I finally got around to posting some of the new fabrics I have available in my studio. Check the Hand Dyes page to peruse all my new hand dyed fabrics.
One of the reasons I wanted to host my own site is to be able to do a little commercial activity here and WordPress.com frowns on that big time. So, this time around I got to set up a Paypal shopping basket to make things a bit easier for you and me. Enjoy.
A question was posed on the SAQA list last week about what is the one thing (or 2 or 3) we quilt artists don’t particularly like to do when it comes to creating our art. The answers ran the gammet, from designing to quilting to labels and sleeves.
A few people, however, felt that burying threads is right there at the top for them. Yucky, yucky, yucky! Once upon a time, I would have said that too.
I noticed a long time ago that no matter what workshop I take there is always one thing I can take away to help me in my work or help to work more effectively. In a class with Robbie Joy Eklow last year she showed us this neat trick to burying thread tails. It was like a gigantic light bulb when off in my head.
Ever since then I’ve done it her way and it’s no longer a hated chore for me. I can start and stop where ever the heck I like. It was one of the reasons I tried to start and finish the quilting in one go…hence earlier pieces of mine were filled with lots and lots of meandering stitches. lol.
So I thought I’d do a video tutorial about it (with Robbie’s permission of course).
I’ll be adding this video to my Tutorial Page. You can also access it on Youtube along with my other videos.
First, thanks to all who have left such wonderful comments about my new blog set up. I really appreciate all of you coming over to hang out with me. I think my friend Melinda described it best, it truly was a “barn warming”.
The winner of the big Give-a-Way is Kate C. She will be getting her choice of a 1/2 yd of hand dyed fabric AND one of my new notebook designs.
Alison, Liz, Mary Jo and Janice also hit the jackpot by being the next four people to comment. Your hand dyed fat quarters await you (send snail mail addy’s please).
Thanks to all of you for making my little corner of the blog world a wonderful place to share.
Hi y’all,
If you’ve just joined me, welcome…if you are a long time friend…welcome back and thanks for visiting me once again. Take a look around and tell me what you think about my new space. I feel like I’ve gone from a bedsit to a cool apartment to an airy artist loft.
One of the reasons I changed over is that I am now hosting my blog on my own domain. Instead of using a free platform, I get to be the one to control content. Don’t get me wrong, I loved using WordPress, but it got to be a bit restrictive.
I originally started blogging on Blogger but, at that time (oh so long ago) they weren’t very advanced in their platform, although they have come a long, long way since. That can only be a good thing for those of you who still use Blogger.
So I mentioned something in my goodbye post back on the other blog about a Give-a-Way. The first person to leave a comment and sign up on this, my “new and improved” blog, will receive a beautiful hand dyed-by-me half yd of fabric AND one of my new hand-made journal notebooks.
And remember that happy place I was talking about…..if you are one of the next 4 people to do the same, each of you will receive one of my hand dyed FQ’s.
I recently dyed some more fabric so there’s new stuff to be had. I’ll be adding them to my other blog, ARtFuL CReaTioNs. Eventually I will be moving everything onto this site but, until then, you’ll still be able to access all my hand dyes there.
So with all that said, grab a cup of coffee or tea, find a comfy chair and sit and visit for a while.
Forgot to let you know about the other pieces I had hanging at Mint Hill Arts Annual Fiber Arts show last month. I chose 3 pieces, “Red Moon”, “At Odds” and “Stacked” to hang in their gallery.
I found out last week that each piece was also selected to be exhibited at the Gallery’s off site exhibition at Mint Hill Town Hall, the Chamber of Commerce and the local BB&T Bank after the MHA Fiber Arts show was finished. They were chosen to hang at BB
Funnily enough, in my former life, I was an employee of that same bank in uptown Charlotte, oh so long ago. Full circle moment here.
Defining Work
My quest this year is to push my work out there a bit more and find more places to have my work juried and exhibited. I am so pleased that I’ve started off on the right foot, 2 straight months where my work is hanging.
Back in December I got a tip from Robbie Joy Eklow (on the Quiltart list I subscribe to) about submitting our work.
She suggested that we set our calenders up at least 6 mths in advance, noting all the exhibitions we want to enter, the entry deadline, acceptance and ship dates and remembering to update our websites and art records to reflect this.
This way we are not caught short trying to fill out paperwork, finish artwork or play catch up when the show/exhibition rolls around.
Just trying to keep my Word for the Year, D I L I G E N C E in the forefront.
One of the artist I inner-viewed for my zine “The Inner Eye” has been chomping at the bit to read more on how the other artists answered questions I posed to them, so I thought it time to post another one, now that my group exhibition has been hung.
Today’s Inner-view is about Melinda Schwakhofer.
I first met Melinda a few years ago on her extended trip thru the States to reconnect with her heritage. Although born in the United States, she now calls Devon, England home.
Melinda is a very introspective and spiritual person who loves to cook but especially loves to eat GOOD food. As an artist, she love to tell stories with her art. At the moment she is on a “an inner journey” exploring the sacred aspects of her everyday life and artmaking. As she puts it, she is getting to know her ” Inner Monk and Artist.
