Painting Canvas

Don't want to speak too soon but I've got a groove going back in the workshop!!  Whew, I was a worried there for a bit.  This is the beginning of week 3 of getting back on the good foot and I'm putting in 15 hours a week again.  (And week 4 of going to the gym...me and Ibuprophen have become close). 

I still have till the end of May (self-imposed timeline) to work with the raw canvas.  Through the Quilting Arts/Interweave site I discovered Alisa Burke and ordered her book, Canvas Remix, and enrolled in her online workshop entitled Graffiti Chic.  The timing to discover her was right on since she focuses on raw canvas.  For a week now I've been painting torn pieces and here is some of the results.  If you want to see a few of them up close, I uploaded some of my faves to Picasa here.

These are torn a little larger than 6"x12".  The first one I showed you I actually completed today...no, really, I'm very satisfied.  Here is what I did to the "moon":

A few months back I took inventory of completed pieces that where exhibit ready and thought "yeah" I can submit to the 4 shows I identified without worry of overlapping...well, today I searched for the forms...I know they are there somewhere...the organization of paper has never been my strong suit.  I considered appealing to Saint Anthony but thought, "no, I'd rather be painting canvas".

  One of the positive reinforcements I received from reading I'd Rather Be In The Studio by A. Stansfield was computer organization of files and folders.  I've got to make time to get the data entered.  One day (3-4 hours) every 2 weeks to get info entered and set up seems reasonable.  By the end of the year I should have everything in that I want in and from there it would be easier to track...right? right. right! 

When I find the forms I promise not to wail (here) about another missed deadline :)

To end this entry on a happier note, here is what I think is the most successful collage I've ever created.  It really isn't "quilted"...the only quilt construction is the red rectangle on the left.  Majority of it is built up from the copper painted canvas.  As far as mounting goes, my thoughts were to paint the stretched canvas off white and attache it, but then yesterday I saw  this on The West Country Buddha blog, and I immediately saw this piece with an attached copper wire for hanging.  As typical for me...I'm gonna sleep on it.

Its all good.

This morning it was a song by Kool Moe Dee on the radio that perked me up...nothing like old school rap...I was just "this close" to break dancing and annoying my 17 year old.  'He ain't up on it like that', nor could he appreciate it from an historical perspective...his loss.

I am still rolling (slowly, but still, ya know) at the gym 3 times a week.  This week I added an additional 5 minutes on the treadmill.  Since I've been doing this, its a must for me to take an additional nap during the day and I sleep very deep...a few hours of sleep feels like the next day when I wake up.  My sleep through the night is still broken up, never more than 4 hours straight.  Sometimes I can get back to sleep, but on the nights that I can't I so wish I had my workshop accessible.  When ideas flow in the middle of the night and at the time they seem so fantastic that I just know I'm going to remember them, right!?  Well sometimes I'll write them down. :)

The colour is slightly off, but here is the piece from the previous posts.  You will see I haven't attached the copper wire ring.  Thank you to all the commentors who left suggestions on how to attach it.  I'm still pondering them. I'm leaning toward putting in two holes and using a flat washer painted copper instead.  I mixed the charcoal paint with gel medium and painted the four sides.  I've yet to decide how to hang it, either frame or mounted to a stretched painted canvas...but for the moment I'm considering it complete.

The learning lesson here: painted canvas is unforgiving when stitches have to be removed...so stitches are the language of committment! 

Here is an in-process close-up of the next 6"x12".  This is raw and rough.  My current book and the one before present information/perspectives about The Slave Trade during The Middle Passage.  The raw and rough feel to this could possibly be a manifestation of what I'm carrying around as a result of reading Lose Your Mother by S. Hartman and The Slave Ship by M. Reidiker.

I need your help...

Really, I need suggestions on how to attach this piece of copper.  What would a mixed media artist use to attach this, is the question I posed to myself.  I really don't want to use thread...I thought about copper jewelry wire but I'm not sure how strong it is...would it snap or break?  I thought about stringing the charcoal beads and using them to intertwine throughout the copper circle and it would also secure them down using fishing line. 

 

 

I didn't go with the black lines, instead I pulled the colours at the top into the bottom using thread and then will pull the charcoal into the top with the tiny beads.

