AndreaSternArt

Red Bird in the Morning

2012-02-16T12:03:00.001-05:00

Redbird in the Morning 2004 Hand embroidery on twill, patchwork, machine quilted.

Birds are some of my favorite subjects. Here’s one I made inspired by the techniques in the book Painting with Stitches by Sue Dove. You can see more of my birds at my website.

Welcome to everyone clicking from The Brave Girls’ Club newsletter!

Left Handed Complement

2012-02-13T09:42:00.001-05:00

Lately I’ve been trying to shake up my art making habits. I’ve not been letting myself go to my default time-killers, like knitting or mindless beadwork (as opposed to beaded imagery). It’s been really difficult. Some days I don’t do anything at all because I’m “not allowed” to go to those default activities. I just feel that right now I really want to concentrate on one or two forms. And I really miss drawing. It’s my original voice, and it’s gotten buried underneath all the other layers of forms I’ve been visiting.

Last night I watched the Grammys, and as I watched, I decided to do something a little different. I allowed myself to draw with my non-dominant hand. In this case, my left hand. I had fun and wasn’t worried about the outcome or making it perfect. And as I drew I could feel the delight coming back.

This guy kind of reminds me of Max from Where the Wild Things Are.

I think this is my favorite. I had lots of fun drawing the suckers on the tentacles, and the little fish remind me of the submarines I drew for the Sketchbook Project two years ago. I think I will be revisiting this image again.

By the third drawing I was starting to think about subject matter. I thought this was going to be a bee, but she kind of morphed into someone sleeping in their cocoon. I’m not sure what the dream is about. I added the jar because it represents the container for her dreams.

This was drawn near the end of the show, when they were announcing the Song and Album of the Year. I didn’t want to fill the whole sky with flowers and that is why I drew the big marquee. It reminds me of the ending credits of the old Bullwinkle show. You can see how tired the little bird is by the circles under his eyes. It was a long night of fun.

Drawing this way really helped me loosen up and just enjoy the process. I highly recommend it!

Now for Something Completely Different

2012-02-06T14:31:00.001-05:00

I have been working on a few different things, mostly involving painted paper or paint on canvas or sometimes a little of both. Ironically some of these experiments were to get away from the fiddliness of working with patchwork. Gluing is still a lot faster than sewing. :)

Summer Carnival, painted paper on canvas. I use Golden gel medium to attach the paper cutouts to the canvas.

Detail. Here you can see the different mark making tools I use to make the painted paper. These include Print Gocco (the fish), linoleum prints (the red dots in the upper left area are a frog), and carved stamps (the white star-like forms and the white stars).

Autumn Lotus

This is one of those things where I got a crazy idea to cut a bunch of lotus stencils out of a sheet of painted paper. I am unsure whether this is in process or it is complete.

Koi Spring

This technique was so cool that I decided to try it on a larger scale. My fingers weren’t too happy with me, but it was worth the effort.

Detail, you can see the dots from the sequin waste I used as a stencil and the detail of the red koi shapes I painted onto the original paper. This piece is definitely still in process. Stay tuned for updates.

Into the Void Acrylic on canvas with graphite drawings added. I am unsure whether this is complete or whether I want to go back into it with some india ink or liquid acrylic to emphasize the lines.

A detail showing the graphite drawing in more detail. I like the way the paint washes blur the lines of the drawing.

The texture in this piece comes from some rice paper that I had initially adhered to the canvas, again using the Golden gel medium.

And today, after a several week hiatus due to mom duties (hockey and school), I was able to get back into the studio and begin a new painting.

In the Between, acrylic on canvas, and still very much in process, though it was nice to get back into the studio and just play with paint and color.

30 Days of Drawing: Day Fifteen

2011-12-15T18:26:00.001-05:00

I have this wonderful Fabriano journal filled with colored paper. It’s around 8” x 6” and is perfect for quick studies like this one.

I also worked on this large piece from my 14” x 17” Canson XL Mixed Media pad.

I’m really enjoying blending the colors on these pieces.

It’s nice to have such a large space to work in, and since I am doing these to play I am not stressing over how realistic the finished image is. It’s letting me explore different ways of laying down the color and apply the layers.

There’s still time if you want to join us!

30 Days of Drawing: Day Fourteen

2011-12-14T13:35:00.001-05:00

I just love the handles on these old kitchen utensils. From the top: potato masher, spatula and sieve. Or as I call them , Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear. Image size 12” x 15”

Detail. I used mostly Prismacolor pencils, with a few Derwent Inktense and Graphitint pencils for the details. The background is Grumbacher Acrylic in Payne’s Gray and Martha Stewart craft paint in Cloud, satin finish.

I promised a peek at the really big drawing.

This is on Strathmore 400 series drawing paper, and measures approximately 60” x 36”. I have to stand on a stool to reach the top of the drawing. I’m using graphite sticks in 3B and 6B. It started with just random marks but has evolved into this image. The working title is “Eclipse”.

See you tomorrow!

30 Days of Drawing: Day Thirteen

2011-12-13T16:59:00.001-05:00

Today I chose to go a little larger and also on a white background. It was more difficult to build up a good layer of color as the texture of this paper was very defined. I also was challenged by recreating the metal of the beads and buttons on this necklace. I’m pleased with how the turquoise bead turned out as well as the black bead in the lower right corner. Overall the drawing worked for me. I do think that I may pre-color the paper before attempting another drawing on it, at least if I go for another color drawing.

30 Days of Drawing: Day Twelve

2011-12-12T11:40:00.001-05:00

Yes, I did draw on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (also known as Days Nine, Ten and Eleven) I just haven’t scanned them yet. I need to find a more effective way to draw over the weekends.

I picked up some darker red pencils on Friday (I had to take my daughter to the airport, and since we were near the art supply store anyway….), so this morning I took them out for a test run.

I tried to avoid using the black pencil for the black beads. I think it turned out well. I enjoyed drawing the big cinnabar bead on the upper right.

Another red handle. Eventually I will draw the entire tool, but for right now I am enjoying the weathered look of these old utensils.

Something else is literally on the drawing board, I will post pictures of it when I post days 9, 10 and 11. Stay tuned!

30 Days of Drawing, Day Eight: Draw Hard

2011-12-08T12:53:00.001-05:00

When I was little, my grandpa worked at the General Motors Tech Center. He would bring home tons of Prismacolor pencils for me to play with. I think he’d be pleased to see that I am still drawing all these years later.

Today I finally got back into the studio for a little while, so I went a little hog wild.

You might recognize this necklace from the past two days of pencil and pen and ink drawings. The bone beads with the incised detail were a pain, but I’m overall pleased with how they turned out. I really love the lampwork beads and the detail in them.

I wasn’t ready to go back downstairs, so I did another drawing, this time based on a small sieve my friend picked up for me at a yard sale. I just love old tools. I wanted to detail the handle of the piece.

Here’s a different version of the same tool, from a large drawing I was working on last month.

I’m not sure what tomorrow is going to bring, but I know it will be fun! There’s still time to play along, head over to Traci’s journal and add your name to the caravan.

30 Days of Drawing: Day Seven

2011-12-07T17:55:00.001-05:00

Uni Ball Vision Needle in my Moleskine journal, worked on while waiting for my oldest son to finish class. This is the same necklace I drew last night, just in different media. I am hoping to get into the studio tomorrow and do a color drawing (or two or three….)

30 Days of Drawing, Day Six: Drawing Noir

2011-12-07T07:56:00.001-05:00

I wasn’t able to get into the studio first thing in the morning yesterday, so I ended up doing this pencil drawing right before bed. I’d forgotten how pretty the beads I used on this necklace were. I think today I am going to render them in color.

30 Days of Drawing; Days 3-5

2011-12-05T11:55:00.001-05:00

Now with more cowbell. If I had a cowbell to draw.

Saturday was a lazy drawing day, as my son had two hockey games and we had to run errands in between. So I did this quick gestural sketch of the game. Not every drawing has to be finished.

I drew this pendant from one of my necklaces before heading out on Sunday morning. The background is inspired by the many layers of paint on my drawing table.

