ArtFields

A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to travel to Lake City, SC to experience ArtFields.  It's a ten-day art show that includes work by artists from several Southeastern states.  There were 400 pieces exhibited and one of them was mine.  It was quite a thrill to have my work juried into such a large show.  It makes me feel like maybe I am a "real" artist.

Lake City is a small town about halfway between Columbia and Myrtle Beach in an agricultural area that once produced a large percentage of the green beans in this country.  That crop changed over to tobacco and now I'm not sure what the major crop is.  There's a wonderful old downtown area with small stores and shops--everything from motorcycles to musical instruments to shoes and clothing.

The art was displayed all over town.  My piece was in the library.  There was one huge building--an old warehouse with brick walls that housed a large group of art works.  Everything was first-class.  The art was displayed professionally with great lighting.  The art itself included every kind of medium imaginable, from the sublime to the ridiculous.  It was wonderful to see the diversity and to think about the different ways people choose to express themselves.

The big draw for artists to enter this show is the possibility of significant prize money.  The awards are decided by a two-tier system.  There are 3 judges with some pretty prestigious credentials who choose the top prize winner--a cash prize of $50,000.  Then there are 2 prizes awarded that are a combination of the judges selections and a vote by viewers on their favorite--$25,000 each.  Finally, 2 prizes are awarded that are strictly viewers' choice--$12,500 each.  So, you can see, winning one of these prizes could be life-changing for an artist.

 An interesting installation in the warehouse.

 One of my favorites--love the rust.

 My piece, "Best Friends Forever" in the library.

 Beautiful tapestry--one of the $25,000 winners.

 An incredible painting--another $25,000 winner.

 Last year's top winner.  The artist uses denim from old jeans--very cool.  Somehow we missed this year's top piece.

 Street scene.

 The bike/motorcycle shop with art hanging on the walls.

Outdoor stagewhere we enjoyed live music.

One of the real bonuses of my trip was the fact that my favorite (and only) daughter-in-law, Robin, went with me.  We left on a Friday afternoon and took the scenic route, staying off the interstate as long as possible.  We saw some beautiful countryside and even stopped to take pictures at an old mill on the side of the highway.  Thankfully, Robin is an avid photographer, so she didn't think I was crazy when I pulled off the road and circled back to get some shots.  We were both busy with our cameras.  A lot of people I know would have been embarrassed by our behavior, but Robin is a kindred spirit.

After spending the night in Columbia, we arrived in Lake City on Saturday morning and spent the entire day walking and looking at the art.  Even though we worked hard at it, we didn't see everything.  Somehow we missed the big winner and I'm still not sure what it was about.  I can't tell much from the photo on the website, so we'll have to wait til next year to see it.  (Yes, we're already planning next year.)

One of the most interesting things we saw was the portrait contest.  Apparently they started with about 2 dozen portrait artists and some volunteer "subjects" from there in the community.  The artists had 1 hour to complete a portrait of this person (everyone was working with the same model).  Then the judges chose who would move on to the next round, where they would start again with another model.  We didn't get there until the last round.  There were 6 artists remaining in the contest and the model was a 90 year old man from the area who had been a tobacco farmer.  It was fascinating to see each artist's vision and the way they worked.  They each used their different mediums and methods (oil, acrylic, pastels, etc.) and each captured the subject, but their end results were so different.  I could have watched that all day, but then we wouldn't have seen nearly as much of the other art.

The evening ended with a champagne reception for the artists, then live music at the outdoor stage and the announcement of the winners.  We were exhausted, but both agreed it was a great time.  We spent Saturday night in Sumter, SC and drove home Sunday. 

If you have any interest in the show, you can get all the info and subscribe to the newsletter at www.artfieldssc.org  I would encourage everyone to consider a trip to the show next year.

Some shots from the portrait contest.

Catching Up

I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted anything here, so, for those of you who sometimes follow this blog, my apologies.  Spring has slipped into early summer and I realize I haven't made much art this year.
I took a class at Quilt Academy on Fractals.  It looked really interesting and I'm sure it could have been a lot more enlightening if I had been able to master the software program I downloaded.  The instructor recommended it as a way to experiment with fractals and see all the possibilities of working with them in making an art quilt.  Quite honestly, I'm still not sure how to define or explain what a fractal is.  I don't fault the instructor, but I think the class assumes you are a lot more computer literate than I happen to be.

