Quilting on the Edge

Tuesday's Two Cents: Sideways Day

I am having what I call a Sideways Day.   Nothing motivates me.  While I have many things I could be doing, none of these things hold my attention.  I took this photo of post it notes once for what must have been a good reason at the time.  Today, I came across it and it sort of fits my mood.  There's nothing written on any of them.  Maybe this means I can just coast today and not commit myself to anything.  I did accomplish a few things.  I filled two bags for Goodwill out of a closet upstairs, I've had this on my mind to get ready and altho it only took five minutes or less, I did do it.  I took my daily walk, altho I don't really think that counts as anything since I do it everyday, it's sort of like taking a shower or some other routine activity.  One other thing I did was take a white rocker off our deck outside to scrub it........it was filthy from sitting out in rain and wind storms, and to adequately clean it, I needed a bucket of soapy water and a hose.  Done.  Then I sat down on a chair on our patio and telephoned my great friend Jan in Indiana and caught up with her life.  I was relieved to hear she was supposed to be cleaning house but instead was reading a book.  Kindred spirits!  I encouraged her to not clean.  Misery loves company.   I've always had a difficult time dealing with these sideways day.......I guess my work ethic or standards are expecting me to have accomplished something major each day to qualify for the end of day reward of thinking my day was worthwhile.  But I know, that is not so.  It is okay, even good, to have days like these.  Perhaps it means the mind and soul need a break to rejuvenate and catch up with myself.  That's what I'm going to try to remember the rest of the day.  After I finish this, I'm going to go downstairs and put away some yarns that I've been meaning to for a long time.  I guess it's that kind of day:  picking away at small tasks. Those I don't usually take the time to do since I'm doing bigger things.  Hmm...maybe not such a sideways day after all.     

Tuesdays' Two Cents: Ode to What I Take for Granted

 My shower was warm, the towel was fresh. I had soap and shampoo.  My hairdryer worked as it should.  My hairbrush was sitting right where I left it.  I could choose clothing appropriate for the weather.  I exercised without difficulty, I took a walk without giving the ability to do so a second thought.  I did it for health, not for necessity.  I enjoyed a warm cup of coffee and cold glass of orange juice.  I ate vanilla yogurt with dried cranberries, it was all right there in the frig and cupboard.  The sun was shining, the palm trees swayed and filled with air with swishing sounds. People smile at me while I walked, and I smiled back.  Nothing hurt me.  My body worked easily and carried me where I wanted to go.   I saw a closet with fabric and threads, needles and paints too.  I could create whatever I wanted.  Or, I could read, or listen to music.  I could hear from friends online, and or read interesting articles there too.  I could contact anyone I wanted to by telephone.   Yes, just another ordinary day, full of routine activities that I seldom notice.  I take them for granted.  I think this falls under "things to be grateful for".  For some reason today it hit me while walking that I usually describe these things as ordinary, and for me I suppose they are.  I can imagine those for whom this would not be ordinary.  Some could not take that walk, or enjoy that shower.  Some without something to eat.  I don't know why these thoughts came to me today, but I guess I was due for a reality check about life.  So, I've taken a step back and posted about it.  As we all know, it's the little things, not the big events of celebrations.  I hope I remember that more. 

Tuesday's Two Cents: New Art Quilt Project

Yesterday I decided to dig out of my creative limbo by reviewing some of my photos for inspiration.  This one stood out.  I remember taking this photo outside, in the dark, using my regular digital camera with its' usual flash.  The long branches are of a bamboo plant, and at the base of the plant are small palm plants.  I decided to challenge myself to create this on a dark background with muted palm fronds and something for the branches, not sure yet.  So I selected a black fabric with printed swirls as my background.  First I created a stencil for the palms.I used freezer paper, the kind you buy in the grocery store, because you can iron the shiny side to fabric and it stays in place temporarily.  By the way, these photos are smaller but you can enlarge them by clicking on them if you want a better view.  Next I mixed up some muted green color paint........this was trial and error.  I started with a medium green, added black........too much black.  Then some white and gold, finally ended up with this for my paint. 
This is how the stencilling looked as I started applying the paint lightly with a stencil brush.   I first made one stencil across the middle bottom, then decided I'd make another one near it but added some white to the paint to make it a little lighter.  Here's how it looks so far:

This piece measures 20 inches high and 28 inches wide as of now.  I'm going to need to make another stencil for a downward hanging palm frond, but all in due time.  I'll keep you posted.  I'm liking this so far......anxious to see where it goes.  Thanks for looking. 
  
