Current Showings and Fusing

I've got to get busy!!! I have deadlines coming up and I really need to start and finish some art quilts!
Today I'm going to spend the day fusing fabric for my next series of quilts. It is a triptych series from water color paintings I made last year. With deadlines coming upon me, I have got to get busy! Fabric is dyed and the fusing has begun.
Yesterday was a good day, I got word that my new piece "Confused" was accepted into next months show at Oxide Gallery in Denton. I submitted two new 12x12 pieces to the Irving Art Center Gift Shop on consignment. June through September the Irving Art Center is having the Genghis Khan Exhibit and asked the Dallas Area Fiber Artists to contribute consignment pieces to their gift shop. I submitted these two art quilts that I started in a workshop last month with Deborah Boschert. Here are their pictures.


Shadow Circles


Sea Visions

Last night Kathy Mayhew and I taught a mini-workshop and gave a presentation of the SAQA-Texas members 9x12 Mini-Quilts that were on display last year at the International Quilt Festival. The mini-workshop was great and the creativeness of our group never ceases to amaze me. The 9x12's had a great response and the members really enjoyed being able to see the wide variety of quilting and surface techniques. Kathy is one of our Texas Regional Reps for SAQA and did a great job informing the DAFA members on the benefits of SAQA, what can be utilized by members and non-members on the SAQA website and the information, education and growth that SAQA encourages for all artists.
Till next time....happy creating everyone!

I Know, I've Been Absent Lately......But I Have a Good Reason!

I've been a little distant lately from my blog, but I have a good reason. I'm working on a Christmas present and I can't talk about it on my blog! If I do, it won't be a surprise for the person that receives this "gift from my heart" that I'm working on. All I can say is that it's beautiful!
I still have a couple of quilts on my design board and I'm looking forward to working on new projects after the first of the year. After the first of the year I plan on working on developing a few workshops and start teaching. Plans of increasing on online networking are already in the works with other artisans on ArtFire and Facebook.
Right now I have a Holiday Sale of 20% off all merchandise in my ArtFire studio, StudioJules. Link over and enjoy the sale!
I've also been busy with the grandchildren and tomorrow, Mr. Wonderful and I will celebrate 24 years of wedded bliss. He is taking a couple of days of vacation so we can do some things together that don't include sewing, sketching, dying or fixing anything around the house.
Tuesday night we are going to the Gallery Night at Oxide Gallery in Denton, Texas. I have three new pieces in this show that haven't been in a show before and are fresh out of the studio. So if you are in the area and want to see the fantastic works of some of my fellow Dallas Area Fiber Artists.
So, signing off for now and I'll post more later, when I can tell you what I'm working on and not keeping Christmas secrets!

Dallas Area Fiber Artists Show at Oxide Gallery

The Dallas Area Fiber Artists will be holding a show at the Oxide Gallery in Denton, TX, the month of December 2010. If you are in the area, be sure to come by and see the show and buy some beautiful artwork! There is a wide venue of artwork by the artists, everything from paintings, to art quilts, to wood sculptures.
Come join us for Gallery Night, December 7th, 6pm to 8 pm.

Fall Leaves ~ 2010 ~ Complete

I finished "Fall Leaves ~ 2010" today, just in time to submit it for the Dallas Area Fiber Artists show at Oxide Gallery.... I really like this piece. The colors are so warm, cool and refreshing. I spent all day yesterday and this morning stitching the detail to the leaves and when it was all said and done....this is how much thread I had left! After knotting the threads and hiding the tails on all the leaves, by fingers are sore and ready for a manicure!


When you look at the detail of the art quilt, you can see the knot in the tree and that the quilting has blue leaves...these are suppose to be like shadows and/or reflections of the tree leaves.



That's all for now! I've got to finish up the other piece I'm working on.
Have a great day everyone and Happy Stitching!

Monday Path, Start of a New Day and New Routine

Yesterday I picked up my "Artist Way" book again, after 2.5 years. This morning I started journaling again. I'm incorporating the scripture from Sunday service into my journaling. Hopefully this will move me forward and stop the time blocks I've been running into the past weeks. I have decided to stop listening to books while I work for the time being and have turned the Rock 'n Roll back on. Now, if I can work instead of dance around the Studio (dancing around the Studio counts as my daily exercise, right?)...

I have so many creative thoughts and my creative time needs to improve to accomplish what is being put before me. I know I am starting this at a difficult time of the year, but what a time to start a new process! If I can make it through the holiday season, then the first of the year will be easier and more routine, right?