Enjoy a little insight into artist Melinda Schwakhofer
Journey Bundle
Inner Eye: What informs your artwork?
Melinda Schwakhofer: Nature, the ebb and flow of the seasons, certain architecture and urban environments, Jugendstil and Japanese design aesthetics, anything beautifully designed and exquisitely crafted.
inside detail
IE: Why fabric/thread/paint as a means of expression?
MS: I love the texture, fluidity and sensuality of fabric; the process of gathering and stitching materials together is like gathering my memories and experiences and making meaning from my life. I’m currently exploring its sculptural qualities, combining opacity and transparency, surface design and incorporating text.
Integration
IE: Who continually inspires you?
MS: I’m inspired by the Divine Creator who makes the natural world around me and who ultimately inspires the music, literature, film and artwork which feeds me and my Mom who showed me how to put Love into everything that I do.
IE: What, if anything, precedes the full blow idea for a piece of art?
MS: Certain sights or experiences enter my soul and touch me on a very deep level. Through my artwork I want to give it back to the world the experience that I have had, the encounter and the depth of vision.
IE: What matters most to you about the work that you do?
MS: That I am able to infuse it with even a glimmer of the sacred and that the work is beautifully made. That I make the work that makes me happy and is meaningful to me and that I don’t make work to bolster my ego or get caught up in competition/winning/justifying my work or myself via outside acclaim or recognition.
IE: What do you ask of yourself in terms of your art in the next 5 yrs?
MS: To make things that people can wear or meditate on (or both!), with words hidden on the inside, private and intimate.
– To make and sell my artwork , accordion books, prayer books, altars, wearable art via galleries, design shops and online.
– To make commissioned work for people who crave beauty and soul in their lives and to use my communication skills to connect with and discover what a person would like to have expressed in a piece of my artwork.
– To show my work in places where there is space for contemplation and which invite a sacred and soul experience.
– To work with people in a way that combines my counselling skills with spirituality and art-making. Not necessarily Art Therapy, but deep, healing work via creativity.
IE: If you could not pursue your art, what other way would you spend your time?
MS: That’s like asking me if I couldn’t breathe, how I would spend my time! Even when I’m not making art, there is an art to living. It’s in my perception of the ordinary and every day, bringing mindfulness and creativity to all that I do and really seeing the world instead of just looking at it.
To read about other artist inner-views check here.
To purchase a copy of my zine “The Inner Eye” please check my Esty store.
Our Fiber Art group exhibit, Orchids: Sensuality Stitched opens tomorrow at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. Yesterday we gathered to hang our show and I must say it looks wonderful.
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Cindy Klemmer, Director of Education at Stowe, greeted us warmly, showed us the hanging space and helped us get started.
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First t
hings first, we laid out\’a0 the pieces on the floor to we decide where they will hang. 
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That’s my piece on the lower left, “Ode to Gene”. My first foray into whole cloth painting and I loved it!
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PJ Howard\’a0 “rose to the occasion” (I couldn’t help the pun) and was deemed our unofficial ladder climber. I did not volunteer for that job because the older I get the more I find that me and ladders just don’t get along.
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She came prepared with her own tool belt made out of fabric (what else for a fiber artist right?).
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The hanging system at the Stowe is the typical Walker System whereby long rods are hung from a picture rail running along the wall about 10″ down from the ceiling.
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Hanging clips are attached and the work is hung from these.
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Our one dilemma was how were were to hang fiber art that is usually hung using a rod/slat in a sleeve.
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For each of 
our pieces we each made a sleeve that would still hold a rod (so the pieces can still be exhibited in a quilt show) but made it long enough to cover the foam core we used.
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Wire was then twisted onto the foam core so that they could be hung gallery style. 
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After having made 4 of these revised sleeves I will be creating a PDF tutorial that I’ll put in my sidebar for those that want to know how to make one.
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Let me just say there were few prototypes before I got to the one I eventually used for the backs of my artwork.
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Here’s Deb Langsam (left)\’a0 rehanging one of her pieces after adding the wire to the foam core earlier.
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Susan Knapp (right)\’a0 brought sewing supplies to finish adding a label to the back of one of her pieces.
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While we were hanging, staffers occasionally popped in to see what we were up to, admiring all the work we had done.
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The two ladies (below), on the way out of the Garden, walked in to have a gander.
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Most people are still a bit uninformed about art quilts or fiber art and curiosity got the better of them. They spent a few minutes asking questions.
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I love this part about exhibiting, answering questions about our work and th
e processes we employ and find it fascinating that people still marvel at the fact that these artworks are all made from fabric.
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Included in the larger works,\’a0 we each made one piece, 18 x 12, using the same photograph as inspiration.
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These pieces were hung in the Garden’s\’a0 atrium where we will also be doing our demonstrations (12-4pm) of some of the techniques we used in the artwork. Some of us will be available at different times to walk through the exhibition to answer questions.
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To find our more info about each artist check out our blog at www.fiberartoptions.blogspot.com.
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The Exhibition will run through March 14th and we’d love to have you view our show.
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Feb. 6 through March 14, 2010
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Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
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Belmont, NC
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704.825.4490
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www.dsbg.org
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