Another project for Christmas giving

without hat

I discovered this charming doll pattern on line, and just had to knit it up for my granddaughter. A steep learning curve for me, but I persisted. I love her unruly hair. My daughter chose the colour palette and supplied me with her own hand-dyed yarn.

with hat

The pattern is available on-line from Mary Jane's Tearoom, along with knitting patterns for delightful teddies, elephants, rabbits and mice. The patterns are also carried by Ravelry and Etsy (just do a search for "Mary Jane's Tearoom".)

All in good fun

For me, one of the joys of being a grandmother is making things for the grandchildren.

Here is a recent project I've completed for my little grandson, whose nursery has been given a "hunting lodge" theme. 

I made the "stag head" from a pattern by Amie Scott, a Toronto-based pattern designer, who also offers clothing patterns. On her website are similar patterns for unicorns, bunnies and rhinos. Amusing, yes?

Finished Baby Quilt

So pleased to have finished this traditional patchwork quilt, made for a grandchild expected in the fall.

Measuring 40" x 40", this baby quilt is made of scraps,
mostly prints, with a few hand-dyes.

It has a narrow bias binding, and was quilted using a "continuous curves" design
that requires no marking.
Thank you, Lauma, for providing the perfect backing fabric! Very retro.

Here's a photo of a similar quilt, made for the Big Sister a couple of years ago:

And here's another baby quilt I made for a great-niece, using a similar approach and a brighter palette:

There are undoubtedly easier ways to make a baby quilt, but I am attracted to the traditional, timeless quality of this method.

Holiday Greetings

this year's Christmas postcard

This has been an especially busy month for me. I've been preoccupied with helping a senior family member move into a new home. Perhaps in another month or so I will be back on track.

Meanwhile, here is an example of the several dozen cloth postcards I have made, all slightly different. Scraps of brightly printed fabric were fused onto muslin, then backed with batting, more muslin, and stitched. Finally, they were faced with heavy paper, and secured with stitching all around the outer edge.

What I love about these fabric postcards, and I've been making them for more than ten years now, is that they go through the mail without an envelope, just a stamp. I'm sure they bring a smile along the route, and I know they are valued in their new homes.

I have also matted and framed a dozen of these "patchwork hearts" for sale at the local gallery.

May your holidays too be filled with all the warmth of the season. And thank you for your interest and support throughout the year.

Hudson Artists Fall Show

***NEWS FLASH***

My series of patchwork hearts has won a Judge's Choice at the show. So pleased!!
Four awards in the last four shows.

untitled, acrylic collage, 16" x 16"

Delighted to be showing some of my recent work at the Fall Show of the Hudson Artists.

untitled, acrylic collage, 16" x 16"

I've submitted my two recent acrylic collages, as yet untitled. Suggestions for names are welcome!

City in Ruins #1, acrylic collage, 10" x 10"

As well, four of my recent "radical collages" will be on display. This series, titled "City in Ruins", required four layers of collage, alternated with vigorous sanding and painting, to achieve a "distressed" surface.

Stitched Hearts, made of hand-dyed and commercial cottons, 8" x 6" framed

I will also be hanging small, framed "stitched hearts". Made of hand-dyed and commercial cotton and machine-stitched, these pieces are priced to be bought in multiples!

The show opens on Friday evening, October 18, at 7:30 pm, and continues from 10 am - 5 pm on Saturday, October 19 and Sunday the 20th. Over 30 artists will be showing at the local community centre, 394 Main Road in Hudson.

A painting by member Olia Stielow will be raffled off in support of the local bird shelter, Le Nichoir.

Once again some of the members will submit their work to two outside judges. The awards will be announced at the vernissage, when visitors will be welcomed with wine and refreshments. I will be working the sales desk that evening and hope to see you there!

New work

Many deadlines and calls for entry are crowding my calendar. The time has come to pull out the "starts" and massage them into something I can be happy with.

untitled 1, 16 x 16, collage/paint

A workshop in August with Jane Davies gave me some insight into process. Jane warned the participants not to expect to go home with finished work. We were to consider everything we did to be a "start". Jane counselled us to work with multiple pieces at once, to do one or two things to each piece in rotation, and then to move on. In this way, we could perhaps avoid getting "stuck".

