Catching Up

I'm back...I don't know why it's so hard for me to post to this blog on a regular basis, but I guess it's just part procrastination and part my feeling that I don't have a lot of interesting things to say.  In any case, I do owe you a few photos of quilts past and present.

First, I teased you about a commission I was working on a few months ago and I owe you pictures.  My niece was retiring from the Army this past May and I was asked to make a quilt commemorating her and her husband's service (he retired at the end of 2013).  They were both in a very special unit, called the Nightstalkers.  Michael was a Blackhawk pilot and Sandra served with the support team.  I'm not fluent in military speak, so if I've botched that, I apologize.  But, if you want to know more about the 160th, you should Google it.  Then, you'll know why I'm so proud of both of them and why this quilt had to be right.

I had in mind a wall-hanging/art quilt, but Sandra wanted something for their king-size bed.  Yikes!  I spent weeks worrying and thinking and, yes, procrastinating, trying to come up with a design.  She had sent me pictures of several quilts she liked, along with some of their patches and other items, but the one photo that I couldn't get out of my mind was a silhouette of a helicopter against a sunset sky with the ocean below.  I knew I had to have something like that somewhere in this quilt, but I was still struggling as to how to incorporate it.

 So, I did a smart thing.  I went to visit my friend, Linda, who also happens to be a terrific quilter, as well as the owner of a quilt shop.  Just showing her all the items and pictures and explaining a bit about who Michael and Sandra were and how special their service had been was the catalyst I needed to get my brain unstuck.

I showed Linda the picture of the helicopter against that sky and told her I had to make it part of the quilt.  She said something that just made everything else fall into place.  Her words were something to the effect that, no matter where I put it on the quilt, the helicopter/sky would be the focal point and what your eye would go to first.

It made so much sense.  This would be a giant art quilt.  The helicopter would be the center and the patches and other items would be secondary.  Linda also gave me an idea as to how to size this project.  I would make it so that the quilt covered from the bottom of the pillows to the edge of the mattress at the foot of the bed and it would hang over on the sides.  It ended up being 72" long by 108" wide.

I like the idea of using strips of fabric in varying widths, so the background was made of 1 1/2" (finished) strips of blues, aquas, oranges, yellows, and purples.  I decided to stabilize it with a layer of interfacing so the strips didn't end up being giant smiley-faces and would remain straight.  Then, I cut tons of strips and began laying it out in my studio floor.  That was the only place that would handle the width.  I put it together in sections the width of the interfacing.  I drew lines across the interfacing to help me keep the strips straight and I stitched the strips together and stitched them to the interfacing, one row at a time. 

It was a BIG job, but it worked out well.  I found a photo of a Blackhawk helicopter online and used that as my guide for the shape of the silhouette.  I couldn't use the original photo that had been my inspiration, as it was too small and indistinct.  But, I think I captured the feeling.

The hardest part was depicting the blades of the helicopter in motion, as they don't really show up in a photo.  I used black tulle and, with a lot of help from my husband, who designed tools for aircraft maintenance in his former life, I think I got the shape of the whirling blades.

Enough talking--here's the photos of the finished product.

 

It didn't have a name--another thing I'd thought long and hard about.  Usually, by the time I'm almost finished with a piece, the name has come to me, but not this time.   Then, I got another e-mail from Sandra and she included a photo of an item  given to Michael at his retirement.  It had a verse from the Bible that had the quote, "Here am I, send me".  It was perfect.  Our volunteer military doesn't question--they're ready to serve whenever and wherever needed. 

I got it finished and shipped in time for Sandra's retirement ceremony and I held my breath because they had not seen it until it was presented at the ceremony.  Sandra didn't want to know what it would look like and it was a total surprise for Michael, so I was a bit nervous about whether they would like it.

They did.

Travelling Time

For someone who stays pretty close to home, it has been a busy travel month.  The first of May, my husband and I drove to Lake City, SC for ArtFields 2015.  As you probably know, I went to the show last year with my daughter-in-law, Robin.  It was another great event.  We took an extra day this year so we were able to drive around the area and see more of the community of Lake City.  It's certainly bigger than I realized.

