanted to meander quilt this area, but for some reason my thread would not cooperate. I finally settled on a simple geometric design- but done in rainbow variegated thread.

A closer look at the quilting in the panel area. I quilted around the bigger shapes like the fish and the whale and the sun. I used a bit of sparkly thread in the ocean waves and for the whale spout. The rest I just tried to match what I was quilting. I did the cloud shapes in the sky to make sure there was enough quilting in that area.

The two small sashings have these words:

"golden slumbers fill your eyes- smiles await you when you rise" ~ The Beatles

I used to sing that to my kids when they were babies.

This is in variegated rainbow thread too.

Showing the other end of the quote.

I love to write on quilts, and it's one thing I can do fairly well on a machine.

I think she likes it!

The other item I have made recently is a fibre scarf for my sister Becky's birthday in March.

She hasn't received it yet and doesn't even know it's coming- but she follows my other blog, not this one, so I think I am okay in posting it for you to see:

Close up so you can see the different yarns and ribbons I used

And hanging so you can see it as a scarf.

This was made with Sulky Solvy. I cut two long pieces, as long as I wanted the scarf to be (minus the fringe), and laid one on my work table. I arranged all of the fibres the way I wanted them, covered it with the second piece of Sulky Solvy, and pinned it. All the fibres were laid horizontally.

So when I sewed it, all of the stitching went vertically, in wavy lines.

Super easy to do on the machine.

When I was finished the stitching, I tore away as much of the plastic as possible, then rinsed the whole thing in warm water to get rid of the rest of it, and make sure it was clean. Wrung it out carefully.

I laid it out to dry overnight since it was heavy, and hung it in the morning to finish drying, since it was only a little damp by that time.

And that's it for today's show and tell!

Spreading the love...

2011-03-04T22:25:00.001-07:00

I knew I was starting to feel better after losing my sister when I wanted to get back into the studio and surround myself once again with possibilities.

What I have been doing is making things for people who are important to me.

I dyed some silk scarves for my two sisters, and they are on their way to them now. Here is a peek- and as I am posting these, I just realized I meant to put a fringe on the purple and black one- I completely forgot!
Hopefully they will be happy with them anyways!

Then I picked up my crochet hook, something I haven't done in many years, and attempted to make a little sweater and bonnet set- something I have never done at all. These were delivered to my stepdaughter who is expecting the little bundle of joy who will be joining our family this spring!

And a tied fleece blanket, just because you can never have enough blankets with a baby, right?

(I didn't crochet the set quickly enough to make a matching blanket! lol)

I am currently working on a fiber scarf for my youngest sister's birthday in a couple of weeks. I have to get it done and in the mail no later than Monday or she won't get it in time. So I will be able to show you how it turned out very soon.

I am still working in the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" and really enjoying it. I am hoping it will help me to sketch better on the fly, so that when we travel, I can draw in my journal as well as journaling.

My art quilt for the wall is nearing completion, as is a bed quilt I have worked on, on and off, for the better part of four years now. Something always pushes it aside... lol

Maybe if I focus, I can get those two projects finished and move on to the next exciting new idea!

Thank you to all who sent me their love and sympathy- maybe we don't know each other in person, but you are my friends and I cherish you!

About my sister

2011-01-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

Just when all of the new things were due to begin, I got the sad news that my sister, Heather, passed away. She was just 43 years old.

My sisters and I are all spread out: I am here in Colorado, my youngest sister Becky is in Saskatchewan, my middle sister Sandy is in Quebec, and Heather was in our hometown in Ontario. Life circumstances and geography kept us from spending a lot of time together as adults, but we were the four musketeers when we were little.

I was fortunate to be able to travel to her service, and more fortunate that my thoughtful husband was able to come with me. Becky and her husband were able to come too, and we descended on Sandy and her family- though she took it all in stride like she has a houseful every day.

It was the first time I have been back in Canada since I moved here. I still didn't feel ready to go, I didn't want to have to think about the past life that I left behind. And I wish more than anything that I had been making the trip to see Heather while she was still with us.

Heather was born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, and through her whole life dealt with a myriad of impediments and health issues as a result. She had excellent doctors at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, and other than a few operations in her childhood, was able to live a pretty normal life until her mid-twenties. Adulthood brought out a host of new physical challenges and seemingly random illnesses.

She married as a young adult and had a wonderful little boy, Dan, who was her pride and joy. That marriage didn't work out as she had hoped and she later married another man who loved her dearly and was a good helpmate to her. They were still married at the time of her death.

Her son Dan, is now a strapping 20 year old man, and a proud member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons. It was such a relief to us, his aunts, to know that he is not only in charge of his life, but is happy.

We were just in Ottawa for two days (the other two days were traveling back and forth), and it was busy so I, like many of us when trying to manage our way through a difficult situation, focused on the things that had to be done and the people we had to see, etc. I didn't let myself think too much about what we had lost.

But now I am back at home and normal life resumes. Only it resumes with a little piece missing and that hurts.

I decided to go through my measly pile of old photos (I used to have a lot more, long story) and scan what I have to share with my sisters. I wish I had done it sooner so I could be making Heather a copy too. Years ago I did make her a little scrapbook with photos of the four of us sisters, and her husband told me at her funeral that it was one of her most prized possessions. I don't even remember what photos I used in it- and who knows, if I was making her one of these now, she might be laughing her head off at me for getting old and forgetting that I had already given her those photos... lol

Heather loved to laugh and always had a smile for those she cared about, no matter what she was struggling with at the time. She loved to visit with family, and she loved to sing.

She and I were less than a year apart in age and so only a grade apart. We both sang in the school choir (she was a soprano and I was an alto) and we would come home and teach the younger two sisters the songs and we would sing in harmony. We must have been pretty good, at least for our ages, because my father used to have us sing for visiting family members. Heather is the only one who kept singing in her adult life, she was an enthusiastic member of her church choir.

When she was able to, Heather volunteered her time knitting and crocheting for the homeless, and baked anytime someone in her church lost a loved one. Maybe that is how she managed to stay cheerful despite her disabilities, staying focused on others when she could.

It makes me really sad to see her smiling face in a high school photo and to know I won't see her smile in person again. But I will remember her smiling, and I will be thankful that we had her for the time we did. I will be grateful that she is no longer in pain or struggling with physical constraints.

I will remember her joy in some of my work and be comforted knowing she is now looking over us all.

My New Year starts NOW!

2011-01-08T08:33:00.001-07:00

I am very excited to be taking part in a couple of things this year: The Sketchbook Challenge and Brave Girls Soul Restoration.

The Brave Girls course starts on Monday, so I will be back with that as soon as I know more. In the meantime, if you are interested, click on the button to the right, and it will bring you to the site.

The reason the Sketchbook Challenge interests me is because I have been sort of keeping a sketchbook over the past year, starting with my Suzi Blu classes and I love it. This challenge is free, it just started and runs all year. Why not join me? Click on the button on the right for more information

I know that practicing a skill makes it a habit and it also teaches. There is so much I want to learn! I want to try a bunch of different mediums and see what speaks to me the loudest. I want to force myself to experiment without worrying what others will think of my work. I want to live my life as an artist, to see, to think, to DO things mindfully.

For Christmas I received a bunch of new supplies and have only just now opened them up to have a look since my kids were here from January 2nd to the 6th.

My husband got me some vine charcoal in my stocking because I have been very excited to try sketching with it. My daughters got me some oil pastels and watercolors and some sketchbooks.

Our January sketchbook challenge is Highly Prized, and I made a written collage page, listing a bunch of things that I value in my life- that one is not complete yet, I will show it soon.

But for some reason yesterday I felt compelled to use my charcoal and this is what I did. It took a short time, I didn't think- I just did. And I am pretty pleased with my first effort!

Highly prized: Me. Because my husband takes time to tell me every day how important I am to him, and also because I am learning that I need to value myself too, in order to be my best self.

Christmas Art!

2011-01-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

So even though we are a whole week into January, I guess I won't really feel like it's the new year until this coming Monday because our holidays were so extended this year.

My eldest daughter and son live in Ottawa, ON, and I just get to see them a couple of times a year. They both currently work in retail and weren't able to come here right on Christmas. They arrived on January 2nd and left yesterday. It was a whirlwind of activity while they were here, as always, but a lot of fun and way too short.

I had asked my kids to make me something for Christmas and the older ones did. They are both self-taught in all of their artistic endeavours, which I find pretty impressive. I would never have had the confidence to even try things without instruction.

Holly likes to draw and paint and made me this to hang in my studio:

I am not even sure what mediums she incorporated, I must remember to ask her next time we chat on the phone. If you click on any of the images, you can see them larger.

The warrior woman with the antler helmet has a lot going on in it, I love it. The bottom part is a sketch of Holly's hands and a quote from a favourite song of hers. It's a beautiful piece of work! Now to find the perfect place for it in my studio.

My son likes to draw too, but he prefers to write. He writes stories, short novels, he journals, and he writes music (both lyrics and the actual music to be played). His gift to me was a book with the lyrics from a CD he is writing. It isn't finished, it is still a work in progress. It is fun for him and therapeutic too, I bet. Here is a photo of the outside of the book:

And the art he drew on the inside of the cover:

I love that Ben has set himself a goal of this sort and love that he wants to share it with me.

Holly asked for a set of sketching pencils in her stocking, and we got Ben back on the road to creating music.

Chloe received a set of knitting looms and also an origami book/paper so she kept her hands busy all through the vacation. She also made all of her siblings tiny scrapbooks for Christmas.

Heidi least likes to work with her hands- but I think it is a time thing for her, because she certainly seems to enjoy making things once she gets going. She decorated a cigar box for Holly as a Christmas gift and did a really great job, Holly loved it!

I don't know if the girls took photos of their projects before giving them away, but if not, I will ask their siblings to take photos for me.

Today is a quiet, creative day- Holly and Ben are safely back home in Canada, Heidi and Chloe are at school, and I am surrounded by my sketching supplies and am going to spend the afternoon having fun!

More fun coming right up!

2011-01-01T22:25:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year to all of my friends out there in Blogland! I hope you all know how much you all mean to me- how much I look forward to "talking" to you, to being inspired by your work, to having little glimpses into your creative process. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

My friend Diane, over at My Art Journal, http://dianesalter.blogspot.com/ did a post about her blog book- what a wonderful gift from her children! Thank you for sharing that, Diane- I am looking to tie up loose ends and print my various blogs too- though they will all have to end at the beginning of January since we are not done celebrating yet! Here's the web site: http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html

We had our first Christmas on Christmas Day- me, my hubby, my two daughters who live with us, and my two stepsons who live on their own. We had a lovely, albeit very quiet few days.

New Year's Eve was even quieter, with the older of my daughters (living at home) out at a friend's for a good portion of the evening. None of the kids really get too excited about the holidays or anything else here at home anymore. Sigh.

Today, New Year's Day, we joined the neighbors for a little afternoon tea and it was great. Being relatively new here in the neighborhood, I really enjoy getting to know the people who live around us a little better.