When you think about it, you don't want to practice "getting stuck". Rather like spinning your wheels when your tires are deep in the mud, perseverating in the stuck position just reinforces those pathways in the brain, and leads to frustration / avoidance / grief in the studio.

I've heard similar advice given to writers who are struggling to complete a particular piece of writing:  put aside the task that is not flowing and tackle something else. If the novel isn't going anywhere, write a magazine article or a book review. Then return to the problematic project with a renewed perspective.

untitled 2, 16 x 16, collage/paint

Having come to art through fibre, I am very much a "planner". With my cityscapes, I begin with my photo, which becomes a drawing. I choose a palette of colour to work with and proceed from there. Perhaps a few tweaks with dark/light relationships, elimination of some detail, and the outcome is very much determined from the start. Not much opportunity for "happy accidents".

Painting and collage is, for me, a very different process. Obliteration is a tool available to the painter that is not readily at hand to the textile artist.

Two shows coming up next month, and these two recent pieces will be submitted to one of them. 

Stars and Hearts

At the beginning of the summer I posted my intention to begin a fun project: making stitched fabric postcards. I do this annually for my Christmas cards, and every year it's something different.

I was inspired by the small heart-themed collages that Jane Davies posted on her blog. You can see some of the images here.

Because I wanted to make Christmas cards, I chose a star motif, rather than a heart, to work with. I enjoyed working with a bright palette.

Isn't it funny how we see little human figures in the 5-pointed stars?
One head, two arms, two legs, dancing....

But I wasn't really happy with the format. Standard size for postcards is 4 x 6, and squares seem better-suited to stars. I reverted to the heart shape, but used Christmasy-colours of green and red, choosing from some of the older printed cottons in my collection.

As I developed these, I gradually introduced a few brighter colours, like lime green and magenta, to give them a bit more life. (I was getting some useful feedback, working on this project at our text'art retreat.)

The colours were getting bolder and bolder, but with less of that Christmas flavour.

Finally, I limited myself to red/pink/magenta hearts on greenish/turquoise backgrounds.

And now I have a nice selection of fabric postcards, some of which will serve for the Christmas season. Others will get a simple frame and be used for gifts, and possibly for sale at the upcoming fall show of the Hudson Artists.

City in Ruins

Thank you to Tess Hall, a participant in my current class with Jane Davies, for sending me a reference to the poem, Building with its Face Blown Off, by Billy Collins.

I am also reminded of this photo from Edward Burtynsky, which I saw recently at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.

Edward Burtynsky, from Three Gorges dam project, China, 2002

This is the kind of devastation that is suggested by my recent imagery of "deconstructed" buildings in a mixed-media series, "City in Ruins", which I blogged about earlier this week.

Christmas postcards 2018

May your days be merry and bright

Once again this year, I have sent out a couple dozen machine-stitched Christmas cards of my own design.

I painted silver ink onto hand-dyed cotton, using a commercial stencil that I masked with a triangular shape. Machine-stitching with silver metallic thread followed. A red paint marker was used to decorate the tree. The three layers of hand-dye, batting and muslin were backed with watercolour paper and the edge was finished with a narrow zigzag of silver rayon thread. 

I get a kick out of sending these through the mail wearing only a stamp, no envelope or protective sleeve. 

And, if you're still reading, I hope that your holiday is filled with days both merry and bright!

Old Town Square, Riga

Old Town Square, Riga, 18 x 24

Completed just a few days ago, this is #20 in the collection of larger cityscapes to be included in my upcoming museum show. In addition, I will deliver seven smaller urban landscapes, which may also be displayed as space allows. 

Fabrics used include a mottled hand-dye for the sky, a range of hand-dyes in neutral colours and, for the terra-cotta-coloured roofs, commercially printed cotton.

The work is inspired by a photo I took while visiting Riga this past summer.

