Planet Textile Threads

I’m just like a new parent.  So proud, so excited.

My book, The Garbage Day Project: Garbage, Art, and Recycling, is now available here.

Based on my The Garbage Day Project blog, this book is an artistic and humorous look at the amazing (by that I mean shocking) amount of garbage set out each Tuesday in my small subdivision.

The rules: Use only my Coolpix camera and no moving or touching anything.

The result:  Garbage as you have never seen it before.

It’s an 8×10″ landscape format book and you can preview the first fifteen pages. Unlike some books with many blank pages, this one is stuffed with photos.

And while we are on the topic of environmental issues, do stop by Dawn Goldsmith’s blog, Subversive Stitchers:  Women Armed with Needles, for concrete suggestions for fiber artists that can help the environment.

Everybody on the QuiltArt list and on blogs I read have been talking about New Year's resolutions. Some people prefer to call them "goals" with the idea that calling it something different makes a resolution less intimidating. I don't know, it sounds about the same to me. I have gotten some good ideas from reading what others have written, others just make me tired, but here are some of my thoughts about changes I'd like to make.

1. Most of the good things that have happened to me in life have not resulted from having set it as a goal and worked toward it. Most have resulted from seizing an opportunity—usually something that was not previously on my radar and therefore was never a goal. Often the big changes that have occurred in my life were made around my husband's job. I know—not very enlightened or feminist of me, but it is what it is. But in nearly every case, that change has revealed to me an opportunity for me to do something interesting, creative, challenging. So I wonder if resolving to remain open to unexpected opportunities really qualifies as a resolution. I think it does.

2 Diane wrote a great blog entry about Joy. It really resonated with me. Everyone keeps talking about what hard times these are, and I, like many, find myself really caught up in worrying about the economy, obsessing over what the stock market is doing to my retirement savings, wishing for something better. That stuff is all real, but even more real is how great life is at so many levels and even watching the birds at the feeder out my window is an occasion for joy. Family and friends are great sources of joy for me, and this one, in particular, is my role model for how to live joyfully.

3. Rayna's list included this: "Ninety days Choose something that you would like to accomplish or change within the next 90 days. It's a more manageable length of time than a year and then you can do it again." That also made some sense to me. I find eating healthy and controlling my weight an ongoing struggle. Once again, I plan to tackle that perpetual problem and think maybe giving up all sugar and white flour for 90 days might be a way to get my habits back on track.

4. Relax. Everything doesn't have to be such a big deal.

5. Don't let other people's stress get to me. It's their problem, not mine. But it feels like my problem.

6. Go to bed earlier. That was a resolution last year. (No wait, that was two years ago. Time flies.) I did for awhile, but fell back into my night owl ways. Now I am reading that my lack of sleep is going to a) make me fat and b) kill me. Wow. I'll try again.

7. Use my Waterpik more consistently. I'm getting old, my teeth are really old. I'd like to hang onto them. But, jeez, that thing really makes me gag.

8. Art. Do more.

Eight seems like enough. If I could accomplish #2 and #4 it would be a successful year. If I can accomplish #7 my friendly hygienist, Brandy, will be happy.

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If only in my own mind, I’ve decided to reframe the focus of my blog. Originally I called it my “Art Adventure Blog” and decided to post mainly art-related articles, projects, and photos. That was four years and 462 posts ago. (which reminds me that I need to figure out what to do about that crazy-long archive list in my sidebar)

But there are times when I’m not able to work on what I think of as heavy-duty art projects, and those are the times when I don’t post for a while.

Even when I’m not able to dedicate full days to art, I always try to interject creativity in small ways throughout the day, art being what I consider to be a subset of creativity.

So now I’m thinking about re-subtitling it, “The art of a creative life” which is kind of pompous, but you get the idea. Maybe “adventures in creativity” or  “creative miss-adventures”. Just a little bleary-eyed brainstorming going on here at 3 a.m. What do you think?

< portfolio cover - front>

Are you familiar with Georgia quilter Aisha Lumumba? Do take a moment to visit her website and view her beautiful creations, like the one here called "Second Line Dancer." She is a member of the Brown Sugar Stitchers Quilt Guild and has been quilting for 20 years. Enjoy!

Quilt Stories: The Ella King Torrey Collection of African American Quilts and Other Recent Quilt Acquisitions is on exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art until March 1, 2009. According the museum's website:

The exhibit "includes thirteen examples by leading Southern quiltmakers. The collection was formed between 1980 and 1983 while Ms. Torrey was conducting fieldwork on African American quiltmaking with Maude Southwell Wahlman. Among its highlights are an appliquéd "word quilt" by the Mississippi artist Sarah Mary Taylor (born 1916) and one of her "hand" quilts, a version commissioned for the film The Color Purple. Two quilts in the collection are by Taylor’s mother, Pearlie Posey (1894–1984), who in 1980 followed her daughter’s lead and began creating rainbow-hued figurative appliqué quilts. "

The show is curated by Dilys Blum, Curator of Costume and Textiles. Ella King Torrey, 45, a Philadelphia native, took her own life in 2003. She had been director of Pew Fellowships in the Arts and President of the Art Institute of San Francisco. (Photo is quilt by Sarah Mary Taylor.)