Today I re-met a retired high school English teacher who has offered to take on my girls and their various essays/college applications/writing assignments (She needs to keep in practice YAY!), and her daughter, who is a professional photographer who teaches photography and even has some of her work in the Smithsonian!

I have been cooking most of yesterday and today in preparation for our next round of Christmas! My eldest daughter (21), and my son (20) arrive tomorrow and will stay till Thursday morning. Short, but I intend to make it as sweet as possible! I like to have tasty meals cooked ahead of time so that we can eat well without my being chained to the stove while we have company. Mission accomplished- bring it on!

I for one, plan on making this my best year yet, and my plate is already filled with wonderful things: The Sketchbook Challenge which began today and runs all year (click on the box top right); Brave Girls Soul Restoration which begins January 11th (also click on the box top right), the Yoga Journal 21 Day Challenge (http://www.yogajournal.com/), and a number of things on the back burner that will not stay there for another year because of my fear...

Hope you all enjoy the rest of whatever holidays you have with your loved ones, and are gearing up for a fantastic year!

Wanna see?

2010-12-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

My friend Brenda received her anniversary quilt in December (in only a WEEK!!!) and saved it to open on Christmas Day. She was really pleased with it- and now I am at liberty to share it and it's story with you.

Here is a photo of the completed quilt on my bed:

I chose each block specifically for the story and there are 14 of them because they were married on the 14th of September.

Starting from top left and going across, row by row (like reading), I will tell the story with the block names in capital letters- sometimes they are in the main part of the story, sometimes they will be in brackets. I will write the story in paragraphs to indicate a new row.

Once upon a time, HANDY ANDY (Brenda's husband's name is Andy and he is a contractor), and LADY OF THE LAKE (Brenda grew up in a farmhouse on a small lake and had a lot of parties) fell in love and decided to get married (BRIDAL PATH).

Though they could be as different as NIGHT & DAY, they promised to love each other through SUNLIGHT & SHADOWS. So Brenda and Andy got married on September 14th, 1985 (a HEART block with wedding date in free-motion quilting) and made a home together (LOG CABIN).

Brenda was sometimes a CONTRARY WIFE, but a loving one always. They had three lovely children, Matthew, Jessica, and Adam (a BUTTERFLY block with kids' names), and Brenda was living a MOTHER'S DREAM. The family was able to enjoy many hours together at their favorite summer getaway (CROSSED CANOES).

No matter how busy Brenda got, she always had time to go out for dessert and Diet Coke with a friend (CAKE STAND, FRIENDSHIP).

The Maple Leaf block is because they are Canadian. This story is paraphrased because even though I took a photocopy of the label (which is this whole story plus other details), I can't find that paper right now and I DIDN'T remember to take a photograph of it. Good grief.

On the right side (as you are looking), is an applique vine and flowers- 14 flowers for the 14th again, and 25 leaves for the twenty-five years they have been married.

As any of my blog followers know, I am terrible at following patterns- I always think that I don't need to, or that I can do better, or worse, that I actually know what I am doing without it... lol But it does come back to bite me often- you'd think I would learn! lol This quilt is obviously my own design and it really didn't come out exactly the size I had hoped, but overall, I am pleased with it. And more importantly, Brenda is!

Here are some closer shots of some of the free motion I did in the sashing and on the floral side:

Here is the quilt on my lap while sewing on the binding.

I love making quilts, though I haven't made enough of them for it to feel like an easily-flowing task yet. I still find it overwhelming, but oh so satisfying at the end!

I will be back, I have been doing LOTS of things in the past month, just haven't made time to post!

Quick peek

2010-12-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been a while since I posted anything I have been working on, so I wanted to post a photo this morning to show you that I AM working on something! lol

I lost the whole week last week with the holiday and company and this quilt MUST get in the mail no later than Saturday, or I'm afraid it won't arrive in Canada before Christmas.

I have to admit, that imaginary line, the border between the US and Canada, does baffle me- how does it cause so much stress to the post office on both sides??? I have had Christmas packages travel from here to there in five days, in other instances, it took more than three weeks... I will have to keep my fingers crossed that this time will be on the shorter side.

So here is a quick peek at the quilt. It's for my BF Brenda's 25th anniversary and is a sampler quilt of sorts.

Everything in it is there for a reason or to represent a number and I can't explain now just in case Brenda decides to check out my blog.

But I will make sure to take lots of photos before sending it out and I will tell you the quilt story!

Great giveaway by a great artist!

2010-11-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

I often find great artists by clicking on links that artists I follow have on their blogs.

If you do the same, you might already be aware of Diane Salter, because I have a link to her...

I "met" Diane in Suzi Blu's Les Petit Academy, and still keep up with what she is doing because I LOVE her work.

Diane not only draws, paints, makes her own paper, decorates boxes, doors, and furniture, but she sells her stuff, traipsing off to various craft shows around her area.

She often incorporates her beautifully drawn girls and angels into her work, and she works in a palette that is appealing to many people- including me! Her work is so exciting and interesting because there are so many layers and lovely things going on- but it never looks busy.

If you are interested at all in doing this, you need to visit Diane's blog and go through the archives- she is very generous with information about how to sell your work, how to do many of the techniques she uses, and tips in general.

This is a one year blog anniversary for Diane, and she is celebrating with not one, but two giveaways!

You can get up to three chances to win:

1. post a comment on her blog here: http://dianesalter.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-first-year-blog-anniversary.html

2. become a follower- and mention that in your comment

3. post a blog entry about it and let Diane know in a comment

Easy peasy! I would love to have either of the prizes, they are both gorgeous! Thanks so much, Diane!

I am one LUCKY DUCK!!!

2010-11-17T21:41:00.001-07:00

Entering giveaways is fun and I have had fun doing it because it leads me to new artists to follow and love!

Every time I enter a giveaway, I become a "follower" so that I can enjoy seeing others' work and joy, and so I can learn.

This week however, I actually won- not once, but TWICE.

First, I won a great tote bag and apron from Susan Brubaker Knapp at http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/ . All I had to do was look at beautiful photos from Quilt Market and make a comment. Looking was wonderful! I don't get to go to Quilt Market so I love it when people share photos and their experiences!

Susan is a wonderful quilt artist and author who teaches online and is featured in Quilting Arts magazine often. Her blog is informative, interesting, and fun, you should go check it out. You can follow her too! Thank you so much, Susan!

Then, just tonight I found out I am the third winner in the Brave Girls Club "AWESOME" giveaway. The girls over at Brave Girls are giving away a free "Soul Restoration" online class for every 1000 "AWESOME" comments they get.

If you haven't already, you should go and check out their main site: http://bravegirlsclub.com/
You will find information about the Soul Restoration class, you can sign up for the Daily Truth emails, which are short, inspirational messages that will lift up your spirits every day, you can find out about their Brave Girl Camps and Retreats (going to Brave Girl Camp is definitely on my Bucket List!), and join their community to stay in touch with Brave Girls around the world.

I am not describing it very well- you should just go there and see what all the fuss is about for yourself- you won't be sorry!

Thank you Kathy and Melody, I can't wait to dive into this new class with both feet!

On a side note, I HAVE been creating... but too busy to post photos! I am scrambling to get a queen sized quilt finished for a good friend of mine- it has to be mailed to Canada before Christmas and I have a ways to go yet. But that is because I keep changing my mind about how things should go on it. It would be easier to follow a pattern. But you already know I am not a pattern person... lol

I will post photos of the quilt before mailing. And maybe of some other stuff I have been making in between!

Swapzville at Scrapzville!

2010-11-03T13:45:00.001-06:00

Hi all!

I have been having a lot of fun over the last couple of months, participating in some mini-album swaps over at Scrapzville! You can click on the link and go there too, and join in if you like- or click on the Swapzville button to the right of this post.

I joined the swap in September and Scrapzville's swap queen, Felicia, was my partner. You can see a little video that Felicia made of the album she sent me here: http://scrapzville.blogspot.com/2010/09/christas-album-sorry-its-out-of-focus.html
She does a much better job of showing the album than I could. It is beautiful and I am amazed that someone could do all of that, starting with TP tubes!

Then I joined again for the October "Frightful and Delightful" swap- and look what I got from Ann! I have to do photos- and they don't do it justice at all, because you just can't show everything that comes out or opens or pops up. But trust me when I say I was plenty delighted with this album! Thank you SO much, Ann!

Both of the albums I have received in the swaps look so professional and stunning; these women have scrapbooking super-powers!

I actually feel kind of sorry for the ladies that get stuck with me for a swap partner! I am such a novice and it really shows. I LOVED making the albums I made, and these two I have received have already taught me a lot of things- but I am a rank amateur, no doubt about it.

These are jolly gals to play with though, and I am thankful that they have been gracious and encouraging about my fledgling skills.

Over the Christmas holidays, or before if I can make a little time, I am going to fill these lovelies with old photos and put them up on my mantle- they are so beautiful, they just NEED to be displayed! And I have to tell you, my kids are going to have so much fun looking through these!

Thanks again, Felicia and Ann, you are amazing artists and I am just thrilled to have some of your work in my home!

Halloween Art

2010-10-31T21:34:00.001-06:00

Just had to show you the pumpkins my 13 year old carved. There is an art to this- even if you are following a pattern!

The patterns were in an old folder; you tape it to the pumpkin and poke a bunch of holes around the design- then remove the paper pattern and set to cutting all the little pieces out.

It's weird- this child has very little patience for much, but for the past three years, pumpkins have commanded her full attention- and certainly command the attention of the adults taking their kids from door to door!

If you click on them, you can see a larger photo of them.

This is pumpkin number two- Heidi didn't want to carve hers, and Chloe didn't have a lot of time, so she chose an "easier" design... wouldn't have been easier for me, but compared to the first one she did this weekend, I guess it is easier...

Where does she get the patience?!?

I wouldn't even have considered it... and it even has a hanging spider.

She actually spent more time on these pumpkins than on her costume- because it isn't cool to have mom's help any more... but she was happy with how she dressed- and even more so because she was able to wear her footie pajamas underneath! lol

I had to cut her little friend off (she was dressed as a voodoo doll and looked great) because I don't publish other peoples' kids' photos without permission. You know.

Hope you all had a happy Halloween!

How do I know?

2010-10-21T09:01:00.002-06:00

I don't have photos to post this time, because this is not about something I have completed or something I am physically working on. This is about something I am wondering about.

The biggest thing art has done for me, is bring me self-awareness. I don't even know how to fully describe it- it's like being awakened after a long, deep sleep.

Since moving here, I have been awake, aware- but I always have this feeling there is more. The problem is, I spent the first 40 years of my life ignoring my inner voice, not trusting myself or my judgement, not believing that I have anything worth saying.

That has changed since I married my husband and moved here to be with him. I have been here, in the US, in this marriage, in our home, for over two years now and I feel gloriously excited, because I know I am on the right path for me. I do have something to say, and I have so many ways to say it. I want to trust myself, if I can only figure out how to know when to really listen!

