I gallery sat for 10 hours and was in the studio for 9 hours sewing on bottom sleeves on some quilts for more stability in hanging. Here are snapshots from my space...
comfy chair
curtain of shells
front room rearranged already
print/cutting table/ironing/shelves
stabilizers/wax papers/fusibles/freezer paper/ etc
misc.
Some of these quilts will eventually move over to the co-op gallery. When I unrolled what I'm calling the doorway quilt, I realized it was too small and underwhelming. I was able to catch the IQS-Cincinnati on Saturday and the SAQA exhibit Seasonal Palette wowed me. For one, the impact of the size and the consistency of them hanging hit me! They all were 32"x78". For a passageway to have it's impact on the viewer, I want to offer the feeling that you can walk through it and unless it is a doorway for small children, of which it is not, its not working. I'm going to complete it though and try to recreate something similar in the fall. The doorway quilt in on the far right in the snap shot below.
This coming Friday is the Derby @ Mellwood and Schalfy Trolley Hop for FAT Friday. Come out and park your car at Mellwood (plenty of free parking) and check out the Male High School trios and over 200 pieces of art throughout the Center. Chris Mudd will be playing light jazz on the keyboards inside the Kore Gallery and Jisun Mudd, his mother and one of the featured artists will be present also. See the update here.
When May begins, I'm going to begin dyeing, marbling, printing and painting fabrics for the summer as my main focus. The quilts that I'll make will be small ones that I'll wrap about a canvas frame.
what an impressive effort. it must feel very good to have things tucked away, lined up, looking nice. (funny, my ipod is missing too... I know I didn't lose it, but it's been weeks now). I'll admit to being a little disappointed about your summer focus because I was so intrigued by the ancestor portrait quilts you've been thinking about and creating. Will they get any studio time? Perhaps small enough?
ReplyDeleteDee, I'm going to begin sketching her on paper daily and at the end of summer will begin America on cloth. I work so darn slow because, well, I just do...steady but slow and sure.
DeleteIt will take a while for me to readjust to where things are tucked and lined up when I need them but I've let go of the pressure and just decided to stitch my way through...its like seeing in the dark ;)
I like the touches of "home" that you did to your studio space. I would think it makes it feel less like a work space and more like a creative place. Can I just say I had NO idea AT ALL all the things that are needed to quilt!! Wow...but it looks great and you seem pretty far along n your organizing. SHould make it easier to work!
ReplyDeleteIm JUST getting back to the grind, myself. With being sick for that week, followed by my dad dying, losing my place to live, than the Marathon mess, I fell into a tailsspin I thought I couldnt get out of. (or maybe I just lost the will to climb and fight!) But I attended a writer's workshop Saturday and it was just what I needed to snap out of it. Something about being in a room with all writerss. The brainstorming of ideas, the discussion of books, it was awesome! I then spent rest of the weekend catching up on homework fo rmy online screen writing clas I had been neglecting!
I cant wait to see your studio someday! To be in a creative place will feel like heaven to me! Nice work, karen, with all of it!
Mary, are you able to take all of that tension and fuel it into your writing? Does time need to pass before that happens or is it more like writing through touch points of experience and emotion even if you're not writing directly on those situations? And yes, I agree, keeping company with artists is one way of regaining purpose and focus.
DeleteKaren, generally when I am tense or upset, I tend to put my writing last. Not sure why I do that because it is the most healing. I do morning pages everyday,which is 3 pages longhand of free writing non stop. I am to the point that when I do NOT do them, I notice a lack of motivation and feel out of sorts. To get back in to the groove, I did an additional afternoon session of "morning pages" and by the end of it I was writing on the topic I wanted to be. Currently, I am trying to write the story of my father;s funeral. Some ridiculous things happened at it that snuggles right in with my sort of writing (humorous twist to otherwise dark material). However, I think its too close still and my emotions are too raw to write about it humorously rather than angrily. So I am doing what you said above and jotting down touch points. I am trying to also use this story as one of my assignments that is due to that is motivating me to keep at it right now.
ReplyDeleteNot sure that I answered your question...lol. And sorry for hyjacking your blog!
Girl, you have been consistent with morning pages for a long while! How many years of pages do you have? And I am imagining that putting off writing when you aren't stressed allows you to bring a fresh focus each session. I know it is different for each writer. Are you in a writing group or class?
DeleteGosh, it really sounds like you have been busy. Your studio is looking good! I'm impressed (and jealous) that you've gotten so much done. Keep up the good work. I'm anxious to see the beautiful things you will produce in this space.
ReplyDeleteOmg, Ive just started saving the notebook the past year. Kind of upset so many got lost along the way but hold tight to them now. Even have a trusted friend holding them when I leave in Oct. They add up real fast! Im tryng to not put off writing because then I stay away too long. Does that happen with quilting? Do you go tot the studio when you dont feel like it, or do you always feel like it? If you dont go, do you feel guilty?
ReplyDeleteI am currently taking one screen writing class online. and I attend a fiction short story workshop that meets every two weeks. Doo you ever take classes for the quilting?
I like the progress you've made with your studio move. Seems like you got it done quickly; and it looks great. Looking forward to seeing it sometime this summer. And I can't wait to see what you come up with when you start dying fabric again.
ReplyDelete