The weather forecast for today is "Mostly Cloudy"....right now at my house it is very sunny, cool and beautiful. But this is Texas and I know that the weather can change in an instant, so I'm sure the clouds "may" show up sometime today and it "may" rain tomorrow. If it does get cloudy today I plan to run outside and hopefully finish taking pictures of fabric and handkerchiefs that I dyed last month. I need to get these into StudioJules for the holiday shoppers. Speaking of StudioJules and holiday shopping... I just marked-down my hand dyed t-shirts 25%. The t-shirts, hankies and fat quarters would make great presents for family, friends, secret pals or for yourself!

In the meantime, before the clouds appear and I can go outside to shoot pictures, I'm going to continue working on the two projects I have going to submit to Oxide Gallery on Friday for the Dallas Area Fiber Artists show in December and January.


Fall Leaves I showed you this one in the starting stages of leaves the other day. I decided it needed a lot less leaves. Yesterday I started adding in the smaller tree branches by couching embroidery floss. I have a few more small branches to incorporate and then I can start thread painting the detail into the tree and leaves. I've placed a few pieces of fused metallic paint into the background to be "light reflections" of the leaves and sky. If all goes as planned, this may be finished today before (or if) the clouds appear.



This one doesn't have a name yet. It is still trying to speak its name to me. I have copper wire and a few other things that I am going to incorporate into it before it is finished, but it is getting there. I love nestling the beads into the folds of the painted cheesecloth, like they are hiding, or trying to come out of hiding.

Well, I'm off. I'm keeping in mind that this is all in God's timing, not mine and each piece will be finished, when it's finished.

Move over left brain, the right is taking over!

New Projects....

The Dallas Area Fiber Artists will be showing at Oxide Gallery in Denton, TX the months of December and January. I'm excited for our group to have another venue to show in! I have one work completed to sell, Cardinal Summer Dance and two on my worktable to get finished within the next two weeks.
Yesterday I decided that I needed to work on something quick, so I pulled out a mosaic background I had fused a few weeks ago and started working on a tree motif. I used the last of a batik fabric for the leaves and was pretty happy with it.



Then I decided that it needed a little bit more "Fall Color" in it and started adding some orange into the leaves. Now I have a complete split complementary color scheme! The background fabric is has blue and purple in it. These pictures aren't the greatest, but I did the best I could. I was standing on top of my worktable to take them!



Now I have the critical artist voice asking myself if I have done too much, should I take out some of the leaves and let it be a little more sparse, or should I leave it, fuse it and start my thread painting.

What do you think? I'm looking for some feedback, so let me hear from you!

Happy stiching everyone!

Staying Busy and So Much to Do!

Time is moving fast and I have so much to finish up with before I leave for Houston next week. What's on the schedule? Well, I have a display I need to finish for the Dallas Area Fiber Artists (DAFA) 2010 Annual Show, embroider my grandson's name on my denim shirt (because it has to go to Houston with me), finish packing my class supplies and my car CD play went on the fritz today so tomorrow is goes to the dealership to be fixed. I have already checked out two books on CD to listen to on the drive to Houston and back, so the CD player has to be fixed.
And to add to my time schedule, the Texas Rangers are playing in the World Series (though tonight they aren't doing as well as we would like), so nothing gets done during the games.... There are still several items on my worktable that need to be finished up, but they can wait until after Houston. I really need to finish my truck quilt so it can be submitted on the 19th to a show DAFA is having at the Oxide Gallery in Denton. I work best under deadlines and stress, so I'm sure everything will get done when it needs to be done, but time is flying fast!
I was pleased to find out today that my Old Alton Bridge quilt was included in a blog by Satin Moon. What a wonderful surprise and it is a fascinating blog post.
I had a great time Monday night with my fellow DAFA members at our monthly meeting. My mini-workshop went well and I'm mulling over how to make the mini-workshop into a full workshop so the participants can make an art project. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to doing more and growing in this segment of my career.

Oxide Gallery - Main Show

I'm very excited to announce that three of my pieces have been accepted into the Main Show at Oxide Gallery in Denton, Texas. Oxide is a great little gallery with a variety of artists. Tonight, Tuesday, June 1, 2010, is this months "Gallery Night", so I will be there to meet the other artists and art lovers. If your in the area the gallery will open 6pm to 8pm for the event.
What pieces of mine are showing? Well, here they are!


Sunflower with a Passion for Color



Color Explosion



Dancing Angel