Cold and snow finally!

Winter has been rather slow to begin round here but the last couple of weeks have been colder, with more snow.    The forecast is for it to get even colder brrrrrrr.     I’m not a fan of cold weather.... it’s too cold to walk outside very much.    But some days are really pretty and invite photo ops.  

Quilt Guild Challenge Reveal

Every year my guild does a challenge.  The theme is revealed the year before and then after the reveal they are hung in the library for a month.  Obviously this year, because of Covid, that is all on hold.  Nonetheless, we had the reveal and the quilts will hang whenever the library gets the go head for exhibits. The theme this year was “red and white”.  My entry is called “The Falling Leaves”.  I quilted the background prior to the of the leaves.  There are various colored batiks, some netting and seed stitch denoting leaves    Two of the leaves are painted lutrador.  Veining is quilted in each leaf and then they are heated with a heat gun to make them curl and also some holes to be more realistic.   Red is not my favorite color and while I initially groaned at the challenge announcement,  I do like the finished product. 

Where have I been???

It’s been a long time....a year....since I showed anything here. Why?   Pandemic, outdated blogger and couldn’t decide on a new one, Loss of interest, depression, boredom, angst at the political system..all of the above and more.  We did keep up our daily walks...masked and all.   We quite often walk around a large pond nearby.... 1.6 miles around once.   It’s always something new to see and I like nature.   But now it has gotten too cold.....so only an occasional walk.  Ahh, the dregs of winter!

Challenge Quilts Revealed

Saturday our guild members revealed their challenge quilts for our current challenge - "Modern Solids".   We have 33 very different and varied interpretations of this theme.    The quilts will be on display at our local library in Batavia - the Richmond Library on Ross Street.    If you are in the area I would invite you to stop in and view all of them.    

The concept of modern was not hard for me - but solids are not my thing.   I like my batiks and hand dyes and surface design fabrics.   But, I persevered and came up with two.   The first one is based on a photo I had taken at Letchworth State Park of a balloon launch.    The quilt is on the left and the original photo is on the right.    My second piece is called "Modern Birches" - because - I love all things birch and often depict these trees in my quilts.  

Mixed up Seasons & Birds

Winter began here in early November and continued until the actual first day of winter in December.   We had record cold, lots of snow, cancelled activities and then Christmas dawned bright and clear and free of anything vaguely resembling "white"!  It is still that way 3 weeks later.   Little to no snow and Saturday it was 63 degrees.   The forecast is about to change......but for now, I have been capturing some bird photos.   My favorite photos are because I forgot to change the ISO and they were darker than they should have been.   However, the birds at the very center were nice and highlighted and made for some interesting pictures.

I have been quilting but I can't reveal those pictures here - yet!    This Saturday is our annual guild challenge reveal....then I can post photos.    The challenge this year was to use solid colors - no batik, no marbling, no gradation...everything I like to use.   It was truly a challenge for me!!!    Stay tuned!

Take a look - I'm on a new adventure.    If you live in the area of Rochester, NY, stop in and take a look.    Honored to be showing my photo hobby in my first juried show at Image City Gallery, 722 University Ave, Rochester, NY.

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Back to the Wet Cyanotype!!!!

Hurrah for the return of sunnier and warmer weather.......and wet cyanotype printing.   I decided to try some delicate spring flowers this year:  Bleeding Heart, Lily of the Valley and Solomon's Seal.   This is a good time as it is a little cooler and the sun is not as high as mid summer,   A little cloud cover actually helps.   

Here you can see the progression of the bleeding heart from beginning time in the sun, to pre rinse to final print after rinsing. 

Paducah Bound...Sacred Threads Bound

It’s been a good week and a happy week for me.     I’m always excited to have my quilts accepted not shows, but I am also very humbled.  There are many good artists and it’s all what appeals to any individual judging panel.

"Seasons of My Garden" is headed to the AQS Paducah show in April.  It features 29 of my wet cyanotype prints and was featured in "The Power of Women" exhibit last fall at Houston IQF.

 "Into The Woods I Go....to Lose My Mind and Find My Soul" is headed to  Sacred ThreadsShow in July near Washington DC.    This is a most wonderful show.   None of the quilts are judged, but they are juried in according to quality and their story.   The story is the most important show.   My piece speaks to the peace I find being in nature and in the woods.   I love to take walks and I love to photograph what I see.   It is a wonderful prescription for stress.

Portraits

My small fiber art group played with portrait ideas at our last meeting.   I’m still working on the one I started there, but here is a thread sketch done this morning of my granddaughter.   She had taken a selfie, so I took that and converted it to a sketch drawing.   I transferred the sketch to fabric and used black thread in two different weights.   This was just a fun practice.