Hydrangeas by the back door.

Rose " Sally Holmes"
Day lily - I love the red ones.
I know what this is but can't think of the name.
And a tigridia that's growing in the vegetable garden.

Not a tv watching one -- I don't watch tv and wouldn't own one if I lived alone. But a lazy, feet-stretched-out, tea-drinking, blog-reading couch -- well, really -- chair potato. Moi. Tonight. I am bone weary.

Today, my trusty team of exhibit-hangers joined me as we adorned the gallery space in a fairly elegant office building of white shoe law firms and the like, in Summit, NJ.
They have turned some of their corridors into art space, which is admirable, and this is the second time in three years that I have been invited to exhibit. This time, I declined the solo opp and offered a group exhibit. Four of us spent the morning laying out, hanging, moving, re-hanging, raising, lowering, and straightening a total of 25 pieces in 3 areas of the building. Here is Diane, perched on a stepstool, while Susan gets the next piece ready to hang.

It was quite a challenge - we worked with the Walker Hanging System, which we are used to, but it can be a pain if you have not prepared for it. More and more galleries and buildings are using it, though, because they don't have to put toothpaste in the nail holes every time they take down an exhibit. I just took a few pix because every time we thought we had it, we ended up moving stuff around. And because this one isn't fuzzy; you can get an idea of the space between the pieces (NOT to beat a dead horse or anything).
I will try to have something more interesting to say tomorrow (like a post-mortem of our eye doctors appointments or something equally newsworthy). But now, I am giving in and will become a bed-potato. Ta ta for now.

I have been doing a sort of intuitive flow sketching, you know just plain doodles... there's still so much going on here: Russian Orthodox Christmas on Wednesday (yep last minute shopping!), Russian school play costumes (yep last minute sewing!), art to send out, art to complete, kids back to school, family to feed... nothing new but my head feels like blowing up so I need to keep these first journal tryouts simple, thus plain doodling. Ahhh, I just love making up my own rules!

Oh and here's the sketch book itself. Here's how it started (I picked it on sale at Anthropologie at least two years ago) and here's what I did to it before New Years. Red acrylic paint slathered on liberally...

 

Just to get the blog going again, I'm taking the easy way out with a link to a short little animation that says "it" (or this particular "it") more better than I have a brain for today.  As I wade through emails, real mails, bills and puddings, piles of file-ables, and the other stuff that has accumulated over the course of a couple of holiday weeks, it's a good reminder for the big sort of sort.

And a happy new 2009 to you all. Coming later this month - a new newsletter, details about my upcoming solo show at North West Vista College, reports on the conference appearance in Dallas for New World Kids and a stack of photos from Bustamante, Mexico -- surely a trip back in time if there ever was one (no big box stores, no rush, no traffic or noise, no disco or late-nights, just big rock mountains and people sweeping their streets each morning, handmade rocking chairs and wood-oven cooked breads).

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on my Joy quilt border. I made up my mind yesterday and added borders. Voila:

The entire quilt was made with 2" and 4" strips. This is about 44" x 34" That's one item of my to-do list.

It snowed here the other day and I completely missed it. I was happily sewing and noticed that the sun came out in the afternoon. Boy was I surprised to walk out and find snow on the ground. These are the pedestrian and bike lanes in the middle of the boulevard. The snow had melted everywhere else.

There's a 60% chance of snow today - eek.

Yesterday Tetsu and I decided on a whim to visit Tokyo. It was his last day of vacation and we hadn't done anything in particular so I threw out in fun that we had never been to Tokyo together. I didn't really think he'd take me up on it! I can always think of reasons why we shouldn't go far away from home (like 6 animals!) but I decided memories with my husband were more important that spending the day with the animals who would probably just sleep all day anyway.

At 8:30 Tetsu and I were still saying "Are we going?" and at 9:30 we were on the train headed towards Asakusa again. Hey that's two train rides for me in two weeks! (Different trains) and two trips to Asakusa in a year's time! (I met Marlene there last time).


THE PEOPLE!!! We were pushed along by the crowds and could barely move! Everyone was in Asakusa going to the shrine and celebrating the New Year. Many women in kimono, many families buying good luck charms and having their fortunes read. Loads of places for people to sit outside along the street eating skewered chicken, simmered vegetables, deep fried squid and grilled fish. And lots of beer and osake!

For the tourists there were lots of rickshaws being pulled along and trying not to run over the people in the crowds. Rickshaws aren't really part of Japanese culture anymore. I've never seen them but here in Asakusa, but there seemed to be both young men and young women pulling their customers along and giving a running tour of the Asakusa area as they jogged.