I’m still working on how to render the bone beads in my piece. I’m much happier with how the bone turned out on this drawing than I was with the bone in yesterday’s pendant. Having the right tools makes all the difference. This piece mixes Prismacolor, Supracolor, and Neocolor II crayons.

I had so much fun with the light colors on the first drawing that I decided to do another rendering of a different necklace. The button in the lower left is kind of muddled, and next time I would leave it out of the picture. I also went with a different color scheme. The original necklace is dusty pale blue.

Yesterday I picked up a roll of drawing paper, 36” wide, and a few graphite pencils and sticks. The next few days of drawing may be process photos of a larger piece.

30 Days of Drawing, Day Two

2011-12-02T12:27:00.001-05:00

This is a drive-by posting as I have to go play Mom’s Taxi in a minute. This is a glass bottle I picked up at a yard sale and one of my Gran’s brass bell collection. Supracolor II pencils and Prismacolor pencils on chipboard.

30 Days of Drawing, Day One

2011-12-01T12:01:00.001-05:00

Traci Bunkers, of Bonkers Handmade Originals, is hosting a challenge to draw every day for 30 days. It will be a little tricky with the holiday season and all, but I have been getting back into my drawing and I decided to play along. You can find out more information about how to join us at Traci’s blog.

Earlier this week I started a series of small drawings on recycled chipboard, so for now I’m going to continue in that vein (smaller drawings also makes it easier to do a whole drawing in a day ;)

Last year I made myself a necklace for my birthday, and this drawing is a detail of one of my favorite beads from the necklace. I used a Derwent Graphitint pencil to lay down the initial outline (after drawing a guideline square in the center of the chipboard), then filled in the rest with Caran D’Ache Supracolor II and Prismacolor pencils. I’ve been painting in the backgrounds of most of the drawings with various acrylics. This piece is painted with Jo Sonja acrylic gouache, Martha Stewart craft paint in aqua glitter, and a thin wash of red iron oxide to provide the shadows. I like how the smooth surface of the paint contrasts with the rougher surface of the drawing.

You can see the other pieces in this series at my Etsy shop.

Winner!

2011-08-24T15:42:00.002-04:00

Well, I guess everyone was busy preparing for back to school. I contemplated postponing the draw for the Pulp Fiction book, but as I am busy with my own back to school prep (oldest son starts college in one month) I decided to just draw today.

Melinda, send me a message and I will get the book and goodies out to you ASAP!

Thank you for playing :)

Back to School: Not Just for Kids Any More

2011-08-17T08:53:00.002-04:00

If you’re like me, you’re looking at all the flyers and ads for the cool new dorm furniture (I want a red coffee maker!) and maybe buying a package of crayons or a notebook or two (or three, or four….). Let’s face it, back to school is fun, maybe more fun now that we don’t have to go back to school and can do whatever we want with our crayons, markers and notebooks. (Do you remember when you were finally allowed to write with pen instead of pencil? Purple paper? Crayola vs Cray Pas?)
In the spirit of starting something new, I am very happy to have a giveaway. Mark Montano has very generously offered a signed copy of his amazing “Pulp Fiction: Perfect Paper Projects” for one lucky winner. With 24 projects to choose from, you won’t be bored, and you will have use for all those back to school sale flyers :)

Here’s the cover. I am really intrigued by the mask and the Mona Lisa briefcase.

You can see where he signed it, and a sneak peek at some of the projects.

I really like these lightweight earrings.

And of course no book on paper would be complete without a book project. These mini journals are too cool.
I will throw in some of my painted papers and ephemera from my personal stash as well, just to sweeten the pot.
To enter :
Become a member of this site (link on right)
and
Become a member of Mark’s site
for extra entries :

Like my Facebook page

Follow me on Twitter

Tweet this giveaway or share on Facebook

Leave a comment here and let me know what you did to enter

I will draw the winner on August 24th, just in time for back to school. This time entries are limited to people in the US or Canada. Good luck and happy crafting!

The Art of Bead Embroidery: A Preview

2011-07-26T08:09:00.001-04:00

Over the years, my bead embroidered creations have drawn the most comments and admiration. I learned the basic techniques from Joyce Scott and Robin Atkins, and took them from there. I even wrote an article for Quilting Arts about bead embroidery. You could say I know a lot about the technique.

I am currently in the process of writing an e-book about how I do my bead embroidery, with tips and hints to help you make this simple technique part of your embroidery repertoire. Here’s a sneak preview of some of the work I’ll be sharing.

The technique can be used for jewelry, as in the two pins shown above. These are great for using those accent beads that you’ve been collecting but don’t know what to do with.

This piece is designed to be wearable, but it could also serve as an embellishment on a quilt or piece of wearable art.

A detail of “Grandpa’s Garden” a bead embroidered tapestry.

The full panel “Grandpa’s Garden” 2003, bead embroidered tapestry, approximately 10″ H x 30″ wide.

My e-book will explain how to make objects like this using simple embroidery stitches with beads. It will also include a gallery of work to inspire you and a listing of suppliers so you can get started on your own bead embroidery journey. I am really excited about sharing this knowledge with you, and love that in the e-book format I can go deeper than I was able to in the article. I will post when the book is closer to launch, I look forward to sharing it with you!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

2011-06-23T12:51:00.001-04:00

Every summer since my oldest daughter finished kindergarten, I have tried to have some sort of fun departure from normal creative activities around Chez Stern. One year we tie dyed t-shirts, another we attempted papier mache. A few years ago I declared July a month of silence, with no TV during the day, except to watch the occasional DVD from Netflix (I rented the series of films by Ray and Charles Eames that summer, so much fun). We always enter August refreshed and ready to get back to our regularly scheduled program, albeit with a new twist from what we’ve learned.

This summer I am working with four books. Mess by Keri Smith, Learning by Heart by Corita Kent and Jan Steward, The Confident Creative by Cat Bennett and Rip the Page! by Karen Benke

One of the exercises mentioned in Learning by Heart is to make 100 drawings of something, I believe it was a weekend exercise. With that in mind, and inspired by going through my work for the three shows I am currently exhibiting in, I set myself an assignment.

This is the first still life I set up:

The enamel ladle is from Marty’s Grandma Rita, the towel is an old Martha Stewart towel from KMart, and the bulbs are used Print Gocco bulbs that I loved and couldn’t throw away.

All the drawings are on 11 x 17 white drawing paper from Crafts 2000. For these four I used a Derwent 2B drawing pencil.

Detail.

Detail. You can see where I started to shade in the ladle. I haven’t yet decided how detailed I want these renderings to be.

For the next three drawings I chose to focus more on the lightbulbs. As I drew, I worked on noticing small details, like how I could see myself reflected in the bulbs.

You can see the different ways I chose to express the shadow in this detail.

Drawing three, emphasis on one bulb.

Drawing four, the minimalist approach.

Having done these three drawings yesterday afternoon, I can see the appeal of rendering something repeatedly, as I did notice more detail as I went along. I also am thinking of the various ways I could do the drawings, not all of them need be realistic, of course, and I can use different drawing materials to work with. I decided to take a break after this piece and start fresh the next day. This is going to be an interesting challenge.

Week of Art June 18

2011-06-18T08:41:00.001-04:00

My work is the “Week as Art” feature over at the Create Mixed Media site through June 18. I am excited to have my collages featured on this great site. Here is a larger image of today’s collage. All the pieces are on 6” x 6” canvas, and blend color copies of my other works with painted papers and solid scrapbook papers.

June 18 features my favorite painted kraft paper which I decorated with a faux finishing texture tool, hand carved stamps and a silkscreen of a school of fish. There also is recycled cereal box cardboard which was decorated with bubble wrap stamping and sequin waste stencils. The main image is a detail of my art quilt “Marilyn.”

The originals, minus the numbers, are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Week of Art June 17

2011-06-17T07:51:00.001-04:00

June 17 features “That 70’s Fish”, paste paper which I bought at a scrapbook store, and hand painted recycled cereal box cardboard which was decorated with hand carved stamps.