I want to make 10 of these before the end of May.  These are small, 6"x12" simple designs and exercises in colour combinations.   I like the size and the design and after flipping through old sketch books I saw several of quick sketches just like it...here is even a postcard I made in 2006 with pretty much the same design.  I called it House of Peace. 

 I'm also still uncertain how I'm going to finish the edges.  the canvas is to stiff and thick to roll back using a facing and I do not want to zig-zag...if I did a satin stitch I would want perfect matching thread for the charcoal and the coppery coloured top half.  What if I mounted it on foamcore and then used heavy weight card stock to cover the edges????  I even thought about mounting them on stretched canvas and either using rice paste glue or Y.E.S. glue or a permanent spray adhesive to attach it to the canvas? 

Since I declared Wednesday that I'm getting back on the good foot and shaking off the funk, I've spent 6.5 hours at my workshop.  I did bring somethings to work on while I'm home just in case I do not make it back tomorrow.  On weekends I have to have flexibility since my guys, youngest son and adorable partner, are out of school and off from work.  But I'll be back at the gym tomorrow and am looking forward to it (I can't remember ever feeling like that before...I use to look forward to jazzercise because my sister and I would stop afterwards and get ice cream that was next door to jazzercise).

From Piddlin' to Productive.

You got to use your imagination...clean edges...black vertical lines in the gray area, close together in size 12wt cotton...a singular vertical line of black tube beads about an inch in from the right....the black lines near the circle will maintain the circular edge under the round...no stitches in the copper section but the tiniest of seed beads (not sure of the colour) sprinkled in.  I thought of placing a little bit of shimmer under the circle but didn't want the metallic reflection to go into overkill.  I'm going to bead around the circle.  These pieces are for design and familiarity with canvas.  I don't have a jean needle which is what I'd prefer to sew through this...I'm going to try it with a universal needle, size 14.  I'm trying to decide on just how to finish the edges...I know I want it clean but not bulky...there will be black batting but I'm thinking the back will be either heavy water colour paper or sewn to black foamcore.  Any suggestions??????

Here is the piece I'm beading on in the previous post:

 

There will be more beading but this is what I did to wind down the last 20 minutes in the workshop.  Its about 12inch-ess by 14 inch-ess, meaning I'm just guessing at measurement.  Deborah, my sister, wants this one but wants me to make another one with a mirror image.  When she told me, I was like "really????"; this is the type of exploratory busy playing around that I would only share here on my blog and then hang at home or store for reference, so I was kinda shocked when she said she wanted it.  When I started this piece I just wanted to work with the zig-zag free motion stitching, thread painting, and straight stitch free motion.  The beading was added because it relaxes me and I want to use my statsh...I discovered today that I don't really have a good assortment of purple or orange beads.  There was something else I discovered today while painting.....ummm....oh, I like Golden's Zinc White in fluid acryllic.  It is such a very bright clean white that plays well with other colours.  The bottle I have is a 1 oz bottle and its almost gone.  I also love Setacolour's Raw Sienna.  Need to remember this in order to save for larger bottles.

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When I go to the gym (all of week 2) it is early morning and most of the people there are clearly senior citizens...now I'm almost 50, but the folks I encounter are people, without hesitation, I say are my elders.  They see me with the oxygen tank and come over to give me encouragement and advice to take it slow and build up gradually...and some joke with me about returning...I get so tickled inside because these 70+ year old individuals are the ones hogging the treadmills and bikes going at rapid speed.  So with that surrounding me, I couldn't quit if I wanted to!  Seriously, I feel very much at ease and not at all intimidated.  On Mondays, 2 women play raquetball and I can see them when I'm on the weight machines and I do wish I had that type of stamina.  One of my senior buddies caught me watching them and I guess she could tell I was a little saddened...she came up to me and said "don't worry, that will be me and you next year"...we fell out laughing.  I told her I was going to hold her to that. 

I left there and picked up my oldest and his 3 y.o. son and went to breakfast...I left the camera in the car otherwise I would have thrown up a cute-grandchild photo. 