Since I had been in Asakusa last May I could say "oh, there's an interesting shop around the corner" but all in all Tetsu and I didn't buy very much. The most interesting places for me were the recycle shops with lots of old kimonos being sold and scraps of obi material but since I have a box of Tetsu's mother's old kimonos I couldn't really justify buying more. They weren't really very expensive either!

Tetsu and I got back home around 8:30 and boy were our feet tired from all the walking! It is nice to be spontaneous sometimes!

Forest Fabric #1 for sale $40.00 US inclusive of postage
Forest Fabric #2 for sale $US 40.00 inclusive of postage
Forest Fabric #3 for sale $40 US inclusive of postage
Palms of Palmyra- stitching


I actually took the dive and did some dyeing the other day. I was a little apprehensive about dyeing as we are on tank rain water here as opposed to the town water I used to be on ( we can also pump from the creek- but I only do that for the vegetable garden). But i need not have worried- the results were good and these forest fabrics remind me of the early morning light shining through trees. I can see lots of light/misty coloured stitching on these.

I have been stitching on my Palms of Palmyra piece- it will take quite some time as it is a big piece.When the weather is good it is hard to sit still for that long- but my penchant for wandering outside may be a little curbed- sigh... Yesterday I went into the vegie patch to tie up one of the tomato plants . I was in my thongs ( flip flops for non-Aussies) and as I stepped I saw the tail of something shiny disappear into the foliage of the next garden bed. At first I thought it was a lizard but no it crossed the path and it was a sleek four foot long brown snake. I managed to scream and stand quaking in my thongs as it disappeared into the tree fern grove. I am absolutely petrified of snakes- fortunately browns are not as aggressive as tiger snakes ( which is the most commonly seen snake here) but they are more poisonous- and I almost stood on one. Needless to say I shall be buying a pair of gum boots today. However I did surprise myself in that I managed to scream- that might not seem to be the best response- but my worst nightmare ( and I do have these nightmares sometimes) is a snake encounter- and I always am mute, unable to scream. Anyway I have decided to use the sprinkler to water the vegies rather than the hose as the tap is not far from the house. The longish grass will also be coming down at a rate of knots!

Rebecca asked how much my Tears piece was- it is $225 US inclusive of postage- a lot of hand stitching in that one.

And Sue offered to get some domette or bump for me- many thanks! I shallof course pay you for it or send something in exchange. I am pretty certain it is called bump and I would love to have two metres of it if at all possible.

The annual International Quilt Study Group Symposium is set for April 2 - 4, 2009 in Lincoln, NE. The theme of the weekend is The Global Quilt: Cultural Contexts. The schedule of speakers looks outstanding! Of interest to Black Threads blog readers might be:

• Symbolism & Community - Presenters: 1. Myrah Brown Green, The Presence of African Symbols in Contemporary North American Quilts; 2. Judy Bales, Fractal Geometry in African American Quilts; 3. Pearlie Johnson, The Power of Feminism in Fabric Art: A Celebration of Motherhood, Sisterhood, and the Matriarchs; and 4. Richard Caro, Quiltmaking and the Online Guild
• Renewing & Reinterpreting Tradition - Presenters: 1. Marsha MacDowell, Quiltmaking in South Africa; 2. Gwen Wanigasekera, British Origins, American Traditions, South Pacific Influences: Quilts in Aotearoa, New Zealand; and 3. Laurel Horton, Swedish Quilts in the Context of the Hemslojd (Handcraft) Movement
• Cultural Cross-overs - Presenters: 1. Dorothy Osler; 2. Janneken Smucker, "Qui sont les Amish?": Europeans and the American-ness of Quilts; and 3. Colleen Hall-Patton, Ethnic Quilting Traditions in Magazine Articles
• Aesthetic Consciousness - Presenters: 1. Leigh Fullner, A Comparative Study of Slave Trade-era African Textiles and African-American; 2. Kathleen Moore, Defining African-American Quilts: Are the Commentators at Cross Purposes?; 3. Teri Klassen, Quilt Aesthetics and Cultural Values in the Mid 1900s Rural U.S. South; and 4. Mary Worrall, The Cuesta Benberry African and African American Quilt and Ephemera Collections
  

Enjoy!

Usually I take a stab at re-organization at various times throughout the year, not just at the New Year. But this seems like a good time to mention my favorites. (Sorry PC users, but I think these are all mac-only programs. Although I still use a desktop PC, my main laptop is a Mac.)

• OmniFocus - fluid to-do list and multi-step project organizer. After a brief love affair with hand-written lists, I’ve gone back to computer listing again because it’s easier to manage a complicated schedule.

• MacJournal - for odd sorts of short lists, ideas, and reference material I can’t figure where else to put. I’m using it to write this blog post until it’s ready to be published.