The originals, minus the numbers, are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Show Prep

2011-06-16T19:09:00.001-04:00

In addition to my show at the Casa Nueva restaurant here in town, and my group show with the Innovative Art Alliance at the Parkersburg Art Center, on Sunday I am hanging a show at Donkey Coffee and Espresso. Here are a few of the pieces I will be featuring.

The background of this piece is painted on Fabriano cold press 300lb watercolor paper, while the monkey is painted on Arches cold press 140lb watercolor paper. It measures 30” x 22”

This piece is painted on 140lb Arches cold press watercolor paper. I happened onto a really sweet clearance sale at Michael’s last summer and was able to get 22 sheets of this wonderful paper for around ten dollars.

I am planning on having a few more of these pieces completed before we hang on Sunday, so I’m off to the studio.

Week of Art June 16

2011-06-16T07:50:00.001-04:00

June 16 features my most popular cow quilt, painted kraft paper and recycled cereal box cardboard which has been painted with acrylics and decorated with hand carved stamps.

The originals, minus the numbers, are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Week of Art June 15

2011-06-15T06:56:00.001-04:00

June 15 features a coffee cup image I created as a pillow sham, hand painted kraft paper and recycled cereal box cardboard decorated with hand carved stamps.

The originals, minus the numbers, are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Week of Art June 14

2011-06-14T06:35:00.001-04:00

June 14 features my art quilt “Jumping for Joy”, a study for a public art proposal, and recycled cereal box cardboard decorated with sequin waste stencil and hand cut stencils.

The originals, minus the numbers, are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Week of Art June 13

2011-06-13T06:29:00.001-04:00

June 13 features an image of one of my red bird mixed media embroideries, kraft paper painted with acrylic and recycled cereal box cardboard painted with acrylic and decorated with hand carved stamps.

The originals, minus the numbers, are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Week of Art June 12

2011-06-12T09:38:00.001-04:00

June 12 features an image of my art quilt Desert Moon III, kraft paper painted with acrylic, and recycled cereal box cardboard painted with acrylics and decorated with hand carved stamps.

The originals, minus the numbers, are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Free Falling

2011-06-09T20:37:00.001-04:00

I have gone from working in the studio with no idea of where the work is going to hanging three shows during the month of June into July. For the first time in years I can see space in my studio because so many pieces are hanging somewhere else. It’s exciting to revisit the old work when I am picking it for the shows and I am loving the extra room on the art table.

The third show hangs on June 19th, and I am working on some new pieces for it. Here’s what I have so far:

Painting supplies. Some of my favorites are the stamping materials to add texture and shape. I’m also really liking the use of the pure pigments to help in mixing specific colors.

I am painting on 22” x 30” Fabriano 300lb Cold Press watercolor paper. I am making a series of larger collages based on the idea of a summer carnival.

One of the most exciting discoveries of this series so far is the use of foam pipe insulation as a stamping tool. It makes wonderful circles.

The pipe insulation also can be squished to make these great ovals. That was an accidental discovery, which happened when I was on the phone with my daughter and gripped the tube a little too tightly. The frog is a linoleum carving I made in undergraduate school. I have used him for many things now. This is painted in contractor’s paper which has been treated with gesso first.

Another take on the frog motif, this time on a recycled cereal box. You can also see the fish silkscreen I made in the background of this one. I just love the contrast of turquoise with the warm orange and red.

This piece is waiting for some yellow dots made using sequin waste as a stencil.

I am really excited to see how these pieces come together.

One Part Inspiration

2011-04-25T13:57:00.001-04:00

Thomas Edison once said “Genius is one part inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration.” Which means, of course, that ideas are plenty, but what actually is important is that one spends time actually working to see the idea come to fruition.

I have shared my journals and process in the past , as well as written about some of my inspirations. Today I am going to share what I am working with right now.

On my birthday, I was gifted with a book about the life and art of the textile designer Vera. I had read an article about her in American Artist magazine when I was a teenager and have been inspired by her work ever since. That same day we also visited the Franklin Park Conservatory, and I took nearly one hundred pictures of the plants and wildlife on exhibit that day.

Here are a few of the images from that trip:

I loved the red and green striping in this plant, and see several pattern possibilities in the structure.

This piece is crying out to be rendered as an abstract stitching to explore the different textures and colors.

This may end up being a knit piece. Or perhaps a machine embroidered piece with individually embroidered petals.

I love this tree with all the different eyes. The fringy bark just puts it over the top. So many ideas, cannot pick!

With these photos in mind, I made a few sketches in my Moleskine, and translated one of them into fabric.

Vera’s Conservatory, 2011 18” X 24” Hand dyed cottons from my friend Diane Eyerman’s collection, commercial batiks and commercial cottons. Machine appliqued and machine quilted.

Detail of the tree bark.

Detail of the machine quilting.

I really enjoyed translating my experience at the Conservatory that day into a piece of wall art. I already have plans for more pieces based on the images I took. Lots of inspiration, now it’s time for the perspiration! :D

Today is My Birthday

2011-04-06T10:17:00.002-04:00

Today is my birthday, and I am so so happy to bring you this guest post from the most amazing Goddess Leonie. If you are not familiar with her exuberant, joy filled posts and products (my favorite is the Goddess Year Workbook), I encourage you to run right over to her website and take in all the goodies she offers!
And now, a celebratory message from Goddess Leonie!

Every year, I celebrate my birthing day with style.
And by style, I mean the style of an overexcitable eight year old girl who thinks unicorns and lollipops and rainbows and birthday cakes are pretty much the best thing ever.
I'm not one to NOT celebrate.
Birthing days are magical and wonderloose and opportunities to unleash gladness.
Like April Fool's Day… but less fools, and more fabulous.
It usually includes:
Calls to my mama to hear my own birthing story
Mysterious adventure packs complete with maps and directions
Incredible picnics
Ridiculous cakes
Singing loudly, proudly and profoundly offkey a happy birthday song just for me
And finally, walks to the top of the mountain…
to give thanks for another year
and to welcome in the miracles of another.

And most of all… to deeply, wildly and unconditionally
love and celebrate and adore
this Leonie I was born to be.
This is how I celebrate my birthing day.
And I want you to know:
Wherever you are,
whatever age you are celebrating,
you can make your birthing day
one that utterly & ridunkulously
celebrates the magnificence of you.

____
Goddess Leonie is the creator of GoddessGuidebook.com, a popular creativity + spirituality blog for women.

Just reading this post made me grin from ear to ear. And I couldn’t help but think of this joyful song from the wonderful Loretta Lynn.

Now I’m going to go call my own mama and find me a mountain top!

A Little Respite on the Journey

2011-03-21T08:32:00.001-04:00

Sometimes it is necessary to take a day or two to replenish the well. Lately I’ve been feeling burned out to the point of just wanting to stay in bed some mornings. That’s not an option, and I know it wouldn’t help in the long run (I tend to get down on myself for indulging in such non-productive behavior), but sometimes it is ok to take a day to play with something I love to do. Yesterday, it was drawing with my beloved Caran D’Ache Neocolor II water soluble crayons.

Since the point of this activity was to have fun, I didn’t sweat setting up a large still life or anything complex. Instead I went to my jewelry collection, and drew one of my favorite necklaces. I chose to focus in on one of the floral beads and the wonderful little coral pieces. Since I am using a smaller drawing pad (Strathmore Artagain black, size 6” x 9”), this filled the space quite nicely.

Last spring I purchased this happy little bluebird at a local nursery, and today he made a nice subject for a second drawing. I love the contrast of the bright blue against the sunny orange.

I actually drew this picture a few weeks ago. I was inspired by my bird of paradise work, and wanted to do something similar with another flower. A trip to a local florist yielded this beautiful iris. And yes, it is in process as a stitched image.

I really enjoy working this way, and have a few more drawings planned. And tomorrow I will return to the studio refreshed and ready to get back to work.

What do you do when you need to recharge?

And the Winner Is…..

2011-03-17T08:53:00.001-04:00

Monday I put everyone’s name in a bowl (it’s from Fenton Art Glass)…

And the name Mr. Art drew was….

Thank you to everyone who left comments!