The art was amazing--so many talented artists and quite a variety of mediums.  I'm not sure I "got it" with some of the work, but it's always fun to see what's on other people's minds.  I'm just not sure I'd want to be stranded on a deserted island with some of them.  But, hey, if we all thought alike, wouldn't the world be a boring place.

I'll share a few photos from the show.  These are from some of our GA/SC Regional SAQA members.

Then, some random things that caught my eye.  This was pretty amazing.

The installations are always interesting.  The second one is made from parts of old VHS tape decks.  Can you say "re-purpose"?

The glass art was fascinating.

And, one I knew my grandson, Devin, would love.

Once again, my piece was hung in the library--a nice, safe place for it.

Also, lots of paintings, metal works, and just about anything else you can imagine.

Two weeks after ArtFields, I drove to Melbourne, FL with Kathy Ellis, a fellow SAQA member from the Atlanta area.  We went down for the Southeast Regional SAQA Conference.  It was a long drive, but having company made it a very pleasant trip.  We only got lost once when we missed the ramp from I-75 South to I-10 East.  It's really not very well marked and we breezed right by and didn't realize our error until we got to Lake City, FL.  Luckily, Kathy had her Iphone and she knows how to use it, so, not only did I have good company, but a great co-pilot and navigator.

The conference was an awesome experience.  It's very rare for me to be in the company of so many art quilters.  I met some tremendously talented artists and everyone was so willing to share their knowledge and experience.  Dr. Sandra Sider, who is the curator for the Texas Quilt Museum, was our keynote speaker and I also had the privilege of being in a critique session with her.  It was all very positive and I got some great feedback on my work.  I've already made changes to the piece and am much happier with it.  Oh, how I wish I had some fellow art quilters nearby to help pull me out of the ditch when I get stuck on a piece and I know there's something not quite right about it, but I've looked at it for too long and I can't see it anymore.  Another pair of knowledgeable eyes is invaluable.

There was an opening for the exhibit, "Southern Accents", at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts in conjunction with the conference.  This is located on the campus of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.  I had entered two art quilts for consideration and one of them was accepted.  This is the first time I've entered a SAQA exhibit and it was exciting to be counted among so many talented artists.  And--surprise, shock, and thrill--my quilt was chosen for the cover of the catalog for the show.

"Downtown", my part of the exhibit.

 

There was a gallery talk by Dr. Sider during the conference and it was extremely informative.  Not only did she talk about how the pieces were chosen for the exhibit (she was the juror), but she also talked about how the show had been hung and the decisions that went into the placement of each piece.  It was fascinating.  Now, if I ever do another solo exhibit, I'll know a lot more about how to put it together.

All in all, a busy and enjoyable month.  Especially so, considering what the past few months have been like.  Next week, I begin my "wonderful grandmother" summer, when I plan to entertain each of my 3 granddaughters for a week--one at a time, so I can remain the "wonderful" grandmother, not the referee of sisterly squabbles.  I'm looking forward to some quality one-on-one time with each of them.

The "C" word.

I haven't posted anything in several months, but this time, I have a legitimate excuse, as opposed to those other times when I didn't post for a long time just because I'm not as disciplined as I should be.

Since my last post, I have had several new experiences.  They include, but are not limited to, an ultrasound, a CT scan, a colonoscopy, a diagnosis of a malignant mass, major surgery to remove the mass, then another surgery to insert a vascular catheter (port), a PET scan, and last, but certainly not least, chemotherapy.  I was sailing right along through that list until I ran into the brick wall called chemo.  I've always thought of myself as a pretty tough cookie, but I've definitely met my match.  I called it a day after 4 treatments (was supposed to do 12).  My last session was 2 weeks ago and I'm already feeling much better.  So, now I'm ready to get on with the rest of my life. 

I haven't accomplished a lot over the last months, but for the past few days I've been working hard to finish a commission that's due next month.  I will take photos when it's finished and show you what I've been working on for way too long.  Normally, I'd have finished the piece by now, but only having a few days a month when I felt like going down the stairs to my studio has made this a very long-term project.

