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

long beach quilt show part 2

"Very little is needed to make a happy life;
it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking."
~Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

(my table set up)

What a great weekend I had at the long beach quilt show!


A huge thank you goes out to Pokey Bolten and her amazing staff for hosting Open studio's and putting on one great show!
Open studios is such a great concept, I really love to see how artist work and getting to meet them in person creating there art was such a joy to me... being able to connect the process with there personality's really makes it all come together.

Alisa Burke
is such a joy! My daughter Sarah was captivated by her art!


I also got to meet Jane La Fazio
I am sad to report that I did not take a pitcher with her but it was so fun to meet some one who's work you admire.


Beryl Taylor
is such a warm person, this girl can really wow a crowd, her elegant style that she exemplifies in her art work is very much the lady that she is in person, I was thrilled to be able to meet her in person and be able to talk about fiber art with her.

Now you may be able to see Jamie Fingal
and I in the in the same quilting art tv show, episode # 204 Embellishment,


But our paths did not pass when we were in Ohio filming so it was great fun to at long last meet and admire her amazing handy work up close!



My Friend Nancy Nelson Came to support me all the way from Reno with her Daughter Noell.

Attending a large convention like this is always so inspiring , the energy that you get from being around so many people that are so passionate for there craft is so contagious. I Had so much fun meeting so many great people.

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
--Robert Louis Stevenson

long beach quilt show

this is 1 am blogging at its beast.... wow what a day at the quilt show so many people! it was a mob seen ! now how sweet to have a supportive friend like traci with her trusty iphone in hand taking a shot of me in action .

Now please note I really do have eyes and you have to give me full credit for posting this less the flattering photo of my self but Traci posted these to twitter so its already out they is cyber space so what is a girl to do!?


here is a sweet shot of myself along with Tracy Bautista and Marry Stanly .
Today I will take some more shots it was a little crazy for me yesterday and I forgot to take photos.

A Charming Exchange

I will be part of “Open Studios” at the Long Beach Quilt Show, this weekend,

my demo times will be :
Friday, July 25: 12:40–2:30;
Saturday, July 26: 10:30–12:30;
Sunday, July 27: 10:30–12:30.

With my sewing machine by my side, all three days you will find me creating and giving away mixed media ATC cards along with some jewelry techniques that can be incorporated into your mixed media or quilting art.

I am happy to say that at long last A Charming Exchange is starting to find it ways into homes and bookstores across the land!

If you can make it to the quilt show then you can thumb through A Charming Exchange
and see Jewelry from the book up close.

The pieces that I have decided to bring with me, involve fabric and sewing.
First up is:

"Up In The Sky"
Ruth Rae and Jade Pegler

(You can learn how to create this complete project in the book.)

I am a big fan of Jade's work so when she sent me these fabric orbs I was intrigued with the shapes of the her magical flying machines, I wanted to mimic her soft stuffed forms as I Incorporated the wire work, the lines of Jade's work were my guide as I came up with this design.


(close up detail of hook and eye clasp)

"Garden Of Delight"
Ruth Rae, Judy Scott and Martha Brown


When we were working on the jewelry for this book once all the submission's for a charming exchange arrived at my house, Kelly came over and we started to sort through all of the submissions. Once we got to Judy's box we were completely captivated by these leaves that she created by stitching on a watter soluble fabric then went on to add a layer of crocheted bead work.

(close up detail of bead work and the reverse side of "tree" charms created by Martha on a piece of bark)

Kelly and I tryed to pull all the colors out of these leaves with our stone color pallet... Now I will share a secret with you, this was one of the first pieces that we laid out.

(detail of bead work that is stepped out in the book )

but I will also add that it was also the most challenging piece for me from a construction stand point as with all the projects from this book our main goal was to enhance every ones work.


(toggle clasp detail)

that said, all tho this was the first to be laid it out it remained on a tray for a few months in my studio and ever now and then I would take a peek at it and it was as if every time it would say to me:

"not now, I am not ready to tell you what I want to be when I grow up"

so I would put the tray that held it away once more. Even Kelly would say to me:

"so what are your going to do with Judy's leaves?"

Then one night the bead work pattern came to me in a dream and became one of the last pieces that was created for the book.
and needless to say one of my favorites.

(details of the reverse side of the leave)

The most rewarding part of this book and the part that we hope to share with our readers is the collaborative spirit.

I hope you will pick up a copy of A Charming Exchange and start to create some of your own collaborative jewelry with some of your friends.

Kelly and I have set up a blog just for our book at:
www.acharmingexchange.com

At the charming exchange blog you will find links to all of the people that made this book a reality, and we will soon we will be hosting a swap in the spirit of our book along with a series of online auctions that will be held with many of the pieces from the book, with 100% of the proceeds going to Brest Cancer research. More information on this will soon follow as all the details are still being worked out.

I hope to see some of you this weekend!

"Say Not Of Beauty" (for she is a child)

"In masks outrageous and austere, The years go by in single file; But none has merited my fear, And none has quite escaped my smile."

~ Elinor Wylie

I just have a few weeks left to complete the work for my mixed media fabric book... the prof is a
a six foot table loaded up with projects along with the kits that I have stuffed into large zip lock baggies, that I will use to react the art for the week that I will be in the F&W studio shooting the step outs...


I have a list of projects that I must complete, and as I was working on one a few days ago and I needed a word...


I adore old books and have many... I am exceptionally happy when I find small and demure ones falling apart with micro text so I do not feel so bad when I rip out pages or cut out the perfect word.


I keep a small stack of books on my desk on my right hand side that I am always reaching for. I had just added to the mix The Oxford Book Of American Verse (1950) a few days ago and had not really given it a good look. but just as I reached for it I really hit a wall, and needed to some how dissolve and let the creative process flow from within and just create for the sake of play as my inner child has been suppressed working on projects from a list.

As I thumbed through this small thick book that fit so nicely in the palms of my hands, I became lost in the beauty of poets and found myself transfixed by a woman words.
Immediately I knew that I had to some how take what she had written well over a 100 years ago and turn a part of her into a part of me.

So with paper mixed with paints, pencil, pen combined with thread and cloth I started a journey that began many years even before my grandmother was born. Inspiration is all around us just waiting to spark and ignite passion and sometimes it is the spark that we are not even looking for that can change us the most.

(please note that all the photos that I have shared is not the piece in its entirety nor is it yet competed as it is still in its infancy)

Beauty by Elinor Wylie

Say not of beauty she is good,
Or aught but beautiful,
Or sleek to doves' wings of the wood
Her wild wings of a gull.

Call her not wicked; that word's touch
Consumes her like a curse;
But love her not too much, too much,
For that is even worse.

O, she is neither good nor bad,
But innocent and wild!
Enshrine her and she dies, who had
The hard heart of a child.