13th Steet Studio

Moda Fabric Giveaway

My first ever give-away! Leave a comment on this post by midnight September 15, 2012 to be entered in a Moda Fabric Giveaway. Barbara Brackman has given me a USPS Large Flat Rate box jammed full of her Metropolitan Fair fabric and (I think) I am willing to pass it along to some lucky person. This is beautiful, high quality cotton fabric scraps left over from the production of "pre-cuts"... you know... the jelly rolls, charm squares, layer cakes that Moda does for their most popular lines of fabric.

You will have big fun with this fabric! Sorry, only U.S. addresses please.

Inspirational

I am very pleased to be a part of the blog "Quilt Inspiration". They are featuring my vegetable quilts that I made using patterns from the very inspirational Ruth McDowell's book "Pieced Vegetables". Here is a picture of an eggplant quilt I did as a part of this series:

Buying Art

Hello neglected blog! As with just about everything in my life, it needs a better effort from me. It is Monday, which is the day I always start with big plans and new resolutions. By noon I am usually ready for a nap and lowered expectations. Today I started out by buying a bit of art from Inaluxe, the business name for creations by Melbourne artist Kristina Sostarko. I love the colors she uses and the way her work calls back mid-century shape and design. Turquoise and red is my current favorite color combination and of course there is that bird obsession... so this is what I bought:

Bargain Book

Barnes and Noble is having a sale on the book "Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World" by Martha Sielman. You can get a LOT of pictures of beautiful quilts by clicking here and spending just $12.47. This book contains a picture of my quilt "Golden Bird". Here is a detail of that quilt:

 

The Natural World

Martha Sielman, along with Lark Books, just published a really inspirational art quilt book titled "Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World". This book has profiles of some of my favorite textile artists:

And what is really exciting for me is that my quilt "Golden Bird" was included in one of the galleries! To buy a copy click here.

11-11-11

What a big day it is today! Not only Veteran's Day, but also Corduroy Appreciation Day. November 11 has been the day to celebrate all things waled for quite a while, but this year is the supreme celebration day of 11-11-11. Such a once in a lifetime event demanded a party, but schedules demanded that we celebrate a bit early. We all wore our best (for some, only) corduroy garment and gathered for a bit of sewing and snacking. To emphasize the ll-ness of the day, we played a bit with Fickelsticks... those fabric covered wire "art sticks" from Diana Taylor's book "Fast Fun & Easy Fabric Fickelsticks". You can see the inspiration items in this picture, Diana's book on the bottom and a coiled paper basket at the top.

We used pipe cleaners instead of floral wire in our sticks, because... well, they were just more fun.

All snacks were corrugated and linear, but the hands down favorite were the cookie bars with grooved frosting.

Fun!

Spider Silk

 

Best Graffiti Ever

I love this! From http://tania.blogs.com/tania/

Screen Printing Inspiration

There is a great tutorial for turning photos into cartoons that can be printed with a Gocco here. I think that those of you with thermofaxes could use the same steps to produce artwork for your screens too. The software (GIMP) that the Melbourne folks used is free and with their step by step instructions, the results are fun. No doubt, Photoshop can be used the same way....but don't look at me... I can't tell you how.

Here is the result I got from my first attempt, using an old photo of my girls Trick or Treating in zebra costumes:

Foto Fiber Fabulous

I will have two pieces in the following show:

I don't know who did the top two pieces on this poster, but the bottom,wider piece is by Karen Stiehl Osborn... part of her "Rural Remnants" series, I think.
Here is one of my pieces that will be in the show. It is called "Nine Patch Self-Portrait":

Impressive Stick Houses

It takes some weaving skills to work your way through the closed-for-construction streets, but if you can make your way to the University of Kansas' Spooner Hall at the top of Mt. Oread, you can enjoy the sight of Patrick Dougherty's latest creation. Dougherty works with saplings and tree branches to build large organic shaped structures that seem to swirl around and upward. More information about Patrick Dougherty can be found here.