But how do I know when my inner voice is telling me I need to do something specific because it is where I NEED to be, and not just something that I WANT to do because now I can?

How do I learn to listen and really understand that voice, that intuition, the one that really knows what road is mine right now?

What approach do I take? Do what is calling to me and trust/hope that it is right? Do nothing because I can rationalize myself out of it, or find a reason why I can't do it? I am just afraid of wasting time on the wrong thing. I have already spent a lifetime doing that! lol

Maybe it's best to take that leap of faith and do what feels right. What is the worst that can happen? I learn something? I find the right road while I am on an interim one? Neither of those things sound very negative, do they?

Maybe if I can bring myself to be more open about learning- not only techniques, but about ME and what makes me tick, I will be able to create what a friend of mine calls Soul-Work, and I will be better equipped to deal with the emotional issues that need to be addressed in this household.

Okay- so when I look at it THAT way- what wouldn't I do to get there?

What's new and link to a giveaway!

2010-10-14T07:59:00.000-06:00

Good morning Fellow Artistes!

I have been a bad blogger! My excuse is that my luncheon last week took up a lot of my time- and this week, I have been working away at a little Halloween scrapbook for my swap through Scrapzville.

Felicia at Scrapzville is an absolute wonder- if you like making mini albums, you will LOVE what she does and should go visit her blog to see her talent in action!

Last night was the meeting of a little art group I belong to. We started it about a year and a half ago, and there were about a half dozen of us coming regularly. Then we added some new people and lost most of the original members, so we still really don't have any kind of a mission statement or specific purpose.

Each of us is at a different place in our artistic journey, and many of our goals are different. But we always enjoy being together, so we keep going. Personally, though I don't have the time to commit to my creative side, (nor the talent to pull it off yet!), my art is very important to me. I NEED to always be making something, and it is is inspiring to surround myself with people who are like-minded.

We meet once a month and bring either works in progress for feedback, or work we have completed to show everyone.

I brought my Italy panels with me last night to show and get this: my husband was actually worried that I was taking them down for good! lol He really likes them and was happy to know they were just leaving temporarily. It feels pretty great to have made something to hang in our home that he likes as well as I do!

Here is how they look on the wall- you can click on the photo to see it larger.

I have to tell you about a necklace that my friend was wearing to our meeting last night- she bought it at a little shop and it was made by a local artist. It says on the front: May I be excused? and on the back: Thank you.

How simple- and how funny! How many times a day, especially with two teenaged girls at home, do I ask myself that very question?! I think I need one of those to wear EVERY DAY. lol I bet everyone could think of a time that being excused from something would be just great!

And last, but certainly not least, you should go over to Artsy Butterfly- Cathy is having her very first giveaway, a couple of photo prints. The shots are both taken at night, and are simply stunning! Of course, I love photography and have never been able to take good night shots. I suppose I had better get going and take a course on how to use my camera properly!

You should make some time to look through Cathy's blog while you are there. She is a talented photographer with a great sense of humor, you will enjoy looking. And she has an Etsy shop in case you see something you can't live without!

So, at the advice of one of my fellow bloggers, Connie, at Dirty Footprints Studio- TURN OFF THE COMPUTER- GO MAKE ART!!! And that's just what I am going to do! Have a good day all!

My art this week...

2010-10-08T22:14:00.002-06:00

My art this week was creating peace for myself when I most needed it and creating tasty food and a pretty setting for my get-together today.

Monday morning started off very badly with a family thing (I have two teenaged daughters at home- 'nuff said, right? lol), and I was feeling really low.

Instead of letting myself get into a funk about it, I did what housework absolutely had to be looked after and then spent the rest of the day in my studio, letting off steam through my hands, and it was wonderful!

Tuesday was my only son's 20th birthday. He lives two thousand miles away from me, and it is always a little tough to not be there on special celebratory days- but we had a great chat on the phone and he had a great birthday. Very fitting- he's a great guy. (I almost said kid. Yikes.)

Tuesday I also had my car in the garage all day, so there was the traveling back and forth for that, between the cleaning and planning and researching and creating.

Wednesday they came to put the very last finishing touches on my kitchen and not a moment too soon! I spent a good portion of that day in my studio as well, as I was making some little quilty ornaments and trying to finish up my Italy panels so I could hang them on the wall before Friday.

So what about Friday caused the hurry?

I belong to an antiques group with my neighbor and today was my day to host the group for lunch and a program. I had two co-hostesses who helped with planning, food, set up, and clean up.

I had to borrow most of the dishes and silverware we used, as there were 19 of us! I also had to borrow a teapot, coffee pot, sugar bowl, creamer, and large coffee maker... Thankfully, I actually have seating for 19 people, believe it or not! lol

I made lasagna and fresh dinner rolls, one of my helpers made an amazing spinach and fruit salad, and my other helper made the moistest, tastiest pumpkin cake for dessert.

I presented the program on the history of quilting, and after that I showed some of my quilted things (bed quilts, art quilts, bags/purses), and everyone was so kind and excited! I had invited the others to bring a quilt to show and talk about, and that was just the most fun- in fact, we are going to continue with it for the show and tell for next month too!

In the middle of the photo, to the right of the fireplace, you can kind of see my Italy panels hanging on the wall. I haven't finished the 9th one yet, but I hung what I had and I had a lot of great feedback on them today.

It was kind of scary; this was not only the first time I have entertained a large group (ever), but it was the first time that I had a lot of my work out for people to see. But I got so many positive comments it was very cool!

Here are the tables all set up for my guests. Don't you love the flowers? My neighbor Elizabeth and her husband were here at 8:30 am this morning with a bunch of vases and freshly cut roses from her garden!

All of my lovely guests had a good time, as did I. After everyone left, I wondered to myself how on earth I got here? I wasn't nervous today at all- I felt complete confidence in my abilities to entertain my friends, to feed them, to present an interesting program... when in my past, I would never have been able to pull any of that off. And not because of my lack of space- I just didn't have any faith in myself or my ability to do anything well enough, and that always caused me a lot of stress.

Today was stress-free. Not only that, it was fun! And it is all because I am growing into the person that has always been inside of me. I am loved, I am treasured, and I am free.

My darling hubby spoils me ROTTEN, I have to say. What a beautiful home we are making together. I am a HAPPY, HAPPY girl!

Some awesome people and sites to check out!

2010-10-01T20:13:00.000-06:00

Writing my earlier post today made me think of the numerous generous people I am in contact with every day through blogs and websites, and how much talent and generosity is out there!

A number of these artists are so giving with their time and information- there is a number of them doing free tutorials or giving instructions on how they made something so you can too.

This is by no means a complete list of what is out there- but whom I have on my list right now that is generous with their talent.

In alphabetical order:

One Designer's Journey: http://designerann.blogspot.com/ - videos of crafty things and recipes

1st Floor Flat: http://1stfloorflat.blogspot.com/ - video tutorials of art & stuff

alisaburke: http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/ - recipes and how-to's for art & photography

Art Freebies: http://artfreebies.blogspot.com/ - free vintage-type images for you to use in your art

Creative Carmelita: http://creativecarmelina.blogspot.com/ - step-by-step instructions for many different things

Heather Thomas: http://heatherthomasblog.blogspot.com/ - step-by-step instructions for machine quilting

Hub Bub: http://dianatrout.blogspot.com/ - lots of video tutorials for art journaling and Creative Revolutionaries

My Art Journal: http://dianesalter.blogspot.com/ - mixed media tutorials & tips/hints for craft shows

Scrapzville: http://scrapzville.blogspot.com/ - video tutorials about everything scrapbooking & monthly swaps

Teesha Moore: http://www.teeshamoore.com/latest_news.htm - how she does her art journals

The Magpie's Nest: http://intothemagpiesnest.blogspot.com/- freebies and tutorials

The Three Muses: http://thethreemuseschallenge.blogspot.com/ - weekly challenges for anyone to join

Why not visit these sites and see what you think- and leave a comment for them. We bloggers LOVE comments!!!

What we do

2010-10-01T10:48:00.001-06:00

As an aspiring artist, I follow many blogs and visit many sites every week. These blogs and sites give me inspiration, ideas, HOPE.

Those of you who make art, know for yourself that art is a healing thing! And those of you who don't make art because you think you can't- think again! It is in ALL of us to create things, to express ourselves in some artistic way.

Art takes many forms. There is art to making a beautiful home for your family and loved ones. There is art in growing food or flowers. There is art in cooking a delicious meal. There is art in donating your time and efforts to help others.

And then of course, there is the art we create to adorn our walls, our bodies, our furniture, our surroundings.

Any of the things we do to make our lives or the lives of others more beautiful, is art.

The community of artists is a generous and giving one. So many artists out there are helping people find peace and healing through art. They are helping people find their voice, and that is a spectacular thing!

There are so many online courses you can take to learn things, and with them you get a community of like-minded people surrounding. These people can often become friends. How cool is that???

Many of the courses are for a fee of course, as these wonderful people do have to make a living like the rest of us. And we should support them in their endeavours because what they do is important!

However, every once in a while, someone offers some instruction for free, out of the goodness of their hearts, because they have this need to reach out to those who might otherwise have to miss out on learning because of their financial situation.

I am going to tell you about one of those artists today: Tam at willowing.org

She is offering a free, four-week course on healing art beginning October 18- but registration is open now.

It is open to everyone! It costs nothing- but if you can afford the price of a class, why not make a donation or look at what classes are available for purchase on her site? If you can't afford to do that, please post about this class and add a button- spread the word so more people will go to Tam's site and either join the class or buy stuff- or both! Spread the love!!! Because that is what artist do!!!

You will find the button on my sidebar. I think it is going to be a great class. Wanna join me there?

So, about Suzi Blu...

2010-09-23T08:04:00.000-06:00

Where to start describing an experience that changed your life and helped you believe things about yourself that you never would have thought possible?

My interest in art journaling prompted me to find YouTube videos to watch- and that was when I first came across Miss Suzi Blu. She had a whole bunch of free tutorials on there that were fun and informative. I watched every single one of them, I couldn't get enough. I watched Suzi demonstrate things and thought, "I might be able to do something like that- and I want to try!"

I did a search and found Suzi's website, "A Lovely Dream", at http://suziblu.typepad.com/ and saw that she offered online drawing classes, both in stylized faces and folk art dolls. There was a promotional video for "The Goddess and the Poet" which I watched two whole times in its entirety. You wanna know what really got me determined to sign up?

Suzi said she believes that everyone can learn to draw. That she believes we should all be kind and patient with ourselves and our mistakes and let our inner artist come out. Negativity is discouraged- well, trampled down with positivity, actually! Now I know she wasn't talking about or to me specifically, but here's The Thing: it felt like she was.

When you learn with Suzi, you are in for a real experience of the life-changing kind! All of the videos are filmed with a "you-can-do-this" attitude mixed with humour, good solid instruction, and constant reminders to take it slow, enjoy the process, and to expect mistakes. We were always encouraged to embrace our mistakes, to see them as part of our learning process.

Permission to make mistakes? Sign me up! lol That was definitely an environment I could embrace and learn in!

