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"Tweeting About The Setting Sun"

The above image is my donation to the Studio Art Quilt Associates 2013 on-line auction.  All the auction pieces are 12"x 12" and the auction begins on September 9.  The pieces start at $750 and each day go down until they are at $75.  My piece is on page 2A and will be auctioned during the 2nd round which starts September 16.  You can find more info on the website: http://www.saqa.com/news.php?ID=1186  

All of the fabrics in this piece were created by me with various techniques including stamping, soy wax batik, and dyeing.  I did not create the bird embroidery, but I really liked how it worked with the piece.


I'm going through a transitional year in 2013, and I am not sure about my direction.  My goal for my first five years in this endeavor was to get my name out there by entering shows, getting my work in galleries, and maybe getting my work published in a magazine.  Check, check, check.  Now I have to determine what direction I want to take next with my work/business.  Options that I am pondering include writing articles for magazines, finding galleries for my work outside my state, making larger pieces that might get into more art/fiber art shows, teaching, and pursuing lecture opportunities in my state (Montana).
I have wanted to try to get my work into a gallery that is outside of my region for quite a while but am not sure how to go about it.  How do you find a place you trust that is right for your work and then how best to go about approaching them.  Do I need to have a physical portfolio of my work, do I go and personally show them my work, do I make sure my website is up-to-date and rely on that for self-promotion?  I can't afford the time or money to travel around peddling my work to galleries that may or may not be what I want for my art.  If I look for somewhere that has shown itself to be willing to show fiber art am I horning in on some other fiber artist's locale?   This is all the more complicated when I start to look at other states because of the number of galleries out there.  Where do I start?

I have already tackled one of these subjects this year successfully.  I have a magazine article that is going to be published in The Quilt Life magazine later this year.  I also have a 2nd article that is being considered by American Quilter but I have not heard from them yet.  I have had a very positive response to my writing from these editors so that is very encouraging.  It could be a very lucrative direction, but I find it time consuming and it takes away from studio time.  How much time and effort do I devote to this aspect of my business?

I think that when my article comes out I should try to peddle that topic as a class in a local quilt shop and see what interest there is.  I think I am ready to do a little teaching, as long as it doesn't take over my life at this point.  I still have a young son to devote time to so I'm not as free as this effort might require.  Local classes shouldn't be much of a problem, but if I have to travel that will be difficult.

Here are detail and full quilt images of a small piece I recently created.  The base is wholecloth batik fabric which I stamped multiple times with a single (commercial) floral image rubber stamp using copper acrylic paint.  Then I used free motion quilting to complete the piece, added tabs at the top and a facing for the edges.  It is called "Reverie" and is currently hanging in The Artist's Shop cooperative gallery in Missoula, Montana along with a number of other pieces of mine.

"Reverie"

I decided I had better write a blog post since I have been neglecting it.  It follows my productivity with my art as I have been rather lackluster in that effort since my show in September.  I have made a few pieces, but not as many as I would like!   I'm known for being productive, but these last few months have been rather slow...

This first piece is one I recently finished and it is called "Reaching For The Sky".  I had a roll of 1/4 yard cuts (not fat quarters) of a particular fabric line and the border print I used here was one of them.  I love the abstract flowers and the lovely blue sky.  The border print actually includes the sky and the multi-colored "ground" below the flowers. This is one of what I call "Strata Art Quilts" which are long and narrow and fun to do.  I usually do a lot of quilting and beading on them, and this one is no exception.  I will be hanging this in the "Essence of Spring" biennial flower art show at River's Mist Gallery here in Stevensville, Montana in February.  Numerous artists and medium will be represented in this lovely show that brightens up a dreary February!

I love how the orange-dyed stone beads on the bottom row of dangles is so similar to the Lonni Rossi fabric that I used in that section.  I couldn't not use them they were so perfect!  I used some beads with light blue on them to bring some of the sky color down to the lower section of the piece.  This helps draw the eye to discover all the details of the artwork.