• Bento - just got the upgrade to version 2 of this program. It’s an elegant little personal database program that has nice templates you can use right away, or easily customize. I’m planning on improving the database of my artwork I started last year. Tracking where the art is, when it’s coming home, and where it’s supposed to be going next is getting more complicated, and I could save time by not having to go to several sources to find the answers to these questions.

Above drawing is from the car wash — although those auto-magic places seem to take a long time because it’s one of few sunny warm days in winter and everyone in town is there — if you’re trying to draw something happening, seems like only seconds. Even though I’ve been sick (this whole year so far!) still trying to do the drawings.

Was fun, lively, and crowded. The show was beautifully hung, with lots of white space around each piece so you could actually have a dialogue with it as you looked at it. Every time I tried to take a picture, there were people in front of me so I couldn't really get a clean pic of the gallery. But here is Joan Dreyer's piece(with people in front, of course) and you can see all the white space. There were two smaller pieces on this wall, which also had plenty of air.
Here is the opposite wall, which has four pieces -- also with lots of space around them.I am a lunatic when it comes to this (as are all of us in the group). Most people do not, IMO, know how to hang a show. Somehow, they are afraid of space - so most shows are much too crowded. Joan Dreyer, Diane Savona, and Lisa Basile, who hung it, should be proud of themselves. Here they are, with Diane's huge piece in the background on the left wall.Patricia Malarcher, Editor of Surface Design Journal, came to see the exhibit and it was a pleasure to see her and chat, as always. And then, look who else showed up!!!
Looking especially beautiful with a classy new haircut, Kerr Grabowski, accompanied by John, the videographer who shot her fabulous DVD on Deconstructed Screen Printing. He did a wonderful job on the DVD and I had heard so much about it while it was being shot that it was good to meet him. I was really flattered that Kerr thought my chapter on deconstructed was excellent and that the photos were beautiful and it all complemented her video so well.(She is the guru, after all). I think everybody should have her DVD to watch the process in action and she thinks everybody should have my book so they can refer to the chapter while they work. LOL. Well, we each own both, so even if you have my book you need her DVD (and vice-versa, of course).

All the artists had to pose for an official picture. I handed my camera to Marty, who took a rather fuzzy shot - but it's the only one I have at the moment. Cast of characters, below.
back row: Kathy Grady, Rachel Cochran, Susan Brauner, Kristen Tyler, Judy Langille, Randy Keenan, Joan Dreyer front row: Lisa Basile, Joanie SanChirico, Yrs Truly, Hollie Heller

Tomorrow, Diane, Susan, Lisa and I will hang another exhibit in corporate gallery space. Since it is an office building, there will not be an opening - but that's okay. We ate and drank enough wine today to make up for it!

Less than 20 days for the call for entries into the juried exhibition for art quilters/ doll artists, February 20–March 31, 2009, at the Avery Research Center for African American History &
Culture at the College of Charleston. Deadline is January 20, 2009. UPDATE - the deadline has been extended to Jan 25th!

According to the call: "Enslaved Africans along the coast of South Carolina brought some of the first tales of mermaids and merwomen to America. Many of these folktales were stories of African ocean and river goddesses. Because of the rich oral traditions of these peoples, few if any of these stories were written until they were recorded by collectors of folk tales toward the end of the 19th century. You are invited to share your visual interpretation of these myths by creating a Black Mermaid/Merwoman in an art doll or art quilt." Click here for more information. Enjoy!

I have been inspired by Christine Kane to choose a Word of the Year.

My word for 2009 is FLOW.

I will try to be present in the moment rather then be thinking about things I need to do.

I will try to go with the flow and allow things to happen.

I will try to increase the creative flow by being Creative Every Day.

I also would like to show you two beautiful ATCs that i got in the mail the last week. The first one is from Corryna and the second one is from Sue. They are both absolutely lovely. Thank you ladies!

Last week I got a copy of this Australian Quilting magazine in the mail from Brenda Smith, a fellow member of the 12 x 12 group.

Watch for this book! Published by C&T, due to be released January, 2009. You can preorder autographed copies from Jane or Elin.

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And finally—this is more of a virtual mail thing—hop on over to the 12 x 12 blog and download a copy of a 2009 calendar with our latest challenge pieces on it. Brenda put the calendar together and we are offering it to our blog readers as a thank you for your support and wonderful comments. You can't imagine how thrilled we are to read those comments when our new challenges are revealed. It is so great that other people are enjoying our work, because we are having a great time making it!

CYBER FYBER is an exhibition of international fiber art  January 8 - 20, 2009 at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina.

The brainchild of Vista Studio resident artist Susan Lenz, this exhibit will focus on the supportive, global community of fiber artists with whom Susan regularly shares new techniques, contemporary approaches to textiles, and finished work.

Fiber artists from over 26 countries and forty-six states in the USA will be represented. Each one has an Internet presence through websites, blogs, and textile forums.

