It is very cold today! I would love to be on a warm beach somewhere. I will have to just view "Sand Dollar". I collected it a long time ago. It is mounted in a mass of silk and other fibers and beaded. Good memories!
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January is a time to start over - evaluate the past - choose what to keep and what to delete or change. Someone on Facebook said that one should cut negative people and activities out of your life - but do not use your fabric scissors. I wish I had documented the author. I plan to delete some negative activities and add some that are pleasant. I started this year with an exhibit at the Denham Springs/Walker Library. If you get an opportunity, go by and see it. The staff was very helpful in the installation. It was a pleasant experience! "Wildfire" is on the front wall. I hand dyed the fabric and made the embellishments. It reminds me of a meadow on fire -animals running to safety. We often run from adversity to a safe place.
I like January 1st! It is an opportunity to start over. I planned to do so many things today but fate interfered. Loud fireworks till 2pm. Beautiful show! Someone ran off the road into my ditch at 3pm - so no sleep. Fortunately no one was injured. But I did do one thing I wanted. I watched the birds and walked about the yard - enjoying God's brilliant flowers! The Azaleas and Roses are blooming! It was so peaceful! I reread this poem that I found in 2017.
FABRIC LANDSCAPE COLLAGE Join me at the Arts Council of Livingston Parish on September 29th from 10 am till 11:45 am for a "Landscape Fabric Collage" class. You will create an 8" x 10" landscape collage using fabric and fusible. Sewing is optional. No experience necessary. You can bring your own materials or purchase a $5 kit from me. I will show you how to hand or machine finish your landscape if you wish to stitch or quilt it later. Materials: Focus fabric, 3 coordinating fabrics, sky fabric, steam a seam fusible, 8" x 10" piece of fabric for base. Fabrics can be as small as 5" by 5". Go to www.artslivingston.org to reserve a spot.
Join me at the Arts Council of Livingston Parish Wednesday, April 13th from 10 am - 12 pm to create a 9" x 12" art quilt. Bring a focus fabric and about 3 coordinating pieces or purchase a kit from me. I am including a few samples. All other materials needed will be provided. No fee. Call 225-664-1168 and leave your name and number if you wish to participate. Arts Council address is 133 Hummell Street, Denham Springs, LA. Roving The Springs Fabric samples:
I created this piece about two months ago for a dear friend. Ms. Felecia West had been the head librarian at the Denham Springs/Walker Library since it opened. She was a great friend of those who loved books and art. Her fellow librarians asked me to create this piece as a gift from them. She got to enjoy it before she passed. She will be greatly missed. I was very fortunate to have been her friend. Special thanks to Edie Albe for machine quilting it so quickly. She made it special.
Un Touche of Rose "Un Touche of Rose" is on display at the St. Tammany Art Association Gallery in Covington during the Three Rivers Art Festival. I created four pieces in this series. They are hand painted fabric, quilted, and canvas wrapped. Each piece is 12" by 12". Contemporary Fiber Artists of Louisiana will hold its November meeting in Covington and then attend the festival. I will be conducting my last meeting as president. It has been an honor to serve as president for the last four years. I am looking forward to new leadership and new ideas and experiences. I wish the best to the incoming officers.
Snapshot of "Jubilation" "Jubilation" was part of the Festival of Awareness exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in October 2015. This photo is a section of the quilt. "Jubilation" will travel with the exhibit for a year. I hand dyed the fabric and free motion quilted it. Then I painted, sewed, and beaded the flowers. "Jubilation" was created in celebration of my father's life. All the flowers in and around our home came from the forests and fields.
"Silver Sea" I donated "Silver Sea" to the SAQA Benefit Auction for 2015. It was inspired by my love of the seas and the oceans. We were unable to travel when I was a child, so I never saw the ocean till I was 16. I was mercerized! Much of my work centers around this theme. The silver embellishments represent the treasures the seas protect. I am surrounded by my art pieces and my shells which remind me of the awesome beauty found in nature.