Very Altered Books

We went to the Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City a couple of weeks ago, and I am embarrassed to admit that I failed in my prime directive about art fairs:
Spend As Much On Art As On Food!
So I guess I have some credit built up for the next event.
This was the first time I remembered to take my camera, but I chickened out on taking any pictures of the art. However, I did take pictures of this decoration in the windows of the Anthropologie store:

As we were walking up to the store, I first thought they had made a display out of tightly folded linens and underwear, but when we got closer, I realized that it was made out of slices of books, or maybe catalogs. Very Clever! From a distance, it gave the impression of large neutral-toned flowers. Suze Wineberg's blog also has pictures of the same type of display in her local store, but she was brave enough to go inside the store and take her pictures. At first, I wondered if there is a central Anthropologie window display making place where all of them are created. (Come to think of it, the last time I was by one of these stores, I think they had some great window backgrounds made from dozens of insect shapes cut out of paper and staples together.) But anyway, it looks like her store has paint added here and there to the books, that they are screwed together, and that they are free standing sculptures with a wood frame on the back. My store's books seemed to be put together with tape, didn't have any paint (that I noticed) and looked to be fastened to the window frame. So, maybe they are custom made for each store at a central location. They wouldn't just send each store a description of what they want made and expect the locals to do it, right? Maybe they ran out of books that varied in color and decided to add the paint... It would be a good use for books that have gotten wet and warped and bubbled, I think.

The Dime Bag Show

OK, Typepad, I'm ready to do battle with you again.... Lets see how many times you can delete my pictures before I give up this time. And the answer is ONCE. See the next post for pictures of what I made from the materials mentioned below. Honestly, Typepad, I need more photos per post!
A local non-profit art-supporting organization called The Lawrence Percolator is having a "Dime Bag Show".

To enter, we made a ten dollar donation to the Social Services League Thrift Store. Then we were given a paper grocery bag...and we could have anything we could put into the bag from the thrift store to use in a piece for the show. I stuffed a sweater, a flannel shirt, a t-shirt, a bag of embroidery floss and several books into my bag(!)

Bird Watching

Hope everyone had a good day yesterday. We celebrated Mother's Day with donuts for breakfast and pizza for supper here. Not fancy, but it works for me!
I finished sewing a blouse that my mother started for herself back when she still had a sewing machine and the space to use it. When she gave up her house, she gave me the half finished project and said maybe I could finish it. It finally made it to the top of the pile last week, so I was able to pass it off as a Mother's Day present. It had been a long time since I have tried to set in sleeves and make buttonholes! Guess it took me too long to get to it....Mom didn't remember giving it to me. (I used to get out of mending my kids' clothes by just waiting until they had outgrown them.) Anyway, she was glad to get the blouse, and I was glad to get an old project out of the sewing room.
I've been doing some bird watching via the internet....
There is a pair of falcons that have successfully raised families for several years running in a box on a tower in Rochester, NY. Some of the offspring have been sighted raising there own families in other areas lately. This year Mariah, the mother falcon, has hatched out five babies-a large group yet again. You can watch them in all their fluffy white glory here. The photo updates every few minutes. Falcons are a good solution to pigeon over-population, but I do hate the bird-eat-bird aspect of it all.
I've also been watching baby barn owls in Texas again this spring here. They are just about to fly out of the box, though, so it will be a sad empty nest soon. This nest has a video camera on duty, so we can watch all of the action. Some nights it is just incredible how many mice and rats the mom and dad owls bring in for their family. What a good way to control the rodents!
Closer to home...yesterday just before sunset, we saw Ruby-throated humming birds enjoying the flowers on our chestnut tree. They seem to pass through here in the spring and the fall...although I have been told that if I'd put out feeders, I'd have them for the whole summer. Here is a photo my husband took of one of them. I guess it would take a pretty speedy shutter setting to get their wings to not look blurred.

