Art Journaling...one more time

This year I have decided to jump into Art Journaling with gusto.  I have join a sketchbook challenge again and signed up for Art Journaling prompts to get me started.  I have also signed up for a Ning group at Milliande for art journaling for January to get me started.  See them all here:

Sketchbook Project

Traci Bautista

Milliande

I participated in the 2010 Sketchbook Challenge and must have my book sent in by the 15th of January.  It's not complete....it's really not even started really....   What?  I have two weeks, from tomorrow!  haha

I will make a real effort to finish.  It has been started with Zentangle designs and drawings like them.  I used pencils to sketch and sharpie markers over the sketch.  I had some Copic makers that I hadn't tried yet and added some color with those and it bled through so I removed the ruined pages.  I got stuck there.

I have a plan to do some watercolor sketches next.  Bought a book mentioned in an earlier post that will be a real help to improving my drawing skills.  Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists by Carla Sonheim  Great little book to free up your skills.  Pics to follow

Wedding Day was beautiful

The wedding was beautiful.  It was cool and sunny for the lunch and service; rain started to fall during the reception.  Dark came early and the food came late but all in all it was just lovely.  So lovely in fact that the photographer, same one as the engagement photos, quick blog post of the event got Ali's wedding listed in an upcoming Wedding in Malibu post from a prominent wedding blog. 

Isn't she just glowing!  More info later when Troy and Aimee Grover get the final details together.  This is a photo taken by Jamie's sister Sarah Redman, herself a budding photographer and graphic artist extraordinaire.  She designed all the wedding stationary. 

The wedding is near...

Well, as I suspected it would, the wedding day is fast approaching....next Saturday, precisely.  I will leave for Burbank this Saturday for tying up the last minute details and some Mommy-Daughter time before the "crazy."

She has planned a lovely day, almost more of a "famly reunion" rather than a stuffy formal affair.  A picnic type lunch before the ceremony and a big dance for after.  She has been so easy to deal with, no bridezilla here.

My new son-in-law is a blessing for her.  He is kind and patient and worships her.  We are so happy that she has found him and look forward to the beautiful day she has planned for them.  Here are three of their fun engagement photos, taken by Troy Grover of Troy Grover Photography, a friend from Nebraska that has transplanted to Arizona.  I think he has a bright future!

Yes, I made "the" dress.......Oh the fun begins!  Pics soon!

Art and Fear

An artist I admire, Lyric Kinard, today on her blog commented that she faces fear "head on"; a tactic that she is always working on.   She advised that one should decide what the worst thing that could happen was, and then knowingly DO it anyway!  Push through the fear to get out of your own way.

Fear then must just be a road block to be overcome, like a hurdle.  If it was easy...everyone could do it...well....I'm not so sure.  Sometimes fear is a warning.  Like....RUN when you feel the hair on your neck rise up and smack you!  Sometimes fear is an out and out barrier for self preservation.  Heed this or die!

I have had my share of failures.  Many of them very costly!  Emotionally and monetarily.  Many had to be "paid off" over many years.  Failure is real and scary.  Fear is real.  I have a hard time telling which kind of fear I am feeling.  I need to make money almost as much as I need to make art!  I keep telling myself and anyone who will listen that I AM AN ARTIST!  My dear husband wishes it would make us some money.  He is supportive about the work, but not really about the money.

I exaggerate, a lot.  Most of my fear is self generated....will someone else like what I do.  I love what I do.  Money and the quest for enough is hiding in my fear.  It always comes down to what a thing is worth!  Did I spend too much time on a particular phase of an art work?  Will this make it so expensive that no one will see the worth of it?  Does my work have a worth?  Do I have a worth?  The cycle begins and ends with fear.

I have been working on the Sketchbook Project and I have gotten stuck by the size of the book.  I have let my "fear" that I am not worthy of participating ruin the fun of simply sketching...drawing....doodling designs that I can incorporate into my stitching projects.  DO THE WORK they say.  Art is what happens when you do the work.  Crap quotas and all that.  AHHAHAHAHAH

Back to work.

Hazelnut Creme

Well, I finished one!  This metals challenge has been fun, even though I didn't actually use metal.  I had an empty coffee container on the counter that I had just emptied and thought it looked like a warm metal finish.  I dug out the hand painted stash and found a couple that coordinated with the metal color. 

After about an hour of playing around with the shapes, I settled on this arrangement.  I had an old earring attached to the long rectangle on the left side but it broke during the final stitching.  Seems like that was what happened to it's mate originally.  There are a couple of paper fasteners along the bottom.  They were the only other warm metals I could find for embellishment except for buttons which didn't seem to work.  Still looking for the right thing but essentially finished.

 Next time I try this I will try the soda can pieces instead of the coffee bag.

Breaking Traditions Submission This Year

Done!  Got this in the mail today for the 2010 Breaking Traditions Art Quilt Shows in Michigan.  This year Lynn is raising money for the "Art Now for Autism" of the Autism Speaks project.  All entry fees for the show go directly to them as a fund raiser.