The exhibition will include three primary areas: Over 150 Fiber ATCs (Artist Trading Cards); more than 225 fiber postcards; and the work of nineteen international invited artists. All the artwork is now online and viewers can vote for People’s Choice for the postcards here and ATCs here.

There are two special days planned in conjunction with CYBER FYBER, Fiber Day and ATC Day.

FIBER DAY: On Saturday, January 10, 2009 Gallery 80808 will host Fiber Day.  Susan Lenz will be partnering with Creative Sewing for this event. 

ATC TRADING DAY: On Saturday, January 17, 2009 Gallery 80808 will host ATC Trading Day. This will be an opportunity for EVERYONE to trade ALL KINDS of ATCs. There will be no age or media restriction. The artists at Vista Studio are inviting everyone to participate in an INTERNATIONAL RANDOM ATC TRADE.

Don't you just love it when you do that? I find that if I ever say 'never', the chances are that I'll be doing whatever it is in about six months time. I'll never buy an embellisher...(silly girl...that took less than six weeks, never mind six months). I'll never work in mixed media (duh...). Those, of course, only affect wee me. I'd just like to apologise to anyone who actually listened to me about this next one. Printing with paper bags. I dismiss it on a regular basis, or rather, I used to. Yes, the dyes are the right kind for transfer dyeing with heat...no, it doesn't always work. So don't do it, right? Wrong.

I was in Jill's studio, working just before Christmas. I was working with Evolon, which, because it has a small percentage of nylon in it, can get a bit tetchy when it comes to being ironed with very hot irons... so I always cover it with something before I do, usually greaseproof paper. As none was immediately to hand, I used a very pretty paper bag, instead. Didn't even bother turning it outsides in, just thought, och well, if it transfers, it transfers... As you can see from the images, it certainly did!

The piece is called 'Dragon Island'. It may turn into a series, called 'Map Of The World', but I'm not sure. Problem is that everything I make has the potential for a series, no matter how slim. When I worked as a Self Development Manager, my manager at the time said despairingly that when asked to do something, I always produced a Rolls Royce. Why couldn't I just stick to creating Minis, instead. Much simpler, easier, faster, cheaper... I still think she was nuts. I believe in doing your best, all the time, no matter what the task. Exploring all the avenues. Thinking, researching, reflecting, designing. How else do you achieve the possible, instead of the easy solution. That is nothing but a state of mind, a decision to explore, to take risks. It can be learnt, and it is, in my opinion, a big part of creative thinking. Scary? Sometimes. But I'm happy enough with how my Evolon piece turned out... At the end of the day, my favourite question, or one of them, is 'What is the worst thing that could possibly happen?'. In this case, not a great deal. The dye transferred or it didn't. The Evolon melted, or it didn't. I liked the design, or I didn't. It's only cloth...

So what risk are you going to take this week?

The stars are aligned, and my studio is crowded but effective. I have made three men in the last few weeks. I am not showing the full quilts till they are exhibited but thought I would let you glimpse the men who are starring in them! You have seen Hassan the Glassblower, but I am putting him in again for comparison.



I just need two more clear months - but the quilts have to be finished on the 23rd January and that is why you are not hearing from me at the moment.

Attayer in the Friday Market at the City of the Dead



And an 'in-progress' image of the quilt top (which is now finished and pinned)


And last - Mohamed, who makes carved and gilded furniture in the streets behind Al Atabah


And hang in until the end of January and I will put all of them up! Quilted and finished.

At the moment only Hassan is at that point.

Happy New Year everyone.

Author practices jumping rope with seaweed while work awaits.

If you think procrastination is a bad thing, think again. John Perry (author of brilliant essays defending life choices generally seen as faults – such as perfectionism ) will reassure you otherwise:

“All procrastinators put off things they have to do. Structured procrastination is the art of making this bad trait work for you. The key idea is that procrastinating does not mean doing absolutely nothing. Procrastinators seldom do absolutely nothing; they do marginally useful things, like gardening or sharpening pencils or making a diagram of how they will reorganize their files when they get around to it. Why does the procrastinator do these things? Because they are a way of not doing something more important. If all the procrastinator had left to do was to sharpen some pencils, no force on earth could get him do it. However, the procrastinator can be motivated to do difficult, timely and important tasks, as long as these tasks are a way of not doing something more important.”

Get the Tshirt, bag, cap, apron, mug…. Or, put that off while you do something less important ….

Yesterday afternoon we had a southerly change -the only place south to us in New Zealand is Antarctica, so south is COLD. Storm clouds gathered and I had to turn lights on although it was only 4.15pm. There was some thunder and lightning, and then some pretty big hailstones. The temperature dropped to 2 degrees C briefly, but it was all over in half an hour.

No sooner did I dump the crumbs out from under the W than I started having trouble with the KEW/cue/_ueue. Very tempermental. Not sure if all of this is due to my switching my ISP from comcast.net to verizon.net or whether the computer is trying to tell me something.

It was one of those days. At a late breakfast (about 11) Marty decided we needed to go to the movies to see Doubt. The movie started at noon and since I had to shower and dress, it was a bit of a rush. But worth it. If the movie is playing near you, GO!
Philip Seymour Hoffman is arguably the best actor around: he is never the same twice - he truly becomes the character in whatever role he inhabits and is totally believable. Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, but the movie is excellent.

Greek lunch and then, after a brief visit to my ma, a _uick stop at Whole Foods, and another phone session with verizon.net's robot and finally, a real person in the Phillipines, I couldn't tell you where the day went. Oh, I guess I just did.

The stop at Whole Foods was for crackers and their famous artichoke spinach dip, preceded by a stop at Amanti Wine. Isn't this a gorgeous shop? It is owned by a woman and they have wines from $10 to $xxx.00+. I bought a lower priced wine for the opening - but it feels expensive because of the surroundings - LOL.

The wine, etc. is for tomorrow's opening of new year= new yearnings, an exhibit by 12 NJ artists. Among them, Hollie Heller, Diane Savona, Judy Langille, and yrs truly (see one of the pieces below)
artists' reception from 1-4 at
the Watchung Arts Center
18 Stirling Rd.
Watchung NJ

On Monday, I am hanging another exhibit in NJ by the same 12 NJ artists in another venue. A busy month. Good thing we all have plenty of art to show.

As usual, I am up past my bedtime. Pix of the exhibit tomorrow.

The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts just announced it has recently added 10 more modern African-American quilts from West Alabama to its permanent collection. They were acquired through a partial purchase and a generous donation from Kempf Hogan of Birmingham, Mich., bringing the total number of the museum’s African-American quilts to 60.

How wonderful that the MMFA is collecting African American-made quilts. Does your local art museum own African American-made quilts?

On the twenty first of December I received a phone call from the Arizona Commission on the Arts to inform me that I had been awarded an Artist Project Grant for my project “Expanding the Digital print to Uncommon Surfaces. To say I was excited would be an understatement. To me this grant is an honor and it will give me time and money to develop work that will take me beyond my current relationship with the digital print.

The purpose of my project is to expand my art beyond the digital print surfaces in which I have already worked. My goals are to: 1) create surfaces that will extend the expression of my digital prints, 2) contrast digital prints with both natural surfaces and modern surfaces. To accomplish this and other ideas I am working on, I will combine nature with technology. Printing on natural surfaces beyond what I have previously used or made will allow a more in dept experience of ways to create my art.

In the months to come I will be posting the results and information on my discoveries. I am considering doing some book type formats as I move forward with my experiments. There are so many ideas rolling around in my head about where I want to spend my energies in this entire process. I have no idea where this will go, but one thing I am sure of is that I will be sharing all my techniques so that others can learn from what I learn.

Thanks to the Arizona Commission on the Arts and congratulations to the other artists that have received this award.

I've slowly been puttering away on my happy plaid quilt. Last time you saw these stringed bits of paper they looked like a Chinese Coins quilt. Not any more. Now I've got a nice big Joy in the middle. I've sewn the first border around the quilt and am trying to decide what next. I think it's too small as it is. So this is what it looks like with another set of strings at top and bottom:


I love how this darker purple looks with these fabrics. Here it is as a border before I add the extra stringed bits:

Lily is such a screwball - she's starting jumping onto my back again. It's one thing to leap onto a horizontal back but quite another to do a vertical landing that includes digging in claws. Aiyeeeee. Good thing I keep trimming her claws, even though she squeals and struggles.

The Calico Quilter asked me what Japanese do for New Year's since I said that as I foreigner I didn't do it the way everyone else does. Well, let's see...

The first couple of years after we were married it seemed like the New Year's holidays were the major times Tetsu and I would get into disagreements. I think I walked out on him one year and went to stay with a friend!

Tetsu is and always has been so busy and the New Year's holidays are the only days he has three consecutive days of holiday so as a new wife I expected him to spend some time with me. But what did we do? We sat around and watched TV. And dumb TV at that! Starting around 9:00 on New Year's Eve, Japan broadcasts nationally, a singing competition with the major singers of the year. Men's team versus women's team; red and white. When I first came to Japan the Japanese music world was filled with smokey drinking songs (Enka) and cutsie Barbie Doll songs (Aidoru which means "idol") and a lot of the singers went through crazy choreographed dances while they warbled. (And Enka can really warble! I remember my father saying it sounded like someone was strangling a cat!) The sets were always amazing but sometimes I got the feeling that the talent on stage didn't do the stage sets justice!

