One Of My Favorite Works In Progress

I certainly thought I’d have this one finished by now and you could see it’s finished portrait.
My MAJOR studio purge and reorganization has taken precedence.
So I decided to show you a quick snapshot.
This started with the same design I used for In Living Color, shown today on Facebook as one of my memories. I made some minor changes to it.

Accidental Dyed Objects (Images)

The images on this shibori dyed fabric look like trees. I have no idea how I manipulated the fabric.

This is an ice dyed fabric and these look like a tree in full flower.
These are just 2 examples of some interesting objects that have appeared as I dye fabric.
This is one more thing that happens when I dye and keeps me interested.

Creating With My Own Hand Dyed Fabrics

I have recently shared several teasers of quilts I am working on. It can take some time to put the pieces of the puzzle together, especially when one has no idea what the finished puzzle will look like.

A comment about my collection/stash of hand dyed fabrics made me think about what I have created and how long it has taken to amass this collection.
For me I need the fabrics first and then I need to watch how they converse and play with each other to create my work.

It is possible to use a piece I created 30 years ago with one I created yesterday.

It is unusual for me to use fabrics all created within a short time. I did that in this piece.
My hand dyed fabrics are the inspiration for most of the work I have created in the past few years. It is part of my evolution as an artist.

A Colorful Productive Day

There is another view of a quilt I am working on.

You get to see part of the quilt that wasn’t talking to me and telling me what it wanted to be. It finally spoke loud and clear and the top is finished.
I now have 4 tops ready to layer and quilt. They are all new work made from the fabrics that hung on my wall for several weeks.
I also cut the batting so I’m ready to layer them tomorrow.
It’s a good feeling after being away from creating while I have been purging and organizing the studio and doing some home decorating. Yes, the purging and reorganizing is not finished, but if I don’t take a break and do some creating I lose track of the purpose of my studio.

Have You Seen This Quilt?

I just found this photo in my file from a year ago today.
I LOVE this quilt…..not my normal style.
It was designed by Marion Vernon and Carleen Buck as a block of the month for our quilt guild.
I appliqued and pieced it.It was hand quilted by Robin Koehler who really brought it to life with her hand quilting talents.
It hangs on the wall in our breakfast room.

It All Started on eBay

14 years ago I found a beautiful bedroom set on eBay.
I fell in love with the lines of that particular style and brand of furniture.
I never have set out to search for it, but it seems I just happen to find pieces when I am surfing eBay that are affordable.
This buffet with hutch was close to home so I didn’t have to be concerned with having it shipped and the price was right.

It took me longer to figure out where I could use it than it did to figure out what to put in it. I had recently acquired several pieces of cranberry hobnail glass. Of course that was not enough to fill the hutch display so I did what I always do…..I went scavenging through cabinets to find other things that would work with it. I had these white depression glass plates and the aqua sherbets which completed the display. The lower section is perfect for storage.
I love these new to me pieces of Scandinavian furniture with a history. This one is from about 1980. It is in almost perfect condition.

To Me Creating Is As Necessary As Breathing

You may or may not know that I have been very busy purging and reorganizing my studio.
I am not done.
It is at a point where I was able to clear space and work with some of the fabrics that I hung on my design wall a few weeks ago.
I need to do some creating before I can get back to the purging/organizing.
I am sharing some teasers with you of the inspiration fabrics I am using.

I think the one that uses this fabric only needs two final seams.

I thought I was happy with the composition of the one that uses these fabrics, but as I see a photo of what I am considering I think it needs more thought.

This one just needs to be sewn together.

And one more that may just become a Chasing Rainbows quilt.
The fabrics I am featuring are either ice dyes or shibori hand dyes I have created.

Today Is My Kind Of Day

Something that speaks to me happens twice today and am posting it the first time it happens.
The date today is 8/18/18
And I am posting this at 8:18 a.m.

8/18/18 8:18

This ice tapestry could also be considered a palindrome as it reads the same left to right or right to left!

Echo

This is one of my most recent finishes. It is a tall skinny work.
There are often so many spaces that work for a piece
like this.
They also are perfect for a wall arrangement with other items.
Yes, it is ice dyed.
it is 10 1/2 inches by 42 inches and has a slat for hanging.
$595
My work is designed to hang anywhere as ART and not to match the sofa. 
It is OK if it does match the sofa!!!!

I LOVE Art….

Today I am featuring the work of Jeanelle McCall.
The title is  “Little Flowers for the Table”.
She said there are so many personal meanings in it for her. 
Jeanelle is doing a unique style of painting as she uses her fingers. It is nothing like the finger paining we did as children.
I fell in love with this when she posted it online and was able to acquire it. I love it.  It has such a feeling of place, people and peace.
This photo includes the work of 5 different artists. They all work so well together, yet they have such different styles.

The Real Deal

You may have seen photos here of my studio that makes you wonder how any one can keep their space so neat and organized.
I have a few new ones to share with you today.

My studio is a working studio.

Sometimes that means I need to purge and do more organization to make it more efficient.

That is the track I am currently on.

There photos were not staged or edited. These are actual current views of the studio.

Another Exciting Ice Dyed Finish

It was finished a few weeks ago but I finally took a picture of it.
I am pleased with it. I enjoy seeing all the different patterns the manipulation of the fabric before I dye it created. I hope you find them interesting too.
The border was created with arashi shibori dyeing.

Recycled Again

Since I have been making some decorating changes in our house this mirror is in it’s third or later incarnation. I painted it to hang about the dresser in the guest room but when we changed the dresser there wasn’t room for it.
Greg put it up on the barn wood wall in the family room over this antique chest. Then some chairs had to be flip flopped to bring in the aqua color. Lastly an aqua bowl full of artichokes was added.
It’s hard to get great pictures as this is not a brightly lit area. 
Another view of our eclectic home!

What Has Been Keeping Me Busy?

The original lights in this cabinet died. I had new lights installed and what a difference. They are LED 6000K strip lights with a dimmer. This photo was taken with the second to lowest level of light….still so much brighter than the previous lights.

At the brightest they make the doors look black as they are so bright. They only look black in the photo. 
I scrounged all over my house for things to put in here. A lot of the things that were in here before didn’t make the cut.
When I would think I needed something of a certain type, color, size or shape and figured I didn’t have anything that would work I’d remember something hidden away I forgot about. It is so much fun to bring some of these things I love out where they can be seen and appreciated. It was interesting to see prices on some things and see how little I paid for them. Years ago I used to go to local country auctions and bought a lot of these things as part of box lots. Some of these things would not have earned  a second glance if you saw them alone, but as a part of a group they work. Some were gifts or family things. Some pieces are cracked or broken but I still love them and I'll bet you can't tell which ones!
The lights are so bright they also light up that dark corner of the living room, an unexpected benefit.

In closing, this is what it looks like when the doors are open.