Peace,

 

 

 

I Really Do Have Everything I Need...

and then some to create art quilts!  This statement has become a personal affirmation that I say often. I've got to get back on top of my throne...I've got to shake the funk off...I've got to get with it or quit it (something my mother use to say).  I've given myself grace to piddle long enough! As of tomorrow (dare I type this out loud), but let me say it again...AS OF TOMORROW I'm returning to a minimum of 15 hours each week at my workshop and for the next few weeks...I'll work with the painted canvas strips and then when June rolls around I will return to The Poetry Series!  I've said it here...and friends, family, and strangers who read here, don't hesitate to call me on the carpet if I stray from this plan.  I of all people know that the lights are never green at the same time and waiting around for everything to be "perfect", whatever that really is, doesn't make sense in the world of the peasant woman that I profess to be.  I'm placing the brakes on all the introspection and philosophising and lamenting over the malaise and physical hurdles that characterize what feels like months.  (The good thing about keeping a blog for me is that I can go back and read previous weeks to get a perspective shift...very similiar to when my kids would say "You always..." or "I never..." when that isn't the truth but only FEELS like it).  In the moment of funkified-ness it seems all encompassing and like its been that way all the time.  I was even leaning toward "i'm not worthy to be an artist"  "what have i made that was worthwhile or of any value".  Ooops upside my head!  Why in the world am I entertaining Evilina at my dining table and pouring her a glass of wine??????? 

While Todd was cutting my table

I was starting a database to inventory all the things in my workshop and deciding to kick Evilina out and reminding myself that I really do have every thing I need including the most valuable component, ME!

After Todd left I did just a little bit of putting things back where they need to be and ended by doing some beading.  This is the type of work I like to bring home and do late night if I happen to be up...most of the time I never get around to it here at home.  Piddlin' will be relegated to small spans of time and will not be the main use of my time...beginning tomorrow!

 

Here are more canvas strips...digging the gray with the sienna and gold!

More Piddlin'

Yesterday I sat down and ripped unprimed canvas for what I thought would be the beginning of my first fabric book but after painting them, I started seeing small quilts.  I kept telling myself there will be time for that later and just play with getting a book made.  This is where I left it.  Since Saturday I'm been physically run down with a fibro-flare...it feels like a tooth ache, swollen gums but all over my body. In spite of feeling not my best I made it to the gym to walk (sllllllllooooooooowly) on the treadmill and to pedal (sllllllooooooooooowly) on the reclining bike.  Having been spurred by Juanita's discipline and my oldest son's workout, I've gone all of 4 times since Monday a week ago.  Today is a designated rest day but I did manage to meet the carpenter this morning who will convert a table for me into a sewing table.  He will actually do the work tomorrow on the table I found on Craigslist...the source for most of my workshop furniture. 

I think quilts with canvas is in my future.  I like the texturized look of the canvas and the weight of the drape...kinda heavy and slow moving like me.  I have a yard of hemp that I've been saving for years and hope that working with the canvas will give me the courage to use the hemp...the texture is there but the drape is comparatively lighter than canvas. 

Speaking of lighter, I took advantage of the break in last weeks weather and went to get my head shaved...(with a new barber, I always feel like I'm cheating on Rolando who has cut my hair for 20 years).  He did a fabulous job and then I even went to get my brows waxed using a gift card I had forgotten about, suki suki now!...These 2 things do wonders for my disposition, I tell ya! But alas, it did turn damp and gray again...but at the moment I can see the sun is trying to shine...but I'm off to take a nap.

very close crop!!!!!

pieces of painted canvas, experimenting with various paints...

The Piddlin' Peddler

My confidence has taken a dive.  My emotions have been bouncing up and down like the weather..."life stuff", the bittersweetness of it all.  I'm also wheezing and experiencing some heaviness in my chest so I've had to up the breathing treatments and rest more than I typically do.  I'm always the most vulnerable when the seasons change.  So the few days I've been at the workshop I've piddled.  I seem to have lost the grove for The Poetry Series at the moment...I didn't want to approach it with the funky dragging moods I've been in.  In order to be gracious with myself I thought I would dip and dabble around...so I pulled a book fro the shelf on collage and thought I'd work through it slowly, not with any sense of urgency...afterall, collage really isn't what I do, so whatever I end up with would be okay. 

 While working on this I thought about paper quilts or paper and cloth quilts.  Possibly another piddle day I may quilt this.