My take-away from this experience is a real appreciation for simply feeling good and being able to enjoy such basic things as having food taste good and actually wanting to eat.  I'm sure I will eventually regress to that state of taking life for granted again, as we all do, but for now, I'm savoring every day.

While I've been laying about taking it easy, my quilts have been working hard.  "End of Day" was juried into ArtFields in Lake City, SC.  The show opens April 24th and runs through May 2nd.  There were over 1,000 entries and 400 were chosen, so it feels really special to be a part of the show for the second year.

 

"Downtown" will be included in the Southeast SAQA Exhibit, "Southern Accents", and will be displayed, along with art quilts from throughout the Southeast at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, Florida Institute of Technology, in Melbourne, FL.  The exhibit opens on May 15th and runs through August 22nd.

 


And, in today's mail, I received the latest edition of the SAQA Journal, turned to page 22 and found "Cowgirls Just Wanna Have Fun", which I had submitted several months ago for their consideration.  The theme was "Joy/Happiness".  I know I was happy to see my work there. 

So, even though I've been otherwise engaged, my "children" have been out in the world getting some much appreciated recognition.  I'll try to keep up with this blog a bit better in the future.  Thanks for stopping by.

Fair Time

The Georgia National Fair ran from October 2-12th this year.  Once again, I entered 3 pieces in the Fine Art competition.  That's the maximum number you can enter in one category.  I always enjoy going to the fair and seeing the art show, with all the different mediums represented.

There seem to be fewer and fewer entries in the Textile division each year and that's a shame.  Over 400,000 people come to the fair each year, and while they don't all visit the Fine Art show, enough of them do, so it's great exposure for any artist's work.  I even sold one of my pieces there last year.

My 3 entries this year were:

 "End of Day" 1st place

 "Simple Pleasures"  2nd place

"Downtown" 3rd place

I really wish there was more competition in the category.  I only saw 3 or 4 other entries--there may have been more, but there needs to be a lot more.  Having a large showing in a venue like this, where there are a lot of people who have never seen an art quilt, can only help make fiber art more accepted by a wider audience.  Of course, I won't hesitate to cash the check for the prize money.  But, come on, fellow art quilters, enter your work next year and let's crowd out some of those oil and watercolor paintings.

I have an upcoming trunk show for the Spirited Quilters Guild in Duluth, GA on the 28th of this month.  I'm looking forward to a good evening with them.  That will be my last trunk show for this year.  I'm debating whether to continue doing them.  It's a lot of fun, but, also a lot of work, and it usually involves a pretty long drive and a late night getting back home.

I submitted an entry to ArtFields this week.  That's the fantastic art show in Lake City, SC, that I attended earlier this year with my daughter-in-law.  We had a great time and plan on going again in 2015.  If you want to know more about it, I did a post with photos earlier this year.  Or, you can visit the website at www.artfieldssc.org .  I highly recommend it.  I won't know if my work has been accepted until Jan1, 2015.  The show is in late April- early May.   

On a personal note

I love dogs--big, long-haired, floppy dogs.  I'm not a fan of cats.  I've just never been able to make much of a connection with them.  But dogs are so easy to love.  They don't judge you, they're always glad to see you, and they love you even when you don't deserve it.

I've always had dogs in my life, but most of them primarily belonged to someone else.  Sometimes that was the choice of the person and sometimes it was the choice of the dog.  I remember we had a beautiful cocker spaniel once that we took in because its owners could no longer keep it.  I thought that dog was amazing and I wanted it to choose me as its person.  Instead, it trailed around after my mother, who didn't care for it at all.  It would cry when she left for work in the morning and bring her his toy to play with when she came home in the evening.  She was way too busy taking care of a family to have time for a dog.  I had lots of time and I tried and tried to make a connection with him, but he had given his heart to my mother and that was that.

When I was 11 years old, we got a border collie puppy.  Her name was Princess and she was beautiful.  Best of all, she chose me, and she was my best friend until she died when I was 18.  After that, I got busy being a grownup and, like my mother, I didn't have time to spend with a dog.  My husband had several Brittany Spaniels over the years, but he was their person.  I was busy with work and children.

