RedBarn Studios

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I have been a bit absent of late….blogging in a rather hit & miss manner (no kidding, you say!).
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Although I have been working on my fiber art and journal projects
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(above – new canvas journal I’ve been working on & below – cropped photo of orchid quilt for group exhibition…see, told you so!),
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and taking pics of in progress work,
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and pics of cool and interesting things,
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and thinking and sometimes starting blog posts (new post from my Inner-views with another fiber artist in next few days)
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but….for some obscure to me reason…..never actually sending these thoughts of mine out into the blogosphere.
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My thinking right now as to why that is?\’a0 To some extent, it’s that my art is evolving/changing enough in what I’m producing, probably more than I can keep up with or formalize a goal for, so catching you up in blog posts is almost near impossible. New year…new habits (maybe, sorta kinda…mmmh).
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Also been thinking A LOT about my Word For The Year (a la Christine Kane). I’ve gone thru at least 7 different words that I thought might be good to implement as I go forward but none have captured the complete essence of where I am in my life and in my art at the moment.
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I also didn’t think any of the words I came up with would propel me to excel or push me forward any……that is until a few days ago\’a0 while reading a blog I ran across…
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…you know, you click on a link on someone’s blog list and when you get to that blog, as you read you click on another link in their blog list then another and another and before you know it you are at a site you’ve never read before but it resonates with you then you have another blog to add to your RSS feed…(deep breathe here..ahhh) — but I digress, big time!
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So, with ALL that said, I’m still here, plogging along, doing my thing. **Just a heads up…this post became way toooo long (a lot to say after that absence huh) so I’ve divided it up into 2 individual posts. See next post for my word of the year**
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(Note: please take the time to read Christine’s post about your 2010 word, she explains it so succinctly and has a tool that you can use to help YOU choose your word).
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~
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See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: Art, New Year, defining one's art, life etc., year of me by k grace howes
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Last night one of the guilds I belong to,\’a0 Lake Norman Quilt Guild (a small guild of approx 55 members ) had our annual Christmas Potluck Dinner. It was a welcome and needed break from all the hustle and bustle of the season and all the artwork deadlines looming over my head.
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This year we decided that, in order to commit to our group’s recycling efforts, each person would bring their own place setting (made clean-up a snap as well).
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Each table was also beautifully decorated by a handful of members who were actually taking part in a table decorating contest (sorry, so caught up in festivities that forgot to take pics of each table).
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We had gobs and gobs of fantastic food (someone even brought a delicious spiral sliced ham) and didn’t do too bad in the sweet department either. Just look at that table filled to the brim with our repast. And yes…..I went for 2nds (didn’t eat lunch so I could feast without guilt).
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We were serenaded again this year by a local a cappella group who sang us into dinner. They sang wonderfully and even had some wonderfully fun moments as they dipped and swayed to their own music.
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The last part of our evening was the “Dirty Santa” Christmas ornament exchange, you know the one where you pick a wrapped gift and each subsequent person either steals your gift or opens a new one.
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It was so hilarious as people walked around trying to eye what others had (some even trying to hide the ones they wanted to keep). A couple of the ornaments got stolen so much that they were put out of action on the 3rd steal leaving some real sad faces.
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I came home exhausted but with a smile on my face, aahhh…. I love hanging out with these bunch of women. Now back to the paperwork and artwork I need to finish.
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~
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See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: Christmas, community by k grace howes
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For my recent zine, “The Inner Eye“ I had to include an interview. Since my zine is an inspirational art zine I, of course,\’a0 chose to interview an artist.
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The only thing with that was that after I came up with the questions I was nosy enough to want to know how other artists would answer these same questions.
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So I came up with a plan and chose to pose the questions to a few artist friends and include all their answers in the zine. Over the next few weeks I will post some of the answers from these individual artists. Since yesterday’s post was about Nancy, I’ll start there.
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I’ve known Nancy for a few years and was invited by her this year to join Fiberart Options, a fiber art group. In the last few months I have gotten a better chance to get to know her.
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She is a wonderfully warm, engaging and inspirational artist, who is always willing to answer any questions we might have about our art in order to help us succeed. And…she loves to laugh, which is always good for the soul.
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Her recent work is very much nature inspired. She paints her beautiful art pieces with Tsukineko inks on sumptuous hand dyed fabrics, then expertly enhances them with her quilting stitches.
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Inner Eye: What informs your artwork?
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Nancy Cook: My work is informed by the traditions of botanical illustrations and quilting mediums.
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IE: Why fabric/thread/paint as a means of expression?
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NC: I love the textures that result from the quilted line, it is a way that I connect with my past and women from many cultures and across time.
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IE: Who continually inspires you?
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NC: Women artists, especially fiber artists, women politicians and role models like Oprah Winfrey.
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IE: What, if anything, precedes the full blow idea for a piece of art?
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NC: Sometimes I wake up with an idea that is pretty close to full blown and that is a gift from the gods or muse.\’a0 Other times it is looking, really looking, at a tree seed specimen.\’a0 It takes time, perhaps a magnifying glass and, often, sketching the piece multiple times, before the full blown idea emerges.
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IE: What matters most to you about the work that you do?
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NC: That it satisfies me in terms of concept realized, quality of the production.
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IE: What do you ask of yourself in terms of your art in the next 5 yrs?
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NC: Have sufficient recognition that it will not be rapidly consigned to a garage sale upon my death.
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This last question I thought was the best answer an artist can give…
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IE: If you could not pursue your art, what other way would you spend your time?
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NC: I haven’t the slightest idea.
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I loved her answer especially because I believe that in in order to produce the best art we can, whatever medium we choose, our art should consume our souls. Nancy’s answer (to me) shows exactly this. You can find Nancy’s work on her website and more about her on her blog.
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Be on the lookout for upcoming inner-view posts, including nationally known quilt artist and designer Sarah Ann Smith and one of our own local artists, PJ Howard.
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NOTE: **you can purchase a copy of the first issue of my zine “The Inner Eye” in my Etsy shop.**
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~
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See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: FAO, artful creations, community, defining one's art, pay it forward by k grace howes
7 Comments »