  

Tuesday's Two Cents: Art Quilt Challenge Piece: Fractured Quilts

I think I mentioned a few posts ago that I had joined a challenge group online, here is the small quilt I just completed for our second challenge.  The challenge was to use three colors, do fracturing, or breaking up the background, and create  something that had wings.  I had a great photo under a bridge, by the Gulf waters, which I used for inspiration.  I did a lot of fracturing, or breaking up into pieces. There are three distinct sections, the top is the bridge area, the middle is the water, and the bottom section is the beach are.  I added the heron as the winged thing, of course, his wings are not visible but they are part of him nevertheless.  If you click on the photo it can be seen in greater detail.  The size is 14.5 inches by 13 inches.  Fracturing is an interesting technique, it can add dimension or interest to an otherwise plain background.  I used the secondary colors of orange, purple, and green.  I'll add a photo below of the inspiration photo too.  These challenges are sort of like a problem to solve, so it's always fun to see how what turns out.  There were many other great pieces from other members of the group.  We post our pieces to a blog, and then comments are made by others in the group, and best of all, we learn about ways to improve our design, what could be added, and of course, we get compliments too which we all can use!  Here's the inspiration photo.

Tuesday's Two Cents: Inner Child Art Quilt Progress

So here's where I am on the Inner Child quilt I've started within the past ten days or so.  I added two more images.......the clearest one is in the 'cave', or dark area, and the other two lose their focus as they proceed out away from the dark area.  Maybe I should call it a closet.    I like it so far, altho I am not finished.   As I've worked on it, I began to understand that I was thinking about our childlike tendencies in creative work......and how as we get older, we often become judgmental of our work, and more restrictive in what we do and try creatively.  We no longer work with a child's mind of freedom, and let ourselves just create.  Instead, we analyze, over study, and sometimes fear that we'll make a mistake.   I know I'm not the first one to talk about this, as I've read about it many times. And I know I'm not the first one to experience this phenomenon.  My piece here is showing that the inner child is like a ghost outside of the confines of our inner space, wanting to get out but just really invisible around us as we work. Food for thought anyway.  This piece is resting on my design wall now as I figure out what to do next.  I have to admit, this has taken a turn I did not expect.  Isn't that the fun part about creativity?  You never know what it will end up being, until you finish making it. 