Beachcombing

Several years ago, my daughter and I watched a Jim Carrey movie called "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". I'm not very good at summarizing plot lines, but two things about the movie made a big impression on me. The first thing was a new invention in the movie that erased memories. When couples broke up, they could pay to have the memories of their time together erased. When parents lost children, they could have the memories of their loss removed. Aspects of this service really appealed to me. Eternal sunshine, indeed! Jim Carrey's character is distressed to learn that his former girlfriend is erasing her memories of him. The one thought that he gets her to remember is "Meet me in Montauk"....a fragment of a trip they took together to Montauk, NY. I think they do reunite in Montauk and start over at the end of the movie...the typical happy ending.
Well, when my daughter decided to attend college on Long Island (Montauk is on the most eastern end of Long Island), we would occasionally kid each other about meeting in Montauk. She is just finishing up her Junior year, and it became obvious that if I was going to meet her in Montauk, time was running out. Plus, this has been a long, sad winter for my family, and I was looking for some Eternal Sunshine. So, last week we met in Montauk....and while I was not expecting it to be warm and sunny, I didn't realize just how bone chilling the wind off of the Atlantic Ocean can be on a gray rainy day. There was precious little sunshine. Not zero, mind you... there was enough so I could see why the rich and famous love the Hamptons, which are back west a bit on the island. The highlight of our weekend in Montauk was probably watching "Baby Momma", which is an enjoyable movie that will probably NOT stick in my brain.

Listing

For some reason, I volunteered to write a monthly article for Ragged Cloth Cafe. Well, I guess I was looking for something to force myself to look at art outside of my little world, and I am enjoying doing that. My article for March looks at the work of three male artists; two that spent a large portion of their lives in mental institutions, and a third that has been diagnosed as autistic. The work ranges from humorous to creepy. My favorite of the three is Gregory L. Blackstock. I just love his careful, detailed visual lists of everyday items. A book of his work has been recently published...check it out! Yes, I suppose a book cover filled with birds did catch my eye quicker than one with, say, cats.

Whatever.

And We're Back....sort of

Trying to snap out of it here. I like cold weather, but this winter has seemed endless. The birds are singing and the pussy willows tell me that spring will come soon. I just finished painting the spare bedroom a bright sunny yellow. It maybe just a bit too sunny, LOL. Once I get some art on the walls and curtains in the window, I'm sure it will be much better.
I have recently agreed to be a contributor for June Underwood's art blog Ragged Cloth Cafe. This blog serves up discussion and ideas on art and textile art twice a week. Check it out!
My first article, which can be seen here  was inspired by the work of Mbuti pygmy women of the Ituri Forest. The barkcloth that the Mbuti women produce really speaks to me, but I certainly wish I had some actual insight into what they are thinking about as they make these marks. All I can do is guess.

For the Love of Supplies Swap

I signed up for a "Love of Supplies Swap" hosted by Artsy Mama a couple of weeks ago. This was such a fun idea. Everyone got a heart shaped candy box (and ate the candy themselves! What a great first step!!), and then replaced the candy with Valentine themed craft supplies. Here is the box of sweets that I received:
I really love all of the art and craft supplies that my swap partner sent me! Stickers, beads, ribbons, fabric, glitter and more. There was even some beautiful crocheted flowers. I feel really lucky with this swap.

And here is the box I sent in return. I covered that paper padding that is in candy boxes with some valentine fabric, and when I realized that the resulting padding wasn't big enough to completely cover the inside of the box's top, I sewed some lace around the edge to make it bigger. Then I took a try at gold leafing the inside of the box bottom. This would have been a big success if I had remembered to paint the surface with a dark red, or black first. There is inevitably missed spots in gold leaf, and it looks a lot better if there isn't white shining through those areas. But it looked pretty good. All in all, this is the most successful swap I have participated in. Thank you swap partner, and thank you Artsy Mama!

A Bird in the Hand

A bird in the hand is rather comforting...a warm fluffy feather ball. Petey is as close to a dove as I can come up with tonight. He and I wish everyone a snug, warm and peaceful holiday season!

At least somebody is creating!

Where the heck did this last week go? Where was I and what did I do? Beats me. There was a birthday, and a couple of doctor visits and a variety of sporting events. I finished a couple of projects that are sorta gifts, so I can't show pictures of them just yet. I cleaned out a closet and painted it a bright boring white that is not photogenic. So, check out Debra's work at HopHopJingleBoo. Her blog is a good one, and I can spend hours jumping around on the sites on her favorites list. Here is a free card from her blog: