artfest 2009

Please join me at artfest 2009.
Registration for this advent will start September 2.
I will be teaching:
"wind, coil & curl"

and
"souls in flight"
I hope to see you there!

Conditions for creativity are:
to be puzzled;
to concentrate;
to accept conflict and tension;
to be born everyday;
to feel a sense of self.--Erich Fromm

A W A Y

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air…
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am off once more.

(why not try your hand at creating the links to this lovely bracelet?
the instruction can be found in A Charming Exchange)

As I am indeed ready for some much needed down time with the family so we are off to the sea!

~ let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.~
Khalil Gibran

hotel crafting

the truth is


that over the last two nights hotel crafting into the midnight hours has been necessary


Last night the sewing machine had to come back to the hotel with me,
because of the multi layered way that I work


and the time that it takes to get to a point to where a details photo can be taken ...


and the fact that there is only 8 hours in a work day and sometimes over time is necessary.
but I am happy to report that I am all ready for my last day at the F&W studio! with just three projects left to complete!


Now if you miss seeing new work from me, but enjoyed the photos that I have shared on this post they why not order my new DVD.

The Journey is the Destination: Techniques for Mixed Media & Fabric Art

With Ruth Rae

Discover how you can add new dimensions to your artwork! Learn the secrets of Transparency Manipulation along with fabric altering along with creative machine sewing. In this workshop we will explore: working with resin, burning, stitching, dyeing and stamping. Once we covered the various techniques we will incorporate them together to create “beneath the surface” a project that will combine all your new skills.

You can order your copy here

courage

I am a little behind on step out projects and we only have two more days to complete the work, I have lost my clarity so now its time for me to work on my courage to help me through this day.

"I am not afraid…I was born to do this."
~Joan of Arc

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt.

“Come to the edge.” “We can't. We're afraid.” “Come to the edge.” “We can't. We will fall!” “Come to the edge.” And they came. And he pushed them. And they flew.
~Guillaume Apollinaire

Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. (Christopher Robin to Pooh) ~A. A. Milne

Today will be a most wonderful day!

In Ohio (and it was not me!)

Today was my second day in Cincinnati, Ohio at the F&W photo studio working on the step outs for my upcoming book on my fabric art techniques.


this is the view of the spacious studio.
On the back wall there is a long table that holds all of my projects, tools and the supplies.


Here is a close up of the table that I sit at all day working on my projects, describing what I am doing to my editor Tonia as she has the job of deciding when I need to stop so a photograph can be taken by Christen.


On the right hand side of the table are the supplies for the project that I am working on.
The left hand side is kept clean as this is where I hold my hands for Christine to do the hand shots.
On the floor to my right is where the sewing machine gets put until needed.


I am a little behind as today we only completed two projects and we are trying to do four a day. sadly I have forgotten more supplies then I care to admit and tomorrow morning a small shopping trip is needed to buy fabric dye (that leaked in my suite case... thank goodness it when wrapped in paper towels and tripled zip locked) and pinking shears.
But I will kick it up a bit tomorrow and we will breeze through at least 5 projects!

But for now


I will leave you with this photo taken at the Jesse Reno class two weekends ago, as a small debate has taken place over at Kelly's blog stating that it looked as if I just goosed Jesse, and it seams as if Deryn
is clearing her hands and trying to put placement on mine!
but all I can say is:
"it was not me!"
I think it must of been Kristen!

"It is better to be in chains with friends ,
than to be in a garden with strangers."
-Persian Proverb

off to ohio!

Its time for me to trust life


(a very small peek at one of the projects that I will step out)

and with truth and peace ,I will share my great love of mixed media fabric art,

(a kit for a step out)

as I jet off to Ohio this week to shoot 20 step outs for my next book filled

(small details being added last minute)

with the hopes that I can inspire your creativity to play with mixed media fabric art.

(a step out kit)

now you can see me first hand in this slide show sewing the last project that I just completed last night. (I think it will end up being the cover art) and you can see the great fun that I had last weekend at Carol Parks with Jesse Reno here.
I am sorry that I do not have time to write about my most amazing time that I got to spend with some truly great artist but you can read about there fun here here, and here.

I will try to blog a little next week when I am in Ohio and share a little peek into the process of the step out photo process.

The world is but a canvas to the imagination.
Henry David Thoreau

BLACK & WHITE

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.--Mary Lou Cook

("sweet delight" shot taken before completion)

Its not always BLACK & WHITE where we are going, and some times along the way we lose track of the spark that started the journey.

When I meet Kelly B last weekend, she helped to remind me of some old passions. Kelly is new to blogging and the world or art swapping and is so full of creative energy!

("love, trust, hope." created in 2006 for a black & white swap)

It was such a treat for me to see someone having so much fun with their art , as it reminded me of how I used to love to join the latest swap craze along with the joy of being able to post every angle of my newest creation with you all with gleeful excitement.


But with my journey in to the world of publications I have been faced with the need to explore ways to share my art in a less then obvious ways...


now I am a crazy girl when it comes to the back of my projects, most of the time I cover them up once I am done, to leave a nice tidy back. but in the case of this project I really liked how the messy paint and stitches turned out so I left it exposed.

here I share "the white room" in its entirety but in a some what imposable to view angle
its a multi layered collage that I am working on.

and here is a detail of a corner.

And this little snippet is the view of the shipping paper that I used to protect my table as I painted the papers for "the white room"

and this is my studio floor, I have been working with netting and organza and look who hides under the layers!

I am excited as today I will be taking a class with Jesse Reno at Carol Parks studio along with a few supper cool art girls:

Kristen
Catherine
Kelly
Deryn
Lorraine
Pilar

I will take a few photos and share them with you tomorrow!

( "Black & White" Collaborative charm bracelet found in the pages of "a charming exchange")

“Some pursue happiness - others create it.”

(gift wrapped parcel that held "love, hope, trust" 2006 swap art)

“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.”

Buddha quotes