Watercolor pastels on fabric

playing around with a piece of fabric with my watercolor crayons today. really layered them on thick and starting to get some of the kind of results i was hoping for. now i just need to figure out to make sure they are permanent without messing it up. i can't wait to see how it looks with some stitching on it. this is about 1/4 of the entire piece.

Arts Festival Photos

Thought I'd share a few photos of my booth at the Creative Arts Guild Festival last weekend. Unfortunately, I took these on Sunday and a couple of my larger original pieces sold on Saturday. I had just completed them the night before and never got any photos of them. Oh well. That person will have two of my pieces that will never be seen on anything else (magnet, card, etc.).

What do cockroaches have to do with art?

Last night was the last night for my son to put together a submission for the PTA Reflections art program at his school. He is a procrastinator like his mother. He had said he wanted to enter the photography category and took several photos last night, including one of a dead cockroach in a plastic cup. Well, bedtime came quickly and there just wasn't time to put the photo together for a submission (had to be printed, but on a board or foam core, etc.). So, I couldn't resist and just had to play around with the photo myself. Not that I turned it in as a submission. I just played around with it for fun. I became, yes, obsessed with the darn thing and here is one of the results. I know have at least 20 different versions of Cockroach in a Cup. Hhm, maybe a series? I don't know. Not my usual cup of tea but then again I do like to be different and unique.

My son saw these and now wants to make his own digitally enhanced photo so one day when there is some extra time I'll show him how to use Corel Paint Pro (he has used it to make a few things before, including a magnet in my Etsy shop) to make his own Cockroach in a Cup.

I taught monoprinting today to three fabulous ladies. We had lots of fun printing, stamping and screening. I especially liked the effects they all got with gelatin printing. And, one print with a piece of yarn that really showed all the nubby little bits of yarn. We spent a good part of the time making collagraph plates to print from later in the day. Collagraph prints on fabric is probably my favorite surface design technique of late. I hope they continue to experiment and have fun letting themselves play and be creative.

Take care,

Heidi

Art Quilts XIII Happy Dance!

Wow, I think it's the longest it has ever been without a post for me. Life just got really busy there for awhile. I had a decent show this past weekend at the Creative Arts Guild Festival in Dalton, GA. I didn't sell as much as I would have liked but I also sold more than I expected given the state of our economy. And, I had a great time seeing my sisters, my mom and step-dad, my aunts and a few other friendly faces. I grew up in Dalton, GA.

I came back home to some good news and some sad news. Good news is after several "non-acceptances" I am going to have a piece in Art Quilts XIII at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Arizona. Happy dance, happy dance, happy dance. The list of artists in the show is here.

The sad news is that Fiber on a Whim, the shop where I sometimes teach, will be closing it's brick and mortar location. They (the shops owners, Jan and Kristin) have given me so much these past three years. Their shop, their guidance, the teachers they brought in, their support of my endeavors including allowing me to teach in their shop have all been the key factors in my journey becoming an artist. I owe them so much. They will still have an online shop and you will see them traveling the shows (look for them in Houston!) to continue to support fiber and altered art and artists. The closing date of the brick and mortar store is not until sometime in October. I have a couple of classes still on the calendar for September, but after that I'll be looking around for a new studio space for teaching. I have a few options in mind but nothing settled just yet. I'll keep you posted.

Life is busy again with school, homework and PTA. I'm once again co-chairing an Arts Day at my son's elementary school and have spent most of that time this year learning about grant funding and artist in residence funding. I'm hoping that I can kill two birds with one stone, writing some grants for the school and also learning about possible grantor residence funding for myself.

I've also been spending countless hours watching the news, listening to the radio, reading the internet all in efforts to stay on top of the election this year. I'm working really hard on understanding and finding the facts and that is a job in itself. I won't get political on my blog, well, not today anyway.

Do something fun today, even if it's only for 5 minutes.

Heidi

Fun with the Computer

It's been quite some time since I played around with my Corel Paint Pro and I thought my black and white flowers were the perfect little pieces to play around with. I took the daisy one and changed it first to black and white only and then played around with colorizing, filling in, etc. What fun! I think it looks pretty cool! Now, I wish I could easily print lots of fabric with the designs! Maybe some day I can be a textile designer when I grow up! LOL It's fun to dream.

Flowers!!!

