Dreaming Again......

#9 Dream


by
John
Lennon

....my contemplation of "cycles" continues.

the leaves are changing, the wind is picking up and the cold air has been settling in. i have had an incredible surge in creative energy lately. ideas aren't just coagulating inside my head they are manifesting themselves in fabric, paint and fibers. wierd.

i feel particularly energized right now to take off in a new direction. i find myself rebelling against "straight lines," grids and evenly spaced stitches. i am letting my mind and my hands wander in different directions - leaving the familiar in the past. venturing into the land of trial and error. no fear of failure.

(this piece is a 10x10 art quilt done with black and white batiks, and printed using the vintage wooden letters my friend Lisa sent to me. the letters are printed in acrylic paint on white canvas and stitched onto hot pink silk dupioni. The center of the eye is one of the art squares I was sent by Monica. This is actually the "reverse" side of my 10x10 made with the leftover Love Squared art squares. the front will be revealed shortly.)

She's a Stunner.....

Meet "Love Squared!"

You can't help but notice the "Pink Artist" button on the right side of my blog. As you may recall, I joined this group as a response to a call from Monica Magness of Girl Gone Thread Wild:

"the pink artist"is a community of artists joining together to create one joint art doll to benefit the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. When the doll is complete, it will be mailed in to Art Doll Quarterly™before finally being auctioned off on eBay at a later date. ALL PROCEEDS WILL DIRECTLY BENEFIT CHARITY." Upon hearing of this call, back in January I sent four art squares to Monica - three for the cause and one for her.

Here are the squares I sent:

Here also just a few of the squares others sent. To see all 180 squares, you can click on Girl Gone Thread Wild and take a tour of not only all of the squares that were sent in, but you can witness the creation of Love Squared from start to finish as Monica and her husband Jeff documented the entire process.

Grace of Grace Beading made the beautiful crown that sits on Love Squared's lovely head which doubles as a bracelet for the lucky winner of the auction. Take a look at Grace's blog as she too has been and continues to be involved in many worthwhile causes.

Three months have elapsed since squares began pouring in for this cause that has touched so many lives. During that time Monica has labored unselfishly receiving, sorting, stitching these beautiful squares to a beautiful art doll body and face that she lovingly created.

I'd like now to quote Monica's introduction of this beauty:

"Her name is "Love Squared." She wears 180 two inch art squares. 182 artists total created her.
She is just under 40" tall and weighs 6 pounds and 2 ounces.

She smiles because already she knows love
and is able to give love unconditionally.
To many, she is a symbol of hope.
She stands for COURAGE and was built
by a community of givers. "

Love Squared is a physical manifestation of the pain, heartache, heartbreak, hope, love, inspiration, hopelessness, hopefulness and joy of the artists who created her -- many of whom suffer from, or love someone who suffers or has suffered from breast cancer.

Yes, Love Squared is a stunner -- but unbelievably - her beauty pales in comparison to the beauty contained within the hearts of her creators and the hearts and "souls" of those for whom she was made - those touched by breast cancer.

Please take time to visit Monica's blog to experience Love's journey -- from concept to completion. Also, please visit some of the blogs of the wonderful artists, like Grace, who donated their time, talent and love to make Monica's vision become a reality. You can find most of the artists listed on Monica's blog roll -- on the left side of her blog.

Love is going to be photographed and included in an upcoming issue of Art Doll Quarterly prior to her auction on E-Bay. As details concerning the publication of the magazine AND the E-Bay Auction emerge, I will certainly post them here.

Let's NOT allow this to be the end of the journey -- but rather, the begining. Hopefully this inspiring project will light a fire beneath many of us to take it "one step further" - whether it be creating something else to raise money, donating money, or volunteering time to this, or some other vital cause.

"Wild Girl" to you I say --- I suspect you have no idea as to the magnitude and impact your vision has and will continue to have -- in the future on the lives of the people you have touched with this project. You -- are a force to be reckoned with!! I can't wait to see what's next! XO

Journal Cover for Trade

Here is a journal cover I've been working on for an internet artist trade. It's pieced batik, lame and cotton with foiled and crystal bead embellishments. I had to pry it out of Sabrina's little hands to get it into the mail. I love making these covers, although I'm still working on getting "the perfect fit."

I Just Finished Some More 1x1" Art Squares

My Textile Challenges Group (on Yahoo Groups) is doing another 1 x 1" Art Square trade. I just finished a few sets of those and am really happy with the results. I think when mine arrive I'm going to mount them on a piece of nickel finished metal. I'll have to think about that -- but in any case, here are some of the pieces I've completed....

Melting Felt....

This piece is the result of a challenge which involved burning a piece of Kunin felt and then making either an ATC or a Fabric Post Card out of it. Below is the felt after I burned and painted it with Lumiere paints. Above is the ATC I made with the product. I layered the felt over some painted lame, free motion embroidered it, then couched some silk threads and beads onto it. It's really interesting how this felt melts. I know there are products out there that you can paint on the felt to get textured imaging as a result of the burning. I've got to check into these.

Dabbling in Watercolor....

My mom told me once that she hated sunflowers and hollyhocks. I was shocked. I couldn't imagine how a person who grew up in the country (in Ohio) could hate sunflowers. When I asked her why, she told me that out in the country where she grew up they planted them around the outhouses to hide them -- and she's hated them ever since. I still love sunflowers and every time I see one, I marvel at their splendor. They are so huge, and I don't know if you've ever grown them (I do every year) their heads are very, very heavy -- it amazes me their stems can support all that weight -- yet they stand tall and proud with their faces shining up at the sky. They are bright, they are beautiful, they are gigantic and I love them. I guess that's why they keep finding their way into my work. This is a watercolor I did (on the right) a while ago while taking an art class a cute little art studio in Wake Forest called..... The Sunflower Studio. (no joke!)

Studio

I have had several people request that I post a picture of my studio. Here is a picture of the studio my illustrious husband built for me in an unfinished room downstairs. The room is about 14x16 and even has an area on the other side of the room for my creative daughter. Here are two pictures - one of my side, and one of her side. We spend many wonderful hours in our little corner of the world -- thanks honey!!

Handmade Fabrics

I took an awesome fiber arts class at a local art center. I had no idea what to expect and, to be honest, was a little intimidated. I'm learning is there is no "right" or "wrong" when it comes to creating. Some of the most beautiful pieces come out of accidents and miscalculations!
Thus far I've explored texture printing and different types of fabric making. Yesterday we used hand dyed silk fibers and created our own fabric sheets by layering the fibers in different patterns with other elements. I used metallic thread bits and I love the results. We also made some really cool fabric by layering fabric bits, metallics, screen, ribbon, and misc. fibers between two sheets of Solvy, free motion stitching over the top (I used metallic thread) and washing the solvy away. I can think of a million things to make with these fabrics. I think the first thing I'm going to tackle is a journal cover for my daughter and then maybe a purse.