RedBarn Studios

Sharon says:

“The challenge this month is perhaps a bit obvious but I am going to ask …What is it to be at the half way mark?”

One of the things I’m proud of concerning this TIF challenge is that so far I’ve managed to keep up with it (except for May’s of course which seems to be an ongoing, ever changing thought process on “how to describe myself as an artist”).

I generally tend to finish things I start, mainly because I tend to harangue myself for not getting it done (while still procrastinating about it mind you). So the fact that I am at the halfway mark doesn’t suprise me much. The fact that I am up to date with it is definitely knocking me off my chair (and some of you may know this about me…but love me anyway, hee hee).

Sharon took her concept apart and started thinking about it like this…. “Half” /”Way” /”Mark”. She sees this leading into all sorts of directions.

One of the things that triggers my mind is the word “mark”. I find I’m thinking more and more about mark making in terms of surface design and the workshop with Lyric Kinard I took last month has really brought it to the forefront. Remember I already have a fascination with words since I was a young tot so going in this direction isn’t far off the mark…

……get it?……….off the mark????

HA!

Anyway, I’ve already have a piece started where I’m exploring mark making. I started with this dyed piece of fabric (above).

Then I filled a squeeze bottle fitted with a metal tip (easy to find at art/craft stores like Dharma Trading or Dick Blick) with a 50/50 mix of Jaquard black textile paint and textile medium.

…wrote on it a mind map of words related to my thoughts on this piece.

(sample writing at left)

I then tried flour paste resist, painting on it with Dye-Na-Flow paints. I pinned the fabric down to a base layer of white felt (double layer) and, on top of that, a torn section of an old sheet. [This helps keep the table from getting messy and makes a sturdy pressing base for surface design work].

Above you can see the flour resist painted fabric. I did however unpin the fabric to move to a more convenient spot. NO NO!….don’t do that, leave it in position to dry taut, then unpin and scrunch the painted flour paste.

The effect was not exactly successful as you can see. My original idea was not to have the blobs but I think it’s still usable, definitely needs more words.

The dots are drips of paint I dropped on it instead of painting in with a brush (very impatient person that I am, want things done now darn it!). The grayed out area in the center is the ONLY flour paste resist area.

So…….I would say it needs more.

Next, I’ll use either a sheet of dotted computer paper and/or sequin waste to paint over (or under, haven’t decided yet) in another colour.

At right is a smidgen of what I intend to do on this background piece but I’ve been so obsessed with trying out a bit of surface design that I went ahead with it on this one.

I have been carving some stamps and finally got all my supplies in to make some silk screens. More about that later.

What kind of surface design projects are you up to? Have you tried flour past resist? If you have leave a comment and let me in on the tricks for success….please, please.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: fiber art, ponderings, TIF Challenge by k grace howes
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I’m hanging in there folks trying to keep up. I really would like to have the whole year done in TIF challenges but….

Anyway, the concept for this month’s TIF challenge is all about stashes. Here’s how Sharon B describes it: “Stashes are either purchased or scavenged materials that have accumulated over time and as such they often have a story to tell.…….So this month, the idea is to think about stories that are, and stories that are possible.”

My Stash Story

Because I’ve been retooling, revamping, revising myself as it pertains to my artwork, my stash (much of it is commercial fabrics I no longer use regularly) just sits there for the most part.

I feel guilty…lordy, lordy yes I do…because I went out and bought all it of, no one else helped me (well maybe a friend or two persuaded me to get more than I thought I would get at the time…no names of course but you all know who you are!!!).

For the most part though, just like the rest of you just starting out (and some of you who’ve been at it for years) I too went thru a “gotta have it” phase.

So for me, my stash represents my greed phase, the “I CANNOT live w/o that loud red/orange/blue psychedelic number or that it-just-jumped-into-my-bag green to match all the other greens I have. I feel guilty for hoarding all this fabric but I do have some cool ideas on how to use it all up.

My working stash on the other hand includes:

…my hand dyes which are yummy, yummy. I used to belong to a monthly hand dyed club run by Judy Robertson but regretfully had to quit that and it broke my heart.