Mamaw’s Magical Jewelry Box

2011-03-16T12:13:00.001-04:00

When I was a little girl, I always loved visiting my Mamaw. Mamaw’s home was filled with treasures, from the lighted display case filled with my Papaw’s pipe collection, to the white and chrome formica table with the red vinyl chairs, to the plates decorated in soft pink and green dogwoods. I could explore her house for hours and always find something fascinating to play with.

My favorite item was Mamaw’s jewelry box, filled with all kinds of exotic treasures. I would take the aqua colored box off the dresser and climb onto Mamaw’s brass bed. Sitting on the appliqued tulip quilt, I would reverently take each item out, trying it on, imagining just what occasion Mamaw might have worn this piece for, or where she had found a necklace like that.

One piece which really intrigued me was a necklace made of garnet red beads, with a pendant made of a ceramic heart and some kind of animal foot. I would play with that piece for hours.

One day after she had finished the dishes, Mamaw found me playing with this necklace. She got a small smile on her face, and she said “You like that necklace, don’t you?”

I nodded, cupping the necklace in my hand. “It’s different. Is this a lizard foot?”

She laughed and sat on the bed. “No, it’s much more interesting than that.” And then she proceeded to tell me the story.

“A long time ago, there was a little girl, quite like you. She had big brown eyes and curly brown hair that her mother would pull back and braid every morning before she could go out to play. Her favorite thing to do was to go down by the creek and play with the salamanders that lived along the muddy banks, and she could spend hours there, listening to the rushing water and feeling the warm sun on her face.

One day, a dragon was flying over the woods, and he saw the little girl playing by the creek. That morning her mother had put a jeweled butterfly in her hair, and the greedy dragon was enchanted by the sparkling colors of its wings. Without a second thought, he swooped down and picked up the girl, carrying her away to his cave.

The girl was afraid, of course, but she also knew how to take care of herself, having helped her mother around the house . So she looked around the dragon’s cave, marveling at all the treasures there. In amongst the piles of jewels, she saw a gold hilted knife. She slipped around the cave, and picked up the knife, slipping it into the pocket of her overalls.

“My, what a lot of jewels you have, Mr. Dragon,” she said, looking into his glowing yellow eyes.

His voice came back, deep and rumbly “But none so sweet as that butterfly in your hair. Give it to me.”

“I can’t do that, Mr. Dragon. It was a gift from my grandmother, you see.”

“Then I will have to take it from you.” And the dragon lunged at her.

She moved, quick as a wink and found the dragon’s soft underbelly, and with one thrust of the knife the dragon was dead. His body shriveled up until it was no larger than a small alligator.

She took the knife and cut off a foot to prove to her mother that she had seen a dragon, and she filled the pockets of her overalls with all the jewels she could carry. Then she walked home, for the dragon’s cave was not that far from the cottage where she lived.

After her mother had hugged her and fed her, she took out the treasures from the cave. She strung them into the necklace you see here. That piece has been passed down from mother to daughter over the years until my mother gave it to me.

And now it can be yours.

Wasted Time

2011-03-14T08:34:00.001-04:00

I was chatting with a client a few weeks ago, and she was telling me how discouraged she was by looking at the pile of small works that she had lying in her studio. She referred to the time she had spent making them as “wasted”, and I could tell this bothered her very much.

I pointed out that she had learned valuable lessons from making the small works, and that time spent in creating is never truly “wasted”. It’s really in how we choose to look at it.

My own studio is full of piles of wasted time, in the sense that it is either incomplete, is not in a style which I normally work, or is work which has been exhibited, but which has come home from the exhibit rather than going onto a new home (ie sold). And, yes, sometimes I can become discouraged as well.

This is where reframing can come in handy. Instead of looking at all these various works as wasted time (in my case I think of wasted time as time not spent working toward my larger goal, which at the time of creating these pieces was to make large, award-winning works, which toured in prestigious shows and went to new homes at the end of the shows), it helps to remember these things:

False starts or diversions (“wasted time”):

Allowed me to try a new way of working (how can I know if I will like something unless I try it out?)
Helped me to find out what I do like (hand stitching and machine embroidery, most definitely, fusing lots of different elements to a base background, not so much)
Allowed me to experiment with presentation (sew a piece to a canvas? use a different model than the sleeve/rod one which most quilt shows use? and then how does one exhibit a three dimensional work, such as a knitted hat or a found object sculpture?)
Helped me to hone my skills. Work which isn’t “important” can have mistakes, which is incredibly freeing. When you’re not worried about whether the piece is award winning, you can play. Play is very important in my process.
Helped to keep me in the creative flow. If I was between projects, I still had something going on, rather than returning to mindlessly surfing the internet or watching Days of Our Lives again.
Allowed me to try a new media, a new style or a new way of thinking about my work. The time I spent knitting my hats led to different ways of thinking about color and texture in my quilts, for example, and also helped me to understand how to better create my beaded sculptures.
Sparked ideas for the “real work”. Color combinations, perhaps a subject, or simply the fact of giving myself a brain break is often enough to enable me to get back to my larger pieces.

And then, over time, as the wasted time piles up, you may realize that these pieces do belong in your larger body of work, because they have helped you to develop your voice and find what is important to you.

Nothing is ever really wasted. It’s all in how you think about it.

My client was very happy to hear this, and I hope you are too. Use those false starts and experiments as jumping off points for something new. Amaze yourself. I know you can do it.

If you liked this, sign up for my newsletter and receive a fuller version of Reframing Wasted Time; I promise to never sell or give away your information. Thank you!

Where’s Your Brain At?

2011-03-11T07:40:00.001-05:00

For the past two weeks I have been participating in the Right Brainers in Business online video summit. This course is offered by Jennifer Lee, author of the fantastic new book The Right Brain Business Plan. Each day a different creative entrepreneur offered their insights and advice on ways for people who are more right brain oriented to overcome their stuck around creating a workable plan for their business. The presenters have included the wonderful Danielle LaPorte, Tori Deaux and Goddess Leonie, and have inspired all of the participants to get their hands dirty and have fun while planning our various businesses.

One thing that I’ve been playing with in my head is taking my designs out into the world on a larger scale. Licensing my work is one avenue I intend to explore this year. Another path I am looking into is to follow Natalie Chanin’s model, and supply work to the people in my community by offering them the opportunity to assemble pieces in their home. I live in a rural area, without a lot of opportunity for traditional jobs, and I believe this could work. I am especially excited about being able to help people who may not be able to take a job outside the home, either due to transportation restraints or because they are taking care of small children or ill relatives. I also want to keep as much of the process local as possible.

Of course this all scares the pants off me. After all, who am I to think so big? But after spending time with Jennifer’s book and with the online community at the summit, I am ready to allow for the possibilities.

With that in mind, I created my first right brain business plan. It’s an accordion book, which I made using a strip of Arches Cold Press watercolor paper, torn down to size. I painted the background with acrylics and then silk screened and stamped on both sides. Here is what I have so far:

The whole plan. I used images from magazines as well as color copies from some of my more traditional work to lay it out. One of my role models is Mary Engelbreit, whose colorful, inspirational and whimsical images are licensed on products from fabric to puzzles and greeting cards, and I put an image of her at the beginning of the plan.

Jennifer talks about finding what values are important to you, and I keep realizing that “Fun” is something that is important to me. I want to create objects that make people smile, even while going about every day chores such as shopping or working at their computer. I also wanted to remind myself that it’s never too late to start, and that there will never be a shortage of ideas. The crayons and markers represent the fun tools I can use in creating the designs.

In order to see this vision through, I will need a team of people to help bring it about. I included images of this in the middle of the plan, including one of a group of women sewing together and a sewing machine. I hope for the business to grow, and also to have fun while growing it.

Finally, how is the finished product going to get to the people who want it? I love this image from a UPS ad, because packing and shipping generally freak me out. Eventually someone else can be in charge of “expediting” (or is it “logistics”? I can’t keep the terms straight LOL), but this image reminds me that it still can be fun. The best part of creating is the dialogue that happens when someone loves a piece and purchases it to take home with them, and these smiling faces remind me of that happy feeling.

There is a lot more content in the book and I will be sharing my process with you in the coming weeks and months. The next step is to work on the details, which go on the back of the pages shown here. I highly encourage you to look into getting a copy of The Right Brain Business Plan if this looks like a process that could work for you.