Tomorrow I will start a series of posts about the Inner-views I conducted for my zine “The Inner Eye“. Although I would love for you to get your own copy of the first issue of my zine, I also would like to make available to everyone the words and inner souls of these artists. The tile of this series is…
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Through Their Own Words

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In Other News
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I am hooked!\’a0 I had such fun creating my first zine that\’a0 I’ve already chosen the theme for my next zine…Issue No 2 of\’a0 “The Inner Eye” should be available in the early part of the new year so…
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**drum roll please**

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Oops….stay tuned for that tidbit coming soon! (some things a girl has got to keep to herself).
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~
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See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: Art by k grace howes
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Yesterday I had a chance to spend some time with some friends and frolic with fabric.
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Nancy Cook decided that she needed to purge some the the fabrics she no longer uses so she invited a few of us over to help her get her stash in order.
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Six of us sorted and sized and labeled …and talked and laughed and perused her fabric for most of the morning.
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It was fun fondling someone else’s fabric because it was all new to us.
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Well most of us.I was sitting at the table with Elizabeth (a wonderfully fantastic and funny friend) and I had to laugh because every 5th fabric she recognized as a fabric that she owned as well.
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One of the bonuses in helping Nancy was that we got to choose a “bundle” of fabric for ourselves for helping her out.
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Everyone took home their bundle and some even purchased a little more\’a0 than that (see part of Elizabeth’s stash at left..hee hee).
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At midday Nancy’s husband, Don, treated us to a scrumptious lunch that included something I”d never had before, bird’s nest vegetables, sorry I forgot to take a pic of the meal but OMG how good were they! And I know where I can find them too…..Trader Joes.
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Anyway, all this is to redirect some of that fabric into someone else’s stash. Soon she will announcing her fabric sale. I think she will do the grab bag….fill a gallon bag with fabric for a nominal price. Look for her announcement on her blog soon.
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~
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See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: Art, community, monday posts by k grace howes
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