When we moved to the country in 1997, we had a miniature poodle.  I had purchased him to keep my husband company after he retired and I was still working.  He was our first indoor dog and I loved him, but he was pretty high maintenance and my idea of a great dog was one who lived outside and didn't need to be taken to a groomer every couple of months.

Then, one morning Sasha came into our lives.  My husband discovered her on the doorstep, scared and alone.  It was love at first sight.  The vet estimated she was about 8 weeks old and she was the most adorable puppy I'd ever seen.  She looked like a little teddy bear and I almost named her Bear, but decided that she deserved a more sophisticated name.

We could tell by the feet that she was going to be a big girl.  She was so soft and cuddly with a curled up tail.  Who could have resisted that face?

Well, she absolutely took over our lives and seemed to love both of us equally, though, I think she always really cared more for my husband.  I was the one who nursed her through a cracked pelvis that she got when she ran into a tree while chasing a squirrel, a snake bite that, luckily, was not severe, though it was delivered by a copperhead, and a severe cut to her head, which we never did figure out how that happened. 

She was adventurous and very protective of us.  She hated snakes, squirrels, cats, and armadillos.  She was afraid of thunder and never liked loud noises.  One of us would usually sit with her during a thunderstorm.  She loved cold weather and snow made her deliriously happy.

Sasha died last night.  She was almost 14 years old.  She devoted her whole life to loving and taking care of us.  We will miss her terribly.  Wherever she is, I hope it's snowing.

Motivation

I haven't posted in a while.  I don't know why, but every time I come to the computer with the intention of writing something, I find a million excuses not to.  Where has my Motivation gone?  It has been a stressful Spring and Summer personally and I have come up with every possible excuse not to blog.  Similarly, I have produced little fiber art over the past couple of months.  I need a swift kick in the rear, so hopefully, this post is a start.

The trip to ArtFields that I wrote about in my last post was definitely the highlight of the year.  It was incredibly stimulating, but somehow that energy faded much too fast.

The piece I created for our regional SAQA exhibit at the Savannah Quilt Show, "Downtown", was my entry into the Columbus Artists Guild Member Show in July.  It was awarded a blue ribbon, which was a real surprise.  I'm the only fiber artist (art quilter) in the guild and I'm never quite sure how the other members view my work--is it art, or is it craft?  Everyone is very nice, but I don't go to many meetings, since they're held in the evenings and it's a 100 mile roundtrip.  So, it's a nice validation of my work when I receive recognition in that show.  There are some very, very talented people (almost all painters in one medium or another) who display their work every year.
 

I hate pictures of myself, but when they include my work with an award attached, I can deal with it.

I attended a 3 day class in Atlanta last month, taught by Esterita Austin.  If you're not familiar with her, check her out on google--she has a website.   There were about 15 of us in the class--all part of the GA/SC regional SAQA group.  It was a great experience.  We all had to bring large, close-up photos of ourselves to do a self-portrait.  It was really hard to look at that 11 x 17 view of just my face, but the class was very interesting and definitely took me outside my usual comfort zone. 

We were given a yard of multi-color, hand-dyed fabric (think purple, blue, orange, yellow) and told to use that to complete our portrait.  It was an exercise in looking at value and not color.  If you go to Esterita's website and look at the portrait section, you'll get the idea.  It was amazing that they all ended up looking like the person.  We did rely on fabric paint to do the eyes and highlight some areas and blend others.  I'm still working on mine.  We are supposed to finish our pieces by the first of February and put together an exhibit.

My 3 entries in the Fine Art Show at the GA Nat'l Fair were delivered to Perry last week.  They include "Downtown" (shown above), "End of Day", and "Simple Pleasures", which is my latest big project.

 

"End of Day"

"Simple Pleasures"

    I have a trunk show coming up October 28th, with the Spirited Quilters Guild in Duluth, GA.  I'm looking forward to that--it's always a fun time, and I'm looking forward to finding my Motivation.  I'm sure it's around here somewhere.

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.