And remember to leave a comment for a chance to win a prize pack of Kathy Cano-Murillo’s novels!

Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing

2011-03-08T15:04:00.001-05:00

Video trailer for Kathy Cano Murillo’s newest novel Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing

Kathy Cano Murillo, The Crafty Chica, has long been an inspiration to me, and many of us in the crafting community. Her joyous can do spirit shines through everything she does, and I love reading her tales of her crafty adventures. It was only natural that she also turn her gift with words to ficition, and it was with great delight that I read her first novel Waking Up in the Land of Glitter when it was released last spring. That story of friendship and crafting was so vivid and so inspirational that I was eager to read her second novel.

Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing also tells the tale of a group of women, and the friendships formed around a common goal. Scarlet Santana is a young designer who worships the designer Daisy de la Flora, and who writes a crafty blog dedicated to Daisy and her style, both in creating artwork and creating a life. When Scarlet wins an opportunity to study with Daisy’s nephew, the well-known Johnny Scissors, she decides to teach a class in her signature patternless sewing style to raise the funds for the trip to New York City.

The women Scarlet meets in her class range from the high school students Stephanie and Jennifer, to young career-minded wife and mother Mary Theresa, to life-changing Olivia (pronounced “Oh Live Yah!”) and the mysterious Rosa. Through the course of the class the women get to know each other and bond over their individual dreams and hopes. They provide each other support and a cheering section for when things get overwhelming. None of the women are the same at the end of the story as they were at the beginning, and all of them find that dreams don’t die, even when it appears all is lost.

I really enjoyed this novel, the depth of detail Kathy uses in describing each setting and character satisfies my desire for feeling like I’m part of the story. Scarlet’s style, the design work of Daisy, the setting of Vega’s Vicious Vinyl and of course Nana Eleanor’s home all feel like real places. Kathy also manages to fit a lot of her “you can do this too” enthusiasm in through the use of blog posts written by Miss Scarlet, that have tips and techniques for living a fuller, more rich life. Inspirational and entertaining, Miss Scarlet’s school is a place I would love to visit over and over again

As part of the blog tour for Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing, I am pleased to present this post from Kathy herself. As someone who admires Kathy’s ability to transition from the world of making visual art to the world of creating with words, I asked how she handles this sometimes challenging shift in creating, and how each medium can feed the other. This was her answer:

“They both are about translating imagination, but in different forms. I draw from the same pool of creativity – choosing a color story, the mood, a message and then creating a background and foundation, the focal point and the accents and embellishments. Often, while I’m working in the art room, I’ll listen to music that my characters like and think about their storylines. And when I finish a project, it feels good to switch over to writing, I’m excited and ready to type away! I love that with writing, there is no mess. However, it’s much more difficult to redo a 90,000 manuscript that it is to make changes to an art piece!”

To celebrate the release of Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing, I am hosting a giveaway of Kathy’s novels. One lucky winner will receive a copy of each novel, Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing. Just leave a comment below, and answer the question, what is your favorite craft supply? I will pick the winners on Monday, March 14.

Step by Step

2011-03-07T14:17:00.001-05:00

Since becoming a Kreinik designer last fall I have worked on several pieces using their wonderful threads. The pink shoe piece (Boogie Shoes), the coral reef (Octopus’ Garden) and generally playing and planning on what to do next (I really want to recreate Birds’ Eye View using the wonderful Kreinik braids) .

One piece which has been in process since early December was finally finished last week. Sometimes it goes like that, where I start a piece and have a lot of excitement and desire to see the completed piece, but then something else equally as shiny and attractive comes along, and so the original piece patiently waits on the design wall for me to come back around to it.

Last week I was avoiding working on another piece which was giving me trouble, so it was easy to pick this piece back up and put the finishing touches on it.

Twelve Step, 2011, 54” H x 41.25” W Hand-dyed cottons from Diane Eyerman , hand-painted and silkscreened twill, commercial cotton, Quilter’s Dream Green batting , thread from Kreinik and Madeira. This piece will be on exhibit at the Parkersburg Art Center during the month of June 2011.

In this detail you can see the sparkle from the Kreinik machine threads that I used for the swirl quilting and for the buckles on the shoes. The fish are a design I made, turned into a Print Gocco silkscreen.

I liked how the figure and ground relationship changed with the different hues of blue. This helped to accentuate the swimming feeling I wanted from this piece.

Another detail of the thread and the fish. I loved how our fabrics worked so well together, even though they were created months and miles apart from each other.

In Wednesday’s post, I am very excited to host *the* Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano Murillo, who will answer my question about how she changes gears between working on her wonderful art and writing her lively novels. I will be reviewing her latest novel Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing and there will be a giveaway for two lucky readers!

From Start to Finish

2011-02-28T12:32:00.001-05:00

Sometimes art takes a long time to be created. I drew this bird of paradise twenty years ago while finishing my undergraduate degree. It is soft pastel on Mi-Tientes paper. I still can remember the piles of pastel dust that formed on the easel as I worked. Having a toddler at the time, I was concerned about her safety, and so the pastels went away.

Two months ago, while cleaning in the studio, I came across the original drawing, as well as some photographs I’d taken of it at the time. Since I’ve been working with machine embroidery on photo transfer, I decided to revisit the image.

I printed out the picture onto Avery transfer paper, after flipping it in my paint program so that it was a mirror image. I ironed it onto some white twill that I got at Dharma Trading Company, and backed that with several sheets of interfacing designed for machine embroidery. Here you can see the piece in process.

The piece, stitching complete.

A detail of the stitching. You really can see the bird in the flower in this segment.

I chose to finish this piece differently than the small water tower pieces, and chose some fabric from my stash to sew borders onto the piece. Then I stretched that over a 12” x 14” pre-stretched canvas I bought at Dick Blick. I preferred to use a pre-stretched canvas because the fabric on the piece would be protected from any acids in the stretcher bars. If I used plain stretcher bars I would seal them first.

The finished piece, available in my Etsy shop.

I once told a friend that time is never wasted making something we love. This certainly was true for this piece. Even though I never exhibited the original, it still makes me happy to see it and has inspired several pieces over the years.

Tutorial : Our (Green)House

2011-02-23T08:51:00.001-05:00

Last year I made a set of house collages using materials at hand rather than going out and buying new supplies. Granted, I spent many of the years between 2000-2006 making many “Mr. Toad” (wild ride) trips to Columbus to acquire supplies, so my studio is as well stocked as a small art supply store, but I didn’t look any further than the recycling bin for the base of this project. (One admission: the frames and spray adhesive needed to be purchased new, and I had to make color copies of my family photos to do this project).

To make your own house collage, you will need:

1 cereal box, emptied and flattened

Gesso and acrylic paint (the $0.89 bottles work just as well as the fancy art store brands for this project)

Paint brushes, water cups, rags for cleanup, putty knife

Template (see sidebar or download the house template here)

XActo, or other craft knife

Scrapbook paper, preferably solid or tone on tone (12” x 12” sheet, plus smaller pieces of other paper, or pre-paint your own paper )

Color copies of family photos, landscapes, whatever catches your eye. You can also get some great images for collage at ArtChix Studio .

Found objects (I’ve used things like bottle caps, doily pieces, embroidered appliques and small rubber animals)

Acrylic gel medium

Rubber stamps, stencils, bubble wrap, sequin waste, anything that will make a repeating pattern on your base

Dollar store picture frame (with glass) approximately 8” x 10”

Spray adhesive

Pencil or other marking tool, masking tape

1. First, paint your flattened cereal box with the gesso, letting each side dry completely before adding the first coat of paint. Let each layer dry, adding texture and details using rubber stamps, stencils, or sequin waste. I paint both sides on my cereal boxes, using different colors on each side so I have more choices when creating my design. Waiting for the pieces to dry takes patience, but end result of the funky layers makes the process worth it. Don’t worry if some of the original cereal box ends up showing through, that just contributes to the charm of the project (or maybe the Lucky Charm; sorry, couldn’t resist).