A New Cityscape

It's true. I declared to my art friends a year or two ago that I would never make another cityscape.

But now I find myself preparing for a show that requires twenty cityscapes, and I am currently in possession of only 18. (I've been very fortunate to have sold most of the hundred-or-so that I have made over the years.)

A visit to Latvia this past summer allowed me to take this photo from the top of the Riga cathedral, using a good zoom lens. Thank you, Lauma, for convincing me that I needed a new camera, and then for showing me the sights in this intriguing city.

I am pleased to introduce my most recent cityscape, made of hand-dyed and commercially-printed cotton.

View from Riga cathedral, 24 x 18

Love those rooflines, the variety of scale, the punch of the reds against the neutrals, the range of value. I think that what I have been learning in painting workshops is reflected in this most recent work in fibre, and I am happy to include it in my upcoming show.

So pleased!

Delighted to receive an Honourable Mention at the recent Fall Show of the Hudson Artists. It was awarded by the two judges for "strong composition".

My artist statement reads,

"[The series] Time and Again is inspired by “deconstructed” buildings. The structure remains, but new layers and textures are revealed as time and usage wear down surfaces."

These are mixed media pieces: acrylic paint, watercolour crayon and charcoal, with bits of cloth, print and wallpaper collaged in; paper mounted on cradleboard.

Time and Again #4, 24" x 24"

Time and Again #5, 24" x 24"

Time and Again #6, 24" x 24"

Word of the day: palimpsest. From the Oxford Living Dictionary:

- A manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing.
- Something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.
- example: "Sutton Place is a palimpsest of the taste of successive owners."
- Origin: mid-17th century, via Latin from Greek palimpsēstos, from palin 'again' + psēstos 'rubbed smooth'.
- also: palimpsestic (adjective)

New series at the Hudson Artists Fall Show

Pleased to participate once again in the annual fall show of the Hudson Artists. We will be about thirty exhibitors, working in a variety of media. We have lots of new members too, many of them very accomplished, so this is a chance to discover their work.

I will have three large, mixed-media paintings on display, each measuring 24 x 24. I've had a lifelong interest in painting, but over the last few years my skills and my "eye" have been developed through workshops with Jane Davies and others.

As I write this, the three canvases I plan to show are not quite finished, so the pressure is on! (Why do I do this to myself?) Well, I want to put my best foot forward of course. (The show will be judged!)

And I think we artists usually live with the conviction (illusion?) that our newest work is our best work. At least that's what we're most excited about because, really, how else could you sustain the energy needed to slog through the tough parts?

My three entries are from my new Time and Again series. They reflect on the patterns created by the "deconstruction of architecture". Not unlike the way that layers of paint and wallpaper, wood and brick can be revealed as a building falls into disrepair. The basic structure may be standing, but new textures and materials are revealed by the surface deterioration.

Time and Again #3
acrylic paint and collage, cloth, wallpaper, charcoal
24 x 24

Meanwhile, here is a photo of Time and Again #3, currently showing at Stewart Hall. (See previous post.) To view the three newest pantings in this series, please drop by the AHA show this weekend. I will be there on Friday evening and no doubt at other times too.

Sharing my work

I am delighted to have a chance to share my Cityscapes with a small group on Wednesday, June 13, as part of a series of presentations organized by Hudson Fine Crafts and the local Gallerie Plus.

I plan to show some examples of my work and, because many of the audience are artists and artisans themselves, to share some of the materials and techniques I use to make my stitched fabric collages.

Please consider dropping by if you're in the area!

Another baby quilt

the fabric scrap that inspired the colour choices

The new mother has asked for another baby quilt. This one is "for fun",  to be used in the stroller, in the carseat, and while out and about. She chose a scrap of fabric to inspire the colour palette, a lively mix of hot colours: magenta, red, orange, pink and yellow.

Because I have so many fabric scraps on hand, it made sense to turn to a book I bought some years ago, Successful Scrap Quilts, by Judy Turner and Margaret Rolfe. The authors were inspired by Japanese tatami mats, creating designs that use uniform rectangles measuring half as wide as they are long. The design on the cover seemed like the most interesting choice.

