Working in the studio again!

7" x 7"

3" x 3" in a black floater frame

7" x 7"

SAQA Information booth

My SAQA information booth at the NLQG show

O.K. Today I need to get down to business and sew. I have recently updated my fabrics, so I have some yummy material in graphic patterns and great colors. It's time to get in the studio and sew. Bye!

“If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.” ~ Dale Carnegie

New York City

Last week we took our vacation in New York city.
It's amazing to realize that while we live in our quiet home in the country, this place exists 24/7.
Fun to visit!

Times Square, April 2011

Signs of Spring

Information table

Today I will be sitting at an information booth for SAQA at a local quilt show.  I did this yesterday, too.
What a great time!  I have talked to a lot of people, many who did not know that such an organization like this existed.  I hope to see some new members from this.  That will make it fun for me (even though it already is!) to be a rep for a longer time.

I have hung up some of my quilts for viewing at my booth.  My quilt, "These are a few of my favorite things" featuring my cat Bish largely painted in turquoise, is the big hit, drawing in viewers to look at it up close and personal.  That's good to note.

Well, I'm off to chat with more people about an organization that I love.  Enjoy the day.

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.” ~ unknown

Tax Day.

“Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” ~ Keri Russell

Another look at playing!

Dianne Schullenberger's play station

“You just have to do your own thing, no matter what anyone says. It's your life.” ~ Ethan Embry

While visiting Dianne Schullenbergers studio she pointed us to an area of her studio where she just plays.  Any medium, anything she wants...

WHAT A GREAT IDEA!  Why didn't I think of that?

I love doing papier mache!  Love it.

So, why not dabble in between my quilting?

It will get my artistic flow going.

Yes!  Set this up and play, play play!

Seasons change and so do I

Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” ~ Arnold Bennett

Why do I post a quote like this? Well, I am changing. Like the season, from winter into spring. My art is blossoming as am I.

Strange fascination fascinating me

Changes are taking the pace I'm going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

(Turn and face the strain)

Ch-ch-Changes

Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

(Turn and face the strain)

Ch-ch-Changes

Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older

Time may change me

But I can't trace time

I said that time may change me

But I can't trace time

~ David Bowie

A fascination with color studies

Color studies from Dianne Schullenberger's studio had me fascinated.  These visuals are amazing for jump starting creativity.  Just Wow!  That's all I can say!

It's April!

This has potential to be a very cool project!

Thinking about the past weekend

I visited Dianne Schullenberger's studio last Sunday.  Her work is phenominal.  Her studio had an amazing aura of creativity.  So, I took some pictures to take home with me as a souvenir.  I want to keep the feeling of that space with me, to use it as a guide for my studio.

Hearing her talk about her process, and the freedoms she allows in her creativity made me realize that I approach my work and my life a little too sternly.  I need to open up more, to play, create, & celebrate.

Hopefully some of this will rub off on me into my life and process....  In the meantime, I think about when I can visit her gallery again.

Fantastic Weekend

 The SAQA Weekend was even better than I expected.
 I am really happy to be an active part of this group.

We did so much, my mind is spinning.

I can't write much now, but thought would share these images from Dianne Schullenberger's Studio

The middle picture is a close up of one of her fiber creations.

I will write more tomorrow!

This is where I am this weekend!

I am enjoying my new camera!

Felix

This ball of cuddle is Bish

I want a Georgia O'Keefe style spring

Thinking about mono printing!

mono printed prayer flag

Tuesday

Today was bright sunshine, blue sky and a magical icy wonderland outside!  It was so amazing out I took pictures with my cell phone!  I just had to record it.
The sunshine helps to keep my spirits up.
Moving ahead with my book, the sketchbook challenge and my journal.

A Rainy Sunday

monoprinted and commercial fabrics combined

“Never sell your hen on a rainy day”

It's March and already the month is getting away from me. Mud season has started with a major thaw.  The rain is pelting softly on my skylights.  The snow has a withered look.
Thoughts of moving ahead with many projects are weaving their way through my mind.  Now for action.  We are entering a new storm watch for snow, rain, sleet, and overall yuckiness.  It's time to sequester myself in my studio and forget about the outside elements.

Being sick

Ah!  It's not fun being sick.  I have contracted the virus my daughter had last week.  Slight fever, lethargy, runny nose, irritability.  I have been sleeping for two days now, going on three.

I think I am finally sick of snow, too.  Yesterday, while in my drowsy, achy state, I peered out the window at yet more snow coming down from the sky.  The piles (or should I call them mounds) of snow are so tall, you can't see anything, and it's dangerous to go around a corner in an automobile.  The landscape has changed dramatically here, and I really cannot wait for Spring to claim itself.

Illness has made me cranky and I have fallen behind on some things.  I hate that.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, huh?  I hope so.

After the snow...

 

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” ~ Pericles

Sketchbook Challenge, Pen drawings

Home again!

A philodendron leave in my kitchen

"Nature has been mastering itself for some time now, and it is an honor to be able to capture its beauty". 

~ Justin Beckett

I'm back from the cape retreat. What a great time!  I feel so refreshed.  I got some sewing done, but for the most part, I relaxed and enjoyed the camaraderie of girlfriends!
Now, it's time to reset up my sewing room and get myself going on my book project.  I'm moving ahead on that and will post images as I get them.  Focus, focus, focus!

Cape Cod Quilting Retreat!

Yahoo!  What's up?
I am writing this from the cape cod quilting retreat.  I am in a conference room sewing with about 100 other women.  It's nice here.
My sister is here with me. She flew in from Illinois yesterday to hang out and sew.  She's working on a red, white and blue baby quilt.  It's traditional, but really nice.
I am finishing up a UFO!  I actually brought something that I caould finish.  I still have another sewing day, too!  Good for me, huh?

There are signs of spring everywhere.  I'm feeling very happy right now.

Gotta go!  Gotta Sew!

Bye!

sketchbook challenge

More Sketchbook images.

I find it interesting how
different they look when
photographed.

"Where does the white go when the snow melts?"  ~ Author Unknown

A few of my sketchbook challenge pages

sketchbook challenge

I have never kept an ongoing sketchbook.  My mind has always found itself sketching so why use my hands to record what could be rapidly done without the disappointment of a shaky hand?
So, with this challenge I have been feeling a bit self conscious about my sketchbook pages.  Self conscious of myself, that is!  If I can't do it beautifully and perfectly then why do it?  I don't want to confront my flaws!  Yuck!  That's uncomfortable and who wants that?

Ah!  But what I am learning is, you have to take time to stretch before you can play the game well!

So, this challenge has become a lesson in stretching and sketching.  I am facing white pages daily with the challenge of filling them with images of my fancy using whatever tools I want.  Sounds wonderful, huh?  Don't kid yourself, it's harder than it looks!

"You have to be displaced from what's comfortable and routine, and then you get to see things with fresh eyes, with new eyes."  ~ Amy Tan

winter weeds make a nice pattern

“If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.” ~ Win Borden

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. - Christopher Columbus

I played a heap of snow in a school play. I was under a sheet, and crawled out when spring came. I often say I'll never reach the same artistic level again.   ~ Stellan Skarsgard

YES.  You Can!

Let go of self consciousness.  It's binding.  Focus and become one with the project and you can transcend.

Try it.

If your inner voice says,"What? she says to try something that scares me, and look like a fool?"  then you know you need to change that way of thinking to, "What she says to try something that scares me and I may enjoy it and have fun again?

Well, .....there may be a few snags on the way, but, YES, you will be happier for trying, than "should-ing yourself" later, when your 80.

Why am I making this entry on to my blog?  Well, I am currently convincing myself to try something that scares me.  I'm hoping I can take my own advice. So gotta go.  Something really scary awaits and I'm about to dive in.  Yee Haw!

thoughts... based on a quote

"Ah, good taste, what a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."  ~ Pablo Picasso, painter and sculptor (1881-1973)

Will it sell?  Can I make money off of this?  Is it good enough for the public?

Listen to yourself!

Make art for arts sake.
Do not let the commercial world dictate what you make.
Go with the flow of your inner being, trust that voice.
You have a lot to say.
The world does want to hear it.
They don't have to like everything.
They don't have to agree with everything.
Most likely, there will be one person out there who will enjoy what you do!
But the important thing is, YOU will like what you do.
Not necessarily the end product, because that's superficial.
But the process, the steps to get there, how you used your brain and hands to create
That is what is important.

No Holds Barred, NE Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA

I had a fantastic weekend.  I drove down to the NE Quilt Museum to see my friends and fellow SAQA members at the NE SAQA show, No Holds Barred".  It was great to see people who I have recently enjoyed the camaraderie of creating fiber art with as well as old friends and acquaintances.  I met some new people too while looking at the fabulous fiber art on the walls.  SAQA events are worth the trip when the showing of members work is involved.  This is an awesome and inspiring group of people!  I am so happy to represent such a wonderful organization!

http://www.nequiltmuseum.org/

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” - Dr Wayne Dyer

“There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus to learn the sound of your own voice.”   - Po Bronson

I am enjoying the sketchbook project.  It really has me confronting my artistic demons daily in a good way.  The ongoing voice in my head keeps saying, "Oh, I'm gonna ruin this."

Yeah,

O.K.

I hear it for what it is...

It's there.

Yes, "there you are, little voice!"

Now........                                           "Go Away!"

Methods to the Madness

"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is the way great spiritual giants are produced."    ~ Swami Vivekananda

I'm working toward my book today. I need to drown out any other noise in my head and focus. Gotta go. Wish me luck!

Introducing the next SAQA event!

You must be a SAQA Member to attend

NE Quilt Museum, Upcoming events

Wen Redmond: No Holds Barred

The best laid plans....

I am embracing myself as an artist.

I am setting goals.

I am motivated.

"Be a curator. Stick to what is essential. You don't make a great museum by putting all the art in the world into a single room." - from Rework by Fried & Hansson

SAQA in Colchester, VT, March 25 - 27th, 2011

Ah!  Where has the month gone?  Just yesterday it was New Years, right?  But how did we get to the middle of the month?  How did it sneak up on me?  I feel like I have blinked.
I have a lot of catching up to do... if you think this is bad, you should see my studio!  or not!

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." ~ Marilyn Monroe

No, really. Hmmmm.  What have I been doing?  

I guess I have been working on the NEXT SAQA EVENT. I am helping Alexandra Nickerson, (see photo in past blog entry) to organize a fantastic weekend for our next SAQA gathering. I'm very excited about it. We will start out with a group dinner on Friday evening. Then enjoy two workshops Saturday, one on approaching galleries with your work, the artists bio & CV by Rae Harrell, and what the juror sees, the other side of the coin, by Valarie Poitier. Saturday evening will end with an incredible show and tell by our members. Sunday morning, after breakfast and checking out of our hotels, we will drive to Jericho, VT as a group to tour two artist studios before saying our goodbyes!

This will be an event NOT to miss!

See you there!

Moving comfortably (and creatively) into 2011

"Expressing yourself confidently is always an element of deeply moving artwork" ~ Anne Lamott

In reference to the above quote....I call it, the time when the planets and stars line up... that moment, when you just "know" that what you are doing is right and the creativity is oozing out of you like sap from a maple tree on a warm sunny March day.  It's the time when you forget to eat, or go to the bathroom until you realize that you are ravenous, or your bladder will completely burst.  You are just so caught up in what is happening in front of you you cannot stop.  "How did that happen?," you ask!  You are "out of body" and everything is o.k.!  In fact it's heaven and you don't ever want to leave.

Hey!  I want to be there now... please!  Don't tell me I need to take the baby steps, the jump starts and warm ups to get there.  I want to leap there, now, cold turkey. I am an artist, right?  Isn't that all it takes?  I just claim the title and voila, the sketchbook will perfectly happen?

O.K. I get it.  I'll start at the beginning of the trail, walk the walk, and read the signs as I go.  The more experienced I am, the more I will be able to jump over to get to the summit faster and explore the higher elevations.
There is lots more at the top.  Who knows how the altitude will affect me.  Then, after awhile, I'll leap from the top without a net and free fall into a new territory.

..... onward and upward!  Sketchbook project take me away!

Monday, Monday

"We are not blocked creatives; we are creatives putting up blocks, because the flow of creativity is so overwhelming that we short circuit." ~ Annette Carol Compton, from Drawing from the mind, painting from the heart

Today is the first day of the rest of my life...

I'm diving in to better habits, health and happiness. Come on 2011, show me what you got.  I'm armed and dangerous with my sketchbook!

Yee Haw!

It's January, a time to start anew..... 1/1/11

Detail, Energetic Kinesis
photo by Christine Maute

"Your mindset is the soil in which you are planting each and every dream seed" - Amy Ahlers

Excuse me, while I take this time to create a progress chart the old fashioned way, with glue, markers and funky things.  It's time to confront the resolutions head on... and start the Sketchbook project and several other creativity enhancers to help make 2011 a grand year!
Let the games begin!

Embracing change!

"Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust. Stop being who you were, and change into who you are."   ~ Paulo Coelho

"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are."  ~ Bertolt Brecht 

"Change before you have to." ~ Jack Welch

Happy New Years

"If that's all there is, my friend, Then let's keep dancing" - Cabaret

It's the New Year... a time to reflect, but also, a time to project. The "has beens and done thats" and the "wanna bees and will dos" converge.  Sometimes this can be inspiring, but other times it can be incredibly daunting.

O.K.....  2011, what do you have in store for me?  Will it be an amazing year?  WIll the creativity just flow out of me?  or will I struggle with a bout of depression and self doubt....

• Will I be able to create on a whim?
• Will all art supplies be golden in my hands?
• Can I enjoy freedom of expression without the censor of my own negative internal critic?  I hope so!

O.k.  The only way to know the answers to these questions is
to DO THE WORK......
and Tha-uh-e-uh, tha-uh-e-uh, that's the answer, Folks!

So, GO FOR IT, Move Ahead.... DO THE WORK!
and Keep on Dancing!


Happy New Year to all!

Countdown to Christmas

How are you doing?  Are you feeling stressed yet?  Do you have your Christmas stress under control?  My list....

• Christmas tree is up and decorated
• Christmas cards are being written and sent out in increments..
• Gifts are bought, but more to get....  The boys!
• Favorite Christmas music CDs are out and being listened to in the evenings
• Cookies?  Candies?  Meal planning....  Not yet!
• But, there is snow on the ground finally.. and I hear jingle bells!

Now, what's up for sewing and my future projects! First,  I need to repossess my studio from craft show mess and Christmas gift wrap.  I need to confront myself and create a realistic time line.  I have high expectations for myself this new year. I will not say my resolutions out loud, but I will take myself more seriously and start "walking the walk" again.  Get in there and just do it!

"But seriously, I think overall in the scheme of things winning an Emmy is not important. Let's get our priorities straight. I think we all know what's really important in life - winning an Oscar." ~  Ellen DeGeneres

"Concern over criticism clogs creativity."  ~ Duane Alan Hahn

I love this quote.  Most people will read this thinking that it applies to outside criticism.  I know it applies to my own worst critic.... myself!   I have to stop thinking about what I should be doing and just do it.  I love it when I can turn off the inner voices and just go for it.  I'm hoping I will enter that zone again soon.  It's euphoric.  I'm ready.

Lyme library group show

Photo taken by Sonja Hakala

The opening reception at the Lyme library was well atttended.
The show there is vibrant and alive!  Lots of bright colors and creative pieces!

My book coach, Sonja Hakala came to the reception and captured this nice photo of me!  She has written a little blurb on her inklings blog, too!
www.SonjaHakala.com

"I like to think that Henry James said his classic line, "A writer is someone on whom nothing is lost," while looking for his glasses, and that they were on top of his head" - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Opening Reception this Wednesday!

Detail of a dyed & mono printed scarf on view at this show

WOW Quilters 1st Group Show

Converse Free Library, Lyme, NH

November 2nd - December 29th, 2010

 Meet the Artists Opening Reception & Craft Sale

Wed. December 8, 2010

 4:30 - 6:30 pm

Featuring work from:

Jann Block

Dana Burrell

Sue Geno

Michelle Goldsmith

Nellie Pennington

Joanne Shapp

Margaret Sheehan

Thetford Academy Craft Fair

This is where I will be on Saturday November 20th
From the Valley News Calendar:
Craft Bazaar in Thetford: featuring 50 crafters: Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., horse-drawn rides with Earl Silloway from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; lunch available 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., gymnasium attached to Anderson Hall, Thetford Academy, 304 Academy Road. Every 30 minutes door prizes drawn, tickets $1. Sponsored by Thetford Academy Alumni Association. 802-333-9491 or krash537@hotmail.com.

I will be selling framed fabric collages, potpourri squares, funky coffee cuffs, quilts, and my art dolls!

Stop by for a chat.  It's a quaint low profile crafts fair and its a lot of fun!

Margaret

Back into the studio today

O.K. I'm back in the studio today.  My daughters play is over and the sinus cold I have been struggling with is starting to abate.
New craft shows are coming up and I have tight deadlines help to make me creative!
Gotta get out the supplies and just play.  Here I go!

"Sometimes imagination pounces; mostly it sleeps soundly in the corner, purring."  ~ Terri Guillemets

Procion Dyed and Monoprinted Scarf
on view at the Lyme Library
WOW Group show    Nov. 1 - Dec. 29th

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass....it's about learning to dance 
in the rain"  ~ Anonymous

My friend Chris Maute sent this quote out today to all her friends and I just had to post it here.  It applies!  I've been learning to dance in the rain for awhile now.  I still don't quite have the hang of it, but I'm getting used to it.  Being soggy and vulnerable, while trying to appear glamorous and sure of oneself, that's the tricky part.

• Take one step at a time and breathe.  
• Be sure to notice things around you.  
• Take advantage of the serendipity that life offers you.
• Know that fear will always be there but you are safe anyway.
• Life is constant change.  Stay open to it and you can grow old and create incredible art gracefully!
• Yee Haw!

Writing a book

I am currently in the process of writing a book about the techniques I use to make my art quilts.  This is quite a challenge for me.

My book is called, "Art Quilts: Methods to the Madness".

It will cover Reverse Applique, Creative Zig zag, Satin stitch and couching, how and when to use fusible web and stabilizers, how to attach non-cotton materials and a brief overview of using metallic threads in the bobbin, (bobbin drawing!)  These are all the methods I use to make my quilts.
Look for it next year at this time, available through Amazon, and of course, myself!

I have entered the SAQA, No Holds Barred exhibit, too.  I hope I get in!

"Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not that one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act.”  ~ Andre Malraux

November 3rd

I am currently participating in a group Art quilt show at the Lyme Library.  We hung it on Monday November 1st.  It is awesome!  The "Meet the Artists" reception is planned for December 8th, from 4:30 - 6:30 pm.  If you can stop by to see the show, it's bright, colorful, sophisticated, amazing and just plain worth the trip to see!  It's up until December 30th!

Artists participating in the show:
Joanne Shapp, Sue Geno, Nellie Pennington, Margaret Sheehan, Michelle Goldsmith, Jann Block, Dana Burrell, Judi Simon Boutin

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and materials assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now." - Goethe