(Judy produces some of the most beautiful hand dyes around and it was like getting a big box of chocolates every month when that mailer came with the 1 yd cut);

…my batiks in all those drop dead gorgeous prints. I came to batiks later than most because I didn’t see what the craze was about. Boy was I wrong. NOW I have a batik stash to die for and funnily enough it’s not that large at all. I didn;t go crazy with the buying (mainly because the guilt from all the other fabrics I had was already eating me up);

…and my black and whites. Don’t know how I started this collection but now love working with a bl/wh background pallette (bottom shelf above).

Now I do have to confess (yes…here she goes you say). The top picture clearly shows my nicely folded stash of commercial fabrics, the 2nd pic my working fabrics. What I have not told or shown most people is the stuff that I haven’t laundered and therefore is not folded as nicely. That’s the stuff that really stirs the guilt right up.

This 3rd pic is of that “stash”. Those fabs that haven’t been touched since I moved to the room I now use as my studio…4 yrs ago (What shock! What horror!)

In a space, off to the side (you can’t see it when you enter the room thankfully) is this plastic tub full…and I mean FULL…of the last of my commercial fabric purchases.

I periodically rummage thru it looking for that perfect piece to add but, for the most part….it just sits there……staring me in the face.

So now you know my story. I’m gonna have to think about how to put this into a quilted piece.

What about you?…what’s your stash story and what’s it tell about you? I would love to hear your stories.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: monday posts, TIF Challenge by k grace howes
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capturing ourselves

Tags: ponderings, TIF Challenge by k grace howes
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I have actually been working on my TIF challenge for April, just haven’t posted about it. I’m also thinking it might be a stepping stone to a bigger piece (probably why I haven’t finished it yet) but wanted to let you in on what I was doing.

My thinking with this one was to portray a woman who is shedding the old (don’t know if you can see the coat she’s dropping) to ascend into the new…the new phase…the new thinking…the new (art)work…the new way of life.

I don’t use the word ascend lightly because I truly believe we come into a certain greater wisdom on the other side of all this change we go thru, if we are willing to see pass the pain and conflict that might occur…be willing to walk the path that will lead us to a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

I am a firm believer that change, and all that manifests itself thru change is good. We’ll see where this one leads.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: ponderings, TIF Challenge by k grace howes
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I bet you thought I would never post my March TIF Challenge piece. The very late unveiling is upon us.

I have had so much going in the last few weeks that my duty to my fellow TIF Challenge compadres has been shirked. My apologies. Okay, okay…the challenge piece.

Here’s a detail of my stone quilting. I added the bunches of white seed beeds in clusters along the top. My daughter is not happy with the addition but hey…it’s my quilt.

The challenge for April is change. Here’s is Sharon B’s take on what to think about.

“Some people see change as positive while others are fearful of change. People say we have to learn to live with change as change has always been part of life. As soon as we are born we start to grow in other words we start to change. How do you see change? That is the challenge topic this month.”

Of course I see change daily in my kids, watching them grow and mature (well some anyway) and there’s the change I, as one who is approaching the big 50, is experiencing. I see change in the sky from daylight to dusk; I want to see change in our world so we take care of it and preserve it for future generations; I see a change that needs to take place in us as humans and how we intereact with one another.

Change can be a wonderful thing if we think if it in terms of growth. We all need to grow, to evolve and become better people. Let’s see what I can do with this one. Ideas are percolating…

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: TIF Challenge, working small by k grace howes
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One of the things I still find most challenging is the final process of making an art quilt. My March TIF piece is a study in the dreaded details of machine quilting. I’m usually not that happy with my stitches and had yet to perfect it (to me at least).

A few weeks ago I attended the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA and had the pleasure of taking an advanced quilting class from Linda Feidler. She taught us how to start and stop effectively, what to use in particular areas to enhance the quilt and had us quilt a few of the designs that she regularly uses.

Whatever mojo she put on us as we sewed has worked. GreenPiece is homage to Linda for getting me to step into the light. ..and like machine quilting!!! Who knew I had it in me to get down to the details and get it right.

I used a 40 wt trilobal polyester thread in emerald green (muddy greens are just not my thing) on a dark maroon 12″ square of fabric. The next step is beading, not too much but just enough to give it some light and shimmer. Here’s a detail of the unfinished piece.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: TIF Challenge, working small by k grace howes
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Now that I have posted my completed Feb TIF challenge I can safely move on to March.

This month’s challenge is all in the details. Here’s Sharon B’s challenge description:

“Do you ever notice the little things, the small moments, the details in life? This month’s challenge is to do just that, pay attention to the tiny details”.

Okay, I’m getting better at thinking ideas thru immediately and “details” didn’t come across as minutiae or small things. Instead my mind went to the things that we take for granted, the things we see all the time but never really take the time to notice.

Things like how green that new blade of grass can be or the sadness of a passing stranger’s face (what turmoil can they be experiencing?) or the intense sensation of oneness you can get from watching your child sleeping. It is in those details that life is lived and what I hope to capture in my piece this month. Stay tuned.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: TIF Challenge by k grace howes
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Here’s a short synopsis of how I made this challenge piece.

To make the cloud I fused a piece of Misty Fuse to a square of white tulle and scrunched it up onto itself. It you do it while it is still warm to the touch it will stick to itself and stay fairly well in that position.
Thanks Esterita for that tip.

To get the correct shape as I ironed the fusible side fof the tulle to the blue sky background, I positioned the tulle and pressed with iron over a sheet of parchment paper, can be a bit finicky but works none-the-less.

For the names of each crew member I wanted to be able to see thru their names, giving an almost etheral quality to it. I cut a piece of freezer paper to printer paper size and ironed it lightly to one side of white organza, cut to size as well, then manually fed the sheet thru my ink jet printer.

Be aware that the lead edge of the sheet must be ironed down enough that it lays down flat when feeding through the printer rollers or else it will ravel up and cause havoc with your printer.

I cut apart the names, the time and the date, cut a piece of Misty Fuse the same size then ironed in place. Minimal quilting was in order to finish the piece. I really like this one and realized afterwards that it was more cathartic than I’d originally thought.

See the post below for my feeling as as I put together this challenge piece.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: TIF Challenge by k grace howes
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Finally, a moment to post. Life has been busy for me of late but just because I haven’t posted doesn’t mean that art hasn’t been flowing.

Christa McAuliffe wanted to be an astraunaut but instead found her calling as a teacher. She was getting her wish though and trained hard after she was chosen to fly in space, along with the shuttle crew in their 51st mission into space.

Tags: TIF Challenge by k grace howes
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I had an idea of where I wanted to go with this month’s TIF challenge. Remember we are to answer the question
“What are you too old to remember?“

That just got me to thinking bout lots of stuff from personal life like my first kiss (at 5!!!!!) or my first dance with someone I had a crush on (2 totally separate guys by the way). I needed to start using my sketchbook so this challenge proved a good one. First I started with tongue in cheek ideas like:

• mini and maxi skirts (who didn’t have the shortest mini’s allowed)
• Mili Vanilli and that lip syncing debacle (you think anyone remembers them?)
• Pac-man (never did get the hang of it and still can’t do video games well)
• Dynasty (remember the famous Crystal and Alexis fight?)
• Who Shot JR???????? (if you don’t know this one it’s not worth explaining)

So then I started thinking out events/things that affected the world we live in like:

• the collapse of the Berlin Wall
• the 1st artificial heart
• the Iran hostage crisis that ended in ’81
• and then there’s typwriters (still can’t type properly for dog nor human)
• 8-track tapes and 45′s and 78′s (records that is)….the list goes on and on.

In the end I decided not to write about any childhood events because most of those no one knows but me. As I was writing this list one thing kept popping back into my mind time and time again and I was very surprised at my reaction to it today, long after it happened. I’ve sketched it out but have to think on how best to execute it….but I’m leaving it here for now.

“Aw shucks!” you say, disheartened. Check back later and I’ll show you my experimentations.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: TIF Challenge by k grace howes
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