The book's opening pages discuss the use of value, colour blending, and finding that magical balance of repetition and variation. This particular design alternates between a darker square within a lighter square, and a lighter square within a darker square. The same fabric may serve as a light in one square, and a dark in another, relative to what it's paired with.

Some of the fabric scraps cut into rectangles, 2" x 3.5".
It will take almost 400 of these to make a 42"-square quilt.

Here's the tentative layout up on the design wall.

The quilting had to wait until the background fabric, ordered on-line, arrived by mail. Meanwhile, I sketched out a few designs for the quilting.

Curving lines in the quilting design complement the
straight geometry of the pieced rectangles.

The quilting lines required marking, which is a disadvantage, but otherwise it was reasonably easy.

the finished quilt, 42" x 42"

While waiting for the arrival of the backing fabric, I made this "dolly quilt", using scraps from the scraps. It was also a chance to try out the quilting design and the variegated thread.

18" x 18", machine-quilted

Those of us who love scrap quilts may relate to this poem, included in the introduction to the Turner & Rolfe book:

Glory be to God for dappled things –

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

from "Pied Beauty" by Gerald Manley Hopkins (1844-89)

Finished baby quilt

As promised, here is a photo of the completed traditional baby quilt. This is what it looked like before it was washed, in all its flat perfection.

The colours were chosen to coordinate with the nursery wallpaper,
a large, elegant floral in neutrals. I threw in a little pink to "lift" it a bit.

Made entirely from my collection of fabric scraps (except for the newly-purchased backing), even the binding is a mix of this and that.

More than 500 triangles went into this 40" x 40" quilt.

I chose to quilt it on my domestic sewing machine, using a design called "continuous curves", which doesn't require any marking. It was surprising to me how all the traditional quilt-making techniques still seemed familiar, though it's been some time since I last used them.

The quilt took on a slightly "puckered" appearance after washing. And it still needs a label, hand-stitched into place on the back. Ta-da!

Old Brewery Mission, Montreal

Mission accomplished! Here are some photos of my latest series, installed on the lovely old brick walls of the Old Brewery Mission.

Having the twelve pieces hung together makes a strong impact, and the lighting is favourable too. The overall effect is warm, bold and bright.

Many of the clients came by during the installation and added their words of appreciation.

The space is managed by artists Susan Porter and Karen Hosker. For more information about Galerie Carlos, please visit the web page.

Thirteenth in New Series: An Irrefutable Truth

Yes! I've completed enough pieces in my new series to have a show of twelve, each measuring 24 x 24. All the works have been treated with Fabric Shield to protect them from sunlight and fading.

Will now catch my breath and make some time to catch up on the more mundane tasks of everyday life, and some reading, and of course researching the next project. And yes, will be sure to post a photo of the series in situ.

tentatively titled: An Irrefutable Truth

There is something "mid-century modern"  about these shapes, don't you think? The background is actually a Granny Smith green, a favourite colour of mine. The magenta is a perfect complement to it. The hand-dyed linen has a nicely mottled surface, for all three colours.

The upper right quadrant has a semi-circular shape defined by machine stitching in parallel lines, using variegated thread. Detail below.

detail, An Irrefutable Truth

Or.... What do you think of orienting it like this? And would it need a new title? Such As It Is? In All Probability?

An Irrefutable Truth, rotated?

Twelfth in New Series: Neither Here nor There

This 24 x 24 piece is made of hand-dyed linen, pieced, with couched threads and hand-stitching.

Tentatively titled Neither Here nor There

The blue background has a lovely mottled look. The green and grey shapes also have some mottling, though because they are smaller the variation in colouring is not as evident.

Neither Here nor There, detail

Now, you'd think that since I need twelve pieces for my upcoming show, that I would be able to take a break at this point. But no. One of my earliest pieces is not available, as it was accepted into the Stewart Hall rental collection. One more addition to the series is needed by January 10.

And so, back to work....