On another day, I gave in to re-organizing but really only manage to move clutter from one table to another, so I opted to sit down and read and listen to music...really listen and allow the music to carry me away...I was vibing with jazz violnist Regina Carter.  So that was this past Saturday. 

Today I thought I would play around with free motion embroidery and free motion quilting.  This is very different for me...again, just piddling and practicing.  My flower looks like it has the chickenpox.  Again I was playing Regina Carter and added Herbie Hancock to the mix...I really wanted a bottle of wine to accompany my groove with the sewing machine, but since I drive to come home, that wasn't an option.

 Inconsistency in speed paired with hand control delivers uneven stitching.  I did like the zig-zag stictching with free motion.  The threads I used were Isacord and Madeira.  Isacord really sinks down into the fabric.  Madeira seems to sit more on top.  My machine (Janome 6500) loved them both.

Here are two atc's I had left over and found when I moved my clutter around and if you'd like to trade with me, give me a shout out.   ummm, the image orientation is on its side...oh well, if you make atc's then you already know what size they are, right?!

I canceled going to Paducah next week.  I took a deep breath and called my sister to tell her I just didn't think it was feasible to push going financially in light of some other things I'm trying to cook up.  She kept the reservation and plans on dragging her husband over for 3 days and 2 nights (if I had the strength, I'd fall over laughing...she is optimistic but I really don't think that is going to fly).  We shall see, said the blind man.

Oh, and I the only one who is going wild over the HBO series The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency?  I ordered HBO just to watch this series...a big fan of Jill Scott, no surprise there, but I think its the secretary that makes the show.  Think of Murder, She Wrote with an African flavor.  I could just snatch Jill Scott's wardrobe for the show right off!  Simple, free flowing, yet great sophisticated patterning. I'm also tickled by the cartoon animation for the header and footer of the show so I did a search to find out who was responsible.  Those of you interested in graphic design might enjoy perusing the company's info...Airside. 

Peace to anyone and everyone who reads here...and as far as replying to comments, I'm going to change and try mainly to reply within the comment section.

Visit Jeanne's Blog

Jeanne Raffer Beck wrote a post on her blog that echoed in my head while I was reading it...it is so identical to my coming in and out of my workshop and my own attempts at creating my own designs with cloth that I wish I could have written it.  You should read it.

Also, if you're a regular blogger, then at some point you ponder over the best way to reply to comments.  Mostly, I answer via email if I have a response to a comment left...there is one blogger in the Art Quilter's Ring that reponds to comments in the post that follows the previous one.  I've also noticed that several bloggers respond to comments within the comment section.  I like the fluidity of dialogue that comes with commenting within comments but also like commenting to emails because it opens up the chance to get to know someone.  Which do you prefer, answer from the perspective of a commentor and/or a blogger.  Maybe I'll pick and choose which is the best way to respond based on the type of comment and what it elicits in me.

Collaborative Arts

Well acclaimed sculptor Ed Hamilton is a native Louisvillian and has remained here.  He is recognized as a living treasure for the city.  He recognizes his gifts as God working through him which makes him very endearing and he loves young people. 

There was an open invitation to the public to an experimental collaboration with his molds and UofL's glass department.  The hot shop is located in the heart of downtown and also houses a gallery.  This was my first time going since UofL opened its own shop/dept. Previously they collaborated with Glassworks for their classes and now have expanded on their own.  I was thrilled that my son wanted to go with me.

The studio before anyone else arrived.  On the tables to the right in the photo are 2 of Hamilton's molds.  His molds where used to make the molds for the glass, both positive and negative.

In the next picture, the guy has taken out the mold for the glass from the kiln.

The next photo below the head of the department is pouring the hot glass into the mold.

There where benches for us to sit on but people became intrigued with getting as close as possible to see into the molten glass and watching the colour changes that they crowded around as the speaker talked about what was going on...I didn't think it wise to get that close with my oxygen tank...ahhh, the things I sacrifice for fashion.

My son, Ade, is in the foreground (photo to the right).  He was also very mesmerized. 

And in the photo below, Ed Hamilton, wearing the tam which I've never seen him without, is looking on.

After the glass is poured it returns to another kiln where it will stay around 3, 4, or 5 days. 