Tuesday's Two Cents: Crayolas and Living Simply

So I bought a box of 64 crayons while Christmas shopping.....I was at Keeton's, an  art supply store in Bradenton, and I was attracted to the display and I guess my inner child started salivating. Yesterday I finally had the chance to open the box and look inside.  I was surprised at my reaction......you see, all my childhood I usually had the box of 8 crayons, sometimes 16, and rarely, the box of 24.  I must have been thrilled with the 24 I imagine, and here I was a half century later with a brand new box of 64 crayons. I smiled to myself and just took a second to view all those wonderful colors!  Where was my coloring book????  Anyway, I was planning to color out a quilt pattern I was thinking about, so I reached for red.  First I picked brick red.  Then I picked strawberry red.  All I wanted was plain ole red.  I settled for something and went to find blue.  Same experience, only now I chose coneflower blue first.  I found the regular blue on the second try.  Same thing happened when I wanted yellow.  I decided I would have to find a container to put all the crayons into so I could more easily find what color I wanted, but I didn't do it then, nor yet.  I don't want to disturb the lovely presentation of all those colors.  It occurred to me that maybe I was happier with fewer crayons.  Not so many choices to make.  Maybe not.  I realized this was more than about crayons though.  It was about having more than I needed.  Kind of like having the bungalow, or the apartment, versus the McMansion.  Or a closet full of clothes, most of which hang there waiting, because we usually select our favorites over and over again.  Then this thought morphed into the "grass is always greener" story.  A box of crayons, most wished for as a  child, no longer holds the magic I assigned to it back then.  Maybe it never did.  Maybe it was more of a symbol of being better off.......having more than I needed?  Maybe I thought as a child it would somehow improve me, or my image to others?  Maybe I would feel like I "belonged" with all the others I knew who usually had the 64 crayon box.  Maybe I just coveted more for the sake of more.  A lot to think about.  I'm relieved to say, though, that a half century later I'm well past it,have been for some time,  and I don't mean just with crayons.  A simpler life is fine.........but maybe, for me and for some of you too, you have to have the bigger and better, before you realize all you really wanted was the simple. Simple makes you free to be the person you want to be, the one you already are.  Simple opens up avenues you never imagined, because things are not keeping you.   It's funny how a box of crayons can remind us of the value of simplicity.  Today I'll find a plastic little container, and dump out the crayons so I can really use them.  I guess I won't be tempted to get the bigger box again anytime soon.  I am reminded of the wonder of simplicity.  How about you?  

Tuesdays' Two Cents: Monoprinting on Fabric

The cold weather has given me cabin fever.......and I was stumped on my latest piece Inner Child......so I decided to try my hand at monoprinting on fabric today and had great success!!  Here's all the fabric pieces I did, each piece is about 18 by 24, some smaller.  Here's the technique:  On a piece of glass, I squirted out acrylic paint, added matte gel medium, and combined the two and painted over the surface of the glass plate with either a foam brush, or a regular paintbrush.  Then, I made a design into that surface.......I used a plastic scouring pad, the side of a ruler, a putty knife, even some bubble wrap.  After your do the design, you lay your piece of PFD fabric,(prepared for dyeing), flatten it out with a brayer or roller, then remove the fabric, and voila!  you have a printed piece of fabric.  I had heard this was fun and could be addicting, and I can see how.  Here's some photos of the pieces of the fabric I created today!  My favorities are the ones done with scouring pads swirls, but all were fun, I recommend it!  Click on the photos for a better view.

These are just some of them, but you get the idea. I can just imagine that someday these fabrics will be just right for an art quilt! 
 
 
 
  

Tuesdays Two Cents: What's Waiting for you in 2010?

My photo here is blurry......maybe that's how it is to look ahead to what I may want to accomplish in 2010.  The vision may be blurry, but I still have a vision.  I recently read this quote somewhere and jotted it down. It's by a Joseph Campbell, and it says:  "We must be willing to set aside the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.  The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come." That for me is a new way of looking at new goals or plans for the coming year.  Setting aside what I have planned, to find out what is waiting for me.  I think of this as setting aside the comfortable and familiar.  Going out on a limb to do something different.  Using a new approach.  Starting somewhere else instead of the usual ways I approach my quiltart.  It makes me curious as to just what is waiting for me.  I just need to find my way there.  Doing the same old same old isn't going to take me to new places and discoveries.  These thoughts can apply to not only my creativity, but to my life in general. What about my life is functioning as planned, not leaving room for finding what is waiting for me?  That will take some time to think about.  Small changes, or large changes?   Baby steps, or leaps and bounds?  New places, new faces perhaps?  It can be exciting and unnerving at the same time.  Does this resonate with you too?  Do you have skin to be shed for new growth to occur?   Guess we have a few more days to think about it before the new year arrives.  Enjoy the time doing so.  Happy New year! 