I did complete one piece as a result of the class.  It is based on a spiral and I played with some new techniques.  I made ragged strips of fabric and placed them on batting that had Mistyfuse over it.  When I had all the batting covered, I ironed everything down, then stitched over the raw edges.  Then I placed the pieces I had cut to form the spiral (each piece was an identical shape but each piece was a bit bigger than the one before).  Once I had them placed the way I wanted, I sewed around all the edges.  I used a sparkly thread (Glitter by Superior Threads) and a satin stitch.

I decided to play with some gauzy fabric (organza) that was the perfect color and had beads attached randomly across it.  I placed that on top of the piece and quilted through all the layers.  I like that you can move around the piece as it hangs on the wall and the light catches the beads in a way that makes them look as though they're twinkling.  Is it great art?  I doubt it, but it was a lot of fun to play with and it didn't take up a great deal of time.

It really doesn't photograph very well--the organza is a bit too opaque, so the color underneath in the spiral is very muted.  I didn't mention that I had some ribbon on hand that was the perfect color, so I cut small pieces of it and randomly scattered them around under the organza.  They are anchored down with some of the quilting stitches.  Unfortunately, the glittery beads and thread don't show in the photo.  I call it "Spin Cycle".


A lot of what I've done recently has been an exercise in procrastination.  I had a photo I wanted to work into an art quilt and I have found many reasons to delay.  I don't know why I do that, but it happens more than I'd like.  I spend days and sometimes weeks thinking about a piece and it seems the hardest thing to do is just begin.  Once I start, I'm totally absorbed and loving every minute of it.  What makes me hesitate?  That's the $64,000 question.  I think the feeling must be similar to what painters feel when they face a blank canvas.  The hardest part is to just begin.

   
This is my progress so far.  It is based on a photo I took of a small boy, playing in a fountain.  I loved his head full of blond curls and the bare feet.  I have a long way to go--lots of challenges in making the wet sidewalk and all the water, but I like where he is right now.

This post is getting much too long, but I have to mention my trip to ArtFields in Lake City, SC.  My daughter-in-law, Robin went with me and we had a great time.  This was the second year for the show and there were 400 pieces on display, including my "Best Friends Forever".  The art is shown in various venues around the old part of the town--everything from a huge warehouse with great brick walls, to a barber shop, a cycle shop, even a mattress store.  It has to be a massive undertaking just to organize and hang all the work. 

Robin and I walked and looked all day, but didn't see everything.  The exciting part was the announcement of the awards on Saturday evening.  They gave two $12,500 prizes, three $25,000, and the grand prize was $50,000.  Now, that's pretty impressive.  Of course, I had no expectations of winning anything, but it was a thrill just to have my work accepted into such a spectacular art show.  We were already planning our trip for next year on the way home.  I'll try to post some of my photos next time.

Is it Spring yet?

I am so ready for consistently warm weather.  We're in that period where it's 70 one day and 50 the next.  Today, it's in the 50's, and our second full day of rain.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day...

This has been a great year for these early bloomers.  I guess where you grew up determines what you call them.  My Mother called them buttercups, my husband calls them jonquils because that's what his grandmother called them, and most people call them daffodils.  Whatever your preference, they are always a welcome sight.  We have thousands of them on our property, thanks to long-ago former residents, who planted them, and lots of cows who fertilized them over the years.  The Bradford Pear trees and the redbud trees are also coming to life. 

I will be attending the Savannah Quiltfest later this month.  I've entered two art quilts in the competition and I have a new piece I made for the GA/SC Retional SAQA exhibit.  I call it "Downtown" and I told you about it in the last post.

I'm also entering 3 art quilts in an art show in Perry, GA in April, called "Arts in the Armory".  It's being held in conjunction with their Dogwood Festival the weekend of April 11-13th. 

I learned a good, but difficult lesson recently that I will share with you so that, if you, too, are an art quilter, maybe you can avoid my mistake.  I was making a small art quilt to submit for possible consideration to be published in a book.  My piece was supposed to illustrate a quote, and so, I thought about it for a long time and finally decided on a subject. 