I did not like this singing program at all (and still don't care for it much, and yes, it still is the main event every New Year's Eve for three hours) but Tetsu and his mother were glued to the TV. The next morning too the TV went on and we were treated to three days of slapjack comedy and comedians. If any of you know a second language you'll know that humor is the last thing to come when learning a language and these comedians drove me crazy and I felt very left out because Tetsu and his mother would slap the table and laugh uproariously! Or when the TV commercials got long they would nap. Or eat oranges and omochi. For three days. In those days Japan basically closed down for three days, no stores open, not a car on the roads. No where to go and nothing to do but watch TV. I was a raving lunatic by the end of the New Year's and Tetsu can testify to that!!!

"What is the traditional way to celebrate New Year's,Tetsu? Let's do that."

"Well, they drink a lot of sake but I don't drink, and they go to the shrine at midnight but we're Christian, and they eat omochi. That's what we're doing. Mostly people just watch TV."

"There must be something else because Japan hasn't always had TV."

"The kids go outside and play with tops... Or they fly kites... You want to fly a kite when it is freezing outside? Or they play a sort of badminton with wooden mallets and a peg. It doesn't fly as well as regular badminton. I don't think you'd like it... People used to play a kind of card game matching ancient Japanese poems from memory but since you don't know the poems and can't read the Japanese..."

So we watched TV and I was so glad when the holidays were over! I didn't quilt back then so I had nothing to do with all that time!

Nowadays Tetsu is still watching the TV but he prefers to watch K-1 (like boxing) on New Year's Eve which I despise so it is agreed I can go read a book early on in the evening. When Tetsu is home during the holidays, like yesterday, he still watches TV but I can appreciate the humor a bit more and I use the time to quilt. Yes! I was quilting yesterday! Over the years we've come to a good balance and he can see when I'm getting a bit irritated by the whole thing. The convenience stores are open, the regular stores open on Jan. 2 and so we can go shopping or eat out or do other things beside get cabin fever. And of course there's blogging! So Tetsu's watching TV right now while I am blogging. A very good solution this year!

That's my New Year's...
(pictures from the Internet)

It is really a case of resolve, rather than resolution. I have decided to throw out New Year Resolutions as part of my 'retirement' (now that I am well over 60!). I like the act of looking back and then looking forward at the change of year; but I know that alterations will be developments rather than sea changes now. I very much like Karoda's great grandmother's saying "if you don't change, life will", and I do believe in continuous self-assessment - but there comes a time when acceptance plays a larger part.

This year I hope to complete a trilogy of pieces which have come out of a difficult relationship with my mother. I can see them clearly now as that, and although they started life as The Red Room, The Yellow Room, and The Grey Room, I know that their private titles are Recognition, Resignation, and Resolution. The design for the last is at the top of this post, is printed on cotton, and I shall start stitching it next month probably.

In technique I am resolved to explore aspects of repetition - which I have started already, but hope to spend more time now. I also want to pursue deliberately ways to use paper and wax - materials which attract me, and which I have toyed with occasionally. I have already signed up for a weekend workshop to see where that takes me.

I am also resolved to diminish my attic stash even further.

There are no big exhibitions that I know of yet which attract me. This time last year I already had a list in my diary. But that is ok. I so often enjoy smaller delights more, which also can prove more thought-provoking - and definitely have no crowds! The first input I am looking forward to is the dvd of John Adams. Having seen the first episode on terrestrial tv, we know that we want to see the series, and we definitely do not want the commercial interruptions.

As always, it will be fascinating to see what comes along!

Here's today's harvest - I've been a bit slack with the beans and peas - I need to keep picking them so that the plants keep on producing. These are my first beetroot of the season. There were more strawberries but I think the dogs ate them.
Here's one of the big raised gardens - the tomatoes (heirloom varieties in various colours) are romping away.
This squash is fruiting well and is running over the garden behind. I planted flowers in each raised bed (lupins in this one) but have pulled most of them out as it became too crowded.
I have an amazing crop of potatoes that were not planted - who knew potatoes were this tenacious? Every tiny tuber that I failed to lift last year, and some that were left in the ground by previous residents has grown. They have sprouted right through the weed mat base of the small raised gardens. They have grown in the greenhouse. They are all through the berry garden. And of course, I have some elsewhere that I actually planted. I will be able to feed a multitude with my potatoes. I will have to give some to the Foodbank.

Never mind the “to-do” lists – how about an “I did it!” list? Here are instructions for making a journal cover out of “chalkboard” fabric. You might not want to specially get the special fabric, but a little book listing accomplishments is a really good idea – especially for those dark moments of the soul
when you wonder what it’s all about, and why you bother, and nobody appreciates or understands you…

This is a great use for the 2004 diary that I’d planned to use this year – Jan 1 was on a Thursday in both years, after all – but I’d not remembered that 2004 was a leap year, so for 10 months of the year the 2004 diary will be one day out – which could get seriously confusing and counterproductive. However it will make a great “I did it!” book – an ideal home for the tiny post-it notes that list my three (or so) goals for each day. It has those nice little corners that you tear off so you can get to the current page easily.
Making the cover [see top picture] wasn’t on today’s list, but thanks to the magic of fusible webbing took mere moments -- 27 minutes, including putting things away afterward. A necessary distraction! I used the tidy method that Linda shows here.