So, I signed up for The Goddess and the Poet, and got the Angels class too. I went right out and got some basic supplies and started watching the videos that make up the class. And I drew, every single day. I was addicted!

Drawing is fascinating and relaxing, and it gives me a real sense of accomplishment. Why? Because unlike some of the other artsy things I do, when I draw- even when I am trying to imitate my teacher- I am making something so unique to ME, something no one else has drawn exactly. I hope I am explaining myself properly.

I plucked up my courage and started posting even my beginner photos, of eyes, noses, lips... and moved on to faces and such. I can draw a face!!!

When you post something in the homework area, it gets specific feedback from Suzi- what works, what you could do to make it work better (if you want), etc. I don't know how on earth she managed all of the critiques, but she did. It was really great to see my work through her eyes, because I was finding that looking at it for so long kind of made me lose perspective.

The Student Gallery is a place for the students to post photos of what they are working on for everyone to see, and that really helps too. Not only is it inspiring as all get out, but it helped me see what I was doing right and wrong for myself, because I could see what appealed to me, and how it was the same or different to what I was doing.

Besides the personal attention, the classroom set up is great! I have "met" a lot of really cool people at Suzi Skool (http://suziblu.ning.com/). I follow their blogs and learn from them too!

After Goddess & Poet was finished, I signed up for Piety & Passion, which focused on side profiles and the 3/4 view of the face. That was harder, and I don't know that I really understand the placement of things yet, but since we get to keep the videos from the classes (which is a HUGE bonus!), I can re-visit it at any time and go through it- again and again if I need to.

I was fortunate enough to be able to buy the Petit Dolls Beginner and Advanced classes too, when they were offered one last time. I haven't gotten through too many of those yet, but again, since I have them to keep, I can do that at my leisure.

After a lot of debate with myself, I decided I wasn't able to commit to any other classes at this time, due to my volunteer work at my daughter's high school, and so I didn't sign up for the Mermaid class, sadly.
But I am still a member of the school and am able to see the wonderful things that everyone is producing! How fun is that?

If you need further motivation to sign up for a Suzi class, consider this: you will not only learn how to draw something (and that in itself is pretty amazing), but you will learn other things about yourself- like how much creativity and imagination you really have! And you will find it coming out in SO many different ways during and after a class with Suzi Blu.

I know I think bigger and so much differently about my art- and my life- than I did before I started. Sign up- you won't be sorry!

Uber-Cool giveaway!!!

2010-09-18T13:27:00.002-06:00

I follow a LOT of artists' blogs, and I am constantly going from site to site to see what beautiful things all of these wonderful people are creating. It's awe-inspiring on a slow day- so don't even get me started on a there-are-so-many-posts-that-I-am-going-to-leave-a-bumprint-in-MY-chair-too day! lol

Connie over at Dirty Footprints Studio (http://www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com/) is offering a STUPENDOUS giveaway for those of us who spread the word about this fantastic new art journaling class of hers- I could win the class PLUS I could win a class to give away to one of you reading my blog... is that fantastically generous or what???

I love art journalling but still feel pretty timid about it and so I am tempted to take this class and dive in!
The workshop is called: 21 Secrets: An Art Journal Playground. You can read all about it here: http://www.dirtyfootprintsworkshops.com/2008/09/21-secrets-art-journal-playground.html

I just finished reading through the teacher list and descriptions and holy cow, if even we don't win (you know, you and me!) what a value this is- well worth the small price they are offering it for. Every single secret sounds exciting and thought-provoking and fun! ALL of them sound fun and exciting to me!

Though I must admit, I am especially intrigued by a few that really stand out because of my particular interests or weaknesses...

Like the Conversations with Self: Letters from Your Inner Child, by Angelia Thompson. Who doesn't have childhood issues they wish they could be done with once and for all??? I know I could stand to silence those negative age-old messages!

And Art Journaling's Sassy Little Sister: The Art Postcard by Lis Hofmann. Who doesn't LOVE to get real, hands-on mail? I moved here to Colorado from Ontario, Canada a little over two years ago, which means I have a daughter, three sisters, and dear, dear friends who are FAR away... I would love to learn some things to make pretty and interesting things to send them all, to let them know I am thinking of them.

What about The Secret of Beginning, by Lisa Wilson? I should probably start there... I feel like I have all of these ideas and ambitions swirling around in my mind and soul, but I hardly ever know how to get them out of me onto a page or canvas, into my work. I would like to learn how to start!

And 10 Text Techniques, by Tami Chacon. Every artist I know personally is all about words in their work, and I have to admit, I would love to know how to put them into my work too. Every time I try, it looks out of place and just not right.

This is just a very small sampling of this workshop- and I would be willing to bet that you will find not one, but a bunch that appeal specifically to you too. Here's the link again: http://www.dirtyfootprintsworkshops.com/2008/09/21-secrets-art-journal-playground.html

And who knows, maybe we will be classmates!

Coming along...

2010-08-31T08:59:00.002-06:00

After working on the backgrounds of my Italy pieces for a few days (here and there), I got a little stuck as to where to go next.

Then I got a little scared. I was liking the backgrounds and didn't want to ruin them.

So I started by laying out the photos and the ticket stubs and various paraphernalia that I wanted to display on the boards, moving them around to suit me, and fitting in each place name where it seemed to go.

Then I looked some more, day after day, afraid to do anything permanent, to wreck all the work and thought I had put in so far.

On the weekend, we worked like crazy on Saturday to get everything around the house done so we could relax on Sunday.

And then here I was with this time, late Sunday afternoon. For a moment I hesitated: should I just charge right in and glue the stuff down, or should I spend more time agonizing over whether I had everything just right or not?

I decided I was being ridiculous and just started getting the stuff attached, one panel at a time.

I need to print a few more photos- there are a few holes now where there weren't before... not sure how that happened exactly...

I am debating whether to label the photos on the front, or make a list on the back. I need to decide also how to and how much to tone down some of these items that really stand out.

I have walnut inks in four different colours, which I could brush or spray on.

I have both Paynes Gray and Burnt Umber Golden Fluid acrylics which work wonders at shading- but as there is both blue and brown in these, I am not sure which way I want to go.

It's a little odd; usually when I post my work up here and I can see the photos from a different perspective, I notice many things that I don't like and that don't fit. But these actually look better in the photos than I think they look on my table.

Which brings up important questions. What do/will others see? Should I work forward based on what I see in the photo here or what I see in front of me?

I guess this is where some experience would really help me. And I guess the only way to get it, is to DO it!

Still working on background

2010-08-23T11:28:00.000-06:00

So I have added more to the backgrounds- Titan buff rubbed on, then splattered on.

Rubber stamps (two I made myself from scraps of a new set I just bought), in blue, green, mauve, and white. See, I think the background is nice, but so dark that the photos won't show. This is my attempt to lighten it up. I might put some light coloured ink around the torn edges of the photos too- but I am trying to be careful not to introduce too many colours. Maybe I already have too many... I could paint over it, if I must!

A closer view of one panel- I need to lighten it without completely covering the Italian newspaper I used as a first layer.

A view of the set. The place names are rub-on letters on scrapbook paper then torn- they look good to me, but as I look at these photos, I can see they will need to be grunged up a bit so they don't stick out like a sore thumb! lol

I may have to change/paint over some of the colours too, but I am waiting to see.

I have my photos sorted and torn, my ticket stubs and maps all ready- now for the courage to start putting it all together!

I find I do better work when I don't think TOO much. My subconscious seems to have a better feel for things than my conscious! lol

Next step in Italy series- and suggestions if you have them!

2010-08-18T09:25:00.002-06:00

Well, getting ready for our kitchen renos has left me very little time to work in my studio, though I have been thinking a lot about it.

Now that the renovations have begun and things are getting into a bit of routine with them, I have some time.

My first challenge was to see if I would be able to use photos printed on paper without the ink running and blurring or smearing the photos.

To test it out, I decided to do an Italy panel featuring a bunch of my favourite photos of my dear hubby I took on our vacation.

Thinking that the photos are so full of blues and greens (Italy is so lush and bright!), I began my background with a green hill and blue sky. It turned out way too bright and so I scraped a whole bunch of Titan Buff on it to tone it down, and I liked it!

I bought some chipboard letters on sale and coloured them with some little stamp pads I have, in blue and green. Then I edged them in Raw Umber. I love blue and green and brown together!

I had some white tissue paper that said "100% handmade in Italy, with a little picture of the boot- I tore pieces so I just had "Italy" and the picture, and collaged it all over the canvas.

Next I tore the photos to give me raw edges and placed them where I wanted them. I used matte medium to brush the backs and glue them on, using a dry, clean finger to smooth themout (I didn't want the ink to run). I let it dry for a while, then came in and quickly brushed a layer of matte medium over top of it- so far, so good!

I tried attaching a photo I had printed on fabric too, but it got too wet and dried in a complete blur. I attached a copy of the same photo printed on paper on top of it.

After the photos were dry, using Raw Umber, both out of the bottle and mixed with acrylic glazing liquid, I brushed the paint on and wiped it off, doing layers to make the photos stand out a bit.

I love the palette, and have carried it over to the seven original panels that I started in newspaper and walnut ink (last post). I dabbed on some blue and green paints, and let them dry. Next step will be some Titan Buff before I add anything else.

I had a little bit of blue and green paint left over, so I covered the ninth panel and might do an end piece to tie it all in- hang all nine together... AND I worked on a background piece. Backgrounds are my weak area and I am trying to learn how to do a good one. I have no idea what I will do with this yet, but it isn't going anywhere so I guess I don't have to decide right now!

But now I have a question for you: do you have any suggestions for what might enhance/finish this first panel? I am planning to write the locations of the photos in brown ink (which I have to get first), because I don't want to depend on my memory to remind me where they were all taken.

I am happy with it, and could probably leave it, but I have the feeling it might need something else to fill it in or finish it, other than the writing... just not sure yet what it should be. Maybe I need to do the writing first and see what I think. Maybe I could journal a little in handwriting...

Aaaaakkkk! I am a little anxious, I don't want to ruin this, especially when it is at a point that I like the overall look.... lol

I am continually amazed at what comes out of my original ideas- because they are never what I imagine at the beginning.

I am fairly new to mixed media and my biggest challenge to date is knowing when to stop. Oh. And when to keep going. lol

Italy Panels!

2010-07-25T16:57:00.000-06:00

Since I finally have things pretty much back to normal, I figured it was time to start on the project I thought of while on holiday with DH in Italy this summer.

I collected and saved all of our ticket stubs from museums, trains, everything. I saved sales receipts, sugar packets (a couple of them were really cool!), bread stick wrappers, a newspaper, brochures, etc.

Of course, I only had a vague idea then, and I have to confess, it's still rather vague now too! lol

I have sorted out all the paraphernalia into places, so there will be seven pieces in this project. One for each place: Milan, Lake Como, Torino, Genova, Cinque Terre, Pisa, and Firenze.

I bought seven 11 x 14 canvas panels (actually nine, since they came in 3-packs), and started on the backgrounds today.

I did one at a time, starting by covering the panel with matte medium. Then I tore strips and chunks of the newspaper and mostly covered the panel.

When the board was covered with just some little blank spots, I covered it all with another coat of matte medium, and smoothed it out with my fingers. This is really messy and hard to get off your fingers, so you could wear gloves. I don't, because I kind of enjoy the mess as part of the process.

Then I sprayed it with Tsukinek Walnut Ink, in Eucalyptus. I like the way it enhances the wrinkle of the newspaper and the texture of the canvas.

I did all seven of them, and they are drying right now.

Here is one panel closer up- it's drier because it was done first.

After they are all fully dry, I will see how dark they are, and I suppose before I decide if they need lightening up or not, I should see what the next layer looks like next to it.

And what to put on besides ticket stubs?

When I go through my stuff, I will tear out the place name for each from a brochure.

I made a journal entry from each place. They are still sketches, and I have scanned them into my computer. I can print out a smaller copies of them and colour or paint them, if I want. Or I could print out the smaller copies and put them on as is. I haven't decided. Maybe I won't include them at all.

I am also thinking of choosing a photo or two for each place and printing it on Lutradur, but again, no concrete plans.

I have a feeling that this project will lead me where I need to go. Actually that is often the case with much of what I do, because nothing ever turns out the way I originally envisioned... lol

I will keep you posted as I progress.

Finally back!

2010-07-07T12:45:00.001-06:00

I am finally back to normal (and I use that term very loosely! lol) life.

Rich and I have had our wonderful trip to Italy, and I have been busily organizing my 2000+ photos...
I will be sharing a number of them on this blog, as I took them specifically for their inspiration. But it will still likely take me a little bit to get things sorted.

I am the mother of four, two teens living here with me and my husband, and two young adults, living and working up in Ottawa, Canada, where we are from.

The two youngest went up to Ottawa and spent three weeks with their siblings- then all four of them flew here, so I could also have a visit with them. I usually only get to see them at Christmas, because of their work and school obligations.

Anyway, all of my kids are artistic and enjoy doing and making things. I was really looking forward to spending time with my three girls in my studio, and wanted my son to join us, but didn't think he would enjoy making an art journal, doing mixed media, etc.

So I did a little research and found that there were books and kits to teach someone how to draw Marvel-type comics, something my son is completely taken with!

I ordered a couple of books and a kit for Ben, and I ordered a couple of books and a mixed media kit for Holly.

Much to my delight, my studio was the hub of a lot of the week's activity! They were all in there at various times, adding things to their projects and just generally relaxing and enjoying themselves together.

I wanted to help them add art to their lives- in an accessible way. I had them use their kits and as many of my supplies as they wanted, to see what they wanted to have for themselves at home in addition to their kits and books.

We went on a little spree to purchase some basics for them to bring home: paint brushes, water soluble coloured pencils, regular coloured pencils, mechanical pencils, kneaded erasers, sketch books, journals, a set of oil pastels for Holly, a little manikin and some different rulers for Ben; there might have been more, I can't remember what else.

As Holly and Ben support themselves without help from me, they pretty much live paycheck to paycheck and art supplies are a luxury.

Only I don't think that is true, really. I really believe what Jenny Doh says "ART SAVES".
I think by being able to send my kids home with their own art supplies, I have given them another way to deal with the stresses of every day life, and the ability to create joy whenever they please!

Here are three of them working away intently- I must have stood and watched them for a good ten minutes, just feeling the happy wash over me!

Here are a few things Holly made:

Her mixed media on wood

Her art journal

And a pastel drawing

And Ben's:

Comic book hero (not sure if he has a name)

A kind of mixed media piece using some lines from the movie, "Boondock Saints"(I believe)

And another on wood with the comic guy's face

Chloe worked on her art journal- this is a page spread (I haven't gotten a photo of the cover yet)

Aren't they talented?!

Heidi started work on her art journal as well, but she had to work some of the time and didn't get to spend as much time in the studio as the rest of them. I will post more journal pictures that Heidi and Chloe do over the summer.

I am hoping that I have convinced all of them that creating is an integral part of life.

I told them all that I expect them to make me a piece of art as a Christmas gift. I don't want anything else, but to be able to hang up and look at things my kids have created for me. My studio is just going to get better and better!

Independence Girls!

2010-07-04T17:21:00.004-06:00

Happy Fourth of July all!

As any of you who follow my blog already know, I have been taking online classes with Suzi Blu since January. And as I am sure you also know, I have had an absolute blast of a time while I learn.

Earlier in the week, Suzi challenged all of us to make a Fourth of July piece. We have to put it in the student gallery at Suzi Blu's Les Petit Academy for our fellow artists to see and comment on (and my fellow artists are the most incredibly supportive group EVER), and then do a post on our blogs about our experiences in Suzi's Underground Art Skool. Here is the link: http://suziblu.ning.com/

So here is my piece, even though I feel it is not quite done yet. What fun I had making it, especially trying to figure out that crazy hair! Being a Canadian who has just had the temporary residency status taken off of her green card (I am a legal resident alien now! lol), I thought it only fitting to do both a Canadian AND American girl. (We just celebrated Canada's birthday on July 1st).

For some unknown reason, my photos rarely do my work justice. When I look at this piece in person, I don't see everything so defined- yet here, as I look, things stand out too much... I really think I need to invest in some kind of better flash or light to photograph my stuff!

This is done on glass primed with gesso. There is a map of the US and Canada in the background, along with paints, colored pencils, stamps, paper, Angelina fibers (the hair!), sequins (I just happened to have red, white, and blue stars and red maple leaves!), irrrdescent medium, bleeding tissue, and lots of Titan Buff paint- I still don't have their faces right and keep going over them. But at this point, I am running out of time to post, so posting I am!

My move here to the States HAS been an adventure in both happiness and immigration! And since moving here, I am learning new things all of the time, not the least of which is about art.

I will just say, for anyone who has ever wanted to learn to draw but thought they could never do it, these classes will change your mind. Besides learning some really good basics in a wonderfully supportive way, you will find yourself surrounded by a fantastic group of fellow artists, and led by a teacher who is funny, gifted, and so wonderful to learn from.

There are no "requirements" to get things done, for things to look a certain way. In fact, the way Suzi approaches her teaching with an attitude that everything we all make is art. She wants us to know that we need to foster patience with ourselves and the process of learning. We are encouraged to copy her examples, because that is how the masters learned it- and no one's art looks like anyone else's anyway! lol

Most of all, what has helped me grow in confidence is the knowledge that I can always fix my mistakes or work them into something else. There is such a freedom in that! It's blanket permission to just get into the studio and make what moves me at that moment without all of the stress and worry that it might not be right or good enough.

Taking classes with Suzi is the best thing I have ever done for myself- because I NEED to create and I, like many other artists, flourish when I am inspired and encouraged by like-minded, generous, talented people.

I know a number of talented women who follow my blog and whose blog I follow, are my fellow students with Suzi, and they know exactly what I am talking about.

If you are not already a Suzi student, why not click on this link and check out the available classes? http://alovelydream.com/site/Workshops.html
If you have a little time this summer, you can even try a class for a discounted price right now. If you sign up, you still have till September to submit your work for feedback. It's a great deal! If you want access to the critique rooms for a whole semester, the new classes will start in September. You will never know the heights you can reach until you try.

Just in case you are wondering after reading this post: no, I am not being paid to promote Suzi Skool. lol I just want to share with you something that has really changed my life by helping me see that I too, can create beautiful things, and express myself in so many ways as an artist!

just quick...

2010-06-28T16:55:00.000-06:00

Well, we are back. Italy was wonderful! I came back so inspired by what I saw and experienced. I will explain in better detail soon.

We just had a few days home to get sorted and today, all four of my kids flew in- the two that live here with us, and the two that are young adults, living on their own in Ottawa, Ontario- here for a visit with Mom!

All four of my children are creative and artistic, each in their own way, and each in more ways than one. Some of them are musically inclined, some draw, some paint, some write- I am always impressed by what they can do!

I am looking forward to a fun week with them. We will definitely spend some time creating some things and maybe I will have a few new things to show you- and to hang on my studio walls.

So I will be back soon, with stories and photos.

Happy creating, all!

Elizabeth...

2010-06-05T22:08:00.000-06:00

Hello all! It's been a while since I posted- it's been crazy here; last few days of school, helping the girls get ready for their trip to Ottawa, getting things set for our vacation.

Now that I have things organized, let me show you what I have been working on in between cleaning and packing!

One of the Suzi Blu classes I am taking right now is called Piety & Passion. It is a part two of the portraits class (the first is Goddess & Poet- FANTASTIC!). We are learning to draw the face from the side and the 3/4 view, very challenging. But we have a theme- the Tudors! How fun is that? This leaves room for lots of mixed media embellishment and it is a blast!

This first photo shows the sketch I started with:

This next photo shows what I submitted for critique last week... and believe me, it looks a LOT better than when I started adding colour to her. She had this giant head of screaming red hair and it was TOO much! lol And the border, made with torn squares of paper, angelina fibres, and paint was too- I don't know what. Defined maybe.
The pink was my solution to re-unify the piece in order to go forward. The paint had to be thick, so I added some texture with the end of my paint brush. Oh, and the velvet for her dress.

This is what I am submitting this week.

I am playing with things to add texture, I want to see how they work, how they look, how they play with other products I use in the work. I am also trying to remember to do the push-pull thing.

This photo is not very good- the light is reflecting on the metallic paint on her eye and even the inks seem to be picking up the light.

This step has left the piece much less defined and more chaotic. Kind of like life in general right? lol
No matter how organized I try to be, no matter how good my plans are, life always seems blurrier and less defined than I counted on. But you know what? I am really becoming okay with that. Maybe this new life of mine is finally teaching me to let go of my need for so much control over things. This class is sure teaching me to go with the flow- and not to give up, no matter how awful a piece looks to me at some point. I now actually feel there is very little in my art that I can't make pleasing in the end.

I feel that this piece is not done, but I am not sure what she needs. I will think on it. Maybe when I come home from our holidays, I will have a fresh enough eye to KNOW what she needs.

Did I tell you that next week my wonderful husband and I are going to Italy for a two-week vacation?! I have pinched myself so many times this past week... between the volcanic eruption in Iceland and the strike at British Airways (we are flying with them), I just didn't let myself get my hopes up that this trip of a lifetime would actually happen. But it IS!!!

We will fly in and out of Milan, and spend time in Lake Como, Turin, Genoa, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Pisa, and Florence. From what I have read, I could be happy spending the whole two weeks in Florence... *sigh*

My husband is not much into art, but I am dragging him to at least a few galleries anyway! I just can't even imagine what this trip will be like... One of our assignments in this Piety & Passion class is to take a field trip to a gallery or museum and draw a portrait from a sculpture. Holy cow, can you think of a better place to do that than Italy????

I will put up a blog about it when I get home and hopefully have lots of sketches and things to show you too!

What I have been up to..

2010-05-25T08:12:00.000-06:00

Well, mostly what I have been up to is gardening and playing catch-up, like I mentioned in my last post.

But I did squeeze in some bits and bobs of stuff when I could.

I finished my Arte Journal entry, "Who Do I Think I Am?" and it is COMPLETELY different than my vision of it when I started. Can't even tell you where it came from. But here it is:

And I have done another layer on my wood angel. Made her hair red, but scraped away some of it and then you can still see the blonde underneath.

I submitted this to the critique of my class, and Suzi's suggestion was to add some depth to the lines where her wings meet the background and a little where her hair meets her wings. I also thought I might add a little more texture to the middle of her wings, but I will have to see what I think after I add the darker colour to it.

Today I will be starting my Elizabeth on wood for the Piety & Passion class. I have several 3/4 sketches to choose from. I just need to pick one, attach her and get going!

If I have time to pick up a couple of new paint colours, I will do the next step on this angel too. I don't have a lot of colours at home, I tend to buy them as I need them.

And last but not least, my new Susan Tuttle book came in just yesterday, "Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements", and I have barely had time to look!

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love to take photographs. My goal is to fill our home with our photos, some just the way they are, and some altered and played with...

At this point in time, we have so little on the walls. But of what we do have up, my favourite is my 3D fabric photo that I made in a class with Heather Thomas. It is hung up close to my computer desk and makes me happy every time I see it! (Some of you have already seen this, it was taken on our trip to Portugal last year)

The definition of art

2010-05-22T22:19:00.003-06:00

Well, last week we all got back to our normal routine and I had a number of things to catch up on, having been on that two-week hiatus looking after my sweet husband.

When I was thinking about what to blog about here, at first I felt bad that I didn't have photos of more completed works to show. Then I replayed my week in my mind and had to write this post to remind myself, and maybe others out there, that even what we might consider menial chores in our lives, can be considered art if we carry them out with our best intentions and lots of love.

This is a dictionary definition of art: Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way to affect the senses or emotions.
Do you see what I mean? Art surrounds us. There is art everywhere, in everything we see, in everything we do.

So I enjoy my work around our home, instead of dreading it or putting it off. I love our home to be clean, to smell and look good, to be welcoming to our loved ones. I love our gardens to be full of beautiful things to look at and delicious things to eat. I love our dinner plates to hold colourful meals filled with textures and delightful aromas and flavours. Thankfully Rich is feeling better and enjoying food again!

For the whole week, I kept busy with many things: house cleaning, cooking, hardening off luscious little seedlings for the garden, some reorganizing and sorting for spring, etc.

One of my reorganization jobs was my studio. Just recently, my daughters have expressed an interest in creating some things with me and it got me thinking about the space and set up in my studio. It housed everything I needed, but was strictly functional, not pretty or inspiring, and not well laid out at all- there was too much wasted space.

Armed with graph paper, I drew the floor plan and all of the furniture, and came up with a new layout for the room, one which would allow much more space and light around my work table. I packed a few boxes (well labeled for later!) of things I am not using right now, and stored them on shelves in the basement.

I prettied up the windows, stapled a little skirt around the work table, ordered a set of three stools (I had previously swiped one from the kitchen), and organized supplies so that everything is easily within reach.

When the chairs arrive, hopefully next week, I will take a couple of photos. Thankfully I don't have to wait any longer to go back in there and play!

Today I spent the entire day fighting the lovely Colorado clay soil, readying my garden for plants and seeds. It was windy but hot and sunny and just a glorious day to be outside! Even though I have been just aching to get into my studio and draw, I was very pleased to get so much work done in my garden.

Tomorrow I will take a couple of photos of my angel on wood- I have added a couple more layers- and will submit it to Suzi's Angel class. I haven't submitted anything in a while. And I will take a photo of my latest journal entry for you to see- I haven't a clue where it came from, but boy, was it a lot of fun to make as it took on its own direction! And who knows, I may be able to carve out some time with my favourite pencil...

On a roll!

2010-05-11T12:46:00.003-06:00

I took advantage of the peace and quiet of today to work on some things in my beloved studio. Having my husband home for the last few days recuperating from surgery has meant a modified schedule for me- and LOTS of time to spend in my studio. I don't even know where all this energy and all of these ideas come from- I am just bubbling over with creative juices!

Now that I am doing a lot of mixed media, I like to have two or three things to work on simultaneously- while the gel medium dries on one project, I can paint another, and while the paint dries, I can move on to something else.

Of course with an art quilt in the works and my trusty sketchbook, there is always something to pick up at a moment's notice.

It is a bit astonishing to me: since January, I have actually completed a number of things instead of just dreaming about them! lol

First thing I did today was embellish the cover of my Moleskine sketch book. I sanded it yesterday to get it ready to hold tight to whatever I decided to slap on it this morning!

I painted, collaged, distressed, glued, glittered, and wrote on it. I am really happy with how it came out- and a little surprised too, as I had no plan at all when I started.

Next I did the next stage of my fairy. I had attached her to the backing and coloured her with my Prismacolors.

Today I did some painting and dripping, collaged some words and phrases into the background and did her wings. I really like her wings- I cut some white organza into little pieces and collaged them on with gel medium. Using little pieces instead of one big one gives her some texture and interest. She is not finished, but getting there...

Lastly, I made a copy of a recent sketch and attached it to my wood with matte medium. After it dried a bit, I sketched in the rest of her hair and her wings. Then took out my wood burning tool and added the feathers that will make up her wings. I haven't done any big things like this with the wood burner before. It was a little hot after a while and my hand got tired by the time I was finished, but I have to say, it was fun. And I like that I will be able to work the paint into the grooved pattern. Not sure exactly what the next step is.

Well, I guess it should be her face. Since I used a copy of my drawing, the ink ran when I attached it to the wood, so she looks all grey- but she won't stay that way, she will be all peachy and pure-looking when I get through with her! lol

Stay tuned for updated photos as I get stuff done!

Sidetracked... but lesson learned

2010-05-06T14:07:00.001-06:00

I have been making things for as long as I can remember. Creating things or making them nicer has always been a passion of mine, as well as a wonderful stress reliever. Not to mention it was one way I could give gifts to those I cared about, even on a very tight budget.

I am chair of a couple of committees for the Columbine HS Band Boosters and one of them is the Banquet committee. Every year we give the graduating Seniors a little gift. Last year one of the senior's mothers donated the gifts and took care of it all- very cool!

This year I was not so lucky and was left to figure out what to do. You understand we have a TINY budget for this, right? lol

So, I resigned myself to giving up precious studio time to decorate inexpensive photo frames. Thankfully I have fully embraced the shabby chic way of doing things, or I would NEVER have been able to pull it off.

After hours of sanding, painting and re-painting, collaging, sealing, and reassembling, they are finally finished. All THIRTY of the darn things. No two are exactly alike, but they are enough alike that one photo gives you the general idea.

I won't be at the banquet so I won't see anyone's reaction. I hope the kids like them- but honestly, I don't want to hear about it if they don't!

This band project really sidetracked me and kept me from doing what I wanted to be doing. But I will have you know, I have learned my lesson.

I have always helped out with things, I have always said yes, I have always offered my services. I have always felt that if I didn't step up to the plate, no one would. I guess I could get into a long psychological analysis of myself, trying to figure out why...

But I won't. I just know better now. Doing art, surrounding myself with creative, generous people, and exploring my boundaries has taught me that thinking of my time and myself as worthwhile is necessary, not selfish.

I think volunteer work is important to a well-rounded life and I intend to always give some of my time to something or other. But I also now know how valuable my time is and that it is perfectly acceptable for me to choose what I want to do rather than getting railroaded or feeling guilty about it. It is also perfectly acceptable for me to say no without explanations.

I have chosen to keep a board position for next year and have given up all of my committees, without a worry about who will do it next- because someone will just have to do it. And it does not have to be me! lol

Because I am an artist

2010-04-25T22:30:00.001-06:00

Something strange is happening to me.

Every time I look at someone, at some point I catch myself examining where the shadows fall on their face so I can sketch better.

Leftover hardware from hanging a new light fixture is quickly squirreled away in my studio because I just had a flash of the perfect wall hanging to make for our newly decorated dining room.

My little pencil case containing my sketching pencils, kneaded eraser, ruler, and circle template goes with me a LOT of places, just in case.

I have purse sized sketch pads and notebooks which are filled with ideas, sketches, and scribbles.

I used my colour tool to shop for my silk curtains and other accessories- I took it to the store with me and agonized over shades of red, red orange, and orange.

I go to bed with grandiose ideas of new projects and things I want to do to make our home more lovely.

I plan my day so that I always have time in my studio- even just to dream if nothing else. And I do that because I have come to believe that what I create is important- THAT I create is important.

I am not the same person I once was. I see and experience things so differently than I used to. I am compelled to create, it is not a choice!

I may never sell anything I make, or become well-known for anything I do.

But one thing is becoming crystal clear to me:

I see things differently because I am using an artist's eye.
I experience things differently because I believe I can re-create my feelings about something with my art.
I am compelled because I have things to say- and I believe that someone wants to hear them.

Because I am an artist. Yep- ME. Little old me. Suzi says so. But you know what? I say so too!

And I will keep saying it out loud to keep things happening on this wonderful road of discovery!

Just one sentence

2010-04-22T22:06:00.000-06:00

I have started an Art Journal. I think they are very cool and I bought one at the beginning of the new year, determined to use it to learn some things, to play and experiment.

But guess what? It is a bit of a daunting task.

What do I write?

How should I illustrate and decorate the pages?

I did a little sketch looking out of the window at the Stanley hotel while we were there for our anniversary. Even though I really don't know how to. Then I stuck it on the first page of that journal, made a Zentangle frame for it and wrote a few thoughts.

Then the journal sat.

I got a book called "Journal Spilling" by Diana Trout (LOVE it!) and made a couple of pages with ideas from that.

Saw a Suzi Blu art journal video and she suggested blurting out all over the page with all the pent-up bad stuff- then putting gesso all over, right over top of it to make it all go away, decorating it and making it into a new page.

I LOVED the idea of that, because I do like to vent on paper- but don't want to look back on all of that crap! It was thrilling to get "permission" to alter the event! And I did a couple of pages with new vigor.

Learned to draw some pretty girls with Suzi Blu and started putting them in too.

I haven't done a lot in this journal yet, but I keep reading about what others do, especially those like Teesha Moore who is SO generous in sharing what she knows and does.

In my reading, and I'm sorry I can't tell you where, I read that if you are having trouble starting or keeping up an art journal, start with just one sentence.

One sentence? I can do that!

I currently have a small pile of sticky notes with "one sentence" on them- and a head chock full of ideas for each one! I have woken up in the middle of the night with great additions to each of these pages!

Now I need to get them on an actual page... stay tuned! I will post a photo when I get the first "one sentence" page done.

Angel class

2010-04-09T08:14:00.001-06:00

In addition to the Goddess & Poet class I originally signed up for, I got the Angel class too, but that class assumes you know how to make either a Goddess face or a Petit Doll one, so I had to pretty much finish the G&P class before moving on.