I usually use either my own, or a family member's photo as a basis for my quilts, but this time, I didn't have one of the subject I wanted to portray, so I searched online for copyright-free photos.  In looking at one site, I was led to another, where I found just the right shot.  I was only using the human figure in the photo--the rest of the quilt was my design.  Long story short, I made the piece, which I liked very much, but I decided that, before I submitted it for consideration, I would just double-check that I wasn't infringing on anyone's copyright.

You guessed it--I had wandered onto a site that included copyrighted photos and I had picked one of them.  At that point, with a deadline looming, I decided to contact the photographer and ask permission to use her image.  I sent a friendly, chatty e-mail and asked if I could use a portion of her photo as a guide for my art quilt.  I thought she might want some compensation, but I never dreamed she would just say no.  She just said no.

I felt a little sick to my stomach when I got her reply, but no is no, so I knew I had to come up with a plan B.  So, I revamped my idea a bit and took my husband out to pose for me (bless his heart), and I made another piece.  I don't think it's as good as the first one, but I submitted it anyway and decided it was a good lesson learned.  I will never use anyone else's photographs (with the exception of a family member) in my work again.

I understand how difficult it is to protect your rights to your work in today's world of everything being on the internet.  I didn't want to infringe on the photographer in any way, even though she probably would've never known about it.  I would have known, and that's enough.  Lesson learned.

Happy New Year

I hope it's not too late to wish everyone a happy new year.  Do you make New Year's Resolutions?  I don't.  I figure I put enough pressure on myself every day without some list hanging over my head.  I like lists--the kind you make when you have a specific task to complete and it involves several steps.
What I really like is checking things off my list, giving me that feeling of accomplishment.  But then, we all know I'm borderline OCD and pretty neurotic.

I was thinking the other day about 2013 and what a good year it was with regards to my artistic endeavors.  The solo exhibit at the museum, the trunk shows, the awards, and the sale of my work were all feel-good moments.  I hope 2014 can keep up.  But, even with all the positive things, I'm still subject to tremendous self-doubt.

 I recently submitted an entry to ArtFields, which is a big art show in South Carolina coming later in the Spring.  I procrastinated and debated with myself about even entering.  Then, after reminding myself that they could say "no", but they couldn't lock me in a room and beat me, I sent my entry via the internet.  As soon as I pressed the send button, I felt a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach--why hadn't I given more thought to which piece to enter?  Was my submission really the best fit?  This is a "real" art show and they were probably going to get a good chuckle over my entry.  I did remind myself that they are receptive to fiber art and the grand prize winner last year was a fiber piece, but it was huge and innovative, not like my work.  Of course, I had no misconceptions about winning an award, I was just hoping to be invited to the party.  Well, today I received the e-mail, congratulating me on having my entry accepted--wow!  I'm thrilled and excited and making plans to visit South Carolina.

All this just illustrates my point about why I don't make resolutions--I can give myself ulcers with just the day-to-day stuff.  Anyway, here's the piece that will be at ArtFields.

 
I just completed a piece that will be part of the Regional SAQA Exhibit at the upcoming Mancuso national quilt show in Savannah in March.  This will be the first time they've held a show in Savannah, so hopefully lots of Georgia/SC quilters will enter.  Our exhibit is titled "Southern Exposure" and is to illustrate things that make the South unique.  I had a hard time deciding on a subject, but finally used a picture by that famous photographer, Robin Camp.  It's a photo of downtown Haralson, GA, which, like so many small towns in the South, has seen progress pass by and leave it in the dust. 

This is the first time I've tried anything architectural and there was a bit of a learning curve.  I found the lessons learned in my drawing class last Fall were very helpful.  Thank you, Annie Cicale. 

I haven't made a label yet, but I think I'm going to call it "Downtown".  I think I should wait until the show opens to post a photo of it.

I'll be in Duluth, GA on January 28th at 7 p.m. with my trunk show for the Spirited Quilters' Guild.  Hope to see you there. 

'Til the cows come home...

 I promised photos of my new baby once I had a working camera, so here she is...

Just try to ignore the mess in the background.  Right now, I'm confined to using her on a table.  I can't install her in my sewing cabinet until I get a new insert to fit the machine and the cabinet.  In photo #2, notice the 3rd button from the top--that's the one that cuts the thread, top and bottom.  I love that button and I'm wearing it out as fast as I can.  In photo #3, you can see what a bright work area I have.  There's a row of led lights that give me great illumination.  I think I'll be able to do without the long-arm light I have that reaches all the way across my current sewing cabinet.  That will be a bonus.