This years theme is "In My Words".  This theme really touched me as just after I learned of the theme, a dear friend's son was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.  Sam is a wonderful young man that sees the world in a slightly different manor than his peers.  He is bright, articulate and funny.  He will be fine.

His mom is concerned about his future, as all parents are, but now sees an opening through which she can guide him.  She has found her path.  I know that she has "put all the pieces together" and Sam will benefit from bridge she is building for him.

Putting All the Pieces Together

The piece is on a hand dyed base fabric with  needlefelted and quilted fragments representing all the little "signs" of Sam's uniqueness and the bridge to his future. The chain stitching represents all the help the family will recieve to keep the pieces together as they move forward.  The quilting lines of the background symbolism the puzzle that is Sam.   The three fiqures in the lower right represent Sam and his parents as they guide their son on the path toward his future. 

I wish them every happiness. 

SketchBook Project

I have joined The SketchBook Project this year.  My theme is "this is not a sketchbook"  I felt this appropriate because I cannot sketch.  To this end, I have purchased Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists by Carla Sonheim.  I intend to use this lovely "sketch" oriented creativity exercise book to make me a better sketcher!  (not the shoe)

You can join here.

 
Purchase Drawing Lab


Wish me luck!

Coasters Galore!

Here are a couple of pics of the art cloth coasters I've been doing.

These started as a way to practice my free motion technique last fall before quilting larger projects.   I messed around and decided that coasters for my studio would be fun.

I started with cheap felt from Wal-mart fabric closeouts and my scrap bag.  Stitched quadrants randomly. Cut them into 4" x 4" squares leaving some small pieces for ATC's.  Backed them with fleece laying on the floor from another project and stuck my coffee mug on them...Perfect!   A friend visiting the studio saw them and said, you should put those in your Etsy store.  OK....sold in one day.   Cool.

Just finished a large commission of 20 sets for a friend's daughters wedding for the gift bags.  They are a lot of fun to make plus, I get to practice my machine quilting techniques.  Win win.

Art Now for Autism-Breaking Traditions ArtQuilt Exhibit 2010

I have committed again to the Breaking Traditions Exhibit that will support Art Now for Autism this year.  You can see more about it here.  This years theme is "in my words..." expressing how this disorder has affected the lives of the people with and surrounded by it.

My dear friend's young son was diagnosed recently and she has been dealing with all the support personnel available to her and her family and learning about this confusing disorder and what it does and does not mean for the future of her son and their family.  While she says it explains a lot about what she has been dealing with from his infancy, many other questions have arisen.

I tell her to trust her gut.  My own daughter suffers with ADD and had issues with public school.  She is now a healthy, productive, medication-free adult with a great career and a wedding planned for fall.  Parenting is hard.  You are your child's best advocate and while many people will offer their advice and council on how to deal with schools and discipline etc, you will know what's best for your son.  I hope it helps her.  Also don't be afraid to seek help and respite for yourself.  He needs you at your best!

Okay, I know...it's April!

My life has been rather out of control for the last several months.  Many other irons in my scattered fire means little time in the studio.   I have recently begun an online class with Jane Davila entitled "Jump Start Your Art Career". You can check her out her on her blog.   I have never done an online class and I have had trouble concentrating on it so far.

I am happy to report that the prom dress for a dear friend is finished and is just beautiful.  The QuiltArt at 15 quilt that was due today is alas unfinished.  I have notified the facilitator and hope to post photos here anyway when I do finish.  Here is a sneak peak at the project.

The following is a little quilt that I finished for FFFC #42 without re reading the guidelines..key word was landscape  which I jumped over.  I did use techniques that were required though and really do like it, just didn't fit the challenge.  

                             

Comments are always welcomed.  

The Source

My little quilt this month is kind of a disappointment. I love the quilt, but don't feel I really got the fractured part. I tried for several hours to make the fractures make sense to me and could not produce a good result to my design sense. Gave up and went with the sheer bubbles to give a "kind of" fractured appearance. My intension was to get the center portion to be a lighter value to depict light radiating from the "Source" I free cut the fabrics and auditioned onto different grounds but couldn't get the composition to make sense to me. I must be missing some element. I think next time I will use a black and white patterned design with no real subject with color in the fractures to see if I can get it to make sense to me.

Snow Dying

Ok, like many of my online friends, I too, have been snow dying  The snow crystals add beautiful striations to the finished fabric.  My first attemps earlier this month were not as good.  I discovered through more research that raising the fabric on some sort of platform

gave results that were more motteled.  I like the effect.  This time I got what I wanted.  

These along with many more seen here will be the basis for the work for the Nebraska Studio Art Quilt Association show in the fall.  "NE Squared"  Not quite done with the design process but this 10 yards will be a good start on the series I've planned.  

At least snow has some good quality for me now.  Todays 40+ temps have me worried that the winter is finally over.  I'm sure I won't be diappointed if it is but, would like to get a few more yards done for supplimenting these pieces.