There is just a month left in the critique that comes with the class and as I want at least a little bit of feedback, I thought I had better get into gear! lol

So here is my first angel. I don't know if she is done yet, but she is wet with paint so my hands are tied right now.

Heather Thomas commented on my lioness yesterday about not adding things just for the sake of adding, and I know she is right. What I am looking to see if I need more of is shading, shadow, or integration of colour somewhere.

I have discovered that painting is much like quilting in that you have to think carefully about what you want to come forward and what should recede, where you place your colours for the effect you want, and not adding some random thing just for the sake of having it.

I am so far from understanding composition, colour, and perspective. But I am learning as I go, and I do try to put my (very) limited knowledge to the best use I can.

I think it will be very interesting to see how my work progresses as my understanding of these elements increases.

the Lioness again

2010-04-08T10:22:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I didn't like the off-balance of the quilt; the shapes under her neck stood out too much and so I have been looking at it hung up on my design wall.

Since then, I have enhanced her face with paints, coloured the bottom with oil pastels, sprayed walnut ink on the bottom, added some melted textiva, and burned bits with a wood burning tool.

Now the bottom is darker and more uniform than it was, but I am still not sure I have it right. It is hanging up again so I can look at it some more...

Next painting

2010-04-04T20:21:00.000-06:00

I got lesson five done this week too. Lots of layers and embellishments.

Many times during this assignment I did things that I REALLY didn't like. But, I didn't panic, just added something else and kept going until I DID like it.

This piece is just 6"x12", but a tad too long for the scanner so I had to photograph it. Unfortunately I just can't seem to get a photo that shows the colours the way they look in person.

Last week I ordered a field guide for my camera, as I really need to learn to use it better before our trip to Italy this summer.

Who knows, maybe I will also learn how to take better photographs of my art along the way... (I have a sneaking suspicion that my problems may be partly due to poor lighting).

Anyway, here she is, my Rain Goddess. If you click on her, you can see it a bit bigger than it is in this post.

And Holly, if you read this and see it- when you are here this summer, hopefully I will have a bigger collection of works and you can have a good look in person to see what you would like to take home with you. I am very flattered that you like what I am learning! Love you!

my painting for class

2010-03-29T10:03:00.000-06:00

Can I just say again how much fun I am having and how much I love my Goddess & Poet class with Suzi Blu... this has been a wonderful experience for me all around.

So this is my first painting for the class, Lesson Four. Keep in mind that this is a mixed media class- thus the many layers and textures.

I just love it! There wasn't a lot of conscious thought throughout the process, I tried not to over think things, but just DO.

I am just thriving in the "no mistakes in art" zone too.

When I took a class with Heather Thomas, she commented to me that I was not a perfectionist, and I didn't know if that was a good thing or not, and I worried a little. But I believe it was meant as a positive thing, because perfectionism can definitely get in the way of letting our art out, of letting it be what it wants to be!

I have accepted the fact that I will never make a stunning pieced quilt with perfect corners or curves. But someday I might make a stunning art quilt that speaks about what I want to create...

There is just one lesson left for this class, another painting on wood. I did the sketch for it this morning while I waited for poor Heidi to get her wisdom teeth out. (She is now resting comfortably on the couch with an ice pack and a movie line-up...)

I am also in Suzi's Angels class but haven't gotten too far on it yet. I have a sketch ready for wood and will hopefully get it going this week. I need more modeling paste... can't do decent angel's wings without modeling paste!

Just last week Suzi introduced a brand new class: Piety & Passion- 3/4 and profile portraits based on the Tudors. How fun is that?! So of course I signed up for that as well. Expect to see a lot more art work in the coming weeks!

AFter that, Petit Dolls... I am going to learn it all and then cover our walls and my studio with it!!! lol

If you like mixed media and fun, check out the classes Suzi offers- they are WELL worth the small price. You get to keep the instructional videos forever, and the critique is available for the whole semester, which is usually four months. Plus you can keep in touch with other artists on the same pathway as you are on! Here is a link to the class descriptions:
http://alovelydream.com/site/Workshops.html

Lioness

2010-03-26T10:04:00.000-06:00

I just finished a small mixed-media art quilt that I am pretty happy with.

I started by drawing a picture of a woman who looks a little lion-like, printed it onto Lutradur that was treated with Golden Digital Grounds, and then I fused it onto a piece of fabric. The background fabric is sepia-toned sheet music all overlapped. You can see that behind the face a little and that is just what I wanted.

I added a couple of borders and then went to work!

Using yellow-gold, green, and yellow-green, I painted some hair- with acrylic paint mixed with glazing liquid so it was transparent.

Then I laid strands of this gold-toned fuzzy yarn I had and I loved the look! I attached it temporarily by dabbing points here and there with gold paint.

I fused some snippets of the gold border fabric under her chin, and I like it, though now I can see that they probably stand out a little too much and I will need to decide how to tone them down, make them recede some.

Then I stamped some words throughout her "mane".

I made it into a quilt sandwich and did a large meandering stitch to tack down the yarn. I did do a tiny bit in between the larger areas too, but not much.

I stitched around the fabric snippets and then kind of filled in the rest of the bottom area with a mirroring-type of quilting stitch. I did all of this with a metallic thread and even though I went as slowly as I could (and still keep my stitches fairly even), the paint made it tough overall, and I broke FOUR machine needles on this small project!

I trimmed the quilt and simply used a machine blanket stitch to finish the edges. I didn't want a raw edge, but neither did I want the feel of a tailored edge; I thought it would seem too finished for the composition.

So with all I have done to this poor fabric, it is not laying completely flat so it is currently blocked and stretched a tiny bit- I want to hang this in the house here and need it to lay flat...

Here it is- please feel free to make suggestions, especially about how to make the fabric snippets become more of the background because I have not yet figured out what best to do. I thought it best to look and think on it for a while rather than rushing in and ruining what I like...

Now to finish my latest Suzi Blu class project- I will be posting a photo of that too as soon as it is dry!

I DID IT!

2010-03-19T16:10:00.000-06:00

Well, shocking I know, but I actually made my bag right and it is awesome. It's better than I even dared to hope, and I LOVE it!

For those who may be interested in making this bag for themselves, the Pattern is: Professional Tote by The Creative Thimble. If you like bags, you surely won't be disappointed with this one. It's a lot of work to make, but well worth the time.

I really love everything about it, especially the drawstring end pockets that will easily carry our water bottles, and even pull tight enough to contain other stuff. It's a little larger than a purse, but certainly something I can carry every day with ease while on vacation.

I did follow all of the instructions and I have to say, many times I had to read them over and over before I fully understood what was meant. I did not make any changes to the actual construction of the bag, it is perfect just the way it is designed.

I did however make a few small adjustments to accommodate some of the things I know I will need in our travels.

One inside pocket was supposed to be pleated but I left it flat and that made the other pockets reach right to the seams. I didn't want the bulk I knew would come with being able to stuff a pleated pocket! lol

The pattern called for one small vinyl pocket for a business card; I instead added two of those and made them the size to fit a driver's license or credit card and then two more, the size to fit passports- these are all inside the middle zippered section for security.

I added an extra couple of hooks instead of just the one D ring called for; these can hang outside or go inside each respective pocket.

I added some beaded ribbon to cover the outside of the magnetic snap on the back side of the bag.

I added some grosgrain ribbon loops- one on each side and one front and back- they are big enough to loop a snap-on strap through to hold the bag firmly on my roller suitcase. Plus that gives me the option to lock the bag with either a split ring or a small lock by using the zipper and the loop together.

I am really happy with it and can't wait to try it out! What do you think?

My favourite books right now

2010-03-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share the books that I have been reading and using and loving just lately!

Patterns- and whether or not to follow them

2010-02-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to confess first off: I am notoriously bad at following patterns. I have a LOT of proof that supports that statement, believe me! lol I start off following, then either get bored or think I know what I am doing- and invariably, I end up doing something wrong. Most of the time I can make it work out alright, but sometimes that just isn't good enough.

So right now I have cut out pattern pieces for a bag I want to make and I HAVE to follow the pattern. It is a professional tote bag and I want to bring it on our trip to Italy this summer- so it has to be right.

Last summer we traveled to Portugal. It was my very first trip to Europe and my husband was quite insistent that we travel light, no checking luggage. We each had a carry-on roller suitcase and one personal item only, for a two-week trip. For the personal item, Rich brought his soft sided briefcase and I brought a backpack. The backpack was large, had a lot of pockets, and could be hung from my suitcase (although not well). My plan had been to use the backpack in lieu of a purse when needed and for things I would want during travel.

Bad plan. The bright pink and black backpack was too large to wear every day, flipped around on my suitcase, and though this is a small thing, didn't match anything I had to wear. Seeing as we traveled light, I wanted to get the most options out of a minimum amount of items- and all of my travel clothes are colour-coordinated in black, red, white, and tan.

Last fall a friend of mine posted a photo of a bag she had made for a friend of hers, and it occurred to me that a bag like that would be better suited for me for traveling. I kept a look out for fabrics I liked and bought them as I saw them. Mostly red and black of course- to match my clothes and also to keep from showing dirt.

I cut out all of the pieces yesterday and attached the appropriate ones to the Decor Bond, the fusible interfacing the pattern calls for. And that is as far as I have gotten. It would probably be best if I took the time to read through the instructions thoroughly before going any further, don't you think? lol

I figured if I committed myself to posting my progress online, I might be able to keep my wandering tendencies at bay, at least until I finish this bag. Personally, I think going outside of a pattern, exploring what you THINK might work rather than going with what you KNOW will, sometimes teaches you volumes more than you would learn otherwise, and also lends itself to opening your own creativity, which is so important.

But that being said; I really like this fabric and can't buy any more of it, and it's already February... so I think in this instance, I should really adhere to the given instructions. Maybe someday I will design a bag of my own. Oh. Then I would have to write instructions for someone else to blow off... lol

Along with the sketching...

2010-02-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty consumed with my Suzi Blu Goddess & Poet class, I have to admit. I LOVE sketching these faces and am always astounded that they all look so different! And that I can make them change even as I go along just by changing the eyebrow angle or the fullness of the mouth or the slant of the eyes...Very cool!

I am also a member of the Free Lunch Cafe online, which is run by Linda Matthews and is also a lot of fun. You sign up and at the beginning of the month, you get instructions for your first homework, which must be completed and posted (a photo) in order to get the second lesson. Signing up and some of the classes are free, and Linda offers some outstanding detailed classes for a fee. Based on what I have seen of Linda's work, I bet anything taken with her would be well worth the money!

So this has been a busy art week. I did my graphite girls in my Moleskine journal and covered them in clear Gesso. Now I am to move on to some basic colour shading, which I am feeling apprehensive about... but that is another story! lol

I finished a little black and white optical illusion quilt that I started a couple of weeks back. I put it on stretcher bars and now just need a place to hang it. I think it's cool.

Then I did my finished piece for the Free Lunch Cafe. Our assignment involved photo transfer and I chose a photo that showed our two flags flying in front of our house. It's printed on both fabric and a dryer sheet, quilted into the log cabin pattern, embellished with Lumiere paint and ink on a stamp, there is a little journalling, and a little heart to boot! I got to use all of my Canadian and American-specific fabrics and I whipped it up in an afternoon. It was fun! I need to do these little projects once in a while to remind myself that not all things quilting take forever! lol

Please excuse the poor photos, they really don't show the projects very well. My scanner is NOT cooperating with my computer and I am having the worst time trying to figure out how to best photograph my work. So far, not much luck. I really need to take a camera course to learn how to really use my camera for what I need to.

Another face

2010-02-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Though I like that I can draw faces and am quite proud of myself overall, I think the eyes on my portraits so far have been a little too hard, too "slitty" (I know that isn't a word, but I don't know how else to describe it). I really want to do Suzi's sleepy-sexy eye without them looking suspicious! lol

So I keep drawing eyes on my practice page and I keep making faces in both my tiny and large sketch books. It's getting easier to remember what goes where, what the proportions are, and even though I am not great at the shading, I am starting to get it.

Here is a sweeter, softer face for the Goddess & Poet class, one that I find appealing and less harsh. I know I still have lots to learn and will only improve with doing. This photo isn't very good, but for some unknown and frustrating reason, my scanner has stopped cooperating with my computer.

I must say, very few things have enthralled me like this class has. One woman taking the class blogged that she is obsessed- and I know the feeling! So many of us in the class are feeling the same way; putting other stuff off so we can sketch, constantly thinking about it, adding little pencil strokes here and there, shading just a bit more... lol It really is a LOT of fun. And very relaxing too, I might add. Which at this juncture in time for me, is very helpful.

Learning to draw portraits- YIKES!

2010-02-04T15:31:00.002-07:00

Just kidding, I have only been at it a week, but have had so much fun and enjoyed it so much, it's hard to believe.

I somehow stumbled upon some YouTube videos of Suzi Blu, an unconventional and completely enthralling mixed media artist. After watching a few of her art journal videos, I discovered that she has an online school, Les Petit Academy (I will list everything you might want to know at the end of this post). Well, I was hooked. I have to say, it was calling to me, I was even dreaming about it- and have also since I started. It is on my mind most of the time.

Anyway, I am at the end of a week, and have practiced the exercises for hours. I have even tucked a little 3.5 x 5" sketch book in my purse- anytime we go somewhere that I might have to wait a bit, I can practice. I really love it.

I am taking the Goddess & Poet class first; Suzi covers all of the bases in there, and we learn stylized, more realistic faces. Next I will take the Angels class; I think that builds on either the G & P or the Petit Dolls. After that, definitely the Petit Dolls; they are folk art girls and a lot of fun too, from what I can see.

I think a LOT of people wish they could draw, at least a little, and I am no exception. However, I did take the step to try and learn. I want to be less afraid of what people think of me and what I create- and just create already! lol

So, here are two faces for you to check out. The first one is alright I think, but looks a little too stern. I like the second one better, but after I finished, I realized I might have spaced her eyes a little too far apart. I don't know, I will have to wait and see how my critique goes. Chloe asked me if I wasn't going to draw any happy faces? I told her that eventually I will; but this class is about Goddesses- you know, confident, sexy women, and so they have to show that they KNOW they are cool.

If you want to learn more about mixed media fun, check out Suzi's videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/ and in the search box, type in Suzi Blu
If you like what you see and want to sign up for a class, go here:
http://suziblu.typepad.com/
You have to sign up for a class before you can log in to Les Petit Academy, which is here:
http://suziblu.ning.com/

Fairy Jar a la Suzi Blu!

2010-01-27T12:43:00.001-07:00

I have signed up for a Suzi Blu drawing class online- The Goddess & The Poet, but haven't been able to start yet. I'm guessing this is because the lovely Suzi Blu has been at CHA... hopefully soon though, I have all my supplies and am chomping at the bit to get started!

Anyway, in the meantime, I have been watching numerous YouTube Suzi videos and I find her so inspiring!

My friend Mona's birthday is this coming weekend and I wanted to make her something to keep in her studio- then I saw the Captured Fairy Jar by Suzi and said "AHA!!!" lol

I didn't have the same supplies exactly, but as I have a good imagination and a lofty supply of cool and interesting things in my studio, I didn't have any trouble substituting.

And here is what I came up with! The front of the jar says "BELIEVE" and the tag I wrote on the back says: "Believe- not only in the magic of the world around you, but in your own Beauty- your own Talent- your own Strength" Something I think we should all do!

I painted the sky inside the jar and stuck on stars, I added glitter, flowers, and a fairy like Suzi, but instead of moss at the bottom of the jar I have glass marbles and funky yarn. I tied many layers of tulle and organza to the top (to keep the fairy in) and used lots of ribbons to tie it shut and hang the metal tags from. The tags say: believe, create, inspire, dream, and savor. There are some teeny tiny bells and also a couple of heart charms.

I hope Mona looks at this jar often and remembers that she is valued as a friend and is an inspiration to me.

It was fun to make and I am on a roll!

Silk scarves

2009-12-06T12:06:00.001-07:00

I hand-dyed a bunch of silk scarves for donation to the Brockville Women's Network, an organization I used to belong to. Every year, they hold a Christmas auction to raise money for scholarships that they give out to women who are going back to school. It is a wonderful organization and I do miss it.

Anyway, after taking the class at Wild Heather, I decided to try my hand with it at home. I got a bunch of blanks, some Dy-Na-Flow paints, some brushes, silk salt, and off I went!

I didn't do any of the Shibori style, but I did vary the techniques I learned a bit; some of the painting was done on damp scarves, some on dry, some I used salt on and some I didn't, some are vivid and some are more sheer. In the interest of helping them dry a bit faster, I dried some of them with a hair dryer while they were pinned to the plastic on my table and when they floated back down, they picked up some beads of paint, which was pretty cool, if unexpected. I also found spraying water on the paint made an interesting pattern.

As a trial, I also added fringes to a couple, using fancy yarns, and on just one, using Solvy and threads along with some knobby wool, I did some free motion stitching to attach the wool, and liked the result of that too.

Here are some photos of the scarves. I will definitely do some more of these, they are a LOT of fun to make!

Book signing and shameless name-dropping!

2009-11-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Last night was the bash at Wild Heather Quilts and Mixed Media Supplies for the book signing! What a fun night it was!

The book is called "Fabric Embellishing- The basics & beyond" and is a MUST HAVE for anyone interested in learning a whole whack of techniques for adding style and personality to their work. The authors are listed as such: Ruth Chandler, Liz Kettle, Heather Thomas, Lauren Vlcek. It's published by Landauer Books. (Please ignore my poor photography!) The book was reviewed in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors- and they say if you are interested in embellishing, this book is a must have! I can attest to that.

It's so great to see friends get published! It's so cool to actually KNOW a couple of the authors! Of course, I know Heather Thomas because she owns the Wild Heather shop where I could spend ALL of my free time and money-and I have taken the best classes with her- she is a fabulous teacher and a lot of fun! I know Liz from the days that Mona and I were going down to Monument for the ATC group before Heather moved the shop to Englewood. Liz is also a lot of fun.

Since getting into quilting and art, it has been my great fortune to be surrounded by well-known designers and teachers. First, back in Ontario, Canada where I moved from: Nellie Holmes, Christine Baker, and Jean Boyd, who can be found at: http://www.uppercanadaquiltworks.com/- the front page of that site has links to each of their sites; and now Heather Thomas (http://www.wildheatherdesigns.com/ - the store will be closing soon, but it is my understanding that the online store will stay up) and Liz Kettle (http://www.textileevolution.com/). I am a very lucky girl!

My start in Art Quilting

2009-11-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

I have been drawn into the world of art quilting and suddenly there just seem to be SO many possibilities out there!

I am glad to have learned the basics of quilting, but it is very liberating to be able to make up my own rules, to experiment with new techniques, and give my creativity room to grow.

I started with a simple landscape wall hanging, based on a photo I took a while back.

My next foray was based on a technique I learned in a book- I will get the information about it and post it here soon. I donated that quilt to a quilt marathon back at a store I used to work in.

The most recent I have finished will be part of a series. This wasn't at all how I originally pictured it in my mind's eye, but part of the process I am trying to learn is how to let things happen. I tend to be a control freak and it is a big step for me to let go of how I think things HAVE to be- and just let them develop as I go along.

I am happy to be learning how to create beautiful things! And in my opinion, there are no strict guidelines on what art is. If you make it and it makes you happy or satisfies something in or for you- it is art. I create, therefore I am. Now I get that statement!

Beatles fabric!

2009-11-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

I went to the Sew Expo in Denver last fall with a new friend, and had a blast!

I found this Beatles fabric and as all of my kids are huge Beatles fans, I knew I had to do something with it.

So, for Heidi, a tote bag. She too, is a bag fanatic. She aims to have a cool homemade (by me) tote bag for each time of the year.

For Chloe, a cutie cubie. Well, the pattern calls it something else, I will have to look that up.

For Holly, a wallet, modified from an free online pattern, which I will also have to look up.

I still have some fabric left; now something for me!?!?

Bag Lady!

2009-11-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

I am addicted to bags. Luggage, purses, quilted bags of any size. Maybe it is just because I like to have nice or cool things to contain other things... lol

I don't know. But what I do know is that I love making them, I love giving them away, and I love to be on the lookout for another cool pattern!

Older work

2009-11-14T23:04:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos of quilts I completed before moving here- in the interest of documenting my entire body of work since learning how to quilt.

Right now a quilt top I pieced back in Canada is in my Pfaff; I am doing free-motion quotes in the big border before putting on the binding. It was one of the first quilt tops I made, but up till last spring, we were using it as a duvet cover.

Traditional Quilts

2009-11-14T22:44:00.001-07:00

Since moving here, I have completed a few traditional-type quilts. Some I started before I moved here, others I have done start to finish here.

It usually feels like I haven't done much in the way of completing things, but it seems I have accomplished more than I thought!

Of course, there are a number of UFOs in my studio still; I will post photos as I get them completed.

Easier way?

2009-11-14T22:41:00.001-07:00

Well, since I don't know how yet to transfer posts from one blog to another, other than copying and pasting, I think for now I will work on getting up past photos to start.

If anyone has any questions about the pattern or a technique or anything, feel free to leave a comment or email me and I will do my best to help.

Time to separate

2009-11-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, ANOTHER blog! lol

Personally, I hate sifting through stuff to find specific things, I like to be organized. And though I have not created that many things since moving here to Colorado, it is starting to add up.

I just joined an online Fiber Arts group and realized that anyone going to my personal blog might not want to sift through my everyday life stuff either, in order to find out what I am currently working on. So here I am.

I am going to go through my personal blog and re-post here any of my work, along with the original post. If I think of anything else relevant, I will add that. Then from here on in, my creations can be found here! Hope you enjoy! Please feel free to contact me if you want any information about anything you see.