 Can you tell I'm in love?  I was in the middle of paper piecing the New York Beauty blocks for Mitch's quilt when I got the machine and I thought I'd just finish them on the older machine, but once I tried one out on this baby, there was no going back.  The dual feed capability with the 1/4" foot is a dream.  Oh, and I'm almost finished with Mitch's quilt top--just ran out of the hand-dyed fabric I was using for the final border, so as soon as my order for PFD fabric arrives from Dharma, I'll be dying to finish that top.

Now, for the story about the cows...On Thursday night, about 11:30 p.m., I had just gotten settled into bed, all cozy and warm, when my husband called to me to get up and come there.  He doesn't usually bother me once I've gone to bed because he's learned over the years that I'm not a very nice person when you disturb my sleep.  I knew something unusual must be going on, so I got up and went to the kitchen.  He just pointed at the back door and said, "Look out there."

Have you ever seen something that you just couldn't believe was real, even though all your reasoning powers told you it was?  I looked out the window and there, on my carport, maybe 2 feet from the back door, were 6 cows.  Yes, that's right, and they weren't alone.  There were another 5 or 6 milling about on the driveway and in the front and back yard.  For a moment, I thought maybe we were in the middle of a Chick-Fil-A commercial, but these were black angus, not holstein cows.

We have an open carport that's 20' x 30' and there are 3 vehicles parked there--a pickup truck, an suv, and a golf cart.  So, you see, there's not a lot of room for a herd of cows.  We were very hesitant to open the door and scare them for fear of the damage they might do trying to all run at the same time.

We knew they belonged to our neighbors across the road, so I went to the phone to let them know.  Needless to say, they were pretty surprised, but they drove up on their ATV in pajamas, boots, and coats, within a few minutes of my call.

Now, a few years ago, my husband and I would have put on our boots and coats and gone out to help, but we're not as young and spry as we used to be and we knew the neighbors had a farm manager and other helpers who would join them in their roundup as soon as they could. 

Everything started out okay and it looked as though the cows would just follow the ATV back home, but then they decided to take another path and ended up on the property next door to us, where there is a pasture with some other cows.  Lots of mooing and shouting later, I decided to go back to bed, but my husband stayed up until about 12:30.  He said they were still trying to herd those cows from next door and back across the road when he came to bed. 

The next morning, we were able to survey the damage--not too bad, but it did require a cleanup of cow manure off the carport and driveway and returning the bird bath in the back yard to its upright position. 

We've had some pretty interesting things in our yard over the years--wild turkey, deer, fox, coyotes, and we've even had a snake and a bobcat on the carport at different times, of course.  Those are things you expect when you have woods all around, but we are still bewildered by why those cows came right up to the door as if they expected to be invited in.  All in all, it was just another exciting night in the country.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.      

Bad girl

I've been a very bad girl lately.  I haven't posted anything here in at least a month.  I will try to do better, but remember, if you don't have anything to say--it's best to just shut up.

We had beautiful fall colors this year, but they only lasted a few days.  The trees are either totally bare or the color is definitely past its prime.  I did catch the sassafras tree in the back yard while it was spectacular.

I wish we had lots more of these, but this is the only one anywhere near the house. 

I haven't taken many photos lately because my camera died.  It was giving me trouble for some time, but I kept babying it and trying to be calm and nice and not say ugly words.  That sort of worked until last week, when, on the advice of this very nice "geek" at Best Buy, I tried a new battery.  That helped for about 6 shots, then, the next time I tried, no dice.  I would push the impossibly tiny "on" button maybe 10 times and when it finally came on and I aimed it at what was to be the subject of my photo, it would shut off.  That happened 4 or 5 times, and I finally said, enough (well, I actually said some other stuff, too, but best not to get into that).  I'm going back to Best Buy tomorrow to purchase a new camera.  I've felt so lost without a camera these last few days--kind of like being without a car.

