Did I say procrastinate?

Okay, so I am totally addicted to computer drawing, painting, etc. I can't stop!!! Is there a self-help program for this? It's just so easy to sit down and make a painting and 2 hours later you look up and wonder where the time has gone. Plus, no clean-up! Can it get any better? Or worse? EEk?

So, I'm so absorbed with playing with it I can't tell yet if I am making some good work (not sure what I will do with it to turn it into something real, off the computer) or I am just fingerpainting. It's fun either way! I hope to use it to inspire/create my fiber/quilt art. It's great for laying out colors, shapes, etc.

Is this what graphic artists/designers get to do all day? Maybe I should go back to school!

Happy creating,

Heidi

How to Procrastinate

I decided to download a trial version of a drawing program. Don't ask me why. I was just sitting at the computer to quickly read emails and look up a phone number. And, an hour later here is what I have accomplished. Tons of fun! I can tell this will be a total time sink for me. Just when I'm trying hard (okay, maybe not so hard) to get my butt up and away from the computer more often. This when I should have been cleaning house and some other things. Well, at least my 6 year old played around with it too. He is home sick today and I just thought he might need a break from his 2 year old sister so I set him down and let him play around with the program.

Fun with Pamela Allen

I took two classes last week with Pamela Allen and had a blast. The first day was very fast paced and we all made 5 small art quilts. Here is one of them. I'm still working on it. While trying to decide what this little alien was all about I kept looking at his outstretched arms. I thought of two things. First that he is welcoming and welcoming to all, being the diverse individual that he is. And, that second, it reminded me of a little thing they say in our children's Sunday school class, "Our church is the church of the open mind, loving heart and helping hands." So I've started stitching Open Mind, Loving Heart and Helping Hands on him.

Remember to create something every day, even if it's just a doodle while you are on the phone!

Heidi

Happy Dance!!!!!

Hi everyone,

I have several reasons to celebrate. First, my piece, Stitch Frenzy, won the Juror's Choice Award #1 in the National Small Art Quilts Exhibit currently running at The Main Street Gallery in Groton, NY. Yippeeee!!!! Check it out online if you like:

www.mainstreetgal.com/lnkname/Fiber%20Art/7663/&pos=5&pos=35

And, I recently added (or really started) my fiber art collection with a piece from Virginia Spiegel!!! Excellent!!!

School starts tomorrow for my first grader and then in another week by 2 1/2 year old will be in school a few mornings a week. Getting excited about having time to myself again to create art (and get my teeth cleaned and my hair cut!). Althought, I really enjoyed my summer with the kids. We had a blast. Way too short.

Have a great week everyone! I'll be busy finishing my piece for the Hope exhibit coming up very soon. Eeek..

Heidi

I did say obsessed in that last post didn't I?

So, here are a few images. One is Dye-Na-Flow drawing. Another is a carving into foam plate. One is watercolor paint on watercolor paper. And, 2 are my traditional watercolor crayons on watercolor paper. Hopefully I'll find a way to either make them into their own pieces or to use them and integrate them together into my piece for the Hope exhibit.

heidi

Latest work

I've been working on an idea for an upcoming exhibit with my local fiber group (Fiber Art Fusion). The exhibit theme is hope. I've been trying to come up with something for almost a year and have too many sketches and notes to even remember. The image that stuck with me is of a pregnant woman. I finally got the courage to start the piece last night (thanks to a late night sew-in with some friends, thanks!). It's coming along but I'm finding myself now obsessed with the pregnant form of a woman's body. I've started carving them today, cutting them out of foam shapes, drawing them, painting them. Here is the start of a simple sketch on a foam plate. Hopefully it will work for some printing. I find that I often become obsessed with one form. At one point it was the curves of the Yoni. Another, the simple rounded faces of my fairies. Lately, pregnant bodies, and aliens (that later, thanks to my 6 year old son).

I originally wanted to piece this art project and get back to my quilting roots. But, that will have to be another project. This one is turning out to be right in my comfort zone right now, watercolor crayons on fabric.

The exhibit will be at The Art Place in Marietta, Georgia, right next to the Mountain View Library. Opening reception is September 6th.

Have a nice evening.

Heidi

Recent Work

I just returned from vacation in Minnesota. Some in Minneapolis and some on Fall Lake close to Ely. I did a lot of sketching and also this painting of some of the sunflowers in my in-laws gorgeous garden.

Oops, forgot the photos of my piece

All but about two of the fabrics were sunpainted and then some were stamped with carved images, painted, stamped with foam cut-outs, etc. There is fabric with chalices, baseball bats, golf clubs, children, the Angels logo. The minister is a big fan of all of these.

Commissioned piece is finished! And, happy dance for acceptance!

Hi!

