The BIg Freeze, and the Studio Thaw

Its COOOOLD outside. Guess that's the state of the union. We had rolling blackouts yesterday, but "they" seem to have figured out the grid for now. And, dispite dripping the tub, the water in the house is frozen, nothing to do but wait for the thaw (tomorrow it will be 43) and hope for the pipes' best. We've never had pipes freeze before so this is a major distraction and anxiety (i foresee torrents of water coming down from the attic). I am glad there is no El Cielo workshop going on! At any rate, send me pipe fairy prayers and, gee, while we are at it, if its going to be this dadburn cold can't we muster up a little snowfall tonight? Just a bit. Just to make the visuals complete.

However, while the freeze is going on its business, I have had some extended time in the studio (where the water still works). And that has been wonderful. It's a creative thaw I've been anticipating and hoping for. The place is still a mess from teaching supplies in and out, but instead of being my (yeah, right) regular neat and orderly person, I just cleared a workspace and dove in.

The piece I am working on is one that's been in my head for a long while, since working on collage examples for the Text on the Surface workshops. I discovered it when I took everything out for the Southwest School class this past Monday. There have been several calls for entries that I want to respond to, and at least one of them had to do with working outside of one's comfort zone (SAQA, I think) and another one has a theme that fits the collage perfectly. So rather than do my usual work-on-the-table improvisation, I actually made a paper pattern, am printing some of the elements, cutting others, and will have this big text based piece done by the end of the week I hope.

So, stepping out of my usual narrative, goddessy, archetypal themes, this one will be modernism, pure and simple (sort of). Its quite scary to spend time on something so different (though I have been ooching toward more formal, abstract work for a little while) but I suspect I have to do so this time in order to renew something important, to step beyond my own pictures of my own work, and to take a chance. That was the thaw I needed in order to get myself back to the design table in an authentic way.

So what about you? I'd love to know what risky business you are trying for your own creative thaw.

Beneath the Surface

 

Quilts, Inc. has posted the online version of the Beneath the Surface exhibit, curated by Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal. Here's the link:

http://www.quilts.com/fqf10/enVivo/SpecialExhibits/Beneath/

And here are some more photos and information about the exhibit on the curator' blogs. 

http://dinnerateightartists.blogspot.com/

Other pictures on Leslie's blog http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com/ and Jamie's blog http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/

True Love Commission

I've been commissioned to make a little house shaped art quilt for a wedding gift -- I got carried away and made three! These are small -- about 18" tall -- and reasonably priced. If you have a wedding coming up and wish to give a gift of art, email me through the contact form for sales information. Or maybe you just like one for yourself. Support the arts.

How do I approach such commissions? It's always a quandry, as I don't exactly know how to make art to order. I prefer to do one-of-a-kind work and so looking at my other pieces only gives someone an inkling of what I can do. For larger work, I do make sketches, provide color samples and give clients a chance to weigh in on size, color palette, general topic and themes to be included. And I always have a "kill fee" if something doesn't work out that includes my out-of-pocket fabric and supply costs -- but since I assume I will sell the art to someone eventually, I don't worry about the time or effort involved. I'd rather have happy collectors.

But for small pieces like these little art quilts, I generally try to do more than one, especially if, as in this case, the commissioner was pretty open about what he wanted to give. I enjoyed working with an intensity to get these completed within the week -- I used some fabrics and central image panels that were already done -- and of course I had to fit this task inbetween all the other work of the week, including prep for my next two extensive teaching gigs -- next week in Dallas (a New World Kids training for Big Thought) and the week after at the CREATE mixed media retreat sponsored by Cloth Paper Scissors.

The pomegranate piece above, and the pear below both used the Rainbow Printing with Water Soluble Media technique that I'll be teaching in Chicago. (Whoops, I took the photo and emailed it from my iphone --its sideways and I can't figure out how to rotate it, so you'll have to rotate your head or screen.)

Here's more info:

Making an art quilt with an original image and multicolored screen print is one of the most fun and satisfying techniques I know -- the technique works for all kinds of images and styles, from hyperrealistic to expressionistic to abstract -- and although the supply list seems a bit daunting, the materials are probably mostly things you have in your studio. My blog has some examples and further information with this page link, if you'd like to see more.

The good news is that I will be teaching Rainbow Printing with Water-Soluble Crayons at the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, sponsored by Cloth Paper Scissors, at the end of August. My one-day workshop on Rainbow Printing is Thursday, August 26 from 9-4 at the Rosemont Hilton near O'Hare.

Rainbow Printing with Water Soluable Crayons
(6 hours)

Date: Thursday, August 26
Time: 9:00am-4:00pm
Technique: Printmaking & Collage
Instructor: Susie Monday
Price: $140
Kit Fee: $5

Using all manner of water soluble media--water color markers, water soluble crayons and oil pastels, chalks and pastels -- you will create original fabrics using hand painting, screen printing, and stencils. Construction methods for a small wood-framed art quilt will be demonstrated, and many examples of use of the fabrics in multimedia work will be shared, but the emphasis will be on making a variety of textiles that can be used in work back at home. These techniques use textile paints and polymer media in interesting multi-color applications, with layering, tinting and color washes used to add depth and subtlety. The improvisational prints are similar to mono-printing, but can be used for highly detailed realistic imagery, as well as for abstract color field experiments.

(See registration for the supply list)
Date:
Thursday, August 26
Time:
9:00am-4:00pm
Technique:
Printmaking & Collage
Instructor:
Susie Monday
Price:
$140
Kit Fee: $5

Using all manner of water soluble media--water color markers, water soluble crayons and oil pastels, chalks and pastels -- you will create original fabrics using hand painting, screen printing, and stencils. Construction methods for a small wood-framed art quilt will be demonstrated, and many examples of use of the fabrics in multimedia work will be shared, but the emphasis will be on making a variety of textiles that can be used in work back at home. These techniques use textile paints and polymer media in interesting multi-color applications, with layering, tinting and color washes used to add depth and subtlety. The improvisational prints are similar to mono-printing, but can be used for highly detailed realistic imagery, as well as for abstract color field experiments.

Go to www.clothpaperscissors.com and click on the CREATE RETREAT LINK for registration.

I'd love to have a few more participants -- the max is 18 -- and time is short until the event begins. If you or someone you know lives near or close ot Chicago, or is looking for a fun artful retreat, please pass along this message to them via email.  I appreciate your help with spreading the word.

If you have questions, or ideas for how I can get in touch with folks who might be interested in attending, please let me know!  Thanks for helping me get the word out.

Beneath the Surface

Here's a link to a video of the "Beneath the Surface" exhibit, curated by Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal, as it appeared at the Long Beach International Quilt Festival. I have a piece in the show (above), "Powers of Ten." This piece, with its complex juxtaposition of many kinds of fabrics, was inspired by the Ray and Charles Eames film from the 1960s of the same title. The film looks at the similarities of structure and form of the microscopic and the macroscopic, cells to galaxies. I used a number of the inkjet transfer techniques in this quilt that I have been discussing on the blog lately. Here's a detail showing an inkjet transfer using polyester film:

My quilt isn't part of the video, but there are artists featured here whose names you'll recognize, including regional artists Barb Forrester and Linda Minton, and our own San Antonio curator Leslie!

If you'd like to buy the book catalog, you can find it at BLURB http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1478885?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget. The pages will be included later in the preview, after the show in Houston. You can also see more of the quilts online at the Quilt Inc. site under Special Exhibits.

P.S. This quilt is for sale. If you are interested in it going home with you after the touring exhibit closes, send me an email and we'll talk turkey!