And talk about ducks outta water, when we left the hot shop and turned the corner these two where walking down the center of the street and cars where swerving around them...they walked like they didn't have a care in the world...we watched them for as long as we could but they were not in a rush at all and still had a four lane street to cross.  They where about a yard from us when I shot the picture.

And I could have sworn this duck below looked at me and under his breath whisphered "stupid-ass human".

Art meteorology patterns

Schizoid weather patterns!

Yesterday I simply absolutely refused to believe it!  We had a beautiful, gorgeous day yesterday...warm, bright, cheery...the evening turned cloudy and dark and thunderstorms came in...but it was still warm...okay, I was good.  The part I refused to believe was the prediction of snow flurries and the high in the 30's for today.  Denial is not a river in Egypt.  Howling winds and the need to turn on the heat woke me this morning...It is still wet outside and the gray ovecaste remains from yesterday's storm and the snow flurries are still predicted today...damn, I think I'm going into shock!!!!  I'm only relieved and warmed by knowing my fridge is full and thus, no running "survival errands" and the only going out today will be to hang with other textile/fabric friends.

Sankofa bird takes flight.

I finished my little bird and since it was all about playing around, I went ahead and glued it to a canvas (never tried this before) and started 2 more:

 

I'm digging this little gem and hung it in my workshop.

Working with the inks is definitely about layering them on little by little.  They do blend well but I find it best to dry each layer (by ironing) before adding the next.  And those tiny bottles really have a lot of ink in them and it really is apparent just how much if one spills over on you :)

Update on The Poetry Series

With the mishap of the last quilt that I ended up cutting up into 2 smaller quilts and painting over, I'm weighing what I originally had in mind with the outcomes thus far and how flexible I want to be in changing what I had in mind at the onset...I'm asking myself, am I not excuting correctly due to skill limitations? should I remain open during the process and continue to allow unforeseen outcomes to occur?  if I continue to identify these already completed quilts as part of the poetry series, what makes them so when they have strayed from my original intent?  Even though the outcome and processes stray off, I am still working with intent combined with firmly working out the African American adage of "making a way out of no way" by taking what occurs and bending it back into my will.

This is all fuel for me and while I've been weighing these questions, simultaneously am working on creating the palette of fabrics in reds, yellows, and greens.  I'm still writing on fabric so when the weather breaks firmly into spring-summer temps, I'll be ready to add more layers.

Life is like a 1000 piece puzzle.

Last week I actually sat down and looked over prospectuses for 4 shows and for the first time I have enough work that I would want to submit to without the worry of the shows overlapping.  Now with that said...I'm horrible at being prepared...not wanting to sacrifice any time at the workshop to rearrange to photograph properly and handle the paperwork...as the book is titled I'd Rather be in the Studio doing what makes me happy.  I missed a deadline this past Monday for a local juried show that the Embroidery Guild is sponsoring.  My  goal remains to be in 4 shows a year which means about 12 shows to submit to.  I'm trudging through these marketing books and have enrolled in a short presentation on the subject through the local art association but I'm continuing to question myself on how much commitment I hold towards this aspect.  So I learn a little but question a lot more...if nothing else, I'm committed to understanding the marketing side of art...l'll do what I do and see where the road goes.

Here is the link to the shrimp and grit recipe I used.  I used Alouette brand of cream chesse with garlic and herbs.  My food adventure this week will be to make Arnold Palmer cupcakes

On Monday I free motioned stitched on my little Sankofa bird.  Sorry about the hazy photo, my daily camera is not functioning well (remember it was broken about a year ago).  I'm thinking about moving to a lightweight small camera for daily use and pull out the D40x and finally learn to use it.  Technical learning seems to require me to dig deep down to focus and absorbs all my energies that I've been reluctant to add another thing under the title "something else to do".

 

My plan from here is to go bead crazy on it since its all for play and the beads just sit there hollering to be used.  I started with these small donuts and plan to fill in the ground with green, brown, and cream coloured sead beads.  The size is 5"x5" and I'm gonna fuse it down on a canvas. 

oh, and here is the puzzle we finished on Sunday...we're waiting for the next one to arrive which is also a Frank Lloyd Wrigt image of various coloured pencils.  Design wise, this kinda puts me in the mind of a Gees Bend quilt...the linear patterning maybe? or kente-clothish?