2. When you are happy with the way your cereal box looks, trace the house template onto it, and cut out, using the craft knife or a sturdy pair of scissors.

3. Cut a smaller triangle out of the opposite color/side of the cereal box, and place in the gable, for contrast.

Here you can see the various images I could choose from. I love making copies of old artwork and resizing the image to fit these little collages. It really expands my options.

4. Choose your images and arrange them onto the house. When you get an arrangement that pleases you, glue the components down using the acrylic medium. I press larger pieces down using a heavy object such as a big jar of acrylic medium or fabric paint. Let dry.

Here I chose a piece of paper I had painted last summer using a fish design that I turned into a silkscreen.

Gluing the elements using the gel medium and the putty knife.

I found some commercial embroidered appliques to add to the image. I really like how it appears that my daughter is studying her garden.

5. Measure the inside perimeter of your picture frame. Cut a piece from the 12” x 12” scrapbook paper to fit the area. Don’t worry if it’s a little larger than your measurement. It’s easier to trim excess paper than make a piece that is too small fit correctly.

6. Mask off the frame using the masking tape. Clean the glass in the frame and let dry. Then spray the glass with the adhesive and stick the scrapbook paper in place, using a bone folder or old gift card to smooth out any bubbles. If there is too much paper, try sliding the excess under the edges of the frame with the gift card, then trim any leftover. Let dry.

7. Using a putty knife, slather the back of the house with a layer of gel medium (I use Golden’s Extra Heavy Gel on my pieces. It’s very thick and stays where I put it). You will have some ooze, so put a lighter coat near the edges than in the middle.

8. Place the house, gel side down, centered on the scrapbook paper in the picture frame. Weigh down with heavy jars as needed. Let dry.

9. Remove weights and voila! Hang your beautiful collage in its new home.

This is a great way to make a simple piece of artwork for your home or office. Use copies of pecial photos and give as gifts. The possibilities are endless. To see some of the work I’ve made using this method, look at my Etsy shop. Have fun!

When I Wrote This

2011-02-20T12:57:00.002-05:00

I was listening to the Traveling Wilburys a lot when I took these. And reading Heyden Hererra’s biography of Frida Kahlo. So, on a chilly March day, with nothing to do with a bored toddler and a few props from the local Woolworth’s, some photos were born.

Here I took a full shot of Deva, wrapped in a simple lace scarf with kitschy fake flowers in her hair. I was really into the idea of shrines and altarpieces at the time.

I added another lace scarf and a length of gold lame to this one. She was a very patient model, and took direction so well.

Here I felt a little funny about doing all these Catholic images (my husband is Jewish), so I wrapped her in his tallis. My mother-in-law said she looked like a little old lady in this one.

And my favorite, with real gerbera daisies from Kroger’s.
There is a website where people re-create childhood photos of themselves. Today (February 20th) my favorite model turns 25. I wonder if she’d be up to a re-shoot?

Friday Flowers

2011-02-18T08:35:00.001-05:00

One subject which often appears in artwork is the humble flower. From the old Dutch masters to Georgia O’Keeffe and more, many artists have chosen to recreate flowers in paint, clay and fabric.

Over the past twenty years I have created many floral pieces as well. here is a small sampling.

Anthurium 1989 Acrylic on canvas. 30” x 40”

Flowers for Keiko 2004 7” x 9” Machine embroidery, machine quilted.

Flowers for Angie 2006 24” x 18” Hand quilted, machine quilted, embellished with beads, sequins and mirrors.

Tulip Time 2010 6” x 6” Machine applique.

August 2002 Journal Quilt Project, handmade felt, machine embroidery, 3D appliques, shisha mirror embroidery.

Hollyhock Journal Page 2009 11” x 8.5” India ink, watercolor, paint pen and found quote

Floral Medley 2010 24” x 40” Applique, found objects, machine embroidery, machine quilted.

Bird of Paradise 1989 22” x 30” Dry pastel on paper. This image is reversed from the original so that I could make a photo transfer with it.

Bird of Paradise II (Study in Orange and Green) 2011 8.5” x 11” Machine embroidery on cotton twill.

No matter how many times I revisit floral imagery, I always find something new to marvel at. Do you have any favorite subjects that you return to again and again?

The Mother and Child Reunion

2011-02-16T09:11:00.001-05:00

My children have always made art with me. I couldn’t imagine not creating when they were small, and so they always had some variation of art supply, and close supervision as we worked side by side. It helped keep me sane during those demanding toddler years and helped give them a leg up when it came to making art for school. I never held back on what supply they could use, I just made sure it was a child safe alternative (adhesives) or I did part of their work myself (cutting).

My youngest is soon to be 12, and he shares my studio with me. We do the occasional show together and we brainstorm ideas for our work. It’s really nice to have an art buddy so close at hand!

His favorite medium is polymer clay. He’s sold many pieces and has even taken a few commissions.

You can see some of his older work in the background, while his newer work is in the foreground.

We bounce ideas off each other, and take inspiration from each other’s work. Recently I created this sea scene:

Octopus’ Garden 2011 Machine embroidery with Kreinik threads, machine pieced and machine appliqued. I still need to measure it, but it’s around 36” x 36”

We have an upcoming show opportunity, with parameters of no larger than 5 inches in any direction. Izzy chose to make his own coral reef.

Izzy Stern Coral Reef 2011 5” x 5”

Detail of the sculpture. He was very concerned that the colors be accurate. I love the eel peeking out from behind the fronds, and you can see the tentacles of the octopus that is hiding behind the anemone.

This is one of his most ambitious pieces to date. I am really excited to see where he goes next!

It’s funny to see how you influence your children, or friends, or other people in your life, even if you don’t realize you are. Sometimes a little encouragement and belief in their abilities can go a long way.

One of My Favorite Days and People

2011-02-13T23:11:00.001-05:00

I can’t remember ever not liking February. Probably because it is so short. February has the best birthstone (amethyst) and of course there’s Valentine’s Day, with the pink and red and lace and chocolate and hearts!

This year I made some of my own valentines to give out:

FInished valentines made with Portfolio Oil Pastels on a base of painted, silkscreened and stenciled oaktag. The drawings were made with India ink.

A detail of what the blank cards looked like. You can really see the detail of the silkscreen in this shot. One of these days I will figure out how to make an image of the wonderful paint scribblings left on my art table.

A whole batch of the cards awaiting decorating.

Many of my favorite people were born in February as well. (With lots of birthday parties and cake! Cake and chocolate, yay!). My most favorite February person is my Grandpa, who was born today (February 14). He was a designer at General Motors, and would bring home lunchboxes full of the Prismacolor pencils he used at his job for us to play with.

He also had a good sense of humor. When he retired, he decided to let his beard grow, and told me he was going to let it grow long enough to tie around his head.

He also loved his dogs. Here he is at our house in Michigan, reading the paper with Shep on the sofa next to him and our dog Laddie at his feet.

And my Grandpa loved me so much that when I fell in love with the treasure chest he’d made for himself, he made me one as well.

I took this photo when I was 19 and in my “arty photo” phase. :) My Grandpa gave me his love of art and his fun sense of humor, and yes, occasionally his gruff demeanor. Today would’ve been his 110th birthday.

Sometimes the best gifts are the intangible ones, though I wouldn’t trade anything for my treasure chest. What gifts have your loved ones given you?

You’re My Inspiration

2011-02-11T10:40:00.001-05:00

I was recently watching an episode of The Avengers on Netflix. In this episode, high ranking members of the English military were given a child’s ball which had a hallucinogenic effect on them. The sets of the playroom they saw while under the influence were graphic and colorful. I used to watch The Avengers with my dad, and clearly, when looking at my work, I can see the influence of colors from tv shows such as this and Batman, as well as others (Laugh In, anyone?).

But one of the most obvious influences on my choice of colors and occasional fantastic imagery is the wonderful Peter Max. His bold colorful images and detail filled work made my heart sing. Imagine my surprise when I read in the 10th Anniversary issue of Veg News that he had been approached to create the Yellow Submarine film, but had turned it down. The director hired another artist to work in Mr. Max’s style. That explained so much about that movie.

I went searching for images to share with you and found this wonderful cake , inspired by the movie. I think I know what I’m making for my birthday in April ;)

And now, some Yellow Submarine inspired artwork, from my work in a Moleskine Cahier notebook:

Pen and ink.

Collage from an old AAA travel guide, india ink, rubber stamp, acrylic and gouache.

Detail.

View out the submarine’s porthole.

I decided to colorize this one. I used Inktense pencils by Derwent.

Here you can see the detail of the pencil lines from the coloring. I used to hate those, I wanted the image as smooth as possible, but as I’ve grown as an artist I can see the value in letting the process be seen in the lines. If I did want this image more smooth, I could take a wet watercolor brush into it and dissolve the colors. I may try that with a future iteration of this piece, drawn with a waterproof pen. (I used a Pilot V7 on this one, and they most definitely aren’t waterproof).

Then I imagined the submarine and the views from it as a necklace, with a sea urchin as a background.

Most of the time I freehand the drawings, but for this one I used a light pencil sketch first. You can see the faint lines if you look closely. If I were doing this for reproduction, I would use a non-photo blue pencil next time.

These are what I imagine the really deep sea submarines would look like. Or perhaps the fish have evolved to take on some of the characteristics of the submarines they see daily.

I had a lot of fun with the scales on this one. :)

What inspires you? Are there images or colors you can trace directly to an outside influence? Or is your inspiration more subtle? It’s always interesting to hear how other artists get their ideas. How do you work? Feel free to download the free worksheet from the sidebar and go wild!

What Color is Your Thinking Cap?

2011-02-09T14:01:00.001-05:00

You’re the One crochet and knitting with found objects

One way to ~~cope~~ have fun with the switch between doing chores, whether they be household, or the daily to-dos for your art career, is to have different costumes. Remember in grade school when your teacher would tell you to get your thinking cap on? I was so disappointed that there wasn’t an actual thinking cap for us to wear. Maybe it was just me, but I thought the idea of having something fun to wear could help a boring or difficult task more fun.

Who wouldn’t have a bit more fun if you did your errands dressed as a samurai?

Tibetan Temple knitting and crochet, wool, soy silk and acrylic

Maybe did your thumbnail sketches under the boughs of a beautiful oak?

A Walk in the Woods knitting, crochet and found objects, wool and cotton

Or even did your household chores dressed a little like Jackie Kennedy?

Jackie wool and acrylic, knit and crochet

There is something to be said for costumes. Even Havi wrote about them at her blog. Having one can help you be brave, to act as if (I am thinking of my “New Job, Model Citizen” dress slacks that I wear when I want to project that air of confidence and competence at events such as art openings). Having one can help your brain transition from mundane work stuff into art making time.

Alice’s Repose crochet, i-cord, found object; wool and acrylic

I have a small wardrobe of aprons that I keep in my studio, and when I am having a hard time getting into the work on any given day, I put on an apron, even if I am not planning on doing any messy work that day. This tells me that it is time to play, and I can feel my body relax and stop fighting the urge to have fun.

Just Desserts wool, alpaca and cotton; knit and crochet.

Whether it is a thinking cap, an apron, or something more elaborate, a costume can add a lot of fun to your daily routine. What roles do you play, and how could you dress them up?

Time Travel

2011-02-07T11:19:00.001-05:00

Twenty years ago when I was in graduate school, I wanted to do a series on water towers.

I took reference photographs.

Water towers on Route 33 near The Plains, OH.

Water tower on the grounds of Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.

I took my two toddlers out and parked in the parking lot of the local credit union and drew in the back seat of the car.

Water towers, Route 33, Caran D’Ache Neocolor II watercolor crayons on Arches Cover Black paper.

And I drew from reference photos, in my studio.

Gaffney, SC, Caran D’Ache Neocolor II watercolor crayons on Arches Cover Black paper, 40” x 30”.

(I couldn’t find my reference photo to put in this post. Ironic, isn’t it?)

That’s as far as it got at the time. There were a few false starts at paintings that ended up covered over, but these images were all that I had for a very long time. Then I decided to revisit the imagery in my quilts (blog posts here and here).

And, while searching for a way to make some images that fit the parameters of a show calling for pieces no larger than 5” in any direction, I remembered a technique described in the book Freestyle Machine Embroidery by Carol Shinn.

Carol took her source image and printed it out onto transfer paper. She then ironed it onto a stiff fabric and filled in the image using machine embroidery.

Which I decided to do with the old drawings.

Route 33, Autumn Afternoon Machine embroidery and photo transfer on twill. 5” x 5”

Detail, showing the layers used to create the feeling of the undergrowth.

Gaffney SC II, still in process. You can see the twill on the borders. I also use several layers of interfacing to stabilize the fabric and minimize distortion during stitching.

Here you can really see the texture of the stitches and of the twill underneath the iron-on.

I am using Golden Extra Heavy Body Gel to adhere the finished stitching to the canvas, pressing the work between two boards weighted down with paint jars. Once the gel is dry, I trim the image close to the canvas and then paint the edges of the canvas with a coordinating color of acrylic paint. In the future I may experiment with making the edges of the canvas covered in machine embroidery as well.

I really enjoyed working this way, and am eager to make new source drawings (of various subjects) to work from. What treasures do you have in your studio that could provide a springboard for new creativity?

What Does ‘The King’s Speech’ Have to Do With Art?

2011-02-04T10:14:00.001-05:00

If you haven’t seen ‘The King’s Speech’ yet, I tried to not spoil any major plot points, but if you want to go into the movie and be surprised, you may want to wait to read this post until after you’ve seen the movie. Go on and see it, I’ll wait.

Over the weekend I was able to go see ‘The King’s Speech’. I had heard lots of good things about it from my friends at Facebook, and my husband was also interested in seeing it, so it was an obvious choice. Sunday afternoon we headed out to take in the early afternoon matinee.

Two hours later I walked out of the theater feeling energized and uplifted. The simple story of how King George VI worked with speech coach Lionel Logue to overcome his stutter and lead his country during the dark days of World War II made me cringe, made me laugh, and ultimately made me cry.

And then it made me think. I empathized with Colin Firth’s Bertie, not only because he agonized at the prospect of having to lead his country during wartime, but also because he was a person who had not yet owned his voice. He could speak clearly and smoothly under a few conditions, but he seemed to have trouble with even every day conversation.

How does this relate to art, you ask?

Well, we often talk about seeing a person’s voice in their work. Some works are muddied and the vision is unclear, while other pieces make our hearts sing. I think there are a lot of similarities between the artist sitting at the easel, drawing board, or sewing machine, struggling to get out of their own way and let their voice out, and Bertie, struggling to get out a single word.

Blocks that kept Bertie from speaking clearly included early childhood trauma and present family teasing. How many artists have trouble creating because of what a teacher or family member may have said to them when they shared their early art?

The most important thing that struck me near the end of the movie was when we were shown how Bertie was afraid to take on his authority. He didn’t believe he could be bigger, and he was afraid to be bigger. This made him angry when it was pointed out to him. How often do we act the same way in regards to our art? We may not stammer, but we find other ways to stop our work from getting out, whether it is spending too much time on the internet, taking on other people’s problems, or even making art, but maybe not the art that we really want to make.

Of course we know what happens with Bertie, all we have to do is look at a history book. In the film you could see the change in how he carried himself. At the end of the speech his shoulders were squared and he walked confidently out to greet his people. He had found his voice.

What steps can you take to let your voice be heard in your work?

Year of the Rabbit

2011-02-01T15:14:00.001-05:00

Sometimes your inspiration can be directly traced to a specific event or object. For instance:

The evil rabbit growth chart my mom embroidered for me. I’m sure she didn’t think it was evil. But those eyes freaked me out. A lot.

Could you sleep with this looking at you every night?

And yet, somehow I managed to grow up and be a fairly normal member of society.

Then I started making my own rabbit art.

Good Bunny I 2007 Bic ballpoint on drawing paper

Good Bunny II 2007 Bic ballpoint on drawing paper

Good Bunny III Bic ballpoint on drawing paper (my favorite of the bunny drawings, don’t tell the others)

Good Bunny III, detail

Good Bunny IV, still in process. Machine embroidery, beads and sequins

Good Bunny IV, detail

Macgregor’s Bunny, mosaic on repurposed name tag

Mad Hatter’s Rabbit, photo copy of Bic ballpoint drawing, colored with watercolor and colored pencil

Concept sketch for rabbit embroidery

Down the Rabbit Hole 2009 16” x 19”

Queen of Hearts 2010 18” x 18”

Waiting for Harvest 2007 Bead embroidery on Peltex heavy duty interfacing

Bunny Pierrot II 2010, acrylic on canvas

Clara Bunny 2007 Machine embroidery, stuffed plush

And suddenly Mr. Growth Chart didn’t seem so bad after all. Look at all the work he inspired!

For more on rabbits and their symbolism you can read Terri Windling’s article at Endicott Studios and see more rabbit art at Midori Snyder’s blog post. Read about Chinese New Year here.

What Color is Your Pair o’ Shoes?

2011-01-31T13:12:00.001-05:00

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun. Last summer I did a small painting for my friend Tricia’s show. The theme was “shoes”. I have been drawing and painting shoes from way back, and so I delighted in this opportunity to try something new. I have a pair of toddler jellies that I found at a yard sale several years ago and this was a good time to play with that image.

Too Coy 2010 10” x 10” Acrylic and silkscreen on canvas

I had fun drawing the image and filling it in with color, but nothing beats my fabric, and I wondered what it would be like to blow the shoe image up and re-create it in fabric.

Boogie Shoes 2011 36 1/2” H x 31” W

This piece was done on whole cloth that I painted using SetaColour paints. It was painted on a hot August afternoon, and I sprinkled salt on the wet paint and let it dry in the summer sun. The batik was something I picked up just because I liked the color. I love when things work together to help create a piece of art. It’s almost like it creates itself.

Here’s a detail of the stitching. The grid quilting was done with a combination of YLI Candlelight thread (used in the bobbin) and Kreinik machine quilting thread. This was my first experience with the Kreinik machine thread and I was really pleased with how well it worked.

You might have guessed from my last post that when I find an image I like, I like to create it multiple times. There will be more shoes in my future, including this one, in process:

Twelve Step, in process hand-dyed and hand painted fabric, silk screen, applique

Are there any images you like to revisit over and over again?

What is Your Definition of Success?

2011-01-28T15:24:00.001-05:00

This topic came up in a friend’s LiveJournal this morning. She wrote how she didn’t view success in terms of how much money she made from her work (whether as an artist or her previous career in social work), but rather in how she made people feel (through her beautiful work or how she helped her clients). I don’t think it has to be an either/or type of answer (and neither does my friend), and I believe it is possible to have both, and in the case of some people it does seem that the better they make people feel (whether through their art or writing, or other pursuits such as being a sports or movie star) the more money they make.

Last year one of my goals was to submit for a grant from the Ohio Arts Council. I have learned over the years that when writing goals you need to make them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Which is why the goal was to submit the work, which is an Achievable target. Actually getting the grant is another thing entirely.

With that in mind, these are the images I submitted for the grant application. All of the pieces had to be created within the last three years of the application. I chose to submit the work from my water tower series.

Gaffney, SC 2007 40” H x 28” W

Route 33, Summer Morning 2008 47” x 44”

Marilyn 2008 62” x 76”

What Lies Beneath 2009 76” x 42”

White Lies 2008 83” x 48”

Night Moves 2008 32” x 31”

Abundance 2008 15” x 22”

Winter White 2009 60” x 50”

Ophelia’s Sisters 2009 22” x 40”

Garden Party 2010 44” x 45”

Twilight 2010 38” x 40”

Andrews AFB 2010 80” x 54”

Because I had consistently created work over the past three years, filling the required image part of the application was easy. Writing the artist statement, which I usually find painful and difficult, was easy, thanks to techniques I’ve learned using Havi Brooks’ Dissolving Procrastination book. This year I actually had the application in two weeks before the deadline, and I felt really good about it.

Then I got the email on January 4th, telling me I did not get a grant.

Was I disappointed? You bet. I feel this is the best application I’ve submitted for this grant in the ten years I’ve tried for one. I love my artist statement and I love my work. It would have been nice to have the validation (not to mention the money) of receiving one of the grants.

But I still consider myself a success. Because I put the work out there and applied.

Building a Good Foundation: Journals

2011-01-25T15:46:00.001-05:00

Keeping a regular written record, or a journal, is the best way I’ve found to keep on track with my various pursuits. I doodle, glue in pictures that interest me, and (gasp!) even write in my journals. They have ranged in size from this small Moleskine shown below to a super large wire bound sketchbooks , but the one thing they have in common is that the only rule is that there are no rules.

Lists help to keep me on track. I started this practice when my youngest son was an infant. Each Sunday I sit down with my journal and make a list of what I’d like to accomplish that week. Sometimes I go back and check off projects as they are completed. Other times I list the projects or actions I took that day or week. This was a real sanity saver when I felt overwhelmed by my duties as a mother. I could look at the page and see that I had accomplished something that week, no matter how small it may have seemed. Little steps added up to bigger work.

Lists can be used to brainstorm ideas. This page was from the year I was going to attempt the “Art by the Inch” challenge. I wrote my options for the time period and listed what supplies I’d need to gather to work on the projects.

This page was done in preparation for a class I was teaching to the Art Quilt Alliance in Columbus Ohio. I wanted to make sure that nothing was forgotten, and I had a little fun drawing the contents of the table I was sitting at while I brainstormed what was needed.

And a goofy collage combining watercolor, colored pencil and a list. So many options for something so mundane helps make the task fun.

How Do Your Ideas Grow?

2011-01-17T13:45:00.001-05:00

One question I get a lot is “Where do you get your ideas?” My initial thought upon hearing that question is “Where don’t I get ideas?” because ideas seem to come from all directions, at any time. Of course it is because I also do a lot of what Julia Cameron calls “filling the well.” This can include the activities listed in her book “The Artist’s Way” (morning pages, artist dates, regular activity), but I also find that other things also fill the well and help nurture baby ideas.

With that question in mind, I went to the local coffee shop with my journal and markers on hand. This is the image that came to me. Creativity as a garden, with all the elements that help to fertilize the process and help in the development of ideas.

As a child I remember reading the story of Squanto, and how he taught the Pilgrims to fertilize their crops using fish, so that is why the fish are in the image (that I like drawing fish is a happy plus). Each fish and mineral underground contains an element of what feeds my idea plant. You can see here that my fertilizer includes reading, movies and dreams.

Actually putting the ideas down in some form grows from this fertile ground, including blog posts and working in my personal journal. The harvest includes finished work, which can also be used as fertilizer to start the process all over again.

I also feel that self care, symbolized by the sun in this drawing, is of utmost importance in developing ideas. If we are tired and depleted our bodies and minds can’t help but divert all our energy into just surviving. My self care includes such things as rest, yoga, friends and good food. Play is also an important part of the process. Allowing some time to just goof off can help more than anything sometimes.

What nurtures your ideas? I have put a link in the sidebar to a blank copy of this worksheet (How Do Your Ideas Grow) that you can print out and play with on your own. Feel free to share it with your friends (please link back to this post, thanks!) , and I would love to see what your garden looks like.

Come Sail Away

2011-01-16T11:13:00.001-05:00

“Safe Harbor” 15.5” x 15.5” 2010 available at my Etsy shop

New year, new blog. Or as Cobra Bubbles put it, (in the Disney film “Lilo and Stitch”) “New job. Model citizen.”

I’m not sure how I will fill either of those criteria, but I felt it was time to change things up and become a bit more focused. I had outgrown the “AndiBeads” label, and, let’s face it, most of my blog posts there had nothing to do with beads.

So what are my plans for this new start? Well, obviously, to share my art with you, but also to provide some tips and tools to help you along in your creative journey. Look for downloadable worksheets, some step by step “how to’s” and more on our travels together.

I am a firm believer in free-range creativity and allowing things to develop organically, so for now there isn’t a set publishing schedule. Over time as themes develop, days may be designated as “time management Tuesday” or some such, but for now, just sit back and enjoy the ride.