The next piece, entitled "Breathe Deeply", is one I "finished" this fall after a couple of years of trying to make it work!  I started with the silk organza fabric that runs vertically on the left side and has the large beads on it.  This was a piece that I had painted and the colors of the quilt were influenced by this fabric.  

I haven't been able to get this piece to look finished and "right".  I added the green rectangular applique pieces as an attempt to put in some blocks of color that weren't busy, but I'm not sure that helped, or was even effective.  I like the dangles at the top, but I'm not sure they do anything for the piece.  I like all the elements of the piece and the fabrics and embellishments used, I just don't think it works well in the whole.  There is no focal point which might be ok, but I wish I had not used such boldly graphic fabrics that probably distract from the silk piece which I wanted to highlight.  

I don't think I will do anything more to this piece and will chalk it up to being one of my less successful works.  As a result it will have a lower price on it and someone will get a bargain for all the work I did trying to get it to be more successful!  I tend to include a factor of how successful I think a piece is in my pricing which relates to how much I would be willing to part with it for.  If I like it, it will cost more!

The last two pictures are two that I took this fall and are so nostalgic for that season that I may use them in a piece sometime.  I love the shiny tomatoes with the aging dullness of the apples and the dried dill seedhead.  You can almost taste the flavors!

And the beautiful pink fall flowers were such a joy in the waning days of summer and into the autumn when everything else was turning to gold and brown.  I think of them now and look forward to the color that is Spring in the next few months----usually a long time for us here in Montana!  Both of these images invoke such memories of color, scent, and the feel of the crisp autumn air that I'm pretty sure they will find their way into a piece one of these days!

A couple of exciting things have happened for me in the last few months.  I had two pieces selected as Finalists in the Fiber:  Art Quilt category of the NICHE Awards.  These awards are for high end craft including jewelry, glass, wood, fiber, etc.  If you go to their website at you will see some examples of the quality workmanship they select.  I was honored to have one of my pieces pictured in the Winter issue of their magazine where they list the finalists and show selected imagery of the work.  They will be awarding the winners in February in Philadelphia.  

Also I have had an article accepted to be published by a major quilt magazine and I'm very excited about this.  I have been working with them the last couple of months to get them images for the article which will probably be published in Fall of 2013.  They were very positive about my writing so you know that was encouraging and will likely spur me to write and submit more.  The subject of the article is definitely something that would make a good class, so I'm hoping there might be some local interest in that.  I'm not going to elaborate right now until I know it is going to print, but I will give more details when I know something for sure.  

Anyone who is in the Hamilton, Montana area should be sure to stop by the fiber art show, An Affair of the Heart, in Hamilton on February 15-17.  I'll have a number of pieces on display as will many other fiber artists from the Missoula/Bitterroot area.  The show/sale is on the 200 block of 2nd Street--one block south of Main Street.  

Thanks for dropping by my blog---come again!!  

Sunny Disposition

After my gallery show in September and working all summer to get new pieces done I was ready to create something fun and not too challenging.  I created this piece called "Sunny Disposition" and had fun quilting and beading it.  It is such a bright spot on my wall in these every darkening days of fall and winter!

I started with the sunflower print and chose fabrics and beads to compliment it.  The blue splotchy fabric looks like a painted/dyed piece but is actually a commercial cotton print.   The yellow fabric just below center is a piece that I had previously painted.

 

I love adding dangles of beads to quilts. Even though a quilt hangs rather statically on the wall, the dangles seem to add a sense of movement and they catch the light in interesting ways. Using multiple shapes and types of beads in a dangle creates interest and really adds to the way they catch the light. I change the order and combination of beads in the dangles just maintaining a general colorway and types of beads for a cohesive design. 

As you walk by the piece the different beads are highlighted depending on how the light shines on or through them. On this piece there are translucent glass leaves and seed beads that make lovely shimmery dangles that you just can't resist giving a little push so you can see them sway.

