Show Quilts Over Fireplaces

Anderson Arts Center has at least 5 marble fireplaces.
Hanging a quilt over a fireplace gives it more presence.

You may have heard me say that serendipity has a lot to do with the way a piece of my Ice Dyes turn out. This on has soft lovely colors. It was not what I was intending when I created it. I was trying to create a blue and brown work. How did it go so wrong/right?

This is a perfect setting for Crimson Sky.
I was able to visit the home which would become the Anderson Arts Center before it even was an art center. My granddaughter Heidi was with me and I would guess she was maybe 5 years old. It bothered her that the right side of the mantel on this fireplace was broken, hardly visible in this photo. I know she doesn’t remember this, but my brain is full of so many moments no one else remembers!

The Impossible Dream hangs over another one of the fireplaces. This is one of my shibori quilts. I spent a long time working on my design wall getting an arrangement of the pieces for this. What suggested the title was the difficulty in getting all the pieces to work with the shapes and sizes. When one is working with special hand dyes there are no extras if you make a wrong cut of the piece. Add to that the inset of several combinations and it makes for a challenging construction process. Fortunately I got it all to work and the quilting complimented the fabrics.

Jewel Box hung over a fireplace in one of the two main first floor galleries. It was a favorite of so many people who attended the show. The windows opposite this wall overlook Lake Michigan. The lake is such a perfect setting for this building.
I would not be willing to hang my work over a working fireplace unless there was someway to divert the smoke, but here the fireplaces are not used so they are the perfect location to set off special quilts.

Ice Tapestries and Shibori Quilts- DON’T MISS IT!

Ice Tapestries and Shibori Quilts - My solo show at the Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The show is open through March 19th so you still have time to visit the AAC and see the show.

I have received messages from people who saw the show since the opening reception and they LOVED it.

Creating the work in the show was a labor of love and I hope YOU find time to enjoy it.

The Anderson Arts Center is conveniently located between Milwaukee, WI and Chicago, IL in Kenosha, WI at 121 66th St.
The show is open daily Tuesday-Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

Nothing like color to brighten a sunless day!

Ladies Who Lunch And Catch Up

Everyone moves to Florida eventually and Lynn Maher and I enjoyed seeing our long time friend for lunch today.

Eileen Mirr and her husband Mark became snowbirds recently. What perfect weather we had today as we enjoyed lunch together at the clubhouse.

Lots and lots of catching up to do!

Ice Tapestries and Shibori Quilts–An Alternative View

My grandson Blake and his wife Stephanie enjoyed finding surprise images in some of my Ice Tapestries at my show.
I hope you enjoy seeing what they saw in my art. There are a lot of pictures for your enjoyment and no text. You get to see what YOU choose to see in their images!
I hope this makes you feel like you were there for the opening.
The show does run through March 19, 2017.























Some of the close-ups are so close you can actually see the threads in the fabric.
Although I have a basic idea what I am doing when I ice dye the results can never be predicted and it is those serendipitous things that happen that make them beautiful and fascinating as Blake and Stephanie observed.

Special Valentines From Girlfriends

I feel so lucky to have such great fiber art/surface design friends.

The special hand made post card arrived in the mail from my BFF Robbie Porter Payne.

The darling doll was a gift from my BFF Beth Sherman.

They each are experts at what they do.

And my BFF Nancy Burkhalter brought me lunch Monday even though we each usually bring our own lunch.

These are the dolls Beth made for each of us cavorting on the table!

Hearts To You

It’s done, and none to soon.

Happy Valentines Day!

I made a traditional silk screen and printed these blocks on perma-press muslin about 30 years ago. A year or two ago I added them to a batch of ice dyeing I was doing to soften the contrast between the muslin and the print.

They have been on by design wall for months and I decided it was time to add sashings, cornerstones and sew them together to finish the quilt top.

The sashing and cornerstones were all cut from one piece of dyed and shiboried fabric. It WAS a challenge to use the fabric to get the best contrast and balance. I think I did it. I used almost every bit of that piece of fabric.

When my friends were here yesterday I had not started sewing the pieces together. I said I was going to have it done for Valentine’s Day. Someone said “That’s tomorrow!”. I think they didn’t think it was going to happen.

The last seam was done about 11 p.m. last night and I did the final pressing this morning.

More, More, More From Ice Tapestries And Shibori Show! BECAUSE you asked for pictures and I aim to please!!!

I don’t like to have my picture taken. This is what I consider the best one from all those my family took during the show. I am wearing the silk noil ice dyed jacket I made. I put two pockets in it so I could take pictures. One for my camera and in case the battery ran out, the other one for my iPhone. I NEVER once took either of them out. Geri Krein brought me this gorgeous wrist corsage that coordinated so well with my jacket.
I am standing in front of Nosegay.

My middle child who has a professional sign business made this display board for me to explain briefly what Ice Dyeing is.

Chasing Rainbows 7 is one of two vessels I made for the show. It was purchased by art collectors in Florida and when the show is over it will be shipped to them..

Chasing Rainbows 3

Chasing Rainbows 4

Chasing Rainbows 5

It had been quite some time since I had seen Jan Gerber from Illinois. We both belonged to fiber groups in Illinois.

Soft Touch and Aura

Cindy Bartel was a college classmate of mine. She came all the way from Wausau, Wisconsin to see the show. It had been at least 30 years since we had seen each other.
Because you asked for it I also have a book available with excellent photos of a selection of Ice Tapestries from the show. The photos were taken in my studio and are much better than those taken at the show. I call it a picture book or small coffee table book. If you are tired of dark gloomy weather where you are, the bright colors in the book are a sure was to lift your spirits. I have a limited number of them at $25 plus priority mail shipping. They also make good gifts for your friends.

My Style As An Artist

Thinking about who I am and what I do as an artist I have some basic “tools” I use as I create no matter what medium I am using.

My current show “Ice Tapestries And Shibori Quilts” pushed me to think about how I work. Questions and comments by visitors to the show also help me clarify my creativity approach.

Color is one of my most important tools. Color can mean so many things and  the way colors work together and play off of each other is evident in my work.

I prefer to pair design down to their simplest form for the greatest visual impact.

Along the way I try to find the most efficient way to construct my work. I also strive to find the easiest way to bring my vision to completion. Often as I am working on something a lightning bolt hits giving me a better way for my next step.

Although I have chosen imperfection as my word for several years, it is something I have a hard time doing. I do use it as my excuse when things don’t work perfectly.
I work in series, although sometimes it is not as evident in my finished work that the varied pieces were part of the same series.

Play is another part of my creativity. I do not attempt to recreate something I’ve already done.

My work comes from deep inside me and cannot be forced. Creating is as necessary to me as breathing.

I march to my own drummer and do not follow the latest pop craze in the art arena.