Not sure why, but I've been obsessed with drawing flowers in ink. It is very addictive and I think I'm getting better. I'm brainstorming ideas of how to use these to go further or use in other art projects. For some reason they feel like a waste of my time as they are. I know I'm learning and getting better but it is really time consuming. This is just a small sampling. Some have taken more than 6 hours to complete. Lots of time I should be spending on other things but I suppose it is to keep my mind busy or I just have a need to learn to get better at this right now. I can tell that it will be very beneficial in painting flowers or piecing from fabric or any art project where I will use flowers later on.



Hope you enjoy them.

Fiber Art Fusion

So, I've been back from vacation for a week and totally forgot about going to visit the exhibit of the Fiber Art Fusion group at The Art Place in Marietta. I've seen online photos on my friend Ginny Greaves blog and it looks simply fantastic! I will definitely head over tomorrow. If you are in the area you should go and take a look. The theme is Transformations. This is my piece in the show, although this is sideways.




Tomorrow night is the monthly meeting of the group, 7 to 9 pm. It is being held at Tiny Stitches in Marietta. I'll be doing a very brief explanation about sunprinting and then a demo/participation making fun, fabulous, fabric beads! Hope to see some of you there!!

Heidi

What I made on vacation

These are a couple of the small items I made while away on my trips. The bird is done with Pigma pen, watercolor pencils and watercolor crayons on white cotton canvas cloth. She started off with more brownish colors but I wasn't liking it and wanted more contrast with the nest so she became a green color. Probably not like any real bird. That is the problem with realism I suppose, you need to be trying to accurately represent something. I like making up flowers, birds, etc.

The felt piece was just for fun but I thought turned out rather nicely. I made a few other small items and I'll post those soon as well. As usual, these were the easily scannable (is that even a word? did I spell it right?) ones so I did those quickly. The colors on the felt piece are a little off.

Catch ya later.

I'm Back!!

Both trips were great fun and relaxing. Canoeing and fishing at Bear Head Lake in Minnesota and then home to drive to Isle of Palms, SC. Managed to fit in some drawing and a few art projects with the kids and some nieces and cousins. We made dish cloths designed with Sharpies and alcohol in Minnesota and felted coasters in Charleston.

The most excited part of the trips was that my 3 year old learned to swim!!! She could do maybe one or two strokes of doggie paddles before we left but now she is a fish! She can't get enough of it and swims underwater all over the place! I was just tickled pink watching her! My 7 year old progressed quite a bit in his swimming as well. We stayed in a beautiful home with it's own pool so we spent many hours swimming in the pool and playing in the sand and waves at the beach.
School started today for my 2nd grader. Life goes back to routine now.

Vacations/Transformation show/More Classes

I'm off on our two family vacations we take almost every year. Today we leave for Minneapolis (to my see my in-laws) and tomorrow we will make the drive to Bear Head Lake to camp for a week. Last year was rain everyday and mosquitos so bad we couldn't even be outside unless we were in the screened area over the picnic table. I'm crossing my fingers for better weather and less mosquitos this year. Somehow we still managed to have quite an enjoyable time of it. I can't wait to sit and do lots of puzzles, play card games and do some fishing.

Then, we'll back for about 1/2 a day and then myself and the little ones are off again to Charleston to the beach with my family. We will go from complete roughing it to some nice luxury. We managed to score an amazing 5 bedroom house with a pool (for 5 families), brand new, 100 yards from the beach, gourmet kitchen, and on and on and on for 1/2 the usual price.

I'm behind on packing which means I probably won't be taking much in the way of any art projects. I think this is probably good as I am still wanting to focus on kids and family because school starts the day after we get back. It's been too short of a summer but I feel I've been pretty successful at enjoying my time with the kids and making them come first while also teaching 6 new classes at Fiber on a Whim and meeting a handful of exhibit deadlines.

Speaking of classes and exhibits!! Fiber Art Fusion's exhibit, Transformation, opens next week at The Art Place in Marietta. I can't wait to see it when I return!

And, all of my classes were a hit and are back on the schedule and we've added a parent/child class as well! You asked and we did it! So, start signing up. I really have so much fun teaching. I can't wait to get started all over again:

Saturday, August 23rd, 2-5 pm, ages 8 and up (WITH adult) Wet Felting FAmily Play Day
Friday, August 29th, 10:30-1:30 pm, Sunprinting
Friday, September 5th, 10:30-1:30, Wet Felted Vessels
Friday, September 19th, 10:30-1:30, Watercolor Pastels on Fabric
Friday, September 26th, 10:30-1:30, Monoprinting on Fabric
Friday, October 3rd, 10:30-1:30, Needlefelting

There is also a class on Creating your own Stamps from household items and by carving them. The date hasn't been assigned yet, but keep watching!

Gotta run finish my packing!!! Happy end of summer to you!!!

heidi

The Benefits of Teaching, and Summer/Art/Kids

I've got one more class for the summer, coming up on Saturday, monoprinting (photos at the right are some up close detail photo from a monoprinted piece) I'm really excited! I think this is the class I'm most excited about teaching so far (of the 6 courses I have put together for teaching at Fiber on a Whim this summer). Don't get me wrong, I have loved all of the classes so far! It is almost feels sinful to be taking money for this! (Note, I said almost.)

One of the participants in Saturday's class will be bringing gelatin so we can do some gelatin monoprinting! That is one of the things I was hoping to get around to learning this summer, so I'm thrilled that someone in the class will actually be helping me learn this technique! She spent a week with Rayna Gillman learning techniques such as this one. Wow, am I ever jealous!

Anyway, that is the way it always is with classes right? So many talented and creative people out there and when you teach you learn so much! With other minds in the mix, someone always comes up with something you haven't thought of before. So, it's never really a teacher/student kind of an atmosphere. More of a share and learn and grow together. Tuesday's needlefelting was no exception. A great group of women and we had a blast!

So, if anyone is still looking for a way to spend there Saturday, there are I believe 2 spots still open. The class is from 10:30 to 3:30 and we will have a ton of fun!

Other news? Hhhm, can't remember if I wrote about selling one of my two Yoni quilts I made for the Yoni QuiltArt Challenge! Totally unexpected but I was thrilled that it spoke to someone! I love the two pieces but I wasn't sure that I would ever display them prominently anywhere in my home and probably the last pieces that I thought would ever sell (not because they were not good work/art, but because of the sensitive nature of them). But you just never know! Apparently the work I did to get the challenge posted to QuiltArt was worth the work! Really validating! For the person who bought it, she found it inspiring as it represented rebirth, a place she is at in her life, hoping to rebirth herself through her creative writing. I hope the piece brings her inspiration.


Well, back to the kids, supper, housework. Word of warning, DO NOT take your children to the Foam Factory in Marietta on a weekday in the summer. We went today, and yes, they had fun, but it was PACKED with daycampers. There was no one there running the entry taking tickets, so no one watching whether it was at capacity or not (I"m sure it was well over capacity). The noise was deafening and my kids were a bit overwhelmed until lots of campers begin to leave around 2 pm. I had envisioned myself sitting and working on some needlefelting, going over my notes for the Monoprinting class and an occassional bit of time in the foam ball pit playing with the kids. Instead, it was noise, noise, noise, and I had to hold my 3 year olds hand the entire time so she did not get trampled to death. And, I did have fun and decided to just let go of my plans and enjoy it with them. But, if you go, don't expect to sit quietly to the side while your kids have fun. Ain't going to happen. We had only been once before and there were maybe 2 to 3 other kids (during the school year). Today, well over 100 kids in the same space.

The summer seems so short and not enough time to fit in all the activities but also too long without a break to really work on some of my art. I'm behind on commitments/commissions. I learned that summer is not the time to take these own. Seems I would have known this, but I didn't think it through. So, if you are someone waiting on something from me, please know, I will get to them! But, it will be easier when school starts in a couple of weeks. ;)

Have a great evening! Happy creating!

Heidi

Tips for Long Life

I'm still working on my family history and a cousin of mine recently sent me a huge envelope of family photos and information. It is so much fun learning about your family, especially when you knew so little to begin with. My Great Grandmother, Margaret Wilson, lived to be 107 years old. I knew this and had found some photos online of her but this envelope contained many photos of her birthdays over the years and a newspaper article about her life. What I found interesting was that my cousin remembered our Grandfather taking her whiskey and that she drank a glass every night and said that the whiskey and her Cherokee blood
(haven't found this in her family lines yet) were her secrets to longevity. The newspaper article said that it was hard work. Hahaha. I'm sure she worked very hard. She had 8 children to raise alone as her husband was killed by a falling tree.

I remember being afraid to kiss her when I was very young, 4 maybe. She died when I was 5. Now what I wouldn't give to have a conversation with her. Part of the article said:

"The Wilsons owned a number of sheep and raised flax and cotton. Aunt Marg then left us rather bewildered by a recital of the many steps involved in the art of weaving flax, wool and cotton, before the fire at night, telling of great piles of flax, which was pulled like wheat by the handfulls and piled in bundles on the floor, 'thick as hair on a cog', and from which so many of the household wants were made."

She also said:

"I travelled over 4 mountains and sold buttermilk at 10 cents a gallon; raised my children with the help of God and didn't ask anybody for help."

Here are several photos of her over the years. The first I believe is her 98th birthday.

The bottom photo is of some aunts and uncles and my Grandmother. I'm not sure what the occasion is but I was fascinated that they actually had a small bear "pulling" the cart.

In my fiber art world, I taught watersoluble crayons last week and had a lot of fun getting to know some folks! Next is Needlefelting, Tuesday July 8th and Monoprinting, Saturday July 12th. There are still some spots available in the Monoprinting class! Check Fiber on a Whim's webpage for the class description and to register!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Heidi

What I've been working on

Well, with my new obsession with making digital storybooks I finally made some real progress on making a memory book for my sisters and myself about my Dad. It just keeps growing as it seems to be taking on two purposes, our family memories and his genealogy. I have found a wealth of information online about the Miracle family. I have photos of Great Great Grandfathers! My Dad had nothing and was a bit estranged from his family so all I had were a few photos of him as a young man. He literally had a briefcase when he died and nothing else. Anyway, also with Father's Day just passing and my Dad's birthday (June 11th) this has been another tough time in the healing/griefing process for his passing. Working on this book is getting me through it. Helps me feel connected to him.

This is far from done but I wanted to test out the embedded preview so I could share it with my sister as it is so far.

Off to swim lessons with the kiddos. Hope you all have a good day!

Heidi

Rejection is no fun

They say you can't get in if you don't enter (juried exhibitions, that is), but it still sucks when you DO enter and then get rejected. Or not selected I should say. Oh well, better luck next time right? It's just hard to keep pushing yourself to get things in for these deadlines when you keep getting rejection letters. I wish the curators had time to explain what the issues with your work are. Whether it simply didn't fit the particular exhibit or whether there is something you really need to be addressing or working on. I don't mean your voice or style but things like technique, composition, color, etc. Not that I would always take the advice but it would just be nice to know every now and again ya know? My guess is that I'm rushing my work and that it is someone how showing in the final package, like my photos for my instance. At least that's what I like to think.

Of course, I want to offer congratulation to those whose work was selected for this year's National Small Art Quilt Exhibit! I can't wait to see the work! I guess I just had particularly high hopes for this one since I won the Juror's Choice Award last year. Just goes to show you that you never know.

Now I'll just wait to hear from Threadlines. Wish me luck! Just keep saying it..
"If I don't enter I'll NEVER get in. If I don't enter I'll NEVER get in...."

Now for some sunshine and swinging.

Heidi

Oops, there was one more image I forgot to post

My butterfly.

More Breast Cancer Awareness Art and Making books for your family

Okay, so you may think I'm even stranger than you did before when you look at the photos in this post. I was just stuck on drawing boob related art for Fiber on A Whim's BRA fundraiser for breast cancer research (which starts today!! visit their website to view the art and bid!) and these were just some of the things I tried along the way. I threw in a couple of others that I was able to get scanned in yesterday as well.


What else have I been up to today? Well, a good friend of mine is a Heritage Makers consultant and I finally got around to opening an account and purchasing some of their products. They are in the business of digital storybooking. You've heard of scrapbooking, right? Well, this is online scrapbooking. No glue, no mess. All on the computer. Beautiful "papers", "stickers" and all kinds of embellishments. I knew it would be addictive and oh boy, is it ever. Once you finish making your book, they publish it in a hardback book and send it to you! So, I think I've spent a total of 5 or 6 hours online today making a Father's Day book for my husband. Yes, I know it's late. I'm hoping he will understand since the computer has been so screwed up the last month. I wish there was a way I could show you a sneak peak of one of the pages but I don't think there is any way that I can show a picture until I have the actual book in my hands. Anyway, if you are into scrapbooking (or if you find it overwhelming as I did!), this might just be for you. You've got all of those digital pictures on your computer and now there is an easy way to make them into a cherished memory. I'm not saying all of this because Betty is my friend, I truly think this is a great service!

Alright, off to bed.

Heidi

Sunprinting Class a Blast!!!

I had so much fun in my class with the participants yesterday! We had a cloudy day so we had to wait a bit for our images to print but almost all of the pieces were a success. As usual, I was inspired and learned a few things from my students, one of the perks of teaching. And, as usual, I forgot to bring a camera to class and ask if I could take any pictures of their work to post. Hopefully they will send me some (hint, hint).

A couple of the masking items I brought along that were a lot of fun were some paper letters (made on full sheets of paper, just punch them out) that I found in the scrapbooking paper aisle in a department store and sequin waste. Both worked really well! I ordered the sequin waste from SkyBluePink. They have some really fun items! One of the students used safety pins for her masking item. I thought it made a great fun print, especially for quilters! What quilter wouldn't love a safety pin printed fabric!

Well, I'm not ready for church so I better run! I'm making Oobleck this morning with the children (Dr. Suess story. If you've never done it, it's really easy and fun activity for kids. It is simply cornstarch and water. Makes a big fun gooey blob. Look online for recipes and ideas.

See ya!

Heidi

Now I'm really back! Warning/Disclaimer--nude art

Woohoo!! So I had partial capabilities back for a few days and then my husband took my computer over to fix it correctly. So I was without email, internet or anything computer related for about 5 days. Wow, talk about withdrawal! But, it was also really nice. I found I had more time (duh!). Same as when I don't turn the television on (for me, not the kids, ha-ha).

Anyway, now I'm back and can work my way through my 200+ emails (not counting the Yahoo groups or Quiltart email list!).

I'm not quite in the mood to sit and scan lots of my drawings or take photos, so I've just scanned a few for now. Here are two of my donations to Brazenly Radiant Art, pen and ink/watercolor drawings on 9 x 12 Bristol paper. The first two are for a fundraiser through Fiber on a Whim which will donate all proceeds to Breast Cancer Research. The deadline for donations is June 15th. Purchases can be made via email bids starting 10 am June 16th. You can view the full gallery on their webpage on the 15th or 16th. You can also read about it on their blog. The third image is just a little birdy, ink and watercolor on watercolor canvas.

I'll also be donating some work on canvas that I think will be included in a separate sale for this fundraiser at a later date.

Oh, and Tuesday evening I attended our monthly meeting of Fiber Art Fusion. It was wonderful! All of us presented our contributions to our upcoming show at The Art Place in Marietta. I don't recall the dates but it is late July/early August. The work (and the stories behind them) were so inspiring! So, I hope lots of you can make it to see the show!

Happy creating! I'm teaching Sunprinting on Saturday at Fiber on a Whim and there are still a few spots left!!! :) I'm heading out to the pool with the kids and then hopefully there will still be some sun and time to do some experimenting with different paints for sunprinting this afternoon and tomorrow (with the kids).

Be sure and make time to play!!!

Heidi

Some posting capabilities are back! Yea!

So, I finally decided to use an old hard drive until my computer is fixed. Which means what? That I can scan and upload photos!! I just don't have any files from before the crash yet. So, I can take new pictures, scan new drawings, etc. I sent in entries to Threadlines and am working on my photos for National Small Art Quilts now, an application for an upcoming art festival (also due today), and my piece for our local fiber show, due on Tuesday! Wow, I don't think I've ever had so many deadlines all at once.

I'll start taking photos and scanning very soon!! So look for pictures!

For now, here is the detail of the piece that the background for my blog title is taken from. The colors are more true to life here:

Working Style Continued and Deleted Posts

Well, my husband was uncomfortable with my posts with pictures of the kids so I've deleted those. So, if you were looking for them they are now gone. I guess I should set up a password protected family photo site. I used to do this but it's been several years. I'll have to remember the best way to do this.

Anyway, I was thinking more about my working style and about it being wasteful (or not). I realized that one of the reasons I often continue painting on fabric when I originally planned to just work on a few small pieces is that I DON'T want to waste the paints! And, that I figure if I'm working with the same colors that my extra pieces will coordinate if I cut them up to use in a piece later, and I might not ever be able to get quite the same shades, tints, etc. at another time. So, maybe I'm not being as wasteful as I thought. But, I do go through a lot of fabric. I don't think I'll ever be the type to work in a more planned and structured way but I do hope to find ways to better harness my focus and to find a way to restrain my excitement just enough to make some more of my work keepers rather than just the practice.

I'm still waiting on my computer to be up and running and now I'm afraid it may prevent from entering the next two shows that have deadlines in the next few days. It means I can't upload photos and create my CDs for sending my images. Maybe I better start investigating some places where I can use computers that will have everything I need to get this done. Maybe a friend's house?

I'm meeting with a person who is the recipient of a commissioned gift I will be making for her. This will be my third liturgical stole and I really love this work. It is so meaningful and personal. I feel like I already know her after studying her website and I am so thrilled to have the chance to create some fabrics incorporating some of her philosophies including things such as the Chakras, the Wheel of Life and something called the Purple Tent. If you want to learn more, take a look yourself. I'll post pictures as I start the process.