Hope everyone is enjoying your summer. Mine is flying by too fast! I've had a busy month and am glad to be coming to somewhat of a close on many things. I finished a commissioned piece that will be given as a gift tomorrow to my minister who is leaving my church. Here is a photo. It was made using all of the sunprinted, painted and stamped fabric from my sunprinting day a few weeks ago. I'm really pleased with it. I hope everyone in the congregation (it's a gift from the whole community) is happy with it too.

Also, I received a rejection to Art Quilts Lowell, and an acceptance (well acceptance for 1 piece and declined 2 other pieces) to the National Small Art Quilts Exhibit in Groton, NY at The Main Street Gallery. I also submitted images for a show in Dalton, GA (my home town), both their indoor exhibit and their outdoor arts festival. No word yet. I sent in 2 pieces for A World of Beauty 2007. No word yet on that one either. Wow, I've been busier than I even realized!!


In addition to all of that I helped teach a couple of days of summer art camp this week to some 5 year olds and it went okay I think. We felted some balls, did some flat felting and some sunprinting. I hope they enjoyed it. I also taught a session of my local fiber group on using watercolor crayons on fabric and paper. It was a ton of fun and I think I was able to convey at least some of how I work and achieve the results that I do. I'm thinking I would enjoy more adult teaching so if anyone is looking for someone to teach water media on fabric I'm available (wink-wink).

I've got some biostatistical consulting work that I keep trying to focus on. Hopefully the next few weeks will bring some quiet time where I can concentrate (and try to stop thinking about art!).

So, now on to a piece for August and for my Journal Quilt. Maybe even something by Friday for the East Cobb Quilt Guild. Not sure if I can make that happen. Lots of works in progress but not really in the mood to rush any to completion. We'll see. I may change my mind tomorrow. Right now I'm tired.

July we will be camping with the in-laws in Minnesota. Kids will have a blast. I will hopefully have some time to sit and stitch and sketch. Maybe a trip to Destin, FL with my family.

Had a nice little get together for my birthday this evening. Well, actually a combination bday and Youth advisor meeting for my church. It was nice to socialize. I've been pretty withdrawn with art this last year.

Well, that's all that is new for now.

Sleep well.

Heidi

Sunprinting, so fun!!!!

Hi everyone,

I had a blast sunprinting yesterday. Here are some pics.

I overpainted on some that didn't turn out as well. I used Setacolor Transparent paints for the sunprinting and then painted with Lumiere (love the silver), Pearlescent Acrylic Inks, a gold spider writer paint pen. I also used salt on most of the pieces. On a few I stamped images using home-made carved and foam stamps.

Would love to hear comments! I was disappointed that I didn't have more luck with the bamboo. I'll have to try it again. It may have been to dry to lay flat. It's also hard to make stay down just because the leaves are so small there are no good places to lay rocks on top. Anyone had any success with bamboo sunprinting?

Heidi

Let me clarify something.....

Oops, I didn't mean to sound so serious in my last post. I know it's how things are for everyone. I just thought folks might get tired of reading, hey, here is another photo of my art. Just trying to be "real" but not pessimistic. Yes, it's life. Life of the stay-at-home/work-at-home Mom, the work-away-from-home MOm and most women in general. Just saying I'm right there with ya! Sometimes I get asked how I do so much (art) and I wanted to let folks out there know I don't really do it all, something falls to the way side. It has too. :)

Have a great day!

Heidi

How can you do it all?

Hi everyone,

Well, I'm falling way behind in updating my website so my blog seems to be my way to keep posting my artwork. Here are two pieces, both of which I've shown on my blog before but are now actually completed. The tree was submitted for Art Quilts Lowell so keep your fingers crossed. The felt piece was submitted to a local juried art exhibit. We'll see what happens. Just plugging along here.

Tomorrow (or today) I'm starting work on a commissioned piece. I'm trying out sunprinting using Setacolor Transparent paints. I'll post photos when it's completed.

I'm finding it hard to put my art "business" and creative endeavors aside to enjoy the time with my kids and get out to the pool. I'm hoping to complete a commissioned piece and one more entry in the next 2 weeks and then take the rest of the summer mostly off. How does one do it all? Be a good Mom, take care of yourself, etc., etc., etc. I know a lot of it is that I take on too much but I haven't figured out how to stop doing that. It seems I want to or need to. This morning I started one of my infamous lists (I make several a day) which started with begin and complete commission piece (by June 23rd), begin and complete a piece for IQA Beauty (June 15th), work on statistical consulting work (been dragging on for 2 years now), help complete banner for GAy pride parade for my church (June 29th), work on notes for teaching watercolor crayon techniques to my local fiber group (June 12th), make doctor appointments for my Dad, get tickets for summer trip, and then here is where I start degenerating and becoming totally overwhelmed. I added potty train my daughter, feed my kids something other than cheese sticks and orange juice, put my daughters clothes on today (yes, she is still in her pajamas and is watching Dora at 1:30, wearing a very wet diaper that she refuses to take off), get out to the pool or the park, go to JoAnn's for some fabric and art supplies, cook a real meal for dinner. Ugh. Makes me want to go back to bed. Or paint!:)

So, what am I doing here sitting at my desk writing on my blog. Lying to myself that I am "working" and accomplishing something. Just my way of coping with life.