The Eyes are the Window to the Soul

I have participated in the last two Sacred Threads Quilts Exhibits shows,   It is a wonderful show held every 2 years in Herndon, Virginia.   It is a juried but not judged show.   There are 6 categories and the quilts are juried in according to their story and of course the quality of the quilt depicting the story.   I invite you to visit their site for more information at  Sacred Threads.
As part of the show, there is an exhibit which is open to anyone who wants to contribute,   The most recent exhibit was postcards.   This year the exhibit is "eyes".   The quilt can be constructed any way.....the only requirement being it must be 5x23.    It was a challenge for sure.

This is my final piece.

 

I started with an actual photo of my eyes...

Then I posterized my photo in Photoshop.

After that I drew a pattern on vinyl to trace onto fusible web for the back of selected fabrics. 

Fabrics were placed under the vinyl for accurate placement.  

It’s a New Year!

Every year I vow to do better on my blog....which should tell you how the last year ended.  I’m quilting.....a lot....but I can’t show any, or won’t show any, because they are all for challenges right now and we all prefer not to divulge ahead of time.   My guild challenge reveal is in two weeks and the theme is "Flora and Fauna".  I have two pieces for that,   My ArtCGirlz group is doing a "whisper" challenge.   This is based on the idea of the gossip game.   We will make a 9x12 piece which will be passed to the next person in our group,   They will make a 9x12 piece based on what they see, in the entire quilt or any one aspect of it.   This will rotate around the group with each person only seeing the one done before them....and no one sees their original piece until the end.   At the end we will reveal all 8 pieces to see how "gossip" changed the initial piece.   I can’t wait, it sounds like fun.

Meanwhile I’m still photographing and guess I should change my intro bio to this blog to include my new passion,   

A couple of photographs for you to enjoy,   These are both of the same lighted ornament that hung outside my house this year.   One has a snowy overlay and one shows bokeh.....the abstract lighting created by an out of focus background.   Enjoy!

Tis the Season!

I went to a Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square near Philadelphia, PA for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It was record cold and we spent much of our time in the conservatory whic was amazingly decorated for the holiday!   But we also did some night time light tours.  Here are some of my favorites.  

In front of one of the beautifully decorated trees in the conservatory.  

This glass tree was so beautiful as was the big main tree in the conservatory.  

And some outsides views!

Dreary Days

It has rained.....a lot....a lot of the time.   And it is not one bit Fall like in temperatures or leaf color....until yesterday.   We got one day of gorgeous beautiful walkable weather in a string of at least 10 rainy days.   I hiked a new park I had not been to before - Black Creek Park.   I took lots of picture....207 to be exactl.  I do tend to overdo, but that way I have many to play with and pick from for my enjoyment,   Here are some of my favorites....so far!

This might be the best color I have seen all season.

I do love a good reflection.    Contemplating a quilt idea here.

The walkway into the woods,   A carpet of leaves and it was so pretty. 

More pretty color.....just because.

Isn’t this the coolest fungus.   I find fungus so interesting and so fun to photograph,   No two ever look the same,   The one below is also another fungus we found,

We Are But a Mere Speck

"We Are But a Mere Speck".....currently showing at Experience Fiber art show in Rochester, NY called "it’s All Relative".   We are here but a small time, our place is small in this vast universe of time and space.   Why are we so intent on hate and destruction of  our planet and each other?   One small bead shows my place in this space.  

Prince....Cherrywood Fabrics Challenge

This year I decided to enter the Cherrywood FabricsAnnual Challenge that travels all over the U.S. and sometimes in Europe,    The theme was Prince.    I’m not a big Prince fan.....but oh those luscious purples.   I couldn’t resist.   We were given a pack of 3 purple fat quarters and a black fat quarter,  


The rules state that these fabrics must cover 70% of your 20 x 20 inch quilt top.   You can add other colors, but these are the basics,    The quilt must read purple.  

This is my entry.   I decided to base it loosely on the theme "Purple Rain..  the umbrella is the 4 purples we were given and the shoes are based on a pair actually worn by Prince.    I embellished with metallic thread and bugle beads to denote the rain and beadwork on the shoes.   I am happy  to report, out of 368 entries,  I was chosen as a finalist and my quilt will travel in the "Prince - Tribute" Tour.   We don’t know yet which venues will be showing this collection but am anxiously awaiting my next trip to. It’s my quilt alongside 74 other winners.

....and more wet cyanotype prints

Truth of an addiction......I can’t stop!   Am really liking the redbud leaves that I tried this year for the first time,    The foam board is sprayed with some pink dye-an-flow from Jacquard and some water,   I’m liking this as spots that might normally bleach out white now have a little color,  it’s still a magical process with little ability to predict what happens.

Fortunately my aneomone bush is quite full as I’m picking those too.   They transfer well,

The last is a Solomon's Seal leaf.    My first time to try this also.  

Then there was the day that nothing seemed to transfer well or with much color.   My dimestore analysis is that I didn’t get it wet enough and it was so hot the fabric dried out before processing.