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!!