A sketch I did last night that will - hopefully - become the quilting lines for a piece I have percolating in my brain.

Here's a second update on my new year's commitments:

1.) Finishing of 4 pcs for group show - no progress
2.) Writing for article - no progress

Batting a thousand so far

3.) Dye scarves and make ATC's - made another ATC but no dyeing has been done yet
4.) Sketch every day - YES!
5.) Lose 10# - I think I'm going in the wrong direction
6.) Surface Design show piece - thought never entered my mind
7.) Medical tests - wellllll....I called to have a perscription filled and promptly forgot to pick it up so this is a big NO progress one
8.) Practice patience & tolerance - failed miserably yesterday while at my day job but today is a new dawn!

Early on, my tulip cushion was in a Cloth & Stitch show -- in 1993 - right beside this piece by Louise Baldwin, one of my textile heroes - she was stitching onto brown paper, crumpled and painted -

My long time readers know that one of the most profound experiences in Israel was seeing the barrier wall that cordons off the West Bank from Jerusalem. There is a lot of art and graffiti on the Palestinian side and hardly any on the Israeli side. The wall has become a place for the Palestinians and visitors to share their hopes and fears. I have taken many of these images and some of my own to create my version of the wall. Click on it to read the different writings.

I had a bit of a disaster. I wanted to do the peace symbol in the colors of the Palestinian flag. I did cut the symbol from freezer paper and ironed it to a silk screen and did a test print. But when I printed on the actual piece, I didn’t get much of an image at all and then I couldn’t line it up to reprint. I decided to use a brush and give it the look of handpainted graffiti. I even added the drips. I was afraid I had ruined the piece, but I think it is going to work. I think I need to add some more red on the other side to balance the color. I also screened the coexist sign and a Hand of Fatima which is a symbol worn in the middle east by progressive people who see this as a symbol that is part of both the Islamic and Jewish religions. One of the members of our group called the wall  ..the wall of not letting out just keeping in…

On another note, I found my way to Eva Marie’s blog: My Creative Diary - Colourful Research. She has done what I wanted to do, created the Non-award Award. She gives permission to steal it for your own blog which I have done. It is in my sidebar. If you click on it, you will go to her post about blog awards. I loved it.

At 7:30 pm, my show postcards were finally delivered by UPS. I am going to try to get them in the mail tomorrow.

Glad you all like the 90 day idea - I thought it would be more viable than these resolution things.
Helen asked about the other five things; I'd just as soon ignore them, but here they are:
6. Pick a model: somebody ho has done hat you ant to do and follo the trail they left.
(oh, good grief, my dubbleU doesn't ork. Crumbs, no doubt. Or peanut butter.

7. Create a map
rite don the actions you decide to take and follo them. (ARGH)

8. Be consistent (ha ha)

9. Schedule a future action (I'd just as soon ait till I get the first one done)
10. Maintain and celebrate.

See hat I mean?

I give up and am going to bed. Maybe the keyboard ill be better tomorro.

An oasis of calm -- or rather, of cakes -- amid the insanity of sales shopping.
Mocha and more at Caffe Concerto; "baroque" deco --, and music videos playing (quietly) on tv screens in the corners of the room. Hmm.

Baroque cake constructions, too -

peace 8

I am hoping that the more places I post my resolutions, the greater the chance I have of fulfilling them.  I can’t say they are goals, having taught goal setting, but they are my strongest intentions for the upcoming year.

1.  Wrap up Fiberart For A Cause in a blaze of success.
Yes, I will be sorry to see our big success story end after this year, but I am hoping we can add at least another $25,000 to the more than $165,00 we have already donated to the American Cancer Society. Not bad for four years! 

2.  Let my mind be empty and open to new possibilities during my upcoming residency at the Great Expectations Creativity Center.
As I posted previously, the “making” of my fabric is part and parcel of my creative process. It could be that painting new fabric will move me away from the Boundary Waters series without any clear direction to follow.  I’m going to go with that even though it makes me nervous just thinking about it.

3.  Make more art just for myself.
Really what’s the point of it all if I don’t focus on that?  I waste too much time thinking how things might fit in my current series, if they are a “going forward” or stagnation, if, if if ….  You get the picture - onward and upward. 

4.  Write more.
I have a couple of Blurb books (one on The Garbage Day Project and one a gift book) in process and plan on expanding out from there.  I was an English major and an English teacher, so it’s not a big stretch.  It just requires discipline.

5. Focus on these four resolutions with peace in my heart.

I’m looking forward to an exciting 2009 and thank you for joining me on the journey.