   

I used one of my machine stitches to create a line of tiny flowers on one of the very narrow strips. I find this uses a lot of thread, is time consuming, and is somewhat tedious. I do like the look of it but I find the free motion stitching much more fun!

I love the way the beading turned out on the sunflowers. Originally I was going to heavily bead the centers of the flowers, but then I thought of this plan and am very happy with it.

I added a narrow dark blue flat piping to the binding for a nice detail. I believe I used 8 different fabrics for this piece, not including the piping and binding (fabrics which are not used in the body of the piece).

Autumn Inspiration

It is autumn in Montana and deer have now been given free rein of our yard and gardens.  All summer we have been chasing them away so they don't eat our vegies and flowers, but now that the growing season has wound down they are doing some clean up for us.

I believe there were about 12 in this group.  Most of the does in this area seemed to have twins this year, and they insisted on bringing them into our fenced yard (usually through the front gate which was open) and then they couldn't get out when we chased them.  They would eventually find a way over the fence but it was rather disturbing to watch them ram the fence until they finally would attempt the jump.   They rarely had enough memory to go back to the gate where they came in!

 

 I couldn't resist the early morning light that was giving them a lovely halo effect.  They are standing in my raised vegie garden.   One or more of these images will likely make its way into one of my art quilts this winter.

The Power of Positive Quilting

I am a glass-half-full kind of person. I tend to be optimistic, positive, and hopeful about my creative efforts, and most everything else. I think everyone should be this way and then wouldn't we have much more upbeat art in the world?! I tend to create art that is about the beauty of color, line, shape, texture, and balance in life, nature and experience. I respect the desire of other artists to reflect the human condition and the sad, desperate, tragic conditions of our world, but I don't want to encourage people to hang that kind of sentiment in their homes and live with it. I want to influence their day from the moment they wake up to see the lovely color and swoop of my quilting lines to the time they go to bed and see the shadows and depth of my layered cloth. I am “Sally Sunshine”, I want to make everyone smile, and I've been that way from birth. Just ask my mother.

When I begin to work on a piece I am usually influenced by the color and texture of the cloth. I choose fabrics and shapes to create a pleasing collage and then I add stitch to communicate movement and mood and to lead the eye around the piece in an enjoyable way. I add embellishment that furthers that effort---or sometimes not, if it isn't necessary to the finished work. I hope that the viewer will enjoy the piece from the standpoint of theme or subject, as well as because I have a well-balanced, artistically pleasing composition.

Many of my pieces are made up of a variety of textures and materials and I enjoy experimenting with various surface design techniques. My work is mostly non-representational although I frequently incorporate recognizable imagery, often from nature. I like to add the unexpected ingredient that will catch someone's eye and make them wonder how I thought of it. With these elements in my compositions I hope to communicate a mood, a feeling, or a memory of a place once visited in reality or imagination. My art seeks to mean something to the viewer but it is open to their own interpretation based on their background, experience and views of the world around them. Maybe it lets them escape from those negative “human conditions” that might be in their life, or maybe it just lets them remember a time or place where they felt good and happy. Feedback from people who buy my work leads me to believe that the feelings they experienced that led them to purchase the piece stay with them over the years as they live with it and enjoy it in the light from dawn to dusk. I find that very affirming and rewarding.

So, although I understand the need of some artists to create art that reflects the more negative aspects of life and love, in my work I feel the need to reflect beauty, hope and the good things about our world. I hang my work in my own home when it is not in galleries or shows and I enjoy living with it and discovering the details of it again and again. Throughout the day as I walk by it or enter a room where it hangs I see it in a different light---not only the physical light but that which reflects the mood I am in at that moment. We definitely create art based on our moods as well as viewing it that way. Through my art I can make someone smile or trigger a memory that is meaningful to them. I do feel good about it and will likely continue on this Pollyanna journey. Because hey, it's my art and that's who I am. If you don't like that maybe you need a little more positive influence in your life. As Martha says, “It's a good thing!”