Tuesdays' Two Cents: Collage Your 2009

Is it time to think about what you may want to accomplish in 2010?  If you're the type of person who likes to look ahead with some sort of plan, no matter how simple it may be, than I suppose it is time for you to do that.  I contend that first, though, a simple look back over the past year is needed.  Create a sort of mental collage of what went on in  your creative life over the past 12 months.  If you're really ambitious, you could make a real collage, using bits of photos, words, or magazine cutouts to show what your year was like.  For my purposes, I think a mental collage would be sufficient.  I think you could do it by months, or events, or even by seasons.  Some things will stand out:  a special exhibit you were in, a place you learned something new for your work, a person who had an influence on your creativity.   Maybe times when you were out of the flow, so to speak, and see if there was a pattern so you'll be ready to recognize it when it hits again. Do you remember anything you did to get out of that blocked period?   Did you discover any new places for inspiration of your work?   Places that gave you peace and quiet to think about your work?  Places perfect for photo inspiration?    What did you do in the past year that you're ready to leave behind as no longer useful to your life?  Perhaps you're ready to let go of some online groups or resources that you'll still dealing with regularly and no longer seem to be offering anything useful?  You can get in ruts on your online contacts........maybe it's time to reevaulate them.  Are you ready to give up or add on your online list, be it twitter, facebook, groups, you tube.........whatever.  Do you think there was a lot of wasted time fretting needlessly over things you cannot control? Do you want to keep doing that in the next year?   How did you deal with staying creative last year........did you make your intentions clear to yourself so you had something to fall back on during those dry spells? Did you make an idea jar and just pick something and force yourself to work for ten minutes on a small project whether you felt like it or not?  Or did you just punish yourself for  not having good ideas?  did a messy studio keep you outside looking in?   Did you buy new supplies that are still sitting on a shelf waiting to be used?   How many books did you buy and actually use for your work?   Did you find supporters of your field of interest.....either online or in person?  Can you think of the single most important thing that happened that influenced you in your creative process.......will you keep doing it?  Did you honor your need to create, regardless of what others may have said, implied, or otherwise caused you to doubt yourself?  What did you learn to do to keep your creative fires alive?   Who can you count on to help with that?  did you remember to be grateful for your talents and use them to help others if you could?   whew!  that's quite a list I just wrote, and I guess I could go on.  Maybe doing something like this would work for you.  Taking a mental inventory......or creating a mental collage, of what happened, what helped, what didn't, and what sabotaged your creative endeavors.  THEN, you'd be ready to proceed with creating a vision of your mental collage for 2010.  I hope it will be one that will drive you to higher success, however you define that in your life.  and now, I'll start answering those questions for myself in the next few days, so come January lst, I'll have a clearer picture of what I'll be concentrating on in the New Year. 

Tuesday's Two Cents: Resolutions or Intentions

Are you into making New Year's Resolutions?  me neither.  I mean I do stop and think about it, but I never make hard and fast resolutions that end up making me feel guilty if I don't succeed.  Yesterday I read an article in a free magazine called Natural Awakenings about setting New Year's Intentions.  Basically, intentions are statements we make outloud that address something we wish to manifest in our lives.  Anything goes, a new coat or world peace, whatever you wish to have made real for you.  And the intention statements are ended with a strong statement which emphasize that these intentions have already occurred, such as "So it is done".    At this point in the article, I was reminded of the book The Secret......basically, we can think our way to what we want.  Intentions are positive words, because the belief is what you say is what you attract.......in others words, don't ask not to be sick, instead say you are in good health.  Anyway, I  like the idea of intentions instead of resolutions, altho it may just be a twist on words. Maybe something to think about........here's a few I may use if I remember:  

I am inspired to be creative in my fiber art everyday, and am able to use many sources of inspiration to guide my work.  and so it is done.

I think positively about my life and find goodness in those I meet. And so it is done.

I can quiet my mind and appreciate  the present moment I am experiencing simply by sitting still and attending to my breath.  And so it is done.

I just made these up so maybe they need refinement, but you get the idea.

If you'd like to explore this idea further, there's a website at www.Intenders.com  that explains it much better and talks about forming groups of people who meet regularly to announce their intentions.