American Lotus Circle of Life "American Lotus" was created for the Quilt the Swamp exhibit at Bluebonnet Swamp Center in Baton Rouge, LA during January 2015. Michael Young was the curator. The theme this year was metamorphosis. I grew these flowers and photographed them. The piece shows the American Lotus from bud to empty seed pod. The background is my hand dyed fabric. The photos are printed on cotton and silk organza. It is mounted on stretcher bars. This piece was also juried into the Brush with Burden exhibit at the Burden Garden Center, a part of LSU Rural Life grounds in March of 2015.
Butterfly Dance In 2014, my quilt "Butterfly Dance" was published in Larks' 500 Traditional Quilts . Then it was chosen as one of 150 quilts to be exhibited at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. "Butterfly Dance" was then chosen to be a part of a smaller exhibit at the Texas Quilt Museum in LaGrange, Texas in March of 2015 . Below is a close up of a section of the quilt.
Last year I invited the chairman of the Louisiana Northshore Quilt Trail to visit my Livingston Parish Quilt Guild. We were asked by the Denham Springs Main Street Association to create two blocks for the city. My guild designed one based on an original ceiling tile from the Historical Old City Hall. We used the traditional courthouse step pattern on the outside. It was painted by local artist Paulette Ferguson and Denham Springs High School art instructor Virginia Berthelot. It was dedicated on July 16, 2013 with a reception by the Denham Springs Main Street Association. Here is a photo of the Historical Old City Hall block. We invited the students of Denham Springs High School art instructor Virginia Berthelot to design a block for Train Station Park. The Denham Springs Main Street Association chose a design by Bryce Richard. He painted the block and it was dedicated on July 16, 2013. Pictured are Louisiana Northshore Qui...
My Contemporary Fiber Artists Of Louisiana (CFAL) group recently sponsored a wet felted vessels class with Sharon Costello. I created "Circle Dance" with a flat wool piece that I made in class. I embellished it with beads, thread and a center flower. The flower was created with thread and water soluble Solvy. It is mounted on a quilted and painted piece of commercial fabric. I plan to finish it with a plain black frame. As you can see, It looks good in a vertical or horizonal position. The class was lots of fun and Sharon Costello was a talented teacher. I will post vessels soon. Circle Dance
"Hibiscus Abstracted" A friend brought a photo of a beautiful Yellow Hibiscus to one of our fiber group meetings. We each interpreted it any way we wished. I took lines and curves and colors and created the piece below. "Hibiscus Abstracted" is machine and hand embroidered. Beads, hand dyed ribbon and Swavorski crystals were added. It is ready to hang. Below is this piece matted.
My fiber art group chose "discharge" as a technique to explore. I used Decolourant on a piece of commercial fabric depicting sea shells on a sandy beach. Decolourant is very easy to use. I stenciled the circles and used a brush for the wavy lines. If you make an error with Decolourant, you can wash it out. It only activates when it is ironed. Other members had interesting results using bleach gel. Sea Treasures "Sea Treasures" is discharged with Decolourant, machine quilted, beaded with small shells and a large shell is added. Sea shells have always fascinated me. I recommend that you read "Gift From the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindberg. In the book, she says" One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can only collect a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few".
I am part of a small group that meets each month to try new fiber art techniques. We made silk screens and used them to create a piece that was 8.5 by 11 inches. I use an old Thermofax machine to prepare my screens. I screened circles onto a piece of my hand dyed linen. I then used metallic thread and green thread to emphasize some of the circles. I began with flower circles but changed them for buttons. The various sizes and shapes of the buttons represent diversity. They are connected by the circles. We are all connected in some way. I love the quote by Chief Seattle that says we are all bound together - that all things connect. This is the beginning of "Connections". The circles have been screened on and embroidered by hand and machine. "Connections" with flower embellishment. I took these off and added buttons. "Connections"