Summer is here!

My Master Class with Lisa Call finishes up this month. It's been very challenging for me - in a lot of ways. The biggest thing I got out of the class, and it was one of my main goals, is that I now consider art-making part of my daily life. I don't have to walk down the hall past the art room to math class anymore. I have looked into the Art Room and the Art Room is me! (hehe... throwing a little geekery in) Anyhoo, if you can take a class with Lisa, please jump at the chance! 

So much has happened in the last couple of weeks, but not much quilty stuff. My daughter and her friends graduated from high school, birthdays, father's day, our anniversary, kids home for the summer... Upcoming is Sarah's 18th birthday (eeeek) and Solarfest. 

Quilty things I have been working on are getting the three new Hay Bales quilts mounted and ready to hang, but my stapler keeps jamming up. ergh. I have one called Eyes that I will show you next week. This the back of one will be in the Yellow Flower Thingie series - #3 to be specific.

That's about it, but I think we are settling into the summer routine, plus the weather is being hot and muggy. I should have more time and incentive to spend in my studio which is in the cool basement.

Dagger or Crucifix?

What do you see?

“Is it a dagger or a crucifix I see 

you hold so tightly in your hands?” 

Blood of Eden, by Peter Gabriel

“Dagger or Crucifix” is an interpretation of Gabriel's lyrics which gives us a very powerful statement on the abuse of power by any organized religion. There is a very prominent vertical slash through the left side of the painting which is rather ambiguous about whether this is a tool for causing injury and possibly death or whether it is a symbol of redemption and everlasting life. The aura surrounding this form glows with the colors that seem to suggest a holy artifact, but the stiletto tipped shaft terminates surrounded by a blood colored splash. The green background suggests there is life beyond either interpretation of the symbol, life after religion, recovery after abuse, healing after war.

Spinning Hay Into Yarn

These are closeups of the quilt that got put in the easel last week. I love the colors, and, so far, the different parts are coming out mostly the way I had envisioned. Maybe not as subtle or nuanced as what was in my head, but I am not a subtle person, so that is always a stretch anyways! I'm going to wait to show you the whole quilt till it's done. 

I turned my hay bales into yarn balls. Just temporarily ( I hope!), though, it's a thick medium that I'm using because of the lines that showed through the paint. I cut out the centers and frosted them with this stuff. When it's dry, I'll sand it and give it a light coat of white acrylic paint. Of course, seeing yarn balls appear on my quilt made me want to make a quilt with balls of yarn in it on purpose.

easel living

Yay! I have something on my windmill easel ready to paint! When I first got the easel, I had some ideas about how to make it work with quilted pieces, but they didn't work out so well. This piece is stretched on stretcher bars, so I am actually using the easel pretty much how it was designed to be used(!). 

The easel can spin and the canvas can lay flat, I can't wait to actually paint on it.

We picked up two sewing machines that we had brought to Michael Jarvis in Newport to have spruced up. This one was Steve's Great-Grandfather's, who was a tailor. It was rusted pretty badly, but Michael made it look beautiful and it purrs like a kitten. and it sews.

This one was my mom's, it was in better shape going in, but now it shines and sews beautifully! 

Haybales in Vermonts

Almost finished. I have to deal with the lines through the hay bales and then mount them, but I think the painting part is done. I would love to hear what you think!

Haybales in Vermont #3

Haybales in Vermont #4

Haybales in Vermont #2

This series of three pieces expands on my earlier piece entitled “Hay Bales in Vermont”. Again there is the bright green new hay growing and the clear blue sky, but this time the bales of hay are seen from different perspectives. First off, Haybales in Vermont #3, gives a closer look at the bales with a vertically cropped view of the grass and sky. The horizon line is level across the piece, in contrast with the hay field which appears to be swirled, as if a wind storm has just passed through. The sky is a nearly solid blue calmly looking over the scene. Next in line is “Haybales in Vermont #4”, in which we see the bales from more of a distance. The hay field looks freshly harvested with bright green gashes almost angrily protesting the havoc caused by reaping its bounty. Lastly, “Haybales in Vermont #2” focusses on the hay bales themselves, with just a peek at Vermont’s natural beauty above and below. This piece captures the rolling hills so prevalent in the Green Mountain State

(Haybales in Vermont #1 can be seen here) 

Blue Skies!

I don't have the right size stretcher bars for my new pieces, so I am painting on the floor again. But at least I am painting. I have three more Haybales in Vermont started, here are two. They are each from different perspectives and orientations. I used two different fabrics for all three, using an almost solid blue for the sky. That worked out better than the floral, but now there is a seam through each of the hay bales, which I don't like. I do have the grass mostly painted in, they just need a little touching up. 

Happy Earth Day!

Climate Change, 2012 42"x48"

This was made with Ugly Fabric (fabric really not suitable for, well, anything) and most of the paint was leftover wall paint. It symbolizes my frustration with "deniers". Please consider celebrating Earth Day by eating plant based meals whenever you can. It's the easiest way a single person can make a big impact. And now I will get off my soap box.

Our guild, Northern Lights Quilt Guild, held their biannual quilt show last weekend. We have such a talented group. The majority of them are traditional quilters, and wicked talented ones at that. Joanne Shapp was the featured quilter here, too. She also displayed her other work, ones not in the Crop Circle series. The contrast in styles was amazing - either wild, crazy and super colorful or very controlled, meticulously piece and monochromatic. However, they were all very much Joanne Shapp Quilts!

I'm sure more, and much better quality photos will be posted on our guild website, so please check there to see the work of our talented ladies. I'm just going to share one more because it was geeky! My husband amused himself by translating the binary and he's pretty sure it says "Invictus, I play the game".