I made a major purchase a couple of weeks ago and I was going to post a photo, but since that didn't work out, I'll just tell you about it.  First, a little background--when I was at the GA Quilt Show back in September, I wandered by the Bernina booth and talked to a nice lady about the new 700 series machines.  I had no intention of buying a new sewing machine, I was just killing time.  Then, over the next few weeks the universe began turning in such a way that my purchase of a new machine became a given.  Money began to fall out of the sky.  First, there was the prize money from the GA Quilt Show, then more prize money from the GA Nat'l Fair, and, to top it off, I sold my "Lotus Pond" piece at the fair.  All in all, I thought these were omens.  So, not wanting to upset the natural order of things, I visited my nearest Bernina dealer and put that baby through its paces. 

Needless to say, it was love at first stitch.  This machine (the Bernina 710) is a dream.  It has  10" of  throat space, a dual feed system that's very easy to engage and works with several different feet.  It also uses a much larger bobbin and gives me up to 9mm of stitch width capability.  And--drum roll--it has a button that you push to cut the top and bottom thread!  Do you know how many times I've had to practically crawl under a quilt to cut that bottom thread with the scissors and hope I didn't cut a hole in the quilt at the same time? 

I had briefly looked at the 800 series Berninas when they first came out, but I can't see myself paying $10K for a sewing machine--not until I win the lottery, anyway.  I opted for the lowest price of the 700 models because I wasn't about to spend an extra $1000 for a BSR foot (stitch regulator) and a quarter-inch foot, which was the only difference between the 710 model and the 750 QE.  Then, there's a 780 that includes all the embroidery stuff, but I'm not into embroidery.  All in all, the 710 was just a little more than I paid for my 440 QE about 6-7 years ago.  And, now I will sell that machine, since I don't have room for it.

 By the way, if you're interested in a well-used and well-maintained Bernina 440 QE, I'm offering mine for $1500, which is about half what I paid for it.  Send me an e-mail if you want to know more.  I also counted and I have about 75 bobbins for the 440 that I can't use on the new machine, so I'd be willing to throw those into the deal.

I'm in the process of making a bed quilt for my youngest grandson.  Mitch will be 16 next week, and, while this won't be finished in time for his birthday, maybe it can be done by Christmas.  I've got all the piecing done and I'm working on borders.   It has 72 New York Beauty blocks that I paper pieced.  Mitch picked out some of my ice-dyed fabric (which just happened to be my favorite color combination) and that has determined my palette.  I love the way that fabric looks in the quilt and I'm using it for the borders, too.  If all goes well tomorrow, maybe I can post some photos.

GA National Fair and Expressions of Meriwether

The Georgia National Fair closes today and my 3 entries this year won a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.  That's awesome, but what puzzles me always is that I apparently have no concept of how to judge my own work.  The piece that won a blue ribbon was my 3rd choice and I really didn't expect to win anything with it. 

"Sanctuary" is  made from a 1/2 yard piece of my ice-dyed fabric.  I hung it on my design wall, occasionally turning it, until it began to look like something to me.  Then, I did a little cropping, added thread painting for the tree trunks and limbs, the grass and water, and used a piece of fabric I had previously painted for the sky.  I liked it, but I would have never guessed it would beat out the other two entries.

"Lotus Pond" was awarded 2nd place.  It certainly involved a lot more work and different techniques and materials.  I thought it was the best thing I've done, so far.  The big news is that it is now sold, thanks to its exposure at the fair. 

"Best Friends Forever" got the 3rd place.  It, too, took a lot of time to complete.  I posted previously about how it was made, showing photos of it in progress.  It's definitely a favorite of mine, considering the subject matter.

Next Saturday, October 19th, I will participate in a county-wide event featuring lots of different interests and activities.  It's called "Expressions of Meriwether" and will include tours of historic buildings and demos by a potter, photographer, and interior designer in Greenville, pony rides and building birdhouses in Luthersville, beekeeping, homing pigeons and cooking classes in Lone Oak, as well as ballroom dance classes and wine tasting in Warm Springs.  Railroad Days and a car show will take place in Manchester and bluegrass music and lots of antiques will be on display in Woodbury. 

I will be exhibiting my work at the Community Building in Gay, GA from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m, along with a local photographer.  The Community Building is 1/2 mile north of the traffic light on GA Hwy 85, beside and a bit behind the fire station.  Sounds like a great time for the whole family, with something for everyone.  Ya'll come.