Hope you guys are enjoying your summer.

Heidi

Pictures of my booth

Hi everyone,

Well, I finally did it. Here are a few photos of my recent work and my booth at the Cherokee Arts Festival this past weekend. It was a lot of hard work but I'm glad I did it. A learning experience for sure. Now I have an inventory if I want to do it again so there won't be so much pressure to have so many pieces done at the same time. I'm hoping to do a couple of more this year so if you missed this one, don't worry I'll be out there again soon.

A friend of mine won first place for her watercolor batiks and I was super happy for her. Her work is beautiful, she certainly deserved it. I bought one for my self and can't wait to hang my Mary Akers original on my wall.

Many of the photos show some of my fiber work mounted on canvas. A recent discussion has been going on the quiltart.net group email list, so I wanted to show some examples. I am really liking the look of fiber art mounted on painted canvas. Let me know what you think.

That's it for now.

(Most of my work on my blog and website are for sale. Contact me if you would like pricing information.)

Happy creating,

Heidi

Cherokee Festival of the Arts-THIS WEEKEND!!

Hello everyone,

Well I've been a little under the weather for about a month (wisdom teeth removed, root canal redone, allergies, sinus infection) putting be pretty far behind in my art. But now I am on the mend and the Cherokee Festival of the Arts is this weekend and I am gearing up to have a great show. I'll be posting lots of photos soon (here and hopefully by website too) of all the work I've been doing. Here are a few things I worked on the last few days. I think they are cute. :)



















OH, and other good news. One of my pieces in the ArtQuilt Markings exhibit in NC sold yesterday. Yippee!!

If you live in the area and want to come out to the festival, it is in downtown Canton. There is more information about the artists and the festival on the Cherokee Festival website: www.cherokeearts.org/festival.htm

And, here is the flyer for the event (see the sunflower, that's mine, hee-hee):












I'll be taking almost everything so if there is a piece on my website you have been eyeing, now is the time to speak up. :)


Happy weekend everyone,

Heidi

Celebrate Yonis!

Hi everyone,

I'm working on completing as many pieces for an art show on Saturday and another on in May. I thought I'd take a break to post some photos of my entries to the Yoni Quilt Art Challenge. It was quite empowering to work on these pieces. They have been quite the conversation pieces, especially with my family. "Now, why did you make these?" They think I'm a bit strange, well, they thought I was strange already.


Have a great week,

Heidi

Some paintings

Hi!

It's a beautiful spring day. I've got my ArtQuilts Markings pieces ready to ship today. So I can mark that of my list. Yea! I am completing as many of the projects that I have started over the last few months getting ready for some Art Festivals. Here are a few paintings I'm working on. Not great photos, glare and such. But wanted to share.

Have a great day!

Heidi

Felting Rocks!

Hi everyone,

So, I took a wet felting class with Sharon Ahmed at Fiber on a Whim last week and I am totally hooked. I have been needle felting by hand and with my embellisher but really love the texture and look I can get with wet felting. And,I love the combination of needle and wet felting.

Last week I made felted eggs with my son's kindergarten class and it was so much fun and they turned out really well! The kids had a blast. I'll post a picture soon. I am still making them at home and also some felted balls and beads. Haven't completed perfected the technique quite yet. I will be doing it as an Easter craft at my church on Sunday so if anyone reading this has experience with felting balls or eggs and has any advice I would gladly take it!

I've been working on some wallhangings and scanned one. It's not done but wanted to post something. I had a hard time getting the color right. It's too saturated here. It's all done with wet felting, needle felting (by machine) and machine stitching. I'm really struggling with some carpal tunnel inflammatory issues with my right hand so I have had to cut way down on my drawing and my hand stitching. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to normal after a bit of a rest.

I've also been painting a lot with some success. I don't have the camera this weekend so pictures will come later.

Hope you are all enjoying spring and creating wonderful things.

Heidi

She Made Her Mark Too Entry

Hello everyone,

My entry for the She Made Her Mark exhibit made it into a second show, She Made Her Mark Too and will be traveling with the Mancuso shows to California, Chicago, IL and Harrisburg, PA. It will also be in a gallery in the Los Angeles area. I am very excited to be included in this amazing exhibit.

Her is my tribute to Dorothea Dix.


If you would like to see the full catalog for the SMHM exhibit or SMHMT exhibit go to the Fiberarts of Southern California webpage and you may download the beautiful catalogs for a small fee.

Thanks for looking!

Heidi